Page 174 [174]
LABOULAYE 5 FAIRY BOOK
" My daughter,” said the king, "it 1s very evident that
you are a fairy; you know nothing of human justice.
Among us, we do not reform the wicked, we kill them; it
is sooner done. But I have given my word. Tame this
serpent at your own risk and peril; I am willing.”
The fairy raised the negress, who kissed her hands, weep¬
ing; then they all sat down to the table. The king was so
happy that he ate enough for four. As for Carlino, who
kept his eyes fixed on his bride, he cut his thumb five or
six times in a fit of absent-mindedness, which each time
put him in the best humor imaginable. Everything gives
us pleasure when the heart is happy.
When the old king died, full of years and honor, Carlino
and his lovely wife ascended the throne in turn. For half a
century, if history is to be believed, they neither raised the
taxes, shed a drop of blood, nor caused a tear to fall; and
although more than a thousand years have passed since
then, the good people of the Vermilion Towers still sigh
at the mention of this distant age, and little children are
not the only ones to ask when the fairies will reign again.