FELICIA AND THE POT OF CARNATIONS
Once upon a time there lived a farmer who was very poor. He was near the end of his life, and so he sent for his children and told them his will. He didn’t want them arguing after his death, for he loved them both very dearly.
“Besides the cottage and the property, I have little else,” he told them. “When I married your mother, her dowry was a straw mattress and a pair of three-legged stools. And once, I got three gifts from a noble lady who came to the cottage. She gave me a hen, and a silver ring, and a pot of pink carnations.
“As she was leaving, she said, `Please take great care of these gifts. Make sure the carnations have the water they need, and keep the ring safe. Treat the hen well, and she will be faithful and productive. Your daughter will grow to be as beautiful a woman as you have ever seen. Call her Felicia, and give her the ring and the carnations to provide some small pleasure for her when her days are darkened by poverty.’
“The flowers and the ring have been yours since you were four years old, Felicia,” he said. “Now I give them to you formally. The rest will go to your brother Rusty.”
Felicia and her brother seemed content, and when their father died they divided his possessions as he had asked them to. But then, things changed. Felicia went to sit on one of the stools, and straightaway Rusty hissed like an angry cat. “Excuse me! That’s not yours! Keep the plants and the ring, but leave my stuff alone!”
Felicia started to cry, because she had thought her brother loved her. But Rusty ignored her, and made a great show of sitting down on the second stool, sticking his thumbs in his pockets and whistling loudly, while she remained standing. At dinnertime, Rusty cooked a couple of the eggs his hen had laid that day. When he had eaten, he put the eggshells on a small plate and passed them to Felicia. “Father would have wanted me to share,” he said.
Felicia cried a little harder, and left the room. She found her own room filled with the scent of carnations, and she approached her pot of flowers sadly. “If flowers could talk,” she said, “I’m sure their voices would be beautiful, and their words would be kind.” She picked up a jug, and then looked at the flowers again. “I am only a shepherd girl,” she said, “but my heart is honest, and I will never ever neglect you.” The cottage had no running water, so Felicia had to fill her jug at the spring, which was several fields away. There was a large, milky moon in the sky that night, and as she ran to fetch the water, Felicia looked more like a fairy than a shepherdess.
When she reached the spring she was out of breath, so she sat down beside it to rest. When she looked up, she saw a noble lady approaching the spring. The lady was surrounded by attendants who soon set up a table and filled it with cold dishes of all kinds. Then the lady raised her hand and shook it gently. Instantly, the water bubbling from the spring was filled with music, as though an orchestra were playing underground. At this sign, the attendants filled their plates and everyone sat to eat.
Felicia crouched unmoving by the spring. She was intrigued by the scene unfolding before her, but she also felt a little shy. Only a powerful fairy could charm the water like that by simply waving her hand. (As Felicia suspected, the noble lady really was a fairy.) Then the lady caught sight of Felicia, and said, “There’s a girl over there in the shadows. Go and see what she wants.”
A few moments later, Felicia was timidly shaking the fairy’s hand. “You shouldn’t be alone at this time of night,” said the fairy. “Are you not afraid of robbers?”
“I have only this dress, and this little jug, and a pot of carnations at home. I have nothing worth stealing,” said Felicia.
“Well,” said the fairy, “robbers must be very stupid, if all they want is money! And you have something far more valuable than that! Think, Felicia! You have a heart! What if someone stole your heart away? Would you give it willingly?”
“Without my heart, I couldn’t care for my carnations,” Felicia said. “So I wouldn’t want to give it up.”
“One day,” replied the fairy, “you’ll find the only way to keep your heart is by giving it up. But never mind that now. Have you eaten?”
Felicia shook her head. “There wasn’t enough to share today,” she said.
The fairy ordered that a place be prepared for Felicia, and that she be served the best of the dishes that lay on the table.
“So why are you here so late at night?” the fairy asked, after Felicia had eaten her fill.
“I came to get some water for my flowers,” said Felicia, and she bent down to pick up the jug, which was at her feet. But when she brought it into the light, she couldn’t believe her eyes! The jug she had brought from home was made of badly-dented tin, but the jug in her hand was made of glistening gold and was studded with diamonds. As well, her jug had been empty while this one was full, and full of water so fragrant she felt the fairy herself had made it.
“This isn’t mine!” cried Felicia, and she set the jug on the table.
“Of course it is!” said the fairy. “I’ve just made it nicer than it was. Now go and water your precious carnations. And let the jug remind you that the Queen of the Woods would like to be your friend.”
Felicia was so thrilled that she leapt to her feet and said, “Oh, thank you! But what can I give you? I know! I’ll give you my pot of pretty carnations! It’s not much, but it’s half of everything I own! And no one could care for them better than you!”
“Go, then,” said the fairy, and Felicia raced home to fetch her pot of flowers.
But while she’d been at the spring, Rusty had snuck in her room and stolen Felicia’s carnations. In place of the pot, he’d put a great big cabbage. When Felicia saw the cabbage and realized what Rusty had done, she was very upset, but went back to the spring anyway. She knelt before the Queen and said, “Rusty has stolen my flowers, so I have nothing to give but my ring. Please take it.”
The fairy smiled as she slipped the ring on her finger. “Now we are friends, Felicia, now and forever.” Then she stepped into her chariot and was gone so quickly that Felicia shook her head in wonder.
Back at the cottage, Felicia felt depressed. She missed her carnations terribly and resented her brother very much. She also resented the cabbage. It was big and ugly and green, and the more she stared at it, the more she felt it was taunting her, mocking her, laughing at her. In a sudden fit of anger, she seized the offending cabbage and hurled it out the window.
“Help! Help! Ah!” Somebody was crying for help outside her window! Felicia peered outside but saw no one, and the cries had stopped as quickly as they had begun. “This has been a strange day,” she said to herself as she climbed into bed. “I hope tomorrow is normal.”
The next morning Felicia woke early and began to search for her carnations. The first thing she found was the cabbage, and the sight of it made her angry again. “What were you doing in my room?” she asked, and she was just about to give the cabbage a good hard kick, when somebody spoke to her very sharply.
“That is quite enough, young woman! Do you think it was my idea to break into your room? I’m an honest man, trying to lead an honest life. It was that brutal brother of yours who pulled me out of bed and snuck me into your room!”
Felicia looked at the cabbage in astonishment. “Excuse me,” she said, “but you’re not a man. You’re a cabbage.”
“I was a man,” the cabbage said grumpily. “But you’re right: now I’m a cabbage. But a cabbage isn’t a football, and I hope that you and your feet will bear that in mind.”
“I’ve never heard of a talking cabbage before,” said Felicia.
“Neither have I,” said the cabbage. “But that isn’t the point. Felicia, listen to me. We can help each other.”
Felicia didn’t say anything, and so the cabbage continued.
“Here’s the deal,” said the cabbage. “Tuck me back in the ground, and I’ll tell you where Rusty has hidden the flowers.”
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nbsp; Without saying a word, Felicia gently picked up the cabbage, carried it back to the cabbage patch and replanted it.
“Thank you,” said the cabbage. “Now let me tell you where the flowers are, so you can go and rescue them. Rusty put them under his mattress! Goodbye, Felicia!”
As the cabbage finished, Rusty’s hen ran by, and Felicia grabbed it with both hands.
“Not so fast, you nasty little creature! How dare you serve only my brother!”
“Oh, please don’t hurt me,” said the hen. “Let me go and I’ll tell you anything you want to know!”
Felicia put the hen down, and the bird smoothed her feathers and then began her story.
“Now, where was I? Oh, yes, I remember. Rusty was about two years old... But first things first, as I always say, and the rest will follow very nicely. Listen to me, Felicia, and hear what I say: Rusty is not your brother!”
Felicia looked at the hen with suspicion. “Of course he’s my brother,” she said.
“Of course he’s not your brother,” replied the hen. “I’m sure that’s what you meant to say, because you’re a good little girl and you always tell the truth. Anyway, I’d know if he had any sisters. I’m his mother, for goodness’ sake!”
Felicia stared at her with cranky and incredulous eyes. “But you’re a hen!” she said.
“I know what it looks like,” said the hen, “but it wasn’t always like this. I wasn’t always like this. But never mind. Just hear me out and don’t interrupt.”
Felicia nodded and the hen began again.
“Once upon a time, there was a queen who had six daughters. In those days women could not inherit property, and so the king wanted a son very badly. The next time the queen was pregnant, he imprisoned her in a castle and ordered her to produce a boy. `Another girl and I’ll cut off your head!’ he said to her.
“The queen’s half-sister was a powerful fairy who was also pregnant at the time. She knew that the queen was going to have another girl, while her own child would be a boy. So the sisters came up with a plan to exchange their babies when they were born.
“When the queen gave birth to her daughter, she waited anxiously for her sister to bring the baby boy to the castle. But for some reason, the fairy never came. Finally, the queen could wait no longer. Fortunately, one of her guards was devoted to her and gave her a rope ladder. She took her tiny daughter and climbed down the ladder to freedom.
“After travelling for many days, she arrived at this very cottage, and I took her in. She was exhausted and very sick, and she died soon after putting the girl in my charge. Can you guess who that little girl was, Felicia?”
“Was it me?” asked Felicia.
“Yes, Felicia, it was you. My husband had been away from home for some time, so I just pretended you were his second child when he returned. Then, one day a noble lady came to the cottage. I was never good with secrets, and I told her the whole story, thinking it might interest her. Well, as soon as I finished, she tapped me on the head with her wand, and I’ve been a hen ever since. After that, I could make a lot of noise, but I couldn’t say a word.
“My poor husband looked everywhere for me, but never found me of course. He thought I had drowned, or been eaten by beasts in the forest. But he raised you as his daughter and he raised you well.
“That noble lady came back one more time. She said my husband should call you Felicia, and left a silver ring and a pot of pink carnations to be given to you. She also gave my husband a hen, which pleased him very much.
“While the noble lady was in the cottage, twenty-five of the king’s men came looking for you, probably intending to kill you on the king’s orders. But the lady said a few quick words and they were all turned into cabbages. It was one of them that you tossed out your window yesterday.
“I was quite surprised to hear him speak. None of them has spoken since the day they were turned into cabbages. And I’ve done nothing but cluck for almost twenty years. I wonder what is going on.”
Felicia was as puzzled as the hen, but she said, “Perhaps the fairy’s spell is almost over. Perhaps you’ll have a human shape again quite soon. But we must be patient. And now I must go and search for my carnations.”
Rusty was out, so nothing could stop Felicia from searching his bedroom. But as soon as she approached his mattress, a gang of rats attacked her savagely, tearing at her ankles with their teeth. She winced and stumbled backwards and the rats left her alone. But how was she to get her pot of flowers?
She wondered if the fairy-water might have some magic power, and she raced to her room to fetch her jug. When she arrived back at Rusty’s room, she dipped her fingers in the water and then flicked a few drops at the rats. Instantly, the whole gang turned and fled. Then Felicia took her flowers and gave them a good long drink of fairy-water. Then she raised the flowers to her face to feast on their wonderful freshness, and suddenly she heard a soft and gentle voice that seemed to come from the flowers themselves.
“My lovely Felicia,” said the voice, “at last this day has come. Let me say how deep and full my feelings are for you. The power of your beauty is so great it can wake up the flowers and drive the clouds away.”
Suddenly, Felicia sensed someone behind her. She turned, and there was Rusty, standing in the doorway. Without saying a word, he dragged her out of his room, and then out of his house. He threw her into the yard and then went back inside and slammed the door shut. Felicia righted the flower pot and picked herself up. Then she saw her friend the fairy standing nearby and staring at the door.
“You have a bad brother,” she said. “What punishment do you think he deserves?”
“He doesn’t need to be punished,” said Felicia. “His life is poor and drab. That’s why he stole my carnations.”
The fairy looked at Felicia. “What if he weren’t your brother? What if you were a princess, and not related to him at all? Would you let me punish him then?”
“If I were a princess,” Felicia answered, “I would be so much luckier than my brother, it would be pure wickedness to want him punished.”
At that moment, and seemingly out of nowhere, there appeared a radiant young man with laughing eyes. He was wearing a crown of carnations and his hair fell upon his shoulders. As soon as he saw the fairy, he knelt and kissed her hand. Then he stood up and she threw her arms around him and hugged him fiercely. She beamed at Felicia.
“It’s my son!” she said. Then she stood back to get a good look at him. “You turned out rather well, I think. It’s such a relief to have you back in human form. You must thank Felicia, for it was her love and care that finally ended the spell.” The fairy then turned towards Felicia.
“But first, Felicia, there are several things you don’t know,” she said. “Everything the hen said was true, but there was more to the story than she knew. The unfortunate queen she spoke of was my sister; she was to have raised my son, while I raised you.
“When my son was born, I commanded the wind to carry him safely to my sister in the castle. But the wind grew tired, and stopped to rest in a field, and put my baby down in a garden full of flowers. An enemy of mine saw her chance, and changed my son into a pink carnation. That is why he never arrived at the castle, and why my sister had to flee down the rope ladder with you.
“Because he was abandoned by the wind, only devotion and care could break the spell that bound my son. I placed my hope in you, Felicia, and I was right. Even as a young girl you took great pains with him, and if he is strong and handsome, he has you to thank for it. Just now, when you drove the rats away, you broke the back of the spell, and when you gave him the fairy-water in your jug, I knew my son would soon return.
“Yesterday you made me a present of this ring. It was everything you had, but you gave it willingly. Now you’ve given me back my son. But what can I give you in return? I am the Queen of the Woods, and yet I have no gift to match yours. Unless.... Feli
cia, my happiness would be complete if you would take back your ring and marry my son. Do you love him?”
Felicia blushed, and said, “Do I? I hardly know. I’ve never felt this way before. I feel that unless Prince Carnation loves me, I’ll never find real happiness. I think your son has stolen my heart. But I don’t know how he feels, and however powerful you are, his heart is not yours to give.”
The prince knelt at Felicia’s feet. “Ah, Felicia,” said the prince. “You have had my heart for many years. If you will give me yours, I will keep it safe, but only if you take mine in return.”
The Queen of the Woods then touched Felicia with her wand, and her simple dress was instantly transformed into a rich and elegant gown.
Suddenly, Rusty opened the cottage door. He took one glance at Felicia and then covered his face in fear and scuttled away. But Felicia called him back and was kind to him.
“I think you are much too good to him,” said the fairy. “If he were my brother, I would punish him most severely.”
“I am much too happy to want anyone punished,” said Felicia.
“Maybe you’re right,” said the fairy. “Maybe he should have some carnations of his own.”
The fairy pointed her wand at the cottage and began to wave it slowly back and forth. A thousand carnations began to grow, and their stalks intertwined, and soon there was a wall of carnations one storey high, and still the carnations grew, and the bungalow became a house, and the house became a mansion, and the mansion became a castle made of sturdy, beautiful, sweet-smelling carnations.
Rusty was beside himself with joy, and thanked Felicia so often that the fairy wondered about turning him into a carnation so they could all have their peace. But she left him as he was, and she restored the hen and the cabbages to their human forms.
Soon after, Felicia married the prince. The Queen of the Woods was so happy that she spared no effort to make their wedding feast the greatest and grandest possible, and they all lived happily ever after.