CHILDREN'S CORNER.

Evening Star, Issue 11701, 6 October 1902, Page 8

CHILDREN'S CORNER.

A MODERN FArRY TALE THE LAST OF THE FAIRIES. The Fairy Queen, who was also the last of the fairies, lived in. the heart of a Thuringian forest. (The densest foitsta are usually to lw found in Thuringia.) Sometimes she visited her only friend, an old genie, who was guirdian of the earth's secrets. The genie had written" a ' Complete Genie's Handbook,' which was regarded &s an authoritative work. At sunrise the fairy went back to sleep in her own cave. Sometimes the old genie visited her there and examined hor collection of talismans, which hs criticised. On such occasions they exchanged talismans and other things, and for several centuries they carried on this peaceful method of doing husiness. At last one day the queen, who had no kingdom, went to her old friend, and said to him:

"Fve had enough of it. I'm going to travel."

" Arc yon serious?" the genie asked, apparently much surprised. ""Where will you

"• Straight in front of me," she answered. "In that way 1 shall certainly reach some goal. Moreover, I want to test my valuable property. I have Fortunatus's purse, which is always Ml, a carpet which Hies through space, the marvellous lamp, the wand which petrifies, tho ring wliich renders one invisible, and the encbitnted root which passes through walls, and .several other rare things. I confess that it is hard to keep all these things slowed away in one's cave, - ' " So you've made up your mind? "

"Yes." " Tlkcn, when shall we start? " he asked. " For you certainly did not think, that I would let you go alone? " " You are the dearest, old genie that wa« e\er born. We will start- to-morrow morning. Oh, how glad. I am! " The moment Aurora touched, the mountain tops with her rusiy fingers the. fairy started on her journey, accompanied by her old friend. Their luggage, borne by impalpable domestics, followed slowly at. a little distance. In a short time the travellers wore out of their cordial forest and were going towards the nearest town.

" Suppose we take a ride on the railway?" suggested the genie, who did not like walking. " Just- as you please, though I don't know what- a raiiway is," answered the fairy. They reached the nearest railway station. A train was announced, but when the locomotive appeared at. the mouth of the tunnel, pufling forth smoke and fire from its long neck, the fairy became frightened, fancying that it was the traditional dragon serpent which slus saw rising from the bowels of the earth, and before the genie was able to stop her she raised her wand Mid pronounced the formula which renders beings and tliingi-t motionless. The locomotive stopped at once, and with such suddenness that the passengers were thrown into each other's anns, with much bumping and bad language. When they heard the crash the two supernatural beings skipped off, and refrained from continuing their journey along the railway.- They travelled on the great roads towards the west, keeping soihcwhat towards the south. They asked for hopitalitv just aa though they were poor human beings without a home, and, bearing in mind their moral mission, they recompensed or punished according to the treatment they received. Now, the results of this distributive justice were quite different from what they had expected. At the first farm-house which the}' entered they were treated' so kindly that they considered themselves bound to show proper gratitude, and therefore in the morning, while the farmer and his family were still asleep, they placed on. the table in the dining room a bag filled with gold, and went their way.

The fanner, however, when he found this bag, was sure that he had harbored robbers, who had ;ulopted this method of getting rid of a portion of their l>ooty, and his wife exclaimed:

"That's what, comes of giving shelter to vagabonds! ] t shall nob happen again. But nor/ wc must take this money to -he magistrate, and that means a, whole day wasted."

Having been badly trexted in another farmhouse, the fairy and the genie revenged themselves by burning it. The consequence was that the next, day the farmer, a wealthy and wicked num. who was heavily insured, caused an inoffensive chimney sweep to be arrested.

They passed through th>?, towns and cities, and wherever they appeared they accomplished miracles, which surprised no one, since we moderns have found explanations for everything which formerly seemed extraordinary. The fairy grew angry at the indifference of men, for she wanted to astonish them.

" Let us go to Paris, - ' said her companion, '■ for there, yon will certainly make a sensation."

They finally reached, the gates of Paris, and they intended that their journey should end there.

" Now they will see some very improbable things," said the fairy, who was much excited. Suddenly, as they reached the outer boulevard, there passed before their eyes a carriage which was not drawn by any horse, and it was going so srwiftly that they could hardly distinguish its "Dear, me," cried the fairy. " There must be some witchcraft here, for this enchanted carriage has left behind it an atrocious smell.

She happened to look up then, and saw in the sky a long object which was making strange motions. It was the balloon of M. Santos-Dtimont. which had won the Deutscb prize. "Look!" cried the fairy. "There is a talisman which is quite as good as my carpet! Can it be possible that this is a city of sorcerers?" The travellers went- to a howl. A handsome young man, wearing a fine costume, conducted them into a small room. Then ho touched one of the walks, and straightway the room began to ascend, and speedily shot uj> past the various floors with wonderful facility. "What!" cried the fairy, addressing the handsome young man. "Is it possible thai you are a colleague of ours? Do you possess the marvellous root which enables one to pass through walls?" " Madame,' he replied, " I am the boy who, attends to the lift, and I have no marvellous plant.: neither has any of the other servants." The fairy, who has come to astonish the people of Paris, was actually stupefied. She was conducted to her apartment, and, as it was now dark, she prep;ired to light Aladdin's lamp, a magical operation which is somewhat complicated. The servant, however, by simply toucliing a button, at once produced a brilliant Light in the room. The fairy rushed into the next room, where the genie was beginning to make himself at home.

"My friend," she said, "this city is filled with fairies, enchintere, ;u>d magicians ; the lights light of themselves, the men fly iu the clouds, and the carriages go without horses. I fool quite uneasy." " So you axe already sorry that yon left your forest? What, did I tell you?" A cry uttered by the fairy interrupted him. With her finger she was pointing at the window.

At the other side of the street, on a level with the second story, a luminous image had just appeared. It first oscillated, then became animated, and the persons represented on it (suddenly manifested a singular and flickering life, moved hither and thither for several minutes, after which tho image disappeared. Quickly another image, in which there were also" animated persons, took its place, and in. this way the' strange performance continued, " It's extraordinary," said the fairy, who had never hoard of cinematography.

"Indeed it is," assented the geme. "I really do not see how they produce an enchanting scene like- that, but as soon.as I go home I will make, some experiments myself in the same direction."

They went .down to the salon, which was deserted at that "hour. While .looking for the illustrated papers tho "vfairy- Struck against a box, surmounted sort of copper vase, which seemed to be the shrine of an incomplete French bom, and straightway there camo from it in a, nasal voice the words: "New song, sung by M. Dranero. at the Eldorado," and then the song itself, 'Grief is foolish.'

Inexpressible terror seized the last of the fairies. „

"Help, genie—help!',' she cried. "There is an evil spirit in this box, who has rendered himself invisible, so that he maymock at us. Don't you hear him?" Thereupon the genie uttered the vrord which compels spirits to assume a tangible: form, but nevertheless the voice continued to announce that grief was foojish, and so forth. Finally, a waiter, attracted by the sound, entered, and said, as bo took the box away: "Permission must be obtained before the phonograph can be used,- as otherwise it would "get out of order." There were still other surprises in store for the fairy. Seeing the cashier talkin-g to a little wooden box, she conceived the idea of imitating her, and therefore she put the polished knobs to her ears, and crving -. "Hello, hello \ njr talked into tho little" box. After some seconds a rude voice in the distance sent back these words to her: "Are you going to be quiet, you idiot? You've been annoying us a full'hour." She could not bear to hear any more, but rushed out into the street, as distracted as though she had just heard the voice of the Evil One himself.

The genie had some trouble to find her. When he did find her she was standing hi ecstasy before a poorly-dressed man, who had on the pavement before Khn strange little beings endowed with an intermittent life, and at his will these dwarfs came and went until they were exhausted. The man then took them in his hand, and with the help of a string put life into them again. The last surprise came to them when they saw in a music hall a man accomplish a. thousand wonderful things, such as making various objects liko balls, playing cards, ■and hats disappear, and then other objects, such as aquaria, bouquets, and ribbons, appear, and who wound up by causing a shower of coins to fall on the stage and by juggling himself .out of the sight of the audience.

"It is impossible for us to compete with such persons as these," said the two miracle workers. "Let us go home." They spread out their miraculous carpeton the boulevard in the midst of a crowd of loungers, and, taking their seats on it, were swiftly borne homeward.