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+
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Olive Fairy Book, by Various
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Olive Fairy Book
+
+Author: Various
+
+Editor: Andrew Lang
+
+Illustrator: H. J. Ford
+
+Release Date: January 18, 2009 [EBook #27826]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE OLIVE FAIRY BOOK ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by David Edwards, Sam W. and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This book was
+produced from scanned images of public domain material
+from the Google Print project.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+ THE
+ OLIVE FAIRY BOOK
+
+ EDITED BY
+ ANDREW LANG
+
+
+ _WITH EIGHT COLOURED PLATES AND WITH
+ NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS BY H. J. FORD_
+
+
+ LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO.
+ 91 AND 93 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK
+ LONDON, BOMBAY, AND CALCUTTA
+ 1907
+
+
+
+
+ _Copyright, 1907_
+ BY LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO.
+
+ _All rights reserved_
+
+ _The Plimpton Press Norwood Mass. U.S.A._
+
+
+
+
+_SAMBA THE COWARD_
+
+
+In the great country far away south, through which flows the river
+Nile, there lived a king who had an only child called Samba.
+
+Now, from the time that Samba could walk he showed signs of being
+afraid of everything, and as he grew bigger he became more and more
+frightened. At first his father's friends made light of it, and said
+to each other:
+
+'It is strange to see a boy of our race running into a hut at the
+trumpeting of an elephant, and trembling with fear if a lion cub half
+his size comes near him; but, after all, he is only a baby, and when
+he is older he will be as brave as the rest.'
+
+'Yes, he is only a baby,' answered the king who overheard them, 'it
+will be all right by-and-by.' But, somehow, he sighed as he said it,
+and the men looked at him and made no reply.
+
+The years passed away, and Samba had become a tall and strong youth.
+He was good-natured and pleasant, and was liked by all, and if during
+his father's hunting parties he was seldom to be seen in any place of
+danger, he was too great a favourite for much to be said.
+
+'When the king holds the feast and declares him to be his heir, he
+will cease to be a child,' murmured the rest of the people, as they
+had done before; and on the day of the ceremony their hearts beat
+gladly, and they cried to each other:
+
+'It is Samba, Samba, whose chin is above the heads of other men, who
+will defend us against the tribes of the robbers!'
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Not many weeks after, the dwellers in the village awoke to find that
+during the night their herds had been driven away, and their herdsmen
+carried off into slavery by their enemies. Now was the time for Samba
+to show the brave spirit that had come to him with his manhood, and to
+ride forth at the head of the warriors of his race. But Samba could
+nowhere be found, and a party of the avengers went on their way
+without him.
+
+It was many days later before he came back, with his head held high,
+and a tale of a lion which he had tracked to its lair and killed, at
+the risk of his own life. A little while earlier and his people would
+have welcomed his story, and believed it all, but now it was too late.
+
+'Samba the Coward,' cried a voice from the crowd; and the name stuck
+to him, even the very children shouted it at him, and his father did
+not spare him. At length he could bear it no longer, and made up his
+mind to leave his own land for another where peace had reigned since
+the memory of man. So, early next morning, he slipped out to the
+king's stables, and choosing the quietest horse he could find, he rode
+away northwards.
+
+Never as long as he lived did Samba forget the terrors of that
+journey. He could hardly sleep at night for dread of the wild beasts
+that might be lurking behind every rock or bush, while, by day, the
+distant roar of a lion would cause him to start so violently, that he
+almost fell from his horse. A dozen times he was on the point of
+turning back, and it was not the terror of the mocking words and
+scornful laughs that kept him from doing so, but the terror lest he
+should be forced to take part in their wars. Therefore he held on, and
+deeply thankful he felt when the walls of a city, larger than he had
+ever dreamed of, rose before him.
+
+Drawing himself up to his full height, he rode proudly through the
+gate and past the palace, where, as was her custom, the princess was
+sitting on the terrace roof, watching the bustle in the street below.
+
+'That is a gallant figure,' thought she, as Samba, mounted on his big
+black horse, steered his way skilfully among the crowds; and,
+beckoning to a slave, she ordered him to go and meet the stranger, and
+ask him who he was and whence he came.
+
+'Oh, princess, he is the son of a king, and heir to a country which
+lies near the Great River,' answered the slave, when he had returned
+from questioning Samba. And the princess on hearing this news summoned
+her father, and told him that if she was not allowed to wed the
+stranger she would die unmarried.
+
+Like many other fathers, the king could refuse his daughter nothing,
+and besides, she had rejected so many suitors already that he was
+quite alarmed lest no man should be good enough for her. Therefore,
+after a talk with Samba, who charmed him by his good humour and
+pleasant ways, he gave his consent, and three days later the wedding
+feast was celebrated with the utmost splendour.
+
+The princess was very proud of her tall handsome husband, and for some
+time she was quite content that he should pass the days with her under
+the palm trees, telling her the stories that she loved, or amusing her
+with tales of the manners and customs of his country, which were so
+different to those of her own. But, by-and-by, this was not enough;
+she wanted other people to be proud of him too, and one day she said:
+
+'I really almost wish that those Moorish thieves from the north would
+come on one of their robbing expeditions. I should love so to see you
+ride out at the head of our men, to chase them home again. Ah, how
+happy I should be when the city rang with your noble deeds!'
+
+ [Illustration: SAMBA FOUND SKULKING BY HIS WIFE]
+
+She looked lovingly at him as she spoke; but, to her surprise, his
+face grew dark, and he answered hastily:
+
+'Never speak to me again of the Moors or of war. It was to escape from
+them that I fled from my own land, and at the first word of invasion I
+should leave you for ever.'
+
+'How funny you are,' cried she, breaking into a laugh. 'The idea of
+anyone as big as you being afraid of a Moor! But still, you mustn't
+say those things to anyone except me, or they might think you were in
+earnest.'
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Not very long after this, when the people of the city were holding a
+great feast outside the walls of the town, a body of Moors, who had
+been in hiding for days, drove off all the sheep and goats which were
+peacefully feeding on the slopes of a hill. Directly the loss was
+discovered, which was not for some hours, the king gave orders that
+the war drum should be beaten, and the warriors assembled in the great
+square before the palace, trembling with fury at the insult which had
+been put upon them. Loud were the cries for instant vengeance, and for
+Samba, son-in-law of the king, to lead them to battle. But shout as
+they might, Samba never came.
+
+And where was he? No further than in a cool, dark cellar of the
+palace, crouching among huge earthenware pots of grain. With a rush of
+pain at her heart, there his wife found him, and she tried with all
+her strength to kindle in him a sense of shame, but in vain. Even the
+thought of the future danger he might run from the contempt of his
+subjects was as nothing when compared with the risks of the present.
+
+'Take off your tunic of mail,' said the princess at last; and her
+voice was so stern and cold that none would have known it. 'Give it to
+me, and hand me besides your helmet, your sword and your spear.' And
+with many fearful glances to right and to left, Samba stripped off
+the armour inlaid with gold, the property of the king's son-in-law.
+Silently his wife took, one by one, the pieces from him, and fastened
+them on her with firm hands, never even glancing at the tall form of
+her husband who had slunk back to his corner. When she had fastened
+the last buckle, and lowered her vizor, she went out, and mounting
+Samba's horse, gave the signal to the warriors to follow.
+
+Now, although the princess was much shorter than her husband, she was
+a tall woman, and the horse which she rode was likewise higher than
+the rest, so that when the men caught sight of the gold-inlaid suit of
+chain armour, they did not doubt that Samba was taking his rightful
+place, and cheered him loudly. The princess bowed in answer to their
+greeting, but kept her vizor down; and touching her horse with the
+spur, she galloped at the head of her troops to charge the enemy. The
+Moors, who had not expected to be so quickly pursued, had scarcely
+time to form themselves into battle array, and were speedily put to
+flight. Then the little troop of horsemen returned to the city, where
+all sung the praises of Samba their leader.
+
+The instant they reached the palace the princess flung her reins to a
+groom, and disappeared up a side staircase, by which she could,
+unseen, enter her own rooms. Here she found Samba lying idly on a heap
+of mats; but he raised his head uneasily as the door opened and looked
+at his wife, not feeling sure how she might act towards him. However,
+he need not have been afraid of harsh words: she merely unbuttoned her
+armour as fast as possible, and bade him put it on with all speed.
+Samba obeyed, not daring to ask any questions; and when he had
+finished the princess told him to follow her, and led him on to the
+flat roof of the house, below which a crowd had gathered, cheering
+lustily.
+
+'Samba, the king's son-in-law! Samba, the bravest of the brave! Where
+is he? Let him show himself!' And when Samba did show himself the
+shouts and applause became louder than ever. 'See how modest he is! He
+leaves the glory to others!' cried they. And Samba only smiled and
+waved his hand, and said nothing.
+
+Out of all the mass of people assembled there to do honour to Samba,
+one alone there was who did not shout and praise with the rest. This
+was the princess's youngest brother, whose sharp eyes had noted
+certain things during the fight which recalled his sister much more
+than they did her husband. Under promise of secrecy, he told his
+suspicions to the other princes, but only got laughed at, and was
+bidden to carry his dreams elsewhere.
+
+'Well, well,' answered the boy, 'we shall see who is right; but the
+next time we give battle to the Moors I will take care to place a
+private mark on our commander.'
+
+In spite of their defeat, not many days after the Moors sent a fresh
+body of troops to steal some cattle, and again Samba's wife dressed
+herself in her husband's armour, and rode out at the head of the
+avenging column. This time the combat was fiercer than before, and in
+the thick of it her youngest brother drew near, and gave his sister a
+slight wound on the leg. At the moment she paid no heed to the pain,
+which, indeed, she scarcely felt; but when the enemy had been put to
+flight and the little band returned to the palace, faintness suddenly
+overtook her, and she could hardly stagger up the staircase to her own
+apartments.
+
+'I am wounded,' she cried, sinking down on the mats where he had been
+lying, 'but do not be anxious; it is really nothing. You have only got
+to wound yourself slightly in the same spot and no one will guess that
+it was I and not you who were fighting.'
+
+'What!' cried Samba, his eyes nearly starting from his head in
+surprise and terror. 'Can you possibly imagine that I should agree to
+anything so useless and painful? Why, I might as well have gone to
+fight myself!'
+
+'Ah, I ought to have known better, indeed,' answered the princess, in
+a voice that seemed to come from a long way off; but, quick as
+thought, the moment Samba turned his back she pierced one of his bare
+legs with a spear.
+
+He gave a loud scream and staggered backwards, from astonishment, much
+more than from pain. But before he could speak his wife had left the
+room and had gone to seek the medicine man of the palace.
+
+'My husband has been wounded,' said she, when she had found him, 'come
+and tend him with speed, for he is faint from loss of blood.' And she
+took care that more than one person heard her words, so that all that
+day the people pressed up to the gate of the palace, asking for news
+of their brave champion.
+
+'You see,' observed the king's eldest sons, who had visited the room
+where Samba lay groaning, 'you see, O wise young brother, that we were
+right and you were wrong about Samba, and that he really _did_ go into
+the battle.' But the boy answered nothing, and only shook his head
+doubtfully.
+
+It was only two days later that the Moors appeared for the third time,
+and though the herds had been tethered in a new and safer place, they
+were promptly carried off as before. 'For,' said the Moors to each
+other, 'the tribe will never think of our coming back so soon when
+they have beaten us so badly.'
+
+When the drum sounded to assemble all the fighting men, the princess
+rose and sought her husband.
+
+'Samba,' cried she, 'my wound is worse than I thought. I can scarcely
+walk, and could not mount my horse without help. For to-day, then, I
+cannot do your work, so you must go instead of me.'
+
+'What nonsense,' exclaimed Samba, 'I never heard of such a thing.
+Why, I might be wounded, or even killed! You have three brothers. The
+king can choose one of them.'
+
+'They are all too young,' replied his wife; 'the men would not obey
+them. But if, indeed, you will not go, at least you can help me
+harness my horse.' And to this Samba, who was always ready to do
+anything he was asked when there was no danger about it, agreed
+readily.
+
+So the horse was quickly harnessed, and when it was done the princess
+said:
+
+'Now ride the horse to the place of meeting outside the gates, and I
+will join you by a shorter way, and will change places with you.'
+Samba, who loved riding in times of peace, mounted as she had told
+him, and when he was safe in the saddle, his wife dealt the horse a
+sharp cut with her whip, and he dashed off through the town and
+through the ranks of the warriors who were waiting for him. Instantly
+the whole place was in motion. Samba tried to check his steed, but he
+might as well have sought to stop the wind, and it seemed no more than
+a few minutes before they were grappling hand to hand with the Moors.
+
+Then a miracle happened. Samba the coward, the skulker, the terrified,
+no sooner found himself pressed hard, unable to escape, than something
+sprang into life within him, and he fought with all his might. And
+when a man of his size and strength begins to fight he generally
+fights well.
+
+That day the victory was really owing to Samba, and the shouts of the
+people were louder than ever. When he returned, bearing with him the
+sword of the Moorish chief, the old king pressed him in his arms and
+said:
+
+'Oh, my son, how can I ever show you how grateful I am for this
+splendid service?'
+
+But Samba, who was good and loyal when fear did not possess him,
+answered straightly:
+
+'My father, it is to your daughter and not to me to whom thanks are
+due, for it is she who has turned the coward that I was into a brave
+man.'
+
|