The 12 dancing Prinesses
Once upon a time there lived a little cowherd, without either father or mother. His real name was Mistoffelees, but he was always called the Star Gazer because he went along with his head in the air when he drove his cows over the meadows to seek pasture.
He had black and white fur and gold eyes, and the village girls used to cry after him, "Well, Star Gazer, what are you doing?" and Mistoffelees would answer, "Oh, nothing," and go on his way without even turning to look at them.
One morning about the middle of August, just at midday when the sun was hottest, Mistoffelees ate his dinner of a dry piece of bread and went to sleep under an oak tree. And while he slept he dreamed that a beautiful lady, dressed in a robe of gold, came and said to him, "Go to the castle of Jellicle, and there you shall marry a princess."
That evening Mistoffelees told his dream to the farm people, But, as was natural, they only laughed at the Star Gazer.
The next day at the same hour he went to sleep under the same tree. The lady appeared a second time, and said, "Go to the castle of Jellicle, and there you shall marry a princess."
In the evening Mistoffelees told his friends that he had dreamed the same dream again, but they only laughed at him more than before.
"Never mind," he said to himself, "if the lady appears to me a third time, I will do as she tells me."
The following day, to the great astonishment of the entire village, about two o'clock in the afternoon a voice was heard singing:
Raleo, raleo,
How the cattle go!
It was Mistoffelees driving his cattle back to the barn.
The farmer began to scold him furiously, but Mistoffelees answered quietly, "I am going away." He made his clothes into a bundle, said good-bye to his friends, and boldly set out to seek his fortune.
There was great excitement throughout the village, and on the top of the hill people stood, holding their sides with laughter, as they watched the Star Gazer trudge bravely along the valley with his bundle at the end of his stick.
It was well known for full twenty miles around that in the castle of Jellicle lived twelve Princesses of wonderful beauty. Their names were, from youngest to oldest, Jennyanydots, Jellylorum, Bombalurina, Tantomile, Exotica, Demeter, Cassandra, Victoria, Rumpleteazer, Electra, Etcetera, and Jemima. They were all as proud as they were comely, and so sensitive and of such truly royal blood that they each would have felt at once the presence of a pea in their beds, even if ten mattresses were placed over it.
They had twelve beds all in the same room, but what was very extraordinary was the fact that, though triple bolts locked them in, every morning their satin shoes were worn into holes. No noise was ever heard in the room, yet how could the shoes wear themselves out alone?
At last the Duke of Jellicle, Deuteronomy, ordered the trumpet sounded and a proclamation that whoever could discover how his daughters wore out their shoes should choose one of them for his wife.
On hearing the proclamation, a number of Princes arrived at the castle to try their luck. The watched all night at the door of the Princesses, but when the morning came the Princes had disappeared, and no one could tell what had become of them.
When he reached the castle Mistoffelees went straight to the gardener and offered his services. Now it happened that the gardener was in need of an assistant, and though the Star Gazer did not look very sturdy, the gardener agreed to take him, as he thought that Mistoffelees pleasant looks would delight the Princesses.
The first thing he was to do, when the Princesses awoke was to present each one with a bouquet. So Mistoffelees placed himself behind the door of the Princesses room, with the twelve bouquets in a basket. He gave one to each of the sisters, who took them without even deigning to look at him, except Jemima who fixed on him her large black eyes as soft as velvet and exclaimed, "Oh, how pretty he is!" The others burst out laughing, and the eldest, Jennyanydots, said that a princess ought never to lower herself by looking at a gardener.
Now Mistoffelees knew that all the Princes had disappeared, but the beautiful eyes of the Princess Jemima inspired him with a violent longing to try his fate. Unhappily he did not dare to come forward, being afraid that he should only be jeered at or even turned away from the castle on account of his impudence.
Then the Star Gazer had another dream. The lady in the golden dress appeared to him once more, holding in one paw two young laurel trees, a cherry laurel and a rose laurel, and in the other paw a little golden rake, a little golden bucket, and a silken towel. She said, "Plant these two laurels in tow large pots, rake them with the rake, water them with the bucket, and wipe them with the towel. When they have grown as tall as a cat of fifteen, say to each of them, 'My beautiful laurel, with the golden rake I have raked you, with the golden bucket I have watered you, with the silken towel I have wiped you.' Then after you have done that, ask anything you choose, and the laurels will give it to you.
Mistoffelees thanked the lady in the golden dress, and when he woke he found the two laurel trees beside him. So he carefully obeyed the orders given to him by the lady.
The trees grew very fast and, when they were as tall as a cat of fifteen, he said to the cherry laurel, "My beautiful cherry laurel, with the golden rake I have raked you, with the golden bucket I have watered you, with the silken towel I have wiped you. Teach me how to become invisible."
Instantly there appeared on the laurel a pretty white flower, which Mistoffelees gathered and stuck into his buttonhole and, true enough, it made him invisible.
That evening, when the Princesses went upstairs to bed, he followed them barefoot, so that he would make no noise, and he hid himself under one of the beds.
The Princesses began at once to open their wardrobes and boxes. They took out of them their most magnificent dresses, which they put on before their mirrors, turning themselves to admire their appearance. Mistoffelees could see nothing from his hiding place, but he could hear everything, and he listened to the Princesses laughing and talking.
At last Princess Jennyanydots said, "Be quick my sisters; our partners will be impatient."
When the Star Gazer peeped out, he saw the twelve sisters in splendid garments with satin shoes on their feet, and in their paws the bouquets he had brought for them.
"Are you ready?" asked Princess Jenny.
"Yes," replied the other eleven in chorus, and they took their places one by one behind her.
Then Princess Jenny clapped her paws three times and a trapdoor opened. All the Princesses disappeared down a secret staircase, and Mistoffelees hastily followed them. As he was following on the steps on the Princess Jemima, he carelessly trod on her dress. "There is somebody behind me," cried Princess Jemima, "holding my dress."
"You foolish thing," said Princess Jenny, "you are always afraid of something. It is only a nail which caught you."
They went down, down, down, till at last they came to a passage with a door at one end, which was only fastened with a latch. Princess Jenny opened it, and they found themselves immediately in a lovely little wood, where the leaves were spangled with drops of silver which shone in the brilliant light of the moon. Nest the crossed another wood, where the leaves were sprinkled with gold, and after that still another, where the leaves where glittered with diamonds.
At last the Star Gazer perceived a large lake, and on the shore were twelve little boats with awnings, in which were seated twelve princes who, grasping their oars, awaited the Princesses.
Each Princess entered one of the boats, and Mistoffelees slipped in with the youngest. The boats glided along rapidly, but Jemima's, being heavier, was always behind the rest.
"We never went so slowly before," said Princess Jemima. "What can be the reason?"
"I don't know," answered the Prince. "I assure you I am rowing as hard as I can."
On the other side of the lake the Star Gazer saw a beautiful castle, splendidly illuminated, from which came the lively music of fiddles and kettledrums and trumpets. In a moment they touched land, and the company jumped ashore. The Princes, after having securely fastened their boats, gave their arms to the Princesses and conducted them to the castle.
Mistoffelees followed and entered the ballroom in their train. Everywhere were mirrors, lights, flowers, and damask hangings. The Star Gazer was quite bewildered at the magnificence of the sight.
He placed himself out of they way in a corner, admiring the grace and beauty of the Princesses. Never were so many beautiful Princesses seen together at one time, but the one Mistoffelees thought the most beautiful and the most fascinating was the little Princess with the velvet eyes.
With what eagerness she danced! Leaning on her partner's shoulder as she swept by like a whirlwind. Her checks flushed, her eyes sparkled, and it was plain that she loved dancing better than anything else. Poor Mistoffelees envied those handsome young men with whom she danced so gracefully, but he did not know how little reason he had to be jealous of them.
The young men were really the Princes who, to the number of fifty at least, had tried to steal the Princesses' secret. The Princesses had made them drink a potion that froze the heart and left nothing but the love of dancing.
They danced on until the shoes of the Princesses were worn into holes. When the rooster crowed the third time, the fiddles stopped, and a delicious supper was served, of sugared orange flowers, crystallized rose leaves, powdered violets, cracknels, wafers, which are, as everyone knows, the favorite foods of princesses.
After supper, the dancers all went back to their boats, and this time the Star Gazer entered the boat of the eldest Princess. They crossed once again the wood with the diamond-spangled leaves, the wood with the gold-sprinkled leaves, and the wood whose leaves glittered with drops of silver, and as proof of what he had seen, the young tom broke a small bough from a tree in the last wood. Jemima turned as she heard the noise made by the breaking of the branch.
"What was that noise?" she asked.
"It was nothing," replied Jenny. "It was only the screech of the barn own that roosts in one of the turrets of the castle."
While she was speaking, Mistoffelees managed to slip ahead and, running up the staircase, he reached the Princesses' room first. He flung open the window, and sliding down the vine which climbed up the wall, found himself in the garden just as the sun was rising and it was time for him to set to his work.
That day, when he made up the bouquets, Mistoffelees hid the branch with the silver drops in the one intended for Princess Jemima. When Jemima discovered it she was much surprised. However, she said nothing to her sisters, but when she met Mistoffelees while she was walking under the shade of the elms she suddenly stopped as if to speak to him. Then, changing her mind, she went on her way.
In the evening the twelve sisters went again to the ball, and once more the Star Gazer followed them, crossing the lake in Jemima's boat. This time it was the Prince who complained that the boat seemed very heavy. "It is only the heat," replied the Princess. "I, too, have been feeling very warm."
During the ball she looked everywhere for Mistoffelees, but she never saw him.
As they came back, Mistoffelees gathered a branch from the wood with the gold-sprinkled leaves, and now it was the Princess Jenny who heard the noise it made in breaking.
"It is nothing," said Jemima, "only the cry of the owl which roosts in the turrets of the castle."
The next morning Jemima found the branch in her bouquet. When the sisters went down she stayed a little behind and said to the Star Gazer, "Where does this branch come from?"
Your Royal Highness knows well enough," answered Mistoffelees.
"So you have followed us?"
"Yes, Princess."
"How did you manage it? We never saw you."
"I hid myself," replied the Star Gazer quietly.
The Princess was silent a moment and then said, "You know are secret--keep it! Here is the reward for your discretion." And she flung a purse a gold at him.
"I do not sell my silence," answered Mistoffelees, and he went away without picking up the purse.
For three nights Jemima neither saw nor heard anything extraordinary. On the fourth she heard a rustling among the leaves of the diamond-spangled wood. The next day there was a branch of the wood in her bouquet.
She took the Star Gazer aside and said to him in a harsh voice, "You know what price my father has promised for our secret?"
I know, Princess," answered Mistoffelees.
"Don't you mean to tell him?"
"That is not my intention."
"Are you afraid?"
"No, Princess."
"What makes you so discreet, then?"
But Mistoffelees was silent.
Jemima's sisters had seen here talking to the Star Gazer, and ridiculed her for it.
"What prevents your marrying him?" asked Princess Jenny. "You would become a gardener too; it is a charming profession. You could live in a cottage at the end of the park, and help your husband draw up water from the well, and bring us our bouquets."
The Princess Jemima was very angry, and when the Star Gazer presented her bouquet she received in a disdainful manner. Mistoffelees behaved most respectfully. He never raised his eyes to her, but nearly all day she felt him at her side without ever really seeing him.
One day she made up her mind to tell everything to her eldest sister. "What!" said Princess Jenny. "This rogue knows our secret and you never told me! I must not lose time in getting rid of him."
"But how?"
"Why by having hem taken to the tower with the dungeons, of course."
For this was the way in old times that beautiful princesses rid themselves of cats who knew too much. But the astonishing part of it was that the Princess Jemima did not seem to relish this method of stopping the mouth of the Star Gazer, who after all had said nothing to their father. They agreed to ask their ten sisters. Each was on the side of the Princess Jenny. Then Princess Jemima declared that if they laid a paw on the Star Gazer, she would herself go and tell their father the secret of the holes in their shoes.
At last it was decided that Mistoffelees should be put to the test; they would take him to the ball, and at the end of supper would give him the potion which was to enchant him like the rest. They sent for the Star Gazer and asked him how he had contrived to learn their secret, but still he remained silent. Then in commanding tones, Princess Jenny gave him the order they had agreed upon. He only answered, "I will obey."
He had been present, invisible, at the council of Princesses and had heard all. But he had made up his mind to drink the potion and sacrifice himself for the happiness of her he loved. Not wishing, however, to cut a poor figure at the ball by the side of the other dancers, he went at once to the laurels and said, "My beautiful rose laurel, with the golden rake I have raked you, with the golden bucket I have watered you, with the silken towel I have wiped you. Dress me like a prince."
A beautiful pink flower appeared. Mistoffelees plucked it, and in a moment found himself clothed in velvet which was as black as the eyes of Princess Jemima, with a cap to match, a diamond aigrette, and a blossom of the rose laurel in his buttonhole.
Thus dressed, he presented himself that evening before the Duke of Jellicle and obtained leave to try and discover his daughters' secret. He looked so distinguished that hardly anyone would have known who he was.
The twelve Princesses went upstairs to bed. Mistoffelees followed them and waited behind the open door till they gave the signal for departure. This time he did not cross in Princess Jemima's boat. He gave his arm instead to Princess Jenny, danced with each in turn and was so graceful that everyone was delighted with him. At last it came time to dance with Princess Jemima. She found him the best partner in the world, but he did not dare speak a single word to her. When he was taking her back to her place she said in a mocking voice, "Here you are at the summit of your wishes; you are being treated like a prince."
"Don't be afraid," replied the Star Gazer gently. "You shall never be a gardener's wife."
Princess Jemima stared at him with a frightened face, and he left her without waiting for an answer.
When the satin slippers were worn through, the fiddles stopped and they were at the banquet table, Mistoffelees was placed next to Princess Jenny and opposite Princess Jemima.
They gave him the most exquisite dishes to eat and the most delicate wines to drink; and in order to turn his head more completely, compliments and flattery were heaped on him from every side.
At last the Princess Jenny made a sign, and one of the pages brought in a large golden cup. "The enchanted castle has no further secrets for you," she said to the Star Gazer. "Let us drink to your triumph."
He cast a lingering glance at Princess Jemima and without hesitation lifted the cup.
"Don't drink!" the Princess Jemima suddenly cried out. "I would rather marry a gardener." And she burst into tears. Mistoffelees flung the contents of the cup behind him, sprang over the table, and fell at Jemima's feet. The rest of the Princes fell likewise at the knees of the Princesses, each of whom chose a husband and raised him to her side. The charm was broken.
The twelve couples embarked in the boats, which crossed back many times in order to carry over the other Princes. Then they all went through the three woods, and when they had entered the underground passage a great noise was heard as if the enchanted castle was crumbling to the earth.
They went straight to the room of the Duke of Jellicle, who had just awakened. Mistoffelees held in his paw the golden cup and he revealed the secret of the holes in the shoes. "Choose, then," said Duke Deuteronomy, "whichever one you prefer."
"My choice is already made," replied Mistoffelees, and he offered his hand to Princess Jemima, who blushed and lowered her eyes.
The Princess Jemima did not become a gardener's wife; on the contrary it was the Star Gazer who became a prince. But before the marriage ceremony Jemima insisted that Mistoffelees tell her how he came to discover the secret.
So he showed her the two laurels which had helped him, and she, being a prudent cat and thinking they gave him too much advantage over his wife, cut them off at the root and threw them into the fire.
And this why the country girls go about singing:
We won't go to the woods anymore,
The laurel trees are cut--
and dance in the summer by the light of the moon.
