Stories from the Faerie Queen, Told to the Children

om Fairyland, there lived a king and quee

rincesses that ever were seen, and

and they were very happy together, until a dreadful thing

d little children. With its fiery breath it turned the trees and grass

servants shut themselves up in a tower made of brass. The dragon tried very h

queen hid in their tower, w

r and tried to save the king and queen. But the dragon was

ryland and ask the Queen of the Fairies to

t a dwarf carried for her the food and clothes

lack cloak to show that she felt sad. Her lovely face was very sorrowful, for she was so unhap

nd a young knight, fearless and faithful and true,

r armour, and on his silver shield, a red cross was

and her knight rode away through the woods that lay betwe

tle donkey put down its dainty feet gently on the grass and wondered at th

ey would have been drenched had they not found shelter in a thick wood. There were wide paths

alking together and listening to the birds' sweet song

he open road, they could not find the way. On and on they

his spear to the dwarf to hold, went forwar

this is a terribly dangerous place, and tha

the knight said, 'I should be ashamed to come back. I

It had a great ugly head and a long speckled tail like a serpent's, and it rushed at the knight, roaring furiousl

rike the monster bravely. And he, smitin

the wood. On the road they met an old man who looked kind and good. He asked them t

d magician, and all he w

lieve that Una was very false and wicked, and that the best thing he could do was to go away from her. Very early in the mornin

e, Una could only weep bitterly a

ould only go slowly, and in his anger and sorrow the knight had made

nely moors, she sought her knight. And her heart was ver

took off her black cloak, and her beautiful golden hair fell loosely round her face. Her f

lion. He was hunting for something to kill and eat, and when

s it gently licked her little white hands and feet. And Una's sad heart wa

tch while she slept, and when she was aw

r like a faith

er met any one that Una could ask

her, but when the woman looked round and saw a lovely lady and a lion, she got such a fright that she threw down the pot and ran for

nd the lion, with one blow from

them, and asked them if she and her lion might shelter there for the night. When darkn

give them to those two bad women. The women were so afraid of the lion that they dared not come out of their hiding-p

ose early and went

s dead body, they were filled with rage at Una and her lion. They ra

ic he made himself armour the same as that of the Red Cross Knight, and when Una saw him she thought it was her own true

rough and wicked man, whose brother had been killed in a fight with the Knight of the Red Cross, came

and cast him bleeding on the ground. Then Sansloy dragged off his helmet and was going to kill him, when he f

ore. But when he saw how beautiful Una was, he roughly dragged her off her

drove his sword deep into the lion's faithful heart. With a great roar the noble beast fell dead, and Sansloy threw Una before him on his horse and galloped away with her. She wept and sobbed and begged him to let her go, bu

t came out looked down like weeping

n she shrank from him in fear, he was so rough that she sc

than men and women. They were dancing merrily in the starlight when they he

airy legs and arms and strange wild faces, he was so fr

o beautiful and so frightened and so sad, they smiled at her to show her that they meant to be k

ng for joy. They broke off green branches and strewed them before her as she walked, and they crowned her with leaves to show that sh

he used to steal the baby lions from their mothers just for fun, and drive panthers, and antelopes, and wild boars, and tigers and wolves with bits and bridles, as if they were playing at horses. But he was gentle like his mother, although he was so fearless. And when Una told h

he dressed himself up like a pilgrim and came

about my true knight, who bears a red cro

ing and dead. To-day I saw a terrible fight between hi

wn in a faint. The brave young knight lif

d Cross Knight, and taken from us all o

he magician. 'I left him at a

, and sure enough, at a fountain they found a knight sitting. It wa

ushed up to him wi

ght,' he said; 'come and fight an

aid Sansloy, in a great rage. 'Your en

ing sometimes for a moment that they might rush at

was trampled by their feet, and the sound

adful sight that she ran away a

he woods towards her. It was her own dwarf, and his woful face to

hut, and at last a giant had caught him, and kept him a prisoner in a

he dwarf's story. But she made up her mind to find her knight and free him. So on s

ght was the good Prince Arthur, of all the knights of the Faerie Q

the good prince. 'I will never leave you

ince kept

Una and her knight met together again and were married,