The Pink Fairy Book, part 18 · page 21 2101But, exactly as before, one day that Catherine was left in the house alone her Destiny came again and spoke to her with hard words: ‘What! are you here now?’102And in a passion she tore up everything she saw, till in sheer misery poor Catherine rushed out of the house.103And so it befell for seven years, and directly Catherine found a fresh place her Destiny came and forced her to leave it.104After seven years, however, Destiny seemed to get tired of persecuting her, and a time of peace set in for Catherine.105When she had been chased away from her last house by Destiny’s wicked pranks she had taken service with another lady, who told her that it would be part of her daily work to walk to a mountain that overshadowed the town, and, climbing up to the top, she was to lay on the ground some loaves of freshly baked bread, and cry with a loud voice, ‘O Destiny, my mistress,’ three times.106Then her lady’s Destiny would come and take away the offering.107‘That will I gladly do,’ said Catherine.108So the years went by, and Catherine was still there, and every day she climbed the mountain with her basket of bread on her arm.109She was happier than she had been, but sometimes, when no one saw her, she would weep as she thought over her old life, and how different it was to the one she was now leading.110One day her lady saw her, and said, ‘Catherine, what is it?111Why are you always weeping?’112And then Catherine told her story.113‘I have got an idea,’ exclaimed the lady.114‘To-morrow, when you take the bread to the mountain, you shall pray my Destiny to speak to yours, and entreat her to leave you in peace.checked by a teacher115Perhaps something may come of it!’116At these words Catherine dried her eyes, and next morning, when she climbed the mountain, she told all she had suffered, and cried, ‘O Destiny, my mistress, pray, I entreat you, of my Destiny that she may leave me in peace.’117And Destiny answered, ‘Oh, my poor girl, know you not your Destiny lies buried under seven coverlids, and can hear nothing?118But if you will come to-morrow I will bring her with me.’119And after Catherine had gone her way her lady’s Destiny went to find her sister, and said to her, ‘Dear sister, has not Catherine suffered enough?120It is surely time for her good days to begin?’121And the sister answered, ‘To-morrow you shall bring her to me, and I will give her something that may help her out of her need.’122The next morning Catherine set out earlier than usual for the mountain, and her lady’s Destiny took the girl by the hand and led her to her sister, who lay under the seven coverlids.123And her Destiny held out to Catherine a ball of silk, saying, ‘Keep this--it may be useful some day;’ then pulled the coverings over her head again.124But Catherine walked sadly down the hill, and went straight to her lady and showed her the silken ball, which was the end of all her high hopes.125‘What shall I do with it?’ she asked.checked by a teacher126‘It is not worth sixpence, and it is no good to me!’127‘Take care of it,’ replied her mistress.128‘Who can tell how useful it may be?’129A little while after this grand preparations were made for the king’s marriage, and all the tailors in the town were busy embroidering fine clothes.130The wedding garment was so beautiful nothing like it had ever been seen before, but when it was almost finished the tailor found that he had no more silk.131The colour was very rare, and none could be found like it, and the king made a proclamation that if anyone happened to possess any they should bring it to the court, and he would give them a large sum.132‘Catherine!’ exclaimed the lady, who had been to the tailors and seen the wedding garment, ‘your ball of silk is exactly the right colour.133Bring it to the king, and you can ask what you like for it.’1 2← previousThe Pink Fairy Book, part 17next →The Pink Fairy Book, part 19↑ back to The Pink Fairy BookThis page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg5615/18/page/2/