She assured him that the Fairy of the Mountain had henceforth lost all power over him , and after spending some time with the young couple , and bestowing the most costly presents on them , she retired to her own country . King Alphege insisted on his brother sharing his throne , and they all lived to a good old age , universally beloved and admired . FAIRER-THAN-A-FAIRY Once there lived a King who had no children for many years after his marriage . At length heaven granted him a daughter of such remarkable beauty that he could think of no name so appropriate for her as ` Fairer-than-a-Fairy . ' It never occurred to the good-natured monarch that such a name was certain to call down the hatred and jealousy of the fairies in a body on the child , but this was what happened . No sooner had they heard of this presumptuous name than they resolved to gain possession of her who bore it , and either to torment her cruelly , or at least to conceal her from the eyes of all men . The eldest of their tribe was entrusted to carry out their revenge . This Fairy was named Lagree ; she was so old that she only had one eye and one tooth left , and even these poor remains she had to keep all night in a strengthening liquid . She was also so spiteful that she gladly devoted all her time to carrying out all the mean or ill-natured tricks of the whole body of fairies . With her large experience , added to her native spite , she found but little difficulty in carrying off Fairer-than-a-Fairy . The poor child , who was only seven years old , nearly died of fear on finding herself in the power of this hideous creature . However , when after an hour 's journey underground she found herself in a splendid palace with lovely gardens , she felt a little reassured , and was further cheered when she discovered that her pet cat and dog had followed her . The old Fairy led her to a pretty room which she said should be hers , at the same time giving her the strictest orders never to let out the fire which was burning brightly in the grate . She then gave two glass bottles into the Princess 's charge , desiring her to take the greatest care of them , and having enforced her orders with the most awful threats in case of disobedience , she vanished , leaving the little girl at liberty to explore the palace and grounds and a good deal relieved at having only two apparently easy tasks set her . Several years passed , during which time the Princess grew accustomed to her lonely life , obeyed the Fairy 's orders , and by degrees forgot all about the court of the King her father . One day , whilst passing near a fountain in the garden , she noticed that the sun 's rays fell on the water in such a manner as to produce a brilliant rainbow . She stood still to admire it , when , to her great surprise , she heard a voice addressing her which seemed to come from the centre of its rays . The voice was that of a young man , and its sweetness of tone and the agreeable things it uttered , led one to infer that its owner must be equally charming ; but this had to be a mere matter of fancy , for no one was visible . The beautiful Rainbow informed Fairer-than-a-Fairy that he was young , the son of a powerful king , and that the Fairy , Lagree , who owed his parents a grudge , had revenged herself by depriving him of his natural shape for some years ; that she had imprisoned him in the palace , where he had found his confinement hard to bear for some time , but now , he owned , he no longer sighed for freedom since he had seen and learned to love Fairer-than-a-Fairy . He added many other tender speeches to this declaration , and the Princess , to whom such remarks were a new experience , could not help feeling pleased and touched by his attentions .
The Prince could only appear or speak under the form XXXXX a Rainbow , and it was therefore necessary that the sun should shine on water so as to enable the rays to form themselves .
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