The King's Candles

We have been enjoying stories from "The Topaz Storybook" by Ada M. Skinner, which we discovered through the Forgotten Books website. These stories are wonderful and should not be forgotten! Here is one to tell as the tall stalks of mullein or "King's Candles" are drying! We will be making some King Candles later this week.

UPDATE: Here is our Mullein Candle Tutorial!

The King's Candles
(German Legend)

ONCE upon a time there lived a good king who was driven from his throne by an enemy. A few faithful knights and servants fled with his majesty to a forest where they found shelter in deep, rocky caves.

The flight from the king's palace had been so hasty that the knights and servants could bring only a few things for their king's comfort. It was in the early autumn and his majesty feared it would be necessary to live in secret during the coming winter. You may be sure the king was well pleased to find his knights had brought a few warm blankets and robes. After he had praised his followers for their thoughtfulness in providing for the winter, a young page stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I did not bring clothing, but I brought as many candles as I could carry." "Candles," laughed the king, "now pray tell me, lad, why you brought candles. You served The king's page with sinking heart saw the candles grow fewer and fewer until there were but two left. Then at last came an evening when the lights were missing from the king's throne. In a dark corner of the cave the little page sat grieving because he could not see his king's face.

It happened one morning that the lad wandered to the edge of the woodland where the highway separated the richly coloured forest trees from a stretch of meadowland where the white mist was slowly lifting. On the roadside was an old woman carrying a large sack on her bent shoulders. When she reached the place where the king's page was standing she set her sack on the ground and looked wistfully at the meadow, then at the deep ditch which separated the field from the highway. "Shall I help you across the ditch?" asked the king's page. "Thank you, my lad," said the old woman. "Perhaps I'd better not go across. It would be hard for me to reach the highway again. But I should like a few of those tall mullein spikes. I've none in my bag so fine as those growing in the meadow." "I'll gather some for you," said the king's page.

He leaped across the ditch, and soon filled his hands with the tall mullein spikes.

The old woman was delighted. She tucked them into her bag and said, "They make such fine winter candles. Thank you, my lad." "Winter candles!" exclaimed the king's page. "Aye," nodded the old woman. "Dip them in tallow, a thin coat will do " and you have candles fit for a king. Thank you kindly." "We are in sore need of candles where I live, but " the page stopped. "Use mullein spikes. They make candles fit for a king, I say," and the old woman picked up her sack. "But we have no tallow," said the lad. "I can spare you a lump of tallow, my boy. Come along with me to my cottage," said the old woman.

So the king's page carried the sack of mullein spikes to the old woman's cottage and she gave him a large lump of tallow. On his way back he leaped across the ditch again and filled his arms with tall mullein spikes. He hurried back to the cave, melted the tallow, and dipped the weeds into the liquid fat.

When the king and his party returned that evening to the cave, two tall candles were standing on the rude throne. "See," cried the king's page, "we have a fresh supply of candles." "Tell us where you got them," said the surprised king. "They are made from spikes of the mullein weed," explained the king's page. Then he told his majesty about the afternoon's adventure. "The mullein weed shall have a new name," declared the king. "It shall be called the King's Candles." A few days later the king called his followers around his throne seat and said, "A message has come to me declaring that the usurper has been driven out of my country. Tomorrow we'll hold a feast in the palace, and the table shall be lighted by 'King's Candles.' "Every year since that far-off time when the reigning king holds an autumn festival, the banquet table is lighted with mullein spikes dipped in tallow, and they are called the "King's Candles."

"The mullein's yellow candles burn 

Over the heads of dry, sweet fern."

The Goldenrod and Aster

This will be my new blog to share little craft tutorials as we make our way through the homeschool year. My first project are some archetype dolls for our storytelling thoughout the year. I want to make them simple enough to be used as many characters in many stories with just a change of the apron, cloak, hat, or other props. Here are some sweet little dollhouse dolls that I created from old, mangled Melissa and Doug dollhouse dolls that we had for our story this week "Goldenrod and Aster". Here we have two little girls and the old lady. I will be posting a tutorial later this week as I work on a Boy and Mother doll for our next story, and if I can learn how, perhaps even a printable pattern to download for the clothing! (We shall see!) Subscribe to receive email updates when I post a new tutorial!

UPDATE: Here is the Up-cycled Doll Tutorial!

THE GOLDENROD AND ASTER

Adapted from Cook's "Nature Myths." THERE were once two little girls who lived at the foot of a great hill; and one had such long, yellow hair that she was called Golden Hair, and the other had eyes as deep and blue as the sky, so every one called her Blue Eyes. And up at the top of the hill lived a wise old woman who could turn people into anything she wished.
It was a long way to the top of the hill, and the old woman was so dark and stern to look at that not every one cared to climb the path to the top; but one day the little girls began to wish that they might do something to make other people happy.
"Let us climb the hill," they cried, "and ask the old woman to tell us what we may do."
So Golden Hair took Blue Eyes' hand, and they started up the mountain side. It was a warm day, and they were obliged to stop many times to rest under the great oak trees which grew on either side of the path. They made baskets of leaves and filled them with berries as a gift for the old woman. They chased the squirrels and watched the gay little fishes darting about in the brook. On and on they walked in the rocky path, until the sun went down and the birds forgot to sing and the squirrels went to bed. Before long the stars peeped out and the moon shone down on them, and they were a long way from home—but they kept on climbing and climbing.
At last they came to the top of the hill, and there, at her gate, stood the old woman looking so stern that the two little girls were frightened, but Golden Hair said, bravely: "We came to ask you what we might do to make every one happy." And Blue Eyes said: "We want to stay together, please."
Then the old woman opened her gate wide for the two little girls to go inside, and she smiled a queer smile, as if she were thinking of magic things; and no one ever saw Golden Hair or Blue Eyes again. But in the morning the green grass on the hillside was full of waving, yellow goldenrod, and close by it grew nodding purple aster.
They say the old woman of the hill walks through the grass every moonlight night touching the goldenrod and aster—and she could tell, if she would, how it was she changed Golden Hair and Blue Eyes into flowers.

You can find more wonderful stories atThe Baldwin Project!