The Wonder Clock; or, four & twenty marvellous Tales: being one for each hour of the dayPyle, Howard
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The Wonder Clock; or, four & twenty marvellous Tales: being one for each hour of the day
Pyle, Howard
Children's poetry; Fairy tales
And now came the same dance with a different tune, for nobody was to be
found in all of the town who could make such a pair of gloves as she
wanted. By and by the matter came to the fiddler’s ears, and off he set
to the glover’s shop. And did the glover want an apprentice?
Yes, the glover wanted an apprentice, but he must know first what the
other could do.
“Well,” said the fiddler, “if I have a room all to myself, I can make a
pair of gloves such as the princess asks for.” And after that he was not
left to kick his toes in the cold.
As soon as he was alone, he drew out his fiddle and struck up an air,
and there stood the little black man again.
“I would like,” said the fiddler, “to have a pair of gloves such as the
princess asks for. But there must be only one clasp to the wrist, and
that made all of pure rubies.” That is what he said, and there were the
gloves without his having to ask twice for them.
“But there is only one clasp,” said the glover.
“Never mind that,” said the wonderful apprentice; “just tell the
princess that the fiddler had the other, and she will be satisfied.”
As for the princess, she sent off post-haste for the lad who had made
her gloves. But she was behindhand this time too, for, when those whom
she sent came to the glover’s house, they found nobody there but the cat
and the kettle, and the master glover, for the fiddler was gone.
And now the tinker and the shoemaker began again; the princess had her
gloves, and she must and should choose one or the other of them.
But no. First of all the princess must have a fine dress all of white
silk with both sleeves looped up with pearls as big as marbles.
But there was nobody to make such a dress as that in all of the town,
till the fiddler went to the master tailor and offered himself as a
journeyman workman. Then the dress came quickly enough, and with only
the tune of a fiddle. But the loop of pearls on one sleeve was missing.
“And that will never do in the wide world,” says the tailor.
“Oh,” says the fiddler, “that is nothing; just tell the princess that
the fiddler has the other, and she will be satisfied.”
Well, the tailor did as he said, and when the princess heard who had the
pearl loop, she was satisfied, just as the fiddler had said she would
be.
By and by the tinker and the shoemaker began again; the princess must
choose one or the other of them. And now there was nothing left for her
to do but to say “Yes.” She felt sure that the fiddler would be on hand
at the right time, and so a day was fixed for choosing whom she would
marry.
It was not long before the fiddler heard of that, for news flies fast.
Off he went by himself and played a turn or two on his fiddle.
“And what do you want now?” says the little manikin.
“This time,” said the fiddler, “I want a splendid suit of clothes for
myself, all of silver and gold; besides that, I want a hat with a great
feather in it and a fine milk-white horse.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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