A Double Story | Page 3

evening she made the discovery that her moon
was a little peculiar, inasmuch as she could not shine in the dark. Her
nurse happened to snuff out the candles as she was playing with it; and
instantly came a shriek of rage, for her moon had vanished. Presently,
through the opening of the curtains, she caught sight of the real moon,

far away in the sky, and shining quite calmly, as if she had been there
all the time; and her rage increased to such a degree that if it had not
passed off in a fit, I do not know what might have come of it.
As she grew up it was still the same, with this difference, that not only
must she have every thing, but she got tired of every thing almost as
soon as she had it. There was an accumulation of things in her nursery
and schoolroom and bedroom that was perfectly appalling. Her
mother's wardrobes were almost useless to her, so packed were they
with things of which she never took any notice. When she was five
years old, they gave her a splendid gold repeater, so close set with
diamonds and rubies, that the back was just one crust of gems. In one
of her little tempers, as they called her hideously ugly rages, she dashed
it against the back of the chimney, after which it never gave a single
tick; and some of the diamonds went to the ash-pit. As she grew older
still, she became fond of animals, not in a way that brought them much
pleasure, or herself much satisfaction. When angry, she would beat
them, and try to pull them to pieces, and as soon as she became a little
used to them, would neglect them altogether. Then, if they could, they
would run away, and she was furious. Some white mice, which she had
ceased feeding altogether, did so; and soon the palace was swarming
with white mice. Their red eyes might be seen glowing, and their white
skins gleaming, in every dark corner; but when it came to the king's
finding a nest of them in his second-best crown, he was angry and
ordered them to be drowned. The princess heard of it, however, and
raised such a clamor, that there they were left until they should run
away of themselves; and the poor king had to wear his best crown
every day till then. Nothing that was the princess's property, whether
she cared for it or not, was to be meddled with.
Of course, as she grew, she grew worse; for she never tried to grow
better. She became more and more peevish and fretful every
day--dissatisfied not only with what she had, but with all that was
around her, and constantly wishing things in general to be different.
She found fault with every thing and everybody, and all that happened,
and grew more and more disagreeable to every one who had to do with
her. At last, when she had nearly killed her nurse, and had all but

succeeded in hanging herself, and was miserable from morning to night,
her parents thought it time to do something.
A long way from the palace, in the heart of a deep wood of pine-trees,
lived a wise woman. In some countries she would have been called a
witch; but that would have been a mistake, for she never did any thing
wicked, and had more power than any witch could have. As her fame
was spread through all the country, the king heard of her; and, thinking
she might perhaps be able to suggest something, sent for her. In the
dead of the night, lest the princess should know it, the king's messenger
brought into the palace a tall woman, muffled from head to foot in a
cloak of black cloth. In the presence of both their Majesties, the king, to
do her honor, requested her to sit; but she declined, and stood waiting
to hear what they had to say. Nor had she to wait long, for almost
instantly they began to tell her the dreadful trouble they were in with
their only child; first the king talking, then the queen interposing with
some yet more dreadful fact, and at times both letting out a torrent of
words together, so anxious were they to show the wise woman that
their perplexity was real, and their daughter a very terrible one. For a
long while there appeared no sign of approaching pause. But the wise
woman stood patiently folded in her black cloak, and listened without
word or motion. At length silence fell; for they had talked themselves
tired, and could not think of any thing more to add to the list of their
child's enormities.
After a minute,