Page:Stories from Old English Poetry-1899.djvu/299

Rh him faithfully as servant and subject if he were once set free from the pine. Prospero exacted this promise because he knew that, as fairies had no souls, he could not depend on his gratitude. When Ariel took this vow, and called on all that fairies hold most sacred to witness his oath, Prospero uttered some fearful conjuration, and in an instant Ariel spread his sparkling wings in the sunshine and hovered over their heads. He then took carefully in his arms the little Princess Miranda, and floating through the air as lightly as the down of a thistle, conducted Prospero to a cave in a huge rock, where he could find comfortable shelter.

In this rocky cave the magician made his home. He furnished it with all comforts and necessaries, and even had in it a luxurious grotto for the chamber of the little princess, which, by the means of magic, he furnished with more than royal splendor. Here his delicate Ariel served him faithfully, and here the young Miranda grew daily in the rarest grace and beauty. The monster Caliban, whom no kindness could tame, Prospero kept to do all rude offices for him, the hewing of wood and drawing of water for the little household; and the monster, not daring to disobey his commands, growled and cursed while he did his great master’s bidding.

So they lived till the time when Miranda was