“O, yes,” replied all the Moon maidens in chorus, “do tell us all about them.”
“Once upon a time, in a charming country, a delightful people lived. The skies were clear as crystal, and the Sun shone brightly out of them. Great palm groves grew green and beautiful, and curious flowers sprang up in marvellous bits of color. There was a strange and fascinating beauty about this land. Even the rocky hills edging the big broad desert that stretched for miles away, barren of the smallest green blade of grass to make them pretty, were not ugly. Yellow as gold they sparkled in the bright sunshine, rich and mellow against the paler sand beyond. The country lay near a large blue sea, and through its many cities ran a splendid shining river. Now, every one of the clear, cool drops of this smiling stream was precious as diamonds to the people, for, beautiful as their land was (and it was superb with its splendid mosques and temples and rich with jewels and carvings), it lacked one thing that the rest of the world enjoyed,—never a drop of rain fell there.
“For more years than you could count, the trees and the flowers had never tasted a cool sweet drink from the skies. The heavens were always blue and clear, for the Sun shone brilliantly out of them every day. Sometimes a cloud might form, but if it did, it floated by white as the foam on the sea, never dark or black.
“Now, you may think that golden sunshine and blue skies are very lovely things to possess, but the people tired of having them all the time. They felt that a nice shower of rain occasionally, even if it came out of an ugly black cloud, would be better than all the pink and violet and green shades of their clear heavens. The only thing that saved their trees and their gardens from burning up as in the dry heat of the desert, and that gave them water, was the glorious big river flowing by. No wonder, then, they loved and prized its drops. Broad and long, it ran through the country, and curled in silver splashes about the banks. Twice every year it overflowed, and then, with feasting and joy, they caught it in pools and canals dug to hold and preserve the precious liquid. In this way they kept the gardens green and lovely, but oh, the work was so hard! Thousand of poor slaves labored day and night to accomplish it. The kind-hearted king offered a big reward to any one who would devise some way to make rain fall in his country, and many wise men spent days and nights studying over the great question. Big trees were planted to catch and draw the moisture, and many other means were tried, but in spite of all these doings the clouds sailed by, as fleecy and white as snow.
“So things went on for many years, and still no rain ever came. Now, the king had an only son, to whom he was perfectly devoted. The child was very beautiful, and was also wise, as a prince should be. It was a common thing to see the handsome little fellow standing in the midst of a grave council of men, listening to their words of wisdom. He never seemed to tire of their long discussions, and would remain, solemn and silent, among them, instead of playing with the children about him. Thus he grew in wisdom and strength to manhood, but he was seldom seen at the court balls and festivals, preferring to wander about among the beautiful mosques of his father’s city, or to stand on one of their daintily carved minarets and gaze across the yellow sands of the desert. Often he would remain thus for hours, and though his eyes were looking far out over the appalling yet wonderful beauty of the desert, his thoughts were always only of how he might solve the riddle of his country, and bring it the cool drops of rain it so earnestly wanted. This one idea absorbed him utterly, he could think literally of nothing else, for he noticed with sorrow how terribly hard his father’s slaves toiled to carry the precious water from the river when they tilled the ground.
“One day, shortly after he was grown, he was sitting beneath the shadow of a great pyramid, and was planning and musing on the one question always uppermost in his mind. The day was warm; the desert around him shimmered in a golden haze. The yellow hills were so bright beneath the noonday sun that his eyes fairly ached as he watched them, and it was a relief to turn from their glittering lights toward the cool, flowing river, and watch a fringe of feathery, waving palms. ‘Oh, for the dark shadow of a cloud,’ he murmured, ‘to soften all this glare!’
“They circled together, dressed in the vivid colors of the rainbow.” ([Page 57])
“He had not spoken aloud, and yet he heard a musical sound as though in answer to his wish. He turned quickly, and saw a wonderful sight. The desert had disappeared, and he was looking into a shadowy green forest, with crystal springs. Clear, limpid streams of water ran through the woods, and beautiful flowers were blooming. Farther along in the distance he saw a big mountain, dark and gray, and yet all about its sides grew pretty green ferns. Looking closely, he observed that there was an opening in its side, and through this opening came the music of a flute. As he watched more closely he saw a lovely maiden come slowly forth. She was dressed in a brilliant gown of orange color, and her flowing robes floated softly about her. Her hair hung in waves of gold, and on her forehead flashed a beautiful star. In her hand she carried a wand, but the wand was so curious that he forgot the beauty of the maiden in noticing it. It was long and slender, and seemed to be made of pure gold and laden with jewels; but it was not this wealth of glistening gold that attracted him, it was a curious cloud of white mist that curled and floated away from it each time that she waved it aloft. He had never seen anything so peculiar before. Each white cloud that floated away nestled among the hollow places in the hills like a thin veil, or hovered over the babbling streams in the forest. While he was watching the mysterious cloudlets from the magical wand, a second maiden, more beautiful than the first, followed, dressed in a pale blue gown, and having, like the first, a brilliant star on her forehead. She also carried a jewel-laden wand, and it sent forth similar mysterious white clouds. Then came a third, dressed in a brilliant red; and another, in soft green; and still another, in charming violet; and so on, until seven beautiful creatures stood together, dressed in the seven vivid colors of the rainbow. They formed a ring, and slowly moved together in a circle about an open space before the mountain. Lightly stepping, thus they danced, always in a circle, and always gazing intently toward the opening in the mountain through which they had come.
“Presently, as they gazed expectantly, Prince Asgard saw coming toward them the most exquisite creature he had ever beheld. She was tall and slender, and her graceful form seemed to dance along rather than walk. She was dressed in some soft, clinging material of pure white, shading to a glittering silver, and the girdle confining her waist looked like a bit of the blue sky itself, it was so dainty. Her hair was like that of the other maidens, and looked like spun gold, and it was so fine that it glistened wonderfully as she moved. Her slippers were pale blue, and embroidered with silver threads. A brilliant star on each slipper flashed like a big diamond as she danced along. A tiny golden crown held her hair in place, and seven glittering stars encircled her head. Her wand was of frosted silver, and as she waved it, the soft vapor rolled away in white clouds, as it did before the wands of the other maidens. As she appeared, the seven other maidens broke into a song of gladness, singing in a clear, high tone these words:—