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Read Ebook: The Wonderful Stories of Fuz-Buz the Fly and Mother Grabem the Spider by Mitchell S Weir Silas Weir
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Ebook has 563 lines and 21843 words, and 12 pages
"Oh mamma!" said one fat little spider, "It would be a shame to eat a thousand stories all at once. Let us keep him until he tells us nine hundred and ninety-nine tales, and then we can eat him afterwards."
"That I call good advice," cried Mrs. Grabem, and at once she fastened the cobweb so that poor Fuz-buz could walk just a little way from the web and no farther.
"And now," said she, "twice a day you must tell my children a story. But never let me find you trying to get away or I will eat you in a moment."
The young spiders could hardly wait.
"Quick!" they cried, "a story!" "a story!"
"What about?" replied Fuz-buz, glad to be spared.
"Oh about men, big men like Robert Bruce," said they, "and about a Princess too."
"Very well," returned Fuz-buz, "Don't eat me, and I will tell you no end of stories and the first shall be about
LADY GOLDEN HAIR AND HER TWO LOVERS, PRINCE CLEVER AND PRINCE STURDY.
"A long while ago, and far far away, a lady lived who had such beautiful locks that the people named her Lady Golden Hair. Folks said that when she was little, her fairy Godmother had so well woven three strands of sunshine with her curly tresses that it never got loose again, and I suppose this must have been so, because when at night she walked in the garden all the flowers woke up and looked about thinking the daylight had come.
"All day long her maidens combed her hair with combs of gold, and at evening sang to her of the beautiful Prince who would one day come across the seas and win her love for evermore.
"Many came and looked into her deep brown eyes, but none suited her, and so she shook her golden hair, and they went their ways again.
"At length her Father the King said she must make up her mind to marry somebody.
"The Princess said, 'I will marry no one who does not own a Roc's egg, and no one who has not kissed me, and no one who has not a lock of hair to show exactly like my own. And no one shall kiss me, and no one ever shall have a lock of my hair, and where on earth will any one get a Roc's egg? And so how shall I ever be married? No, I never will marry anybody.'
"At this her Father was in despair, but as he thought that perhaps some one might be bright enough to outwit the Princess, he caused it to be proclaimed everywhere that the Lady Golden Hair would marry the man who had kissed her, and who could show a lock of hair just like hers, and who owned a Roc's egg.
"When her lovers heard this they all cried and went away, except two who were named Prince Clever and Prince Sturdy.
"Prince Clever was handsome and tall, and very cunning, because he was a Sorcerer's son, but Prince Sturdy was brave and straightforward, and had honest eyes of his own which were brown as garnets and as steady as stars.
"Now when these two heard about the Princess, and what must be done to marry her, Prince Clever said, 'I am so cunning that I shall be sure to succeed;' but Prince Sturdy said, 'Thorns are roses to those who love! I will try.'
"When the Princess saw them she wished silently that Prince Sturdy might succeed; still she only said, 'How foolish you both must be. Do either of you own a Roc's egg?' and then she bade them good-bye and they kissed their hands to her and rode away by different paths till each of them entered a wood where they dismounted, and thought how to get a Roc's egg. 'Then,' said Clever, 'I see;' but Sturdy said, 'I will ride till I find one.'
"About a thousand miles away, across a great sea, lived a Roc who had just laid an egg as big as a house and as hard as marble. No one knew where she lived except a witch, to whose cave in a great hill Prince Clever rode swiftly.
"Because he was a Sorcerer's son the witch came out to speak to him. But, meanwhile, Prince Sturdy having become lost in the woods rode on, until at night-fall he heard voices.
"Then he alighted and clambered over the hill and lay quiet until he heard to his delight the witch telling Clever where to get the Roc's egg.
"Here he went on shore and sent the ship away. Then, drawing his sword, he climbed a great sand hill and after two days reached the top. There he saw in a mighty nest the great egg, as white and smooth as ivory.
"As soon as the Roc flew away to get her dinner the Prince came near and began to crack a big hole in the egg with his sword. Presently all the insides of the egg ran out of the hole and nearly drowned him. When it was well emptied and the whole of it had flowed away to the sea, the Prince put his bag of cakes into the egg, and then his sword, and at last squeezed himself in.
"He was just able to thrust his turban into the hole, when the Roc flew home to her nest.
"When she left her nest once more Sturdy made a nice little opening as big as a pea, so that he could just see through it. And what think you he saw?
"There were two ships on the sea, and Prince Clever with a hundred men. Very soon they came up the hill and began to push the egg and to heave it over with crow-bars and beams of wood, until it rolled to the edge of the sand heap. Then to Prince Sturdy's horror the egg began to turn over and over down the hill to the sea.
"Fast it went, and faster and faster, while Sturdy tumbled over and over, and was on his head one minute, and on his heels the next, till at last splash went the egg into the water and floated lightly on the rolling waves.
"Very soon the sailors tied a rope around the egg, and fastened the other end to their ships, and sailed away rejoicing.
"In this manner they sailed many weeks, until poor Sturdy had eaten his last cake and was nearly starved to death.
"When at last they came to land, the egg was hoisted on to a huge car, and a hundred horses drew it to the Palace of the Princess Golden Hair, while Prince Clever rode alongside as happy as could be.
"When the lady saw Clever and the egg she was ready to cry with vexation, because she knew there was only one Roc's egg in the world, and because Prince Clever had gotten it.
"Soon her father called her to welcome the Prince, and every one went to see the egg, while the music sounded and the people hurrahed for Prince Clever.
"As soon as he saw the lady he ran and knelt and said, 'Princess, here is my Roc's egg.'
"Then a voice was heard saying, 'No, it is mine!'
"'Who spoke?' said Clever.
"'I,' said the voice, 'It is mine!'
"But no one could tell where the voice came from.
"At last the Chief Magician cried aloud, 'Who dares to mock the King?'
"Then said the voice, 'Oh great Magician, who owns the house, he who lives in it, or he who looks at it?'
"'He who lives in it,' answered the Magician.
"'Then it is my egg,' said Sturdy, as he broke away the shell and stepped out of the hole in the side of the egg.
"'Ah,' said the lady to herself, 'what beautiful eyes he has.' But Prince Clever smote his breast, and the people hurrahed for Prince Sturdy.
"Meanwhile Sturdy knelt to the Lady. 'Ah,' said he, 'it is easy to live in a Roc's egg, or to storm a city for a Lady's love, but to kiss her and to find hair like thine, woe is me! How can these things be done?'
"As for Clever, he smiled, and said to himself, 'It is hard to bring a Roc's egg home, but to cheat a woman with a lock of hair and to steal a kiss is easy.'
"After Prince Clever had eaten and rested the two Princes kissed their hands to the lady and rode away once more to find a tress of hair which should be like that of the Princess.
"Now what did Prince Clever do to get the lady? He went into the country to see his fairy godmother and to ask her advice, and this was what she told him to do.
"He was to dress himself like a pedlar and was to take with him a beautiful great opal, and afterwards he was to do other things which presently you shall hear of.
"When the Fairy told him all these things he said, 'Ah Godmother, how shall I make my nose long and my mouth big and ugly so as to be like a real pedlar?'
"'Well my dear,' she replied, 'that is easy,' and so saying she put a forefinger into the two corners of his mouth and pulled it until one corner was under each ear.
"'I think that will do,' she said, 'and as to your nose, take a pinch of this snuff.'
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