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 THE YOUNG KING 
 THE STAR CHILD 
 
 BY 
 
 OSCAR WILDE 
 
 
 COSY CORNER 
 
 SERIES S 
 
 ?^HS-«S^S4f3H-S-^S^i:ii 
 
PR 
 
 CORNELL 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 THE 
 
 Joseph Whitmore Barry 
 dramatic library 
 
 THE GIFT OF 
 TWO FRIENDS 
 
 OF Cornell University 
 1934 
 
DATE DUE 
 
 NOV 4 19l?e s 
 DEC 2 1956 GS 
 
 O GT 1 7 lOyj - F -fvl (J 
 
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 i<-^' 
 
 JAN 2 2 2007 
 
 Cornell University Library 
 PR 5820. Y6 
 
 The young king. The star-child. 
 
 3 1924 013 571 603 
 
s 
 
 V 
 
THE YOUNG KING 
 
 THE STAR-CHILD 
 
The original of tliis book is in 
 tine Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31 92401 3571 603 
 
" Cosy Comer SeiHes ' 
 
 THE YOUNG KING 
 
 THE STAR-CHILD 
 
 BY 
 
 OSCAR- WILDE 
 
 ILLUSTRATED 
 
 BOSTON 
 
 JOSEPH KNIGHT COMPANY 
 
 189s 
 
 65 r 
 
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 .1 
 
The Young Kino 
 The Star Child 
 
 I'AGE 
 
 I 
 
 31 
 
HE YOVNG KING ^ 
 
 TO MARGARET, 
 
 LADY BROOKE. 
 
 It was the night before the day fixed for his 
 coronation, and the young King was sitting 
 alone in his beautiful chamber. His courtiers 
 had all taken their leave of him, bowing their 
 heads to the ground, according to the ceremo- 
 nious usage of the day, and had retired to the 
 Great Hall of the Palace, to receive a few last 
 lessons from the Professor of Etiquette ; there 
 being some of them who had still quite natural 
 manners, which in a courtier is, I need hardly 
 say, a very grave offence. 
 
 The lad — for he was only a lad, being but 
 
THE YOUNG KING. 
 
 sixteen years of age — was not sorry at their 
 departure, and had flung himself back with a 
 deep sigh of relief on the soft cushions of hi& 
 
 embroidered couch, lying there, wild-eyed and 
 open-mouthed, like a brown woodland Faun, or 
 some young animal of the forest newly snared 
 by the hunters. 
 
THE YOUNG KING. 3 
 
 And, indeed, it was the hunters who had 
 found him, coming upon him almost by chance 
 as, bare-Hmbed and pipe in hand, he was fol- 
 lowing the flock of the poor goatherd who. 
 had brought him up, and whose son he had 
 always fancied himself to be. The child of the 
 old King's only daughter by a secret marriage 
 with one much beneath her in station, — a 
 stranger, some said, who, by the wonderful 
 magic of his lute-playing, had made the young 
 Princess love him ; while others spoke of an 
 artist from Rimini, to whom the Princess had 
 shown much, perhaps too much honor, and who 
 had suddenly disappeared from the city, leav- 
 ing his work in the Cathedral unfinished, — he 
 had been, when but a week old, stolen away 
 from his mother's side, as she slept, and given 
 into the charge of a common peasant and his 
 wife, who were without children of their own, 
 and lived in a remote part of the forest, more 
 than a day's ride from the town. Grief, or the 
 plague, as the court physician stated, or, as 
 some suggested, a swift Italian poison ad- 
 ministered in a cup of spiced wine, slew, within 
 an hour of her wakening, the white girl who 
 had given him birth, and as the trusty mes- 
 senger who bore the child across his srddlc-bow 
 
4 THE YOUNG KING. 
 
 stooped from his weary horse and knocked at 
 the rude door of the goatherd's hut, the body 
 of the Princess was being lowered into an open 
 grave that had been dug in a deserted church- 
 yard, beyond the city gates, — a grave where it 
 was said that another body was also lying, that 
 of a young man of marvellous and foreign 
 beauty, whose hands were tied behind him with 
 a knotted cord, and whose breast was stabbed 
 with many red wounds. 
 
 Such, at least, was the story that men whis- 
 pered to each other. Certain it was that the 
 old King, when on his death-bed, whether 
 moved by remorse for his great sin, or merely 
 desiring that the kingdom should not pass 
 away from his line, had had the lad sent for, 
 and, in the presence of the Council, had ac- 
 knowledged him as his heir. 
 
 And it seems that from the very first mo- 
 ment of his recognition he had shown signs of 
 that strange passion for beauty that was des- 
 tined to have so great an influence over his 
 life. Those who accompanied him to the suite 
 of rooms set apart for his service, often spoke 
 of the cry of pleasure that broke from his lips 
 when he saw the delicate raiment and rich 
 jewels that had been prepared for him, and of 
 
THE YOUNG KING. 5 
 
 the almost fierce joy with which he flung aside 
 his rough leathern tunic and coarse sheepskin 
 cloak. He missed, indeed, at times the fine 
 freedom of his forest life, and was always apt 
 to chafe at the tedious Court ceremonies that 
 occupied so much of each day ; but the wonder- 
 ful palace — Joyeiise, as they called it — of 
 which he now found himself lord, seemed to 
 him to be a new world fresh-fashioned for his 
 delight ; and, as soon as he could escape from 
 the council-board or audience-chamber, he 
 would run down the great staircase, with its 
 lions of gilt bronze and its steps of bright 
 porphyry, and wander from room to room, 
 and from corridor to corridor, like one who 
 was seeking to find in beauty an anodyne from 
 pain, a sort of restoration from sickness. 
 
 Upon these journeys of discovery, as he 
 would call them, — and, indeed, they were to 
 him real voyages through a marvellous land, — 
 he would sometimes be accompanied by the 
 slim, fair-haired Court pages, with their floating 
 mantles, and gay fluttering ribands ; but more 
 often he would be alone, feehng through a 
 certain quick instinct, which was almost a 
 divination, that the secrets of art are best 
 
6 THE YOUNG KING. 
 
 learned in secret, and that Beauty, like Wisdom, 
 loves the lonely worshipper. 
 
 Many curious stories were related about him 
 at this period. It was said that a stout Burgo- 
 master, who had come to deliver a florid ora- 
 torical address on behalf of the citizens of the 
 town, had caught sight of him kneeling in 
 real adoration before a great picture that had 
 just been brought from Venice, and that seemed 
 to herald the worship of some new gods. On 
 another occasion he had been missed for several 
 hours, and after a lengthened search had been 
 discovered in a little chamber in one of the 
 northern turrets of the palace gazing, as one 
 in a trance, at a Greek gem carved with the 
 figure of Adonis. He had been seen, so 
 the tale ran, pressing his warm lips to the 
 marble brow of an antique statue that had 
 been discovered in the bed of the river on the 
 occasion of the building of the stone bridge, 
 and was inscribed with the name of the Bithy- 
 nian slave of Hadrian. He had passed a whole 
 night in noting the effect of the moonlight on a 
 silver image of Endymion. 
 
 All rare and costly materials had certainly a 
 
THE YOUNG KING. 7 
 
 great fascination for him, and in his eagerness 
 to procure them he had sent away many 
 merchants, some to traffic for amber with the 
 rough fisher-folk of the north seas, some to 
 Egypt to look for that curious green turquoise 
 which is found only in the tombs of kings, and 
 is said to possess magical properties, some to 
 Persia for silken carpets and painted pottery, 
 and others to India to buy gauze and stained 
 ivory, moonstones and bracelets of jade, sandal- 
 wood and blue enamel, and shawls of fine 
 wool. 
 
 But what had occupied him most was the 
 robe he was to wear at his coronation, the robe 
 of tissued gold, and the ruby-studded crown, 
 and the sceptre with its rows and rings of 
 pearls. Indeed, it was of this that he was 
 thinking to-night, as he lay back on his luxu- 
 rious couch, watching the great pinewood log 
 that was burning itself out on the open hearth. 
 The designs, which were from the hands of the 
 most famous artists of the time, had been sub- 
 mitted to him many months before, and he had 
 given orders that the artificers were to toil 
 night and day to carry them out, and that 
 the whole world was to be searched for jewels 
 that would be worthy of their work. He saw 
 
8 THE YOUNG KING. 
 
 himself in fancy standing at the high altar of 
 the cathedral in the fair raiment of a King, and 
 a smile played and lingered about his boyish 
 lips, and lit up with a bright lustre his dark 
 woodland eyes. 
 
 After some time he rose from his seat, and, 
 leaning against the carved penthouse of the 
 chimney, looked round at the dimly-lit room. 
 The walls were hung with rich tapestries rep- 
 resenting the Triumph of Beauty. A large 
 press, inlaid with agate and lapis-lazuli, filled 
 one corner, and facing the window stood a curi- 
 ously wrought cabinet with lacquer panels of 
 powdered and mosaiced gold, on which were 
 placed some delicate goblets of Venetian glass, 
 and a cup of dark-veined onyx. Pale poppies 
 were broidered on the silk coverlet of the bed, 
 as though they had fallen from the tired hands 
 of sleep, and tall reeds of fluted ivory bare up 
 the velvet canopy, from which great tufts of 
 ostrich plumes sprang, like white foam, to the 
 pallid silver of the fretted ceiling. A laughing 
 Narcissus in green bronze held a polished mir- 
 ror above its head. On the table stood a flat 
 bowl of amethyst. 
 
 Outside he could see the huge dome of the 
 cathedral, looming like a bubble over the shad- 
 
THE YOUNG KING. 9 
 
 owy houses, and the weary sentinels pacing 
 up and down on the misty terrace by the river. 
 Far away, in an orchard, a nightingale was 
 singing. A faint perfume of jasmine came 
 through the open window. He brushed his 
 brown curls back from his forehead, and, taking 
 up a lute, let his fingers stray across the cords. 
 His heavy eyelids drooped, and a strange lan- 
 guor came over him. Never before had he felt 
 so keenly, or with such exquisite joy, the magic 
 and the mystery of beautiful things. 
 
 When midnight sounded from the clock- 
 tower he touched a bell, and his pages entered 
 and disrobed him with much ceremony, pour- 
 ing rose-water over his hands, and strewing 
 flowers on his pillow. A few moments after 
 they had left the room he fell asleep. 
 
 And as he slept he dreamed a dream, and 
 this was his dream. 
 
 He thought that he was standing in a long, 
 low attic, amidst the whirr and clatter of many 
 
lO THE YOUNG KING. 
 
 looms. The meagre daylight peered in through 
 the grated windows, and showed him the gaunt 
 figures of the weavers bending over their cases. 
 Pale, sickly looking children 
 were crouched on the huge 
 crossbeams. As the shuttles 
 dashed through the warp, 
 they lifted up the heavy 
 battens, and when the shuttles 
 stopped they let the battens 
 fall and pressed the threads together. Their 
 faces were pinched with famine, and their thin 
 hands shook and trembled. Some haggard 
 women were seated at a table sewing. A 
 horrible odor filled the place. The air was foul 
 and heavy, and the walls dripped and streamed 
 with damp. 
 
 The young King went over to one of the 
 weavers, and stood by him and watched him. 
 
 And the weaver looked at him angrily, and 
 said: "Why art thou watching me? Art thou 
 a spy set on us by our master?" 
 
 "Who is thy master?" asked the young 
 King. 
 
 " Our master ! " cried the weaver, bitterly. 
 "He is a man like myself Indeed, there is 
 but this difference between us, — that he wears 
 
THE YOUNG KING. i i 
 
 fine clothes while I go in rags, and that while 
 I am weak from hunger he suffers not a little 
 from overfeeding." 
 
 " The land is free," said the young King, 
 " and thou art no man's slave." 
 
 " In war," answered the weaver, "the strong 
 make slaves of the weak, and in peace the rich 
 make slaves of the poor. We must work to 
 live, and they give us such mean wages that 
 we die. We toil for them all day long, and 
 they heap up gold in their coffers, and our 
 children fade away before their time, and the 
 faces of those we love become hard and evil. 
 We tread out the grapes, and another drinks 
 the wine. We sow the corn, and our own 
 board is empty. We have chains, though no 
 eye beholds them ; and are slaves, though 
 men call us free." 
 
 " Is it so with all? " he asked. 
 
 " It is so with all," answered the weaver, 
 " with the young as well as with the old, with 
 the women as well as with the men, with the 
 little children as well as with those who are 
 stricken in years. The merchants grind us 
 down, and we must needs do their bidding. 
 The priest rides by and tells his beads, and no 
 'man has care of us. Through our sunless lanes 
 
12 THE YOUNG KING. 
 
 creeps Poverty with her hungry eyes, and Sin 
 with his sodden face follows close behind her. 
 Misery wakes us in the morning, and Shame 
 sits with us at night. But what are these things 
 to thee? Thou art not one of us. Thy face 
 is too happy." And he turned away scowling, 
 and threw the shuttle against the loom, and the 
 young King saw that it was threaded with a 
 thread of gold. 
 
 And a great terror seized upon him, and he 
 said to the weaver: "What robe is this that 
 thou art weaving? " 
 
 " It is the robe for the coronation of the 
 young King," he answered ; " what is that to 
 thee?" 
 
 And the young King gave a loud cry and 
 woke, and, lo ! he was in his own chamber, and 
 through the window he saw the great honey- 
 colored moon hanging in the dusky air. 
 
 And he fell asleep again and dreamed, and 
 this was his dream. 
 
 He thought that he was lying on the deck 
 of a huge galley that was being rowed by a 
 hundred slaves. On a carpet by his side the 
 master of the galley was seated. He was black 
 as ebony, and his turban was of crimson silk. 
 
THE YOUNG KING. 1 3 
 
 Great ear-rings of silver dragged down the thick 
 lobes of his ears, and in his hands he had a 
 pair of ivory scales. 
 
 The slaves were naked, but for a ragged loin- 
 cloth, and each man was 
 chained to his neighbor. 
 The hot sun beat brightly 
 upon them, and the negroes 
 ran up and down the gang- 
 way and lashed them with 
 whips of hide. They 
 stretched out their lean arms and pulled the 
 heavy oars through the water. The salt spray 
 flew from the blades. 
 
 At last they reached a little bay, and began 
 to take soundings. A light wind blew from 
 the shore, and covered the deck and the great 
 lateen-sail with a fine red dust. Three Arabs 
 mounted on wild asses rode out and threw 
 spears at them. The master of the galley took 
 a painted bow in his hand and shot one of them 
 in the throat. He fell heavily into the surf, 
 and his companions galloped away. A woman 
 wrapped in a yellow veil followed slowly on a 
 camel, looking back now and then at the dead 
 body. 
 
 As soon as they had cast anchor and hauled 
 
14 THE YOUNG KING. 
 
 down the sail, the negroes went into the hold 
 and brought up a long rope-ladder, heavily- 
 weighted with lead. The master of the galley- 
 threw it over the side, making the ends fast to 
 two iron stanchions. Then the negroes seized 
 the youngest of the slaves, and knocked his 
 gyves off, and filled his nostrils and his ears 
 with wax, and tied a big stone around his waist. 
 He crept wearily down the ladder, and disap- 
 peared into the sea. A few bubbles rose where 
 he sank. Some of the other slaves peered 
 curiously over the side. At the prow of the 
 galley sat a shark-charmer, beating monoto- 
 nously upon a drum. 
 
 After some time the diver rose up out of the 
 water, and clung panting to the ladder with a 
 pearl in his right hand. The negroes seized it 
 from him, and thrust him back. The slaves 
 fell asleep over their oars. 
 
 Again and again he came up, and each time 
 that he did so he brought with him a beautiful 
 pearl. The master of the galley weighed them, 
 and put them into a little bag of green leather. 
 
 The young King tried to speak, but his 
 tongue seemed to cleave to the roof of his 
 mouth, and his lips refused to move. The 
 negroes chattered to each other, and began to 
 
THE YOUNG KING. 15 
 
 quarrel over a string of bright beads. Two 
 cranes flew round and round the vessel. 
 
 Then the diver came up for the last time, 
 and the pearl that he brought with him was 
 fairer than all the pearls of Ormuz ; for it was 
 shaped like the full moon, and whiter than the 
 morning star. But his face was strangely pale, 
 and as he fell upon the deck the blood gushed 
 from his ears and nostrils. He quivered for a 
 little, and then he was still. The negroes 
 shrugged their shoulders, and threw the body 
 overboard. 
 
 And the master of the galley laughed, and, 
 reaching out, he took the pearl, and when he 
 saw it he pressed it to his forehead and bowed. 
 " It shall be," he said, " for the sceptre of the 
 young King" ; and he made a sign to the 
 negroes to draw up the anchor. 
 
 And when the young King heard this he 
 gave a great cry, and woke, and through the 
 window he saw the long gray fingers of the 
 dawn clutching at the fading stars. 
 
 And he fell asleep again, and dreamed, and 
 this was his dream. 
 
 He thought that he was wandering through 
 a dim wood, hung with strange fiuits and with 
 
1 6 THE YOUNG KING. 
 
 beautiful poisonous flowers. The adders hissed 
 at him as he went by, and the bright parrots 
 flew screaming from branch to branch. Huge 
 tortoises lay asleep upon the hot mud. The 
 trees were full of apes and peacocks. 
 
 On and on he went, till he reached the out- 
 skirts of the wood, and there he saw an im- 
 mense multitude of men toiling in the bed of a 
 dried-up river. They swarmed up the crag 
 like ants. They dug deep pits in the ground 
 and went down into them. Some of them cleft 
 the rocks with great axes ; others grabbled in 
 sand. They tore up the cactus by its roots, 
 and trampled on the scarlet blossoms. They 
 hurried about, calling to each other, and no 
 man was idle. 
 
 From the darkness of a cavern Death and 
 Avarice watched them, and 
 Death said : " I am weary ; 
 give me a third of them and 
 let me go." 
 
 But Avarice shook her 
 'jB^ji ' head. "They are my ser- 
 
 ' vants," she answered. 
 
 And Death said to her, "What hast thou in 
 thy hand ? " 
 
 " I have three grains of corn," she answered ; 
 " what is that to thee?" 
 
 
THE YOUNG KING. 17 
 
 " Give me one of them," cried Death, " to 
 plant in my garden ; only one of them, and I 
 will go away." 
 
 " I will not give thee anything," said Ava- 
 rice, and she hid her hand in the fold of her 
 raiment. 
 
 And Death laughed, and took a cup, and 
 dipped it into a pool of water, and out of the 
 cup rose Ague. She passed through the great 
 multitude, and a third of them lay dead. A 
 cold mist followed her, and the water snakes 
 ran by her side. 
 
 And when Avarice saw that a third of the 
 multitude was dead she beat her breast and 
 wept. She beat her barren bosom, and cried 
 aloud. " Thou hast slain a third of my ser- 
 vants," she cried ; " get thee gone. There is 
 war in the mountains of Tartary, and the kings 
 of each side are calling to thee. The Afghans 
 have slain the black ox, and are marching to 
 battle. They have beaten upon their shields 
 with their spears, and have put on their helmets 
 of iron. What is my valley to thee, that thou 
 shouldst tarry in it? Get thee gone, and come 
 here no more." 
 
 "Nay," answered Death, " but till thou hast 
 given me a grain of corn I will not go." 
 
1 8 THE YOUNG KING. 
 
 But Avarice shut her hand, and clenched her 
 teeth. "I will not give thee anything," she 
 muttered. 
 
 And Death laughed, and took up a black 
 stone, and threw it into the forest, and out of 
 a thicket of wild hemlock came Fever in a robe 
 of flame. She passed through the multitude, 
 and touched them, and each man that she 
 touched died. The grass withered beneath her 
 feet as she walked. 
 
 And Avarice shuddered, and put ashes on 
 her head. " Thou art cruel," she cried; "thou 
 art cruel. There is famine in the walled cities 
 of India, and the cisterns of Samarcand have 
 run dry. There is famine in the walled cities 
 of Egypt, and the locusts have come up from 
 the desert. The Nile has not overflowed its 
 banks, and the priests have cursed Isis and 
 Osiris. Get thee gone to those who need thee, 
 and leave me my servants." 
 
 "Nay," answered Death, " but till thou hast 
 given me a grain of corn I will not go." 
 
 " I will not give thee anything," said Ava- 
 rice. 
 
 And Death laughed again, and he whistled 
 through his fingers, and a woman came flying 
 through the air. Plague was written upon her 
 
THE YOUNG KING. 19 
 
 forehead, and a crowd of lean vultures wheeled 
 round her. She covered the valley with her 
 win^s, and no man was left alive. 
 
 And Avarice fled shrieking through the for- 
 est, and Death leaped upon his red horse and 
 galloped away, and his galloping was faster 
 than the wind. 
 
 And out of the slime at the bottom of 
 the valley crept dragons and horrible things 
 with scales, and the jackals came trotting 
 along the sand, sniffing up the air with their 
 nostrils. 
 
 And the young King wept, and said: "Who 
 were these men, and for what were they seek- 
 ing?" 
 
 " For rubies for a king's crown," answered 
 one who stood behind him. 
 
 And the young King started, and, turning 
 round, he saw a man habited as a pilgrim and 
 holding in his hand a mirror of silver. 
 
 And he grew pale, and said : " For what 
 king?" 
 
 And the pilgrim answered : " Look in this 
 mirror, and thou shalt see him." 
 
 And he looked in the mirror, and, seeing his 
 own face, he gave a great cry and woke, and 
 the bright sunlight was streaming into the room. 
 
20 THE YOUNG KING. 
 
 and from the trees of the garden and pleasaunce 
 the birds were singing. 
 
 And the Chamberlain and the high officers of 
 state came in and made obeisance to him, and 
 the pages brought him the robe of tissued gold, 
 and set the crown and the sceptre before him. 
 
 And the young King looked at them, and they 
 were beautiful. More beautiful were they than 
 aught that he had ever seen. But he remem- 
 bered his dreams, and he said to his lords : 
 " Take these things away, for I will not wear 
 them." 
 
 And the courtiers were amazed, and some of 
 them laughed ; for they thought that he was 
 jesting. 
 
 But he spake sternly to them again, and 
 said : " Take these things away, and hide them 
 from me. Though it be the day of my coro- 
 nation, I will not wear them. For on the loom 
 of Sorrow, and by the white hands of Pain, has 
 this my robe been woven. There is Blood in 
 the heart of the ruby, and Death in the heart of 
 the pearl." And he told them his three 
 dreams. 
 
 And when the courtiers heard them they 
 looked at each other and whispered, saying: 
 
THE YOUNG KING. 
 
 21 
 
 " Surely he is mad ; 
 for what is a dream 
 but a dream, and a 
 vision but a vision? 
 They are not real 
 things that one 
 should heed them. 
 And what have we 
 to do with the lives 
 of those who toil for 
 us? Shall a man not 
 eat bread till he has 
 seen the sower, nor 
 drink wine till he 
 has talked with the 
 vinedresser? " 
 
 And the Chamber- 
 lain spake to the 
 young King, 
 and said : " My 
 lord, I pray thee 
 set aside these 
 black thoughts 
 of thine, and 
 put on this fair 
 |j robe, and set 
 this crown upon 
 
22 THE YOUNG KING. 
 
 thy head. For how shall the people know 
 that thou art a king, if thou hast not a king's 
 raiment? " 
 
 And the young King looked at him. " Is it 
 so, indeed?" he questioned. "Will they not 
 know me for a king if I have not a king's 
 raiment? " 
 
 " They will not know thee, my lord," cried 
 the Chamberlain. 
 
 " I had thought that there had been men 
 who were kinglike," he answered, " but it may 
 be as thou sayest. And yet I will not wear 
 this robe, nor will I be crowned with this crown, 
 but even as I came to the palace so will I go 
 forth from it." 
 
 And he bade them all leave him, save one 
 page whom he kept as his companion, a lad 
 a year younger than himself. Him he kept 
 for his service, and, when he had bathed him- 
 self in clear water, he opened a great painted 
 chest, and from it he took the leathern tunic 
 and rough sheepskin cloak that he had worn 
 when he had watched on the hillside the shaggy 
 goats of the goatherd. These he put on, and 
 in his hand he took his rude shepherd's staff. 
 
 And the little page opened his big blue 
 eyes in wonder, and said smiling to him : " My 
 
THE YOUNG KING. 2$ 
 
 lord, I see thy robe and thy sceptre, but where 
 is thy crown? " 
 
 And the young King plucked a spray of wild 
 brier that was climbing over the balcony, and 
 bent it, and made a circlet of it, and set it on 
 his own head. 
 
 " This shall be my crown," he answered. 
 
 And thus attired he passed out of his 
 chamber into the Great Hall, where the nobles 
 were waiting for him. 
 
 And the nobles made merry, and some of 
 them cried out to him, " My lord, the people 
 wait for their king, and thou showest them a 
 beggar." And others were wrath, and said : 
 " He brings shame upon our state, and is un- 
 worthy to be our master." But he answered 
 them not a word, but passed on, and went 
 down the bright porphyry staircase, and out 
 through the gates of bronze, and mounted 
 upon his horse, and rode towards the cathedral, 
 the little page running beside him. 
 
 And the people laughed, and said : " It is the 
 King's fool who is riding by," and they mocked 
 him. 
 
 And he drew rein and said : " Nay, but I am 
 the King." And he told them his three 
 dreams. 
 
24 THE YOUNG KING. 
 
 And a man came out of the crowd and 
 spake bitterly to him, and said : " Sir, knowest 
 thou not that out of the luxury of the rich 
 Cometh the life of the poor? By your pomp 
 we are nurtured, and your vices give us bread. 
 To toil for a hard master is bitter, but to have 
 no master to toil for is more bitter still. Think- 
 est thou that the ravens will feed us? And 
 what cure hast thou for these things ? Wilt thou 
 say to the buyer, ' Thou shalt buy for so much,' 
 and to the seller, 'Thou shalt sell at this price?' 
 I trow not. Therefore go back to thy palace 
 and put on thy purple and fine linen. What 
 hast thou to do with us, and what we suffer? " 
 
 "Are not the rich and the poor brothers?" 
 asked the young King. 
 
 "Ay," answered the man, "and the name 
 of the rich brother is Cain." 
 
 And the young King's eyes filled with tears, 
 and he rode on through the murmurs of the 
 people, and the little page grew afraid and left 
 him. 
 
 And when he reached the great portal of 
 the cathedral, the soldiers thrust their hal- 
 berts out and said : "What dost thou seek here? 
 None enters by this door but the King." 
 
THE YOUNG KING. 
 
 25 
 
 And his face flushed with anger, and he said 
 to them : " I am the King," and waved their hal- 
 berts aside and passed in. 
 
 And when the old Bishop saw him coming 
 in his goatherd's dress, he rose up in wonder 
 from his throne, and went to meet him, and 
 
 said to him : " My son, is this a king's apparel? 
 And with what crown shall I crown thee, and 
 what sceptre shall I place in thy hand ? Surely 
 this should be to thee a day of joy, and not a 
 day of abasement." 
 
26 THE YOUNG KING. 
 
 " Shall Joy wear what Grief has fashioned?" 
 said the young King. And he told him his 
 three dreams. 
 
 And when the Bishop had heard them he 
 knit his brows, and said : " My son, I am an old 
 man, and in the winter of my days, and I know 
 that many evil things are done in the wide 
 world. The fierce robbers come down from 
 the mountains, and carry off the little children, 
 and sell them to the Moors. The lions lie in 
 wait for the caravans, and leap upon the camels. 
 The wild boar roots up the corn in the valley, 
 and the foxes gnaw the vines upon the hill. 
 The pirates lay waste the sea-coast and burn 
 the ships of the fishermen, and take their nets 
 from them. In the salt-marshes live the lepers ; 
 they have houses of wattled reeds, and none 
 may come nigh them. The beggars wander 
 through the cities, and eat their food with the 
 dogs. Canst thou make these things not to 
 be ? Wilt thou take the leper for thy bedfellow, 
 and set the beggar at thy board? Shall the 
 lion do thy bidding, and the wild boar obey 
 'thee? Is not He who made misery wiser than 
 thou art? Wherefore I praise thee not for this 
 that thou hast done, but I bid thee ride back 
 to the palace and make thy face glad, and put 
 
THE YOUNG KING. 27 
 
 on the raiment that besecmeth a king, and with 
 the crown of gold I will crown thee, and the 
 sceptre of pearl will I place in thy hand. And 
 as for thy dreams, think no more of them. 
 The burden of this world is too great for one 
 man to bear, and the world's sorrow too heavy 
 for one heart to suffer." 
 
 "Sayest thou that in this house?" said the 
 young King, and he strode past the Bishop, 
 and climbed up the steps of the altar, and 
 stood before the image of Christ. 
 
 He stood before the image of Christ, and on 
 his right hand and on his left were the marvel- 
 lous vessels of gold, the chalice with the yellow 
 wine, and the vial with the holy oil. He knelt 
 before the image of Christ, and the great 
 candles burned brightly by the jewelled shrine, 
 and the smoke of the incense curled in thin 
 blue wreaths through the dome. He bowed 
 his head in prayer, and the priests in their 
 stiff.copes crept away from the altar. 
 
 And suddenly a wild tumult came from the 
 street outside, and in entered the nobles with 
 drawn swords and nodding plumes, and shields 
 of polished steel. "Where is this dreamer of 
 dreams?" they cried. "Where is this King, 
 who is apparelled like a beggar — this boy who 
 
28 THE YOUNG KING. 
 
 brings shame upon our state? Surely we will 
 slay him, for he is unworthy to rule over us." 
 
 And the young King bowed his head again, 
 and prayed, and when he had finished his 
 prayer he rose up, and turning round, he looked 
 at them sadly. 
 
 And, lo ! through the painted windows came 
 the sunlight streaming upon him, and the sun- 
 beams wove round him a tissued robe that was 
 fairer than the robe that had been fashioned 
 for his pleasure. The dead staff blossomed, 
 and bare lilies that were whiter than pearls. 
 The dry thorn blossomed, and bore roses that 
 were redder than rubies. Whiter than fine 
 pearls were the lilies, and their stems were of 
 bright silver. Redder than male rubies were 
 the roses, and their leaves were of beaten gold. 
 
 He stood there in the raiment of a king, and 
 the gates of the jewelled shrine flew open, and 
 from the crystal of the many-rayed monstrance 
 shone a marvellous and mystical light. He 
 stood there in a king's raiment, and the glory 
 of God filled the place, and the saints in their 
 carven niches seemed to move. In the fair 
 raiment of a king he stood before them, and 
 the organ pealed out its music, and the trum- 
 peters blew upon their trumpets, and the sing- 
 ing boys sang. 
 
THE YOUNG KING. 29 
 
 And the people fell upon their knees in awe, 
 and the nobles sheathed their swords and did 
 homage, and the Bishop's face grew pale, and 
 his hands trembled. "A greater than I hath 
 crowned thee," he cried, and he knelt before 
 him. 
 
 And the young King came down from the 
 high altar, and passed home through the midst 
 of the people. But no man dared look upon 
 his face, for it was like the face of an angel. 
 
?HE STAR-CHILD J^ ^ 
 
 TO MISS MARGOT TENNANT. 
 
 Once upon a time two poor Woodcutters 
 were making their way home through a great 
 pine forest. It was winter, and a night of 
 bitter cold. The snow lay thick upon the 
 ground, and upon the branches of the trees ; 
 the frost kept snapping the little twigs on either 
 side of them as they passed ; and when they 
 came to the Mountain-Torrent she was hanging 
 motionless in air, for the Ice-King had kissed 
 her. 
 
 So cold was it that even the animals and the 
 birds did not know what to make of it. 
 
 " Ugh ! " snarled the Wolf, as he limped 
 
32 
 
 THE STAR-CHILD. 
 
 through the brushwood with his tail between his 
 legs, " this is perfectly monstrous weather. 
 Why doesn't the Government look to it?" 
 
 "Weet! weet! weet!" 
 twittered the green 
 Linnets, " the old Earth 
 is dead, and they have 
 laid her out in her white 
 shroud." 
 
 "The Earth is going 
 to be married, and this is 
 her bridal dress," whis- 
 pered the Turtle-doves 
 to each other. Their 
 little pink feet were 
 quite frost-bitten, but 
 they felt that it was 
 their duty to take a 
 romantic view of the sit- 
 uation. 
 
 "Nonsense ! " growled 
 the Wolf "I tell you 
 that it is all the fault of 
 the Government, and 
 if you don't believe me 
 I shall eat you." The Wolf had a thoroughly 
 practical mind, and was never at a loss for a 
 good argument. 
 
THE STAR-CHILD. 33 
 
 "Well, for my own part," said the Wood- 
 pecker, who was a born philosopher, " I don't 
 care an atomic theory for explanations. If a 
 thing is so, it is so, and at present it is terribly 
 cold." 
 
 Terribly cold it certainly was. The little 
 Squirrels, who lived inside the tall fir-tree, kept 
 rubbing each other's noses to keep themselves 
 warm, and the Rabbits curled themselves up in 
 their holes, and did not venture even to look 
 out of doors. The only people who seemed 
 to enjoy it were the great horned Owls. Their 
 feathers were quite stiff with rime, but they did 
 not mind, and they rolled their large yellow 
 eyes, and called out to each other across the 
 forest: "Tu-whit! tu-whoo! Tu-whit! tu- 
 whoo I what delightful weather we are having ! " 
 
 On and on went the two Woodcutters, blow- 
 ing lustily upon their fingers, and stamping 
 with their huge iron-shod boots upon the caked 
 snow. Once they sank into a deep drift, and 
 came out as white as millers are, when the 
 stones are grinding; and once they slipped 
 on the hard, smooth ice where the marsh water 
 was frozen, and their fagots fell out of their 
 bundles, and they had to pick them up and 
 bind them together again ; and once they 
 
34 THE STAR-CHILD. 
 
 thought that they had lost their way, and. a 
 great terror seized on them, for they knew 
 that the Snow is cruel to those who sleep in 
 her arms. But they put their trust in the 
 good Saint Martin, who watches over all 
 travellers, and retraced their steps, and went 
 warily, and at last they reached the outskirts 
 of the forest, and saw, far down in the valley 
 beneath them, the lights of the village in which 
 they dwelt. 
 
 So overjoyed were they at their deliverance 
 that they laughed aloud, and the Earth seemed 
 to them like a flower of silver, and the Moon 
 like a flower of gold. 
 
 Yet after that they had laughed they be- 
 came sad, for they remembered their poverty, 
 and one of them said to the other : " Why did 
 we make merry, seeing that life is for the 
 rich, and not for such as we are ? Better that 
 we had died of cold in the forest, or that 
 some wild beast had fallen upon us and slain 
 us." 
 
 " Truly," answered his companion, " much 
 is given to some, and little is given to others. 
 Injustice has parcelled out the world, nor is 
 there equal division of aught save of sorrow." 
 
 But as they were bewailing their misery to 
 
THE STAR-CHILD. 35 
 
 each other this strange thing happened. There 
 fell from heaven a very bright and beautiful 
 star. It slipped down the side of the sky, 
 passing by the other stars in its course, and, as 
 they watched it wondering, it seemed to them 
 to sink behind a clump of willow-trees that 
 stood hard by a little sheepfold no more than 
 a stone's throw away. 
 
 " Why ! there is a crock of gold for whoever 
 finds it," they cried, and they set to and ran, 
 so eager were they for the gold. 
 
 And one of them ran faster than his mate, 
 and outstripped him, and forced his way 
 through the willows, and came out on the 
 other side, and, lo ! there was indeed a thing 
 of gold lying on the white snow. So he has- 
 tened towards it, and stooping down, placed hi,s 
 hands upon it ; and it was a cloak of golden 
 tissue, curiously wrought with stars, and 
 wrapped in many folds. And he cried out to 
 his comrade that he had found the treasure that 
 had fallen from the sky, and when his comrade 
 had come up they sat them down in the snow, and 
 loosened the folds of the cloak that they might 
 divide the pieces of gold. But, alas ! no gold 
 was in it, nor silver, nor, indeed, treasure of 
 any kind, but only a little child who was asleep. 
 
Z6 THE STAR-CHILD. 
 
 And one of them said to the other: "This 
 is a bitter ending to our hope, nor have we any- 
 good fortune ; for what doth a child profit to a 
 man? Let us leave it here, and go our way, 
 seeing that we are poor men, and have children 
 of our own whose bread we may not give to 
 another." 
 
 But his companion answered him : " Nay, 
 but it were an evil thing to leave the child to 
 perish here in the snow, and, though I am as 
 poor as thou art, and have many mouths to 
 feed, and but little in the pot, yet will I bring 
 it home with me, and my wife shall have care 
 of it." 
 
 So very tenderly he took up the child, and 
 wrapped the cloak around it to shield it from 
 the harsh cold, and made his way down the hill 
 to the village, his comrade marvelling much at 
 his foolishness and softness of heart. 
 
 And when they came to the village, his com- 
 rade said to him : " Thou hast the child, there- 
 fore give me the cloak, for it is meet that we 
 should share." 
 
 But he answered him : " Nay, for the cloak 
 is neither mine nor thine, but the child's only ;" 
 and he bade him Godspeed, and went to his 
 own house and knocked. 
 
THE STAR-CHILD. 37 
 
 And, when his wife opened the door and saw 
 that her husband had returned safe to her, she 
 put her arms round his neck and kissed him, 
 and took from his back the bundle of fagots, 
 and brushed the snow off his boots, and bade 
 him come in. 
 
 But he said to her: " I have found something 
 in the forest, and I have brought it to thee to 
 have care of it"; and he stirred not from the 
 threshold. 
 
 "What is it?" she cried. "Show it to me, 
 for the house is bare, and we have need of many 
 things." And he drew the cloak back, and 
 showed her the sleeping child. 
 
 " Alack, goodman ! " she murmured, " have 
 we not children enough of our own, that 
 thou must needst bring a changeling to sit 
 by the hearth ? And who knows if it will 
 not bring us bad fortune? And how shall 
 we tend it?" And she was wroth against 
 him. 
 
 " Nay, but it is a Star-Child," he answered ; 
 and he told her the strange manner of the 
 finding of it. 
 
 But she would not be appeased, but mocked 
 at him, and spoke angrily, and cried : " Our 
 children lack bread, and shall we feed the 
 
38 THE STAR-CHILD. 
 
 child of another? Who is there who careth for 
 us? And who giveth us food?" 
 
 "Nay, but God careth for the sparrows even, 
 and feedeth them," he answered. 
 
 " Do not the sparrows die of hunger in the 
 winter?" she asked. "And is it not winter 
 now?" And the man answered nothing, but 
 stirred not from the threshold. 
 
 And a bitter wind from the 
 forest came in through the 
 open door, and made her 
 tremble, and she shivered, 
 and said to him: "Wilt thou 
 not close the door? There 
 Cometh a bitter wind into 
 the house, and I am cold." 
 
 " Into a house where a heart is hard cometh 
 there not always a bitter wind ? " he asked. 
 And the woman answered him nothing, but 
 crept closer to the fire. 
 
 And after a time she turned round and looked 
 at him, and her eyes were full of tears. And 
 he came in swiftly, and placed the child in her 
 arms, and she kissed it, and laid it in a little 
 bed where the youngest of their own children 
 was lying. And on the morrow the Woodcutter 
 took the curious cloak of gold and placed it in 
 
THE STAR-CHILD. 39 
 
 a great chest, and a chain of amber that was 
 round the child's neck his wife took and set it 
 in the chest also. 
 
 So the Star-Child was brought up with the 
 children of the Woodcutter, and sat at the 
 same board with them, and was their playmate. 
 And every year he became more beautiful to 
 look at, so that all those who dwelt in the 
 village were filled with wonder ; for, while they 
 were swarthy and black-haired, he was white 
 and delicate as sawn ivory, and his curls were 
 like the rings of the daffodil. His lips, also, 
 were like the petals of a red flower, and his 
 eyes were like violets by a river of pure water, 
 and his body like the narcissus of a field where 
 the mower comes not. 
 
 Yet did his beauty work him evil. For he 
 grew proud, and cruel, and selfish. The chil- 
 dren of the Woodcutter, and the other children 
 of the village, he despised, saying that they 
 were of mean parentage, while he was noble, 
 being sprung from a Star, and he made him- 
 
40 THE STAR-CHILD. 
 
 self master over them, and called them his 
 servants. No pity had he for the poor, or for 
 those who were blind or maimed or in any way 
 afflicted, but would cast stones at them and 
 drive them forth on to the highway, and bid 
 them beg their bread elsewhere, so that none 
 save the outlaws came twice to that village to 
 ask for alms. Indeed, he was as one en- 
 amoured of beauty, and would mock at the 
 weakly and ill-favored, and make jest of them ; 
 and himself he loved, and in summer, when 
 the winds were still, he would lie by the well in 
 the priest's orchard and look down at the 
 marvel of his own face, and laugh for the pleas- 
 ure he had in his fairness. 
 
 Often did the Woodcutter and his wife chide 
 him, and say : " We did not deal with thee as 
 thou dealest with those who are left desolate, 
 and have none to succor them. Wherefore art 
 thou so cruel to all who need pity?" 
 
 Often did the old priest send for him, and 
 seek to teach him the love of living things, say- 
 ing to him : " The fly is thy brother. Do it no 
 harm. The wild birds that roam through the 
 forest have their freedom. Snare them not for 
 thy pleasure. God made the blind worm and 
 the mole, and each has its place. Who art 
 
THE STAR-CHILD. 4 1 
 
 thou to bring pain into God's world? Even 
 the cattle of the field praise Him." 
 
 But the Star-Child heeded not their words, 
 but would frown and flout, and go back to his 
 companions, and lead them. And his compan- 
 ions followed him, for he was fair, and fleet of 
 foot, and could dance, and pipe, and make 
 music. And wherever the Star-Child led them 
 they followed, and whatever the Star-Child bade 
 them do, that did they. And when he pierced, 
 with a sharp reed, the dim eyes of the mole, 
 they laughed, and when he cast stones at the 
 leper they laughed also. And in all things he 
 ruled them, and they became hard of heart, 
 even as he was. 
 
 Now there passed one day through the vil- 
 lage a poor beggar-woman. Her garments 
 were torn and ragged, and her feet were bleed- 
 ing from the rough road on which she had 
 travelled, and she was in very evil plight. And 
 being weary she sat her down under a chestnut- 
 tree to rest. 
 
42 THE STAR-CHILD. 
 
 But when the Star-Child saw her, he said to 
 his companions : " See ! there sitteth a foul 
 beggar-woman under that fair and green-leaved 
 tree. Come, let us drive her hence : for she is 
 ugly and ill-favored." 
 
 So he came near and threw stones at her, 
 and mocked her, and she looked at him with 
 terror in her eyes, nor did she move her gaze 
 from him. And when the Woodcutter, who 
 was cleaving logs in a haggard hard by, saw 
 what the Star-Child was doing, he ran up and 
 rebuked him, and said to him : " Surely thou 
 art hard of heart and knowest not mercy ; for 
 what evil has this poor woman done to thee 
 that thou shouldst treat her in this wise ? " 
 
 And the Star-Child grew red with anger, and 
 stamped his foot upon the ground, and said : 
 "Who art thou to question me what I do? I 
 am no son of thine to do thy bidding." 
 
 " Thou speakest truly," answered the Wood- 
 cutter; "yet did I show thee pity when I found 
 thee in the forest." 
 
 And when the woman heard these words she 
 gave a loud cry, and fell into a swoon. And 
 the Woodcutter carried her to his own house, 
 and his wife had care of her, and, when she 
 rose up from the swoon into which she had 
 
THE STAR-CHILD. 43 
 
 fallen, they set meat and drink before her, and 
 bade her have comfort. 
 
 But she would neither eat nor drink, but 
 said to the Woodcutter : " Didst thou not say 
 that the child was found in the forest? And 
 was it not ten years from this day ? " 
 
 And the Woodcutter answered: "Yea, it was 
 in the forest that I found him, and it is ten 
 years from this day." 
 
 " And what signs didst thou find with him?" 
 she cried. " Bore he not upon his neck a 
 chain of amber? Was not round him a cloak 
 of gold tissue broidered with stars?" 
 
 "Truly," answered the Woodcutter, "it was 
 even as thou sayest." And he took the cloak 
 and the amber chain from the chest where they 
 lay, and showed them to her. 
 
 And when she saw them she wept for joy, 
 and said : " He is my little son whom I lost in 
 the forest. I pray thee send for him quickly, 
 for in search of him have I wandered over the 
 whole world." 
 
 So the Woodcutter and his wife went out 
 and called to the Star-Child, and said to him : 
 " Go into the house, and there shalt thou find 
 thy mother, who is waiting for thee." 
 
 So he ran in, filled with wonder and great 
 
44 THE STAR-CHILD. 
 
 gladness. But when he saw her who was wait- 
 ing there, he laughed scofnfully, and said : 
 " Why, where is my mother ? For I see none 
 here but this vile beggar-woman." 
 
 And the woman answered him, " I am thy 
 mother." 
 
 " Thou art mad to say so," cried the Star- 
 Child, angrily. " I am no son of thine, for 
 thou art a beggar, and ugly, and in rags. 
 Therefore get thee hence, and let me see thy 
 foul face no more." 
 
 " Nay, but thou art indeed my little son, 
 whom I bore in the forest," she cried ; and she 
 fell on her knees, and held out her arms to him. 
 " The robbers stole thee from me and left thee 
 to die," she murmured; "but I recognized thee 
 when I saw thee, and the signs also have I 
 recognized, — the cloak of golden tissue and 
 the amber chain. Therefore I pray thee come 
 with me, for over the whole world have I wan- 
 dered in search of thee. Come with me, my 
 son, for I have need of thy love." 
 
 But the Star-Child stirred not from his place, 
 but shut the doors of his heart against her, nor 
 was there any sound heard save the sound of 
 the woman weeping for pain. 
 
 And at last he spoke to her, and his voice 
 
THE STAR-CHILD. 45 
 
 was hard and bitter. " If in very truth thou 
 art my mother," he said, " it had been better 
 hadst thou stayed away, and not come here to 
 bring me to shame, seeing that I thought I was 
 the child of some Star, and not a beggar's 
 child, as thou tellest me that I am. Therefore 
 get thee hence, and let me see thee no 
 more." 
 
 " Alas ! my son," she cried, " wilt thou not 
 kiss me before I go? For I have suffered 
 much to find thee." 
 
 "Nay," said the Star-Child, "but thou art 
 too foul to look at, and rather would I kiss the 
 adder or the toad than thee." 
 
 So the woman rose up, and went away into 
 the forest, weeping bitterly ; and when the Star- 
 Child saw that she had gone, he was glad, and 
 ran back to his playmates, that he might play 
 with them. 
 
 But when they beheld him coming they 
 mocked him, and said : " Why, thou art as foul 
 as the toad, and as loathsome as the adder. 
 Get thee hence, for we will not suffer thee to 
 play with us " ; and they drove him out of 
 the garden. 
 
 And the Star-Child frowned, and said to 
 himself: "What is this that they say to me? 
 
46 THE STAR-CHILD. 
 
 I will go to the well of water and look into it, 
 and it shall tell me of my beauty." 
 
 So he went to the well of water and looked 
 into it, and, lo ! his face was as the face of a 
 toad, and his body was scaled like an adder. 
 And he flung himself down on the. grass and 
 wept, and said to himself: "Surely this has 
 come upon me by reason of my sin. For I 
 have denied my mother, and driven her away, 
 and been proud, and cruel to her. Wherefore 
 I will go and seek her through the whole world, 
 nor will I rest till I have found her." 
 
 And there came to him the little daughter 
 of the Woodcutter, and she put her hand upon 
 his shoulder and said : " What doth it matter 
 if thou hast lost thy comeliness? Stay with 
 us, and I will not mock at thee." 
 
 And he said to her : " Nay, but I have 
 been cruel to my mother, and as a punish- 
 ment has this evil been sent to me. Where- 
 fore I must go hence, and wander through the 
 world till I find her, and she give me her 
 forgiveness." 
 
 So he ran away into the forest and called 
 out to his mother to come to him, but there 
 was no answer. All day long he called to her, 
 and when the sun set he lay down to sleep on 
 
THE STAR-CHILD. 47 
 
 a bed of leaves, and the birds and the ani- 
 mals fled from him, for they remembered his 
 cruelty, and he was alone save for the toad 
 that watched him, and the slow adder that 
 crawled past. 
 
 And in the morning he rose up, and plucked 
 some bitter berries from the trees and ate 
 them, and took his way through the great 
 wood, weeping sorely. And of everything 
 that he met he made inquiry if perchance they 
 had seen his mother. 
 
 He said to the Mole, " Thou canst go be- 
 neath the earth. Tell me, is my mother 
 there ? " 
 
 And the Mole answered, " Thou has blinded 
 mine eyes. How should I know?" 
 
 He said to the Linnet: "Thou canst fly over 
 the tops of the tall trees, and canst see the 
 whole world. Tell me, canst thou see my 
 mother? " 
 
 And the Linnet answered, " Thou hast 
 clipped my wings for thy pleasure. How 
 should I fly?" 
 
 And to the little Squirrel who lived in the 
 fir-tree, and was lonely, he said : " Where is 
 my mother?" 
 
 And the Squirrel answered, "Thou hast 
 
48 THE STAR-CHILD. 
 
 slain mine. Dost thou seek to slay thine 
 also?" 
 
 And the Star-Child wept, and bowed his 
 head, and prayed forgiveness of God's things, 
 and went on through the forest, seeking for 
 the beggar-woman. And on the third day he 
 came to the other side of the forest and went 
 down into the plain. 
 
 And when he passed through the villages 
 the children mocked him, and threw stones at 
 him, and the carlots would not suffer him even 
 to sleep in the byres lest he might bring mil- 
 dew on the stored corn, so foul was he to look 
 at, and their hired men drave him away, and 
 there was none who had pity on him. Nor 
 could he hear anywhere of the beggar-woman 
 who was his mother, though for the space of 
 three years he wandered over the world, and 
 often seemed to see her on the road in front of 
 him, and would call to her, and run after her 
 till the sharp flints made his feet to bleed. But 
 overtake her he could not, and those who dwelt 
 by the way did ever deny that they had seen 
 her, or any like to her, and they made sport of 
 his sorrow. 
 
 For the space of three years he wandered 
 over the world, and in the world there was 
 
THE STAR-CHILD. 49 
 
 neither love nor loving-kindness nor charity for 
 him, but it was even such a world as he had 
 made for himself in the days of his great 
 pride. 
 
 AXD one evening he came to the gate of a 
 strong-walled city that stood by a river, and, 
 weary and footsore though he was, he made 
 to enter in. But the soldiers who stood on 
 guard dropped their halberts across the en- 
 trance, and said roughly to him : " What i§ 
 thy business in the city? " 
 
 " I am seeking for my mother," he answered, 
 " and I pray ye to suffer me to pass; for it 
 may be that she is in this city." 
 
 But they mocked at him, and one of them 
 wagged a black beard, and set down his shield 
 and cried: "Of a truth, thy mother will not 
 be merry when she sees thee ; for thou art 
 more ill-favored than the toad of the marsh, 
 or the adder that crawls in the fen. Get thee 
 gone. Get thee gone. Thy mother dwells not 
 in this city." 
 
50 THE STAR-CHILD. 
 
 And another, who held a yellow banner in 
 his hand, said to him : " Who is thy mother, 
 and wherefore art thou seeking for her? " 
 
 And he answered : " My mother is a beggar 
 even as I am, and I have treated her evilly, and 
 I pray ye to suffer me to pass, that she may 
 give me her forgiveness, if it be that she tarrieth 
 in this city." But they would not, and pricked 
 him with their spears. 
 
 And, as he turned away weeping, one whose 
 armor was inlaid with gilt flowers, and on 
 whose helmet couched a lion that had wings, 
 came up and made inquiry of the soldiers 
 who it was who had sought entrance. And 
 they said to him : " It is a beggar and the 
 child of a beggar, and we have driven him 
 away." 
 
 "Nay," he cried, laughing, " but we will sell 
 the foul thing for a slave, and his price shall be 
 the price of a bowl of sweet wine." 
 
 And an old and evil-visaged man who was 
 passing by called out, and said : "I will buy 
 him for that price"; and, when he had paid 
 the price, he took the Star-Child by the hand 
 and led him into the city. 
 
 And after that they had gone through many 
 streets they came to a httle door that was set 
 
THE STAR-CHILD. 5 I 
 
 in a wall that was covered with a pomegranate- 
 tree. And the old man touched the door with 
 a ring of graved jasper and it opened, and they 
 went down five steps of brass into a garden 
 filled with black poppies and green jars of 
 burnt clay. And the old man took then from 
 his turban a scarf of figured silk, and bound 
 with it the eyes of the Star-Child, and drave 
 him in front of him. And when the scarf 
 was taken off his eyes the Star-Child found 
 himself in a dungeon, that was lit by a lantern 
 of horn. 
 
 And the old man set before him some 
 mouldy bread on a trencher, and said, "Eat," 
 and some brackish water in a cup, and 
 said, "Drink"; and when he had eaten and 
 drunk the old man went out, locking the 
 door behind him and fastening it with an iron 
 chain. 
 
 And on the morrow the old man, who was 
 indeed the subtlest of the magicians of Libya 
 and had learned his art from one who dwelt 
 
52 
 
 THE STAR-CHILD. 
 
 in the tombs of the Nile, came into him and 
 frowned at him, and said, "In a wood that is 
 nigh to the gate of this city of Giaours there 
 are three pieces of gold. One is of white gold, 
 and another is of yellow gold, and the gold of 
 the third one is red. To-day thou shalt bring 
 me the piece of white gold, and if thou bring- 
 est it not back, I will beat thee with a hundred 
 stripes. Get thee away quickly, and at sunset I 
 will be waiting for thee at the door of the gar- 
 den. See that thou bringest the white gold, or 
 it shall go ill with thee, for thou art my slave, 
 and I have bought thee for the price of a bowl 
 of sweet wine." And he bound the eyes of the 
 Star-Child with the scarf of figured silk, and led 
 him through the house, and through the garden 
 of poppies, and up the five steps of brass. And, 
 having opened the little door with his ring, he 
 set him in the street. 
 
THE STAR-CHILD. 53 
 
 And the Star-Child went out of the gate of 
 the city, and came to the wood of which the 
 Magician had spoken to him. 
 
 Now, this wood was very fair to look at from 
 without, and seemed full of singing birds and 
 of sweet-scented flowers, and the Star-Child 
 entered it gladly. Yet did its beauty profit 
 him little, for wherever he went harsh briers 
 and thorns shot up from the ground and en- 
 compassed him, and evil nettles stung him, and 
 the thistle pierced, him with her daggers, so 
 that he was in sore distress. Nor could he 
 anywhere mid the piece of white gold of which 
 the Magician had spoken, though he sought 
 for it from morn to noon, and from noon to 
 sunset. And at sunset he set his face towards 
 home, weeping bitterly, for he knew what fate 
 was in store for him. 
 
 But, when he had reached the outskirts of 
 the wood, he heard from a thicket a cry as of 
 some one in pain. And, forgetting his own 
 sorrow, he ran back to the place, and saw there 
 a little Hare caught in a trap that some hunter 
 nad set for it. 
 
 And the Star-Child had pity on it, and 
 released it, and said to it : "I am myself but 
 a slave, yet may I give thee thy freedom." 
 
54 THE STAR-CHILD. 
 
 And the Hare answered him, and said : 
 "Surely thou hast given me freedom, and 
 what shall I give thee in return?" 
 
 And the Star-Child said to it: "I am seeking 
 for a piece of white gold, nor can I anywhere 
 find it, and if I bring it not to my master he 
 will beat me." 
 
 " Come thou with me," said the Hare, " and 
 I will lead thee to it ; for I know where it is 
 hidden, and for what purpose." 
 
 So the Star-Child went with the Hare, and, 
 lo ! in the cleft of a great oak-tree he saw the 
 piece of white gold that he was seeking. And 
 he was filled with joy, and seized it, and said 
 to the Hare : " The service that I did to thee 
 thou hast rendered back again many times 
 over, and the kindness that I showed thee thou 
 hast repaid a hundred-fold." 
 
 " Nay," answered the Hare, " but as thou 
 dealt with me, so I did deal with thee"; and 
 it ran away swiftly, and the Star-Child went 
 towards the city. 
 
 Now at the gate of the city there was seated 
 one who was a leper. Over his face hung a 
 cowl of gray linen, and through the eyelets his 
 eyes gleamed like red coals. And, when he 
 saw the Star-Child coming, he struck upon a 
 
THE STAR-CHILD. 55 
 
 wooden bowl, and clattered his bell, and called 
 out to him, and said : " Give me a piece of 
 money, or I must die of hunger. For they 
 have thrust me out of the city, and there is no 
 one who has pity on me." 
 
 " Alas ! " cried the Star-Child, " I have but 
 one piece of money in my wallet, and if I bring 
 it not to my master he will beat me, for I am 
 his slave." 
 
 But the leper entreated him, and prayed of 
 him, till the Star-Child had pity, and gave him 
 the piece of white gold. 
 
 And, when he came to the Magician's house, 
 the Magician opened to him, and brought him 
 in, and said to him : " Hast thou the piece of 
 white gold ? " And the Star-Child answered, 
 " I have it not." So the Magician fell upon 
 him, and beat him, and set before him an 
 empty trencher, and said, "Eat," and an empty 
 cup, and said, " Drink," and flung him again 
 into the dungeon. 
 
 And on the morrow the Magician came to 
 him, and said : " If to-day thou bringest me not 
 the piece of yellow gold, I will surely keep 
 thee as my slave, and give thee three hundred 
 stripes." 
 
 So the Star-Child went to the wood, and all 
 
56 THE STAR-CHILD. 
 
 day long he searched for the piece of yellow 
 gold, but nowhere could he find it. And at 
 sunset he sat him down and began to weep, 
 and as he was weeping there came to him 
 the little Hare that he had rescued from the 
 trap. 
 
 And the Hare said to him, "Why art thou 
 weeping? And what dost thou seek in the 
 wood? " 
 
 And the Star-Child answered : " I am seeking 
 for a piece of yellow gold that is hidden here, 
 and if I find it not my master will beat me, and 
 keep me as a slave." 
 
 " Follow me," cried the Hare, and it ran 
 through the wood till it came to a pool of 
 water. And at the bottom of the pool the 
 piece of yellow gold was lying. 
 
 " How shall I thank thee ? " said the Star- 
 Child ; " for, lo ! this is the second time that 
 you have succored me." 
 
 " Nay, but thou hadst pity on me first," said 
 the Hare, and it ran away swiftly. 
 
 And the Star-Child took the piece of yellow 
 gold, and put it in his wallet, and hurried to 
 the city. But the leper saw him coming, and 
 ran to meet him, and knelt down and cried: 
 " Give me a piece of money or I shall die of 
 hunger." 
 
THE STAR-CHILD. 
 
 S7 
 
 And the Star-Child said to him : " I have in 
 my wallet but one piece of yellow gold, and if 
 I bring it not to my master he will beat me 
 and keep me as his slave." 
 
 But the leper entreated him sore, so that the 
 
 Star-Child had pity on him, and gave him the 
 piece of yellow gold. 
 
 And, when he came to the Magician's house, 
 the Magician opened to him, and brought him 
 in, and said to him : " Hast thou the piece of 
 
58 THE STAR-CHILD. 
 
 yellow gold ? " And the Star-Child said to him, 
 " I have it not." So the Magician fell upon 
 him, and beat him, and loaded him with chains, 
 and cast him again into the dungeon. 
 
 And on the morrow the Magician came to 
 him, and said : " If to-day thou bringest me the 
 piece of red gold I will set thee free, but if 
 thou bringest it not I will surely slay thee." 
 
 So the Star-Child went to the wood, and all 
 day long he searched for the piece of red gold, 
 but nowhere could he find it. And at evening 
 he sat him down, and wept, and as he was 
 weeping there came to him the little Hare. 
 
 And the Hare said to him, " The piece of 
 red gold that thou seekest is in the cavern that 
 is behind thee. Therefore weep no more, but 
 be glad." 
 
 "How shall I reward thee?" cried the Star- 
 Child ; " for, lo ! this is the third time thou hast 
 succored me." 
 
 " Nay, but thou hadst pity on me first," said 
 the Hare, and it ran away swiftly. 
 
 And the Star-Child entered the cavern, and 
 in its farthest corner he found the piece of red 
 gold. So he put it in his wallet, and hurried 
 to the city. And the leper, seeing him coming, 
 stood in the centre of the road, and cried out, 
 
THE STAR-CHILD. 59 
 
 and said to him : " Give me the piece of red 
 money, or I must die"; and the Star-Child had 
 pity on him again, and gave him the piece of 
 red gold, saying: "Thy need is greater than 
 mine." Yet was his heart heavy, for he knew 
 what evil fate awaited him. 
 
 But, lo ! as he passed through the gate of 
 the city, the guards bOwed down and made 
 obeisance to him, saying : " How beautiful is 
 our lord ! " and a crowd of citizens followed 
 him, and cried out: "Surely there is none so 
 beautiful in the whole world ! " so that the 
 Star-Child wept, and said to himself: "They 
 are mocking me, and making light of my 
 misery." And so large was the concourse of 
 the people that he lost the threads of his way, 
 and found himself at last in a great square, in 
 which there was a palace of a King. 
 
 And the gate of the palace opened, and the 
 priests and the high officers of the city ran forth 
 to meet him, and they abased themselves before 
 him, and said : " Thou art our lord for whom 
 we have been waiting, and the son of our King." 
 
60 THE STAR-CHILD. 
 
 And the Star-Child answered them and said : 
 "I am no king's son, but the child of a poor 
 beggar-woman. And how say ye that I am 
 beautiful, for I know that I am evil to look at ? " 
 
 Then he whose armor was inlaid with gilt 
 flowers, and on whose helmet couched a lion 
 that had wings, held up a shield, and cried : 
 " How saith my lord that he is not beautiful? " 
 
 And the Star-Child looked, and, lo ! his face 
 was even as it had been, and his comeliness 
 had come back to him, and he saw that in his 
 eyes which he had not seen there before. 
 
 And the priests and the high officers knelt 
 down, and said to him : " It was prophesied of 
 old that on this day should come he who was 
 to rule over us. Therefore, let our lord take 
 this crown and this sceptre, and be in his 
 justice and mercy our King over us." 
 
 But he said to them : " I am not worthy, for 
 I have denied the mother who bore me, nor 
 may I rest till I have found her, and known 
 her forgiveness. Therefore, let me go, for I 
 must wander again over the world, and may 
 not tarry here, though ye bring me the crown 
 and the sceptre." And as he spoke he turned 
 his face from them towards the street that led 
 to the gate of the city, and, lo 1 amongst the 
 
THE STAR-CHILD. 6 1 
 
 crowd that pressed round the soldiers he saw the 
 beggar-woman who was his mother, and at her 
 side stood the leper, who had sat by the road. 
 
 And a cry of joy broke from his lips, and he 
 ran over, and, kneeling down, he kissed the 
 wounds on his mother's feet, and wet them with 
 his tears. He bowed his head in the dust, and, 
 sobbing as one whose heart might break, he 
 said to her : " Mother, I denied thee in the 
 hour of my pride. Accept me in the hour of 
 my humility. Mother, I gave thee hatred. Do 
 thou give me love. Mother, I rejected thee. 
 Receive thy child now." But the beggar- 
 woman answered him not a word. 
 
 And he reached out his hands, and clasped 
 the white feet of the leper, and said to him : 
 " Thrice did I give thee of my mercy. Bid my 
 mother speak to me once." But the leper an- 
 swered him not a word. 
 
 And he sobbed again, and said : "Mother, my 
 suffering is greater than I can bear. Give me thy 
 forgiveness, and let me go back to the forest." 
 And the beggar-woman put her hand on his 
 head, and said to him, "Rise"; and the leper 
 put his hand on his head, and said to him, 
 " Rise," also. 
 
 And he rose up from his feet, and looked at 
 them, and, lo ! they were a King and a Queen. 
 
62 THE STAR-CHILD. 
 
 And the Queen said to him, " This is thy 
 father whom thou hast succored." 
 
 And the King said, " This is thy mother 
 whose feet thou hast washed with thy tears." 
 
 And they fell on his neck and kissed him, 
 and brought him into the palace, and clothed 
 him in fair raiment, and set the crown upon 
 his head, and the sceptre in his hand ; and 
 over the city that stood by the river he ruled, 
 and was its lord. Much justice and mercy did 
 he show to all, and the evil Magician he ban- 
 ished, and to the Woodcutter and his wife he 
 sent many rich gifts, and to their children he 
 gave high honor. Nor would he suffer any to 
 be cruel to bird or beast, but taught love and 
 loving-kindness and charity ; and to the poor he 
 gave bread, and to the naked he gave raiment, 
 and there was peace and plenty in the land. 
 
 Yet ruled he not long, so great had been his 
 suffering, and so bitter the fire of his testing; 
 for after the space of three years he died. And 
 he who came after him ruled evilly. 
 
COSY CORNER SERIES. 
 
 A Series of Short Original Stories, or Reprints of Well-known 
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 BIG BROTHER. By Annie Fellows- Johnston. 
 
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 A PROVENCE ROSE. By Louisa de la Rame (Ouida). 
 
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 THE KING OF THE GOLDEN RIVER. A Legend of 
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 IN DISTANCE AND IN DREAM. By M. F. Sweetser. 
 
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 WILL O' THE MILL. By Robert Louis Stevenson. 
 
 THE YOUNG KING. THE STAR-CHILD. Two Tales 
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