Stranica 100 [100]
LABOULAYE’S: FAIRY BOOK
the iceberg pursued its furious course through the darkness.
Graceful waited a long time; at last, when he felt himself
alone, hope abandoned him, and he lay down to await
death on the tottering iceberg. Livid flashes of lightning
shot. through the clouds, horrible bursts of thunder were
heard, and the end of the world and of time seemed ap¬
proaching. All at once, in the midst of his despair, Grace¬
ful heard the cry of the swallow, and Pensive fell at his
feet. “Master, master," cried she, "you were right. I
have seen the shore; the dawn 1s close at hand. Courage!"
Saying this, she convulsively spread her tired wings and
lay motionless and lifeless.
Graceful started up, placed the poor bird that had sacri¬
ficed itself for him next his heart, and, with superhuman
ardor, urged the iceberg on to safety or destruction. Sud¬
denly he heard the roaring of the breakers. He fell on his
knees and closed his eyes, awaiting death.
A wave like a mountain broke over his head and cast him
fainting on the shore, which no living person had touched
before him.
VII
When Graceful recovered his senses, the ice, clouds, and
darkness had disappeared. He was lying on the ground in
the midst of a charming country, covered with trees bathed
in a soft light. In front of him was a beautiful castle, from
which bubbled a brook that flowed into a sea as blue, calm,
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