|
Chapter 21
The next day George and Freeheart dressed themselves in sumptuous clothes
which the dwarfs had prepared for them, and betook themselves to the Hall
of State where King Loc, in the dress of an Emperor, soon came to join
them as he had promised. He was followed by his officers wearing arms,
and furs of a wild magnificence, and helmets on which swan-wings waved.
The dwarfs, thronging in crowds, came in by the windows, the ventilators,
and the chimneys, and even crept under the seats.
King Loc got up on a stone table, at the end of which were drawn up rows
of flagons, candlesticks, bowls, and cups of fine gold and of marvellous
workmanship. He motioned to Bee and to George to come near, and said:
"Bee, a law of the Dwarf people requires that a stranger received
within our house should be free at the end of seven full years. You have
spent seven years in our midst, Bee, and I would be a bad citizen and
a guilty king if I detained you longer. But before I let you go away,
I wish, not having been able to marry you, to betroth you myself to the
man you have chosen. I do so with joy, because I love you more than myself,
and my pain, if any, is left, like a little shadow unnoticed in my happiness.
Bee of the Clarides, Princess of the Dwarfs, give me your hand; and you,
George of the White Moor, give me yours."
Having put the hand of George in that of Bee, King Loc turned to his people
and said in a loud voice:
“Little men, my children, you are witnesses that these two here
undertake mutually to marry each other on earth. Let them return there
together and together bring forth deeds of courage, modesty, and faithfulness,
like good gardeners tend and bring to flower roses, carnations and peonies."
At these words the dwarfs shouted loudly, and, not knowing whether they
ought to lament or to rejoice, they were distracted by contrary feelings.
King Loc turned again to the two betrothed, and showing them the bowls,
the flagons, all the splendid plate,
"These,” he said, “are the presents of the dwarfs. Take
them, Bee, they will recall your little friends; they are given by them
and not by me. You will know in a moment what I mean to give you."
There was a long silence. King Loc gazed with a lovely look of tenderness
at Bee, whose beautiful radiant head, crowned with roses, rested on the
shoulder of her betrothed.
Then he spoke again in these terms:
"Children, it is not enough to love much; you must love well. Great
love is good, undoubtedly; wise love is better. May yours be as mild as
it is strong; may it want nothing, not even indulgence, and may some pity
be mingled with it. You are young, beautiful and good; but you are human,
and, for that very reason, subject to many miseries. This is why, if some
pity does not form part of the feelings you have for each other, these
feelings will not be adapted to the circumstances of your common life;
they will be like holiday clothes which are no protection against the
wind and the rain. You only love those securely whom you love even in
their weaknesses and meannesses. Mercy, forgiveness, consolation, that
is love and all its science. "
King Loc stopped, overcome by sweet and powerful emotions. He resumed
his speech:
“Children, be happy. Keep your happiness, keep it carefully."
While he spoke, Pic, Tad, Dic, Bob, Truc, and Paw, clinging to Bee's white
mantle, covered with kisses the girl's naked arms and hands. And they
begged her not to leave them. Then King Loc drew from his belt a ring,
the stone of which flung showers of light. It was the magic ring with
which he had opened the dungeon of the Sylphs. He slipped Bee's finger
through it, and said:
"Bee, receive at my hands this ring, which will allow you to enter
at all times you and your husband, the kingdom of the dwarfs. You will
be received with delight and helped in every way. On the other hand, teach
the children you will have not to despise the innocent and industrious
little men who live under the earth."
The End
Previous Chapter Return
to the Beginning
|