The Fairy Tales of Charles Perrault 7

The Fairy Tales of Charles Perrault 7

Some few days afterwards she went thither herself, and said to her

clerk of the kitchen:

 

"I have a mind to eat little Aurora for my dinner to morrow."

 

"Ah! Madam," cried the clerk of the kitchen.

 

"I will have it so," replied the Queen (and this she spake in the tone

of an Ogress, who had a strong desire to eat fresh meat), "and will

eat her with a Sauce Robert."[2]

 

[Footnote 2: This is a French sauce, made with onions shredded and

boiled tender in butter, to which is added vinegar, mustard, salt,

pepper, and a little wine. [Note by the translator.]]

 

The poor man knowing very well that he must not play tricks with

Ogresses, took his great knife and went up into little Aurora's

chamber. She was then four years old, and came up to him jumping and

laughing, to take him about the neck, and ask him for some

sugar-candy. Upon which he began to weep, the great knife fell out of

his hand, and he went into the back-yard, and killed a little lamb,

and dressed it with such good sauce, that his mistress assured him she

had never eaten anything so good in her life. He had at the same time

taken up little Aurora, and carried her to his wife, to conceal her in

the lodging he had at the end of the court yard.

 

About eight days afterwards, the wicked Queen said to the clerk of the

kitchen:

 

"I will sup upon little Day."

 

He answered not a word, being resolved to cheat her, as he had done

before. He went to find out little Day, and saw him with a little

foil in his hand, with which he was fencing with a great monkey; the

child being then only three years of age. He took him up in his arms,

and carried him to his wife, that she might conceal him in her chamber

along with his sister, and in the room of little Day cooked up a young

kid very tender, which the Ogress found to be wonderfully good.

 

This was hitherto all mighty well: but one evening this wicked Queen

said to her clerk of the kitchen:

 

"I will eat the Queen with the same sauce I had with her children."

 

It was now that the poor clerk of the kitchen despaired of being able

to deceive her. The young Queen was turned of twenty, not reckoning

the hundred years she had been asleep: her skin was somewhat tough,

tho' very fair and white; and how to find in the yard a beast so firm,

was what puzzled him. He took then a resolution, that he might save

his own life, to cut the Queen's throat; and going up into her

chamber, with intent to do it at once, he put himself into as great a

fury as he could possibly, and came into the young Queen's room with

his dagger in his hand. He would not, however, surprise her, but told

her, with a great deal of respect, the orders he had received from the

Queen-mother.

 

"Do it, do it," said she stretching out her neck, "execute your

orders, and then I shall go and see my children, my poor children,

whom I so much and so tenderly loved," for she thought them dead ever

since they had been taken away without her knowledge.

 

"No, no, Madam," cried the poor clerk of the kitchen, all in tears,

"you shall not die, and yet you shall see your children again; but it

must be in my lodgings, where I have concealed them, and I shall

deceive the Queen once more, by giving her in your stead a young

hind."

 

Upon this he forthwith conducted her to his chamber; where leaving her

to embrace her children, and cry along with them, he went and dressed

a hind, which the Queen had for her supper, and devoured it with the

same appetite, as if it had been the young Queen. Exceedingly was she

delighted with her cruelty, and she had invented a story to tell the

King, at his return, how ravenous wolves had eaten up the Queen his

wife, and her two children.

 

One evening, as she was, according to her custom, rambling round about

the courts and yards of the palace, to see if she could smell any

fresh meat, she heard, in a ground-room little Day crying, for his

mamma was going to whip him, because he had been naughty; and she

heard, at the same time, little Aurora begging pardon for her brother.

 

The Ogress presently knew the voice of the Queen and her children, and

being quite mad that she had been thus deceived, she commanded next

morning, by break of day (with a most horrible voice, which made every

body tremble) that they should bring into the middle of the great

court a large tub, which she caused to be filled with toads, vipers,

snakes, and all sorts of serpents, in order to have thrown into it the

Queen and her children, the clerk of the kitchen, his wife and maid;

all whom she had given orders should be brought thither with their

hands tied behind them.

 

They were brought out accordingly, and the executioners were just

going to throw them into the tub, when the King (who was not so soon

expected) entered the court on horse-back (for he came post) and

asked, with the utmost astonishment, what was the meaning of that

horrible spectacle? No one dared to tell him; when the Ogress, all

inraged to see what had happened, threw herself head-foremost into the

tub, and was instantly devoured by the ugly creatures she had ordered

to be thrown into it for others. The King could not but be very sorry,

for she was his mother; but he soon comforted himself with his

beautiful wife, and his pretty children.

 

[Illustration]

 

 

_The Moral_

 

 

_To get as prize a husband rich and gay.

Of humour sweet, with many years to stay,

Is natural enough, 'tis true;

To wait for him a hundred years,

And all that while asleep, appears

A thing entirely new.

Now at this time of day,

Not one of all the sex we see

Doth sleep with such profound tranquillity:

But yet this Fable seems to let us know

That very often Hymen's blisses sweet,

Altho' some tedious obstacles they meet,

Are not less happy for approaching slow.

'Tis nature's way that ladies fair

Should yearn conjugal joys to share;

And so I've not the heart to preach

A moral that's beyond their reach._

 

 

 

 

_The Master Cat; or, Puss in Boots_

 

[Illustration]

 

 

The Master Cat or Puss in Boots

 

 

There was a miller, who left no more estate to the three sons he had,

than his Mill, his Ass, and his Cat. The partition was soon made.

Neither the scrivener nor attorney were sent for. They would soon have

eaten up all the poor patrimony. The eldest had the Mill, the second

the Ass, and the youngest nothing but the Cat.

 

The poor young fellow was quite comfortless at having so poor a lot.

 

"My brothers," said he, "may get their living handsomely enough, by

joining their stocks together; but for my part, when I have eaten up

my Cat, and made me a muff of his skin, I must die with hunger."

 

The Cat, who heard all this, but made as if he did not, said to him

with a grave and serious air:

 

"Do not thus afflict yourself, my good master; you have only to give

me a bag, and get a pair of boots made for me, that I may scamper

thro' the dirt and the brambles, and you shall see that you have not

so bad a portion of me as you imagine."

 

Tho' the Cat's master did not build very much upon what he said, he

had however often seen him play a great many cunning tricks to catch

rats and mice; as when he used to hang by the heels, or hide himself

in the meal, and make as if he were dead; so that he did not

altogether despair of his affording him some help in his miserable

condition.

 

When the Cat had what he asked for, he booted himself very gallantly;

and putting his bag about his neck, he held the strings of it in his

two fore paws, and went into a warren where was great abundance of

rabbits. He put bran and sow-thistle into his bag, and stretching

himself out at length, as if he had been dead, he waited for some

young rabbit, not yet acquainted with the deceits of the world, to

come and rummage his bag for what he had put into it.

 

Scarce was he lain down, but he had what he wanted; a rash and foolish

young rabbit jumped into his bag, and Monsieur Puss, immediately

drawing close the strings, took and killed him without pity. Proud of

his prey, he went with it to the palace, and asked to speak with his

Majesty. He was shewed up stairs into the King's apartment, and,

making a low reverence, said to him:

 

"I have brought you, sir, a rabbit of the warren which my noble lord

the Marquis of Carabas" (for that was the title which Puss was pleased

to give his master) "has commanded me to present to your Majesty from

him."

 

"Tell thy master," said the King, "that I thank him, and that he does

me a great deal of pleasure."

 

Another time he went and hid himself among some standing corn, holding

still his bag open; and when a brace of partridges ran into it, he

drew the strings, and so caught them both. He went and made a present

of these to the King, as he had done before of the rabbit which he

took in the warren. The King in like manner received the partridges

with great pleasure, and ordered him some money to drink.

 

The Cat continued for two or three months, thus to carry his Majesty,