there came a time when the miller was kept busy indeed, and proudly so. for he had been commanded by the king himself to grind one thousand sacks of flour for the wedding-cookery of the young prince, his son. the prince was to cross the sea to be married to the daughter of the proud king of outland;[118] and when he had brought his fair bride home there was to be great rejoicing,—feasting and merrymaking at the capital of the land of windmills. and the miller's flour was to make the huge wedding-cake and a little cake for each of the guests. for his share in all this preparation the miller was to receive a great price,—a bag of gold. so he hurried about, and the children blew, and the windmill whirled, and dusty flour went pouring into the king's sacks, until all was done. then the miller sat proudly at the head of his table, surrounded by his proud family, and with the sack of gold in the middle of the board for them to admire.
they were eating their goodly supper and drinking the health of the prince and his bride, for the morrow was to be the wedding-day. every one was talking and laughing under his breath—for they dared not laugh aloud nowadays, for fear of blowing out all the lights. suddenly there came the galloping of horses' hoofs along the highway and a thundering knock at the door.[119]
"open!" cried a voice. "a messenger of the king!"
the fat miller ran to the door and undid the bolts as fast as he could, while his children crowded around to hear the king's message. but they held their breaths, lest the message be blown away as soon as spoken.
there sat a rider on a great black horse; and behind him eleven grooms held eleven horses, of different sizes, the smallest one being the prettiest, tiniest white pony you ever saw.
"ho! miller!" shouted the messenger. "i bring the king's command that you and your family of blowers mount and ride with me to the capital, for the king has need of you. i bring steeds for all; lose no time in obeying the king's message."
the miller and his sons were startled and amazed; they could not guess whether for joy or for sorrow they were thus called to court. but of course there was nothing for them but to obey the king. quickly they mounted the eleven steeds which the eleven grooms had[120] brought. the fat miller went first, on a fat little brown horse which looked like him; and behind him came long, lanky hans on a long-limbed bay. after him followed piet on a gallant chestnut, behind whom galloped all the other brothers, with tod the baby on the tiny white pony bringing up the rear. but the miller's poor wife was left behind, not knowing whether to be sorry or glad because of the king's summons to her family.
nearly all night they galloped, thud-thud! over the quiet roads, past shut-eyed houses and dozy windmills, drowsy canals and dreaming villages. and at early dawn they came to the capital city. here the tired king himself rode out to meet them, accompanied by a crowd of sleepy soldiers and cross-looking nobles. the miller and his ten boys slipped from their saddles and knelt in a row before the king, awaiting his commands. but he had no time for ceremony this morning.
"rise!" he cried impatiently. "do not kneel there when time is so precious! rise and hasten to the seashore, miller. i have[121] heard what wonderful blowers your children are. it is for this reason i have sent for you. out yonder on the sea lies the ship of my son, the prince, who has sailed for outland to bring home a bride. yesterday morn he started; but he has not gone far. my telescopes show that the ship still lies helpless, as she has lain for twelve hours, becalmed between the windless headlands in the bay of calms. the wedding was to have been this morning at ten in the outland king's cathedral. hasten, miller! he has yet many leagues to go. you and your children must blow the prince into port in season for the ceremony, or his life is lost. for if he be late, even by five minutes, the outland king has bargained that he must die. he is a proud father; she is a proud princess, and must be kept waiting by no one. my word is pledged; my son is in danger! save the prince, miller, and you shall be made a duke, and all your children earls."
the king ceased speaking, and the crowd of nobles hustled the miller and his family[122] down to the shore, whence, far off against the dawn, sharp eyes could dimly see the prince's ship lying on the water, like a leaf on the surface of a calm well. the miller ranged his ten blowers in a row, as they always stood when about to make the windmill whirl; and they were a flight of steps, one above the other, good to see. then the miller cried,—
"blow, my children! blow with all your might, when i speak the word; for a great matter is at stake. now; one, two, three!"
the boys drew in a long breath, puffed their cheeks, let out their breath, expanded their chests, and at the third count blew with all their might, till their eyes bulged and they were purple in the face. the trees bent to the ground, and the birds flew out of their nests, chirping wildly. and soon after this the watchmen on the palace wall, who were spying at the prince's ship with their telescopes, gave a great cheer. the sails had filled with wind, and the vessel was moving ever so slowly towards outland.[123]
"again, my babes!" roared the miller. "one, two, three!" and once more a blast blew from the shore, so mighty that the hats of the nobles went flying off into the sea, and the king himself nearly lost his crown of pearls and rubies; which would have been a scandalous thing! once more the lookouts on the battlements cheered. the prince's ship was moving steadily forward past the windless headlands, out of the bay of calms.
"once more!" shouted the miller, encouraged by the king's nod of delight. "one more blow for our king and prince, my children!" and a third time the ten filled their lungs and puffed their cheeks in the good cause.
this time the watchers danced wildly on the palace walls, and waved a golden banner to the king, which was the signal that all was well. for the prince's ship had scudded clean out of sight, straight towards outland and the bride. once in the open gulf the ship was in no further danger of being becalmed.
this is how the miller and his ten saved the life of the prince of the land of windmills, and became very dear to their king. for, aided by the breath of the miller's sons, the prince reached outland in time,—yes, even with time to spare; the princess was not ready for him! and her father was so pleased by this promptness of the bridegroom that, when the newly married pair left outland after the grand wedding, they took with them as a gift from the king one hundred buckets of silver and one hundred buckets of gold and one hundred buckets of shining jewels, the most beautiful that ever were seen. so that when the prince reached the land of windmills he was able to give fine presents to all who had done services for him. and you may be sure that the miller and his boys were not among the last of this number.
the miller was made duke of millwind, and he received one of the one hundred buckets of jewels; while each of the earls, his sons, had one of the buckets of gold.[125] and the miller's wife received one of the buckets of silver; though she had done nothing at all but stay at home and worry.
after that there was no longer any need for the miller and his family to weaken themselves with work. they were rich and noble; and now it was fair to give the other millers in the land a chance. but no other miller had so talented a family, you see. the best thing of all was that the prince and princess, who, upon the old king's death, themselves became king and queen, lived to have ten daughters, each more beautiful than the others. and when they were grown up, the king their father married them to the ten young earls, the sons of the duke of millwind, in token of his gratitude to that fine fat gentleman who was once a miller. and hans the eldest son, who married the eldest princess,—he who had first shown his talent as a blower,—hans himself became in time king of the land of windmills; which was great fortune for the miller's son, as i think you must agree. so the miller's saying[126] proved true, that they would "blow themselves into fortune."
now it was in the reign of this illustrious pair that two wonderful inventions were made,—squeaker-balloons and soap-bubbles. they were invented at the command of king hans in honor of his first infant, who was born with a perfectly wonderful talent for blowing.
