At this, which seemed like boasting to some of the old fairies, there was some shaking of the heads among them. “Rough and boisterous!” “Won’t settle down!” “Too full of grit to be pleasant!” “Too likely to take on different forms, and to be changeable, to make a good husband!” These were some of the remarks dropped by old fairies that were critical or jealous, or knew too well the pranks of the young fellow Zand.
“And she? Why she’s more changeable yet. Takes on different colors at different times, is hard or soft, according as she is hot or cold. Why, you can mould her to any pattern you [[154]]please. Just like wax! Let water come near her and the fickle fairy will melt away, spilling and spreading herself over everything.”
“Yes, but she’s tough, and can hold water as still in its place, as in a bowl,” said another. “That shows a steady character, doesn’t it?”
“Well, I don’t know. On the other hand, put fire near her and she hardens into stone. How frivolous! She’ll never make a good wife! If she does, she’ll so settle down, that you can’t move her!”
“Too much family pride on both sides,” snapped out a wizened old fairy. “Better not boast too much of one’s children! A little more modesty might be more becoming. As for my part, I don’t think either Mr. Zand or Miss Klei worth much. Neither has any good looks.”
The wise old fairies paid no attention to this gossip and these ill-natured remarks. They said that all these critics were jealous. The match was approved, and preparations were made, on an immense scale, to celebrate the wedding.
It would take too long to tell who were present at the marriage feast, how they were dressed, the way they behaved, and how the fairies of the fire and the ice were over-careful. The six daughters of the snow did not like to get near the sooty and smoky elves and kabouters, that came up, out of the mines and caves and lower [[155]]earth, to see the company and the fun. In fact, fairies can be just as snobbish, and selfish, and impolite, as human beings. Some are very proud and selfish, and others kind and gracious.
The story-teller can only stop to say that the bride looked very sweet. She wore her mother’s dress of silvery braid, while, instead of orange blossoms, which do not grow in the mountains, or a bouquet of roses, or sweet pinks, which had not yet come on the earth, she had on her head a crown made of the edelweiss, which is found only on the highest mountains and usually growing near the edge of precipices and is very rare and precious. It was born on the earth, long before fruit trees, or forget-me-nots, or pansies, and it grew, because it had a white woolly coat like fur, that kept it warm in the intense cold that killed other plants; in fact the mischievous Jack Frost could never bite, or pinch it. So it lived on.
It is far more important, in this story, to tell of the children that were soon born of the two wonderful fairies, Zand and Klei. Wherever they touched each other, or lived for any length of time, there was born a new thing called soil. Whenever a seed was dropped in that soil, up sprang a flower, a stalk of grain, a fruit tree, or grass. Gardens, orchards, corn fields, and pastures were always found where this couple had had a home. [[156]]
By and bye great forests covered the land, and in the forests, the deer roamed, and squirrels played, for many nut trees grew here. The birds built their nests in the trees and the woods echoed with their sweet songs. In fact, in the month of May, when the birds were courting and love making, and nest building, there was a continual concert. Then, when the young birds left the nests to fly, and carol, and chirrup, and find their own food, the world was indeed a lovely place to live in. So, at least, a thousand kinds of happy animals thought.