The Story of the White Mouse. Unknown

      THE STORY OF THE WHITE MOUSE

      In the kingdom of Bonbobbin, which, by the Chinese annals, appears to have flourished twenty thousand years ago, there reigned a prince, endowed with every accomplishment which generally distinguishes the sons of kings. His beauty was brighter than the sun. The sun, to which he was nearly related, would sometimes stop his course, in order to look down and admire him.

      His mind was not less perfect than his body; he knew all things without having ever read; philosophers, poets, and historians, submitted their works to his decision; and so penetrating was he, that he could tell the merit of a book by looking on the cover. He made epic poems, tragedies, and pastorals, with surprising facility; song, epigram, or rebus, was all one to him; though, it is observed, he could never finish an acrostick. In short, the fairy who presided at his birth had endowed him with almost every perfection; or, what was just the same, his subjects were ready to acknowledge he possessed them all; and, for his own part, he knew nothing to the contrary. A prince so accomplished, received a name suitable to his merit; and he was called Bonbenin-bonbobbin-bonbobbinet, which signifies Enlightener of the Sun.

      As he was very powerful, and yet unmarried, all the neighbouring kings earnestly sought his alliance. Each sent his daughter, dressed out in the most magnificent manner, and with the most sumptuous retinue imaginable, in order to allure the prince; so that, at one time, there were seen at his court, not less than seven hundred foreign princesses, of exquisite sentiment and beauty, each alone sufficient to make seven hundred ordinary men happy.

      Distracted in such a variety, the generous Bonbenin, had he not been obliged by the laws of the empire to make choice of one, would very willingly have married them all, for none understood gallantry better. He spent numberless hours of solicitude, in endeavouring to determine whom he should choose. One lady was possessed of every perfection, but he disliked her eye-brows; another was brighter than the morning-star, but he disapproved her fong-whang; a third did not lay enough of white on her cheek; and a fourth did not sufficiently blacken her nails. At last, after numberless disappointments on the one side and the other, he made choice of the incomparable Nanhoa, queen of the Scarlet Dragons.

      The preparations for the royal nuptials, or the envy of the disappointed ladies, needs no description; both the one and the other were as great as they could be. The beautiful princess was conducted, amidst admiring multitudes, to the royal couch, where, after being divested of every encumbering ornament, he more chearful than the morning; and printing on her lips a burning kiss, the attendants took this as a proper signal to withdraw.

      Perhaps I ought to have mentioned in the beginning, that, among several other qualifications, the prince was fond of collecting and breeding mice, which being an harmless pastime, none of his counsellors thought proper to dissuade him from; he therefore kept a great variety of these pretty little animals in the most beautiful cages, enriched with diamonds, rubies, emeralds, pearls, and other precious stones. Thus he innocently spent four hours each day in contemplating their innocent little pastimes.

      But, to proceed, the prince and princess now retired to repose; and though night and secrecy had drawn the curtain, yet delicacy retarded those enjoyments which passion presented to their view. The prince happening to look towards the outside of the bed, perceived one of the most beautiful animals in the world, a white mouse with green eyes, playing about the floor, and performing an hundred pretty tricks. He was already master of blue mice, red mice, and even white mice with yellow eyes; but a white mouse with green eyes, was what he long endeavoured to possess: whereupon, leaping from bed, with the utmost impatience and agility, the youthful prince attempted to seize the little charmer; but it was fled in a moment; for, alas! the mouse was sent by a discontented princess, and was itself a fairy.

      It is impossible to describe the agony of the prince upon this occasion. He sought round and round every part of the room, even the bed where the princess lay was not exempt from the inquiry; he turned the princess on one side and the other, stripped her quite naked, but no mouse was to be found; the princess herself was kind enough to assist, but still to no purpose.

      “Alas!” cried the young prince in an agony, “how unhappy am I to be thus disappointed! never sure was so beautiful an animal seen; I would give half my kingdom and my princess to him that would find it.” The princess, though not much pleased with the latter part of his offer, endeavoured to comfort him as well as she could; she let him know he had an hundred mice already, which ought to be at least sufficient to satisfy any philosopher like him. Though none of them had green eyes, yet he should learn to thank Heaven that they had eyes. She told him (for she was a profound moralist,) that incurable evils must be borne, and that useless lamentations were vain, and that man was born to misfortunes; she even intreated him to return to bed, and she would endeavour to lull him on her bosom to repose; but still the prince continued inconsolable; and, regarding her with a stern air, for which his family was remarkable, he vowed never to sleep in a royal palace, or indulge himself in the innocent pleasures of matrimony, till he had found the white mouse with green eyes.

      When morning came, he published an edict, offering half his kingdom, and his princess, to that person who should catch and bring him the white mouse with green eyes.

      The edict was scarce published, when all the traps in the kingdom were baited with cheese; numberless mice were taken and destroyed, but still the much-wished-for mouse was not among the number. The privy council were assembled more than once to give their advice; but all their deliberations came to nothing, even though there were two complete vermin-killers, and three professed rat-catchers, of the number. Frequent addresses, as is usual on extraordinary occasions, were sent from all parts of the empire; but, though these promised well, though in them he received an assurance that his faithful subjects would assist in his search with their lives and fortunes, yet, with all their loyalty, they failed, when the time came that the mouse was to be caught.

      The prince, therefore, was resolved to go himself in search, determined never to lie two nights in one place, till he had found what he sought for. Thus, quitting his palace without attendants, he set out upon his journey, and travelled through many a desert, and crossed many a river, high over hills, and down along vales, still restless, still inquiring wherever he came, but no white mouse was to be found.

      As one day, fatigued with his journey, he was shading himself from the heat of the mid-day sun, under the arching branches of a