The Maker of Rainbows, and Other Fairy-tales and Fables

In Short

This collection of fairy tales and fables explores the collision between worldly ambition and spiritual wonder. Across various short narratives, whimsical figures—a rainbow-maker in a bleak village, a poet wedded to a mer-maid, a monarch who loses his kingdom while chasing a rare butterfly, and a miser who exchanges his gold for another's dream—confront the true value of love, art, and innocence. Richard Le Gallienne's lyrical prose elevates simple parables into delicate meditations on human desire and poetic truth. The book remains memorable for its gentle melancholy, exquisite imagery, and unwavering defense of imagination against material greed.

The Story

The book opens with a prologue satirizing the grand, hollow parties of a wealthy London publisher, juxtaposing his meaningless display of riches with the humble, magic-filled world of fable. In the title story, an old traveling knife-grinder visits the impoverished, gloomy village of Twelve-trees. Taking a single tear from a crying child, he spins it upon his wheel into a brilliant rainbow, leaving the local children with an indelible sense of wonder that outlasts their poverty.

Subsequent tales move through varied landscapes of fantasy and irony. In New York, a courtly stranger wanders the freezing winter streets, tenderly assisting forgotten outcasts while nursing an eye filled with a visionary light. Another story follows a poet who woos a mer-maid with his night-songs; after she and their children join him on land, a fearful, torch-bearing mob turns against him as a wizard, driving the family back into the safety of the moonlit sea. Elsewhere, a sleepless lord, burdened by his endless nights, attempts to purchase rest with a jewel worth half his estate, discovering too late that peace cannot be bought like merchandise.

Moral reversals recur as the collection unfolds. A merchant who made his fortune selling bright butterflies to kings holds on to one secret, dark butterfly in a silver cage, only to realize his wealth came from exploiting simple peasants who gathered God's free blackberries. A beggar-maid crowned as Queen Cophetua finds herself longing for her old tattered gown, which her husband keeps enshrined in a gold coffer. In another tale, a herald announces that a melancholic lord seeks to buy people's sorrows, yet a grieving maiden buries her beloved while refusing to sell her heartbreak, declaring it her only remaining joy.

In a satirical key, a vain princess spends her days admiring her own face in a golden mirror, ignoring the boundless beauty of the world around her. When a hungry minstrel finds her lost glass, he chooses to surrender its magical reflection in exchange for the vast, wild beauty of the sky itself. Meanwhile, the scholarly Duke Stanislaus delays his journey to his own royal coronation—first to sit by the deathbed of an old shepherd, and then to chase a rare butterfly through the fields. While he lingers, a usurper seizes his throne; far from despairing, the duke and his priest offer a white flower of peace and rejoice at their freedom from the burdens of state.

Toward the end, a miser hides in the woods and witnesses a glowing dream hovering over two penniless, sleeping lovers. He leaves all his hoarded gold beside them and steals the dream away, only to find that the creature grows dim and refuses to sing for a hard, cruel heart. The lovers embark on a search to buy their lost dream back, while the stolen vision fades into gray mist. Finally, a weary, heart-broken clown accepts a cruel circus audition, proving that he can laugh and sing while his shins are lashed by a whip, earning a pittance through his suffering.

How It Unfolds

The rainbow in Twelve-trees An old itinerant knife-grinder enters a dreary, impoverished village and uses his wheel to craft stunning rainbows from the children's tears.

The mer-wife's exile A solitary poet wins the love of a sea-maiden, but when a fearful mob attacks their home with torches, he leaps into the waves with his family to escape into the deep.

The search for sleep A wealthy, sleepless lord wanders the night, seeking to trade a priceless jewel for rest, only to find a cold, unyielding sky staring back at him.

Queen Cophetua's nostalgia A former beggar-maid turned queen secretly aches for the simplicity of her lost freedom, while her royal husband keeps her old tattered gown locked inside a carved golden chest.

The monarch's lost crown Grand Duke Stanislaus repeatedly halts his coronation procession to pursue humble joys and chase a elusive butterfly, ultimately celebrating when a usurper takes his kingdom.

The stolen dream A miser trades his bag of gold for a sleeping couple's radiant dream, but the captured vision slowly dies because it cannot sing to a selfish heart.

The clown's seven heartbreaks An impoverished clown approaches a cruel circus master who demands he get his heart broken once more before granting him a low-paying job dancing through pain.

The People

• The Maker of Rainbows: An old itinerant knife-grinder with laughing blue eyes and a puckered face. He wanders into a destitute town to bring joy to neglected children by turning their tears into light.
• The Poet: A lonely, articulate lover of nature who sings to the sea until he marries a mer-maiden. He chooses to plunge into the ocean with his family rather than face a superstitious mob.
• The Sleepless Lord: A wealthy nobleman who spends his nights wandering city streets. Desperate to escape his unending wakefulness, he tries to buy sleep with half his fortune, but finds nature indifferent to his wealth.
• Queen Cophetua: A former beggar-maid elevated to royalty by her kingly husband. Though surrounded by jewels and gold, she secretly hungers for her simple past and the freedom of her old rags.
• The Princess: An intensely vain young woman who spends every hour gazing into a golden mirror, entirely blind to the natural beauty of the world around her.
• The Minstrel: A hungry, nomadic poet who finds the princess's lost mirror. Though impoverished, he chooses to trade the magical portrait of beauty back to her in order to enjoy the wild, infinite sky.
• Duke Stanislaus: A gentle, scholarly ruler of Bohemia who prefers books, bees, and butterflies to political power. He delays his coronation so long that he loses his throne, finding pure relief in his deposition.
• The Miser: A bent old man burdened by a heavy bag of stolen gold. He trades his fortune for a pair of lovers' floating dream, only to watch the vision wither in his cynical care.
• The Clown: A desperate performer who has suffered seven broken hearts. He stoically endures physical whipping and public humiliation just to secure six dollars a week.

In Its Own Voice

"Give me one of those tears, and I will show you what I can make of it."

An old traveling mender speaks to a weeping girl on a chilly November morning in Twelve-trees.

"Maiden, let me buy your sorrow--with three counties and seven castles."

A wealthy, melancholic young lord on horseback attempts to purchase a grieving woman's tears.

"Have you ever had your heart broken?"

A cynical circus proprietor questions a job-seeking clown before offering him a harsh tryout.

What It's Really About

Beneath their whimsical surface, these stories critique modern society’s obsession with material accumulation, status, and artificial entertainment. Le Gallienne contrasts the true riches of the spirit—imagination, love, grief, and communion with nature—against the hollow promises of coin, thrones, and social prestige. Wealthy figures like the sleepless lord, the publisher, and the miser find that money cannot purchase peace, poetry, or genuine dreams. Conversely, figures who abandon worldly ambition, such as Duke Stanislaus or the minstrel, discover profound freedom. The fables argue that human beauty and art are born from vulnerability, suffering, and an unyielding reverence for the natural world, warning that a heart hardened by greed loses the capacity to understand life's true magic.

Why Read It Today

The Maker of Rainbows, and Other Fairy-tales and Fables offers a serene retreat for readers who cherish classic, atmospheric storytelling reminiscent of Oscar Wilde’s fairy tales or Hans Christian Andersen's parables. Le Gallienne’s prose is luminous and deliberately nostalgic, brimming with enchanted woods, moonlit seas, and quiet ironies. Rather than relying on action-packed fantasy plots, the collection operates as a series of delicate mood pieces that invite quiet reflection.

Modern readers should be aware that the book reflects the literary mannerisms of the late Victorian and Edwardian periods. The language is intentionally stylized and ornate, featuring poetic archaisms, sentimental turns, and an unabashedly romantic ethos. Certain modern readers may find the moralizing tone or stereotypical descriptions—such as the publisher's caricature in the prologue—dated. However, for those who appreciate fine craftsmanship, gentle satire, and bittersweet allegories, the collection remains a haunting reminder of the quiet wonder hidden just beneath the noise of modern life.