“In the kingdom which lies next to fairyland dwells a Little Princess who has a Fearless Heart. There is a wall which will not be easy to climb, but the Princess is more beautiful than anything else in the world!”
And that was enough for the Prince, so he girded on his sword, and set out, singing as he went for pure lightness of heart.
But it is not so easy to find fairyland as it is to eat a ripe apple, and the Prince could have told you that, before he was through. For in some places it is so broad that it takes in the whole world, and in others so narrow that a flea could cross it in two jumps. So that some people never leave it all their lives long, but others cross at a single step, and never see it at all.
Finally, the Prince came to the place where all roads meet, and they were as much alike as the hairs on a dog’s back. But it was all one to him, so he rode straight ahead and lost himself in fairyland.
When the first fairy godmother saw him, she laughed to herself and flew away, straight over his head, to the wall around the Garden. But you may be sure that she did not trouble the guards at the triple gates: for, if one has wings, what is the use of stairs? So over the wall she flew to the room where the Little Princess lay sleeping.
You may readily believe that the Princess was astonished when she awoke to find the fairy beside her bed, but she was not in the least alarmed, for, you see, she did not know that there was anything in the world to be afraid of.
“My dear,” said the old lady, “I am your first fairy godmother.”
“How do you do, Godmother?” said the Princess, and she sat up in bed and courtesied. Which is a very difficult trick, indeed, and it is not every Princess who can do it.
Her godmother was so delighted that she leaned over and kissed her.
“That is the second time I have kissed you,” she said. “When I go, I will kiss you again, and you had better save the three of them, for they will be useful when you go out into the world. And, my dear, it is high time that you were going out.”