One day she took it into her head to run away from him, and darted into the middle of the road, almost under the heels of some prancing horses. I happened to be close by, and seized her red skirt just in time to drag her back. Panting with terror, Giovanni took her from me, and when he found she was not hurt, for the first time in his life he shook her. And then he tried to kiss my hands; I almost wished I had left Mariannina to be run over. Before I could get away from him, he had thrust upon me the small gilt cage he always carried about with him, and had but just now tossed on the ground. It held his cherished ‘grillo,’ or cricket, a curious pet of which all his playmates seemed very fond.
“It is yours, it is yours!” he cried, and seemed so grieved when I tried to give it back to him that I was obliged to keep it.
The cricket was a merry little creature, with a very loud voice for his size. “Cree-cree-cree!” he chirped, as I carried him to the villa, and he never once stopped all day. I believe that he sang the whole night through, for I heard him in my dreams; and when I woke I determined to set him free.
I carried the little gilt cage up the slope of a hill before I opened the door. No sooner had he hopped on the grass, when his “Cree-cree-cree” was taken up by hundreds of other crickets, who gathered round him in great excitement, chirping with all their might. As I put my fingers into my ears, a little old woman appeared from nowhere, and with a wave of her hand sent them all away.
“Many mouths make a small noise great,” she said, “and you are not the first to be wearied by the crickets’ song. The Sorcerer of the Seven Heads[2] liked it as little as you did, and the White Princess owes her happiness to this. I say what I know, for I am her Fairy Godmother.”
“Why, they told me there were no Fairies in Italy!” I cried. And then I was sorry that I had spoken, for the little old woman grew pale with rage.
“No Fairies?” she exclaimed. “Ah, foolish ones, worse than blind! Had you not believed them you had seen countless Witches and Fays ere this, for Ascension Day has come and gone, and they are all set free. Besides these, there are Goblins and Spirits, and fearsome Incubas, and shadowy Fates who sway men’s destinies. All these abound in our sunny Italy for those who have eyes to see; and there are also Fairy Godmothers, such as I. The maidens for whom I stand sponsor comb jewels out of their hair; diamonds and pearls, rubies, and shining turquoise. But the White Princess’ were always pearls; and pearls often turn to tears.”
Then, drawing close to me, as I sat in the long grass, she told me of
“The fates had dowered Queen Catherine with gifts; but though her husband was devoted to her, and the kingdom was blessed by a long spell of peace, she sighed unceasingly. One boon alone had been denied her, and without this she did not care to live.