Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Charles Franks and the
Online Distributed Proofreading Team.
The Land of the Blue Flower
By
Frances Hodgson Burnett
Illustrated
Part One
The Land of the Blue Flower was not called by that name until the tall,strong, beautiful King Amor came down from his castle on the mountaincrag and began to reign. Before that time it was called King Mordreth'sLand, and as the first King Mordreth had been a fierce and cruel kingthis seemed a gloomy name.
A few weeks before Amor was born, his weak, selfish boy-father—whosename was King Mordreth also—had been killed while hunting, and his fairmother with the clear eyes died when he was but a few hours old. Butearly in that day she sent for her venerable friend and teacher, who wassaid to be the oldest and wisest man in the world, and who long ago hadfled to a cave in the mountains, that he might see no more of the famineand disorder and hatred in the country spread out on the plains below.
He was a marvelous old man, almost a giant in size, and having greatblue eyes like deep sea-water. They, too, were clear eyes like the fairQueen's—they seemed to see all things and to hold in their depths nosingle thought which was not fine and great. The people were a littleafraid of him when they saw him go striding majestically through theirstreets. They had no name for him but The Ancient One. The lovely Queendrew aside the embroidered coverlet of her gold and ivory bed and showedhim the tiny baby sleeping by her side.
"He was born a King," she said. "No one can help him but you."
The Ancient One looked down at him.
"He has long limbs and strong ones. He will make a great King," he said.
"Give him to me."
The Queen held out the little newborn one in her arms. "Take him awayquickly before he hears the people quarreling at the palace gate," shesaid. "Take him to the castle on the mountain crag. Keep him there untilhe is old enough to come down and be King. When the sun sinks behind theclouds I shall die, but if he is with you he will learn what Kingsshould know."
The Ancient One took the child, folded him in his long gray robe andstrode majestically through the palace gates, through the ugly city andout over the plains to the mountain. When he began to climb its steepsides the sun was setting and casting a golden rose color over the bigrocks and the wild flowers and bushes which grew on every side, so thatthere seemed no path to be found. But the Ancient One knew his wayanywhere in the world without a path to guide him. He climbed andclimbed, and little King Amor slept soundly in the folds of his grayrobe. He reached the summit at last and pushing his way through a jungleof twisted vines starred all over with pale sweet-scented buds, he stoodlooking at the castle which was set on the very topmost crag, and lookedout over the mountain's edge at the sea and the sky and the spreadingplains, below.
The sky was dark blue now and lit by a myriad stars, and all was sostill that the world seemed thousands of miles away, and ugliness andsqualor and people who quarreled seemed things which were not true. Asweet cool wind blew about them as the Ancient One took King Amor fromthe folds of his gray robe and laid him on the carpet of scented moss.
"The stars are very near," he said. "Waken, young King, and see how nearthey are and know they are your brothers. Your brother the wind isbringing to you the breath of your brothers the trees. You are at