Pawtucket tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 1890-189?, 1893-10-07
THE BETROTHAL.


because she was the Irettiest little thing
imaginable, and with astonishment be
cause she was scarcely as big Us baby'a
fist.
To tell the truth. the king and queen
were rather disturbed at seeing her 30 ex
traordinarily small, and their royal dignity
could not support the idea Of having given
birth to n dwarf, but they hoped that theiI
daughter might grow without losing any
thing Of her loveliness.
They were, however, very much deceived
In their expectations. While remaining n
graceful as possible, she grew so little that
! at the age Of 8 she was no higher than a
blade of grass, and when playing In the
garden walks she was Obliged TO stretch
herself on the points Of her toes TO gather
the violets.
The king and queen had recourse TO the
fairies, with whom they had always been
on excellent terms. They did not fail To
come, some on litters Of cloth Of gold With
teweled fringes, carried by naked negroes,
Others in cars Of crystal drawn by four uni
corns. One after the other they touched
| Othilde with their wands, took her Ia their
hands-she was 10 heavier than good sized
lark.-kissed her, blew on her hair and made
signs on her forehead, murmuring all pow
erful words
The cnarms of the fairies had no more ef-
| feet than the medicines Of the learned men.
| At 10 the princess was still so small that II
happened one morning she was caught en-
| tirely In a trap which had beer set In the
| park for nightingales.
The courtiers-who were interested In
keeping their sovereigns happy. because
| good humor generally showsitself generous
did their best to console the king and
| queen. They declared that nothing Is more
ridiculous than "a tall figure; that high
stature is, II you consider the matter well.
but deformity. AS for any Of them. they
would not wish To be more than half q foot
Ia height, but 1t is for royal races that ma
ture reserves her fayorsi
But these ingenious batteries did not al
ways succeed in smoothing over the king
and queen. Many time they felt inclined
to weep when kissing their little girl with
the tips of their lips for fear OF swallowing
her, but they restrained their tears 80 as not
to soak her quite through. As for Othilde,
she did not appear the least distressed
about her misfortune. She even seemed TO
take great pleasure in looking at the 10
Election of her pretty little figure in q hand
mirror made out of one rather large disr
mond.
In consequence Of the tale they told him
Of the beauty Of the princess the young am
peror Of Sirinagor fell in love with her and
sent his ambassadors To ask her hand In
marriage You may imagine the embar-
rassment such proposal caused. To mar.
~ this tiny doll, no bigger than a paroQuet
1T was not to be thought of.
What man could accommodate himself
to . wife who would TO certainty lose her
self every minuteP And the request Of the
emperor Of Sirinagor was all the moredreadr
full because he himself was said to be of
colossal proportions He was the hand
soonest Of all the princes, but the biggest Of
all the giants.
At 3 years Of age he had TO stoop little
to take the birds nests from the tops Of the
oaks. His parents, like those of Othilds,
had consulted the phy sicians and then the
fairies and quite as vainly. lie grew moro
and more in a most immoderate fashion.
When his people erected triumphant arches
to him in celebration Of some victory. he
was forced to get down from his horse to
pass underneath, and however high they
were he never failed to strike the pediments
with the silver crest displayed on his he'll
met. The king and queen naturally de-
clared to the ambassadors that the union In
question was the most impossible thing In
the world. But the young emperor, pas
sionate as he was of temperament, would
not be satisfied with this reply. He would
not listen TO anything. The confession Of
the small size Of Othilde appeared to him
an absurd statement, conceived with the
intention Of turning him into ridicule, aud
he swore as he donned his helmet ola which
the silver wings trembled that he would
svenge this insult with lire and blood.
He kept his word. There were terrible
battles, towns sacked and whole popula-
tions put TO the edge Of the sword, 80 that
at last the king and queen saw plainly that
the same would he done to them and all
their kingdom if they did not come to
terms with the gigantic conqueror, who
was striding across the burning towns and
forests In his march toward the capital
They FASTENED, Therefore, to demand peace,
promising no Longer to refuse him the hand
Of their daughter
A day was chosen for the first interview
Of the afiianced ones, but 1t took place In
the park, not in the palace, because the con-
queror would not have been able to stand
upright under the ceilings Of the halls.
Come" said he. II see no princess.
VIII she not soon be comingi"
Look at your feet" said the king.
She was there in fact, scarcely higher
than the borders of the walk. So slender
and so pretty in her gown of gold, her
brows glistening with gems, she seemed
still smaller by the side of the magnificent
emperor. whose armor rose toward the
sky, hathed in sunlight.
"Alasn said he
For he was grieyed to see her down there,
30 charming and 80 small.
"Alas' she said in her turn.
For she was very sorry to see him SO FAR
up there, so handsome, b, so tall.
They had tears-she in her upturned. he
In his downcast, eyes.
Sire said the king while they were
still contemplating each other from a dis
tance; "sire, you see that you could not
marry my daughter. We are compelled to
rellnquish the honor of your alliance"-
But he did not finish his sentence, and
| dumb with astonishment gazed at the
princess and the emperor, she growing tall
er and he shorter, all through love-more
| powerful than the fairies-which attracted
them one toward the other till, almost the
same height, their lips touched like two