The Moon Princess: A Fairy TaleHarrison, Edith Ogden
Science
The Moon Princess: A Fairy Tale
Harrison, Edith Ogden
Fairy tales
“The Ocean Prince showed great surprise at Selene’s words, because he
had always thought she preferred him to Corus; indeed, it was because of
this he had made the compact so readily. Swiftly now his thoughts grew
black with anger, but the two lovers were talking together and did not
notice it. Soon he grew calmer; outwardly he seemed to be peaceful, and
stooping, he too kissed Selene’s hand, and swore friendship to the two.
“Preparations began for the wedding, and each day, as the ceremony drew
nearer, Fronto seemed happier. He really acted as though he had
forgotten his wish to marry Selene. This, of course, made Corus and his
bride more contented; they could not bear to be merry, and feel that
Fronto was suffering. But the Ocean Prince was only pretending.
Instantly, on leaving the lovers on the day of their betrothal, he had
gathered together all the little demons and wicked imps he knew, and
employed them to build big mountains on the shores of his sea. Soon
precipitous mountains gathered in clusters about the water’s edge. They
seemed only barren rock, as they loomed up from the flat sand, like
watch-towers guarding a prison. Selene and Corus teased the Ocean Prince
for building such ugly peaks, but he did not mind their jests. Finally
he had his dominions hedged in with a dark-hued rocky range.
“Then, one day when the Sun Prince was absent, he deliberately carried
out the plan he had so carefully concealed: he stole the Princess and
hid her in the caverns of his great mountains. When Corus returned,
broken-hearted and distressed over the loss of his bride and the
treachery of his friend, and demanded her release, the Sea Prince
absolutely refused to give her up—laughing to scorn his friend’s demand.
“War, of course, immediately followed. The Sun Prince was no slight
enemy, for all his father’s powerful forces were at his command. The
heavy bowlders piled up by the wretched little fiends the Ocean Prince
had employed were not easily surmounted, however, for they were
splendidly built. It would take years to pull them down. So Corus
determined he would not even try. He would rescue his beloved bride in a
simpler but more powerful manner, and in less time.
“A great river ran through the country, from the inland sea down to the
blue waters of the ocean. Now, the Sun Prince closed up that river,
shutting off all communication between the ocean and the inland sea. The
Sea Prince laughed at first when he saw this. He had so much water in
his own sea he never dreamed it could be exhausted.
“But now the Sun Prince tried new measures. As the tides could not bring
the water to the foot of the big mountains to replenish them, he sent
down burning rays upon the sea to dry it up. Evaporation began. Day by
day the water decreased, and shrunk away slowly from the white face of
the sand and the red sides of the mountains.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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