Page:Fairytales00auln.djvu/39

Rh to enter with him a little sledge, painted and gilt, and drawn by two stags, at a prodigiously swift pace, so that in a very short time he conducted her to a thousand points in the forest, each of which appeared to her admirable. It was throughout as light as day. There were shepherds and shepherdesses gallantly dressed who danced to the sound of flutes and bag-pipes. In other spots, by the side of fountains, she saw village swains and maidens feasting and singing gaily. "I thought this forest was uninhabited," said she to the prince; "but it seems full of happy people." "From the moment you set foot in it," replied Percinet, "this gloomy solitude became the abode of pleasure and mirth. The loves accompany you and flowers grow beneath your feet." Gracieuse feared to enter into such a conversation: she therefore requested him to conduct her to his mother, the queen. He immediately ordered the stags to proceed to the fairy palace. As she approached it she heard most exquisite music, and the queen with two of her daughters met her, embraced her, and led her into a large saloon, the walls of which were of rock-crystal. She observed, with great astonishment, that all her own history to that very day was engraved upon the walls, even the promenade she had just made with the prince in the sledge, and the execution of the work was so fine that the master-pieces of Phidias and all that Greece ever could boast were not to be compared to it. "You have very diligent artists," said Gracieuse to Percinet, "every action, every gesture of mine is instantly sculptured." "Because I would not lose the recollection of the slightest circumstance relating to you, my princess," replied he. "Alas, in no place am I happy or contented!" She made him no answer; but thanked the queen for the manner in which she had received her. A grand banquet was served up, to which Gracieuse did justice, for she was delighted to have found Percinet in lieu of the bears and lions she had dreaded to meet in the forest. Although she was very tired, the prince persuaded her to pass into a saloon dazzling with gold and painting, in which an opera was performed before her. The subject was the Loves of Cupid and Psyche, and it was interspersed with dances and allusive songs. A young shepherd came forward, and sang the following words: