The Fairy Tales of Charles PerraultPerrault, Charles
General
The Fairy Tales of Charles Perrault
Perrault, Charles
Fairy tales
They went into the great hall of looking-glasses, where they supped,
and were served by the Princess's officers; the violins and hautboys
played old tunes, but very excellent, tho' it was now above a hundred
years since they had been played; and after supper, without losing any
time, the lord almoner married them in the chapel of the castle, and
the chief lady of honour drew the curtains. They had but very little
sleep; the Princess had no occasion, and the Prince left her next
morning to return into the city, where his father must needs have been
anxious on his account. The Prince told him that he lost his way in
the forest, as he was hunting, and that he had lain at the cottage of
a collier, who gave him cheese and brown bread.
The King his father, who was of an easy disposition, believed him; but
his mother could not be persuaded this was true; and seeing that he
went almost every day a-hunting, and that he always had some excuse
ready when he had laid out three or four nights together, she no
longer doubted he had some little amour, for he lived with the
Princess above two whole years, and had by her two children, the
eldest of which, who was a daughter, was named Aurora, and the
youngest, who was a son, they called Day, because he was even
handsomer and more beautiful than his sister.
The Queen said more than once to her son, in order to bring him to
speak freely to her, that a young man must e'en take his pleasure; but
he never dared to trust her with his secret; he feared her, tho' he
loved her; for she was of the race of the Ogres, and the King would
never have married her, had it not been for her vast riches; it was
even whispered about the court, that she had Ogreish inclinations, and
that, whenever she saw little children passing by, she had all the
difficulty in the world to refrain from falling upon them. And so the
Prince would never tell her one word.
But when the King was dead, which happened about two years afterwards;
and he saw himself lord and master, he openly declared his marriage;
and he went in great ceremony to fetch his Queen from the castle. They
made a magnificent entry into the capital city, she riding between her
two children.
Some time after, the King went to make war with the Emperor
Cantalabutte, his neighbour. He left the government of the kingdom to
the Queen his mother, and earnestly recommended to her care his wife
and children. He was like to be at war all the summer, and as soon as
he departed, the Queen-mother sent her daughter-in-law and her
children to a country-house among the woods, that she might with the
more ease gratify her horrible longing.
[Illustration: "'I WILL HAVE IT SO,' REPLIED THE QUEEN, 'AND WILL EAT
HER WITH A SAUCE ROBERT'"]
Some few days afterwards she went thither herself, and said to her
clerk of the kitchen:
"I have a mind to eat little Aurora for my dinner to morrow."
"Ah! Madam," cried the clerk of the kitchen.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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