Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1891-07-08

| ANA DhnuhBlIS ner eyes VIII ueT usnU-
kerchief, she stepi ed with the Prince
into the bubJe, which slowly began to
rise as the tiny men crooned this magic
spell.
Crystalline bubble, bid thee arise,
And slowly end in the bright summer skies
Now oyer and under the el1ndletS dip
Carry us safely. bid thee to-day,
To the land Of the Rainbow. far away
The air was sweet one, and Ethel
sat listening, entranced, thinking
"Oh, what wonderful story l shall
have to tell when | get home againl"
The motion of the bubble made her Mt
first little faint and dizzy, but she
soon became accustomed to it, aad did
not mind it so much, although she gave
a sigh of relief when it presently came
to n standstill.
"Welcome TO Rainbow Land" said
the Price,, as he pulled off her bandage
and helped her out of the strange carr
riage. Taking her by the hand. he led
the bewildered girl to his seven sided
palace at the end of the arcade to
which a royal staircase of polished glass
led up; and the roof of which was sup
ported by seven wonderful pillars, the
first of rubIes, the second emeralds,
and the third, sapphires, the fourth
displaying the deep orange of the sar-
donyx, contrasting wildly with the
fifth column of purple amethyst, the
sixth of dull topaz and the seventh of
pale blue turquoise.
| "When the sun comes out after a
shower" explained the Prince, 1.-THE
reflection from these pillars causes the
rainbow you SO much admire. But
here comes my wife to welcome you"
A sweet-faced princess clad in white
and diamond crowned received Ethel
most cordially, and sitting beside her
on throne of fleecy clouds sent a SER
want to bring wine of rubies and cake
of powdered pearls for her refresh
ment Then after short visit to the
rich mines where she saw hundreds of
dwarfs digging, cutting and polishing
the precious stones she said s'e would
start at once upon her perilous journey
the home of the powerful Sun-King.
The Prince looked sad but hopeful,
and fastening the badge he had prom
ised, star, brilliant with seven sub
lime jewels, upon her breast, led her to
the extreme verge of his possessions
and, pointing to a white line in the
sky, said: "rhere is the road you first
must take. L may not tell you more:
but use your prism well,-and should
you bring our darling back, We are
your slaves forever" Half dIsmayed
Ethel gazed at the pathway before her,
which seemed naught but a bank of
clouds. Would they bear her weight?
She gathered up her courage, glanced
at her prism and then made des-
perate leap,-landing in fluffy mass
as soft as feather bed, and apparently
as substantial. "Ahi this is quite
sportw she cried aloud in her delight,
and then went gently on, springing
from cloud to cloud until night came
on and the moon and the stars ap-
peared in the heavens. Now, however,
the cloud on which she was standing
began to shrink, while there was no
other very near. "What shall | do
now?" she thought, and then, CHANGING
/ at the prism read there engraved:
"Swing yourself along from star to
> STAR which advice she tremblingly
, hastened TO obey. Fortunately, the
heavenly bodies were near together,
, but the points were sharp an her
, hands were badly lacerated. Suddenly,
| "A low growl broke the stiffness, and Il
huge black form with two glaring rcd
eyes rose before her, making her feel
sure she was in the quarters of tie
Great Bear
"near Ursa Major" she said timidly,
} 'please don't bite me for l am only a
little girl going to see the Sun.
"Ha, hal that Is likely storyp
! growled the Bear. mo mortal has
ever ventured this way before. Let
!, you pass, indeedl No, | shall deyour
you on the spot" and he made wild
plunge forward to treat her to a deadly
embrace.
, Ethel was badly frightened, but,
freeing one hand, she shook her prism
J bravely in his face, when-startled by
the flashing of this strange weapon,
and bewildered by its many colOrs, the
cowardly animal shrank back and hid
himself from sight
"Welll' thought the child, "my
prism certainly helped me that time,
and | will try to conquer the other
monsters of the sky" And resolutely
she continued her journey.
A loud and furious roar next set her
heart beating violently, and, looking
before her she saw Taurus, the Bull ,
with head bent down rushing madly
upon her. 81 will toss you on my
horns" al will tear you to pieces" he
beloved loudly. But she courageous
ly awaited his approach, and then
knocking her prism into its eye, the
animal with terrific cry of pain rushed
up the other way.
"Ohl hope shal! meet no more
such creaturesI' cried Ethel aloud, as
she still swung onward from star to
star, but, while stopping for "A few mo-
ments at one of the consultations to
rest her weary limbs, she suddenly felt
herself surrounded by long and squirm-
ing claws, which seemed slowly but
surely drawing her away from her
grasp on the star. She made des-
perate struggle, however, and managed
to strike with her magic charm one of
those terrible arms, when they all re-
laxed so suddenly that she nearly lost
her balance, and was so frightened that
she only chung stupidity for some time,
gazing with horror at the Giant Crab
creeping away in the distance. When
she again ventured onward, to her
great delight the clouds began to
brighten aHd flush in the East, the
stars behind them faded, and the
rounded, golden-hued castle of the Sun
met her eyes.
Massive gates with red-ho bolts and
bars prevented her entrance, and the
! heat and the smoke arising from them
were so sitting she could scarcely
breathe. But as she touched the por-
tails with her powerful weapon they
slowly opened with a grating, kissing
sound, growing less and less red, till
finally they turned cold and black.
Rubbing her prism over her face,
neck, arms and clothing she felt re-
lieved to find q cooler air played
around her. and SO resolutely pushed
forward.
Presently she observed group of
grotesque goblins engaged in a game
of ninepins, using enormous balls of