The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1898-01-12

the Kingdom because the daughter of the
king was dying Of hunger. What? OF
hunger? A princessl Were there no more
cattle in tho fields, game in the forests
vegetables in the garden or fruit in the
orchardsp Wcro there no more cooks In
the kitchen? What catastrophe had hap-
pencdp How had 1t come to pass that such
noble and rich person did not have that
which was rarely wanting to the peasant
in his cottage, to the beggar in his hut---a
bit Of bread9 Well, If there was not as
much bread as she wished she could have
the sweetest cake in the world 1t needed
only sign and there would be placed up
on the table before her the most sayory
meat, the most delicate yenison, peas,
Strawberries like drops Of dew, peaches Of
violet velvet and oranges Of gold.
But this little princess could not eat
food that sustained other men and women.
The fairies that leaned over her cradle at
birth had decided that she should only be
nourished by newly opened flowers or the
butterflies poised thereon. Now, for two
weeks hurricane had ragged in the king
dom, had ravaged the gardens, broken and
pLo GunIiuEi 81 ~ was actually
impossible to find petal of eglantine or
chalice Of cactus.
So the princess was In the most pitiable
state imaginable She was paler than tho
palest flowers, one alone of which would
have been enough to save her. She would
certainly die If her fast were prolonged for
few hours, and Gs she had rather diff
cult disposition, even when she had
enough to eat, you can imagine the rage
into which she flew when the ladies Of
honor entered the royal chamber without
bringing her the least little doweret from
the fields or the forest.
I said-and I had reason to say-that
the whole kingdom was in despair ON ac-
count of tho approaching death of the
princess. You would not have recognized
the king, ho had grown SO gray in few
days and the minister's the chamberlains,
the major domos were pitiful to see be-
cause 1t would have been truly unbscom-
ing for the major domos and the cham
berlains and the ministers TO be in good
humor when the head Of the government
was so sad.
But tho sincerest the greatest, desolation
was In the heart Of little page. For
long time no, had hopelessly adored tho
princess. The thought that sho must die
plunged him into such despair that the
tigers in tho forest and the rocks in the
mountains would have sympathized with
his misery II the tigers and the rocks had
been there to SEQ it. 1t was not that be
had any clelnency from the princess to be
grateful for. Quite the contrary. No
words could give any idea Of the cruelty
bo hoo chn l.; H.,
her service When he sighed, she smiled;
when he approached her in the evening to
be Of assistance to her she did not turn
away, as would have been charitable but
she looked him in the eyes and said to
him:
well, we'll Come, it is time to go to
sleep. Draw of my stockings, I pray
you"
Then she went away mocking at him
with her ladies', who were cruel also But
they were cxcusable, not being beloved by
the poor boy.
Such barbarity did not hinder him from
being the tonderest lover in tho world If
you had said to him the princess was not
as sweet as the lambs in the meadows, he
would have been furious and you would
have had an affair with him.
When he learned that the kings daugh-
ter was perishing because of tho hurricane
which had carried off all the flowers with
their butterflies ho did not hesitate mo-
ment. He began to run through the king
dom seeking roses, lilies daisies, no mat
ter what, for tho repast Of her he loved
But he did not find them. He continued
to seek. When some ono said to the prin-
cess, Docs your highncss know that the
little page has gone out hoping to gather
you breakfast she smiled disdGnfully.
1t seemed she would breakfast with regret
on the flowers tho poor boy brought her,
and che said:
"Ah, how hungry amp
Nevertheless he secured tho whole coun-
try In search Of blossoms. He descended
into the valleys, he climbed the steepest
hills hoping that perhaps he would find
between two rocks near the glaciers the
littlo blue, mysterious flowers of the Alps
which would have kept from death the one
he loved so much. But no; even on the
highest mountains, even In the deepest
valleys, was not ono flower, so fierce and de-
structve had been the tempest. He re-
turned from each attempt in the anguish
Of failure.
81 forcsaw it." said the princess ut
Is really ridiculous to confide to such chill
dren the care of royal persons.
When the little page learned that she
had uttered these cruel words, he felt his
heart clutohed and torn as If vulture had
cast itself with opened claws upon this lit
tie red bird. Since she had the double
misfortune of being Ill and not being
grateful for the care Of those who wished
to cure her, be resolved to live no longer,
as she was dying. He ran to a neishbor-
ing stream, very clear and very deep, de-
terlnined to cast himself into It, He soon
came to the border Of the stream. After
looking carefully to see II not Il single To-
tus remained, for lotus would have been
enough fer o luncheon for tho princess, he
leaned over, wishing to fall. Then he hest
tatcd, for 1t is sad to die when one is so
young and there are 10 many beautiful
things In the world
A thought came to him.
He had read in an old book that young
man admirlng himself in the waves lad
become flower. Why should rot such
fate he permitted to him? AS flower no
would be eaten by the princess, and the
princess would be saved.
He leaned over the brook and gaz2d long
at his image. He looked and looked, and
at last he fell in.
lie had hardly fallen into the water
when one Of the princess maidens, who
was wandering about and watching,
picked narcissuS upon the bank, II mar
cissus made Of the page--a pale narcissus
Just bursting into bloom.
The narci55.Is sustained tho princess
until n rnurlrlar1tE--tbp bD piDu
ceased-had doomed again in the field,
and the tulips IN the flower beds and the
hawthorns on the hedges. Still she was
hardly satisfied and said biting into the
petals with her white teeth the petals of
that flower which they had related to her
was the page himself, dead for her sake,
then resurrected in chalice:
Yes, yes, 1t is necessary to eat but