Prince Goldenheart.

Otago Witness, Issue 1832, 31 December 1886, Page 11

Prince Goldenheart.

(Specially written for the Witness New Year Number of ISS7.)

Fob the Children.

By E, HUDSON.

oor— — - r

T was a wild winter night; the winds were out, and they went roaring across the- country, whirling the snow in blinding clouds before them. But for neither wind nor enow did toe King and Queen and Prince Goldenheart caro a wbit. They were snug and warm by the fire in the palace hall, roasting :•, , apples and telling stories. But suddenly they all paused to listen; someone ' was-knocking at the door. . Prince Goldenheart sprang up : ' Who knocks bo late on such a night? 1 he cried. And a faint voice replied, ' Open, for the lore ' of charity ; lam old and feeble, and can walk - no farther.'

Then cried the King : ' Open ; if it were but ■ a dog that asksd shelter to-night, I would not ' turn him away.' Bo the Prince opened the door, and there entered an old, old man, whose hair and beard were white as the snow that covered them. He leaned for support on a stout staff, and over his shoulders hmrg a small harp. ' Kindly Prince Goldenheart brushed the snow ' off the old man's garments, and led him to a ' seat by the fire. And when he had eaten and drunk and rested a while, the graceful harper took his harp, and :■ Bang to amuse bis hosts,; And all his song was of nothing else but the beauty and the misfortunes of the enohauted princess of the marble palace, whom the great wizird kept locked up bahind a wall as high as a mountain, as hard as iron, and. as smooth as glass, and : without a single gate, so that none might break through to rescue the poor princess. Now, as tbi harper sang, Prince Goldenheart eat erect, listening to every word ; and when at last the song was finished, he rose and smote his hands together. * Listen, all of you,' he frid. ' I will find that enchanted princes and. fttt bor few, o* wi?J ijje. Jo the «tt«nj»t?

Then were the King and Queen very sorrowful.

'Alas! my son,' said the King; 'you know not what you say. When I was young, I too thought it would be in truth a noble deed to free that unhappy maiden, but the way was so long and perilous that I turned back in despair. And, after all, she is not so very beautiful aa men say ; rest you at home content, with your mother and me.'

But Prince Goldenheart shook his head. ' Nover can I rest content while she remains a a p isoner,' he Raid. ' But listen !' said the Harper ; ' the great wizard has put so many dangers in the way that it is impossible one can pass them all. First you come io the f rczan land, where it is so cold that the breath freezes on one's lips. The snow there is aB hard as iron, and the (great blue and green icebergs rest on a sea that is ever frozsn. Sleep you must, for tho cold freta^s one's eyelids, and if once you sleep, never will you awaken, but be .changed by the wizard into a statue of ice.'

' Wall,' said the Prince,.' but what pext ?' 'Next,' said the Hat per, 'you come to the Labyrinth.'

'What is a labyrinth?' asked the Prince, whose education was not finished.

' It is a great forest,' said the Harper, ' the paths of which wind round and round, and in and out, and never come to an end ; so that one might walk there for ever, and never find his way out of the foreßt.' 'Well,' said the Prinoe again; 'but what afterward ?'

' Afterward,' answered the Harper, ' you come lo the Land of Wild Beasts.'

The Prince rubbed bis hands, for he loved hunting. ' And after that ?' ' After that,' said the Harper, ' you come to the Land of Darkness. There neither sun, nor moon, nor star can shine : and bo, being unable to see the path, the unhappy traveller wanders about till he falls over some precipice, or into some quagmire, and is destroyed.' 'One might light a torch,' suggested the Prince.

' Not so,' said the Harper ; ' for the trees of that wood are enchanted and will not burn.'

' Well,' said the Piinoe ; ' but what next ?' • Next you come to the Pleasant Land.' ' Ah, ah !' cried the Prince ; ' then my troubles will be over.'

• Not so,' said the Harper, gravely. ' Many have passed safely through all the dangers I have described, only to be lost at last here.'

* What ! is the Pleasant Land dangerous too ?' ' Doubly dangerous, because you are off your guard. Here tho skies are blue and sunny, the air warm, and laden with a thousand sweet scents ; the most beautiful flowers line the pathway, while all kinds of delicious fruits load the trees. The rivers here run wine instead of water, while heaps of gold, and silver, and precious Btones lie scattered abroad, glittering in the sunlight.' 'In all this,' said the Prince, ' I see no danger.'

' Yet it is there,' said the Harper solemnly. ' You will be continually tempted to leave the path, just a stop or two, to pluck a flower, or gather a handful of gold, or stoop to drink of the sparkling river. But baware— the great wizard iB ever on the watch — if you leave the path you will fall asleep among tha flowers, and be transformed into & butterfly ; or you wil), by picking up the wizard's treasures, become his slave ; or you will fall into tho river, and be changed into a beast. And then, never may you hope to reach the marble palace, and free the enchanted princess.'

' Well,' said the Prince, ' but if I esoape these perils, what comes next ?' ' Then you will be at your journey's end, for as you leave the Pleasant Land you will see the preat wall of the palace shining before you. But there is not a gate in it anywhere at all, and how to get through it I cannot tell you, for I do not know.'

So Prince Goldenheart kept silence, looking into the fire ; but at last he said, ' I will go.' Then were the King and Queenmoresorrowful still, for they knew that if he went bo would never return. But they dared not try to keep him, for they knew it was right he should go. So the Queen hung round his neck a heart-shaped locket of gold, and hade him wear it always for her sake ; while the King gave him a chart of the way, wherein was a description of each of the countries through which ho must pass, with directions as to how he was to act in every difficulty ; and tho Harper bestowed upon him a compass. After which they kissed him, and blessed him, and let him go..