The Garden forsaken : a fairy tale [series]

Title

Creator

Ruff, Adela

Language

English

Source

The Young Citizen. 3 (4) May 1937

Year

1937

Subject

Fairy tales

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Fulltext

I 06 THE YOUNG CITIZEN May, 19J7 THE GARDE~ A Fairy By ADEi.A So every morning he would ride by on his stalwart and brave pony. His pony had magic wings but even these could not help to carry the prince over LONG, long ago and far away, there the high walls. And so every morning was a garden beautiful where the prince was just contented to sit on grew vines and flowers of all his bold and white-winged horse and to colors and description. Now, the gar- listen to the sweet sounds that came den is forsaken and the lilies and roses from the garden. all lie dead. The paths are now grass- Now, you have neve.1· seen a prince; covered. But it was not so--many, neither have I. But the story books tell many years ago. that he was a most comely prince; that Then, the garden was always in a. his· strength was as the strength of ten festive mood and the flowers always because his heart was pure and noble nodded their heads in sprightly dances. and good. The sun was more bright there; and the He believed in prayers; so every moon was more yellow and golden than morning he would look up into the blue elsewhere. sky and pray that he might but see the The birds never wearied singing their beauty that he was sure was in the garheavenly songs and the butterflies were · den. And so one morning his prayers as active and busy as the bees all day were answered and his heart was filled and all night long. It was a fairy king- with joy. With long thanksgiving, he <lorn. So everyone could do so many knelt and offered the Great God his grastrange and unheard of things. titude. He was so overwhelmed with This garden was surrounded with gratitude. high and thick walls. No human eye This is how his prayers were ancould ever get a peep into this secret gar- swered. The Prince of Peace and of c\en. The people outside this little para- Love sent his two angels into the gardise were contented to dream and guess den. The two angels were named at each beauty. They were satisfied to Peace and Love, and they commanded hear the sounds as of angels singing the birds, the butterflies and the flowtheir songs of greeting and hope and ers and vines to help the handsome love. . prince go into the garden for a sho~·t It so happened that a great prmce visit. And all the birds :;md flowers did from a distant clime came to hear of this rejoice! \~·onderful garden. One morning, as the prince stood on • Magdalena Elementary School, Manila. the outside wall, with his hands on his .tfay, 1937 rHE YOUNG ClTlZc;'< 107 FORSAKEN Tale RUFF* winged horse's head, he was overjoyed to see thousands of butterflies flying over the garden walls-down, round about, and around him. And the roses and the lilies climbed and clambered over the walls so that the Prince might use them as a ladder. The bii·ds, the buttel'flies and the bees '1 lappe.:l their wings so that the air made the Prince and his winged horse as light as the moonbeams. At last the handsome prince stood under a thick everg1·een tree. And as he looked about, he began to wonder at the things around him. What do you think he saw in that garden? Right in the middle of that now forsaken garden was a princess. She was so beautiful that he could not speak. It was a truly strange fairy world. It was like a dream; for the princess sat on " throne of ruby, pearls and silver and gold. And her eyes were of the color of the violets and her hair was soft and golden. Her cheeks were soft and smooth and fair like the sampaguita. When she saw the Prince, she put her right hand ·Over her heart to tell him in her strange language that all within that Ii ttle garden was his for the asking. "Oh, beloved Princess, let me stay by thy side forever and this shall be my heaven." The princess was glad. She had waited so long for him! (To b<' continued n<'.t:l month)

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