Thoroughly disheartened, they seated themselves on a bench in the doorway to rest. After a little while they noticed a number of swallows collected together under the eaves of the roof, and as these birds are such chatter-boxes, they began to prattle with one another.
Having learned the language of birds, the children knew what the swallows said.
"Holloa! my lady friend," said one of the birds, who had a somewhat rustic air about it, to another that was of a very elegant and distinguished mien, "my eyes are glad to see you once more! I thought you had forgotten your country friends. How do you live in the palace?"
"I possess the nest of my ancestors," replied the other, "and as yet they have not disinherited me, although, like yours, it is a century old. But tell me before all," continued she with admirable finesse, "how you and all your family are."
"Well, thank heaven, for although I have had my little Mariguita laid up with an inflammation of the eyes that was within an ace of leaving her blind, when I obtained our old remedy, the _pito-real_, it cured her as if by magic."
"But what news have you to relate to me, friend Beatrice? Does the nightingale still sing well? Does the lark soar as high as of yore?
Does the linnet still prune itself?"
"Sister," responded the swallow, "I have nothing but downright scandals to tell you of. Our flock, which formerly was so innocent and temperate, is utterly lost, and has quite taken to the manners of mankind. It is heartbreaking!"
"What! Simple customs and innocence not to be found in the country, nor among birds? My dear friend, what do you tell me?"
"The pure truth and nothing more. Just figure to yourself that on our arrival here, whom should we meet but those chattering linnets, who went off in search of cold and storm when the spring came with long days and bright flowers! We tried to dissuade the crazy creatures, but they answered us with the utmost insolence."
"What did they say?"
"They said to us--
"Whither do we go?
Whence come _you_, gossips, Who travel so little And talk so much?"
This was their reply to us, and on hearing it, we made them march to double-quick time."
"What do I hear!" exclaimed the interlocutor. "That any one has dared to accuse us, the most truthful and discreet of birds, of being gossips?"
"Then what will you think when I tell you," said the first speaker, "that the lark, who was so timid and ladylike, has become an insolent pilferer, and that--
The lady lark upon her flight Pilfers pulse and pilfers maize Before the very sower"s sight, And at his anger pertly says, "Sower, sower, more seed sow, As that sown can never grow"?"
"I am astounded!"
"That is only half my story. When we arrived here, and I wished to enter my nest, I found a shameless sparrow making himself quite at home in it. "This nest is mine," I said to him. "Yours?" he answered rudely, and began to laugh. "Mine and mine only." "Property is robbery," piped he quite coolly. "Sir, are you crazy?" I said to him.
"My ancestors built this nest, my parents educated me in it, and in it I mean to bring up my children." Then at seeing me fainting, all my companions began to weep. By the time I recovered my consciousness; our husbands had put an end to the thieving rascal. But you, sister, never see such scandals in the palace."
"Don"t we! Ah, if you only knew!"
"Do tell us! do tell us!" exclaimed all the swallows with one voice.
When silence had been re-established, thanks to a loud and prolonged hus-s-s-sh, uttered by an elder, the court dame began her story in these terms.
"You must know that the king fell in love with the youngest daughter of a tailor who lived near the palace, and married her; the girl deserved his love, for she was as good as she was beautiful, and as modest as she was discreet. It so happened that the king had to go to the wars and leave his poor wife in the saddest and most perplexed position, for his ministers and courtiers who were very indignant at having a tailor"s daughter for their queen, conspired to ruin her. And they availed themselves of the first opportunity. During the king"s absence beautiful twins were born, a boy and a girl; but the wicked conspirators sent to tell him that the queen had for children a cat and a serpent.
"When the king received this intelligence, he was furious and sent off a royal mandate that the queen should be entombed alive, and the children cast into the river. This was done: the beautiful queen was shut up in a stone vault, and her little darling twins were placed in a crystal coffer, and left to the mercy of the stream."
When they heard the fate of the poor queen and her innocent babes, the swallows, who are very kind and affectionate, began to lament most heartily, whilst the twins looked at each other in amazement, suspecting it to be very probable that they themselves were the castaway children.
The city swallow continued her narrative:
"But now hear how G.o.d frustrated the plots of these traitors. The queen was entombed; but her attendant, who was very devoted to her, contrived to make a hole in the wall, and supplied her with food through it, as we do to our little ones through our nests, and thus the lady lives, although a life of misery. Her children were rescued by a good fisherman, who has brought them up, so a friend of mine, Martin Fisher, who lives on the banks of the river, has informed me."
The twins, who had heard the whole story, were delighted that they had learned the language of birds; which indeed, is a proof that we should never neglect any opportunity of learning for, when least we think it, what we have learned may prove of great utility to us.
"So then," said the swallows joyfully, "when these children are older, they will be able to regain their place at their father"s side, and liberate their mother."
"That is not so easy," said the narrator, "because they will not be able to prove their ident.i.ty, nor prove their mother"s innocence, nor the malice of the Ministry. There is only one method by which they would be able to undeceive the king."
"And what is that? What is that?" cried all the swallows together.
"And how do you know it?"
"I know it," responded the narrator, "because one day when I was pa.s.sing by the palace garden, I met and had a chat with a cuckoo, who, as you know, is a conjuror, and can foretell what will happen. As we were discoursing with each other on the affairs of the palace, he said to me--"
The children and the swallows were listening now with redoubled attention, and even the young swallows were thrusting their little bald heads so far out of their nests, that they were in great peril of falling.
""The only one who is able to persuade the king," said the cuckoo to me, "is the Bird of Truth, who speaks the language of men, although they for the most part do not know truth, and do not wish to understand it." "And this bird, where is it?" I asked the cuckoo.
"This bird," he answered, "is in the castle of Go and Return Not; the castle is guarded by a ferocious giant who only sleeps one quarter of an hour in the day. If when he wakes up any one should be within reach of his tremendous arm, he seizes and swallows him as we should a mosquito.""
"And where is this castle?" inquired the inquisitive Beatrice.
"That is what I do not know," responded her friend; "all that I know about it is, that not far from it is a tower in which dwells a wicked witch, who knows the way and will point it out to any one who will bring her from the fountain that flows there, the Water of Many Colours, which water she makes use of in her enchantments. But I should also tell you that she would like to destroy the Bird of Truth, though as no one is able to kill this bird, what she and her friend, the giant, do is to keep it a prisoner guarded by the Birds of Falsehood who will not let it speak a single word."
"Then will n.o.body be able to inform the poor queen"s son where they have hidden the Bird of Truth?" inquired the country swallows.
"n.o.body," replied the city bird, "but a pious red owl, who lives as a hermit in the desert, but who knows no more of the language of men then the word "Cross," which he learned when, at Calvary, he beheld the Crucifixion of the Redeemer, and which he has never ceased from sorrowfully repeating. And thus he will not be able to understand the prince, even supposing the impossible event should ever happen of the boy finding him out. But, my dear friends, I must say good-bye, for I have spent the whole afternoon in this pleasant chat. The sun is seeking his nest in the depths of the sea, and I am going to seek mine, where my little ones will be wondering what has happened to me.
Good-bye, friend Beatrice."
So saying, the swallow took to flight, and the children in their joy, feeling neither hunger nor fatigue, got up and pursued their way in the same direction that the bird had flown.
At the hour of evening service the children arrived at a city which they imagined must be that in which the king, their father, dwelt.
They begged a good woman to give them shelter for the night, and this, seeing they were so well-spoken and well-mannered, she kindly granted.
The following morning had scarcely dawned when the girl arose and tidied the house, and the boy drew the water and watered the garden, so that when the good woman got up she found all the housework done.
She was so pleased with this that she proposed to the children that they should remain and live with her. The boy said that his sister might, but that it was necessary for him to arrange some business matters, for which he had come to the city. So he departed, and followed a chance road, praying to heaven to guide his steps and bring his enterprise to a successful ending.
For three days he followed various byways, but without seeing any vestige of the tower; on the fourth, sad and weary he seated himself under the shadow of a tree. After a short time he saw a little turtle-dove arrive and rest among the branches of the tree; so he said to it in its own language:
"Little turtle-dove, I wish you could tell me where the castle of Go and Return Not is?"
"Poor boy," responded the turtle-dove, "who bore you such ill-will as to send you there?"
"It is my good or my evil fortune," replied the boy.
"Then if you wish to know it," said the bird, "follow the Wind, which to-day blows toward it!"
Then the boy thanked the turtle-dove and recommenced his journey, following the course of the wind as it changed and chopped about to different points of the compa.s.s. The country gradually grew sadder and more arid; and, as night approached, the path led between bare and sombre rocks, a vast black ma.s.s among them being the tower wherein dwelt the witch whom the boy was in search of. The sight of the hideous place terrified him at first; but as he was brave--like every one whose aim is the furtherance of a good work--he advanced boldly.
When he reached the tower, he picked up a big stone and struck the gate with it three times; the hollows of the rocks reverberated with the sounds, as if sighs were uttered from their very entrails.
Then the door opened, and there appeared in the doorway an old woman carrying a candle that lit up her face, which was so wrinkled and so frightful that the poor boy recoiled in horror. Quite an army of beetles, lizards, salamanders, spiders and other vermin surrounded the witch.