Andrew Lang_Fairy Book 03 Read Online Free Page A

informed of all her doings.
    Poor Fiordelisa, who guessed she was sent as a spy, was in
despair, and cried bitterly that she dared not see her dear Blue
Bird for fear that some evil might happen to him if he were
discovered.
    The days were so long, and the nights so dull, but for a whole
month she never went near her little window lest he should fly to
her as he used to do.
    However, at last the spy, who had never taken her eyes off the
Princess day or night, was so overcome with weariness that she
fell into a deep sleep, and as son as the Princess saw that, she
flew to open her window and cried softly:
    'Blue Bird, blue as the sky,
Fly to me now, there's nobody by.'
    And the Blue Bird, who had never ceased to flutter round within
sight and hearing of her prison, came in an instant. They had so
much to say, and were so overjoyed to meet once more, that it
scarcely seemed to them five minutes before the sun rose, and the
Blue Bird had to fly away.
    But the next night the spy slept as soundly as before, so that
the Blue Bird came, and he and the Princess began to think they
were perfectly safe, and to make all sorts of plans for being
happy as they were before the Queen's visit. But, alas! the third
night the spy was not quite so sleepy, and when the Princess
opened her window and cried as usual:
    'Blue Bird, blue as the sky,
Fly to me now, there's nobody nigh,'
    she was wide awake in a moment, though she was sly enough to keep
her eyes shut at first. But presently she heard voices, and
peeping cautiously, she saw by the moonlight the most lovely blue
bird in the world, who was talking to the Princess, while she
stroked and caressed it fondly.
    The spy did not lose a single word of the conversation, and as
soon as the day dawned, and the Blue Bird had reluctantly said
good-bye to the Princess, she rushed off to the Queen, and told
her all she had seen and heard.
    Then the Queen sent for Turritella, and they talked it over, and
very soon came to the conclusion than this Blue Bird was no other
than King Charming himself.
    'Ah! that insolent Princess!' cried the Queen. 'To think that
when we supposed her to be so miserable, she was all the while as
happy as possible with that false King. But I know how we can
avenge ourselves!'
    So the spy was ordered to go back and pretend to sleep as soundly
as ever, and indeed she went to bed earlier than usual, and
snored as naturally as possible, and the poor Princess ran to the
window and cried:
    'Blue Bird, blue as the sky,
Fly to me now, there's nobody by!'
    But no bird came. All night long she called, and waited, and
listened, but still there was no answer, for the cruel Queen had
caused the fir tree to be hung all over with knives, swords,
razors, shears, bill-hooks, and sickles, so that when the Blue
Bird heard the Princess call, and flew towards her, his wings
were cut, and his little black feet clipped off, and all pierced
and stabbed in twenty places, he fell back bleeding into his
hiding place in the tree, and lay there groaning and despairing,
for he thought the Princess must have been persuaded to betray
him, to regain her liberty.
    'Ah! Fiordelisa, can you indeed be so lovely and so faithless?'
he sighed, 'then I may as well die at once!' And he turned over
on his side and began to die. But it happened that his friend the
Enchanter had been very much alarmed at seeing the Frog chariot
come back to him without King Charming, and had been round the
world eight times seeking him, but without success. At the very
moment when the King gave himself up to despair, he was passing
through the wood for the eighth time, and called, as he had done
all over the world:
    'Charming! King Charming! Are you here?'
    The King at once recognised his friend's voice, and answered very
faintly:
    'I am here.'
    The Enchanter looked all round him, but could see nothing, and
then the King said again:
    'I am a Blue Bird.'
    Then the Enchanter found him in an instant, and seeing his
pitiable condition, ran