Another story concerns confidence woman Red Mary Keneally, who dressed as a duchess and talked her way into the King of Englands coronation. The palace denied the event ever took place, but every now and then a crown turns up at auction that looks very like the one in the Tower of London.
Perhaps the most thrilling legend is the tale of the lost Herve masterpiece. Every primary-school child knows that Pascal Herve was the French Impressionist who painted extraordinarily beautiful pictures of the fairy folk. And every art dealer knows that Herves paintings are second in value only to those of Van Gogh himself, commanding price tags of over SO million euro.
There are fifteen paintings in the Herve Fairy Folk series. Ten can be found in French museums and five are in private collections. But there are rumours of a sixteenth. Whispers circulate in the upper criminal echelons that another Herve exists: The Fairy Thief, depicting a fairy in the act of stealing a human child. Legend has it that Herve gave the picture as a gift to a beautiful Turkish girl he met on the Champs Elysees.
The girl promptly broke Herves heart, and sold the picture to a British tourist for twenty francs. Within weeks, the picture had been stolen from the Englishmans home. And since that time, it has been lifted from private collections all over the world. Since Herve painted his masterpiece, it is believed that The Fairy Thief has been stolen fifteen times. But what makes these thefts different from the billion others that have been committed during this time is that the first thief decided to keep the picture for himself. And so did all the others.
The Fairy Thief has become something of a trophy for top thieves worldwide. Only a dozen know of its existence, and only a handful know of its whereabouts. The painting is to criminals what the Turner Prize is to artists. Whoever manages to successfully steal the lost painting is acknowledged as the master thief of his generation. Not many are aware of this challenge, but those who do know matter.
Naturally Artemis Fowl knew of The Fairy Thief, and recently he had learned of the paintings whereabouts. It was an irresistible test of his abilities. If he succeeded in stealing the lost masterpiece, he would become the youngest thief in history to have done so.
His bodyguard, the giant Eurasian Butler, was not best pleased with his young charges latest project.
I dont like this, Artemis, said Butler in his bass gravelly tones. My instincts tell me its a trap.
Artemis Fowl inserted batteries in his hand-held computer game.
Of course its a trap, said the fourteen-year-old Irish boy. The Fairy Thief has been ensnaring thieves for years. Thats what makes it interesting.
They were travelling around Munichs Marienplatz in a rented Hummer H2. The military vehicle was not Artemiss style, but it would be consistent with the style of the people they were pretending to be. Artemis sat in the rear, feeling ridiculous, dressed not in his usual dark two-piece suit, but in normal teenager clothing.
This outfit is preposterous, he said, zipping his tracksuit top. What is the point of a hood that is not waterproof? And all these logos? I feel like a walking advertisement. And these jeans do not fit properly. They are sagging down to my knees.
Butler smiled, glancing in the rear-view mirror. I think you look fine. Juliet would say that you were bad.
Juliet, Butlers younger sister, was currently on a tour of the States with a Mexican wrestling troupe, trying to break into the big time. Her ring name was The Jade Princess.
I certainly feel bad, admitted Artemis. As for these high-top trainers. How is one supposed to run quickly with soles ten centimetres thick? I feel as though I am on stilts. Honestly, Butler, the second we return to the hotel, I am disposing of this outfit. I miss my suits.
Butler pulled on to Im Tal, where the International Bank was located.
Artemis, if youre not feeling comfortable, perhaps we should postpone this operation?
Artemis zipped the computer game into a backpack, which already contained a number of typical teenage items.
Absolutely not. This window of opportunity has taken a month to organize.
Three weeks previously, Artemis had made an anonymous donation to the St Bartlebys School for Young Gentlemen, on condition that the Third Year boys were taken on a trip to Munich for the European Schools Fair. The principal had been happy to honour the donors wishes. And now, while the other boys were viewing various technological marvels at an exhibition in Munichs Olympia Stadion, Artemis was on his way to the International Bank. As far as Guiney, the schools principal, was concerned, Butler was driving a poorly student back to his hotel room.
Crane and Sparrow probably moves the painting several times a year. I certainly would. Who knows where it will be in six months?