Etelka sat herself down on this stony rim, dipped her hands in the water and sprinkled a little on her hot forehead. A tall spear of feathery gra.s.s grew just by. Presently it began to bend and sway as if wind-blown, and dance lightly up and down before her face. She took no notice at first; then it occurred to her, as no wind was blowing anywhere else, it was odd that this particular gra.s.s-blade should be in such active motion.
"How queer," she said, looking hard at the gra.s.s-blade; "it seems to be alive!"
A shrill, small laugh echoed her words, and suddenly, as if her eyes had been magically opened to see, she became aware that a tiny shape in green, with a pointed cap on its head, was sitting upon the blade of gra.s.s and moving it to and fro with hand and foot. The little countenance under the cap was full of mischief and malice, and the bright eyes regarded her with a strange glee. Etelka knew instantly that her wish had come true, and that at last she was face to face with a veritable fairy.
"Oh!" was all she could say in her amazement.
"Well, stupid, do you know who I am?" asked the creature in a voice as shrill as its laugh.
"Yes, mein Herr," faltered Etelka.
"Here you have gone about all your days wishing you could see a fairy,"
continued the small creature, "and there we were close by all the time, and you never opened your eyes to look. How do you like me now you do see me?"
"Very much, Herr Fairy," replied Etelka, gaining courage. "I think you are beautiful."
The fairy seemed pleased at this compliment, which was evidently sincere.
"Thou art a good maiden enough, as maidens go," he said, accosting her more familiarly. "I have long had my eye on thee, Etelklein. I have sat up in the roof-thatch and heard Jocko and Hanserl scold and hector, and the mother order thee about, and I have noted that thou wast almost always kind and humble, and seldom answered them back again. Thou art neat-handed, too, and that we fairies think much of. Many a drink of good new milk have I had, which I should have missed hadst thou forgotten to scour the pail. So now in return I will do something for thee. Listen.
"Thou must know that each fairy of the _Boehmer-wald_ has the privilege once every hundred years of granting one wish to a mortal. All do not exercise it. Some crabbed ones do not like the human folk enough to be willing to do them a good turn, others again are too lazy or too pleasure-loving to go out of their way for the purpose. I am neither of these. Now, hearken. I will give thee the power that every time thou dancest a piece of gold shall lie under thy foot--or, instead of the gold, a flower shall spring up out of the ground; which wilt thou have?"
"Yes; which wilt thou have?" cried another sharp voice, and a second fairy appeared, out of the air as it were, and seated himself on the very tip of the gra.s.s-blade. "Don"t be in a hurry. Think a bit before you choose, Etelka. Why, child, what are you looking so scared about?"
For Etelka had grown pale, and had not been able to repress a little scream at this sudden apparition. She rallied her courage and tried to look brave, but her heart misgave her. Was the wood full of these unseen creatures?
"It is only my gossip," explained fairy number one. "Thimblerig is his name. Mine is Pertzal. He usually comes after me wherever I go. You needn"t be afraid of _him_. Now, gold-piece or flower--decide."
Etelka was in a whirl of confusion. It was dreadful to have to make up her mind all in a moment about such an important thing. Her thoughts flew to Sepperl of the Mill. He was fond of flowers, she knew; the mill garden was always full of blue flax, poppies, and lavender, and Sepperl spent all his spare hours in working over it. Suppose--suppose--the thing over which she had sometimes shyly glowed and blushed were to happen, how pleasant it would be to dance flowers all day long for Sepperl!
Then her mind reverted to the hut, to her mother and the boys, who were always craving after the luxuries of life which they could not have, and fiercely envying those who were better off than themselves. Would they not be happier and better and kinder for the gold which she had it in her power to give them? They would not forgive her if she lost such a chance, that she knew. And even so far as Sepperl went, gold never came amiss to a poor man"s door. So many things could be bought with it.
"One cannot eat flowers," said Etelka to herself with a sigh; yet still she hesitated, and her heart felt heavy within her.
"Choose," repeated the two fairies, each echoing the other.
"I choose the gold-piece," said Etelka. The fairy faces clouded over as she spoke, and she knew she had chosen wrong.
"Very well," said Pertzal, "have thy wish." He vanished as he spoke.
Etelka sat alone by the bubbling spring, and she rubbed her eyes and asked herself if it were not all a dream.
"I will put it to the test," she thought; and jumping up she began to dance beneath the trees, slowly and doubtfully at first, and then with swift and joyful bounds and steps, for as she danced, ever and anon upon the ground beneath her feet appeared a glittering coin. She danced so long that when at last she ceased she sank down exhausted. The beautiful yellow pieces lay thickly around her, some larger, some smaller, as if their size depended upon the vigor of her movements. She had never dreamed of such wealth before, and she gathered them up and tied them in the corner of her shawl, half-fearing they might turn to bra.s.s or pebbles; but when she neared home and looked at them again they were still gold.
Her mother was standing at the door with a black look on her face.
"Where hast thou been, thou idle baggage?" she demanded. "I drop asleep for one moment, and when I wake the fire is well-nigh out."
Etelka glanced at the setting sun. In her excitement she had not marked the flight of time. It was much later than she had supposed.
"I am sorry," she faltered. Then, to appease her mother"s anger, she untied the corner of her shawl and showed the fairy money.
"See what I have brought," she said; "they are all for thee."
The old woman fairly gasped in her surprise.
"Gold!" she cried, clutching the coins which Etelka held out. "Real gold! More than I ever saw before. Where didst get it, girl? Who gave it thee?"
"The fairies!" exclaimed Etelka joyfully. "And they taught me how to get more when we are again in need."
"Do you dare to make a mock of me?" screamed her mother, aiming a blow at her with the staff which she held in her hand. "Fairies indeed! A fine story! Tell the truth, hussy. Didst thou meet some count in the forest--or the landgrave himself?"
"I met n.o.body," persisted Etelka, "no one at all except the fairy and the other fairy, and it was they who gave me the gift."
Her mother"s staff descended with a whack on her shoulder.
"Get thee in," she said harshly. "Thou are lying." But she held fast to the gold all the same, and when Etelka"s back was turned she hid it secretly away.
So the first fruit of the fairy gift was a blow!
Later, when the father came back from the village, there was another scene of severity and suspicion. Neither of Etelka"s parents believed her story. They treated her like a culprit who will not confess his guilt. It was worse yet when her brothers returned the following day. In vain she wept and protested, in vain she implored them to believe her.
"It"s easy enough to talk," Jocko declared at last, "but to prove thy words is not so easy. If thou hast the power to dance gold-pieces into existence, why, face to work and dance! Then we shall know whether or not to believe thee."
Strange to say, this method of proving her veracity had not occurred to Etelka"s mind. After her troubled sleep and unhappy day she had begun to feel that the interview with the fairies was no more than a dream, and she scarcely ventured on the test, dreading that the strange gift bestowed upon her might have been withdrawn.
Slowly and fearfully she began to dance, while her family watched every movement with eyes of scornful incredulity. Suddenly Marc, uttering a great oath, stooped and picked up something from the hard-trodden earthen floor. It was a gold-piece!
"By Heavens!" he exclaimed, "the girl spoke true! or"--with a return of suspicion--"is it one of those she gave thee which thou hast dropped?"
turning to his mother.
But as Etelka, with heart suddenly grown lighter, went on bounding and twirling, one shining coin after another shone out on the floor beneath her feet, and with howls and screams of joy her relatives precipitated themselves upon them. It seemed as if they could never have enough. If Etelka paused to rest they urged her on.
"Dance thou!" they cried. "Dance, Etelklein, liebchen, susschen, darling of our hearts, do not stop! Keep on till we are all rich."
One hour, two, pa.s.sed, and still Etelka obeyed their eager behest and danced on. The boys" pockets, her father"s pouch, her mother"s lap were full, and yet they demanded more.
At last, quite worn out, she sank in a heap on the ground.
"I cannot take another step," she sighed.
"Oh, well," Jocko reluctantly admitted, "that may do for to-night.
To-morrrow we will have some more of it."
From that day all was changed for the family in the forest hut. Every one, except Etelka, fell to work straightway to squander the fairy gold.
The sons made expeditions to the distant town, and came back laden with goods of the most incongruous kinds,--silks, velvets, tobacco, gold-embroidered caps, bonbons, carved pipes, gayly painted china, gilt clocks, toys of all descriptions; anything and everything which had pleased their untutored fancy. The father and mother smoked all day long, till the air of the hut was dense and stifling. Brandy and _kirsch-wa.s.ser_ flowed in streams. Etelka alone profited nothing from the fairy gift. To be sure she had her share of the dainties which the others devoured, and her brothers now and then tossed her a ribbon or a brightly colored handkerchief; but for these she did not much care, and her liberty, for which she did care, was greatly abridged. No longer was she suffered to wander at will in the forest. She had become too precious for that. Something might happen to her, they all declared, a bear or a wolf might come along and attack her, or she might slip and sprain her ankle, which, so far as they were concerned, would be just as bad! No, Etelka must run no risks; she must stay at home, and be ready to dance for them whenever they needed her.
The slender limbs grew very weary, and the heart which gave them life was often heavy, as time went on, and more and more gold was needed to satisfy the exactions of her family. Money easily won is still more easily spent. The fairy gold melted fast in the rapacious fingers which clutched it. Soon--for appet.i.te grows by what it feeds upon--the little hut no longer sufficed the growing ambition of Etelka"s brothers. It was too poor, too lonely, too everything, they declared; they must all remove to Budweis or Linz; the city was the only fit place for people to live in who had money to spend.