Project Gutenberg's Cross Purposes and The Shadows, by George MacDonald

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Title: Cross Purposes and The Shadows

Author: George MacDonald

Release Date: July 18, 2006 [EBook #18859]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CROSS PURPOSES AND THE SHADOWS ***

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CROSS PURPOSES

by George MacDonald

CONTENTS.

CROSS PURPOSES
THE SHADOWS

CROSS PURPOSES

CHAPTER I.

Once upon a time, the Queen of Fairyland, finding her own subjects far
too well-behaved to be amusing, took a sudden longing to have a mortal
or two at her Court. So, after looking about her for some time, she
fixed upon two to bring to Fairyland.

But how were they to be brought?

"Please your majesty," said at last the daughter of the prime-minister,
"I will bring the girl."

The speaker, whose name was Peaseblossom, after her
great-great-grandmother, looked so graceful, and hung her head
so apologetically, that the Queen said at once,--

"How will you manage it, Peaseblossom?"

"I will open the road before her, and close it behind her."

"I have heard that you have pretty ways of doing things; so you may
try."

The court happened to be held in an open forest-glade of smooth turf,
upon which there was just one mole-heap. As soon as the Queen had given
her permission to Peaseblossom, up through the mole-heap came the head
of a goblin, which cried out,--

"Please your majesty, I will bring the boy."

"You!" exclaimed the Queen. "How will you do it?"

The goblin began to wriggle himself out of the earth, as if he had been
a snake, and the whole world his skin, till the court was convulsed
with laughter. As soon as he got free, he began to roll over and over,
in every possible manner, rotatory and cylindrical, all at once, until
he reached the wood. The courtiers followed, holding their sides, so
that the Queen was left sitting upon her throne in solitary state.

When they reached the wood, the goblin, whose name was Toadstool, was
nowhere to be seen. While they were looking for him, out popped his
head from the mole-heap again, with the words,--