The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1914-01-18
The Fairy and I lis Bell

rings on her fingers. bells on her toes.
She shall have music wherever she
goes"
One lovely morning In June little
fairy was working In his garden. He
was busy at bed OF ranunculuses.
which were his favorite flowers. Some
months before he had set out the roots
In small holes, which no had MADE
with a sharp pointed stick. and, when
the tender plants came up In the
spring, he walked about among them
every evening watering them out OF
a snailshell, which he filled at brook
near by. The ranunculuses were now
quite tall; and this morning he was
very busy with little feather brush,
made of a wrens tall busting the
buds which were nearly ready to open.
While thus engaged, he heard the dis
tant sound of bells.
Hello said he, what's that?
Somebody's house afire, I suspect
AS he could do nothing for anybody
In such a case, he kept on busting his
aowerbuds. But the sound came nearer
and nearer.
what can 1t be?" he said again.
| TT certainly is not a travelling church"
! In few minutes, however, he found
! out what 1t was. A tall gray horse.
| bearing on his back an old woman with
| rings on her fingers and bells on her
| toes, came dashing toward him, and
! in An instant the animal had crushed
| through his ranunculuses. broken al
| most every fiowerstalk, and ruined the
whole bed. The little fairy, who had
| lust managed to get out OF the way
| himself, gazed upon his dreadful loss
I with a face fun of horror and despair.
But directly he was filled with indig-
nation,
"I will find out that reckless person.
he cried "She cannot escape mel'
:, So saying, he rushed to his home at
the root OF an ancient tree. and from
a little cavity he brought out spar
row, which a short time before he had
tanned and broken to the saddle. Has
tily saddling and bridling the sparrow,
he sprang upon him, and rode away
1 with the speed of an arrow. 1t was
easy to trace the course taken by the
! gray horse and his rider from the
sound of the bells that the old woman
wore; and in a very few minutes the
fairy was skimming along by her side,
without, however, attracting from her
the slightest attention.
i Reaching the border Of small creek,
the old woman refined In her steed
and dismounted. Standing by the wa
: ter's edge she leaned against the
horse and appeared lost in thought.
"Now's my time" said the fairy to
himself: and he hastened to a FIRE that
some charcoal burners had made at a
short distance and selling a small
piece of blazing lightwood. be spurred
his sparrow back to the creek. In a
moment he had set the horses tail on
fire. The noble animal did not per-
ceive this for little while; but the
instant he felt the FIRE he gave a
Jaan Gar al h{H hriAla from the
hand OF the old woman land dashed
madly away. The fairy rode over the
creek, mounted a tree on the opposite
i bank, and guided his sparrow to the
very end Of branch which hung over
the water. quito near to the old woman
I but still out of her reach.
"Ho! how cried the fairy to the old
woman, who was standing with open
/ mouth and eyes looking in the d.
! rection her steed had taken. "Ho! no
! Now you are paid up for trampling
4 down my ranunculuses. ! should like
to know how you are going to get
back to Banbury Cross now"
The old woman looked at the falry
for a moment. and cried:
so that was one Of your tricks, was
II? Well, it matters little. l don't
care whether I ever get back to Ban
bury Cross again or not
I why. don't you live there? asked
the fairy.
! Eyes" replied the old woman. II do
But one hates being made the object
/ of such general curiosity. / can never
mount my horse without bringing to-
gether a crowd to look at me-"
/ We'll, that's because you wear bells
! on your toes" said the fairy.
But l. can't help that" said the old
woman Il don't wear them because
I like them"
/ why do you wear them, tnen
J asked the fairy.
We'll" said the old woman. seating
herself upon the ground--for 1t was
evidently difficulty for her to stand
without support-'its long story
/ hr+ I'll make 1t as short as ! can
Many years ago, when ] was a young
| woman. a prince lived In palace near
my mothers cottage. He wore upon
his right hand a most magnificent dia-
mond ring and he declared that he
i would marry any young woman VINO
could produce one as fine. loved that
prince; and in order to become his
wife, I bought all the rings that
could possibly procure by seliing every
thing I owned. But not one OF them
was fine enough, none OF them would
match the one he wore. Here they all
/ are" she said. stretching out her hands.
| II wear them yet
| s"They are very pretty" said the
! fairy, but l should never have spent
all my money for mere jewelry."
| what would you have bought
asked the old woman.
! "Ranuncuiuses" replied the fairy.
..Iumphw said the old woman. con-
temptuously: and she continued her
/ story:
about a mile on the other side OF
our cottage there lived on old Jew.
! rhe owned enc OF the finest diamonds
/ In the world. When he first got II