99 Fables

64. The Queen and The Woodcutter's Wife

64 the queen and the wood'cutter's wife SHE HAD FINISHED WASHing her pots when she looked up and saw a royal party approaching; then a page boy sounded' a call on' a trumpet, and she came to her door wiping her hands on her apron. The' captain of the party said that the Queen of theWittins had become faint while driving through the woods, and on being told that a woodcutter's hut was nearby, had decided to rest there until she recovered. [, 124 ] The woodcutter's wife moved about her house dusting her chairs and benches and smoothing two wrinkles out of her bed, and when the queen entered, magnificent iIi satin and lace, and hung from head to foot with jewels, everything was as decent as the poor wife could make it; but the queen wouldn't lie down as the poor wife suggested , nor would she take off· her cloak nor loosen her corset. The woodcutter's wife went to her window and looked out. She saw that the horsemen had placed themselves about the hut in a circle and sat at attention with their swords drawn. At the front and back doors of the hovel, a special sentry stood and looked in, watching every move the queen made. "You could loosen your corset and take your shoes off too if those men weren't looking at you," said the woodcutter's wife in a whisper. "Why don't you send them away and make yourself comfortable?" Then the queen, amused at the woman's simplicity, explained that while an ordinary woman could do such a thing, it was beneath the dignity of a great queen. The woodcutter's wife went to her cupboard and poured out a glass of milk. "At least you can refresh yourself with cool milk," she said. "Folks hereabouts say I've got the best cow in the neighborhood." But as she approached the queen, the sentries sprang forward and spilled the milk on the floor. The queen, seeing how' puzzled the woodcutter's wife was and pitying her stupidity, explained the situation. [ 125 ] "I'm not allowed to eat or drink anything which hasn't been prepared specially for me," she said. She lifted her head proudly and continued, "Poisoners, you knowl All great people have enemies who would like to destroy them." When the queen had recovered from her faintness, she went to her carriage, and the procession prepared to move away, while the woodcutter's wife stood on her doorstep watching; then, thinking of her queen, she began to cry, wiping her eyes on her petticoat. "Poor little thing," she said. "I don't see how she stands it. Thank God for giving me a happy, carefree lifeI" The queen turned in her carriage and looked at the weeping woodcutter's wife. She was touched by the sight, and turning to her captain she said, "I'm afraid we've done the good woman a disservice. Before we came, she was content to live as she does, not knowing any better, but now we've given her a glimpse of paradise and then shut the door in her face." Those we pity most would often be surprised if they knew. [ 126 ] ...