15. Look at the Rain!


The princess burst into a passion of tears, and fell on the floor.
There she lay for an hour, and her tears never ceased. All the
pent-up crying of her life was spent now. And a rain came on, such
as had never been seen in that country. The sun shone all the time,
and the great drops, which fell straight to the earth, shone
likewise. The palace was in the heart of a rainbow. It was a rain
of rubies, and sapphires, and emeralds, and topazes. The torrents
poured from the mountains like molten gold; and if it had not been
for its subterraneous outlet, the lake would have overflowed and
inundated the country. It was full from shore to shore.

But the princess did not heed the lake. She lay on the floor and
wept, and this rain within doors was far more wonderful than the
rain out of doors.

For when it abated a little, and she proceeded to rise, she found,
to her astonishment, that she could not. At length, after many
efforts, she succeeded in getting upon her feet. But she tumbled
down again directly. Hearing her fall, her old nurse uttered a yell
of delight, and ran to her, screaming,--

"My darling child! she's found her gravity!"

"Oh, that's it! is it?" said the princess, rubbing her shoulder and