The Magic Nuts

  CHAPTER XI

  'THE UNSELFISH MERMAID'

  The stranger viewed the shore around.

  _The Lady of the Lake._

  Leonore sprang to her feet, and as she did so something fell on thefloor; it was her last remaining nut! She gazed at Hildegarde.

  'Look,' she exclaimed, 'it dropped out of my pocket of itself; it meansa message, I am sure it does. Where is your nut, Hildegarde?'

  'Here,' was the reply, as she held it out.

  'The time has come for cracking them,' said Leonore, and as she utteredthe words the tapping in the corner of the room was repeated more loudlyand rapidly, as if to say, 'Quite right, quite right.'

  Then it suddenly stopped.

  'Here goes,' said Hildegarde, cracking her nut as she spoke, and the twopair of eyes peered eagerly into the shell. There lay a neat littleroll of tiny blue ribbon. Hildegarde drew it out. It was only an inch ortwo in length, but on it were clearly printed six words:--

  Tap, tiny hammer, till you find.

  But where was the tiny hammer? This question did not trouble thechildren for long. Without speaking, Leonore cracked _her_ nut,disclosing to view, as they expected, a 'tiny hammer' indeed--so tinythat even the little girls' small fingers had difficulty in holding itfirmly.

  'How can I tap with it?', she was on the point of saying to Hildegarde,when, as she gazed, she saw the little hammer stretch itself out till itgrew to an inch or two in length, the silver head increasing also inproportion, so that it was now much easier to grasp it.

  'How convenient it would be,' said Hildegarde, 'if we could pack upluggage in the way things are packed into our nuts; but let us be quick,Leonore. I wonder where we should begin tapping.'

  'In the corner where we heard the other tapping, of course,' saidLeonore. But this did not prove to be the right spot. There was no replyto their summons, and some patience and perseverance were required toprevent their yielding to disappointment.

  They had no reason, however, for distrusting their fairy friend, and anew idea struck Hildegarde.

  'Leonore,' she exclaimed, 'perhaps we are meant to tap on the wallitself, behind the silk hangings. See, if I hold them back carefully,you can creep in and tap right into the corner.'

  No sooner said than done, and this time not in vain. With almost thefirst blow of the little hammer, a small door in the wall openedinwards, and before them the children saw the first steps of a narrowspiral staircase winding upwards. They fearlessly entered, the littledoor closing behind them, and began to ascend the steps. It was notdark, for slits in the wall let in from time to time tiny shafts oflight; nor was it cold, though where the warmth came from they could nottell.

  'To think,' said Hildegarde, 'of there being a secret staircase thatnobody knows of, for I am sure no one does know of it. But oh, Leonore,how very high we seem to be going'; for though they had been mountingfor some minutes, there was no sign of the staircase coming to an end.

  This time it was Leonore who encouraged her friend.

  'Hush!' she said, 'I hear something; it is the sound of thespinning-wheel, Hildegarde; I believe we shall see our fairy in a secondnow.'

  She was right. They found themselves on a little landing, the entranceto which was screened by blue silk hangings, just like those in theirroom below, and as they stood, uncertain what to do next, the curtainswere drawn apart, revealing the prettiest picture they had ever seen;for there sat the spinning-wheel fairy, busy at work as usual, but thethread she was spinning was neither flax nor wool, nor even silk. Whatit was the children could not tell, unless, as they said afterwards tothemselves, it was made of rainbows. Fine as it was, it glittered andshone, seeming of every colour in turn, sparkling against the pure whiterobe of the fairy spinner. For a moment or two she did not speak tothem, and they stood silent in admiration.

  Then she stopped and greeted them with a smile. 'I had not forgottenyou, you see,' were her first words. 'I have been spinning for you allto-day.'

  'Are you going to take us somewhere?' asked Hildegarde; 'is the threadto make ladders of again?' and she touched it gently as she spoke.

  The fairy shook her head.

  'No,' she replied, 'guess once more.'

  'I had thought,' said Leonore, 'that our next treat would perhaps haveto do with the sea. We have been down in the ground with the gnomes, andup in the sky with the air-fairies, and we don't want to go intofire-land, but we _should_ like to hear about mermaids and sea-fairies.'

  'I could not show you the secrets of the ocean,' said the fairy gravely;'that is not in my power. It has its own voice, and only those who liveon it, or by it, for generations can understand its mystery. True, it isone of the border countries between your world and Fairyland, but yourlittle feet are not prepared for travelling there.'

  The two children listened in silence, with a look of disappointment ontheir faces.

  'We have read such lovely stories,' said Hildegarde, 'about the palacesdown in the sea.'

  'Stories,' repeated the fairy. 'Ah, well, how would you like to hear astory, instead of paying another visit?'

  'We should like it very much indeed,' they said together. 'It is socold and snowy outside, we would rather stay with you, if you will tellus stories, dear fairy,' 'But first,' continued Hildegarde, 'would youmind telling us where we are?' and she glanced round at the prettylittle room in which they found themselves. It was like a tent, alldraped in blue silk, of the same shade as the hangings of their roombelow, but the wreaths embroidered upon it were of white lilies insteadof rosebuds. 'Are we up on the roof of the Castle, or where?'

  'Never mind where you are,' the fairy replied; 'is it not enough for youto know that you are with me? But something I _will_ explain to you.This thread,' and she touched it as she spoke, 'is spun from gossamerwhich has come from a long way off. I fetched it myself for you fromFairy-tale-land. Sit down beside me while I pass it through yourfingers. Hold it very gently, for a rough touch would destroy it, andwhile I tell you my story close your eyes. The thread has the power ofcausing pictures to pass before you of all that I relate.'

  'That will be beautiful,' exclaimed the children. 'Quite as nice astravelling there ourselves, and much cosier,' and they both settledthemselves on a soft white fleecy rug at the fairy's feet, while shecarefully caused the rainbow thread to pass through their hands.

  And in a moment or two she began her tale.

  'You have asked for a story of the sea,' she said. 'There are manysuch--many, many--but some too sad for my little girls to hear--sad,that is to say, for those who are not yet able to understand the wholeof the mystery of the great ocean. So I have chosen one which, thoughpartly sad, is happy too.'

  'Thank you,' murmured the children dreamily, for their eyes were alreadyshut, and with these first words of the fairy there began to steal overthem the feeling of the sea, though scarcely yet a picture. But theyfelt or saw the gleaming of the water, the rippling of the little waveson the shore, the far-off boom of the greater ones as they dashedagainst some rocky cliffs; nay, more, the very fragrance of the seaseemed to steal upon them as the magic thread passed slowly throughtheir little fingers.

  'Long, long ago,' continued the fairy, 'down below in one of the mostbeautiful parts of the ocean world, there lived a race of sea folk.Their lives are much longer, as I daresay you have heard, than those ofdwellers in your earth-country, so that the youngest of those I amtelling you of counted her age by scores of years, where you count byone, and yet, compared to many of her companions, she seemed still quitea child. Until now, childish things had been enough for her. Day afterday brought its own delights; playing about among the sea-caves;swimming races with her brothers and sisters; adorning their home withrare sea-flowers and wonderful shells, to get which they thought nothingof journeying hundreds of miles; these and such-like pastimes wereenough for the little sea-maiden. She had even, so far, no wish to riseto the surface and look out beyond the ocean borders; it would frightenher she said, or maybe she would see something sad, a
nd she had no mindto be frightened or saddened, she would say laughingly, as she swam off,on some new game of play, heedless of her elders' reminders that it wastime, even for a mermaid, to begin to take life more seriously. But atlast a time came, even to this thoughtless little sea-maiden, when shebegan to think. It was partly the doing of one of the most aged of herrace, one to whom all looked for counsel and advice, one who knew muchmore than even her own people suspected, and whose heart was full oflove for all living things.

  '"My child," she said one day to Emerald, for such was the name of thatlittle sea-maiden; "my child, does it never strike you that you cannotalways be young? A day will come when you will be old like me, and dulland dreary would my life be now if I had no stores of the past to lookback upon; if I had learnt nothing but to amuse myself, without thoughtfor the future."

  'Emerald looked up at her with a smile.

  '"But that time is still far off," she said, "and I am so content withthe present. It is all so bright and happy. I want nothing else. When Ifeel myself beginning to get tired of fun and play, I will come to youkind grand-dame, and you shall teach me some of your knowledge, of theworlds outside ours, and of the beings that live in them."

  '"When that day comes," said the ancient sea-lady, "I shall be no longerhere, and, after all, knowledge is not the greatest thing. I would fainsee your heart enlarged by wider sympathy, my little one; even if somesadness and sorrow come with it," but the last few words she murmured solow that Emerald did not hear them.

  '"What are the memories of the past that make you happy to remembernow?" said Emerald, suddenly, for something in her old friend's wordshad touched her, in a way she had never felt before.

  '"They are many," was the reply, "some you could not understand; othersyou might already learn for yourself. I love to think of the services toothers I have, in my time, been allowed to render. More than once it hasbeen my happiness to save the lives of dwellers on the land, humanbeings, as they are called. I have saved them when they were drowningand carried them in safety to their own shores, little as they knew thatit was my doing, or that the friendly wave which floated them out ofdanger was in reality the arm of a mermaid. I have sung sweet songs andlullabies to the suffering and weary in the great ships that pass aboveus, or even, sometimes, to the fishermen's children in their humblehomes on our borders, soothing them into life-giving sleep, though theythought my song was but the gentle wailing of the wind. Such services asthese, Emerald, you might soon take your share of; for like all our raceyou have a lovely voice, and our gift of song should ever be used forgood, if our hearts are true, and not to lure human beings todestruction. For after all they are our brothers and sisters."

  'Emerald thanked her gently as she swam away, and the words she hadheard took root in her merry little heart. Especially did she like theidea of using her beautiful voice to please or benefit others--thosestrange dwellers on the land, whom she had often heard about, though nottill now with any wish to see or know them for herself. They were to bepitied, she had been told, for life was hard upon them; toil and painand weariness, such as her race knew nought of, seemed to be theircommon lot. And among the best of her own people she knew, too, that itwas accounted a good deed to minister to them. So from that time Emeraldbegan to pay more attention when she heard her friends or companionstalking together, as often happened, of their excursions to the upperworld and of what they saw there.

  '"Some day," she said to one of her older sisters, "some day I shouldlike to go with you when you swim up to the surface, or when you sitamong the rocks and caves on the shore, watching the ships pass, andhearing the talk of these human beings in the little boats, which yousay they love to sail in when the weather is calm."

  'Her companions looked at her in surprise.

  '"Why, Emerald," said one of them, "you have always been content, andmore than content, to frolic and play in our own beautiful world. Ithink you would do better to stay there; the weather is not alwaysbright and calm up above, and there are sad sights and sounds, such asyou have no idea of."

  'But the little mermaid persisted.

  '"All the same," she replied, "I should like to see and hear for myself.I am growing older now, and new thoughts come when one ceases to be achild."

  'Some time passed, however, before she had any opportunity of followingthe counsel of her aged friend. There were great doings just then in thesea-country, for the daughter of the king was to wed with the son ofanother great ocean sovereign far away on the other side of the world,and the only talk that went on was of festivity and rejoicing, and inthis Emerald was ready enough to take her share. One day, however, whenshe was amusing herself as usual, she came upon a group of her friendswho were consulting together earnestly about some matter of importance.

  '"What are you all talking about?" she asked.

  '"Nothing that you can help in," was the reply, "for you know nought ofsuch matters. Our princess has expressed a wish that among her weddinggifts should be something from the upper world. She is tired of all ourocean treasures, and would fain have something rarer and more uncommon."

  '"What sort of thing?" asked Emerald curiously.

  '"Nay," they answered, "that remains to be seen. There are not manythings within our power to get, as we dare not linger long on dry land,nor many things that would preserve their earthly beauty, if broughtdown here to our sea home. The flowers, for instance, are such poorfrail things; they would wither into nothing at once. It is a seriousmatter, and we are arranging that the cleverest and most experienced ofus should be entrusted with the matter."

  'Emerald clasped her hands in appeal. "Oh, I pray you," she said, "letme be one of those whom you send. True, I have never been up to thesurface before, but I am quick and agile, as you know, and young likethe princess herself. I am sure I could find something that would pleaseher, if you will but let me go too."

  'The elder ones smiled at her, but she was a sort of spoilt child amongthem, and any request of hers was rarely refused. So almost to hersurprise her wish was granted, and the very next day the little partyset forth on their voyage upwards.

  'It was somewhat toilsome work for Emerald, unaccustomed as she was toascending to any distance, and when at last they reached the surface,she was half exhausted, and thankful to rest a little with hercompanions on a small islet, not far from the shore.

  'After a short while, when they felt refreshed, the little party ofmermaids separated, agreeing to meet again at the same place, before thesun should set.

  '"But we cannot tarry here long," said the eldest, "so do not let uswait for each other more than a short time"; for it was scarcely safe toshow themselves much so near the shore, for among the human beings onthe land there were, as the sea-folk well knew, cruel and mischievousones, as well as kind and gentle.

  'The eldest sister wished to take Emerald with her, as the child was sounaccustomed to the strange land, but Emerald begged to be allowed tostay by herself.

  '"I shall be very cautious," she said, "and if you do not find me hereon your return, you may be pretty sure that I shall have gone homealready. I have a strong belief that, if you trust me, I shall findsomething that will delight the princess as our wedding gift."

  'So the others swam away, leaving Emerald alone. She remained on therocks for a little while gazing around her, then taking courage, shedived into the water again, and swam straight to the shore.

  'The coast at this part was very pretty, green lawns, bordered bygraceful trees, sloped down almost close to the water's edge, and onrising ground, a little inland, Emerald perceived the white walls of abeautiful house. "A palace"--she called it to herself, for in the seacountry their king and his court lived in a shining dwelling, adornedwith shells and coral, and other ocean treasures; while the rest of hispeople made their homes in the deep sea caves.

  'She nestled into a shady corner, sheltered by some drooping trees andflowering shrubs, finding pleasure and amusement enough in gazing at thepretty scene around her,--"though I wish," she
said to herself, "I couldsee some of these wonderful human beings that the others talk so muchabout." And after a time, she began to ask herself how and where she wasto seek for the treasure she had felt so confident of finding for theprincess?

  'She was too timid to venture ashore altogether, so she sat there, idlydabbling in the clear water, waiting for something, she knew not what,which would put her in the way of redeeming her pledge. Suddenly, thesound of voices reached her ears. Down a sloping path, through thepleasure grounds, two children came running--one some yards in advanceof the other, the second one being rather taller and bigger than thelittle creature in front whom he was playfully pretending to chase. Onran the tiny girl, shouting in glee at the idea of winning the race. Shewas scarcely more than a baby, and the boy behind her was also veryyoung. As they drew yet nearer to Emerald, she saw that the first comerheld in her hand something which sparkled in the sun--it was a neckletof finely wrought gold, which she had run off with in a frolic.

  'With a cry of triumph she ran to the water's edge, at a spot where thebank dropped suddenly, and flung the ornament into the sea, close towhere Emerald was concealed; then turning to call back to her brother,in defiance, her little foot slipped, and she herself in another momentdisappeared from sight.

  'With a cry of terror the elder child was about to throw himself afterher, when the nurse in charge of them, whom the mermaid had not beforenoticed, darted forward and caught him by the arm, herself utteringshrieks of dismay and calls for help. Her cries almost immediatelybrought down two or three gardeners, one of whom, on hearing what hadhappened, pulled off his coat and flung himself into the water. Hestruck out bravely, for he was a good swimmer, and felt no doubt ofrescuing the child, knowing the exact spot where she had fallen in; butto his surprise, clear and almost shallow though the water was, thelittle creature was nowhere to be seen. She had utterly disappeared!'