"That is very hard," observed Jack.
"No," said the women, in a tone of indifference; "it comes to the same thing, as we live twelve times as long as others do."
By this time the shepherd was gently driving his flock down to the water, and round fifty little fires groups of people were sitting roasting coffee, while cows were lowing to be milked, and girls with distaffs were coming to them slowly, for no one was in a hurry there. They say in that country that they wish to enjoy their day quietly, because it is so short.
"Can you tell us anything of the land beyond the mountains?" asked Jack.
"Yes," said the woman. "Of all fairy lands it is the best; the people are the gentlest and kindest."
"Then I had better take Mopsa there than down the river?" said Jack.
"You can't take her down the river," replied the woman; and Jack thought she laughed and was glad of that.
"Why not?" asked Jack. "I have a boat."
"Yes, sir," answered the woman, "but where is it now?"
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Melon Seeds
Rosalind.
Well, this is the forest of Arden.
Touchstone.
Ay, now am I in Arden: the more fool I; when I was at home I was in a better place; but travellers must be content.
As You Like It[19]
"Where is it now?" said the stone woman; and when Jack heard that he ran down to the river, and looked right and looked left. At last he saw his boat a mere speck in the distance, it had floated so far.
He called it, but it was far beyond the reach of his voice; and Mopsa, who had followed him, said:
"It does not signify, Jack, for I feel that no place is the right place for me but that country beyond the purple mountains, and I shall never be happy unless we go there."
So they walked back towards the stone people hand in hand, and the apple-woman presently joined them. She was crying gently, for she knew that she must soon pass over the little stream and part with these whom she called her dear children. Jack had often spoken to her that day about going home to her own country, but she said it was too late to think of that now, and she must end her days in the land of Faery.
The kind stone people asked them to come and sit by their little fire; and in the dusk the woman whose baby had slept in a stone cradle took it up and began to sing to it. She seemed astonished when she heard that the apple-woman had power to go home if she could make up her mind to do it; and as she sang she looked at her with wonder and pity.
"You are not exactly fairies, I suppose?" said Jack. "If you were, you could go to our country when you pleased."
"No," said the woman; "we are not exactly fairies; but we shall be more like them when our punishment is over."
"I am sorry you are punished," answered Jack, "for you seem very nice, kind people."
"We were not always kind," answered the woman; "and perhaps we are only kind now because we have no time and no chance of being otherwise. I'm sure I don't know about that. We were powerful once, and we did a cruel deed. I must not tell you what it was. We were told that our hearts were all as cold as stones and I suppose they were and we were doomed to be stones all our lives, excepting for the two hours of twilight. There was no one to sow the crops, or water the grass, so it all failed, and the trees died, and our houses fell, and our possessions were stolen from us."
"It is a very sad thing," observed the apple-woman; and then she said that she must go, for she had a long way to walk before she would reach the little brook that led to the country of her own queen; so she kissed the two children. Jack and Mopsa, and they begged her again to think better of it, and return to her own land. But she said No; she had no heart for work now, and could not bear either cold or poverty.
Then the woman who was hugging her little baby, and keeping it cosy and warm, began to tell Jack and Mopsa that it was time they should begin to run away to the country over the purple mountains, or else the Queen would overtake them and be very angry with them; so, with many promises that they would mind her directions, they set off hand in hand to run; but before they left her they could see plainly that she was beginning to turn again into stone. However, she had given them a slice of melon with the seeds in it. It had been growing on the edge of the river, and was stone in the day-time, like everything else. "When you are tired," she said, "cat the seeds, and they will enable you to go running on. You can put the slice into this little red pot, which has string handles to it, and you can hang it on your arm. While you have it with you it will not turn to stone, but if you lay it down it will, and then it will be useless."
So, as I said before, Jack and Mopsa set off hand in hand to run; and as they ran all the things and people gradually and softly settled themselves to turn into stone again. Their cloaks and gowns left off fluttering, and hung stiffly; and then they left off their occupations, and sat down, or lay themselves down; and the sheep and cattle turned stiff and stonelike too, so that in a very little while all that country was nothing but red stones and red sand, just as it had been in the morning.
Presently the full moon, which had been hiding behind a cloud, came out, and they saw their shadows, which fell straight before them; so they ran on hand in hand very merrily till the half-moon came up, and the shadows she made them cast fell sideways. This was rather awkward, because as long as only the full moon gave them shadows they had but to follow them in order to go straight towards the purple mountains. Now they were not always sure which were her shadows; and presently a crescent moon came, and still further confused them; also the sand began to have tufts of grass in it; and then, when they had gone a little farther, there were beautiful patches of anemones, and hyacinths, and jonquils, and crown imperials, and they stopped to gather them; and they got among some trees, and then, as they had nothing to guide them but the shadows, and these went all sorts of ways, they lost a great deal of time, and the trees became of taller growth; but they still ran on and on till they got into a thick forest where it was quite dark, and there Mopsa began to cry, for she was tired.