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THE LAND OF

THE

BLUE FLOWER

Fiotn ,( Painting h\ Sigismond de Ivanni'jski

There is no time for

THE LAND O F

THE

LUE FLOWE

FRANCES HODGSON BURNETT

WITH A FRONTISPIECE

SIGISMOND DE IVANOWSKI

NEW YORK

MOFFAT, YARD AND COMPANY

1912

NEW YORK

Sixth impression, February 1912

PART I

THE LAND OF THE BLUE FLOWER

PART I

HE Land of the Blue Flower was
not called by that name until the
tall, strong, beautiful King Arnor came
down from his castle on the mountain
crag and began to reign. Before that
time it was called King Mordreth's
Land, and as the first King Mor-
dreth had been a fierce and cruel

king this seemed a gloomy name.

A few weeks before Amor was born,
his weak, selfish boy-father - - whose
name was King Mordreth also — had
been killed while hunting, and his fair
mother with the clear eyes died when

THE LAND OF THE BLUE FLOWER

he was but a few hours old. But
early in that day she sent for her ven-
erable friend and teacher, who was
said to be the oldest and wisest man
in the world, and who long ago had
fled to a cave in the mountains, that
he might see no more of the famine and
disorder and hatred in the country
spread out on the plains below.

He was a marvelous old man, al-
most a giant in size, and having great
blue eyes like deep sea-water. They,
too, were clear eyes like the fair Queen's
— they seemed to see all things and to
hold in their depths no single thought
which was not fine and great. The
people were a little afraid of him when
they saw him go striding majestic-
ally through their streets. They had
no name for him but The Ancient One.

THE LAND OF THE BLUE FLOWER

The lovely Queen drew aside the
embroidered coverlet of her gold and
ivory bed and showed him 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 new-
born one in her arms.

"Take him away quickly before he

hears the people quarreling at the

| palace gate," she said. "Take him to

the castle on the mountain crag. Keep

him there until he is old enough to

come down and be King. When the

sun sinks behind the clouds I shall die,

THE LAND OF THE BLUE FLOWER

but if he is with you he will learn what
Kings should know."

The Ancient One took the child,
folded him in his long gray robe and
strode majestically through the palace
gates, through the ugly city and out
over the plains to the mountain. When
he began to climb its steep sides the
sun was setting and casting a golden
rose color over the big rocks and the
wild flowers and bushes which grew
on every side, so that there seemed no
path to be found. But the Ancient
One knew his way anywhere in the
world without a path to guide him.
He climbed and climbed, and little
King Amor slept soundly in the folds
of his gray robe. He reached the sum-
mit at last and pushing his way through
a jungle of twisted vines starred all

THE LAND OF THE BLUE FLOWER

over with pale sweet-scented buds, he
stood looking at the castle which was
set on the very topmost crag, and
looked out over the mountain's edge
at the sea and the sky and the spread-
ing plains below.

The sky was dark blue now and lit by
a myriad stars, and all was so still that
the world seemed thousands of miles
away, and ugliness and squalor and
people who quarreled seemed things
which were not true. A sweet cool
wind blew about them as the Ancient
One took King Amor from the folds
of his gray robe and laid him on the
carpet of scented moss.

"The stars are very near,'3 he said.
"Waken, young King, and see how
near they are and know they are your
brothers. Your brother the wind is

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bringing to you the breath of your
brothers the trees. You are at home."

Then King Amor opened his eyes,
and when he saw the stars in the dark
blueness above him he smiled, and
though he was not yet a whole day old
he threw up his small hand and it
touched his forehead.

'Like a King and a soldier he
salutes them/3 said the Ancient One;
"though he does not know he did it."

The castle was huge and splendid
though it had been deserted for a hun-
dred years. For three generations the
royal owners had not cared to look out
on the world from high places. They
knew nothing of the wind and the trees
and the stars; they lived on the plains
in their cities, and hunted and rioted

THE LAND OF THE BLUE FLOWER

and levied heavy taxes on their wretched
people. And the castle had lived
through its summers and winters alone.
It had battlements and towers which
stood out clear against the sky, and
there was a great banquet hall and
chambers for hundreds of guests, and
rooms for a thousand men at arms,
and the courtyard was big enough to
hold a tournament in.

In the midst of its space and splendor
the little King Amor lived alone but
for the companionship of the Ancient
One and a servant as old as himself.
But they knew a secret which had kept
them young in spite of the years they
had passed through. They knew that
they were the brothers of all things in
the world, and that the man who never
knows an angered or evil thought can

THE LAND OF THE BLUE FLOWER

never know a foe. They were strong
and straight and wise, and the wildest
creature stopped to give them greeting
as it passed, and they understood its
language when it spoke. Because they
held no dark thoughts in their minds
they knew no fear, and because they
knew no fear the wild creatures knew
none and the speech of each was clear
to the other.

Each morning they went out on the
battlements at dawn to see the splendid
sun rise slowly out of the purple sea.
One of the very first things the child
King Amor remembered in his life —
and he remembered it always — was a
dawning day when the Ancient One
wakened him gently, and folding him
in his long gray robe carried him up
the winding and narrow stone stairway,

THE LAND OF THE BLUE FLOWER

until at last they stepped forth on the
top of the huge castle which seemed
to the little creature to be so high that
it was quite close to the wonderful sky
itself.

"The sun is going to rise and wake
the world/3 said the Ancient One.
"Young King, watch the wonder of it.'3

Amor lifted his little head and looked.
He was only just old enough to be
beginning to understand things, but he
loved the Ancient One and all he said
and did.

Far below the mountain crag lay the
sea. In the night, while it slept, it had
looked dark blue or violet, but now it
was slowly changing its color. The
sky was changing too - - it was growing
paler and paler — next it grew faintly
brighter, so did the sea; then a slight

THE LAND OF THE BLUE FLOWER

flush crept over land and water and
all the small floating clouds were rosy
pink. King Amor smiled because birds'
voices were to be heard in the trees and
bushes, and something golden bright
was rising out of the edge of the ocean,
and sparkling light danced on the
waves. It rose higher and higher and
grew so dazzling and wonderful that he
threw out his little hand with a shout
of joy. The next moment he started
back because there rose near him a
loud whirr and beating of powerful
wings as a great bird flew out of a crag
near by and soared high into the radi-
ant morning heavens.

' It is the eagle who is our neighbor,"
said the Ancient One. 'He has awa-
kened and gone to give his greeting to
the sun."

THE LAND OF THE BLUE FLOWER

And as the little King sat upright,
enraptured, he saw that from the daz-
zling brightness at the edge of the
world there leaped forth a ball of liv-
ing gold and fire, and even he knew
that the sun had risen.

"At every day's dawn it leaps forth
like that," said the Ancient One. 'Let
us watch together and I will tell you
stories of it."

So they sat by the battlement and the
stories were told. They were stories of
the small grains lying hid in the dark
earth waiting for the golden heat of the
sun to draw them forth into life until
they covered the tilled fields with wav-
ing wheat to make bread for the world ;
they were stories of the seeds of fair
flowers warmed and ripened until they
burst into scented blossoms; they were

THE LAND OF THE BLUE FLOWER

stories of the roots of trees and the rich
sap drawn upward by the heat until
great branches and thick leafage waved
in the summer air; they were stones
of men, women, and children walking
with light step and glad because of the
gold of the sun.

* Every day it warms, every day it
draws, every day it ripens and gives
life. And there are many who forget
the wonder of it. Lift your head high
as you walk, young King, and often
look upward. Never forget the sun."
At every dawning they rose and saw
together the wonder of the day; and the
first time the sky was heavy with gray
clouds and the sun did not leap upward
from behind the edge of the world the
Ancient One said another thing.

'The burning gold is behind the

THE LAND OF THE BLUE FLOWER

lowering gray and purple. The clouds
are heavy with soft rain. When they
break they will drop it in showers or
splendid storms and the thirsty earth
will drink it up. The grains will drink
it and the seed and the roots, and the
world will be joyous and rich with
fresh life; the springs will bubble up
like crystal, and the brooks will rush
babbling through the green of the
forest. The drinking places for the
cattle will be full and clear and men and
women will feel rested and cool. Lift
your head high when you walk, young
King, and often look upward. Never
forget the clouds."

So hearing these things every day
King Amor learned the meaning of both
sun and cloud and loved and felt him-
self brother to both.

THE LAND OF THE BLUE FLOWER

The first time he remembered seeing
a storm the Ancient One took him to
the battlements again, and together they
watched the dark clouds pour down
their floods while their purple was riven
by the dazzling lances of the lightning;
and the thunder rolled and crashed and
seemed to rend asunder things no hu-
man eye could see ; and the wind roared
round the castle on the mountain crag
and beat against its towers, and tossed
the branches of the hugest trees, and
whirled the rain in sheets over the
land,- — and King Amor stood erect
and strong like some little soldier,
though he wondered where the small
birds were and if the eagle were in his
nest.

Through all the tumult the Ancient
One stood still. He looked taller than

THE LAND OF THE BLUE FLOWER

•••••••••v**

ever in his long gray robe, and his
strange eyes were deep as the sea.

At last he said in a slow, calm voice :
"This is the voice of the power men
know not. No man has yet quite
understood — though it seems to speak.
Harken to it. Let your soul stand
silent. Listen, young King. Hold your
head high as you walk and often look
upward. Never forget the storm." i

So the King learned to love the storm
and be one with it, knowing no fear.

But perhaps — it might be because
he had been laid on the scented moss
and had without knowing it saluted
them on the first night of his life — he
felt nearest to, and loved most, his
brothers the stars.

Every fair night through the King's
earliest years the Ancient One carried

THE LAND OF THE BLUE FLOWER

him to the battlements and let him fall
asleep beneath the shining myriads.
But first he would walk about bearing
him in his arms, or sit with him in
the splendid silence, sometimes relating
wonders to him in a low voice, some-
times uttering no word, only looking
calmly into the high vault above as if
the stars spoke to him and told him of
perfect peace.

'When a man looks long at them/5
he said, 'he grows calm and forgets
small things. They answer his ques-
tions and show him that his earth is
only one of the million worlds. Hold
your soul still and look upward often,
and you will understand their speech.
Never forget the stars.'3

PART II

THE LAND OF THE BLUE FLOWER

PART II

O, as the child King grew day by
day, the world seemed to grow
fuller and fuller of wonders and
beauties. There were the sun and
the moon, the storm and the stars,
the straight falling lances of rain, the
springing of the growing things, the
flight of the eagle, the songs and nests
of small bird creatures, the changing
seasons, and the work of the great
brown earth giving its harvest and its

fruits.

"All these wonders in one world and
you a man upon it," said the Ancient
One. " Hold high your head when you
walk, young King, and often look

THE LAND OF THE BLUE FLOWER

upward. Never forget one marvel
among them all/3

He forgot nothing. He lived looking
out on all things from great, clear, joy-
ous eyes. Upon his mountain crag he
never heard a paltry or unbeautiful
word or knew of the existence of un-
friendliness or baseness in thought. As
soon as he was old enough to go out
alone he roamed about the great moun-
tain and feared neither storm nor wild
beasts. Shaggy-maned lions and their
mates drew near and fawned on him as
their kind had fawned on young Adam
in the Garden of Eden. There had
never passed through his mind the
thought that they were not his friends.
He did not know that there were men
who killed their wild brothers.

In the huge courtyard of the castle

THE LAND OF THE BLUE FLOWER

he learned to ride and to perform great
feats of strength. Because he had not
learned to be afraid he never feared
that he could not do a thing. He grew
so strong and beautiful that when he
was ten years old he was as tall as a
youth of sixteen, and when he was six-
teen he was already like a young giant.
This was because he had been brother
to the storm and had lived close to the
strength and splendor of the stars.

Only once, when he was a boy of
twelve, a strange and painful thing hap-
pened to him. From his kingdom in
the plains below there had been sent to
him a beautiful young horse which had
been bred for him. Never had so
magnificent an animal been born in
the royal stable. When he was brought
into the courtyard the boy King's eyes

THE LAND OF THE BLUE FLOWER

shone with joy. He spent the greater
part of the morning in exercising and
leaping him over barriers. The An-
cient One in his tower chamber heard
his shouts of exultation and encourage-
ment. At last the King went out to
try him on the winding mountain
road.

When he returned he went at once to
the tower chamber to the Ancient One,
who, when he raised his eyes from his
great book, looked at him gravely.

"Let us climb to the battlements/3
the boy said. "We must talk to-
gether."

So they went, and when they stood
looking out on the world below, the
curving turquoise sky above them, the
eyes of the Ancient One were still more
grave.

THE LAND OF THE BLUE FLOWER

'Tell me, young King."
"Something strange has happened,'3
King Amor answered. 'I have felt
something I have not felt before. I was
riding my horse around the field on the
plateau and he saw something which
he refused to pass. It was a young
leopard watching us from a tree. My
horse reared and snorted. He would
not listen to me, but backed and
wheeled around. I tried in vain to
persuade him, and suddenly, when I
I saw I could not make him obey me,
this strange new feeling rushed through
all my body. I grew hot and knew
my face was scarlet, my heart beat
faster and my blood seemed to boil in
my veins. I shouted out harsh, ugly
sounds - — I forgot that all things are
brothers — I lifted my hand and

THE LAND OF THE BLUE FLOWER

•*"• — • '
clenched it and struck my horse again

and again. I loved him no longer, I
felt that he no longer loved me. I am
hot and wearied and heavy from it still.
I feel no more joy. Was it pain I
felt? I have never felt pain and do
not know. Was it pain ?'

'It was a worse thing/' answered the
Ancient One. "It was anger. When
a man is overcome by anger he has a
poisoned fever. He loses his strength,
he loses his power over himself and
over others, he throws away time in
which he might have gained the end
he most desires. There is no time for
anger in the world.9'

So King Amor learned the useless-
ness of anger, for they sat long upon
the battlements while the Ancient One
told him how its poison worked in the

THE LAND OF THE BLUE FLOWER

veins and weakened the strongest man
until he was made a fool. That night
Amor lay under the sky looking at his
myriad brothers, the stars, and draw-
ing calm from them.

"If you lie through the night upon

the battlements and think only of the

stillness and the stars you will forget
your anger and its poison will die
away. If you put into your mind a
beautiful thought it will take the place
of the evil one. There is no room for
darkness in the mind of him who
thinks only of the stars.53 This had
been said to him by the Ancient One.
Upon the plateau at the foot of the
crag on which the castle stood there 1
were marvelous walled gardens. The '(
sad young Queen of the first King
Mordreth had planted them, and after

THE LAND OF THE BLUE FLOWER

her death they had been left to run
wild. Since the baby King Amor had
been brought to the mountain top the
Ancient One and his servitor had made
them bloom again. As soon as he was
old enough to hold a small spade Amor
had worked in the beds. All things
grew for him as if his touch were a spell;
birds and bees and butterflies flocked
round him as he labored. He knew
what the bees hummed and where they
flew to load themselves with honey;
butterflies lighted upon his hands and
taught him strange things. Birds told
him of their travels, and brought him
seeds from far countries which he
planted in his gardens and which
bloomed into marvelous flowers. A
swallow who loved him very much and
who had seen many wonderful lands

THE LAND OF THE BLUE FLOWER

once brought him a seed from an em-
peror's secret garden which none but
four of his own slaves had ever seen.
These slaves had been born in the gar-
den and would never leave it while
they lived.

King Amor planted the seed in a
pleasaunce of its own. It grew into the
most beautiful blue flower the world had

ever known. It was of a blue so pure

and exquisitely intense that it was rap-
ture to look at it. Its blossoms hung
from a tall stem and in its first year
it gave a thousand seeds. Each year
Amor planted more flowers and each
year they grew taller and more wonder-
ful and blossomed a longer time. When
the summer wind blew it shook out
clouds of delicate fragrance which some-
times floated down the mountain until

THE LAND OF THE BLUE FLOWER

the wretched dwellers in King Mor-
dreth's land forgot their quarrels and
misery and even lifted their heavy
heads to inhale it and ask each other
what was being done upon the moun-
tain. Each year King Amor gathered
the seeds and stored them in an un-
used tower of his castle.

Taller and stronger he grew and each
day wiser and more beautiful. Each
plant, each weed, each four-footed
thing, each wind, each star of heaven
taught him its wonders and its wis-
dom. His eyes were so marvelous
in their straight-glanced splendor that
when he looked at a man they seemed
to read his soul and command its truth
to answer him. He was so powerful
that he could break an iron bar in two
pieces with his hands.

3°

THE LAND OF THE BLUE FLOWER

When he was twenty years old the
Ancient One took him up on the bat-
tlements, and giving him a strong glass
told him to look down upon the capital
city on the plain and see what was being
done there.

"I see many people gathered in
crowds," Amor said, when he had
looked for a few moments. 'I see
bright colors and waving pennants and
triumphal arches. It is as if some great
ceremony were being prepared for."

"The people are making ready for
your coronation," said the Ancient One.
"To-morrow you will be led in state
down the mountain and acclaimed
King. It was to fit you to reign over
your kingdom that I taught you to know
all the wonders of the world and have
shown you that no thing is useless but

THE LAND OF THE BLUE FLOWER

folly and dishonoring thought. That
which you have learned from your
brothers here you go down the moun-
tain to teach your brothers there. You
will see things which are not beautiful
and those which are unclean, but hold
high your head when you walk, young
King, and never forget the sun, the
wind, and the stars."

To himself as he looked on him the
Ancient One said: "When he stands
before them they will think he is a
young god.'3

The next morning a splendid pro-
cession wound its glittering way up the
mountain road to the castle. There
were princes and nobles and chieftains.
Rich colors glowed in their attire and
gorgeous banners and pennants waved
over them, while music from gold and

THE LAND OF THE BLUE FLOWER

silver trumpets accompanied them as
they rode and their many followers
marched behind.

The Ancient One in his long robe of
gray stood by King Amor on the broad
stone terrace guarded by its crouching
carved lions.

"This is your King, O people!" he

said.

And when the people looked it was
as he had said it would be. They drew
back a little and gazed in fear, and
many of the followers fell upon their
knees. They thought they saw a beau-
tiful young giant and god. But he was
only a splendid and powerful young
man who had never known a darki
thought and had lived near to his
brothers the stars. His horse, adorned
with golden trappings, was brought and

THE LAND OF THE BLUE FLOWER

L-«ii«B»M«iiMMMj»^Miai«M>»»«^g«aB^a»MMi^MaaaB»aBa«>«MaBM«««^^

he was led down the mountain side,
through the gates into the capital city
of his kingdom. He desired that the
Ancient One should ride by his side.

What he saw as he rode to the place
of coronation he had never seen before.
Notwithstanding the embroidered silk
and velvet hangings decorating the
fronts of the rich people's houses, he
caught glimpses of filthy side streets,
i squalid alleys, and tumble-down tene-
ments. He saw forlorn little children
scud away like rats into their holes as he
drew near, and wretched, vicious-look-
ing men and women fighting with each
other for places in the crowd. Sharp,
miserable faces peered round corners
at him, and nobody smiled because
every one hated or distrusted his neigh-
bor, and they dreaded and disliked the

THE LAND OF THE BLUE FLOWER

young King because all the King Mor-
dreths had been evil and selfish, and he
was their descendant.

When they saw that he was so tall
and powerful and carried his hand-
some head so high, often looking up-
ward, they feared him still more; as
their own heads hung down they never
saw anything but the dirt and dust be-
neath their feet or the quarrels about
them, so their minds were full of fears
and ugly thoughts, and they at once
began to be afraid of him and suspect
him of being proud. He could do twice
as much evil as the other Kings, they
said, since he was twice as strong and
twice as handsome. It was their na-
ture to first think an evil thought of
anything or anybody and to be afraid
of all things at the outset.

THE LAND OF THE BLUE FLOWER

The princes and nobles who rode in
the procession tried to prevent King
Amor seeing the wretched-looking
people and ill-kept streets. They
pointed out the palaces and decora-
tions and beautiful ladies throwing
flowers in his path from the balconies.
He praised all the splendors and sa-
luted the balconies, looking up with
such radiant and smiling eyes that
the ladies almost threw themselves
after their flowers and cried out that
never, never had there been crowned
such a beautiful young King before.

'Do not look at the rabble, your
Majesty/3 the Prime Minister said.
'They are an evil, ill-tempered lot of
worthless malcontents and thieves/1

'I would not look at them," an-
swered King Amor, "if I knew that I

THE LAND OF THE BLUE FLOWER

could not help them. There is no time
to look at dark things if one cannot
make them brighter. I look at these
because there is something to be done.
I do not yet know what."

"There is such hatred in their eyes
that they will only make you angry,
Sire," said a handsome young prince
who rode near.

"There is no time for anger,'3 said
Amor, holding his crowned head high.
"It is a worthless thing.'3

After sunset there was a great ban-
quet and after it a great ball, and the
courtiers and princes were delighted by
the beauty and grace of the new King.
He was much brighter and more charm-
ing than any of the King Mordreths
had been. His laugh was full of
gaiety and the people who stood near

THE LAND OF THE BLUE FLOWER

him felt happier, though they did not
know why.

But when the ball was at its height he
stepped into the center of the room and
spoke aloud to the splendid company.

'I have seen the broad streets and
the palaces and all that is beautiful in
my capital," he said. "Now I must go
to the narrow streets and the dark ones.
I must see the miserable people, the
cripples, the wretched ones, the drunk-
ards and the thieves.'3

Every one clamored and protested.
These things they had hidden from him;
they said kings should not see them.

'I will see them," he said with a
smile which was beautiful and strange.
'I go now, on foot, and unattended ex-
cept for my friend the Ancient One.
Let the ball go on.'3

• '•'""•.--• > -^(•••••••••^•••^•••••••••••••••••••rvTi'-^eyMa'WwaMCaMMH^MMMMaMVMMOMnKWJMV"

THE LAND OF THE BLUE FLOWER

He strode through the glittering
throng with the gray-clad Ancient One
at his side. He still wore his crown
upon his head because he wished his
people to know that their King had
come to them.

Through dark and loathsome places
they went, through narrow streets and
back alleys and courts, where people
scurried away like rats as the gutter
children had done in the daytime.
King Amor could not have seen them
but that he had brought with him a
bright lantern and held it up in the air
above his high head. The light shin-
ing upon his beautiful face and his
crown made him look more than ever
like a young god and giant, and the
people cowered terrified before him,
asking each other what such a King

THE LAND OF THE BLUE FLOWER

would do to wretches like themselves.
But just a few very little children
smiled at him because he was so young
and bright and splendid. No one in
the black holes and corners could under-
stand why a King should come walk-
ing among them on the night of his
coronation day. Most of them thought
that the next morning he would order
them all to be killed, and their houses
burned, because he would only think of
them as vermin.

Once as he passed through a dark
court a madman darted out in his path
shaking his fist.

" We hate you!" he cried out. "We
hate you!'

The dwellers in the court gasped
with terror, wondering what would
happen. But the tall young King

THE LAND OF THE BLUE FLOWER

stood holding his lantern above his
head and gazing at the madman with
deep thought in his eyes.

"There is no time for hatred in the
world," he said. "There is no time."
And then he passed on.

The look of deep thought was in his
face throughout the hours in which he
strode on until he had seen all he had
come to see.

The next day he rode back up the
mountain to his castle on the crag,
and when the night fell he lay out
upon the battlements under the sky as
he had done on so many nights. The
soft wind blew about him as he looked
up at the stars.

"I do not know, my brothers," he
said to them. "Tell me." And he lay
silent until the great sweet stillness of

THE LAND OF THE BLUE F

the night seemed to fill his soul, and
when the stars began to fade he slept
in rapturous peace. |

The people in his kingdom on the
plain waited, wondering what he would
do. During the next few days they
quarreled and hated each other more
than ever, the rich ones because they
all wanted to gain his favor, and each
was jealous of the other; the poor ones
because they were afraid of him and
each man feared that his neighbor
would betray things he had done in the
past.

Only two boys working together in a
field, having stopped to wrangle and
fight, one of them suddenly stood still
remembering something, and said a
strange thing in a strange voice:

: There is no time for anger. There

THE LAND OF THE BLUE FLOWER

H^MWMHMMiMMHHBVMMMnHHIMBVIBUHMVnMM>MM«lvwMM*MMMMMM«W«MMNWKMMMMMHMMVMMVMMaHMBHHiHHHMMMM

is no time." And as he fell to work
again his companion did the same, and
when they had finished their task of
weeding they talked about the thing and
remembered that when they had quar-
reled the day before they had not fin-
ished their task at all, and had not been
paid, and had gone home sore from the
blows they had given each other, and
had had no supper.

"No, there is no time," they de-
cided.

PART III

THE LAND OF THE BLUE FLOWER

PART III

fi T the beginning of the following
week there were rumors that a
strange law had been made — the
strangest ever known in the world. It
was something about a Blue Flower.
What had flowers to do with laws, or
what had laws to do with flowers?
People quarreled about what the mean-
ing of such a law might be. Those
who thought first of evil things and
fears began to say that in the rich
people's gardens was to be planted a
Blue Flower whose perfume would
poison all the poor.

The only ones who did not quarrel
were the two boys and their friends who

THE LAND OF THE BLUE FLOWER

had already begun to make a sort of
password of 'There is no time for
anger/3 One of them who was clever
added a new idea to the saying.

f There is no time for fear!" he cried
out in the field. 'Let us go on with
our work/' And they finished their
task early and played games.

At last one morning it was made
known that the new King was to give
a feast in the open air to all the people.
It was to be on the plain outside the
city, and he himself was going to pro-
claim to them the Law of the Blue
Flower.

' Now we shall know the worst,'3
growled and shivered the Afraid Ones
as they shuffled their way to the plain,
and the boys who used the password
heard them.

THE LAND OF THE BLUE FLOWER

"There is no time to think of the

worst!' shouted the clever one at the
I

top of his voice. c There is no time.
We shall be late for the feast."

And a number of people actually
turned to listen because there was a
high, strong, gay sound in his voice
such as had never been heard in King
Mordreth's Land before.

The plain was covered with thick
green grass, and beautiful spreading
trees grew on it. There was a richly
draped platform for King Amor's gold
and ivory chair, but when the people
gathered about he stood up before them,
a beautiful young giant with eyes like
fixed stars and head held high. And
he read his law in a voice which, won-
derful to relate, was heard by every
man, woman, and child - - even by the

THE LAND OF THE BLUE FLOWER

^__J. , t_

.
little cripple crouching alone in the

grass on the very outskirts of the crowd
and not expecting to hear or see any-
thing.

This is what he read:
'In my pleasaunce on the mountain
top there grows a Blue Flower. One of
my brothers, the birds, brought me its
seed from an Emperor's hidden garden.
It is as beautiful as the sky at dawn.
It has a strange power. It dispels evil
fortune and the dark thoughts which
bring it. There is no time for dark
thoughts - - there is no time for evil.
Listen to my Law. To-morrow seeds
will be given to every man, woman,
and child in my kingdom - - even to the
newborn. Every man, woman, and
child— -even the newborn- -is com-
manded by the law to plant and feed

5°

THE LAND OF THE BLUE FLOWER

watch over the Blue Flower. It
is the work of each to make it grow.
The mother of the newborn can hold
its little hand and make it drop the
seeds into the earth. As the child
grows she must show it the green shoots
when they pierce the brown soil. She
must babble to it of its Blue Flower.
By the time it is pleased by color it will
love the blossoms, and the spell of
happiness and good fortune will begin
to work for it. It is not one person here
and there who must plant the flower,
but each and every one. To those who
have not land about them, all the land
is free. You may plant by the road-
side, in a cranny of a wall, in an old
box or glass or tub, in any bare space
in any man's field or garden. But
each must plant his seeds and watch

THE LAND OF THE BLUE FLOWER

over and feed them. Next year when
the Blue Flower blossoms I shall ride
through my kingdom and bestow my
rewards. This is my Law.'3

'What will befall if some of us do
not make them grow ? ' groaned some
of the Afraid Ones.

'There is no time to think of that!'
shouted the boy who was clever. " Plant
them!"

• ••*•••

When the Prime Minister and his
followers told the King that larger and
stronger prisons must be built for the
many criminals, and that heavier taxes
must be laid upon the people to rescue
the country from poverty, his answer
to them was: 'Wait until the blooming
of the Blue Flower."

In a short time every one was work-

THE LAND OF THE BLUE FLOWER

ing in the open air, digging in the soil
-tiny children as well as men and
women. Drunkards and thieves and
idlers who had never worked before
I came out of their dark holes and cor-
ners into the light of the sun. It was
not a hard thing to plant a few flower
seeds, and because the King Amor
looked so much more powerful than
other men, and had eyes so wonderful
and commanding, they did not know
what punishment he would invent for
them and were afraid to disobey him.
But somehow, after they had worked
In the sweet-scented earth for a while
and had seen others working, the light
of the sun and the freshness of the
air made them feel in better humor;
the wind blew away their evil fancies
and their headaches, and because there

THE LAND OF THE BLUE FLOWER

was so much talk and wondering about
the magic of the Blue Flower they
became interested, and wanted to see

what it would do for them when it
blossomed. Scarcely any of them had
ever tried to make a flower grow
before and they gradually thought of

it a great deal. There was less quar-
reling because conversation with neigh-
bors all about a Blue Flower gave no
reason for hard words. The worst and
idlest were curious about it and every
one tried experiments of his own.
The children were delighted and ac-
tually grew happy and rosy over their
diggmg and watering and care-taking.
Gradually all sorts of curious things
happened. People who were growing
Blue Flowers began to keep the ground
around about them in order. They

THE LAND OF THE BLUE FLOWER

did not like to see bits of paper and
rubbish lying about, so they cleared
them away. One quite new thing

which occurred was that sometimes

people even helped each other a little.
Cripples and those who were weak
actually found that there were stronger
ones who would do things for them
when their backs ached, and it was
hard to carry water or dig up weeds0
No one in King Mordreth's Land had
ever helped another before.

The boy who was clever did more
than all the rest. He gathered together
all the children he could and formed
them into a band using the passwords.
In time it became quite like a little
army. They called themselves The
Band of the Blue Flower, and each boy
and girl was bound to remember the

THE LAND OF THE BLUE FLOWER

passwords and apply them to all they
did. So, often, when a number of
people were together and things began
to go wrong, a clear young voice would
cry out somewhere like a silver battle
cry:

c There is no time for anger!' or
1 There is no time for hate!" or "There
is no time to fret! There is no time."

Among the great and rich people
also singular things came to pass.
Those who had wasted their days
loitering or rioting were obliged to get
up in the morning to work in their
gardens, and finding that exercise and
fresh air improved their health and
spirits they began to like it. Court
ladies found it good for their com-
plexions and tempers; busy merchants
discovered that it made their heads

THE LAND OF THE BLUE FLOWER

r__ L v . _ L:L <

clearer; ambitious students found that
after an hour spent evening and morn-
ing over their Blue Flower beds they
could study twice as long without fa-
tigue. The children of the princes and
nobles became so full of work and talk
of their soil and their seeds that they
quite forgot to squabble and be jealous
of each other's importance at Court,
Never in one story could it be told how
many unusual, interesting, and wonder-
ful things occurred in the once gloomy
King Mordreth's Land just because
every person in it, rich and poor, old
and young, good and bad, had to plant
and care for and live every day of life
with a Blue Flower. Oh! the corners
and crannies and queer places it was
planted in; and oh! the thrill of ex-
citement everywhere when the first

THE LAND OF THE BLUE FLOWER

tender green shoots thrust their way
through the earth! And the wave of
excitement which passed over the whole
land when the first buds showed them-
selves. By that time every one was so
interested that even the Afraid Ones
had forgotten to ask each other what
King Amor would do to them if they
had no Blue Flower. Somehow, people
had gained courage and they knew the
Blue Flower would grow - - and they
knew there was no time to stop work-
ing while they worried and said ''Sup-
pose it didn't/' There was no time.

Sometimes the young King was on
the mountain top with the wind and the
eagle and the stars, and sometimes lie
was in his palace in the city, but he was
always working and thinking for his
people. He was not seen by the people3

THE LAND OF THE BLUE FLOWER

however, until a splendid summer day
came when it was proclaimed by
heralds in the streets that he would
begin his journey through the land
by riding through the capital city to
see the blossoming of the Blue Flowers,
and there would be a feast once more
upon the plain.

It was a wonderful day, the air was
full of golden light and the sky of such a
blueness as never had been seen before.
Out of the palace gates he rode and he
wore his crown, and his eyes were more
brilliant than the jewels in it, and
his smile was more radiant than a sun-
rise as he looked about him, for
every breath he drew in was fragrant,
every ugly place was hidden, and every
squalid corner filled with beauty, for it
seemed as if the whole world were wav-

THE LAND OF THE BLUE FLOWER

ing with Blue Flowers. Tumble-down
houses and fences were covered with
them because some of them climbed like
vines; neglected fields and gardens had
been made neat so that they would
grow; rubbish and dirt had been cleaned
away to make room for clumps and
patches of them. You could not grow
the Blue Flower among dirt and dis-
order any more than you could grow it
while you were spending your time in
drinking and quarreling. By the road
sides, in courts, in windows, in cracks,
in walls, in broken places in roofs, in
great people's gardens, on the window
sills, or about the doorways of poor
people's hovels - - fair and fragrant and
waving, grew the Blue Flower. Where
it waved there was no room for dirt and
rubbish, and suddenly even the dullest

THE LAND OF THE BLUE FLOWER

people began to see that the face of the
whole land was changed as if by some
strange magic, and the whole popula-
tion seemed changed with it. Every-
body looked fresher and more cheerful,
people had actually learned to smile and
keep themselves clean, and there was
not one who was not healthier. They
had, in fact, been noticing this for
some time, and they had said to each
other that the power of the Blue Flower,
of which the King had spoken, was
beginning to work. The children had
grown gay and rosy, and the boy who
was clever and all his companions
had found time to earn themselves
new clothes, because they had never
forgotten their passwords. All the
farmers wanted them to work in their
fields because they said there was no

THE LAND OF THE BLUE FLOWER

time to idle, no time to fight, no time
to play evil tricks.

On the King rode, and on and on
and on, and the farther he went the
more splendid and joyous his smile
grew.

But at no time during the day was it
more beautiful than when he met the
little cripple who had sat on the outside
of the crowd on the first feast day, not
expecting to see or hear anything.

The cripple lived in a tiny hovel on
the edge of the city, and when the
glittering procession drew near it the
small patch of garden was quite bare
and had not a Blue Flower in it. And
the little cripple was sitting huddled
upon his broken door-step, sobbing
softly with his face hidden in his arms.

King Amor drew up his white horse

**3B^ttBfBttHi^tBntFBHBBBRBtt3f&t&Bf^nVBfHBBH**tfH0B&&HHll&lgBBg^^ftMtHHFBHBBB^ttftHnHBfnBt8fA

THE LAND OF THE BLUE FLOWER

and looked at him and looked at his
bare garden.

"What has happened here ?" he said.
'This garden has not been neglected.
It has been dug and kept free of weeds,
but my Law has been broken. There
is no Blue Flower.53

Then the little cripple got up trem-
bling and hobbled through his rickety
gate and threw himself down upon the
earth before the King's white horse,
sobbing hopelessly and heart-brokenly.

"Oh King!" he cried. "I am only a
cripple, and small, and I can easily be
killed. I have no flowers at all. When
I opened my package of seeds I was so
glad that I forgot the wind was blowing,
and suddenly a great gust carried them
all away forever and I had not even
one left. I was afraid to tell anybody.8

THE LAND OF THE BLUE FLOWER

And then he cried so that he could not
speak.

"Go on," said the young King gently.
"What did you do?"

"I could do nothing," said the little
cripple. 'Only I made my garden
neat and kept away the weeds. And
sometimes I asked other people to let
me dig a little for them. And always
when I went out I picked up the ugly
things I saw lying about — the bits of
paper and rubbish - - and I dug holes
for them in the earth. But I have
broken your Law/3

Then the people gasped for breath,
for King Amor dismounted from his
horse and lifted the little cripple up in
his arms and held him against his
breast.

"You shall ride with me to-day," he

THE LAND OF THE BLUE FLOWER

said, "and go to my castle on the moun-
tain crag and live near the stars and the
sun. When you kept the weeds from
your bare little garden, and when you
dug for others and hid away ugliness
and disorder, you planted a Blue Flower
every day. You have planted more
than all the rest, and your reward shall
be the sweetest, for you planted with-
out the seeds.'3

And then the people shouted until
the world seemed to ring with their joy,
and somehow they knew that King
Mordreth's Land had come into fair
days and they thought it was the Blue
Flower magic.

"But the earth is full of magic,"
Amor said to the Ancient One, after

the feast on the plain was over. " Most

— *.

THE LAND OF THE BLUE FLOWER

men know nothing of it and so comes
misery. The first law of the earth's
magic is this one. If you fill your mind
with a beautiful thought there will be
no room in it for an ugly one. This I
learned from you and from my brothers
the stars. So I gave my people the
Blue Flower to think of and work for.
It led them to see beauty and to work
happily and filled the land with bloom.
I, their King, am their brother, and
soon they will understand this and I
can help them, and all will be well.
They shall be wise and joyous and
know good fortune.'3

The little cripple lived near the sun
and the stars in the castle on the moun-
tain crag until he grew strong and
straight. Then he was the King's chief
gardener. The boy who was clever was

THE LAND OF THE BLUE FLOWER

made captain of his band, which be-
came the King's own guard and never
left him. And the gloom of King
Mordreth's Land was forgotten, be-
cause it was known throughout all the
world as The Land of the Blue Flower.

liiiiii

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