Bertha, too, was there, the dark-eyed, bright-faced Bertha; and charming enough she looked too, in her bright colors, and her little jewelled cap. And happy enough, too; for the lover came safely back from the wars, and that same lover, now her husband, was by her side, and as happy as herself.
The Green Fairy, too, was there, though no one knew it, in the form of a fine-feathered bird, perched high on the top of a marble column. Somebody else, too, was there, who will shortly speak for herself.
After the marriage ceremony had been performed, the whole company repaired to the most spacious hall in the palace, where was served up a sumptuous banquet. The tables were loaded with dishes of solid gold, and with crystal ornaments. Sweetmeats, cordials, and spices of richest fragrance were brought from the remotest corners of the earth. Players of musical instruments, hidden from sight, sent forth their softest, sweetest strains.
Roses were everywhere,—roses and myrtle; in rich vases upon the table, among the decorations of the walls, in hanging-baskets, in the hands of marble statues, festooned from the ceiling, wreathed about the white columns. Roses and myrtle everywhere. The air was filled with their fragrance. And everybody said, how beautiful were the myrtle and the rose together.
At the close of the banquet, King Brondé observed that the great king who sat at his left hand appeared sad and downcast; that, although striving to be gay with the rest, yet he often turned aside to wipe away a tear.
“What is your grief?” asked King Brondé; “what great sorrow dwells in your heart, that will make itself felt, even at this bridal feast?”
“I can tell you that!” cried a strange voice at his side.
King Brondé turned and saw, standing quite near him, a little old woman, holding a staff, and wearing a blue blanket pinned over her head.
“And who are you?” cried King Brondé. “By what means gained you entrance here? And what should one like you know of the troubles of a great king?”
“The great king has but one trouble,” she replied, “and that shall soon be taken away. Listen, now, and you shall hear a true story.