The Moon Princess: A Fairy Tale

by Edith Ogden Harrison

“Her favorite ride was toward the Fire Mountains. One morning as she drove the fiery steeds toward their flaming heights her horses became unmanageable. Pull as she would, she could not control them; they went like the wind at his greatest fury. She had outrun all her companions in her mad race, and she was in the most imminent danger of being killed. At this critical moment there arose in her path a tall and handsome young man. The horses were as startled as the young Princess at this sudden appearance, and for a moment, in alarm, slackened their speed. It was in this second of hesitation that the young man leaped into the chariot beside Kuldah, and snatched the reins from her hands. It took but a few moments of his great strength to subdue the enraged animals completely, and in a little while they were trotting along quietly, as if nothing had happened.

“Then of course the grateful Princess turned to thank her preserver. In her excitement (when she had lost control of the horses), she had thrown back her veil, and the young man found himself steadily gazing into her beautiful countenance. Strive as he would, he could not resist the love that surged in his heart as he looked upon her. But although he was falling in love rapidly, he had heard too much of the haughty Princess’s coldness and indifference to feel sure of winning her. He guessed at once it was she, because he had heard she was the loveliest being in the Sun world, but he determined he would not yield to her influence and become one of her suitors. The Princess’s own feelings, when she looked at the young man, surprised her very much. He was so modest and dignified, and withal so handsome and charming, that she could not help wondering who he was. He was certainly not one of her suitors, for she had never seen him before. This young man, too, seemed quite indifferent to her attractions, and talked to her very seriously about driving her horses, and showed her how to manage the reins in case they tried to run away again. She might have been just a plain girl for all the admiration he showed. At first this indifference pleased her; later she rebelled a little against it.

“She learned he was a young Prince who had been studying in the Palace of Wisdom. This astonished her still more, for although he had been in her country some time he had never sought her out at all. He had come to the land of the Sun to study its fire and flame, and he was evidently absorbed only in that study. The Princess was so astonished to learn all these facts, and to observe his indifference to her famous beauty (which was proved by his not seeking her hand in marriage), that she forgot to lower her veil, and sat talking to him much longer than she otherwise would have done. Finally remembering, she covered her face, but not before she had asked him to call at the palace and let her father thank him properly for having saved her life.

“The young man secretly determined he would not accept her invitation, for he had already learned to love her, and feared the usual fate of her suitors. However, when the hour approached the next day he could not resist the temptation to see once more the lovely Princess; after that he found many excuses to call, and managed each day to see her.

“But the wonderful part of it all was, that Kuldah took as much pleasure in his company as he did in hers. So later, when he asked her to marry him she said yes, right on the spot, fearing to delay, lest he might go off and become as indifferent as he was at first, and never come back again.

“He was very happy when she said yes, and thus far everything had gone very smoothly for them both; but when they went in to see the old King their troubles began. Kuldah was wreathed in smiles, and Prince Minio looked very happy and proud. The old King, who had never supposed for one minute that his daughter would accept any man,—having refused so many,—had one day rashly promised all the suitors that, if she ever made a choice, they should each have a fair chance to win her. This, of course, was the cause of the lovers’ trouble now. The Princess was indignant that her father should have made such a promise about her. She considered herself free to choose for herself. So she stormed and wept about it as only a Sun Princess could do, and declared she would never, never marry any man but the man she loved.

“But her old father, who was so indulgent and yielding with her usually, remained firm in his decision, and said he could not break a promise once made, for that would not be honorable. Therefore, the very next day he announced to everybody that a contest in skill and science should take place between the suitors for her hand. The Princess was very unhappy, of course, during the days that followed, but Prince Minio cheered her by saying he felt equal to winning her in a fair contest. His love was far greater than that of the others, and therefore he felt assured he would learn a way to win her for his bride in spite of them all.

“When the great day for the contest came, a large gathering of the suitors was held in an open field at the foot of the Fire Mountains. They were a fine and noble company of young men who contended for Kuldah’s hand, and her father said she should have felt proud and glad at such a sight. But she was too sad to feel proud. She had dressed as became a Sun Princess, and her gown was of finely spun gold, embroidered in diamonds. Her white arms and throat gleamed through the thin gauze dress, and a girdle of diamonds encircled her slender waist. From her shoulders fell a train, which swept for yards behind her, and a narrow gold band held her beautiful hair in place. For her hair hung about her in loose masses, falling far below her waist, and mingling its burnt-gold color with that of her brilliant dress, so that one could hardly tell where one ended and the other began. As she stood she looked like a golden Princess, except that her face was as pale as the fleecy clouds overhead.

“In her majestic beauty she let them kneel and kiss her hand. Each one, as he touched her hand, swore in turn to be faithful and true to the knight who should win her, but each one believed secretly he himself would be the winner. Then began the tournament of skill. One showed how he could ride; another how he could mount and dismount, or how he could unhorse an enemy; a third used the gloves or the sword with wonderful dexterity; another engaged in a trial of strength, or swiftness in running; and so on until the long list was completed.

“It seemed to the Princess, as she watched in despair their wonderful deeds, that there was nothing left for her beloved even to attempt. The suitors had all done such marvellous things; and her heart ached within her when she learned from one of her handmaidens that her lover was the last to appear on the lists. Yet, when he did step forth, calm and serene, her heart leaped again to her throat, her confidence returned; for he looked strong and handsome, and it was only with pride and pleasure she gazed upon him. She leaned forward with a smiling face to listen to his words, for he was speaking.