The Light Princess and Other Fairy StoriesMacDonald, George
General
The Light Princess and Other Fairy Stories
MacDonald, George
Children's stories, English; Fairy tales; Fairy tales -- Great Britain; Short stories
"But how can we do that?" said Buffy. "The bag is not much bigger than
a pudding-bag."
"But it is as large as you will be able to carry."
"Yes; but what are we to do with the heart?"
"Put it in the bag, to be sure. Only, first, you must squeeze a drop
out of the other bag upon it. You will see what will happen."
"Very well; we will do as you tell us," said Tricksey-Wee. "And now, if
you please, how shall we go?"
"Oh, that's our business," said the first spider. "You come with me,
and my grandfather will take your brother. Get up."
So Tricksey-Wee mounted on the narrow part of the spider's back, and
held fast. And Buffy-Bob got on the grandfather's back. And up they
scrambled, over one web after another, up and up--so fast! And every
spider followed; so that, when Tricksey-Wee looked back, she saw a
whole army of spiders scrambling after them.
"What can we want with so many?" she thought; but she said nothing.
The moon was now up, and it was a splendid sight below and around them.
All Giantland was spread out under them, with its great hills, lakes,
trees, and animals. And all above them was the clear heaven, and Mount
Skycrack rising into it, with its endless ladders of spider-webs,
glittering like cords made of moonbeams. And up the moonbeams went,
crawling, and scrambling, and racing, a huge army of huge spiders.
At length they reached all but the very summit, where they stopped.
Tricksey-Wee and Buffy-Bob could see above them a great globe of
feathers, that finished off the mountain like an ornamental knob.
"But how shall we drive her off?" said Buffy.
"We'll soon manage that," answered the grandfather-spider. "Come on
you, down there."
Up rushed the whole army, past the children, over the edge of the nest,
on to the she-eagle, and buried themselves in her feathers. In a moment
she became very restless, and went pecking about with her beak. All at
once she spread out her wings, with a sound like a whirlwind, and flew
off to bathe in the sea; and then the spiders began to drop from her in
all directions on their gossamer wings. The children had to hold fast
to keep the wind of the eagle's flight from blowing them off. As soon
as it was over, they looked into the nest, and there lay the giant's
heart--an awful and ugly thing.
"Make haste, child!" said Tricksey's spider.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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