Adventure stories; Children -- Conduct of life -- Juvenile fiction; Children's stories; Fantasy literature; Short stories
'Young man,' said Diggory, 'you may take one of them; its name is
Invicta.'
The young man could hardly believe his fortunate ears. Diggory felt his
heart warm to think that he had made someone else so happy. He felt
actually younger. And next morning he made up his mind to give away all
the horses but one. That one he would sell, and its price would keep him
for the rest of his life: he hoped that would not be long, for he did
not care to go on living now that he had seen the tombstones in the
churchyard with the names of his father and brothers and little Joyce of
the mill.
He led his horses away next day. He did not want to give them all away
in one village, because that would have lessened the value of his gift
to the young man who was going into fish, and, besides, it would have
been awkward to have so many horses of the same name in one village.
He gave away a horse at each village he passed through, and with every
horse he gave away he felt happier and lighter. And when he had given
away the fourth his rheumatism went, and when he had given away the
seventh his beard was gone.
'Now,' he said to himself, 'I will ride home and end my days in my own
village, and be buried with my own people.'
So he turned his horse's head towards home, and he felt so gay and
light-limbed he could hardly believe that he was really an old, old man.
And he rode on.
And at the end of the village he stopped and rubbed his eyes, for there
stood the Round Mound windmill, and on the slope was Joyce, looking
prettier than ever in a russet petticoat and a white neckerchief and a
pink print gown with little red rosebuds on it.
'Oh, Diggory, Diggory,' she cried, 'you've come back, then! You'll take
me with you now, won't you?'
'Have you got a looking-glass, my dear?' said he. 'Then run in and fetch
it.'
She ran. He took it and looked in it. And he saw the same young brown
face and the same bright brown hair that he had always known for _him_,
and he was not old any more. And there was Joyce holding up a face as
sweet as a bunch of flowers.
'Will you take me?' said she.
He stooped down and kissed the face that was so sweet.
'I'll take you,' said he.
And as they went along to his home he told her all the story.
'Well, but,' she said, 'you've got one wish-apple left.'
'Why, so I have,' said he; 'if I hadn't forgotten it!'
'We'll make that into the fortune you went out to find. Do, do let me
look at it!'
He pulled out the apple, and she took it in her hand as she sat behind
him on the big white horse.
'Yes, our fortune's made,' he said; 'but I do wish I knew why I turned
old like that.'
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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