DOI Artikel:
Sharp, Evelyn: The Restless River
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.25498#0172
168
The Restless River
woodcutter’s son, who has contrived to climb a beanstalk with
success. / am the Queen of Nonamia, and I am going to marry
a prince, and he shall not be a younger son. Younger sons are
greatly overrated, just because they are clever enough to do
things. Who wants to marry a man because he can do
things ? ”
The King of Nonamia had not done very much before he
married the Queen. But he came, when he was sent for ; and, for
the rest of his life, he only did what the Queen told him. And
the Queen told him very little.
When they came to have a son, the King supposed they
would have to select a fairy to be its godmother. His wife
smiled upon him, leniently. She never realised the success of her
marriage so much as when the King made suggestions she was
able to contradict.
“ That is so like you, dearest,” she said. And the King was
immensely pleased at being told he was like himself. But the
Queen of Nonamia looked at the features of the baby Prince, as
he lay in his cradle of rose leaves ; and she saw that they were
the features of his kingly father, her husband, and she nodded her
head, thoughtfully. “That child will need bringing up,” she
said. “ Why not a fairy godfather ? I could manage a godfather,
but a godmother would want to manage me, and I could not
endure that for a moment.”
So the little Prince of Nonamia had a fairy godfather.
The Nonamiacs had never heard of such a thing before ; but
the Queen of Nonamia did so many things that had never been
heard of before, that one, more or less, made very little difference.
And they were bound to acknowledge, that a fairy godfather was,
in many ways, a great improvement. He arrived on foot, to
begin with, and walked in at the front door, instead of coming
down
The Restless River
woodcutter’s son, who has contrived to climb a beanstalk with
success. / am the Queen of Nonamia, and I am going to marry
a prince, and he shall not be a younger son. Younger sons are
greatly overrated, just because they are clever enough to do
things. Who wants to marry a man because he can do
things ? ”
The King of Nonamia had not done very much before he
married the Queen. But he came, when he was sent for ; and, for
the rest of his life, he only did what the Queen told him. And
the Queen told him very little.
When they came to have a son, the King supposed they
would have to select a fairy to be its godmother. His wife
smiled upon him, leniently. She never realised the success of her
marriage so much as when the King made suggestions she was
able to contradict.
“ That is so like you, dearest,” she said. And the King was
immensely pleased at being told he was like himself. But the
Queen of Nonamia looked at the features of the baby Prince, as
he lay in his cradle of rose leaves ; and she saw that they were
the features of his kingly father, her husband, and she nodded her
head, thoughtfully. “That child will need bringing up,” she
said. “ Why not a fairy godfather ? I could manage a godfather,
but a godmother would want to manage me, and I could not
endure that for a moment.”
So the little Prince of Nonamia had a fairy godfather.
The Nonamiacs had never heard of such a thing before ; but
the Queen of Nonamia did so many things that had never been
heard of before, that one, more or less, made very little difference.
And they were bound to acknowledge, that a fairy godfather was,
in many ways, a great improvement. He arrived on foot, to
begin with, and walked in at the front door, instead of coming
down