The Fairy School of Castle Frank.

by Grant Balfour.

CHAPTER I.

ROMANTIC ROBIN.

I've found at last the hiding place Where the fairy people dwell, And to win the secrets of their race I hold the long-sought spell.

_Havergal._

One hundred years ago, in the great land of Canada, there lived a boy whose name was Robin. His home was in the grand old woods, with wapitis, wolves and bears. It was near the edge of a deep ravine that opened out on the east by a slow winding river flowing into one of the great blue lakes. And the name of his home, though built of wood, was Castle Frank.

The castle was well-furnished, for Robin's father was a great man. The best rooms had comfortable carpets and carved oak furniture, while on the walls were interesting pictures, representing people of high rank, and battles on sea and land. In one room there was a fine arrangement of muskets, pistols and swords, together with Indian spears and bows and arrows. In another room there was a library, containing books of religion and science, histories and tales of adventure, and story-books for children. With the weapons and stories the boy beguiled away many a pleasant hour.

But there was something more pleasant than guns and spears and stories.

Outside the castle, in little houses built of wood, with doors and windows of netted wire, were a number of pets, as foxes, rabbits and squirrels. To these Robin was greatly devoted, he fed them regularly with his own hand, and kept their dwellings sweet and clean. In a gra.s.sy enclosure where their little cotes stood, he let them have liberty every day, watching over them carefully, that no harm should come from savage beasts or birds of prey. He had also other pets--a white pony, big dogs and little ones, and beautiful birds--which he loved much and tended faithfully. So that among all these companions Robin pa.s.sed much of his time very happily, even more so than when accompanying friendly Indians shooting game in the wild woods miles away, or fishing from a canoe in Lake Ontario.

A boy that is truly kind to animals will love men and, of course, boys.

This quality and what was brave and honest shone plainly in his clear, blue eyes, as they shine in all kinds of eyes that have them.

Unspoiled by city dainties, and clad in the grey shooting suit which he usually wore, he looked strong, active and healthy. Yet Robin had at times a dreamy, meditative look. Away from the stir and hum and engagement of city life, he dwelt in a kind of fairy-land, where flowers and trees and solitary paths called forth quiet questionings and aroused reflection, gilded by mystery and imagination. The tales of Indian life, and the stories of mighty giants and magic-working fairies, told and read in the quaint castle in the evenings, cultivated the growth of his imaginative mind. So that, mingled with his natural brightness and activity, there were moods that occasionally carried him under the shade of some elm or maple tree, to sit and see pictures of wonderful creatures in the beauty and melancholy of nature all around.

For this reason his loving mother called him _Inabandang_, a dreamer of dreams.

CHAPTER II.

FAIRYLAND.

With the woodland fairies I can talk, I can list their silver lays; Oh! pleasant in a lonely walk Is the company of fays.

_Havergal._

The ravine adjoining the castle was a mysterious looking place, dark with dense underwood, the haunt of wild beasts and the home of numberless birds, now sending forth awful cries and inspiring songs, then silent as the grave. A tortuous difficult pathway in the hollow extended along its length, while one or two animal tracks in the neighborhood crossed it from side to side. A few gra.s.sy s.p.a.ces here and there slightly relieved the gloom, while a small stream of water moved slowly along its base, now forming into pools where little fishes leaped, then gradually unwinding itself and stealing softly on under a wealth of branches and green leaves.

Down to that stream Robin wandered alone one beautiful afternoon in June. He followed its course as best he could till he found it turning into a deep, dark, eddying pool beside and partly under the steepest slope of the ravine. The opening underneath the projecting bank, though large, was almost concealed by overhanging branches. Robin crawled out on a strong beech branch, brushed aside the leaves and peered in. It seemed as if it were a water-gateway into the heart of the great ridge, and had a weird misty look. Robin said to himself, "Wouldn't it be fine if I got a real peep at some of those brownies and fairies I hear so much about! Wouldn't mother stare when I got home and told her!" He therefore waited and imagined and watched, until he got quite excited at the thought of seeing something wonderful. But no, nothing came, and he was disappointed, although he only half believed that anything strange might really appear. His excitement cooled down, and then after a time he yawned, feeling weary; yet, retaining a lingering hope, he stretched himself comfortably across two or three adjoining branches, his face downwards, with one arm and one leg dangling below, and finally fell asleep. It was not a very becoming or a very wise act in that riskful, dismal hollow; yet, are not men themselves but thoughtless boys in bigger shape?

While thus under the blissful spell of Morpheus, Robin heard a noise that made his heart throb with expectation. He pushed aside the leaves and looked in. There, sure enough, something was coming out that was not common. Nearer it came on the surface of the pool. What could it be? A beautiful little ship, with white sails spread, and manned by Mississagua sailors dressed in vivid red. The gallant ship sailed round the pool most gracefully, and Robin's eyes looked down and followed it with intense interest. When this was done three times all sails were taken down, then a silver anchor was thrown out, and the ship stood still. Two Indian sailors stepped forward from the rest, seized something, swung their arms to and fro for a moment, and then flung a long ladder of yellow silken ropes right over an overhanging branch a short distance away from Robin's head.

After a brief pause, a beautiful little lady in white, with a golden crown upon her head, ascended the ladder and stood erect among the leaves of the branch. Then the captain of the ship took off his peaked hat and called for a cheer for their good Queen Celeste of happy and beautiful Fairyland. And the sailors cheered Her Majesty mightily.

Robin thought her the prettiest creature he had ever seen, and when she smiled upon him sweetly, he put his hand to his cap politely and smiled his best in return.

"Art thou the dreamer of dreams?" enquired the Queen with a merry but dignified look.

"I am," answered Robin with a blush, and wondering what was going to happen.

"Art thou he that I have heard so much of in my hidden realm?"

"I don't know," said Robin modestly.

"Art thou he that hast so much interest in my people?"

"I am," replied Robin, feeling relieved.

"Art thou Robin of Castle Frank who lovest all animals?"

"I am, your Majesty," answered Robin happily, and at last managing to address a queen as he ought.

"Wilt thou come with me, and I will show thee wonderful things?"

"I shall, your Gracious Majesty, with great pleasure."

The Queen then raised a jewelled sceptre in her right hand, the captain of the ship saw it and flashed a signal inward towards the cavern, when by-and-bye a silver canoe shot out with an Indian chief at the stern, and halted underneath the branch upon which Robin rested. The boy was delighted, and without a moment's hesitation he clasped the branch firmly with both hands and let himself drop as gently as possible into the boat below. He was hardly seated, with the oars in his hands, when the white ship pa.s.sed by, all sails spread, and Queen Celeste sitting upon a golden throne on deck. Robin followed. There was darkness as he entered, and he felt bewildered and even eerie. But it was only for a moment, for the white ship ahead became aglow with many brilliant colored stars, and, with the silver boat behind, it glided into a land whose beauty and marvellousness no pen can describe.

The sky was of entrancing azure, lit up by twelve mellow suns, making perpetual day; the fields were like rich velvet carpets of green; and the rivers, winding in fantastic shapes, widening into blue lakes and forming dashing cascades, were pure as crystal. There were also plains of gold dust, fine as flour, where b.u.t.terflies enriched their tender wings; great forests, where birds of gay plumage built peculiar nests and sang in choirs most glorious songs; high hills, with rocks of red ruby and blue lazuli, on which gilded reptiles basked and whistled; lovely valleys full of fragrance and of luscious fruits; cool grottoes, and sombre ravines; picturesque villages; busy towns, and majestic castles.

All the animals could speak and sing and dance, and every one was a pet. Nay more, they were useful. Squirrels ran messages, and calculated like schoolboys; foxes drew out plans as architects; tigers drove waggons pulled by zebras; and lions built bridges, which pretty parrots wreathed with flowers.

Children played and laughed everywhere, dressed in the quaintest and prettiest styles. None ever quarrelled, except in fun, as kittens do.

There was no time to see all that could be seen, so Robin was wafted over a part of this wonderful land in a crimson silk balloon, with Queen Celeste at his side, pointing out what was most interesting, till his eyes were almost sore with gazing and gazing. Then they descended into a field of gorgeous flowers, among a number of animal pets that were leaping, racing, resting and talking. Robin was charmed and amazed.

"Oh," said he, "if I could only get mine to speak like that I should be happy, and what is it I would not teach them to do?"

The Queen was delighted because her guest was delighted.

Then Robin turned to her and said with a smile full of entreaty:

"Will your Majesty not aid me? Please help me, at least with my pretty black squirrels I love so much."

"It shall be done," said the Queen, with a gracious smile, and she raised her sceptre and touched his forehead.

"But thou art hungry," she added, "and thou must not leave my land without tasting of my delicacies."

As Celeste said this she plucked a great flower full of nectar, and handed it to him to eat. Robin did so, and the effect and odor were so delightfully soothing that he fell into a deep sleep.

Queen Celeste then gave orders, through a glossy black squirrel, to have Robin conveyed with great gentleness to another part of her dominions. Six brownie giants appeared promptly with a flying machine shaped like a Bird of Paradise. They placed him inside its body, on a bed of down and softest silk, as if he had been a child again. Then the chief brownie, dressed like an admiral, mounted the neck of the machine, touched a spring, and the Bird of Paradise rose high into the blue sky, flew softly over lakes and forests and prairies, then over a high mountain of emerald, and at last down through a dense mist into a picturesque spot, the very image of that on which Castle Frank stood on the ridge of the great ravine. The machine descended gently into the castle enclosure amidst a crowd of pets. The brownie touched another spring, when the Bird of Paradise deposited Robin in the soft, green gra.s.s, as if a new-laid egg in a nest.

The brownie quietly arranged everything and then quickly left with the flying machine. He had scarcely gone when Robin was awakened by the sound of whispering, and, slightly opening his eyes, he saw his black squirrels around, warning each other not to disturb their master. He was overjoyed to hear that they had received the gift of speech, and in his heart he praised the Fairy Queen for her kindness and marvellous skill. But he could not understand how she managed to transfer him to where he was. It seemed only a moment before when he was talking to her among the flowers of Fairyland, and now he was among his pets in the garden of Castle Frank.

CHAPTER III.

THE STRANGE SCHOOL CLa.s.s.