A VISIT TO FROGLAND.

New Zealand Mail, 3 December 1896, Page 69

A VISIT TO FROGLAND.

A FAIRY TALE.

[By Cheis. Dahl.]

Little Alfey Header was a good little boy, otherwise the fairies would not have taken any interest in him, for the fairies take notice only of good children. His mother had given him leave to play on the paddocks adjoining the house, but as it was rather late in the afternoon she told him not to go too far away. So Alfey had run out, blithe and happy, to play in the paddocks. At the bottom of one of the paddocks was a little swamp, and he loved to sit by the side of this swamp and watch the water spiders running over the top of the water, or the little fish swimming about near the edge, or the kingfishers darting from their perch on the old dead tree and skimming over the surface of the water, and then swiftly rising in the air and returning to their resting place. So Alfey ran to the swamp, and sat down at it 3 side to rest himself awhile and watch the spiders, and the fish, and the kingfishers.- It was a glorious afternoon ; the sun was very warm, but Alf sat with his back against the stem of a little bush that grew near by the swamp, and its leaves shaded him from the heat. The shadow of the buGh was thrown on the water, for the sun was well down in the west, and a soft breeze made tiny wavelets on the water, and waved the green reeds to and fro till they seemed to be nodding one to the other. Alfey had sat there a long while, when suddenly he noticed a little man—such a tiny fellow, no taller than the span of a man’s hand—walking towards him. Alf did not know where he came from, but he seemed to have come from the swamp. When the little man came quite near he Stopped, and, looking up at the boy, said : “Hello! What are you doing here? What’s your name ?" “ My name is Alfey Meaner, and I’m only sitting here watching the spiders and the fish.”

“Do you like watching them?” he asked. “ Yes, very much,” Alfey replied. “ They are so pretty. But what’s your name ?” “ My name is Prince Silvertop,” the little fellow answered proudly. “ I come from ' Fairyland, and I’ve just been down having a look at the band.” “ The band !’ ejaculated Alfey in surprise. “ What band ?” “Dear me!/’ replied Prince Silvertop; “haven’t you ever heard of the frog band. It’s lovely music. I was down just now telling them that they would be required to practise to-night at sundown. The Queen wishes it." “ The Queen! What Queen ? ’ asked Alfey. “ Tut, tut 1 The Queen of the Fairies, of course. But the band are going to practise soon. Would you like to see them playing ?" “ Yes, very much. Shall I come now ?’’ “ Well, I forgot you were so big. But I can soon make that right. Close your eyes for a minute or two.’’ Then as Alfey closed his eyes he heard the little man saying : “ Tell it well— The magic spell— Short made tall, Tall made small. Anything and everything Is done by fairies with the ring."

“ Now open your eyes," be said, and as

Alfey opened his eyes he saw his friend the Prince offering him a ring. “Put this on your finger,” he said, “ and then repeat after me what I say to yon. That is a magic ring, and those fairies who possess it can do anything with it. Now say after me this rhyme—

‘ I want to be small, Though I am so tall.’

and keep on saying it till I tell you to stop.” So Alfey said it over and over again after lie had put the ring on his linger, and then a wonderful thing happened. While he was still repeating the rhyme he saw the ground coming up towards him, and everything seemed to be growing larger. The trees became taller, and the grass grew till it reached right up to his waist, while his friend Prince Silvertop had now grown as tall as himself. For a little while Alfey could not understand it, till at last the truth dawned upon him that he had grown smaller—as small as the fairy—and that the trees and the grass had not any larger at all. As soon as Alfey was as small as Prince Silvertop the fairy called out “ Stop 1” and asked him to return the ring. He wrapped it carefully up in a leaf and put it in the pocket of his gorgeous coat. Then, turning to Alfey, he said : *

“ Come now and hear the band. We’ll have to hurry, though, or we shall be late. See, the sun is nearly down.” 80 Alfey walked along with Prince Silvertop towards the swamp, which appeared to him like a great lake, while the reeds were as tall as trees and the fish looked nearly as long as himself. “Here we are,” at last said the fairy Prince; ,f this is the entrance to Frogland and he pushed aside some long grass, and then Alfey saw stretching before him a bridge made of stones projecting out of the water on which reeds had been placed, and then covered with leaves. Over this Alfey and his guide walked, till at last Prince Silvertop said, “ This is Frogland,” and in front of him Alfey saw a great open space surrounded by tall trees (which were in reality only small shrubs), and here were gathered together thousands and thousands of frogs—frogs of all sizes, some green, some turning yellow from old age. In the middle was a patch of muddy ground—all the ground was damp, in fact—surrounded by water, and on this patch were a lot of frogs dressed in yellow jackets made of autumn Jeares, and each haripg a little trumpet,

Just as Alfey had noticed these frogs, and was going to ask Prince Silvertop what they were, a big beetle flew clumsily up and alighted on the Prince’s shoulder; To Alfey’s surprise he heard the beetle say: “ The Queen wants the band to play at sundown.” Alfey did not know that beetles could talk, for he had never heard one .speak before. Prince Silvertop walked towards the leader of the band, who had a piece of grass for a baton, and said to him with a graceful bow •• “ The Queen of the Fairies desires me to say That she wishes the frog band now to play." To which the leader of the band made answer:

“ We, subjects of her majesty, Obey her wish most readily."

Then, turning to the band, he said, raising his baton in the air :

“ Observe me now : When I beat three All blow your trumpets lustily." Alfey watched him breathlessly. One ! Two 1 Three ! and at the third beat all the frogs in the yellow jackets put their trumpets to their mouths and blew loudly. Alfey was expecting to hear music like that of the band his father had once taken him to hear, but, instea l of sweet strains of melody, be heard the croak of the frogs, and it sounded as though they were saying together in measured time, to the beating of the conductor’s baton—“ Pints quarts, pints —quarts, pints—quarts 1” The Prince turned to Alfey after listening to the frog band for some time, and said :

“ Isn’t it lovely ! I could stay here all night listening to them. What do you think of the music ?” “I—l didn’t know it was music,” answered Alfey nervously. “ I have always heard people call it frogs’ croaking when they heard that noise.’’

“ Mortals always misname everything,” said Prince Silvertop contemptuously. “But there, I suppose it is not your fault that you do not like the music—it is your misfortune. We must get along, though, for I have a lot to do before morning.”

Together they wended their way again along the swamp path, and when they got back to the place where Alfey had sat down to rest the fairy pulled out the ring from his pocket and told Alfey to put it on his finger, and say over and over again

“ I want to be tall Though I am so small."

Alfey did so, and immediately he commenced growing larger, tiil at last he regained his mortal size. “ Well,” said Prince Silvertop as he put the ring in his pocket again,. “ I hope you have enjoyed yourself.” “Oh ! I have really ! Thank you so much, dear Prince,’’replied Alfey. He was going to thank him again, when the fairy suddenly disappeared, and Alfey heard his father loudly calling his name. “ Here I am, father,’’ he shouted, running towards him.

“ Where have you been all this time ? Your mother and I have been quite alarmed at your absence." “ Oh, I am so sorry I” said Alfey, the tears springing to his eyes. “I have been with Prince Silvertop to see Frogland, father.”

“ Been where ?” inquired Mr Mearder.

And then Alfey toljl him about the things he had seen, but his father only said : “ You have been asleep, my boy, and dreamed all those things,” and when Alfey told him that he had not been asleep, but had really been with Prince Silvertop to Frogland, he only laughed. But of course that is what grown-up people alwajs do, except those who have seen the fairies when they were children.