Fifty-One Tales | Page 9

shall spread on, down
either bank of the holy river of Zoth, till the people that make wattles in
the plains shall hear of it and sing; but the heralds shall go northward
along the hills until they come to Sooma. And in that golden city they
shall tell the kings, that sit in their lofty alabaster house, of thy strange
and sudden smiles. And often in distant markets shall thy story be told
by merchants out from Sooma as they sit telling careless tales to lure
men to their wares.
"'And the heralds passing thence shall come even to Ingra, to Ingra
where they dance. And there they shall tell of thee, so that thy name
long hence shall be sung in that joyous city. And there they shall
borrow camels and pass over the sands and go by desert ways to distant
Nirid to tell of thee to the lonely men in the mountain monasteries.
"'Come with me even now for it is Spring.'"
"And as I said this she faintly yet perceptibly shook her head. And it
was only then I remembered my youth was gone, and she dead forty
years."

THE STORM
They saw a little ship that was far at sea and that went by the name of
the Petite Espérance. And because of its uncouth rig and its lonely air
and the look that it had of coming from strangers' lands they said: "It is
neither a ship to greet nor desire, nor yet to succor when in the hands of
the sea."
And the sea rose up as is the wont of the sea and the little ship from
afar was in his hands, and frailer than ever seemed its feeble masts with
their sails of fantastic cut and their alien flags. And the sea made a great
and very triumphing voice, as the sea doth. And then there arose a wave
that was very strong, even the ninth-born son of the hurricane and the
tide, and hid the little ship and hid the whole of the far parts of the sea.
Thereat said those who stood on the good dry land:
"'Twas but a little, worthless alien ship and it is sunk at sea, and it is
good and right that the storm have spoil." And they turned and watched
the course of the merchant-men, laden with silver and appeasing spice;
year after year they cheered them into port and praised their goods and
their familiar sails. And many years went by.
And at last with decks and bulwarks covered with cloth of gold; with
age-old parrots that had known the troubadours, singing illustrious
songs and preening their feathers of gold; with a hold full of emeralds
and rubies; all silken with Indian loot; furling as it came in its
way-worn alien sails, a galleon glided into port, shutting the sunlight
from the merchantmen: and lo! it loomed the equal of the cliffs.
"Who are you?" they asked, "far-travelled wonderful ship?"
And they said: "The Petite Espérance."
"O," said the people on shore. "We thought you were sunk at sea."
"Sunk at sea?" sang the sailors. "We could not be sunk at sea--we had
the gods on board."

A MISTAKEN IDENTITY
Fame as she walked at evening in a city saw the painted face of
Notoriety flaunting beneath a gas-lamp, and many kneeled unto her in
the dirt of the road.
"Who are you?" Fame said to her.
"I am Fame," said Notoriety.
Then Fame stole softly away so that no one knew she had gone.
And Notoriety presently went forth and all her worshippers rose and
followed after, and she led them, as was most meet, to her native Pit.

THE TRUE HISTORY OF THE HARE AND THE TORTOISE
For a long time there was doubt with acrimony among the beasts as to
whether the Hare or the Tortoise could run the swifter. Some said the
Hare was the swifter of the two because he had such long ears, and
others said the Tortoise was the swifter because anyone whose shell
was so hard as that should be able to run hard too. And lo, the forces of
estrangement and disorder perpetually postponed a decisive contest.
But when there was nearly war among the beasts, at last an
arrangement was come to and it was decided that the Hare and the
Tortoise should run a race of five hundred yards so that all should see
who was right.
"Ridiculous nonsense!" said the Hare, and it was all his backers could
do to get him to run.
"The contest is most welcome to me," said the Tortoise, "I shall not
shirk it."
O, how his backers cheered.

Feeling ran high on the day of the race; the goose rushed at the fox and
nearly