Among the playmates of the Princess Lalla was the son of a poor nobleman, a handsome boy a few years older than the little Princess, and so well favored with intelligence that he was chosen from among all the others to share her studies. These two were together a great deal, and it is not surprising, therefore, that they fell in love with each other. When the King decided, after some years, that the Princess was old enough to continue at her books alone, the boy and girl were very unhappy indeed. The youth Roland returned to his father's quiet castle, where he tried to forget his sorrow in deep study.
A few years went by, and the Princess reached the age of eighteen. She had grown more beautiful with each year, so that now she was a delight to behold. With her long black hair, lovely brown eyes, pearly teeth, rosy cheeks, and fine good health, she certainly made a most charming picture. The King decided that it was time to choose a husband for his daughter. So he gave a great tournament, and invited all the young princes and nobles from far and near to take part in it, hoping that among so many brave men his daughter might make her selection. But the Princess was indifferent to them all, and in spite of her father's urgent wish she declined to choose a husband.
While the subject of her marriage was being hotly argued in the royal family, the wilful young Princess went about her pleasures as usual. One day, while hunting, a wild boar attacked her, and as her attendants were not close enough at hand to protect her, she would undoubtedly have lost her life had it not been for the sudden appearance of an unknown knight, who charged bravely upon the furious animal, killed it after a struggle, and then disappeared in the forest. The King, learning of this gallant act, made every effort to discover the knight and properly reward him, but the young man could not be found.
From that day in the forest a great change came over the Princess Lana. She was no longer a happy, lighthearted girl. She became quiet and thoughtful, and a fixed melancholy seemed to have settled upon her. She would not allow her father to mention the subject of marriage; and as for the suitors themselves, she absolutely refused even to see them.
Days and weeks went by, and the Princess got no better,—in fact, she grew paler and thinner all the time. The King and Queen, who loved her dearly, were wild with anxiety when they saw their only child gradually fading away before their eyes. They could do nothing for her. She did not complain at all, but only became steadily whiter and weaker. The King summoned all the court doctors and the famous men of science in his kingdom, promising them gold and silver in plenty if they would restore the roses to his daughter's cheeks. But the doctors were powerless, their medicines and advice had no effect whatever, and the sick Princess continued to grow worse. At last, in despair, the King issued a proclamation to his people, stating that whoever would bring about the cure of his beloved child should be given one half of his entire kingdom.
A few days after this an old man came to the palace, and asked the privilege of a private interview with the Princess. His request was granted, and after a few moments in the sick girl's room he returned to the anxious King and Queen. He had made a close study of scientific works for many years, he said, and believed he understood their daughter's case perfectly. There was but one thing in all the world that would cure her. She must have a salad made from the tender leaves of a white lily growing in the heart of a glass mountain which stood at the foot of the rainbow. Now, every one knows that a pot of gold is buried at the end of the rainbow, but the King and Queen had never heard of the glass mountain. To reach this mountain, the old man said, one must travel nine days and nights, straight as the crow flies; at the end of that time he would come to the Rainbow City, and in the heart of the glass mountain near this city the famous lily could be seen growing. After giving these directions, the old man went his way.
Strange as this advice was, the King determined to follow it. He sent his herald at once throughout the town to announce that whoever would secure the leaves of the white lily should be crowned a prince and receive in addition one half of the kingdom. The offer was a tempting one, but the young men hesitated about accepting it. It was a very dangerous undertaking. The end of the rainbow is really the end of the world, and of all the people who had gone forth to secure the pot of gold, not one had ever returned to tell the tale. It was not until the next day that young Roland, who had been able to see his beloved playmate only at long intervals, heard of the King's proclamation. Without losing a moment, he hastened to the palace and announced that he was ready to start at once in search of the lily, provided only that in case he was successful he should be rewarded with the hand of the Princess Lalla. At first the King was highly indignant at the young man's presumption, and was on the point of turning him out of the palace. But the Queen fell upon her knees, and begged him to consent to the proposal, saying that if he did not they would surely lose their daughter by death. Reluctantly the King gave way, and at last made the promise.
That same evening young Roland started out on his nine days' journey. He travelled steadily day and night, stopping occasionally only for an hour's sleep. On the third day, as he was passing through a meadow, he came to a stream of water, on the edge of which sat a beautiful white cat with large green eyes. She seemed to be in great distress, and every now and then would start to cross the rivulet; but as soon as her white paws touched the water, she would shrink back, mewing piteously. Cats .do not like to get their feet wet, you know, and do not like to cross muddy places. The next time you see a cat try to cross the street, watch her. No lady was ever daintier in saving her skirts than Miss Pussy her paws. Knowing that she wished to reach the other bank, Roland picked her up and carried her safely across. His surprise was great when she thanked him in words for his kindness.
"You have conferred a great favor upon me," she said. "I am an enchanted queen, condemned by a wicked witch to remain in a cat's form until three things have been accomplished. One of these, which you have just enabled me to do, was to cross a stream of water without wetting my feet and without stone, stick, or iron to assist me. Many people have passed the stream, but you are the first that has taken pity on me. As a token of my gratitude I will give you a valuable glass, which will aid you in climbing the mountain you are now seeking."
So saying, she jumped upon his arm, and putting her head in his hand dropped into it one of her sparkling green eyes. Upon examination he found it to be a sun-glass of great clearness and strength. He turned to thank the cat, but she had disappeared.
On the sixth day, in passing through a forest, Roland noticed a stork with a broken wing fluttering before him. He lifted the suffering bird, and bound up the wing with strips torn from his handkerchief. When he had finished the operation, to his amazement the stork spoke,—
"Kind stranger, you have just done the second good act required for the enchanted Queen. Many travellers have passed here in search of the pot of gold which lies at the foot of the rainbow, but you are the first to consider a poor suffering bird worthy of notice. Take this reed, and should you find yourself confronted with any great obstacle on your journey, whistle upon it three times, and you will receive help at once."
Placing the reed in his hands, the stork then flew off.
Roland continued his journey, and on the morning of the ninth day he came to a large body of water lying like a great turquoise beneath the sun. Close in toward the shore the shallow places lightened in color, losing the wonderful blue shade, and lay a mass of shimmering green against the white sand. It was a glorious sight, and for some moments the young adventurer stood admiring it. Then it suddenly occurred to him that this water lay directly in his path, and that he must cross it somehow. He realized in despair that he could not possibly swim so far. What was he to do? Then he remembered the reed which the stork had given him, and taking it from his pocket he blew loudly upon it three times. At the third note he saw far out in the sea a sudden splashing of water, and in a few moments a beautiful dolphin swam up close to the shore where he stood. It was a large strong fish, exquisitely colored. Sometimes it looked all shining green, then its scales would turn to gold in the sunlight; paling again, the brilliant tints would become almost silver, shot with dark spots of blue. Every second the color of its beautiful scales would change as it played and splashed about in the water.
"Trust yourself to me," said the fish. "I am one of the Queen's enchanted slaves, and will bear you safely to the Rainbow City, which was her kingdom before she was changed into a white cat."
Without hesitation Roland placed himself on the frisky dolphin's back, and in a few moments they were plunging through the water toward the other shore. During this singular ride the dolphin confided to the young man some of the white cat's history. She had been a very beautiful and talented queen, governing her subjects kindly and sensibly, but she had an ambition to be considered very wise. So she wrote several books, among which was one on how to climb glass mountains without slipping backwards, and another to prove that the mountain in her city was not glass. These books were laughed at a great deal by her subjects. Finally she got into an argument with an ugly old witch, who considered herself an authority on such matters. Both lost their tempers in the quarrel which followed, and the witch, in revenge, changed the Queen into a white cat and put all her subjects to sleep under a magic spell.
By the time this story was finished, the travellers had reached the other side of the water, and the dolphin bade Roland good-bye. To his delight, the young man saw the marvellous colors of the rainbow directly overhead, the delicate lights and colors seeming to blend together right in the centre of the little city beneath it. The city was built along the water's edge, and presented a charming appearance. The various hues of the rainbow shone down upon it in such a way as to make it appear to be painted in many colors, the whole effect being very curious. For instance, one section of the town would be bright crimson, and all the people lying asleep there would have the ruddy complexions of rose 59 leaves. Another part would be of a brilliant golden glow, and there everything would look as yellow as an orange.
Roland saw no one in the streets, but in the houses and gardens he noticed people sitting in groups, with books and papers in their hands, as if they had been reading and discussing grave matters just when the wicked witch cast her spell upon them. They were in such deep slumber that he made no effort to awaken them; but he opened the books which they held, hoping to find information that would be of use to him. The volumes were written in a clear, concise style, and he was surprised to find so much knowledge contained in such small space. The people of the city had evidently spent a great deal of time in theorizing about the best way of climbing glass mountains, and must have had great discussions on the subject. In spite of all these books, however, Roland did not gain any especial information, except that the mountain was about a half-hour's walk from the Rainbow City. So he resumed his journey through the silent, many-colored streets. It seemed very strange to be walking in such profound quiet. Nothing whatever could be heard but the faint lapping of the waves on the beach beyond and the echo of his own footsteps.
But the young man was too happy at reaching the end of his journey to think much of his queer surroundings. He had gone but a little way, it seemed to him, when a sudden turn brought him face to face with the glass mountain. It stood in a city of crystal lights; the streets, the houses, and the sleeping people about it were all deathly pale. The mountain itself was a magnificent sight. Its polished surface shone and glittered as though it were an immense diamond. Roland approached it rapidly, and examined it more closely. There seemed to be an opening in its centre, for a small plateau or meadow could be seen. In the middle of this green level space, its yellow centre and tender green leaves tantalizingly close, bloomed the beautiful white lily,—the object of his journey.
How could he ever obtain that precious flower, which seemed so close and yet might just as well be hundreds of miles away I There seemed to be no possibility of reaching it. Every attempt he made to climb the mountain was useless; the steep polished surface gave not the least foothold, and he only slipped backwards at each trial. Roland felt that he was facing a great problem. It certainly was discouraging to think that the people of the Rainbow City had studied the subject for years without success. But he did not lose heart, for he knew that it is not always the wisest who achieve success.
It was now evening, and as he felt very tired after his long journey, he wrapped his cloak about him and lay down at the foot of the mountain. He soon fell asleep, and dreamed that the Princess Lalla appeared before him
"My beloved Roland," she said, "your plans for climbing the mountain are all wrong. It is a very simple thing to do if you go about it in the right way. First of all, you must know that the mountain] is not glass but ice. Take the sun-glass that the white cat gave you, and with it burn small holes at regular intervals in the ice. This will give you hollows for your feet to rest in, and you can thus mount easily to the top. Once there, the rest will be simple."
As soon as the sun was up, Roland set to work to do as he had been directed in his dream. The glass was so powerful that he burned the holes very rapidly, and in a short time had reached the top. Here he discovered that the mountain sloped gently in on all sides towards the centre, forming the level meadow he had seen from the outside. There in the midst of the plain stood the white lily. He hurried down, and plucked it with trembling fingers, carefully protecting the delicate leaves from injury. As he lifted it from the ground, he caught the gleam of gold in the earth where the flower had grown, and looking closer he found that just below the surface of the ground were many thousands of gold pieces. The pot of gold at the foot of the rainbow was found at last I At the same moment the mountain split and opened up, allowing him to walk safely out. The whole path before him now seemed to be paved with gold coin. The people of the city awoke from their sleep, and came running toward him from all directions. The plucking of the lily had been the third deed to be accomplished, and the witch's spell was now broken. A beautiful woman with a crown of gold upon her head stood in Roland's path.
"Brave and gentle knight," she said, "I was the white cat and the ruler of this city. Your kindness and valor have removed the awful curse put upon me and my people. We thank you with all our hearts. Knowing your love for the sick Princess and your desire to return to her as quickly as possible, I have ordered twelve ships to be filled with gold and fitted out ready to sail with you at once. We wish you all the happiness your good deeds deserve."
She pointed to the sea as she spoke, and there in the harbor, their sails all spread, were twelve fine vessels, lying like white swans on the water. In a few words Roland thanked the Queen and her people for their great kindness, and then embarked without delay.
He reached home after a quick voyage, and delivered the precious lily into the hands of the Princess Lalla. Now that he was wealthy and powerful, the King no longer opposed the marriage with his daughter. The salad of lily leaves was prepared; the Princess ate it with great relish, and was at once restored to perfect health. Of course there were some jealous people in the kingdom who claimed that the Princess was never really ill, but only pretended to be so that she might marry young Roland, who had saved her from the boar in the forest. They said, also, that it was Roland who had come to the palace disguised as the old man, and had prescribed the salad.
Be all this as it may, the marriage was celebrated at once with great splendor. Prince Roland and Princess Lana lived in happiness all their lives; and after the old King's death, they ruled over his kingdom wisely and well, and were beloved by every one to the end of their days.