_THE SEA-FAIRY AND THE LAND-FAIRY, AND HOW THEY QUARRELLED_
The sea-fairy's name was Laughing Sapphire, and he lived in anautilus-shell: the land-fairy was called Sweet-of-the-Mountain, and hishome was a tuft of heather. One day Sweet-of-the-Mountain went for astroll on the sea-shore, and there he met Laughing Sapphire, just at theedge of the ripples. It was then that the quarrel began.
"I am really sorry for you," said the sea-fairy. "It must be veryunpleasant to live up on that cliff. It is so dangerous too. You mightbe blown down at any moment!"
"Ha-ha, how very amusing!" laughed the land-fairy. "Unpleasant, did yousay? Dangerous? Not at all, not at all. Now, _your_ life is somethingtoo horrible to think of. I am glad it is not my fate to wander for everon the sea. And as for danger--well, every one knows that the sea isfull of dangers."
"I never heard such nonsense," said Laughing Sapphire indignantly. "Thesea is perfectly safe if you know how to manage your shell."
"But think of the discomfort of it," said Sweet-of-the-Mountain. "Younever have any peace."
"And _you_ never have any change," answered Laughing Sapphire.
"There's not much change in always looking at the sea--a great dullstretch of water!"
"Dull!" cried Laughing Sapphire angrily. "Dull, did you say? Not half sodull as being mewed up on a rock!"
"Why," said Sweet-of-the-Mountain, "you've no flowers, and no bees, andno----"
"And you," interrupted Laughing Sapphire, "have no glittering spray, andno forests of seaweed, and no creamy foam."
"You've no heather," said the land-fairy, as if that settled the matter.
"As for you," cried the sea-fairy, "I can't think of anything you _have_got! So there!"
They went on quarrelling in this way for some time, getting more andmore angry. At last they agreed upon a very good way of settling thedispute. And this was their plan. Each of them was to go away for acertain length of time. On a particular day they were to meet again onthe shore, at the edge of the ripples. Laughing Sapphire was to bringwith him three treasures of the sea; and Sweet-of-the-Mountain was tobring three treasures of the land. The fairy whose treasures were thebest would be the winner in the quarrel.
"But who will decide which are the best treasures?" asked theland-fairy.
"My friend the sea-anemone lives near here," said Laughing Sapphire. "Ashe is partly on land and partly in the sea, he will be able to judgefairly between us. He shall decide."
HE HELD OUT THE LITTLE SHELL IN THE BEAM OF COLOUREDLIGHT]
Then the sea-fairy sailed away in his nautilus-shell, and the land-fairyflew home to the heather on the cliff.
Hardly had Laughing Sapphire left the shore when he saw a huge curlingwave rolling towards him. The hollow of the wave was like a great greencavern, lit up with magic light; the top of it was sparkling spray. Asunbeam was shining straight down through the spray, and gleaming withevery colour you can think of, so that it seemed as if a piece ofrainbow had fallen from the sky.
The fairy laughed happily, and steered right into the hollow of thewave, for he knew that his nautilus-boat was safe. In his hand was alittle shell. As his boat rode smoothly over the crest of the wave andthrough the rainbow, he held out the little shell in the beam ofcoloured light. There was a wonderful change in the shell after it hadpassed through the rainbow; it was lined with mother-o'-pearl!
The fairy laughed again for joy when he saw the rainbow colours of thelittle shell.
"They've nothing like that on shore!" he said.
Then the nautilus-boat sailed on and on across the sea.
The next thing that Laughing Sapphire found was a glowing piece of redseaweed. As he pulled it, dripping, out of the sea, it looked like a bitof broad crimson ribbon; except that no ribbon ever had so much colourand so much light in it. It was so transparent that you could see thesunlight through it, and yet it was as strong as a rope.
As the fairy coiled it round and round he smiled.
"That should please them, I think," he muttered.
The third thing that Laughing Sapphire found was the best of all. Tofind it he was obliged to leave his nautilus-boat and dive down to thebottom of the sea. I must not tell you now of all the wonders he sawthere, for it would take me too long, and it would be very difficult forme to stop. But when he came to the surface again he was clasping asplendid pearl tightly in his hand.
"If this doesn't persuade them," he said, chuckling, "that the sea isthe best place in the world, _nothing_ will!"
Meanwhile the land-fairy had been busy too.
First he flew to a beautiful garden, full of roses and verbena andeverything sweet. It was a garden he often visited, for many of theflower-fairies there were friends of his. So he knew exactly where tofind the sweetest lilies. There were great clumps of them--tall, whitelilies with drooping heads and hearts of gold. Sweet-of-the-Mountaincrept into one of them, and came out with a big, heavy drop of honey.The scent of it was so strong that all the fairies in the garden sniffedjoyfully. Then Sweet-of-the-Mountain flew over the wall, and away andaway till he came to a wood.
In the wood there was perfect silence. If you had walked there yourfootsteps would have made no sound, for the ground was soft and springywith moss. There was moss everywhere: moss on the tree-stems and on thestones, and carpets and cushions of moss on the ground. The fairy pickeda piece of it--a piece like a soft green feather--and flew off with itout of the wood.
Then he went back to his own hills, where the heather grew right up tothe edge of the cliff; for he knew that the best thing of all was to befound there. He saw the hills far away, purple and blue, with here andthere a streak of crimson where the sun was shining on the heather. Ashe came nearer and nearer he grew happier and happier, for a fairy isalways happiest in his own country. He picked a sprig from his own tuftof heather; and then he flew down to the shore to meet the sea-fairy atthe edge of the ripples.
He found the nautilus-boat lying on the sand, and Laughing Sapphiresitting on a rock talking to the sea-anemone. The fairies nodded to eachother.
"This," said Laughing Sapphire to the sea-anemone, "is the fairy I wasspeaking of. He declares that it is better to live on land than on thesea. Of course I know better than that! So we have each brought threetreasures to show you, that you may decide which of us is right."
The sea-anemone answered in a very sleepy, drawling voice: for when youspend all your life fastened to the same rock your mind moves ratherslowly.
"Very well," he said, "go on."
Then Laughing Sapphire showed them his mother-o'-pearl shell.
"This shell," he said, "is lined with a bit of rainbow."
The sea-anemone waved all his arms about wildly to show that he waspleased.
"And this," said Laughing Sapphire, unrolling the crimson seaweed, "is abit of the ribbon that mermaids use for tying their hair."
"Beautiful!" murmured the land-fairy.
"And this," went on the sea-fairy, showing them the pearl, "is one ofthe lanterns that the moonlight-fairies use when they dance on the sea."
"Beautiful--beautiful!" said the sea-anemone and the land-fairytogether.
Then Laughing Sapphire turned to the land-fairy with an air of triumph.
"Let us see your treasures now," he said a little contemptuously.
Sweet-of-the-Mountain held out a flower-cup with the drop of honey init.
It was so sweet that the sea-fairy could not help exclaiming: "Oh, howdelicious!"
"That," said the land-fairy, "is the sweetness of the garden."
Then he showed them the little green feather of moss.
"That," he said, "is the quietness of the woods."
Then he threw down the sprig of heather.
"That," he said, smiling, "is the glory of the hills."
The two fairies looked at each other silently. Each felt certain thathis own treasures were the best.
The sea-anemone's arms were all waving furiously. He was very muchexcited, because he knew that th
e time had come for him to decide whichof the two fairies had brought the most beautiful things; and as I toldyou before, he was not very quick in making up his mind.
"Well?" said Laughing Sapphire impatiently. "What do you think? Is itbest to live on the sea or on the land?"
"I think," said the sea-anemone very slowly, "that the sea is the bestplace for a sea-fairy."
"Yes, yes," said the sea-fairy, "of course it is!"
"But then, you know," the sea-anemone went on, "I can't help thinkingthat the land is the best place for a land-fairy."
Then he drew in all his arms and became a little knob of red jelly.
"It is possible," said Sweet-of-the-Mountain thoughtfully, "that thereis some sense in what he says. And yet"--he sniffed happily at his cupof honey--"and yet I don't believe you have anything at sea as sweet asthis."
"It is certainly a very nice scent," agreed Laughing Sapphire, "but I dothink it would be improved by a little salt."