Star*Twinkle Pretty Cure - Episode 43
My Own Review
IN WHICH TENJOU IS FINALLY UNMASKED - add the finale * Nena's mother-daughter woes and thoughts about interpreters
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The forty-third episode of
Star ☆ Twinkle
wraps up the Elena arc that effectively started back in episode
thirty-nine, with a visit to the Planet Guten (as in verlan for "Tengu"). This particular planet is
notable for being the place where Tenjou came from.
I have particularly high hopes for this episode. Hopefully it will meet my expectations.
Precures and company arrive on Planet Guten
In this episode, the PreCures take a trip to Planet Guten where the
Starscape Alliance is working on technology that will let them track
down the KNotraiders. On this planet, Elena is confronted by Tenjou, the most infamous denizen of her homeworld.
Hikaru sketches the sights of the new planet
This may be considered an Elena focus episode, but playing an equally
important role this time around is Tenjou, with whom she shares the spotlight. After all, the setting is her
home planet.
Tenjou vs. Cure Soleil
It seems the earlier into an episode the PreCures transform, the
better it will be. Got to give props to Tenjou for attempting to attack
Elena when she was alone, but of course that was never going to last
long.
On Guten, nose size is the primary beauty canon.
Which of course has to do with Tenjou's real nose (fine and aquiline, but not long enough) once she is unmasked. Ever since childhood, she had to endure discrimination.
Back when she had the cutest little button nose EVER
- and was a freak in mainstream tengu society.
Though some of them told her that nose size was not their concern...
at the end of the day...
All of the other tengu
used to laugh and call her names;
they never let poor Tenjou
play any tengu games...
Young Tenjou the Button-Nosed Tengu
Tenjou’s backstory is divulged in this episode, when her mask drops off and her real face is revealed (although also the real nose is seen beneath the mask in last picture) and it is not
something that she is particularly happy about sharing. Doesn’t seem to
be quite as extreme as Kappard's and Ayewan’s stories, but she
definitely earns some sympathy at least.
Tenjou plays both villain and victim this week
Being a Cure Soleil focus episode means that the other Cures -
including Selene- have to be
about as useful as chocolate fireguards during battle. Cure Soleil isn’t
exactly proactively fighting either, so she gets literally kicked
around a bit before she gets her actual moment to shine.
Even incapacitated, Selene reassures Soleil
These last few episodes have definitely been pushing more Soleil x
Selene / Soluna interactions, and I am pretty happy with that. When Soleil is
down, Selene is there to pick her up. The relationship between Elena and
Madoka has definitely been one of the best things to come out of the
previous few episodes.
Cure Soleil power up
Cure Soleil reaches a pivotal moment in her character development,
and of course that means she follows in the footsteps of Yuni, Lala and
Madoka. Just Hikaru to go now. Much like with Madoka’s episode, though, I
feel like something is lost with the entire group launching their
finishing move/hissatsu. Just let Elena have it on her own, and it would be
more impactful. Oh well.
Cure Soleil offers her helping hand to Selene
After the battle, we get the hint that a certain force of evil will
be on the move very soon. This episode wraps up in a rather touching
manner, with Elena having a heart to heart with her mother. And Kaede finally telling her the truth!
I’d say something about cutting onions, but that’s exactly what Elena was doing at this point
Don’t worry, the episode doesn’t end on a downer. Rather, we cap off what has been a fantastic two-parter arc for Elena and Tenjou on a positive note.
I can safely say that this episode did indeed meet my expectations. I
suspected it was going to be fantastic, and it was. Lots of lovely
screentime for Elena, all devoted towards her character development.
For the previous few episodes, both Elena and Madoka hI’d say something about cutting onions, but that’s exactly what Elena was doing at this pointave been the main
stars. These past few episodes have been excellent reminders
that Elena and Madoka are a key part of the team, as well.
Next time, Christmas! Might not be so merry, though…
MY OWN HUMBLE OPINION:
Kappard's species died of thirst. Ayewan was a streetrat/gamine. AND TENJOU? She was the object of ostracism for having the cutesiest tiny button nose, while tengu are well-known for their prominent Pinocchio noses -- kind of a reverse Cyrano de Bergerac or a Tenjou the Button-Nosed Tengu (to reference the famous Yuletide carol)! Everyone on Guten treated her as their inferior. Thus, the tengu-nosed mask she wore until now, and that finally dropped off, is to compensate for this stigma/social handicap and appear as normal instead of deviant.
Tenjou the Button-Nosed Tengu
had a very tiny nose;
and if you ever saw it,
you could only from up close!
All of the other tengu
used to laugh and call her names;
they never let poor Tenjou
play any tengu games...
Just had the urge to filk while also commenting on the arbitrariness of beauty standards; compare the ribcage-misshaping corset in Early Modern and Victorian Western culture, the giraffe women of Southeast Asia, the lotus-bud-feet bound into that shape, or those Sub-Saharan females in a certain village society who wear terracotta plates on their pierced bottom lips!! There is also a Victorian fairytale commenting on/satirising this issue of arbitrary fashion canons and discrimination of those who deviate; the Story of Prince Fairyfoot, set in a kingdom where foot size is the paramount beauty standard (compare nose size on Guten and read some Freudian innuendo between the lines) where obviously the titular crown prince is born and grows up with tiny dainty feet -- "Fairyfoot" is what he is derisively called. His crowned parents give him up, while he's still a toddler, to a pigkeeper or shepherd family and, though as cruel as the Thénardiers, these guardians are a blessing in disguise, since he lives far closer to wild nature -- flora, fauna, and fair folk... Having a little echtra (adventure in fairyland) with Puck in the guise of a redbreasted songbird called the Robin Goodfellow (Puck, NOT Fairyfoot) finally brings him closer to self-acceptance among the littlepeople and then among the big people (humans) of Stompingham and of the next kingdom over, where in contrast tiny feet are in vogue and those of the crown princess look like they belong in clown shoes...
"Wouldn't you?" said the Robin, looking up at him.
"No," answered Fairyfoot.
"Well," said the Robin, "I guess I won't. Let's go and have some fun. They
are all that way. You can't depend on any of them. Never trust one of
them. I believe that creature has been engaged as much as twice since I
left. By a singular coincidence," he added, "I have been married twice
myself--but, of course, that's different. I'm a man, you know, and--well,
it's different. We won't dwell on it. Let's go and dance. But wait a
minute first." He took a little bottle from his pocket.
"If you remain the size you are," he continued, "you will tread on whole
sets of lancers and destroy entire regiments. If you drink this, you will
become as small as we are; and then, when you are going home, I will give
you something to make you large again." Fairyfoot drank from the little
flagon, and immediately he felt himself growing smaller and smaller until
at last he was as small as his companion.
"Now, come on," said the Robin.
On they went and joined the fairies, and they danced and played fairy
games and feasted on fairy dainties, and were so gay and happy that
Fairyfoot was wild with joy. Everybody made him welcome and seemed to
like him, and the lady fairies were simply delightful, especially
Gauzita, who took a great fancy to him. Just before the sun rose, Robin
gave him something from another flagon, and he grew large again, and
two minutes and three seconds and a half before daylight the ball broke
up, and the Robin took him home and left him, promising to call for him the
next night.
Every night throughout the whole summer the same thing happened. At
midnight he went to the fairies' dance; and at two minutes and three
seconds and a half before dawn he came home. He was never lonely any
more, because all day long he could think of what pleasure he would have
when the night came; and, besides that, all the fairies were his friends.
But when the summer was coming to an end, the Robin Goodfellow said to him:
"This is our last dance--at least it will be our last for some time. At
this time of the year we always go back to our own country, and we don't
return until spring."
This made Fairyfoot very sad. He did not know how he could bear to be
left alone again, but he knew it could not be helped; so he tried to be
as cheerful as possible, and he went to the final festivities, and
enjoyed himself more than ever before, and Gauzita gave him a tiny ring
for a parting gift. But the next night, when the Robin did not come for him,
he felt very lonely indeed, and the next day he was so sorrowful that he
wandered far away into the forest, in the hope of finding something to
cheer him a little. He wandered so far that he became very tired and
thirsty, and he was just making up his mind to go home, when he thought
he heard the sound of falling water. It seemed to come from behind a
thicket of climbing roses; and he went towards the place and pushed the
branches aside a little, so that he could look through. What he saw was a
great surprise to h
him. Though it was the end of summer, inside the
thicket the roses were blooming in thousands all around a pool as clear
as crystal, into which the sparkling water fell from a hole in the rock
above. It was the most beautiful, clear pool that Fairyfoot had ever
seen, and he pressed his way through the rose branches, and, entering the
circle they inclosed, he knelt by the water and drank.
Almost instantly his feeling of sadness left him, and he felt quite
happy and refreshed. He stretched himself on the thick perfumed moss,
and listened to the tinkling of the water, and it was not long before he
fell asleep.
When he awakened the moon was shining, the pool sparkled like a silver
plaque crusted with diamonds, and two nightingales were singing in the
branches over his head. And the next moment he found out that he
understood their language just as plainly as if they had been human
beings instead of avian. The water with which he had quenched his thirst
was enchanted, and had given him this new power.
"Poor boy!" said one nightingale, "he looks tired; I wonder where he
came from."
"Why, my dear," said the other, "is it possible you don't know that he is
Prince Fairyfoot?"
"What!" said the first nightingale--"the King and Queen of Stompingham's son, who was born with small feet?"
"Yes," said the second. "And the poor child has lived in the forest,
keeping the sheep and pigs ever since. And he is a very nice boy, too--never throws stones at birds or robs nests."
"What a pity he doesn't know about the pool where the red berries grow!"
said the first nightingale.
"What pool--and what red berries?" asked the second nightingale.
"Why, my dear," said the first, "is it possible you don't know about the
pool where the red berries grow--the pool where the poor, dear Princess
Goldenhair met with her misfortune?"
"Never heard of it," said the second nightingale, rather crossly.
"Well," explained the other, "you have to follow the brook for a day and
three-quarters, and then take all the paths to the left until you come to
the pool. It is very ugly and muddy, and bushes with red berries on them
grow around it."
"Well, what of that?" said her companion; "and what happened to the
Princess Maybloom Goldenhair?"
"Don't you know that, either?" exclaimed her friend.
"No."
"Ah!" said the first nightingale, "it was very sad. She went out with her
father, the King of next kingdom, who had a hunting party; and she lost her way, thinking of her missing mother the Queen, and wandered on until she came to the pool. Her poor little feet were so hot that she took off her gold-embroidered satin slippers, and put them into the water--her feet, not the slippers--and the next minute they began to grow and grow, and to get larger and larger, until they were so immense she could hardly walk at all; and though all the physicians in the kingdom have tried to make them smaller, nothing can be done, and she is
perfectly unhappy."
"What a pity she doesn't know about this pool!" said the other bird. "If
she just came here and bathed them three times in the water, they would
be smaller and more beautiful than ever, and she would be more lovely
than she has ever been."
"It is a pity," said her companion; "but, you know, if we once let people
know what this water will do, we should be overrun with humans bathing
themselves beautiful, and trampling our moss underfoot and tearing down our
rose-trees, and we should never have any peace."
"That is true," agreed the other.
Very soon after they flew away, and Fairyfoot was left alone. He had been
so excited while they were talking that he had been hardly able to lie
still. He was so sorry for Princess Goldenhair, and so glad for
himself. Now he could find his way to the pool with the red berries, and
he could bathe his feet in it until they were large enough to satisfy
Stompingham; and he could go back to his court where he had been born, and his parents would perhaps; be fond of him. But he had so good a heart that he could not think of being happy himself and letting others remain unhappy, when
he could help them. So the first thing was to find this Princess
Goldenhair and tell her about the nightingales' fountain. But how was he
to find her? The nightingales had not told him. He was very much
troubled, indeed. How was he to find her?
Suddenly, quite suddenly, he thought of the ring Gauzita had given him.
When she had given it to him she had made an odd remark.
"When you wish to go anywhere," she had said, "hold it in your hand, turn
around twice with closed eyes, and something queer will happen."
He had thought it was one of her little jokes, but now it occurred to him
that at least he might try what would happen. So he rose up, held the
ring in his hand, closed his eyes, and turned around twice.
What did happen was that he began to walk, not very fast, but still
passing along as if he were moving rapidly. He did not know where he was
going, but he guessed that the ring did, and that if he obeyed it, he
should find one Princess Maybloom Goldenhair. He went on and on, not getting in the least tired, until about daylight he found himself under a great
tree, and on the ground beneath it was spread a delightful breakfast,
which he knew was for him. He sat down and ate it, and then got up again
and went on his way once more. Before noon he had left the forest behind
him, and was in a strange country. He knew it was not Stompingham,
because the people had not large feet. But they all had sad faces, and
once or twice, when he passed groups of them who were talking, he heard
them speak of Princess Maybloom Goldenhair, as if they were sorry for her and
could not enjoy themselves while such a misfortune rested upon her.
"So sweet and lovely and kind a princess!" they said; "and it really
seems as if she would never be any better."
The sun was just setting when Fairyfoot came in sight of the palace. It
was built of white marble, and had beautiful pleasure-grounds about it,
but somehow there seemed to be a settled gloom in the air. Fairyfoot had
entered the great pleasure-garden, and was wondering where it would be
best to go first, when he saw a lovely white fawn, with a golden collar
about its neck, come bounding over the flower-beds, and he heard, at a
little distance, a sweet voice, saying, sorrowfully, "Come back, my fawn;
I cannot run and play with you as I once used to. Do not leave me, my
little friend."
And soon from behind the trees came a line of beautiful girls, walking
two by two, all very slowly; and at the head of the line, first of all,
came the loveliest princess in the world, dressed softly in pure white,
with a wreath of lilies on her long golden hair, which fell almost to the
hem of her white gown.
She had so fair and tender a young face, and her large, soft eyes, yet
looked so sorrowful, that Fairyfoot loved her in a moment, and he knelt
on one knee, taking off his cap and bending his head until his own golden
hair almost hid his face.
"Beautiful Princess Maybloom Goldenhair, beautiful and sweet Princess, may I speak to you?" he said.
The Princess stopped and looked at him, and answered him softly. It
surprised her to see one so poorly dressed kneeling before her, in her
palace gardens, among the brilliant flowers; but she always spoke softly
to everyone.
"What is there that I can do for you, my friend?" she said.
"Beautiful Princess," answered Fairyfoot, blushing, "I hope very much
that I may be able to do something for you."
"For me!" she exclaimed. "Thank you, friend; what is it you can do?
Indeed, I need a help I am afraid no one can ever give me."
"Gracious and fairest lady," said Fairyfoot, "it is that help I
think--nay, I am sure--that I bring to you."
"Oh!" said the sweet Princess. "You have a kind face and most true eyes,
and when I look at you--I do not know why it is, but I feel a little
happier. What is it you would say to me?"
Still kneeling before her, still bending his head modestly, and still
blushing, Fairyfoot told his story. He told her of his own sadness and
loneliness, and of why he was considered so terrible a disgrace to his
family, and had been given up to peasants and. He told her about the fountain of the nightingales and what he
had heard there and how he had journeyed through the forests, and beyond
it into her own country, to find her. And while he told it, her
beautiful face changed from red to white, and her hands closely clasped
themselves together.
"Oh!" she said, when he had finished, "I know that this is true from the
kind look in your eyes, and I shall be happy again. And how can I thank
you for being so good to a poor little princess whom you had never seen?"
"Only let me see you happy once more, most sweet Princess," answered
Fairyfoot, "and that will be all I desire--only if, perhaps, I might
once--kiss your hand."
She held out her hand to him with so lovely a look in her soft eyes that
he felt happier than he had ever been before, even at the fairy dances.
This was a different kind of happiness. Her hand was as white as a turtledove's
wing and as soft as a turtledove's breast plumage. "Come," she said, "let us go at once to the King my father."
Within a few minutes the whole palace was in an uproar of excitement.
Preparations were made to go to the fountain of the nightingales
immediately. Remembering what the birds had said about not wishing to be
disturbed, Fairyfoot asked the King to take only a small party. So no one
was to go but the King himself, the Princess, in a covered chair carried
by two bearers, the Lord High Chamberlain, two Maids of Honour, and
Fairyfoot.
Before morning they were on their way, and the day after they reached the
thicket of roses, and Fairyfoot pushed aside the branches and led the way
into the dell.
The Princess Goldenhair sat down upon the edge of the pool and put her
feet into it. In two minutes they began to look smaller. She bathed them
once, twice, three times, and, as the nightingales had said, they became
smaller and more beautiful than ever. As for the Princess herself, she
really could not be more beautiful than she had been; but the Lord High
Chamberlain, who had been an exceedingly ugly old gentleman, after
washing his face, became so young and handsome that the First Maid of
Honour immediately fell in love with him. Whereupon she washed her face,
and became so beautiful that he fell in love with her, and they were
engaged upon the spot.
The Princess could not find any words to tell Fairyfoot how grateful
she was and how happy. She could only look at him again and again with
her soft, radiant eyes, and again and again give him her hand that he
might kiss it.
She was so sweet and gentle that Fairyfoot could not bear the thought of
leaving her; and when the King begged him to return to the palace with
them and live there always, he was more glad than I can tell you. To be
near this lovely Princess, to be her friend, to love and serve her and
look at her every day, was such happiness that he wanted nothing more.
But first he wished to visit his father and mother in Stompingham! so the widowed King and Princess and their attendants
went with him to the pool where the red berries grew; and after he had
bathed his feet in the water they were so large that Stompinghamcontained nothing like them, even the King's and Queen's seeming small in
comparison. And when, a few days later, he arrived at the Stompingham
Palace, attended in great state by the magnificent retinue with which the
father of the Princess Goldenhair had provided him, he was received with
unbounded rapture by his parents. The King and Queen felt that to have a
son with feet of such a size was something to be proud of, indeed. They
could not admire him sufficiently, although the whole country was
illuminated, and feasting continued throughout his visit.
But though he was glad to be no more a disgrace to his family, it cannot
be said that he enjoyed the size of his feet very much on his own
account. Indeed, he much preferred being Prince Fairyfoot, as fleet as
the wind and as light as a young deer, and he was quite glad to go to the
fountain of the nightingales after his visit was at an end, and bathe his
feet small again, and to return to the palace of Princess Maybloom Goldenhair
with the soft and tender eyes. There everyone loved him, and he loved
everyone, and was four times as happy as the day is long.
He loved the Princess more dearly every day, and, of course, as soon as
they were old enough, they were married. And of course, too, they used to
go in spring and summer to the forest, and dance in the moonlight with the
fairies, who adored them both.
When they went to visit Stompingham, they always bathed their feet in
the pool of the red berries; and when they returned, they made them small
again in the fountain of the nightingales.
They were always great friends with the Robin Goodfellow, and he was always
very confidential with them about Gauzita, who continued to be as pretty
and saucy as ever.
"Some of these days," he used to say, severely, "I'll marry another
fairy, and see how she'll like that--to see someone else basking in my
society! _I'll_ get even with her!"
But he _never_ did.
ANOTHER RETELLING --picking up, also, from when he meets the little people!!
"'I will do that, and anything more you like,' said Fairyfoot; and the
little man taking his hand, led him over the pasture into the forest,
and along a mossy path among old trees wreathed in ivy (he never knew
how far), till they heard the sound of music, and came upon a meadow
where the moon shone as bright as day, and all the flowers of the
year–snowdrops, violets, primroses, and cowslips–bloomed together in the
thick grass. There was a crowd of little men and women, some clad in
russet color, but far more in green, dancing around a little well as
clear as crystal. And under great rose trees which grew here and there
in the meadow, companies were sitting round low tables covered with cups
of milk, dishes
of honey, and carved wooden flagons filled with clear red berry-wine. The
little man led Fairyfoot up to the nearest table, handed him one of the
flagons, and said–'Drink to the good company!'
"Wine was not very common among the shepherds or other peasants of Stompingham, and the
boy had never tasted such drink as that before; for scarcely had it gone
down when he forgot all his troubles–how his stepbrothers Blackthorn and Brownberry wore
his clothes, how his stepmother Rough Ruddy sent him to keep the sickly sheep, and the
children would not dance with him: in short, he forgot the whole
misfortune of his feet, and it seemed to his mind that he was a king's
son, and all was well with him. All the little people about the well
cried–
"'Welcome! welcome!' and everyone said–'Come and dance with me!' So
Fairyfoot was as happy as a prince, and drank milk and ate honey till
the moon was low in the sky, and then the little man took him by the
hand and never stopped nor stayed till he was at his own bed of straw in
the cottage corner.
"Next morning Fairyfoot was not tired for all his dancing. Nobody in the
cottage had missed him, and he went out with the sheep as usual; but
every night all that summer, when the shepherds were safe in bed, the
little man came and took him away to dance in the forest. Now he did not
care to play with the shepherds' children, nor grieve that his real crowned father
and mother had forgotten him, but watched the sheep all day singing to
himself or plaiting rushes; and when the sun went down, Fairyfoot's
heart rejoiced at the thought of meeting that merry company.
"The wonder was that he was never tired nor sleepy, as people are apt to
be who dance all night; but before the summer was ended Fairyfoot found
out the reason. One night, when the moon was full and the last of the
ripe corn rustling in the fields, the Robin Goodfellow came for him as
usual, and away they went to the flowery green. The fun there was high,
and the Robin was in haste. So he only pointed to the carved cup from which
Fairyfoot every night drank the clear red wine.
"'I am not thirsty, and there is no use losing time,' thought the boy to
himself, and he joined the dance; but never in all his life did
Fairyfoot find such hard work as to keep pace with the company. Their
feet seemed to move like lightning; the swallows did not fly so fast or
turn so quickly. Fairyfoot did his best, for he never gave in easily,
but at length, his breath and strength being spent, the boy was glad to
steal away and sit down behind a mossy oak, where his eyes closed for
very weariness. When he awoke the dance was nearly over, but two little
ladies clad in green talked close beside him.
"'What a beautiful boy!' said one of them. 'He is worthy to be a king's and queen's son. Only see what handsome feet he has!'
"'Yes,' said the other, with a laugh that sounded spiteful; 'they are
just like the feet of Princess Maybloom, in the next kingdom over, had before she washed them in the
Growing Well. Her father has sent far and wide throughout the whole
country searching for a doctor to make them small again, but nothing in
this world can do it except the water of the Fair Fountain, and none but
I and the nightingales know where it is.'
"'One would not care to let the like be known,' said the first little
lady: 'there would come such crowds of these great coarse creatures of
humankind, nobody would have peace for leagues round. But you will surely
send word to the sweet princess–she was so kind to our birdies and
butterflies, and danced so like one of ourselves!'
"'Not I, indeed!' said the spiteful fairy. 'Her old skinflint of a
father cut down the cedar which I loved best in the whole forest, and
made a treasure-chest of it to hold his money in, and her weakling of a mother did nothing to deter her husband's greed; besides, I never liked the
princess–everybody praised her so. But come, we shall be too late for
the last dance.'
"When they were gone, Fairyfoot could sleep no more with astonishment.
He did not wonder at the fairies admiring his feet, because their own
were much the same; but it amazed him that Princess Maybloom's father, in the next kingdom over,
should be troubled at hers growing large. Moreover, he wished to see
that same princess and her country, since there were really other places
in the world than Stompingham.
"When Robin Goodfellow came to take him home as usual he durst not let
him know that he had overheard anything; but never was the boy so
unwilling to get up as on that morning, and all day he was so weary that
in the afternoon Fairyfoot fell asleep, with his head on a clump of
rushes. It was seldom that anyone thought of looking after him and the
sickly sheep. Till one day when his stepfamily took their abuse too far, Fairyfoot fled into the forest, and never stopped nor stayed till he reached the banks of a little stream.
"Thinking it might lead him to the fairies' dancing-ground, he followed
that stream for many an hour, but it wound away into the heart of the
forest, flowing through dells, falling over mossy rocks and at last
leading Fairyfoot, when he was tired and the night had fallen, to a
grove of great rose-trees, with the moon shining on it as bright as day,
and thousands of nightingales singing in the branches. In the midst of
that grove was a clear spring, bordered with banks of lilies, and
Fairyfoot sat down by it to rest himself and listen. The singing was so
sweet he could have listened forever, but as he sat, the nightingales
left off their songs and began to talk together in the silence of the
night.
"'What boy is that,' said one on a branch above him, 'who sits so lonely
by the Fair Fountain? He cannot have come from Stompingham with such
small and handsome feet.'
"'No, I'll warrant you,' said another, 'he has come from the west country. How in the world did he find the way?'
"'How simple you are!' said a third nightingale. 'What had he to do but
follow the ground-ivy which grows over height and hollow, bank and bush,
from the lowest gate of the king's kitchen-garden to the root of this
rose-tree. He looks a wise boy, and I hope he will keep the secret, or
we shall have all the west country here, dabbling in our fountain and
leaving us no rest to either talk or sing. '
"Fairyfoot sat in great astonishment at this discourse, but by-and-by,
when the talk ceased and the songs began, he thought it might be as well
for him to follow the ground-ivy and see the Princess Maybloom, not to
speak of getting rid of the sickly sheep, and the crusty
old shepherds. It was a long journey; but he went on, eating wild berries
by day, sleeping in the hollows of old trees by night, and never losing
sight of the ground-ivy, which led him over height and hollow, bank and
brush, out of the forest, and along a noble high road, with fields and
villages on every side, to a low old-fashioned gate of the king's kitchen-garden, which was
thought too mean for the scullions, and had not been opened for seven
years.
"There was no use knocking–the gate was overgrown with tall weeds and
moss; so, being an active boy, he climbed over and walked through the
garden, till a white fawn came frisking by, and he heard a soft voice
saying sorrowfully–
"'Come back, come back, my fawn! I cannot run and play with you now, my
feet have grown so heavy;' and looking round he saw the loveliest young
princess in the world, dressed in snow-white, and wearing a wreath of
roses on her golden hair; but walking slowly, as the great people did in
Stompingham, for her feet were as large as the best of them.
After her came six young ladies, dressed in white and walking slowly,
for they could not go before the princess; but Fairyfoot was amazed to
see that their feet were as small as his own. At once he guessed that
this must be Princess Maybloom, and made her an humble bow, saying–
"'Royal princess, I have heard of your trouble because your feet have
grown large: in my country that's all the fashion. For seven years past I
have been wondering what would make mine grow, to no purpose; but I
know of a certain fountain that will make yours smaller and finer than
ever they were, if the king, your father, gives you leave to come with
me, accompanied by two of your maids that are the least given to
talking, and the most prudent officer in all his household; for it would
grievously offend the fairies and the nightingales to make that
fountain known.'
"When the princess heard that, she danced for joy in spite of her large
feet, and she and her six maids brought Fairyfoot before the king and
queen, where they sat in their palace hall, with all the courtiers
paying their morning compliments. The lords were very much astonished
to see a ragged, barefoot boy brought in among them, and the ladies
thought Princess Maybloom must have gone mad; but Fairyfoot, making an
humble reverence, told his message to the king and queen, her parents, and offered to
set out with the princess that very day. At first the king could not
believe that there could be any use in his offer, because so many great
physicians had failed to give any relief. The courtiers laughed
Fairyfoot to scorn, the pages wanted to turn him out for an impudent
imposter, and the Chancellor said he ought to be put to death for
treason.
Fairyfoot wished himself safe in the forest again, or even keeping the sickly sheep; but the queen, being a prudent woman, said–
"'I pray your majesty to notice what fine feet this boy has. There may
be some truth in his story. For the sake of our only daughter, I will
choose two maids who talk the least of all our train, and my
chamberlain, who is the most discreet officer in our household. Let
them go with the princess: who knows but our sorrow may be lessened?'
"After some persuasion the king consented, though his councilors advised
the contrary. So the two silent maids, the discreet chamberlain, and
her fawn, which would not stay behind, were sent with Princess Maybloom,
and they all set out after dinner. Fairyfoot had hard work guiding them
along the track of the ground-ivy. The maids and the chamberlain did
not like the brambles and rough roots of the forest–they thought it hard
to eat berries and sleep in hollow trees; but the princess went on with
good courage, and at last they reached the grove of rose-trees, and the
spring bordered with lilies.
"The chamberlain washed–and though his hair had been gray, and his face
wrinkled, the young courtiers envied his beauty for years after. The
maids washed–and from that day they were esteemed the fairest in all the
palace. Lastly the princess washed also–it could make her no fairer,
but the moment her feet touched the water they grew less, and when she
had washed and dried them three times, they were as small and finely
shaped as Fairyfoot's own.
There was great joy among them, but the boy said sorrowfully–
"'Oh! if there had been a well in the world to make my feet large, my
father and mother would not have cast me off, nor sent me to live among
the shepherds.'
"'Cheer up your heart,' said the Princess Maybloom; 'if you want large
feet, there is a well in this forest that will do it. Last summer time, I
came with my father and his foresters to see a great cedar cut down, of
which he meant to make a money treasure-chest. While they were busy with the
cedar, I saw a bramble branch covered with berries. Some were ripe and
some were green, but it was the longest bramble that ever grew; for the
sake of the berries, I went on and on to its root, which grew hard by a
muddy-looking well, with banks of dark green moss, in the deepest part
of the forest. The day was warm and dry, and my feet were sore with the
rough ground, so I took off my scarlet shoes and washed my feet in the
well; but as I washed, they grew larger every minute, and nothing could
ever make them less again. I have seen the bramble this day; it is not
far off, and as you have shown me the Fair Fountain, I will show you the
Growing Well.'
"Up rose Fairyfoot and Princess Maybloom, and went together till they
found the bramble, and came to where its root grew, hard by the
muddy-looking well, with banks of dark green moss in the deepest dell of
the forest. Fairyfoot sat down to wash, but at that minute he heard a
sound of music and knew it was the fairies going to their dancing
ground.
"'If my feet grow large,' said the boy to himself, 'how shall I dance
with them?' So, rising quickly, he took the Princess Maybloom by the
hand. The fawn followed them; the maids and the chamberlain followed it,
and all followed the music through the forest. At last they came to the
flowery green. Robin Goodfellow welcomed the company for Fairyfoot's
sake, and gave everyone a drink of the fairies' wine. So they danced
there from sunset till the gray morning, and nobody was tired; but
before the lark sang, Robin Goodfellow took them all safe home, as he
used to take Fairyfoot.
"There was great joy that day in the palace because Princess Maybloom's
feet were made small again. The king gave Fairyfoot all manner of fine
clothes and rich jewels; and when they heard his wonderful story, he and
the queen of that land asked him to live with them and be their son. In process of
time Fairyfoot and Princess Maybloom were married, and still live
happily. When they go to visit Stompingham, they always wash their
feet in the Growing Well, lest the royal family might think them a
disgrace, but when they come back, they make haste to the Fair Fountain;
and the fairies and the nightingales are great friends to them, as well
as the maids and the chamberlain, because they have told nobody about
it, and there is peace and quiet yet in the grove of rose-trees."
Here two that wore crowns of gold and were clothed in cloth of silver rose up and said–
"That's our story."
THAT SOLUNA MOMENT:
Cure Selene is load-bearing, half conscious, and risks having her ribcage crushed. Soleil is fighting her solo battle.
AND THEY REASSURE ONE ANOTHER <3 <3 <3 <3
