Her invitations were taken by the winds and swiftly carried to the four corners of the globe. Hundreds of noble personages were asked to meet the distinguished strangers, and all came to do them honor, bringing cordial greetings and invitations to visit the different parts of the world.
The night of the ball had come. The Earth, resplendent in jewels, awaited the arrival of her guests. The forest back of them was aglitter with lights, for all the glow-worms and fireflies had been summoned for the occasion, and for days they had been decorating the trees. An orchestra of birds sang delicious music, and overhead the sky was spangled with twinkling stars gazing in silent wonderment upon the Earth’s splendor.
By the side of the Earth Queen stood Prince Dorion. His suit of pure gold shone like the Sun himself, and next to him was his beautiful bride, the Moon Princess. She was dressed in white garments embroidered in silver, and she was certainly a charming vision. Her gleaming yellow hair was caught back from her forehead with a crown of flashing stars. Her clear blue eyes, with their deep sky tints, were dancing in lights as brilliant as her star crown itself.
First came the Earth’s eldest son, the Ocean King, to greet them. The Sea was a mass of fire with gleaming phosphorus, and King Ocean and his mermaid daughters seemed to be floating in red flames as they approached. The maidens’ long and wonderfully beautiful hair floated behind them as they swam, and they sang the most entrancing songs. They bore an invitation to Prince Dorion and his bride to visit them in their marine home. And this invitation was at once accepted by the strangers. Another invitation, accepted at once, came from Prince Dorion’s only sister, Princess Kuldah, who lived upon the Earth with her husband. Many more charming invitations were given them, but of course it was impossible to accept them all.
At last one distinguished-looking person strode forward, small of stature and ugly to look upon. His body was dwarfed, and he had a big hump on his back. His face was dark and glowering, and he wore a suit of yellow leaves. All the guests moved aside to let him pass, as though they feared him. He lived in the vast depths of the forest, amidst huge mountains; his daily work, with his thousands of imps, was to build those mountains big and high. Stone by stone he raised them, bleak and barren, to the clouds. He limped as he walked, and he glared angrily at the shrinking faces avoiding him; but he gave his invitation to the fair guests, as the others had done, and bowed low before them as he gave it.
An involuntary shudder ran through the lovely Princess as she heard his words, and she clung suddenly to her husband in terror, as the black dwarf’s eyes dwelt admiringly upon her. She felt a cold thrill of fear at his bold glance.
But Prince Dorion, reassuring her with a tender smile, turned to the ugly creature, and to the astonishment of the Earth Queen and her court, replied: “Sir Dwarf, we accept your invitation, and will gladly ride forth with you whenever our hostess wills. The Sun King, my father, and her Majesty the Queen of the Moon, have each sent the Earth a gift as a glad token of our visit here, and we must place our precious gold and silver deep within the bosom of your great mountains. There will it best thrive and grow, increasing and benefiting the world.”
The Moon Princess turned very pale when she heard her husband’s reply, but the black dwarf limped away with a gratified smile upon his ugly face.
CHAPTER II
HOW THE WEDDING GUESTS VISITED THE CAVES OF OCEAN
