Fairy Tale - King of Elfland's Daughter (adventure, fantasy)
Description
Vocal Characteristics
Language
EnglishVoice Age
Middle Aged (35-54)Accents
North American (General) North American (US General American - GenAM) North American (US Western)Transcript
Note: Transcripts are generated using speech recognition software and may contain errors.
The king of Elf Land's daughter by Lord Dunsany preface. I hope that no suggestion of any strange land that may be conveyed by the title will scare readers away from this book. Or though some chapters do indeed tell of Elf land in the greater part of them. There is no more to be shown than the face of the fields. We know an ordinary English woods and a common village and valley, a good 20 or 25 miles from the border of Elf Land. Lord Dunsany chapter one, the plan of the parliament of Earl in their ruddy jackets of leather that reached to their knees. The men of Earl appeared before their Lord, the stately white haired man in his long red room. He leaned in his carven chair and heard their spokesman and their spokesman said for 700 years, the chiefs of your race have ruled us well and their deeds are remembered by the minor minstrels living on yet in their little tinkling songs and yet the generations stream away and there is no new thing. What would you said the Lord? We would be ruled by a magic lord. They said, so be it said the Lord, it is 500 years since my people have spoken thus in parliament and it shall always be as your parliament saith you have spoken, so be it. And he raised his hand and blessed them. And they went, they went back to their ancient crafts to the fitting of iron, to the hoofs of horses, to working upon leather, to tending flowers, to ministering to the rugged needs of earth. They followed the ancient ways and looked for a new thing. But the old lord sent a word to his eldest son, bidding him come before him. And very soon the young man stood before him in that same carven chair from which he had not moved where light growing late from high windows showed the aged eyes looking far into the future beyond that old lord's time and seated there, he gave his son his commandment go forth. He said before these days of mine are over and therefore go in haste and go from here eastwards and past the fields. We know till you see the lands that clearly pertain to fairy and cross their boundary which is made of twilight and come to that palace that is only told of in song. It is far from here. Said the young man Alvare, yes, answered he it is far and further still. The young man said to return for distances in those fields are not as here even so said, his father What do you bid me do? Said the son when I come to that palace and his father said to wed the king of Elf land's daughter, the young man thought of her beauty and crown of ice and the sweetness that fabulous runs had told was hers. Songs were sung of her on Wild Hills where tiny strawberries grew. And if one sought the singer, no man was there. Sometimes only her name was sung softly over and over. Her name was Liraz. She was a princess of the magic line. The gods had sent their shadows to her christening and the fairies too would have gone. But that they were frightened to see on their dewy fields, the long dark moving shadows of the gods. So they stayed hidden in crowds of pale pink anemones and thence blessed Lyras. My people demand a magic lord to rule over them. They have chosen foolishly. The old lord said and only the dark ones that show not their faces know all that this will bring. But we who see not follow the ancient custom and do what our people in their parliament say. It may be some spirit of wisdom that they have not known may save them even yet. Go. Then with your face turned towards that light that beats from fairyland and that faintly illumines the dusk between sunset and early stars. And this shall guide you till you come to the frontier and have passed the fields we know then he unbuckled a strap and a girdle of leather and gave his huge sword to his son saying this that has brought our family down the ages unto this day shall surely guard you always upon your journey. Even though you fare beyond the fields, we know. And the young man took it though he knew that no such sword would avail him.