Chapter 2 princess birthday

princess birthday It was the princess's birthday, and she had just turned twelve.The sun shone brilliantly in the gardens of the palace. Although she is a real princess, a Spanish princess, she is like the children of poor families, only Being able to celebrate a birthday, the whole country naturally regards it as a major event, that is, her birthday It should be a sunny day.It was a fine day indeed.Tall striped tulips stand tall On the stem, like a line of soldiers standing at attention, and looking arrogantly at the roses on the other side of the grass, saying: "We are with you

Just as beautiful. "The purple butterfly danced with the gold powder on its wings, visiting each flower in turn; the little lizard They crawled out of the cracks in the wall and lay in the daylight; the pomegranates burst open their mouths in the hot sun, revealing Their blood-red hearts.Even the clusters of buff lime shelves hanging from the carved trellises along the shadowy corridor seemed to have come from here. Rich in color in the wondrous sunshine, the magnolia trees unfurled their great overlapping ivory bulbs Flowers fill the air with a rich fragrance. The little princess herself walked up and down the balcony with her companions, and walked around the stone vases and moss-covered ancient statues.

Play a game of hide and seek.On weekdays she is only allowed to play with children of her own rank, so she always plays alone, But birthdays are an exception.The king has ordered that she may invite any child she likes to join her in the palace Play.These little Spanish kids run gracefully.Boys wearing big feather hats and fluttering The girls held the backs of their long satin skirts in their hands and shielded their eyes from the sun with large black and silver-gray fans. Light.However, the little princess was the most elegant among them, and she was also the most fashionable. style.Her dress was of gray brocade, embroidered with silver thread at the hem and wide cuffs, and her straight bodice was sewn with

Several expensive pearls.Two small slippers with big pink roses appeared from under the clothes as she walked.That The big gauze fan was pink and pearl, and her hair was like a halo of faded gold around her pale little face. egg with a beautiful white rose on it. The sad king watched them from the windows of his palace.Standing behind him was the one he hated, his brother Brother, Don from the province of Aragon.Pedro, and his confessor, the Grand Inquisitor from Granada sat in his around.The king was more sad than ever at this time, because he saw the little princess walking towards the court officials with a serious childlike appearance.

In addition, I saw her fanning her fan and covering her mouth and laughing at the serious-faced Duchess of Albuquerque who always accompanied her. The king suddenly remembered the young queen, who was the mother of the little princess, and it seemed to him as if it had happened not so long ago.then queen Came to Spain from the joyful country of France, died in the melancholy and gorgeous life of the Spanish court, and the child died when he died. At the age of six months, she didn't even see the second bloom of apricot blossoms in the garden, and she didn't catch up with the knotty old sapling in the middle of the yard.

The fruit of the second year on the flower and fruit tree is already overgrown with weeds.He loved her so much he couldn't bear to bury her in In the tomb that I can't see.A Moorish doctor spiced her body and, in return for the doctor's work, the state Wang saved his life because the doctor had been sentenced to death by the Inquisition on suspicion of cultism and witchcraft. Her body still rests on a tapestry-covered bier in the black marble chapel of the palace, just as it did twelve years ago in a violent wind She was exactly the same as when the monks carried her there in the blustery March.Once a month the king, wrapped in black robes, hands

Carrying an opaque lantern in her hand, she entered the chapel and knelt beside her, calling: "My queen, my queen!" At times he disregarded due decorum (which in Spanish life was governed by decorum, even the king's grief no exception), clutching her pale, jeweled hand with utter grief, and kissing her cold, made-up face, trying To wake her up. He seemed to see her again today, just as he had seen her for the first time in the Palace of Fontainebleau in Paris, when he was only There are fifteen years old, and she is younger.It was at that time that they were formally engaged, in the presence of the Pope's envoy and

The King of France and all his court, after which he returned to the Spanish palace with a little tuft of golden hair.set foot on Ever since he entered his own carriage, he had been thinking of those two childish lips bending down to kiss his hand.the next wedding is It was hastily held at Purgos, a small town on the border between the two countries.The public celebration of entering Madrid was grand, according to Practice is pulling.A high mass was held in the cathedral of Atoka, and a more solemn than usual condemnation of heretics Ritual of burning.Nearly three hundred heretics, many of them English, were handed over to the executioners to be burned at the stake.

He loved her so madly that many people thought he had ruined the country as they were fighting with the British for a new war for the empires of the world.He could not leave her even for a quarter of an hour; for her he had forgotten, or seemed to be Forgetful of all important matters of state; driven by this passion to such a blinding and terrible degree that he What he didn't realize was that all the complicated etiquette he'd devised to please her had only aggravated the strange melancholy she was suffering from. For a while after her death he seemed to have gone mad.If he wasn't worried that the little princess would be punished by his brother after he left.

In truth, he would have formally abdicated and retired to the Tralabist monastery in Granada, for he was already a Honorary Dean of the college.His brother's ruthlessness is well known in Spain, and many people suspect that he killed the queen, It is said that when the queen visited the castle of Aragon where he was, he gave the queen a pair of poisonous gloves.even in the country Three years after the king announced the public mourning of the whole country by royal decree, he still couldn't bear his ministers to propose a sequel to him. When the Holy Roman Emperor himself came to offer him his niece, a beautiful and lovely Bohemian

When the Lord married him, he still ordered his ministers to tell the Emperor that the King of Spain had married Sorrow, though she only a barren bride, whom he loved more than any beauty; the price of this answer was to deprive his kingdom of wealth. Rao's provinces of the Netherlands, which were soon led, at the emperor's instigation, by zealots of the Reformed sect, A rebellion was waged against him. When he watched the little princess playing on the balcony today, he seemed to recall his entire married life, which was a Intense and fiery pleasure, but also terrible pain by its abrupt end.The little princess has everything a queen can Love's haughty demeanor, the exact same willful bobbing of the head, the same curved and proudly beautiful lips, the same lovely With a smile—a very French smile, indeed—the little princess looked up at the window from time to time, or held out her little hand The Spanish gentleman kissed.But the children's loud laughter pierced his ears, and the bright, pitiless sun mocked his mourning. wounds, a monotonous smell of strange spices, like those used to dispose of corpses, as if to foul the fresh morning air - perhaps this is his fantasy?He buried his face in a pair of towels, and when the little princess looked up at the window again, the curtains were closed. The scriptures hung down, and the king also left. She pouted in disappointment and shrugged her shoulders.In fact, he should have stayed with her for her birthday. What do those silly affairs of state matter?Perhaps he went to that gloomy chapel again?it's always on candles, and never let her in.Such sunshine, and everyone being so happy, he was so silly.Besides, he would have missed seeing a bullfight in disguise, the horns had already sounded, not to mention the puppet shows and other wonderful performed.Her uncle and the Grand Inquisitor were more considerate.They have gone out onto the balcony and congratulated her word.So she shook her lovely head again, and pulled Don.Pedro's hand, slowly walked down the stone steps, toward the towering flowers The long pavilion woven with purple silk at the end of the garden, the other children followed closely behind her in strict order, that is, whose name Whoever has the longest will go first. A procession of noble boys disguised as bullfighters came out to welcome her.The young Earl of Xindi, a fourteen-year-old Pretty boy, doff her hat with all the grace of a Spanish noble family, and lead her solemnly into the arena He sat down on a small ivory chair inlaid with gold placed on the raised stands.The children formed a circle around her, and they While waving the big fans in their hands, they talked to each other.Don.Pedro and the Grand Inquisitor standing smilingly in the population place.Even the Duchess—the Mayoress, as they were called—a small, volatile woman with yellow The jawline also changed from the previous stiff face, a trace of a cold smile passed over her wrinkled face, her bloodless face And the thin lips twitched. It was a marvelous bullfight, and to the little princess it was even more beautiful than a real bullfight.that was in parma When the Duke came to visit her father, she was taken to Seville to see a bullfight.A group of boys dressed in richly decorated horse hides Clothes ran up and down the field, they brandished spears tied with brightly colored ribbons; other boys walked and danced the scarlet earth in front of the fake cows, who jumped the fences with ease when the bulls came rushing; Although it is only made of willow branches and open cowhide, it is as lively as a real cow, but sometimes it insists on using its hind legs Running around the field is something that a real cow can't even dream of.The bullfight was also good, and the children were so excited that they They got up and stood on the benches, waved the handkerchiefs with borders in their hands, and shouted loudly: "Great, great!"that kind of vigor Just like adults.In this way, the fight continued, and finally, several horses disguised as people were knocked down, and the young Xindi The count also pinned the ox to the ground, and begging the little princess to allow him to deliver the fatal blow, he slashed at the animal with his wooden sword. stab down.He used too much force and stabbed the bull's head off in one fell swoop, which made Mr. Ronan, a Frenchman, laugh happily. Son of the ambassador in Madrid. In the applause of everyone, the arena was cleaned up, and two Moorish attendants in yellow and black uniforms took the fallen wooden horse The majestically towed away, followed by a small interlude, completed by a French master rope walker on a taut rope gave a performance.Some Italian puppeteers staged a semi-classical Tragedy "Sofonisiba".Their performance was very good, and the movements of the puppets were very natural. At the end of the performance, the little princess His eyes were filled with tears.At that time, there were really many children crying, so I had to comfort them with candy, that is, the Great Inquisition The official was also deeply moved, and he couldn't help but to Tang.These are made of simple wood and colored wax, and are threaded by a silk machine, Pedro said. It seemed unbearable to him that something so mechanically moved could be so sad and so unfortunate. Next came an African performing a trick.He carried a large, flat basket covered with a red cloth.he did The basket was placed in the center of the field, and a strange reed pipe was taken from under his turban and blew on.after a while, The red cloth began to move, and as the sound of the reed pipe became sharper, two golden-green snakes stretched out their strange wedge-shaped heads and stretched further and further. The higher it is, the more it sways to and fro with the sound of music, just like the plants floating in the water.children see their spotted heads and tongue out quickly, but became frightened, until he saw the juggler make a small orange tree in the sand, blooming beautiful After the beautiful white flowers and clusters of real fruits grew, they were happy again; later the juggler learned from Lars.Torres Hou Jue's little daughter took a fan in her hand and turned it into a blue bird flying around in the pavilion, singing songs incessantly. Singing, their excitement and surprise at this time is really indescribable.Performed by the boys from the dance class at the Mother Chapel at Newstrath The majestic dance music is equally fascinating.The little princess has never seen such a grand celebration before, this kind of celebration every May Held once in front of the Great Altar of Our Lady, dedicated to the celebration of Our Lady.In fact, since a mad priest (according to many Said he was bought by Queen Elizabeth of England) wanted to use a poisoned sanctuary to murder the Spanish prince Asturias Since then, no member of the Spanish royal family has entered the Cathedral of Zaragoza.Therefore, the little princess only heard people say this A "Our Lady of Our Lady" dance, and it does look wonderful.Boys in old fashioned court dresses made of white velvet and their funny three-cornered hats with silver trimmings and big ostrich feathers on top.They danced mast-ships in the sun At that time, the dazzling white costumes looked even more dazzling against the backdrop of their black faces and long black hair.all Everyone was fascinated by their every move, and saw that they always looked solemn and respectful in the complicated dance movements, slowly dancing She danced gracefully and gracefully, and bowed majestically.As soon as the dance music was over, they took off their big feather hats to greet the little princess. She accepted it very politely, and promised to send a large candle to the altar of Our Lady of Pilar in return for bringing her happy. At this time a group of handsome Egyptians - also called gypsies at that time - entered the arena, and they sat cross-legged on the ground. sat in a circle, and began to play softly on their harps, while others danced their waists to the tune, and They were humming as low as they could, as low as a breeze in a dream.When they saw Don.Pedro, Then he frowned at him, and some people showed expressions of fear, because just a few weeks ago, Tang said that their two clansmen Hexed and hanged in Seville's market place.But the beautiful little princess charmed them as she leaned back body, with big blue eyes looking at them from above the fan, they believed that such a lovely person as her would never be cruel to her. treat others.So they played very quietly, their long pointed nails just touching the strings, and their heads began to Lighted forward, as if about to fall asleep.Suddenly there was a sharp cry, and the children were all taken aback, Don.Peter Luo's hand quickly grasped the onyx hilt of his dagger.I saw the piano players jumping up and circling wildly around the field, And kept beating the tambourine, while singing wild love songs in their strange guttural language.with a signal When it was heard, they all threw themselves on the ground again, and lay there quietly. The whole place was silent, only the monotonous sound of stringed harps could be heard. In this way, after going back and forth a few times, they disappeared again, and when they came back, they had brought a hairy dog ​​with a chain. Huge brown bears with little Barbary monkeys sitting on their shoulders.The big bear stands upside down very seriously, skinny The monkeys are performing all kinds of funny tricks with two little gypsy boys who look like their masters, and they can also wave Sword and spear, and would go through a full regiment of regular army drills like the King's Guard.The gypsy show was a real hit success. But the funniest part of the morning's entertainment was the dancing of the gnomes.He staggers and moves his bends With crooked legs and his big misshapen head swaying from side to side, he staggered into the arena.children see All of this and the scene suddenly yelled excitedly, and the little princess herself couldn't stop laughing, so that the mayor, the female attendant, couldn't help but laugh. I have to remind her that although the daughters of the kings of Spain have cried several times before their peers in the past, there have never been any royal family daughters. The princess laughed so much before those who were inferior to her.However, the little man's behavior is really irresistible, even if It was the Spanish court, such a place famous for cultivating terror, and never saw a so attractive little monster. This is his first performance.They found him only yesterday, running madly through the woods, The two nobles happened to be hunting in a remote part of the cork forest around the city, and they brought him into the palace as a tribute to A surprise for little Gongxuan.The dwarf's father, a poor charcoal burner, was able to get rid of the ugly and useless boy It's really wishful thinking.Perhaps the funniest thing was that the dwarf had no idea of ​​his own ugliness.indeed he He looked so happy and full of energy.The children laughed, and he laughed as freely as they did.At the end of each dance, He's about to make the funniest bows to each of them, and he's nodding happily at them like he's really him One of them, not some hapless little monster God created on purpose in a comic way for others to tease.As for The little princess, she simply charmed the dwarfs.He couldn't take his eyes off her, he seemed to be just for the little princess Like people dancing.At the end of the performance, the little princess remembered that she had seen the ladies of the court greet the famous Italian tenor Gaffner in the occasion of throwing bouquets, when the Pope sent Gaffanelli from his chapel to Madrid, intending to use his sweetest The song of beauty went to cure the king's sorrow; so the little princess took the beautiful white rose from her hair, half Just kidding, and half to tease the mayor, the page, throwing flowers at the dwarves in the field, with the sweetest look on her face smile.The little man took the whole thing very seriously, and with one hand he pressed the flower under his rough lips, and with the other Kneeling in front of her with his chest pressed, he grinned, and his bright little eyes shone with joy. This made the little princess forget her dignity, and when the dwarf ran out of the field for a long time, she was still laughing and talking to her The uncle expressed his desire to have this dance performed again immediately.But the mayor, the maid of honor, begged that the sun was too high It's hot, her little princess should go back to the palace immediately, where a sumptuous banquet has been prepared for her, there is an authentic A birthday cake with her name in capital letters made of colored sugar and a little silver flag waving on it.little princess very Standing up solemnly, and announcing that the dwarf would perform again after her nap time, and asking to pass on her thanks To the Earl of Xindi, thanking him for his hospitality, and then she went to her room, and the other children continued as before. The order in which she came in followed her out. When I heard that the little princess asked him to perform in front of her again, and it was her own order, the little weirdo really Very proud.He ran into the garden, kissed the white rose in ecstasy, and made many clumsy and Ugly moves. The flowers were very angry at him for breaking into their beautiful home so boldly, and they saw him running about in the flower gallery Going, and waving their hands so ridiculously, they couldn't take it any longer. "He is too ugly to come where we are," cried Tulip. "He should drink opium soup and sleep for a thousand years," said the great red lily.That's when they got really angry up. "He's a utterly dreadful creature!" screamed the Cactus, "oh, he's twisted and ugly and short, and he The head and legs are disproportionately long.He does make me feel all over the place and if he comes near me I'll use my stab him. " "And he actually got my most beautiful flower," exclaimed the white rose tree, "that flower I personally bought this morning." It was given to the little princess as a birthday present, but he stole it from her. ’ Then she cried out, ‘Thief, little Steal, thief! " Even the red wind dew grasses who don't like to show their faces, these grasses that everyone knows have many poor relatives, in the They all rolled up in disgust when they saw the dwarfs.Violet said mildly that the dwarf was indeed ugly, but he didn't A way to suppress him.Windgrass also retorted quite justly that that was his main flaw, and that people should not Taunting him for treating the disease.In fact, there are quite a few violets who think that the dwarf's ugliness is put on by himself. look sad, or at least pensive, instead of jumping up and down with glee and acting weird and goofy, Then he will make people feel much better. As for the old sundial, he was such a great man that he used to report the daily sundials only to His Majesty Charles V himself. He was so taken aback by the appearance of the dwarf that he almost forgot to mark the time with his long, shadowed finger for half the time. Long.He couldn't help saying to the big milky white peacock basking in the sun on the fence, everyone knows that a king's child is a king, A charcoal burner's child is still a charcoal burner, and it is impossible to think otherwise.This insight is fully supported by the peacock Agreed, and she actually exclaimed, "Yes, yes," so loud and rough that even Kim, who lived in the cool fountain, The fishes also came out of the water and asked what had happened to Tritons, the great stone god of the sea. The birds, however, liked the dwarfs.They used to see him in the woods, chasing the falling air like a spirit leaves, or crouched in the hole of an old oak and shared his nuts with the squirrels.They don't care about his face at all Ugly.Yes, the nightingale sings in the woods at night, and the moon sometimes bends down to listen to her sweet song, in fact She wasn't much to look at either; besides, the dwarfs had always been kind to them in the past.In that dreadful winter the trees had There were no more nuts, the ground was as frozen as iron, and the wolves came down to the gate of the city to look for food. At this time, Xiao The dwarf never forgot them either, and he always crumbled his own little piece of black bread for them, no matter how bad his breakfast was. If there is less, he will always share some for them to eat. So they flew round and round him, touching his face with their wings as they passed him, and talking to each other.The little dwarf was so delighted that he could not resist showing them the beautiful white rose, and telling them They were given to him by the little princess herself, because she loved him. They couldn't understand a word he said, but that didn't matter, because they turned their heads away, looking It's just as good, and easier, to be smart about it than to know about it. The lizard also likes him very much. Whenever he is tired from running and rests on the grass, the lizard will crawl on him Crawling around and playing, trying to make him happy with all his abilities. "Not everyone can be as pretty as a lizard," they Said loudly, "But this kind of request is too much. And it's absurd to say it, but he's not ugly at all. Of course, as long as people close their eyes, don't look at him. "Lizards are born to be full of philosophers, and there is nothing wrong with them." When there is nothing to do, or when it rains and they cannot go out, they will sit and think for hours. The flower, however, was very worried about their behavior, and at the same time worried about the behavior of the bird. "This can only show Show me," said the flowers, "what a vulgar effect this incessant hopping can have.educated people like us, Always stay in the same place honestly.No one ever saw us jumping up and down in the flower gallery, or running in the grass Chasing dragonflies like crazy, whenever we wanted a change of air we would call the gardener and he would move us to another flowerbed go.It's sacred, and it should be.But birds and lizards do not have the consciousness of rest, indeed birds even one Never had a fixed address.They're just a bunch of gypsy-like bums, and they deserve the same. treatment. "So the flowers showed a proud look, a great look, and looked proudly at the dwarf from the He got up on the grass, walked across the balcony towards the palace. "He should have been locked up in the house all his life," they said, "look at his hunchback, and his crutches legs," they said, giggling. But the dwarf knew nothing about it.He likes these birds and lizards very much, and thinks flowers are the most beautiful in the world Of course, except for the little princess.And the little princess has given him the beautiful white rose, she loves him, that's a big deal It's different.How he wished he could go back to the woods with her!She sat him on her right hand and smiled at him Laugh, he never wants to leave her side, he wants her to play with him and teach her all kinds of funny tricks.because as much as possible Although he had never been in a palace before, he knew a lot of great things.He can weave little cages out of rushes, so that The grasshopper sang in it, and he also made a flute out of slender bamboo, and used it to play the favorite tune of the Faun.him Listen to the song of every bird, and call a starling from a treetop or a heron from a pond.He knows every movement You can find hares by light footprints, and bears by trampled leaves.He knows all kinds of wind Light dances, there are wild dances in red clothes in autumn, light dances in blue straw sandals passing over the rice, and some in winter wearing snow caps Dance, and the slow dance that blows through the orchard in spring.He knew where the turtledoves made their nests, and once a pair of old turtledoves were caught The bird hunter took them away, and he came to feed the young birds himself, and built a house for them in the crack of an elm tree where the top of the tree was cut off. A little dove nest.They are very obedient and used to find something to eat in his hand.The little princess will love them, and Rabbits that scurry among the long ferns, and jays with their stiff feathers and black beaks, and A hedgehog with a ball, and a wise turtle that shakes its head, nibbles tender leaves, and crawls slowly.Yes, she will come to the woods with him Play with.He'll give her his little bed, and he'll watch out the window until daybreak, lest the horned beast hurt her, Don't let hungry wolves get close to the small hut.At dawn he'd tap on the window to wake her up, and they'd go outside together Go ahead and dance the day away.It's not lonely at all in the woods.Sometimes the bishop rides from here on his white mule However, I was reading a book with pictures while walking.Sometimes those who keep falconry wear their green velvet hats and A long buckskin jacket passed by, with a hooded eagle on its wrist.Every time the grapes are ripe, the people who pick grapes Even her hands and feet are purple, she wears a wreath of ivy on her head, and holds a leather bag dripping with wine.charcoal burner night Sitting around the edge of the big brazier, I watched the dry wood burn slowly in the fire, and buried the chestnuts in the ashes to roast.The robbers also came from the mountain Come out of the hole and play with them.Another time, he saw some people lined up in a beautiful line in the long dusty The main road winds its way towards Toledo.The monks walked at the head of the procession, singing sweet songs, holding bright flags and golden crosses, followed by soldiers in silver armour, with arquebuses and spears, and among these walked three barefooted People in strange yellow robes covered with fantastic portraits, holding lighted candles in their hands.seriously, the woods There's a lot to see in there.When she was tired, he would find a soft beach covered with moss for her to rest, No, just help her to walk, because he is very strong, even though he knows that he is not tall.He'll make it for her with red cranberries A necklace, it will be as beautiful as the white pearls on her dress, once she doesn't like this necklace, throw it away If she falls, he will do other things for her.He'd get her some saponins and dew-soaked anemones, and little fireflies Also can be a little star in her light blonde hair. But where is she?He asked White Rose, but White Rose couldn't answer his question.The whole palace seems to be asleep As if, even where the shutters were not closed, heavy curtains were drawn to block the light that poured into the windows. He wandered about trying to find a place to enter, and at last he saw a small door that was open.He slipped in and found He came to a splendid hall, he felt that it was much more magnificent than the forest, everywhere was golden, even the floor was It was paved with big colorful stones, but the little princess was not there, only a few beautiful and unusual white stone statues emerged from their The emerald seat looked down at him, his eyes were full of sadness and bewilderment, and there was a strange smile on the corner of his mouth. At the far end of the hall hangs a richly embroidered black velvet drapery, with suns and stars embroidered in the king's favourites. design, and embroidered in his favorite colour.Maybe she's hiding behind that?He's going to see it no matter what. So he went quietly and drew back the curtain.There was no one, it was just another house, but this one seemed to him The house was more beautiful than the one he had just walked through.On the walls hung green tapestries embroidered with many figures.It was a hunting picture, It took several Flemish artists seven years to complete.This used to be the chamber of the king called Silly John, the one The mad king loves hunting so much. When he is insane, he always fantasizes about riding on those big hoofs in the paintings. The horse, pulling away the stag attacked by a pack of hounds, blew his hunting horn, and stabbed a running hen with his short sword. deer.Now it has been converted into a conference hall, and on the table in the center of the room are the red folders of the ministers, covered with the Spanish A print of the golden tulip, as well as the coat of arms and emblem of the Habsburg royal family. The little dwarf looked around in surprise, and he was a little afraid to go any further.Those strange and silent riders in the painting are agile across a long meadow, without a sound, they seemed to him like the charcoal burners Horrible ghosts—Complax, they only go out hunting at night, and if they meet someone, they will turn the person into a red one. deer, and hunt him down.But the dwarf remembered the beautiful little princess, so he took courage again.he wants her to be a Just stay there so he can tell her that he loves her too.Maybe she was in the room next door. He ran across the soft Moor rug and opened the door.No!She's not here either.The room was empty. This is a royal room, used to receive foreign envoys, as long as the king agrees to receive them in person, which is not often the case these days up.It was in this very room, many years ago, that the British envoys came to arrange for their queen—she was a European One of the Catholic monarchs, married to the emperor's eldest son.The drapery in the room is made of gilt leather, black and white A heavy gold-plated candle holder hangs under the alternate flower boards, which can hold three hundred candles.a giant bling The canopy of the canopy is embroidered with small pearls on the lion and the castle of Castell. Below the canopy is the king's throne, and the throne is covered with A costly black velvet drapery inlaid with silver tulips and decorated with delicate silver ornaments and pearl tassels.exist On the second level of the throne, there is a kneeling stool for the little princess. The cushion is made of silver thread cloth, just under the kneeling stool, outside the canopy. In front of it stood the chair of the papal legate, the only one who had the right to meet with the king in any public ceremonies. sit together.His bishop's hat, with its crimson peak, rested on a purple embroidered border near the front. On the wall facing the throne hung a life-size portrait of Charles V in hunting clothes, with a big hound.In the center of another wall hangs a portrait of Malip II receiving tribute from the provinces of the Netherlands.in two windows In the middle of it stood an ebony cabinet with ivory plates carved with characters from Holpern's "Dance of Death," It is said that this master carved it himself. 可是小矮人对眼前豪华的盛景却没有留意。他不愿用自己的玫瑰花来换华盖上的珍珠， 更不肯用哪怕一片玫瑰花瓣来换宝座。他所要做的就是在小公主去亭廊之前见上她一面，并 要求在他的舞蹈结束之后就跟他一块儿离去。此时在宫中，空气是郁闷而沉重的，然而在树 林里风儿却能自由自在地衣着，阳光挥舞着那双金灿灿的双手拔开抖动的树叶。树林中也有 鲜花，也许赶不上花园里的花那么鲜艳，但却更加芳香怕人；早春中的风信子花在清凉的山 谷和青草的小丘上荡起层层紫色的浪潮；一簇簇黄色的樱草爬满了橡树根的四周；色彩鲜明 的白屈莱，蓝幽幽的威灵仙，深红且金黄的萄尾随处可见。榛树上有灰色的茅荑花，顶针花 上挂吊着斑迹点点的蜜蜂小屋。栗树的顶部如同白色的星星，而山楂却透着它那苍白的美丽 月色。是的，只要他能够找到她，她一定会来的！她会跟他一块儿到美妙的树林中去的，他 还会给她跳一整天的舞，逗她开心。想到这几，他的眼睛中露出灿烂的微笑，然后他就走进 了另一间房子。 在所有的房屋中这一间是最明亮和最漂亮的。屋里的四壁上布满了印着浅红色花朵的意 大利缎子，缎子上面还点缀着鸟图和可爱的银花；家具是用大块的银子做成的，上面镶着鲜 艳的花环和转动的小爱神；在两个大壁炉的前面立着绣有鹏踏和孔雀的大屏风；地板是海绿 色的玛瑙，仿佛延伸至遥遥的远方。这里并非他一个人，房间的另一头，在门道的阴影下站 着一个小小的人影，正望着他。他心中一颤，从口中进发出一声喜悦的叫声，接着他一下子 跑进了屋外的阳光中。他这么做的时候，那个人影也跟着这么做，他完全看清楚那是什么了。 little princess!不，那只是个怪物，是他所见过的最难看的怪物。奇形怪状的样子，非常人一 般，驼着背，拐着腿，还有一个摇来摇去的大脑袋和一头鬃毛般的乌发。小矮人皱起了眉 head.他笑了，而它也跟着笑，而且还把两只手放在腰间，就跟他的做法是一样的。他嘲笑着 向它鞠了一躬，它也对他还了一个礼。他朝它走去，它也走上来迎他，跟他迈着同样的步 伐，他停下来，对方也站住了脚步。他惊奇地叫了起来，跑上前去，伸出一只手，而怪物的 手也朝他的手伸来，那只手冷冰冰的。他觉得好害怕，又把手挥舞了过去，怪物的手也很快 地伸了过来。他再试着往前压去，但有什么光滑而坚硬的东西挡住了他。怪物的脸此时此刻 正好贴近了他的脸，脸上似乎充满了恐俱。他把头发从眼睛上抹开。它也摹仿他。他去打 它，可它也报以拳头。他对它做出烦恼的样子，它也朝他做鬼脸。他向后退去，它也跟着退 去了。 它是什么东西呀？他想了一会儿，并朝房屋的四周看了看。真是怪了，不管什么东西在 这堵看不见的清水墙上都会重复出现它们原有的模样，是的，墙上有屋里一样的图画，一样 的睡椅。门口壁禽中那个躺着的睡牧神，竟也有一个模样相同的孪生兄弟酣睡在那儿，那位 站立在阳光中伸出双臂的银维纳斯像也正朝着另一个一样可爱的维纳斯对视着。 这是回音吗？他曾经在山谷中呼唤过她，她一个字一个字地回应着。难道她也能摹仿眼 睛就像她摹仿声音那样？难道她能制造出一个与真实世界一样的假世界？难道物体的影子有 颜色、生命和动作吗？难道这会是——？ 他吃了一惊，便从怀里拿出那朵美丽的白玫瑰，转过身来，吻着花。那个怪物也有自己 的玫瑰花，花瓣竟跟他的一模一样！它也在吻花，而且跟他的吻法是一样的，还用它那可怕 的动作把花按在自己的胸口上。 等他明白了其中的道理的时候，他发出了绝望的狂叫声，趴在地上痛哭起来。原来那个 奇丑无比，弯腰驼背的怪物就是他自己。他正是那个怪物，所有的小孩嘲笑的也是他，那位 他原以为爱他的小公主——她也只不过是在嘲笑他的丑态，拿他的拐腿寻开心罢了。they for 什么要把他带出树林？林子里没有镜子告诉他，他是多么的丑陋。为什么他的父亲不杀死 他，却要出卖他的丑相呢？热泪从他的脸颊上滚滚而下，他把白玫瑰扯了个粉碎。那个趴在 地上的怪物也照他的样子做了，还把花瓣撒在空中。它在地上爬着，他朝它看着，它也用皱 着眉头的苦脸望着他。他朝一边爬去，不愿再看见它，并用双手捂住自己的眼睛。他像一只 受了伤的动物，向阴暗处爬去，并躺在那儿呻吟起来。 正在这时小公主带着她的小伙伴们从开着的落地窗中走了进来，当他们看见丑陋的小矮 人躺在地上，用紧握的拳头捶打地板的时候，他们忍不住为他那极其滑稽夸张的举动哈哈大 笑起来，并围着他观赏起来。 “他的舞蹈很有趣的，”小公主说，“而他的演技更加滑稽。的确他差不多跟木偶人一 样的好，只是还不够自然而已。”说完她扇起了大扇子，高兴地拍手叫好。 可是小矮人再也没有抬起头来，他的哭泣声越来越弱了，突然他发出一声奇怪的喘息， 并在身上抓起来。然后他又倒了下去，一动不动地脑下了。 “这可真精彩，”小公主说，又过了一阵子；“不过现在你必须为我们跳舞了。” 可是小矮人却一声未答。 小公主跺了跺脚，叫起了她的叔父。她叔父此时正和宫廷大臣一起在阳台上散步，读着 刚从墨西哥送来的公文，宗教裁判所最近在墨西哥成立了。“我的这个有趣的小矮人生气 了，”她大声嚷道，“你一定要把他叫醒，让他为我跳舞。 " 他们两人相互笑了笑，慢慢地走了进来。Don.彼德罗弯下腰去，用他那绣花的手套打着 小矮人的脸，说道：“你必须得跳舞，小怪物，你一定得跳。西班牙及西印度群岛的小公主 要开心快乐才对。 " 可是小矮人却一动也不动。 “应该叫个执鞭人来打他一顿，”唐．彼德罗愤愤地说，接着他又回到了阳台上去。No 过宫廷大臣却是一副庄重的表情，他跪在小矮人的身旁，把手按在小矮人的胸口上。过了一 会儿，他耸了耸肩膀，站起身来，向小公主鞠了个躬，并说道： “我美丽的小公主，您那位滑稽的小矮人再也不能够跳舞了。真遗憾，他长得这么丑， 一定会使国王不开心的。 " “可是他为什么不再跳舞了呢？”小公主笑着问道。 “因为他的心碎了，”宫廷大臣说。 公主皱皱眉头，她那可爱的玫瑰叶嘴唇傲气地朝上撅了一下。“那么以后让那些来陪我 玩的人都不带心才行，”她大声说，然后就朝外跑进花园里去了。 THE BIRTHDAY OF THE INFANTA It was the birthday of the Infanta. She was just twelve years of age, and the sun was shining brightly in the gardens of the palace. Although she was a real Princess and the Infanta of Spain, she had only one birthday every year, just like the children of quite poor people, so it was naturally a matter of great importance to the whole country that she should have a really fine day for the occasion. And a really fine day it certainly was. The tall striped tulips stood straight up upon their stalks, like long rows of soldiers, and looked defiantly across the grass at the roses, and said: We are quite as splendid as you are now. The purple butterflies fluttered about with gold dust on their wings, visiting each flower in turn; the little lizards crept out of the crevices of the wall, and lay basking in the white glare; and the pomegranates split and cracked with the heat, and showed their bleeding red hearts. Even the pale yellow lemons, that hung in such profusion from the mouldering trellis and along the dim arcades, seemed to have caught a richer colour from the wonderful sunlight, and the magnolia trees opened their great globe-like blossoms of folded ivory, and filled the air with a sweet heavy perfume. The little Princess herself walked up and down the terrace with her companions, and played at hide and seek round the stone vases and the old moss-grown statues. On ordinary days she was only allowed to play with children of her own rank, so she had always to play alone, but her birthday was an exception, and the King had given orders that she was to invite any of her young friends whom she liked to come and amuse themselves with her. There was a stately grace about these slim Spanish children as they glided about, the boys with their large-plumed hats and short fluttering cloaks, the girls holding up the trains of their long brocaded gowns, and shielding the sun from their eyes with huge fans of black and silver. But the Infanta was the most graceful of all, and the most tastefully attired, after the somewhat cumbrous fashion of the day. Her robe was of grey satin, the skirt and the wide puffed sleeves heavily embroidered with silver, and the stiff corset studded with rows of fine pearls. Two tiny slippers with big pink rosettes peeped out beneath her dress as she walked. Pink and pearl was her great gauze fan, and in her hair, which like an aureole of faded gold stood out stiffly round her pale little face, she had a beautiful white rose. From a window in the palace the sad melancholy King watched them. Behind him stood his brother, Don Pedro of Aragon, whom he hated, and his confessor, the Grand Inquisitor of Granada, sat by his side. Sadder even than usual was the King, for as he looked at the Infanta bowing with childish gravity to the assembling counters, or laughing behind her fan at the grim Duchess of Albuquerque who always accompanied her, he thought of the young Queen, her mother, who but a short time before - so it seemed to him - had come from the gay country of France, and had withered away in the sombre splendour of the Spanish court, dying just six months after the birth of her child, and before she had seen the almonds blossom twice in the orchard, or plucked the second years fruit from the old gnarled fig-tree that stood in the centre of the now grass- grown courtyard. So great had been his love for her that he had not suffered even the grave to hide her from him. She had been embalmed by a Moorish physician, who in return for this service had been granted his life, which for heresy and suspicion of magical practices had been already forfeited, men said, to the Holy Office, and her body was still lying on its tapestried bier in the black marble chapel of the Palace, just as the monks had borne her in on that windy March day nearly twelve years before. Once every month the King, wrapped in a dark cloak and with a muffled lantern in his hand, went in and knelt by her side calling out, MI REINA! MI REINA! and sometimes breaking through the formal etiquette that in Spain governs every separate action of life, and sets limits even to the sorrow of a King, he would clutch at the pale jewelled hands in a wild agony of grief, and try to wake by his mad kisses the cold painted face. To-day he seemed to see her again, as he had seen her first at the Castle of Fontainebleau, when he was but fifteen years of age, and she still younger. They had been formally betrothed on that occasion by the Papal Nuncio in the presence of the French King and all the Court, and he had returned to the Escurial bearing with him a little ringlet of yellow hair, and the memory of two childish lips bending down to kiss his hand as he stepped into his carriage. Later on had followed the marriage, hastily performed at Burgos, a small town on the frontier between the two countries, and the grand public entry into Madrid with the customary celebration of high mass at the Church of La Atocha, and a more than usually solemn AUTO-DA-FE, in which nearly three hundred heretics, amongst whom were many Englishmen, had been delivered over to the secular arm to be burned. Certainly he had loved her madly, and to the ruin, many thought, of his country, then at war with England for the possession of the empire of the New World. He had hardly ever permitted her to be out of his sight; for her, he had forgotten, or seemed to have forgotten, all grave affairs of State; and, with that terrible blindness that passion brings upon its servants, he had failed to notice that the elaborate ceremonies by which he sought to please her did but aggravate the strange malady from which she suffered. When she died he was, for a time, like one bereft of reason. Indeed, there is no doubt but that he would have formally abdicated and retired to the great Trappist monastery at Granada, of which he was already titular Prior, had he not been afraid to leave the little Infanta at the mercy of his brother, whose cruelty, even in Spain, was notorious, and who was suspected by many of having caused the Queens death by means of a pair of poisoned gloves that he had presented to her on the occasion of her visiting his castle in Aragon. Even after the expiration of the three years of public mourning that he had ordained throughout his whole dominions by royal edict, he would never suffer his ministers to speak about any new alliance, and when the Emperor himself sent to him, and offered him the hand of the lovely Archduchess of Bohemia, his niece, in marriage, he bade the ambassadors tell their master that the King of Spain was already wedded to Sorrow, and that though she was but a barren bride he loved her better than Beauty; an answer that cost his crown the rich provinces of the Netherlands, which soon after, at the Emperors instigation, revolted against him under the leadership of some fanatics of the Reformed Church. His whole married life, with its fierce, fiery-coloured joys and the terrible agony of its sudden ending, seemed to come back to him to-day as he watched the Infanta playing on the terrace. She had all the Queens pretty petulance of manner, the same wilful way of tossing her head, the same proud curved beautiful mouth, the same wonderful smile - VRAI SOURIRE DE FRANCE indeed - as she glanced up now and then at the window, or stretched out her little hand for the stately Spanish gentlemen to kiss. But the shrill laughter of the children grated on his ears, and the bright pitiless sunlight mocked his sorrow, and a dull odour of strange spices, spices such as embalmers use, seemed to taint - or was it fancy? - the clear morning air. He buried his face in his hands, and when the Infanta looked up again the curtains had been drawn, and the King had retired. She made a little MOUE of disappointment, and shrugged her shoulders. Surely he might have stayed with her on her birthday. What did the stupid State-affairs matter? Or had he gone to that gloomy chapel, where the candles were always burning, and where she was never allowed to enter? How silly of him, when the sun was shining so brightly, and everybody was so happy! Besides, he would miss the sham bull-fight for which the trumpet was already sounding, to say nothing of the puppet-show and the other wonderful things. Her uncle and the Grand Inquisitor were much more sensible. They had come out on the terrace, and paid her nice compliments. So she tossed her pretty head, and taking Don Pedro by the hand, she walked slowly down the steps towards a long pavilion of purple silk that had been erected at the end of the garden, the other children following in strict order of precedence, those who had the longest names going first. A procession of noble boys, fantastically dressed as TOREADORS, came out to meet her, and the young Count of Tierra-Nueva, a wonderfully handsome lad of about fourteen years of age, uncovering his head with all the grace of a born hidalgo and grandee of Spain, led her solemnly in to a little gilt and ivory chair that was placed on a raised dais above the arena. The children grouped themselves all round, fluttering their big fans and whispering to each other, and Don Pedro and the Grand Inquisitor stood laughing at the entrance. Even the Duchess - the Camerera-Mayor as she was called - a thin, hard-featured woman with a yellow ruff, did not look quite so bad-tempered as usual, and something like a chill smile flitted across her wrinkled face and twitched her thin bloodless lips. It certainly was a marvellous bull-fight, and much nicer, the Infanta thought, than the real bull-fight that she had been brought to see at Seville, on the occasion of the visit of the Duke of Parma to her father. Some of the boys pranced about on richly- caparisoned hobby-horses brandishing long javelins with gay streamers of bright ribands attached to them; others went on foot waving their scarlet cloaks before the bull, and vaulting lightly over the barrier when he charged them; and as for the bull himself, he was just like a live bull, though he was only made of wicker- work and stretched hide, and sometimes insisted on running round the arena on his hind legs, which no live bull ever dreams of doing. He made a splendid fight of it too, and the children got so excited that they stood up upon the benches, and waved their lace handkerchiefs and cried out: BRAVO TORO! BRAVO TORO! just as sensibly as if they had been grown-up people. At last, however, after a prolonged combat, during which several of the hobby-horses were gored through and through, and, their riders dismounted, the young Count of Tierra-Nueva brought the bull to his knees, and having obtained permission from the Infanta to give the COUP DE GRACE, he plunged his wooden sword into the neck of the animal with such violence that the head came right off, and disclosed the laughing face of little Monsieur de Lorraine, the son of the French Ambassador at Madrid. The arena was then cleared amidst much applause, and the dead hobbyhorses dragged solemnly away by two Moorish pages in yellow and black liveries, and after a short interlude, during which a French posture-master performed upon the tightrope, some Italian puppets appeared in the semi-classical tragedy of SOPHONISBA on the stage of a small theatre that had been built up for the purpose. They acted so well, and their gestures were so extremely natural, that at the close of the play the eyes of the Infanta were quite dim with tears. Indeed some of the children really cried, and had to be comforted with sweetmeats, and the Grand Inquisitor himself was so affected that he could not help saying to Don Pedro that it seemed to him intolerable that things made simply out of wood and coloured wax, and worked mechanically by wires, should be so unhappy and meet with such terrible misfortunes. An African juggler followed, who brought in a large flat basket covered with a red cloth, and having placed it in the centre of the arena, he took from his turban a curious reed pipe, and blew through it. In a few moments the cloth began to move, and as the pipe grew shriller and shriller two green and gold snakes put out their strange wedge-shaped heads and rose slowly up, swaying to and fro with the music as a plant sways in the water. The children, however, were rather frightened at their spotted hoods and quick darting tongues, and were much more pleased when the juggler made a tiny orange-tree grow out of the sand and bear pretty white blossoms and clusters of real fruit; and when he took the fan of the little daughter of the Marquess de Las-Torres, and changed it into a blue bird that flew all round the pavilion and sang, their delight and amazement knew no bounds. The solemn minuet, too, performed by the dancing boys from the church of Nuestra Senora Del Pilar, was charming. The Infanta had never before seen this wonderful ceremony which takes place every year at Maytime in front of the high altar of the Virgin, and in her honour; and indeed none of the royal family of Spain had entered the great cathedral of Saragossa since a mad priest, supposed by many to have been in the pay of Elizabeth of England, had tried to administer a poisoned wafer to the Prince of the Asturias. So she had known only by hearsay of Our Ladys Dance, as it was called, and it certainly was a beautiful sight. The boys wore old-fashioned court dresses of white velvet, and their curious three-cornered hats were fringed