A FLOWER FAIRY.
When the wind blows the petals from the flowers—as it does every day—the Fairies at night time go and collect them. They at once dip them into a mixture made of an extract of black ants’ milk, [[57]]clear honey, and morning dew. How they make it has never been found out; but it has a truly surprising effect in preserving both the shape and colours of the petals. They then put them into moulds the size and shape of the tiles they propose to make; press them very tightly together; and lightly brushing the face of each tile so made with a little more of the mixture in order to cover it with a kind of glaze, set them up in the sunlight to dry. The drying finished, they put them through some kind of electrical treatment to make them hard, and they are then almost ready for use.
Before putting them in place however; by a secret process quite impossible to discover; they make the actual outline of the flower itself to appear through the glaze; and, more bewildering still, they cause the perfume of whatever flower petals have been used, to come back to them. They are thus enabled to faintly scent a room or hall with whatever pleasant odour they like to choose; the result of which is, that knowing the particular flower that one loves best, they can pay him or her a most delicate compliment, by simply introducing the perfumes of his or her favourite flower to the house or rooms he or she is to occupy.
As it happens, the flowers used in the making of the Hall floor tiles were wattle-blossoms. They were selected, partly because of the sunny effect to be obtained from their golden colour; and partly because Prince Waratah—who by this time had seen Princess Wattle Blossom and fallen in love with her—had made up his mind that some day she should be his wife. How he first came to visit the father of the lovely Princess, and the manner of his going, are now a matter of tradition; but at the time the journey took place it was looked upon as an almost miraculous performance.
As you will remember, when the Prince first found the Magic Well, he was on his way to visit the Wattle Fairies, who lived in that part of Australia now called Victoria. But in consequence of his important and probably far-reaching discovery, he gave up his search for a wife; returned to his father, King Eucalyptus, and sought and obtained permission to undertake the building of a new Fairy City round the Magic Well. [[58]]
When the City was finished, and the Palace well on the way, he began to think that a Palace without a Princess would be a very poor thing indeed, and more or less useless. Quite naturally therefore, his thoughts reverted to the Wattle Fairies, of whom he had heard it said that they were the most beautiful in all the World. The more he turned the matter over in his mind, the more he desired to make the visit upon which he had started so long ago.
But there were difficulties in the way. To take an escort of sufficient strength to resist possible enemy attacks, meant delaying the erection of the Palace for quite a considerable length of time. In addition, his personal supervision would be lacking, and mistakes might occur.
Pondering over these and other matters, there one day flashed into his mind a rather quaint idea. Without any loss of time he sent for the Engineer Fairy; the one who had made the bamboo squares from which the water was sprayed when the Desert Fairies tried to fill the great Trench with sand. And this is what he said: “Hail! and greeting! O clever Engineer!” And the Engineer replied, “Hail! O Prince! Forever at your service!” “Engineer,” said the Prince, “I would that I could take a voyage through the air; and being seized with an idea, I have a mind to discuss it with thee. Listen then, O Engineer! and answer me in good time! As thou wert able to fill the hollow bamboo stalks with water—to the great undoing of our common enemy the Desert Fairies—canst thou not fill some others with air, and, having done so, construct me a carriage that might, like a bird, fly safely overhead?”
As you may well believe, so unexpected a question could not be given an instant answer. It is doubtful indeed if the Prince himself expected any other than he got. What the Engineer Fairy said in reply was: “Permit, O Prince, thy servant time to think, and he will answer thee anon!” “Granted, most worthy Engineer!” said the Prince; “not until thou thyself do broach this matter again shall it be named betwixt us twain.” And the Prince rose in sign of dismissal.
When the Engineer Fairy had time to think over the things the Prince had said to him he was greatly pleased at having been called [[59]]“most worthy Engineer,” and he set about his novel task with the greatest good-will.