was sorrowful; yes, at
times it would seem to her as if her eyes would be consumed by
weeping.

"What is the matter with thee, beloved Maerchen?" said the Queen to
her. "Ever since thy journey, thou art so sorrowful and dejected; wilt
thou not confide to thy mother what ails thee?"

"Ah! dear mother," answered Maerchen, "I would have kept silence, had I
not known that my sorrow is thine also."

"Speak, my daughter!" entreated the fair Queen. "Grief is a stone,
which presses down him who bears it alone, but two draw it lightly out
of the way."

"Thou wishest it," rejoined Maerchen, "so listen. Thou knowest how
gladly I associate with men, how cheerfully I sit down before the huts
of the poor, to while away a little hour for them after their labor;
formerly, when I came, they used to ask me kindly for my hand to
salute, and looked upon me afterwards, when I went away, smiling and
contented; but in these days, it is so no longer!"

"Poor Maerchen!" said the Queen as she caressed her cheek, which was
wet with a tear. "But, perhaps, thou only fanciest all this."

"Believe me, I feel it but too well," rejoined Maerchen; "they love me
no more. Wherever I go, cold looks meet me; nowhere am I any more
gladly seen; even the children, who ever loved me so well, laugh at
me, and slyly turn their backs upon me."

The Queen leaned her forehead on her hand, and was silent in
reflection. "And how, then, Maerchen," she asked, "should it happen
that the people there below have become so changed?"

"See, O Queen Phantasie! men have stationed vigilant watchmen, who
inspect and examine all that comes from thy kingdom, with sharp eyes.
If one should arrive who is not according to their mind, they raise a
loud cry, and put him to death, or else so slander him to men, who
believe their every word, that one finds no longer any love, any
little ray of confidence. Ah! how fortunate are my brothers, the
Dreams! they leap merrily and lightly down upon the earth, care
nothing for those artful men, seek the slumbering, and weave and paint
for them, what makes happy the heart, and brightens the eye with joy."

"Thy brothers are light-footed," said the Queen, "and thou, my
darling, hast no reason for envying them. Besides, I know these
border-watchmen well; men are not so wrong in sending them out; there
came so many boastful fellows, who acted as if they had come straight
from my kingdom, and yet they had, at best, only looked down upon us