The favorite resting-place for the Sun King was a beautiful spot where the purple hills reach up nearly to the clouds, their sloping sides thickly covered with wild flowers and delicate ferns. At the foot of the hills lay shining silver lakes, where the water sprites made their home. All about were thick woods in which no sound could be heard but the voice of the wind playing among the branches of the trees. The floor of the forest was carpeted over with soft gray moss, studded with red wintergreen berries. Here the elves and wood nymphs loved to play, delighting in the cool springs of crystal water. Sometimes they would come across some tiny stream and tease and torment it until, to escape them, it would rush swiftly toward the lake, tumbling headlong over the rocks and shooting up showers of white spray. The fairies kept to the hilltops, where they led a joyous life. Just beyond the hills lay the home of the brownies,—queer little fellows, with fat round bodies, spindle legs, big heads, and bulging eyes. In spite of their funny appearance, the brownies were a happy, rollicking, good-natured set, well liked by every one.

Every now and then a brownie prince would fall in love with a fairy princess, and once in a great while the princess would return his love. But more often she would only laugh at her fat little lover, and instead of giving him her hand would only give him the mitten. At the particular time of which I am telling, it happened that one of the brownie princes had long been paying his court to the prettiest Princess in all fairyland. She was a gay little creature, who danced a great deal by moonlight and did not take a serious view of life at all. But she was kind of heart, and for a wonder was just a little bit in love with the brownie. As for him, he was too happy for words, and threw out his chest with pride at the thought of winning such a lovely creature.

Now a beautiful golden river, famous for its glorious color at sunset, ran through this country. It wound in and out among the trees like a snake, turning and twisting until it emptied itself into the big bay outside. The waters of the bay were of many colors,— green, blue, opal, all in one,—and so clear that you could see the tiny pebbles at the bottom, fifteen or twenty feet down. Two jagged points of land ran out from the shore, enclosing the bay and protecting it from the storms that sometimes raged there. At sunset these high points of red sandstone shone like fire, and in the calm surface of the bay and river were reflected the brightly colored clouds,—purple, gray, pink, golden, and crimson,—blending together in glorious confusion. There was no more beautiful sight in fairyland.

The Golden River and the country about it were owned by the water sprites, the wood nymphs, and the elves, who were all very jealous of the fairies because the latter received so much attention from the brownies, while they were neglected entirely. When they heard of the engagement of the fairy Princess they decided to revenge themselves. So they invited the Princess and her court to come down from the hilltop on a certain afternoon to attend a banquet on the banks of the Golden River, where they could watch the sun go down. The invitation was accepted at once, and on a lovely evening the party assembled, just at sunset. After the feast was over, and the health of the Princess had been drunk, an innocent little nymph spoke of the news which they had just heard, and inquired if the Princess had set the day for her wedding.

"Not yet," she replied, blushing; "but I am to give the brownie Prince his answer to-morrow."

Then a water sprite spoke, so sweetly that her voice sounded like the murmur of a tiny brook,—

"Do you not hold yourself too lightly, to consent so easily to a marriage with the brownie One of your high station should make a suitor prove himself worthy to win your hand. You should test his love by setting some great task for him to perform. Tell him that he must steal the ball of fire which the Sun King carries, and hide the rays from the great King's eyes. Could he do such a thing as this, he would indeed be worthy of your love."

Such was the advice of the false water sprite, and the foolish but innocent little fairy fell at once into the trap. She promised she would make the demand of her lover.

When the brownie Prince came next day, radiant with happiness, and eager to have his sweetheart name their wedding day, he was told of what he must do before he could hope to win the hand of the Princess. He tried to show her what a dangerous and almost impossible task this was; but the wilful young fairy was not to be moved by argument, and would only promise to marry him on the day that he returned successful from his exploit. So there was nothing for our little brownie to do but to undertake the dreadful task.

After many days of watching, a favorable opportunity to carry out his plan came at last. The Sun King had had a hard day's work and was very tired. The afternoon was warm, and he said to himself: "I will just slip behind this big cloud with my chariot, and take a short nap. Nobody will miss me." Here was the brownie's chance. Making sure that the King was fast asleep, he crept up the highest mountain peak (you know the clouds often lie below the tops of the mountains), and stealing through the cloud to where the King lay, he seized the great ball of fire. Then he crept softly down the mountain with his treasure, and hid it in a cave under the mountain-side. The King still slept on. In a few minutes a cold fog arose. Slowly the white mist curled above the lake and floated over the valleys; then, creeping higher, it chilled the green ferns on the hillsides. With this damp garment covering it, the earth grew darker and darker, and colder and colder.

Suddenly the Sun King shivered, and awoke with a start. The world below him was shrouded in darkness. Thunder and lightning and hail were already pouring from the heavens; a strong wind was rising, and the waters of the lakes dashed up in fury. Terrible disasters must surely follow as the storm and darkness increased. For a moment the King was quite overcome by this awful state of affairs. Who could have stolen his golden ball, and where was it now? Unless he could find it again, the earth would gradually freeze, flowers and vegetation would die, and all the people would perish of cold and hunger. He searched from north to south and from east to west for the offender. Dark as it was, his all-powerful eye penetrated seas and mountains at a glance. At last he noticed just beneath him the terror of the inhabitants of fairyland. The elves and water sprites were trembling behind the rocks and trees, every fairy had hidden itself beneath a rose-leaf, and the brownies were shaking in fright under the tops of the mushrooms. This aroused the King's suspicions, and glancing closer he soon spied beneath the big mountain his missing ball of fire. With one great sweep of his arm he seized the lost treasure and restored it to its place in the heavens. Beneath the flood of golden sunshine which poured down the next moment, the fog gathered up her misty skirts and fled, the flowers raised their drooping heads and took a long breath, and the ferns peeped out fresh and tender from the rocks. The earth awoke from her cold sleep, and smiled back joyously at the heavens.

But the Sun King still frowned, a dark cloud resting on his brow. His missing fire had been restored, but he had yet to find and punish the guilty. Sternly he ordered all the little people of fairyland to assemble on the mountain-top. When they stood before him, a shame-faced and sorry-looking crowd, he cried in a voice of thunder,—

"Who stole my golden fire?"

The brownie Prince stepped forward. He could not help trembling a little, but his voice was firm as he said, —

"Your Majesty, I am the guilty one."

How brave he looked, standing there and taking all the blame upon himself? So thought the unhappy fairy Princess; and she felt that she loved him now a hundred times more than she ever did before. She hesitated a moment, then ran forward and threw herself on her knees before the King.

"Spare the Prince, great Sun King," she cried, "for what he did was done for love of me. I forced him to do it, to prove his affection, and I alone am really guilty."

The King could not help feeling a good deal of pity for the two young lovers, as they stood before him, each trying to take the blame from the other. But so great a crime could not be forgiven, and the guilty must be punished in a way that would never be forgotten. Therefore he decreed that for one hundred years the lovely region of fairyland should be haunted by the presence of man. Houses should rise among the quiet hills, boats appear upon the lakes, and the forests echo with the axes of the woodmen. Then all the people of fairyland must take other forms. The water sprites should become frogs, to croak along the banks of the Golden River. (I am sure you have often heard these enchanted water sprites. They croak at all times, but on dark rainy days or in foggy weather they are especially noisy. They seem to fear that some one is trying to steal the sun again.) The elves should be the fish swimming about in the lakes, and the wood nymphs the graceful deer roving in the thick woods. The foolish little Princess and the other fairies should become squirrels, to play about the oak-trees on the hills; and the brownies must take the form of that sad-voiced bird, the loon, whose mournful cry would well express the sorrow and repentance which they felt for their crime.

Such was the sentence of the Sun King. But he still loved his subjects, and not wishing to seem altogether without mercy he added that for three hours each night they could resume their natural forms. So it now and then happens that when one of the human inhabitants of the place steps out some night in front of his comfortable cabin, or strolls to the hilltop to admire the flood of moonlight over the trees and lakes, he sees a wonderful sight. The wood nymphs come forth, crowned with flowers and leaves, and join the water sprites on the banks of the Golden River. The fairies, with star-tipped wands and dresses of gossamer web, steal out of the forest, followed by the elves and the brownies. Then begins a gay dance and merry frolic in the moonlight, which no mortal pen could describe. For three hours they dance and sing and feast without interruption. But as the first streak of dawn appears in the east, the fairy Princess sadly takes up her squirrel skin, her little brownie lover tenderly bids her good-bye and stretches forth his wings. In a moment the place is silent and deserted. Then on the early morning air breaks that loneliest and saddest of all sounds,—the loon's unhappy cry.