'Oh, no, there aren't any,' replied her tormentor; 'but you will have to find them all the same.' And, so saying, she went away.
'After all, what does it matter?' thought the queen to herself, 'I have only one life, and I can but lose it.' And not caring what she did, she left the palace and seating herself under a yew tree, poured out all her grief.
'Oh, my dear husband,' wept she, 'what will you think when you come to the castle to fetch me and find me gone? Rather a thousand times that you should fancy me dead than imagine that I had forgotten you! Ah, how fortunate that the broken chariot should be lying in the wood, for then you may grieve for me as one devoured by wild beasts.And if another should take my place in your heart--Well, at least I shall never know it.'
She might have continued for long in this fashion had not the voice of a crow directly overhead attracted her attention.Looking up to see what was the matter she beheld, in the dim light, a crow holding a fat frog in his claws, which he evidently intended for his supper.The queen rose hastily from the seat, and striking the bird sharply on the claws with the fan which hung from her side, she forced him to drop the frog, which fell to the round more dead than alive.The crow, furious at his disappointment, flew angrily away.
As soon as the frog had recovered her senses she hopped up to the queen, who was still sitting under the yew.Standing on her hind legs, and bowing low before her, she said gently:
'Beautiful lady, by what mischance do you come here? You are the only creature that I have seen do a kind deed since a fatal curiosity lured me to this place.'
'What sort of a frog can you be that knows the language of mortals?'
asked the queen in her turn.'But if you do, tell me, I pray, if Ialone am a captive, for hitherto I have beheld no one but the monsters of the lake.'
'Once upon a time they were men and women like yourself,' answered the frog, 'but having power in their hands, they used it for their own pleasure.Therefore fate has sent them here for a while to bear the punishment of their misdoings.'
'But you, friend frog, you are not one of these wicked people, I am sure?' asked the queen.
'I am half a fairy,' replied the frog; 'but, although I have certain magic gifts, I am not able to do all I wish.And if the Lion Fairy were to know of my presence in her kingdom she would hasten to kill me.'
'But if you are a fairy, how was it that you were so nearly slain by the crow?' said the queen, wrinkling her forehead.
'Because the secret of my power lies in my little cap that is made of rose leaves; but I had laid it aside for the moment, when that horrible crow pounced upon me.Once it is on my head I fear nothing.But let me repeat; had it not been for you I could not have escaped death, and if I can do anything to help you, or soften your hard fate, you have only to tell me.'
'Alas,' sighed the queen, 'I have been commanded by the Lion Fairy to make her a pasty out of the stings of bees, and, as far as I can discover, there are none here; as how should there be, seeing there are no flowers for them to feed on? And, even if there were, how could Icatch them?'
'Leave it to me,' said the frog, 'I will manage it for you.' And, uttering a strange noise, she struck the ground thrice with her foot.
In an instant six thousand frogs appeared before her, one of them bearing a little cap.
'Cover yourselves with honey, and hop round by the beehives,' commanded the frog, putting on the cap which her friend was holding in her mouth.
And turning to the queen, he added:
'The Lion Fairy keeps a store of bees in a secret place near to the bottom of the ten thousand steps leading into the upper world.Not that she wants them for herself, but they are sometimes useful to her in punishing her victims.However, this time we will get the better of her.'
Just as she had finished speaking the six thousand frogs returned, looking so strange with bees sticking to every part of them that, sad as she felt, the poor queen could not help laughing.The bees were all so stupefied with what they had eaten that it was possible to draw their stings without hunting them.So, with the help of her friend, the queen soon made ready her pasty and carried it to the Lion Fairy.
'Not enough pepper,' said the giantess, gulping down large morsels, in order the hide the surprise she felt.'Well, you have escaped this time, and I am glad to find I have got a companion a little more intelligent than the others I have tried.Now, you had better go and build yourself a house.'
So the queen wandered away, and picking up a small axe which lay near the door she began with the help of her friend the frog to cut down some cypress trees for the purpose.And not content with that the six thousand froggy servants were told to help also, and it was not long before they had built the prettiest little cabin in the world, and made a bed in one corner of dried ferns which they fetched from the top of the ten thousand steps.It looked soft and comfortable, and the queen was very glad to lie down upon it, so tired was she with all that had happened since the morning.Scarcely, however, had she fallen asleep when the lake monsters began to make the most horrible noises just outside, while a small dragon crept in and terrified her so that she ran away, which was just what the dragon wanted!
The poor queen crouched under a rock for the rest of the night, and the next morning, when she woke from her troubled dreams, she was cheered at seeing the frog watching by her.
'I hear we shall have to build you another palace,' said she.'Well, this time we won't go so near the lake.' And she smiled with her funny wide mouth, till the queen took heart, and they went together to find wood for the new cabin.
The tiny palace was soon ready, and a fresh bed made of wild thyme, which smelt delicious.Neither the queen nor the frog said anything about it, but somehow, as always happens, the story came to the ears of the Lion Fairy, and she sent a raven to fetch the culprit.
