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The Flower Princess II
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 The next morning at the same hour Joyeuse was wandering through the paths of the garden, seeking his flower-maiden1. He looked for her first near the arbor2 of morning-glories, but Fleurette was not there. He had to search far and wide before he found her at last in quite another part of the garden, among the lilies. She wore a white lily in her yellow locks.
"Ah!" cried Joyeuse, when he spied her, "it is a lily to-day. But yesterday I thought[17] I guessed your favorite flower. Now I find that I was wrong. Surely, this is your choice. So fair, so pure,—a Princess herself could choose no better."
 
Fleurette smiled brightly at him, shaking her hair from side to side in a golden shower. "One cannot so easily read my thoughts as he may suppose," she cried saucily3.
 
"Dear maiden," said Joyeuse, coming nearer and taking her hand, "I have no wonderful garden like this where I can invite you to dwell as its little princess. But come with me, and we will make a tiny one of our very own, where no one shall forbid us at any hour, and where we will play at being Prince and Princess, as happy as two butterflies."
 
But Fleurette shook her head and said: "No, I can never leave the garden and my Princess. She could not live without me. I shall dwell here always and always, so long as the flowers and I are a-blooming."
 
"Then I, too, must live here always and always!" declared Joyeuse. "Perhaps the Princess will take me for her minstrel, or her[18] soldier, or her man of medicine,—anything that will keep me near you, so that we can play together here in the garden. Would that please you, little flower?"
 
Fleurette looked thoughtful. "I should be sorry to have you go," she said; "you love the flowers so dearly, it would be a pity."
 
"Yes, indeed I love them!" cried Joyeuse. "Let us then go to the Princess and ask her to keep me in her service."
 
The Princess looked long at Joyeuse, and at last she said: "How do I know what manner of minstrel you are? I cannot take you to her without some promise of your skill, for she is a Princess who cares only for the best. Come, let us go into the wilder part of the garden, where no one can hear us, and I will listen to your music."
 
So they went into a wild part of the garden, and sat down under a tree beside the little brook4. And there he played and sang for her such sweet and beautiful music that she clapped her hands for joy. And when he had finished he said,[19]—
 
"Well, dear maiden, do you think I am worthy5 to be your lady's minstrel? Have I the skill to make her happy?"
 
"Truly, Joyeuse, you have made me very happy, and you are a Prince of Minstrels," she answered. "Yet—I cannot tell. That is not enough. But hark! I hear the chapel6 bell. I must hasten back to the palace. To-morrow I will come again and listen to another song. Meanwhile do not try to see the Princess."
 
"I care not for the Princess, I," he called after her, "so long as I may see you, little flower!" And for an answer her laughter came back to him over the flowers.
 
So that day went by; and early the next morning Joyeuse took his lute7 and sought the flower-maiden in the garden. This time he sought her long and long before he found her among the roses. There was a crimson8 rose in her hair, and one upon either cheek when she glanced up, hearing his footsteps on the grass. There was also a crimson spot upon her white hand.[20]
 
"See!" she cried, "a cruel thorn has pricked9 me. Let me test your skill in herbs, Sir Doctor."
 
With a sorry face, for it gave him pain to see her pain, Joyeuse ran to find the leaf of a certain plant which he knew. Presently he returned, and, taking a bit of linen10 from his scrip, tenderly bound the leaf about the poor wounded finger.
 
"Now will it be cured," he said. "This is a remedy which never fails."
 
"How wise you are," murmured Fleurette, "a very Prince of Doctors!"
 
"Say, may I not then hope to be the doctor of the Princess?" he asked eagerly.
 
But Fleurette shook her head. "We must see how the finger is to-morrow morning. If it is quite healed then, perhaps— But hark! That is the Gardener's whistle. It is late, and I must return to the palace, or he will find us trespassing11." And away she ran, before Joyeuse had time to say another word.
 
Now when the morrow arrived, Joyeuse sought Fleurette in the garden, long and long.[21] But at last he found her among the lavender. Her finger indeed was healed, so that she smiled upon him, and she said,—
 
"Now you shall teach me to play the lute. The Princess, I know, would fain master the lute. But I must see first what sort of teacher you make before I take you to her."
 
So they sat down beside a marble fountain in the fairest part of the garden; and there Joyeuse taught her how to pluck the lute and to make sweet music. He taught her so well, and they passed the time so pleasantly, that they forgot how the hours were flying.
 
"Joyeuse, you are the very Prince of Teachers!" said Fleurette.
 
At that moment a shadow fell upon the grass beside them, and lo! there stood the head Gardener, who had heard the sound of the music, and had hurried to see who might be in the Princess's garden at this forbidden hour. The Princess gave a little cry, and without a word slipped away through an opening in the hedge that she knew, before the Gardener had a chance to see her face.[22]
 
"Huh!" grunted12 the Gardener. "She has escaped, whoever she is. But we shall soon know her name. You shall tell us that and other things, you minstrel fellow."
 
"That I will never tell you!" cried Joyeuse.
 
"Huh! We shall see about that, too," retorted the Gardener surlily. "You shall not escape, Sirrah. I will take you to my lady the Princess, and you will have a chance to explain how you came to be here playing the lute in her garden at a forbidden hour. Come along!" And he advanced to seize Joyeuse by the collar. He was a huge, burly fellow, almost a giant in size.
 
But Joyeuse laid his hand on his sword and said: "Keep back, Gardener, and do not attempt to lay hands on me! I promise to follow wherever you may lead, but you shall not touch me to make me prisoner."
 
"Huh! A valiant13 minstrel!" sneered14 the Gardener. But he looked twice at the Stranger's flashing eyes and at his strong right arm, and decided15 to accept his promise. At once he[23] led the way through the winding16 paths of the garden until they came to the palace gate. Now Joyeuse was shut into a dark dungeon17 to wait the hour when the Princess was wont18 to hold council, to listen to the prayers of her suitors and the wishes of her people.
 
Poor Joyeuse! "This is the end of my happy time," he said to himself. "The Princess will now dismiss me, if she does no worse. She will have no charity for a trespasser19 in her garden, of which she is so jealous. I may not tell her how her fair maiden met me there and urged me to remain. I cannot tell; for that might bring trouble upon the flower-maiden, whom, alas20, I may never see again!"
 
So he mused21, wondering wistfully that she should have left him without a word. But there was no blame for her in his heart; he loved her so very dearly.

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1 maiden yRpz7     
n.少女,处女;adj.未婚的,纯洁的,无经验的
参考例句:
  • The prince fell in love with a fair young maiden.王子爱上了一位年轻美丽的少女。
  • The aircraft makes its maiden flight tomorrow.这架飞机明天首航。
2 arbor fyIzz0     
n.凉亭;树木
参考例句:
  • They sat in the arbor and chatted over tea.他们坐在凉亭里,边喝茶边聊天。
  • You may have heard of Arbor Day at school.你可能在学校里听过植树节。
3 saucily 4cf63aeb40419200899e77bc1032c756     
adv.傲慢地,莽撞地
参考例句:
  • The servants likewise used me saucily, and had much ado to keep their hands off me. 有几个仆人对我很无礼,要他们的手不碰我是很难的。 来自辞典例句
4 brook PSIyg     
n.小河,溪;v.忍受,容让
参考例句:
  • In our room we could hear the murmur of a distant brook.在我们房间能听到远处小溪汩汩的流水声。
  • The brook trickled through the valley.小溪涓涓流过峡谷。
5 worthy vftwB     
adj.(of)值得的,配得上的;有价值的
参考例句:
  • I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
  • There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。
6 chapel UXNzg     
n.小教堂,殡仪馆
参考例句:
  • The nimble hero,skipped into a chapel that stood near.敏捷的英雄跳进近旁的一座小教堂里。
  • She was on the peak that Sunday afternoon when she played in chapel.那个星期天的下午,她在小教堂的演出,可以说是登峰造极。
7 lute moCzqe     
n.琵琶,鲁特琴
参考例句:
  • He idly plucked the strings of the lute.他漫不经心地拨弄着鲁特琴的琴弦。
  • He knows how to play the Chinese lute.他会弹琵琶。
8 crimson AYwzH     
n./adj.深(绯)红色(的);vi.脸变绯红色
参考例句:
  • She went crimson with embarrassment.她羞得满脸通红。
  • Maple leaves have turned crimson.枫叶已经红了。
9 pricked 1d0503c50da14dcb6603a2df2c2d4557     
刺,扎,戳( prick的过去式和过去分词 ); 刺伤; 刺痛; 使剧痛
参考例句:
  • The cook pricked a few holes in the pastry. 厨师在馅饼上戳了几个洞。
  • He was pricked by his conscience. 他受到良心的谴责。
10 linen W3LyK     
n.亚麻布,亚麻线,亚麻制品;adj.亚麻布制的,亚麻的
参考例句:
  • The worker is starching the linen.这名工人正在给亚麻布上浆。
  • Fine linen and cotton fabrics were known as well as wool.精细的亚麻织品和棉织品像羊毛一样闻名遐迩。
11 trespassing a72d55f5288c3d37c1e7833e78593f83     
[法]非法入侵
参考例句:
  • He told me I was trespassing on private land. 他说我在擅闯私人土地。
  • Don't come trespassing on my land again. 别再闯入我的地界了。
12 grunted f18a3a8ced1d857427f2252db2abbeaf     
(猪等)作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 ); (指人)发出类似的哼声; 咕哝着说
参考例句:
  • She just grunted, not deigning to look up from the page. 她只咕哝了一声,继续看书,不屑抬起头来看一眼。
  • She grunted some incomprehensible reply. 她咕噜着回答了些令人费解的话。
13 valiant YKczP     
adj.勇敢的,英勇的;n.勇士,勇敢的人
参考例句:
  • He had the fame of being very valiant.他的勇敢是出名的。
  • Despite valiant efforts by the finance minister,inflation rose to 36%.尽管财政部部长采取了一系列果决措施,通货膨胀率还是涨到了36%。
14 sneered 0e3b5b35e54fb2ad006040792a867d9f     
讥笑,冷笑( sneer的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He sneered at people who liked pop music. 他嘲笑喜欢流行音乐的人。
  • It's very discouraging to be sneered at all the time. 成天受嘲讽是很令人泄气的。
15 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
16 winding Ue7z09     
n.绕,缠,绕组,线圈
参考例句:
  • A winding lane led down towards the river.一条弯弯曲曲的小路通向河边。
  • The winding trail caused us to lose our orientation.迂回曲折的小道使我们迷失了方向。
17 dungeon MZyz6     
n.地牢,土牢
参考例句:
  • They were driven into a dark dungeon.他们被人驱赶进入一个黑暗的地牢。
  • He was just set free from a dungeon a few days ago.几天前,他刚从土牢里被放出来。
18 wont peXzFP     
adj.习惯于;v.习惯;n.习惯
参考例句:
  • He was wont to say that children are lazy.他常常说小孩子们懒惰。
  • It is his wont to get up early.早起是他的习惯。
19 trespasser 1gezZu     
n.侵犯者;违反者
参考例句:
  • The worst they'd ever dealt with was an occasionally trespasser or small-time thief. 他们过去对付的充其量是一个偶尔闯入者或是小偷小摸者。
  • In such event the offending member or guest shall be trespasser. 在此情况下,违例的会员或嘉宾一概视作擅自进入论。
20 alas Rx8z1     
int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等)
参考例句:
  • Alas!The window is broken!哎呀!窗子破了!
  • Alas,the truth is less romantic.然而,真理很少带有浪漫色彩。
21 mused 0affe9d5c3a243690cca6d4248d41a85     
v.沉思,冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 );沉思自语说(某事)
参考例句:
  • \"I wonder if I shall ever see them again, \"he mused. “我不知道是否还可以再见到他们,”他沉思自问。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • \"Where are we going from here?\" mused one of Rutherford's guests. 卢瑟福的一位客人忍不住说道:‘我们这是在干什么?” 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史


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