The Yellow Fairy Book
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Title: The Yellow Fairy Book
Editor: Andrew Lang
Illustrator: H. J. Ford
Release date: March 12, 2009 [eBook #28314]
Most recently updated: July 9, 2021
Language: English
Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/28314
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE YELLOW FAIRY BOOK ***
THE
YELLOW FAIRY BOOK
WORKS BY ANDREW LANG.
COCK LANE AND COMMON SENSE: a Series of
Papers. Crown 8vo. 6_s._ 6_d._ _net_.
BAN and ARRIÈRE BAN: a Rally of Fugitive
Rhymes. Crown 8vo. 5_s._ _net_.
ST. ANDREWS. With 8 Plates and 24 Illustrations
in the Text by T. Hodge. 8vo. 15_s._ _net_.
HOMER AND THE EPIC. Crown 8vo. 9_s._ _net_.
CUSTOM AND MYTH: Studies of Early Usage and
Belief. With 15 Illustrations. Crown 8vo. 3_s._ 6_d._
BALLADS OF BOOKS. Edited by ANDREW LANG.
Fcp. 8vo. 6_s._
LETTERS TO DEAD AUTHORS. Fcp. 8vo. 2_s._ 6_d._ _net_.
BOOKS AND BOOKMEN. With 2 Coloured Plates
and 17 Illustrations. Fcp. 8vo. 2_s._ 6_d._ _net_.
OLD FRIENDS. Fcp. 8vo. 2_s._ 6_d._ _net_.
LETTERS ON LITERATURE. Fcp. 8vo. 2_s._ 6_d._ _net_.
GRASS OF PARNASSUS. Fcp. 8vo. 2_s._ 6_d._ _net_.
ANGLING SKETCHES. With 20 Illustrations by
W. G. Burn-Murdoch. Crown 8vo. 7_s._ 6_d._
THE BLUE FAIRY BOOK. Edited by ANDREW LANG.
With 8 Plates and 130 Illustrations in the Text by
H. J. Ford and G. P. Jacomb Hood. Crown 8vo. 6_s._
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. Edited by ANDREW LANG.
With 4 Plates and 96 Illustrations in the Text by H. J. Ford
and Lancelot Speed. Crown 8vo. 6_s._
THE GREEN FAIRY BOOK. Edited by ANDREW LANG.
With 11 Plates and 88 Illustrations in the Text by
H. J. Ford. Crown 8vo. 6_s._
THE BLUE POETRY BOOK. Edited by ANDREW LANG.
With 12 Plates and 88 Illustrations in the Text by
H. J. Ford and Lancelot Speed. Crown 8vo. 6_s._
SCHOOL EDITION, without Illustrations. Fcp. 8vo.
2_s._ 6_d._
SPECIAL EDITION, printed on Indian paper. With Notes, but
without Illustrations. Crown 8vo. 7_s._ 6_d._
THE TRUE STORY BOOK. Edited by ANDREW LANG.
With 8 Plates and 58 Illustrations in the Text by H. J.
Ford, Lucien Davis, Lancelot Speed, and L. Bogle. Crown 8vo. 6_s._
London: LONGMANS, GREEN, & CO.
New York: 15 East 16th Street.
[Illustration: The Swineherd Takes the Ten Kisses]
THE
Yellow Fairy Book
EDITED BY
ANDREW LANG
[Illustration]
_WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS BY H. J. FORD_
LONDON
LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO.
AND NEW YORK: 15 EAST 16th STREET
1894
_All rights reserved_
Dedication
TO
JOAN, TODDLES, AND TINY
Books Yellow, Red, and Green and Blue,
All true, or just as good as true,
And here’s the Yellow Book for _you_!
Hard is the path from A to Z,
And puzzling to a curly head,
Yet leads to Books—Green, Blue, and Red
For every child should understand
That letters from the first were planned
To guide us into Fairy Land
So labour at your Alphabet,
For by that learning shall you get
To lands where Fairies may be met.
And going where this pathway goes,
You too, at last, may find, who knows?
The Garden of the Singing Rose.
_PREFACE_
The Editor thinks that children will readily forgive him for
publishing another Fairy Book. We have had the Blue, the Red, the
Green, and here is the Yellow. If children are pleased, and they are
so kind as to say that they _are_ pleased, the Editor does not care
very much for what other people may say. Now, there is one gentleman
who seems to think that it is not quite right to print so many fairy
tales, with pictures, and to publish them in red and blue covers. He
is named Mr. G. Laurence Gomme, and he is president of a learned body
called the Folk Lore Society. Once a year he makes his address to his
subjects, of whom the Editor is one, and Mr. Joseph Jacobs (who has
published many delightful fairy tales with pretty pictures)[1] is
another. Fancy, then, the dismay of Mr. Jacobs, and of the Editor,
when they heard their president say that he did not think it very nice
in them to publish fairy books, above all, red, green, and blue fairy
books! They said that they did not see any harm in it, and they were
ready to ‘put themselves on their country,’ and be tried by a jury of
children. And, indeed, they still see no harm in what they have done;
nay, like Father William in the poem, they are ready ‘to do it again
and again.’
[Footnote 1: You may buy them from Mr. Nutt, in the Strand.]
Where is the harm? The truth is that the Folk Lore Society—made up of
the most clever, learned, and beautiful men and women of the
country—is fond of studying the history and geography of Fairy Land.
This is contained in very old tales, such as country people tell, and
savages:
‘Little Sioux and little Crow,
Little frosty Eskimo.’
These people are thought to know most about fairyland and its
inhabitants. But, in the Yellow Fairy Book, and the rest, are many
tales by persons who are neither savages nor rustics, such as Madame
D’Aulnoy and Herr Hans Christian Andersen. The Folk Lore Society, or
its president, say that _their_ tales are not so true as the rest, and
should not be published with the rest. But _we_ say that all the
stories which are pleasant to read are quite true enough for us; so
here they are, with pictures by Mr. Ford, and we do not think that
either the pictures or the stories are likely to mislead children.
As to whether there are really any fairies or not, that is a difficult
question. Professor Huxley thinks there are none. The Editor never saw
any himself, but he knows several people who have seen them—in the
Highlands—and heard their music. If ever you are in Nether Lochaber,
go to the Fairy Hill, and you may hear the music yourself, as grown-up
people have done, but you must go on a fine day. Again, if there are
really no fairies, why do people believe in them, all over the world?
The ancient Greeks believed, so did the old Egyptians, and the
Hindoos, and the Red Indians, and is it likely, if there are no
fairies, that so many different peoples would have seen and heard
them? The Rev. Mr. Baring-Gould saw several fairies when he was a boy,
and was travelling in the land of the Troubadours. For these reasons,
the Editor thinks that there are certainly fairies, but they never do
anyone any harm; and, in England, they have been frightened away by
smoke and schoolmasters. As to Giants, they have died out, but real
Dwarfs are common in the forests of Africa. Probably a good many
stories not perfectly true have been told about fairies, but such
stories have also been told about Napoleon, Claverhouse, Julius Cæsar,
and Joan of Arc, all of whom certainly existed. A wise child will,
therefore, remember that, if he grows up and becomes a member of the
Folk Lore Society, _all_ the tales in this book were not offered to
him as absolutely truthful, but were printed merely for his
entertainment. The exact facts he can learn later, or he can leave
them alone.
There are Russian, German, French, Icelandic, Red Indian, and other
stories here. They were translated by Miss Cheape, Miss Alma, and Miss
Thyra Alleyne, Miss Sellar, Mr. Craigie (he did the Icelandic tales),
Miss Blackley, Mrs. Dent, and Mrs. Lang, but the Red Indian stories
are copied from English versions published by the Smithsonian Bureau
of Ethnology, in America. Mr. Ford did the pictures, and it is hoped
that children will find the book not less pleasing than those which
have already been submitted to their consideration. The Editor cannot
say ‘good-bye’ without advising them, as they pursue their studies, to
read _The Rose and the Ring_, by the late Mr. Thackeray, with pictures
by the author. This book he thinks quite indispensable in every
child’s library, and parents should be urged to purchase it at the
first opportunity, as without it no education is complete.
A. LANG.
_CONTENTS_
PAGE
_The Cat and the Mouse in Partnership_ 1
_The Six Swans_ 4
_The Dragon of the North_ 9
_Story of the Emperor’s New Clothes_ 21
_The Golden Crab_ 26
_The Iron Stove_ 32
_The Dragon and his Grandmother_ 38
_The Donkey Cabbage_ 42
_The Little Green Frog_ 50
_The Seven-headed Serpent_ 60
_The Grateful Beasts_ 64
_The Giants and the Herd-boy_ 75
_The Invisible Prince_ 78
_The Crow_ 92
_How Six Men travelled through the Wide World_ 95
_The Wizard King_ 100
_The Nixy_ 108
_The Glass Mountain_ 114
_Alphege, or the Green Monkey_ 119
_Fairer-than-a-Fairy_ 126
_The Three Brothers_ 134
_The Boy and the Wolves, or the Broken Promise_ 138
_The Glass Axe_ 141
_The Dead Wife_ 149
_In the Land of Souls_ 152
_The White Duck_ 155
_The Witch and her Servants_ 161
_The Magic Ring_ 178
_The Flower Queen’s Daughter_ 192
_The Flying Ship_ 198
_The Snow-daughter and the Fire-son_ 206
_The Story of King Frost_ 209
_The Death of the Sun-hero_ 213
_The Witch_ 216
_The Hazel-nut Child_ 222
_The Story of Big Klaus and Little Klaus_ 225
_Prince Ring_ 237
_The Swineherd_ 249
_How to tell a True Princess_ 254
_The Blue Mountains_ 256
_The Tinder-box_ 265
_The Witch in the Stone Boat_ 274
_Thumbelina_ 279
_The Nightingale_ 291
_Hermod and Hadvor_ 301
_The Steadfast Tin-soldier_ 308
_Blockhead-Hans_ 313
_A Story about a Darning-needle_ 319
_LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS_
_PLATES_
_The Swineherd takes the Ten Kisses_ _Frontispiece_
_The Six Brothers changed into Swans
by their Stepmother_ _To face page_ 8
_The Witch-maiden sees the Young Man
under a Tree_ „ 12
‘_Here you shall remain chained up until you die_’ „ 20
_The Prince throws the Apple to the Princess_ „ 30
_The Iron Stove_ „ 32
‘_Standing in the doorway a charming maiden at whose
sight his mind seemed to give way_’ „ 58
_The Seven-headed Serpent_ „ 62
_The Mirror of the Present_ „ 84
_Prince Gnome learns the Name of his Rival at the
Golden Fountain_ „ 88
_The Black Girl stops the Witch with a Bit of the Rock_ „ 144
_Militza and her Maidens in the Garden_ „ 168
_Iwanich casts the Fish into the Water_ „ 172
‘_In winter, when everything is dead, she must come and
live with me in my palace underground_’ „ 196
_Simpleton’s Army appears before the King_ „ 204
_The Snow Maiden_ „ 206
‘_Gee-up, my five horses_’ „ 226
_The Swineherd takes the Ten Kisses_ „ 250
_The Irishman arrives at the Blue Mountains_ „ 262
_The Witch comes on Board_ „ 274
_Sigurd hews the Chain asunder_ „ 276
_The King finds the Queen of Hetland_ „ 302
_WOODCUTS IN TEXT_
PAGE
_The Partnership_ 1
_At Home in the Church_ 2
_Protestation_ 3
_The Way of the World_ 3
‘_And then her dress_’ 7
_The Youth secures the Dragon_ 17
_The Emperor comes to see his New Clothes_ 24
‘_Let down, let down thy petticoat
that lets thy feet be seen_’ 27
_The Fisherman brings the Crab on the Golden Cushion_ 28
‘_Then she reached the three cutting swords, and got on
her plough-wheel and rolled over them_’ 35
_The Dragon carries off the Three Soldiers_ 39
_The Fiend defeated_ 41
_The Maiden obtains the Bird-heart_ 44
_The Hunter is transformed into a Donkey_ 46
_The Young Man gives the Donkeys to the Miller_ 48
_The Prince looks into the Magic Mirror_ 51
_Prince Saphir Steals the Horse and Harness_ 55
_Ferko healed by Magic Waters_ 67
_Ferko before the King_ 68
_Ferko leads the Wolves on_ 73
_The Herd-boy binds up the Giant’s Foot_ 75
_Rosalie_ 82
_In the Labyrinth of Despair_ 85
_The Evil Spirits drag the Girl to the Cauldron_ 93
_My Enemy is given into my Hands_ 97
_The Princess and the Eagle in the Flowery Meadow_ 102
_The Wizard King pays a Visit to the Princess_ 105
_The Miller sees the Nixy of the Mill-pond_ 109
_A Wave swept the Spinning-wheel from the Bank_ 112
_The Boy attacked by the Eagle on the Glass Mountain_ 116
_The King makes Friends with the Green Monkey_ 121
_The Green Monkey in the Bath_ 123
_Lagree gives the Two Bottles to Fairer-than-a-Fairy_ 127
_Fairer-than-a-Fairy summons the Rainbow_ 130
‘_Then the youth swung his mighty sword in the air,
and with one blow cut off the serpent’s head_’ 136
‘_My brother, my brother, I am becoming a wolf!_’ 139
‘_But the waters seized her chariot and sunk it in the
lowest depths_’ 147
_The Indian finds his Wife sitting by the Fire_ 150
_The Witch persuades the Queen to bathe_ 156
_The King catches the White Duck_ 159
_Iwanich holds fast the Swan_ 163
_Militza leaves Iwanich in the Tree_ 164
_The Prickly Man with his Attendants_ 168
_Iwanich seizes the Magician by his Beard and dashes
him to the Ground_ 176
_Martin extinguishes the Flames_ 181
_The Princess summons the twelve Young Men_ 186
_Schurka upsets the Baker_ 187
_The Mouse steals the Ring from the Princess_ 189
_The Dragons dancing_ 195
_The Simpleton awakes and sees the Flying Ship_ 199
_The Comrades in the Flying Ship meet the Drinker_ 201
‘_Maiden, are you warm?_’ 211
_The Sun-hero guards the Apples of the Sun_ 214
‘_Who’s there?_’ 217
_The Comb grows into a Forest_ 220
_The Black King’s Gift_ 224
_The Farmer thinks he sees the Devil in the Chest_ 229
_The Shoemakers and Tanners drive Big Klaus out of the Town_ 231
‘_Open the sack_,’ _said Little Klaus_ 234
_The Woman pushes Prince Ring into the Cask_ 238
_Snati and Prince Ring fight with the Oxen_ 242
_Prince Ring and Snati overthrow the Troll’s Ghost_ 246
_A True Princess_ 255
_The Princess revives the Irishman_ 258
_The Soldier fills his Knapsack with Money_ 267
_The Dog brings in the Princess_ 269
‘_He was skipping along so merrily_’ 271
‘“_Croak, croak, croak!_” _was all he could say_’ 280
_Thumbelina rides on the Water-lily Leaf_ 281
_Thumbelina brings Thistle-down for the Swallow_ 285
_Thumbelina has to spin_ 287
‘_We will call you May blossom_’ 289
_The Kitchenmaid listens to the Nightingale_ 293
_The Present from the Emperor of Japan_ 295
_The True Nightingale sings to the Emperor_ 299
_Hadvor burns the Lion’s Skin_ 306
‘_Don’t look at things that aren’t intended for
the likes of you_’ 309
_Down the Drain_ 310
_And that was the End_ 312
‘_Then they oiled the corners of their mouths_’ 314
_Hans fills his Pocket with the Mud_ 315
‘_The reporters giggled,’ &c._ 317
_THE CAT AND THE MOUSE IN PARTNERSHIP_
[Illustration: The Partnership]
A cat had made acquaintance with a mouse, and had spoken so much of
the great love and friendship she felt for her, that at last the Mouse
consented to live in the same house with her, and to go shares in the
housekeeping. ‘But we must provide for the winter or else we shall
suffer hunger,’ said the Cat. ‘You, little Mouse, cannot venture
everywhere in case you run at last into a trap.’ This good counsel was
followed, and a little pot of fat was bought. But they did not know
where to put it. At length, after long consultation, the Cat said, ‘I
know of no place where it could be better put than in the church. No
one will trouble to take it away from there. We will hide it in a
corner, and we won’t touch it till we are in want.’ So the little pot
was placed in safety; but it was not long before the Cat had a great
longing for it, and said to the Mouse, ‘I wanted to tell you, little
Mouse, that my cousin has a little son, white with brown spots, and
she wants me to be godmother to it. Let me go out to-day, and do you
take care of the house alone.’
‘Yes, go certainly,’ replied the Mouse, ‘and when you eat anything
good, think of me; I should very much like a drop of the red
christening wine.’
But it was all untrue. The Cat had no cousin, and had not been asked
to be godmother. She went straight to the church, slunk to the little
pot of fat, began to lick it, and licked the top off. Then she took a
walk on the roofs of the town, looked at the view, stretched herself
out in the sun, and licked her lips whenever she thought of the little
pot of fat. As soon as it was evening she went home again.
‘Ah, here you are again!’ said the Mouse; ‘you must certainly have had
an enjoyable day.’
‘It went off very well,’ answered the Cat.
‘What was the child’s name?’ asked the Mouse.
‘Top Off,’ said the Cat drily.
‘Topoff!’ echoed the Mouse, ‘it is indeed a wonderful and curious
name. Is it in your family?’
‘What is there odd about it?’ said the Cat. ‘It is not worse than
Breadthief, as your godchild is called.’
[Illustration: AT HOME—IN THE CHURCH]
Not long after this another great longing came over the Cat. She said
to the Mouse, ‘You must again be kind enough to look after the house
alone, for I have been asked a second time to stand godmother, and as
this child has a white ring round its neck, I cannot refuse.’
The kind Mouse agreed, but the Cat slunk under the town wall to the
church, and ate up half of the pot of fat. ‘Nothing tastes better,’
said she, ‘than what one eats by oneself,’ and she was very much
pleased with her day’s work. When she came home the Mouse asked, ‘What
was this child called?’
‘Half Gone,’ answered the Cat.
‘Halfgone! what a name! I have never heard it in my life. I don’t
believe it is in the calendar.’
Soon the Cat’s mouth began to water once more after her licking
business. ‘All good things in threes,’ she said to the Mouse; ‘I have
again to stand godmother. The child is quite black, and has very white
paws, but not a single white hair on its body. This only happens once
in two years, so you will let me go out?’
‘Topoff! Halfgone!’ repeated the Mouse, ‘they are such curious names;
they make me very thoughtful.’
‘Oh, you sit at home in your dark grey coat and your long tail,’ said
the Cat, ‘and you get fanciful. That comes of not going out in the
day.’
The Mouse had a good cleaning out while the Cat was gone, and made the
house tidy; but the greedy Cat ate the fat every bit up. ‘When it is
all gone one can be at rest,’ she said to herself, and at night she
came home sleek and satisfied. The Mouse asked at once after the third
child’s name.
‘It won’t please you any better,’ said the Cat, ‘he was called Clean
Gone.’
‘Cleangone!’ repeated the Mouse. ‘I do not believe that name has been
printed any more than the others. Cleangone! What can it mean?’ She
shook her head, curled herself up, and went to sleep.
From this time on no one asked the Cat to stand godmother; but when
the winter came and there was nothing to be got outside, the Mouse
remembered their provision and said, ‘Come, Cat, we will go to our pot
of fat which we have stored away; it will taste very good.’
[Illustration: Protestation]
[Illustration: The Way of the World]
‘Yes, indeed,’ answered the Cat; ‘it will taste as good to you as if
you stretched your thin tongue out of the window.’
They started off, and when they reached it they found the pot in its
place, but quite empty!
‘Ah,’ said the Mouse, ‘now I know what has happened! It has all come
out! You are a true friend to me! You have eaten it all when you stood
godmother; first the top off, then half of it gone, then——’
‘Will you be quiet!’ screamed the Cat. ‘Another word and I will eat
you up.’
‘Cleangone’ was already on the poor Mouse’s tongue, and scarcely was
it out than the Cat made a spring at her, seized and swallowed her.
You see that is the way of the world.
_THE SIX SWANS_
A King was once hunting in a great wood, and he hunted the game so
eagerly that none of his courtiers could follow him. When evening came
on he stood still and looked round him, and he saw that he had quite
lost himself. He sought a way out, but could find none. Then he saw an
old woman with a shaking head coming towards him; but she was a witch.
‘Good woman,’ he said to her, ‘can you not show me the way out of the
wood?’
‘Oh, certainly, Sir King,’ she replied, ‘I can quite well do that, but
on one condition, which if you do not fulfil you will never get out of
the wood, and will die of hunger.’
‘What is the condition?’ asked the King.
‘I have a daughter,’ said the old woman, ‘who is so beautiful that she
has not her equal in the world, and is well fitted to be your wife; if
you will make her lady-queen I will show you the way out of the wood.’
The King in his anguish of mind consented, and the old woman led him
to her little house where her daughter was sitting by the fire. She
received the King as if she were expecting him, and he saw that she
was certainly very beautiful; but she did not please him, and he could
not look at her without a secret feeling of horror. As soon as he had
lifted the maiden on to his horse the old woman showed him the way,
and the King reached his palace, where the wedding was celebrated.
The King had already been married once, and had by his first wife
seven children, six boys and one girl, whom he loved more than
anything in the world. And now, because he was afraid that their
step-mother might not treat them well and might do them harm, he put
them in a lonely castle that stood in the middle of a wood. It lay so
hidden, and the way to it was so hard to find, that he himself could
not have found it out had not a wise-woman given him a reel of thread
which possessed a marvellous property: when he threw it before him it
unwound itself and showed him the way. But the King went so often to
his dear children that the Queen was offended at his absence. She grew
curious, and wanted to know what he had to do quite alone in the wood.
She gave his servants a great deal of money, and they betrayed the
secret to her, and also told her of the reel which alone could point
out the way. She had no rest now till she had found out where the King
guarded the reel, and then she made some little white shirts, and, as
she had learnt from her witch-mother, sewed an enchantment in each of
them.
And when the King had ridden off she took the little shirts and went
into the wood, and the reel showed her the way. The children, who saw
someone coming in the distance, thought it was their dear father
coming to them, and sprang to meet him very joyfully. Then she threw
over each one a little shirt, which when it had touched their bodies
changed them into swans, and they flew away over the forest. The Queen
went home quite satisfied, and thought she had got rid of her
step-children; but the girl had not run to meet her with her brothers,
and she knew nothing of her.
The next day the King came to visit his children, but he found no one
but the girl.
‘Where are your brothers?’ asked the King.
‘Alas! dear father,’ she answered, ‘they have gone away and left me
all alone.’ And she told him that looking out of her little window she
had seen her brothers flying over the wood in the shape of swans, and
she showed him the feathers which they had let fall in the yard, and
which she had collected. The King mourned, but he did not think that
the Queen had done the wicked deed, and as he was afraid the maiden
would also be taken from him, he wanted to take her with him. But she
was afraid of the step-mother, and begged the King to let her stay
just one night more in the castle in the wood. The poor maiden
thought, ‘My home is no longer here; I will go and seek my brothers.’
And when night came she fled away into the forest. She ran all through
the night and the next day, till she could go no farther for
weariness. Then she saw a little hut, went in, and found a room with
six little beds. She was afraid to lie down on one, so she crept under
one of them, lay on the hard floor, and was going to spend the night
there. But when the sun had set she heard a noise, and saw six swans
flying in at the window. They stood on the floor and blew at one
another, and blew all their feathers off, and their swan-skin came off
like a shirt. Then the maiden recognised her brothers, and overjoyed
she crept out from under the bed. Her brothers were not less delighted
than she to see their little sister again, but their joy did not last
long.
‘You cannot stay here,’ they said to her. ‘This is a den of robbers;
if they were to come here and find you they would kill you.’
‘Could you not protect me?’ asked the little sister.
‘No,’ they answered, ‘for we can only lay aside our swan skins for a
quarter of an hour every evening. For this time we regain our human
forms, but then we are changed into swans again.’
Then the little sister cried and said, ‘Can you not be freed?’
‘Oh, no,’ they said, ‘the conditions are too hard. You must not speak
or laugh for six years, and must make in that time six shirts for us
out of star-flowers. If a single word comes out of your mouth, all
your labour is vain.’ And when the brothers had said this the quarter
of an hour came to an end, and they flew away out of the window as
swans.
But the maiden had determined to free her brothers even if it should
cost her her life. She left the hut, went into the forest, climbed a
tree, and spent the night there. The next morning she went out,
collected star-flowers, and began to sew. She could speak to no one,
and she had no wish to laugh, so she sat there, looking only at her
work.
When she had lived there some time, it happened that the King of the
country was hunting in the forest, and his hunters came to the tree on
which the maiden sat. They called to her and said ‘Who are you?’
But she gave no answer.
‘Come down to us,’ they said, ‘we will do you no harm.’
But she shook her head silently. As they pressed her further with
questions, she threw them the golden chain from her neck. But they did
not leave off, and she threw them her girdle, and when this was no
use, her garters, and then her dress. The hunts-men would not leave
her alone, but climbed the tree, lifted the maiden down, and led her
to the King. The King asked, ‘Who are you? What are you doing up that
tree?’
But she answered nothing.
[Illustration: ‘And then her dress’]
He asked her in all the languages he knew, but she remained as dumb
as a fish. Because she was so beautiful, however, the King’s heart was
touched, and he was seized with a great love for her. He wrapped her
up in his cloak, placed her before him on his horse, and brought her
to his castle. There he had her dressed in rich clothes, and her
beauty shone out as bright as day, but not a word could be drawn from
her. He set her at table by his side, and her modest ways and
behaviour pleased him so much that he said, ‘I will marry this maiden
and none other in the world,’ and after some days he married her. But
the King had a wicked mother who was displeased with the marriage, and
said wicked things of the young Queen. ‘Who knows who this girl is?’
she said; ‘she cannot speak, and is not worthy of a king.’
After a year, when the Queen had her first child, the old mother took
it away from her. Then she went to the King and said that the Queen
had killed it. The King would not believe it, and would not allow any
harm to be done her. But she sat quietly sewing at the shirts and
troubling herself about nothing. The next time she had a child the
wicked mother did the same thing, but the King could not make up his
mind to believe her. He said, ‘She is too sweet and good to do such a
thing as that. If she were not dumb and could defend herself, her
innocence would be proved.’ But when the third child was taken away,
and the Queen was again accused, and could not utter a word in her own
defence, the King was obliged to give her over to the law, which
decreed that she must be burnt to death. When the day came on which
the sentence was to be executed, it was the last day of the six years
in which she must not speak or laugh, and now she had freed her dear
brothers from the power of the enchantment. The six shirts were done;
there was only the left sleeve wanting to the last.
When she was led to the stake, she laid the shirts on her arm, and as
she stood on the pile and the fire was about to be lighted, she looked
around her and saw six swans flying through the air. Then she knew
that her release was at hand and her heart danced for joy. The swans
fluttered round her, and hovered low so that she could throw the
shirts over them. When they had touched them the swan-skins fell off,
and her brothers stood before her living, well and beautiful. Only the
youngest had a swan’s wing instead of his left arm. They embraced and
kissed each other, and the Queen went to the King, who was standing by
in great astonishment, and began to speak to him, saying, ‘Dearest
husband, now I can speak and tell you openly that I am innocent and
have been falsely accused.’
She told him of the old woman’s deceit, and how she had taken the
three children away and hidden them. Then they were fetched, to the
great joy of the King, and the wicked mother came to no good end.
But the King and the Queen with their six brothers lived many years in
happiness and peace.
[Illustration: The Six Brothers Changed Into Swans by Their Stepmother.]
_THE DRAGON OF THE NORTH_[2]
Very long ago, as old people have told me, there lived a terrible
monster, who came out of the North, and laid waste whole tracts of
country, devouring both men and beasts; and this monster was so
destructive that it was feared that unless help came no living
creature would be left on the face of the earth. It had a body like an
ox, and legs like a frog, two short fore-legs, and two long ones
behind, and besides that it had a tail like a serpent, ten fathoms in
length. When it moved it jumped like a frog, and with every spring it
covered half a mile of ground. Fortunately its habit was to remain for
several years in the same place, and not to move on till the whole
neighbourhood was eaten up. Nothing could hunt it, because its whole
body was covered with scales, which were harder than stone or metal;
its two great eyes shone by night, and even by day, like the brightest
lamps, and anyone who had the ill luck to look into those eyes became
as it were bewitched, and was obliged to rush of his own accord into
the monster’s jaws. In this way the Dragon was able to feed upon both
men and beasts without the least trouble to itself, as it needed not
to move from the spot where it was lying. All the neighbouring kings
had offered rich rewards to anyone who should be able to destroy the
monster, either by force or enchantment, and many had tried their
luck, but all had miserably failed. Once a great forest in which the
Dragon lay had been set on fire; the forest was burnt down, but the
fire did not do the monster the least harm. However, there was a
tradition amongst the wise men of the country that the Dragon might be
overcome by one who possessed King Solomon’s signet-ring, upon which a
secret writing was engraved. This inscription would enable anyone who
was wise enough to interpret it to find out how the Dragon could be
destroyed. Only no one knew where the ring was hidden, nor was there
any sorcerer or learned man to be found who would be able to explain
the inscription.
[Footnote 2: ‘Der Norlands Drache,’ from _Esthnische Mährchen_.
Kreutzwald.]
At last a young man, with a good heart and plenty of courage, set out
to search for the ring. He took his way towards the sun-rising,
because he knew that all the wisdom of old time comes from the East.
After some years he met with a famous Eastern magician, and asked for
his advice in the matter. The magician answered:
‘Mortal men have but little wisdom, and can give you no help, but the
birds of the air would be better guides to you if you could learn
their language. I can help you to understand it if you will stay with
me a few days.’
The youth thankfully accepted the magician’s offer, and said, ‘I
cannot now offer you any reward for your kindness, but should my
undertaking succeed your trouble shall be richly repaid.’
Then the magician brewed a powerful potion out of nine sorts of herbs
which he had gathered himself all alone by moonlight, and he gave the
youth nine spoonfuls of it daily for three days, which made him able
to understand the language of birds.
At parting the magician said to him, ‘If you ever find Solomon’s ring
and get possession of it, then come back to me, that I may explain the
inscription on the ring to you, for there is no one else in the world
who can do this.’
From that time the youth never felt lonely as he walked along; he
always had company, because he understood the language of birds; and
in this way he learned many things which mere human knowledge could
never have taught him. But time went on, and he heard nothing about
the ring. It happened one evening, when he was hot and tired with
walking, and had sat down under a tree in a forest to eat his supper,
that he saw two gaily-plumaged birds, that were strange to him,
sitting at the top of the tree talking to one another about him. The
first bird said:
‘I know that wandering fool under the tree there, who has come so far
without finding what he seeks. He is trying to find King Solomon’s
lost ring.’
The other bird answered, ‘He will have to seek help from the
_Witch-maiden_,[3] who will doubtless be able to put him on the right
track. If she has not got the ring herself, she knows well enough who
has it.’
[Footnote 3: Höllenmädchen.]
‘But where is he to find the Witch-maiden?’ said the first bird. ‘She
has no settled dwelling, but is here to-day and gone to-morrow. He
might as well try to catch the wind.’
The other replied, ‘I do not know, certainly, where she is at present,
but in three nights from now she will come to the spring to wash her
face, as she does every month when the moon is full, in order that she
may never grow old nor wrinkled, but may always keep the bloom of
youth.’
‘Well,’ said the first bird, ‘the spring is not far from here. Shall
we go and see how it is she does it?’
‘Willingly, if you like,’ said the other.
The youth immediately resolved to follow the birds to the spring, only
two things made him uneasy: first, lest he might be asleep when the
birds went, and secondly, lest he might lose sight of them, since he
had not wings to carry him along so swiftly. He was too tired to keep
awake all night, yet his anxiety prevented him from sleeping soundly,
and when with the earliest dawn he looked up to the tree-top, he was
glad to see his feathered companions still asleep with their heads
under their wings. He ate his breakfast, and waited until the birds
should start, but they did not leave the place all day. They hopped
about from one tree to another looking for food, all day long until
the evening, when they went back to their old perch to sleep. The next
day the same thing happened, but on the third morning one bird said to
the other, ‘To-day we must go to the spring to see the Witch-maiden
wash her face.’ They remained on the tree till noon; then they flew
away and went towards the south. The young man’s heart beat with
anxiety lest he should lose sight of his guides, but he managed to
keep the birds in view until they again perched upon a tree. The young
man ran after them until he was quite exhausted and out of breath, and
after three short rests the birds at length reached a small open space
in the forest, on the edge of which they placed themselves on the top
of a high tree. When the youth had overtaken them, he saw that there
was a clear spring in the middle of the space. He sat down at the foot
of the tree upon which the birds were perched, and listened
attentively to what they were saying to each other.
‘The sun is not down yet,’ said the first bird; ‘we must wait yet
awhile till the moon rises and the maiden comes to the spring. Do you
think she will see that young man sitting under the tree?’
‘Nothing is likely to escape her eyes, certainly not a young man,’ said
the other bird. ‘Will the youth have the sense not to let himself be
caught in her toils?’
‘We will wait,’ said the first bird, ‘and see how they get on
together.’
The evening light had quite faded, and the full moon was already
shining down upon the forest, when the young man heard a slight
rustling sound. After a few moments there came out of the forest a
maiden, gliding over the grass so lightly that her feet seemed
scarcely to touch the ground, and stood beside the spring. The youth
could not turn away his eyes from the maiden, for he had never in his
life seen a woman so beautiful. Without seeming to notice anything,
she went to the spring, looked up to the full moon, then knelt down
and bathed her face nine times, then looked up to the moon again and
walked nine times round the well, and as she walked she sang this
song:
‘Full-faced moon with light unshaded,
Let my beauty ne’er be faded.
Never let my cheek grow pale!
While the moon is waning nightly,
May the maiden bloom more brightly,
May her freshness never fail!’
Then she dried her face with her long hair, and was about to go away,
when her eye suddenly fell upon the spot where the young man was
sitting, and she turned towards the tree. The youth rose and stood
waiting. Then the maiden said, ‘You ought to have a heavy punishment
because you have presumed to watch my secret doings in the moonlight.
But I will forgive you this time, because you are a stranger and knew
no better. But you must tell me truly who you are and how you came to
this place, where no mortal has ever set foot before.’
The youth answered humbly: ‘Forgive me, beautiful maiden, if I have
unintentionally offended you. I chanced to come here after long
wandering, and found a good place to sleep under this tree. At your
coming I did not know what to do, but stayed where I was, because I
thought my silent watching could not offend you.’
The maiden answered kindly, ‘Come and spend this night with us. You
will sleep better on a pillow than on damp moss.’
[Illustration: The Witch-Maiden Sees the Young Man Under a Tree]
The youth hesitated for a little, but presently he heard the birds
saying from the top of the tree, ‘Go where she calls you, but take
care to give no blood, or you will sell your soul.’ So the youth went
with her, and soon they reached a beautiful garden, where stood a
splendid house, which glittered in the moonlight as if it was all
built out of gold and silver. When the youth entered he found many
splendid chambers, each one finer than the last. Hundreds of tapers
burnt upon golden candlesticks, and shed a light like the brightest
day. At length they reached a chamber where a table was spread with
the most costly dishes. At the table were placed two chairs, one of
silver, the other of gold. The maiden seated herself upon the golden
chair, and offered the silver one to her companion. They were served
by maidens dressed in white, whose feet made no sound as they moved
about, and not a word was spoken during the meal. Afterwards the youth
and the Witch-maiden conversed pleasantly together, until a woman,
dressed in red, came in to remind them that it was bedtime. The youth
was now shown into another room, containing a silken bed with down
cushions, where he slept delightfully, yet he seemed to hear a voice
near his bed which repeated to him, ‘Remember to give no blood!’
The next morning the maiden asked him whether he would not like to
stay with her always in this beautiful place, and as he did not answer
immediately, she continued: ‘You see how I always remain young and
beautiful, and I am under no one’s orders, but can do just what I
like, so that I have never thought of marrying before. But from the
moment I saw you I took a fancy to you, so if you agree, we might be
married and might live together like princes, because I have great
riches.’
The youth could not but be tempted with the beautiful maiden’s offer,
but he remembered how the birds had called her the witch, and their
warning always sounded in his ears. Therefore he answered cautiously,
‘Do not be angry, dear maiden, if I do not decide immediately on this
important matter. Give me a few days to consider before we come to an
understanding.’
‘Why not?’ answered the maiden. ‘Take some weeks to consider if you
like, and take counsel with your own heart.’ And to make the time pass
pleasantly, she took the youth over every part of her beautiful
dwelling, and showed him all her splendid treasures. But these
treasures were all produced by enchantment, for the maiden could make
anything she wished appear by the help of King Solomon’s signet ring;
only none of these things remained fixed; they passed away like the
wind without leaving a trace behind. But the youth did not know this;
he thought they were all real.
One day the maiden took him into a secret chamber, where a little gold
box was standing on a silver table. Pointing to the box, she said,
‘Here is my greatest treasure, whose like is not to be found in the
whole world. It is a precious gold ring. When you marry me, I will
give you this ring as a marriage gift, and it will make you the
happiest of mortal men. But in order that our love may last for ever,
you must give me for the ring three drops of blood from the little
finger of your left hand.’
When the youth heard these words a cold shudder ran over him, for he
remembered that his soul was at stake. He was cunning enough, however,
to conceal his feelings and to make no direct answer, but he only
asked the maiden, as if carelessly, what was remarkable about the
ring?
She answered, ‘No mortal is able entirely to understand the power of
this ring, because no one thoroughly understands the secret signs
engraved upon it. But even with my half-knowledge I can work great
wonders. If I put the ring upon the little finger of my left hand,
then I can fly like a bird through the air wherever I wish to go. If I
put it on the third finger of my left hand I am invisible, and I can
see everything that passes around me, though no one can see me. If I
put the ring upon the middle finger of my left hand, then neither fire
nor water nor any sharp weapon can hurt me. If I put it on the
forefinger of my left hand, then I can with its help produce whatever
I wish. I can in a single moment build houses or anything I desire.
Finally, as long as I wear the ring on the thumb of my left hand, that
hand is so strong that it can break down rocks and walls. Besides
these, the ring has other secret signs which, as I said, no one can
understand. No doubt it contains secrets of great importance. The ring
formerly belonged to King Solomon, the wisest of kings, during whose
reign the wisest men lived. But it is not known whether this ring was
ever made by mortal hands: it is supposed that an angel gave it to the
wise King.’
When the youth heard all this he determined to try and get possession
of the ring, though he did not quite believe in all its wonderful
gifts. He wished the maiden would let him have it in his hand, but he
did not quite like to ask her to do so, and after a while she put it
back into the box. A few days after they were again speaking of the
magic ring, and the youth said, ‘I do not think it possible that the
ring can have all the power you say it has.’
Then the maiden opened the box and took the ring out, and it
glittered as she held it like the clearest sunbeam. She put it on the
middle finger of her left hand, and told the youth to take a knife and
try as hard as he could to cut her with it, for he would not be able
to hurt her. He was unwilling at first, but the maiden insisted. Then
he tried, at first only in play, and then seriously, to strike her
with the knife, but an invisible wall of iron seemed to be between
them, and the maiden stood before him laughing and unhurt. Then she
put the ring on her third finger, and in an instant she had vanished
from his eyes. Presently she was beside him again laughing, and
holding the ring between her fingers.
‘Do let me try,’ said the youth, ‘whether I can do these wonderful
things.’
The maiden, suspecting no treachery, gave him the magic ring.
The youth pretended to have forgotten what to do, and asked what
finger he must put the ring on so that no sharp weapon could hurt him?
‘Oh, the middle finger of your left hand,’ the maiden answered,
laughing.
She took the knife and tried to strike the youth, and he even tried to
cut himself with it, but found it impossible. Then he asked the maiden
to show him how to split stones and rocks with the help of the ring.
So she led him into a courtyard where stood a great boulder-stone.
‘Now,’ she said, ‘put the ring upon the thumb of your left hand, and
you will see how strong that hand has become. The youth did so, and
found to his astonishment that with a single blow of his fist the
stone flew into a thousand pieces. Then the youth bethought him that
he who does not use his luck when he has it is a fool, and that this
was a chance which once lost might never return. So while they stood
laughing at the shattered stone he placed the ring, as if in play,
upon the third finger of his left hand.
‘Now,’ said the maiden, ‘you are invisible to me until you take the
ring off again.’
But the youth had no mind to do that; on the contrary, he went farther
off, then put the ring on the little finger of his left hand, and
soared into the air like a bird.
When the maiden saw him flying away she thought at first that he was
still in play, and cried, ‘Come back, friend, for now you see I have
told you the truth.’ But the young man never came back.
Then the maiden saw she was deceived, and bitterly repented that she
had ever trusted him with the ring.
The young man never halted in his flight until he reached the dwelling
of the wise magician who had taught him the speech of birds. The
magician was delighted to find that his search had been successful,
and at once set to work to interpret the secret signs engraved upon
the ring, but it took him seven weeks to make them out clearly. Then
he gave the youth the following instructions how to overcome the
Dragon of the North: ‘You must have an iron horse cast, which must
have little wheels under each foot. You must also be armed with a
spear two fathoms long, which you will be able to wield by means of
the magic ring upon your left thumb. The spear must be as thick in the
middle as a large tree, and both its ends must be sharp. In the middle
of the spear you must have two strong chains ten fathoms in length. As
soon as the Dragon has made himself fast to the spear, which you must
thrust through his jaws, you must spring quickly from the iron horse
and fasten the ends of the chains firmly to the ground with iron
stakes, so that he cannot get away from them. After two or three days
the monster’s strength will be so far exhausted that you will be able
to come near him. Then you can put Solomon’s ring upon your left thumb
and give him the finishing stroke, but keep the ring on your third
finger until you have come close to him, so that the monster cannot
see you, else he might strike you dead with his long tail. But when
all is done, take care you do not lose the ring, and that no one takes
it from you by cunning.’
[Illustration: The youth secures the dragon]
The young man thanked the magician for his directions, and promised,
should they succeed, to reward him. But the magician answered, ‘I have
profited so much by the wisdom the ring has taught me that I desire no
other reward.’ Then they parted, and the youth quickly flew home
through the air. After remaining in his own home for some weeks, he
heard people say that the terrible Dragon of the North was not far
off, and might shortly be expected in the country. The King announced
publicly that he would give his daughter in marriage, as well as a
large part of his kingdom, to whosoever should free the country from
the monster. The youth then went to the King and told him that he had
good hopes of subduing the Dragon, if the King would grant him all he
desired for the purpose. The King willingly agreed, and the iron
horse, the great spear, and the chains were all prepared as the youth
requested. When all was ready, it was found that the iron horse was so
heavy that a hundred men could not move it from the spot, so the youth
found there was nothing for it but to move it with his own strength
by means of the magic ring. The Dragon was now so near that in a
couple of springs he would be over the frontier. The youth now began
to consider how he should act, for if he had to push the iron horse
from behind he could not ride upon it as the sorcerer had said he
must. But a raven unexpectedly gave him this advice: ‘Ride upon the
horse, and push the spear against the ground, as if you were pushing
off a boat from the land.’ The youth did so, and found that in this
way he could easily move forwards. The Dragon had his monstrous jaws
wide open, all ready for his expected prey. A few paces nearer, and
man and horse would have been swallowed up by them! The youth trembled
with horror, and his blood ran cold, yet he did not lose his courage;
but, holding the iron spear upright in his hand, he brought it down
with all his might right through the monster’s lower jaw. Then quick
as lightning he sprang from his horse before the Dragon had time to
shut his mouth. A fearful clap like thunder, which could be heard for
miles around, now warned him that the Dragon’s jaws had closed upon
the spear. When the youth turned round he saw the point of the spear
sticking up high above the Dragon’s upper jaw, and knew that the other
end must be fastened firmly to the ground; but the Dragon had got his
teeth fixed in the iron horse, which was now useless. The youth now
hastened to fasten down the chains to the ground by means of the
enormous iron pegs which he had provided. The death struggle of the
monster lasted three days and three nights; in his writhing he beat
his tail so violently against the ground, that at ten miles’ distance
the earth trembled as if with an earthquake. When he at length lost
power to move his tail, the youth with the help of the ring took up a
stone which twenty ordinary men could not have moved, and beat the
Dragon so hard about the head with it that very soon the monster lay
lifeless before him.
You can fancy how great was the rejoicing when the news was spread
abroad that the terrible monster was dead. His conqueror was received
into the city with as much pomp as if he had been the mightiest of
kings. The old King did not need to urge his daughter to marry the
slayer of the Dragon; he found her already willing to bestow her hand
upon this hero, who had done all alone what whole armies had tried in
vain to do. In a few days a magnificent wedding was celebrated, at
which the rejoicings lasted four whole weeks, for all the neighbouring
kings had met together to thank the man who had freed the world from
their common enemy. But everyone forgot amid the general joy that they
ought to have buried the Dragon’s monstrous body, for it began now to
have such a bad smell that no one could live in the neighbourhood, and
before long the whole air was poisoned, and a pestilence broke out
which destroyed many hundreds of people. In this distress, the King’s
son-in-law resolved to seek help once more from the Eastern magician,
to whom he at once travelled through the air like a bird by the help
of the ring. But there is a proverb which says that ill-gotten gains
never prosper, and the Prince found that the stolen ring brought him
ill-luck after all. The Witch-maiden had never rested night nor day
until she had found out where the ring was. As soon as she had
discovered by means of magical arts that the Prince in the form of a
bird was on his way to the Eastern magician, she changed herself into
an eagle and watched in the air until the bird she was waiting for
came in sight, for she knew him at once by the ring which was hung
round his neck by a ribbon. Then the eagle pounced upon the bird, and
the moment she seized him in her talons she tore the ring from his
neck before the man in bird’s shape had time to prevent her. Then the
eagle flew down to the earth with her prey, and the two stood face to
face once more in human form.
‘Now, villain, you are in my power!’ cried the Witch-maiden. ‘I
favoured you with my love, and you repaid me with treachery and theft.
You stole my most precious jewel from me, and do you expect to live
happily as the King’s son-in-law? Now the tables are turned; you are
in my power, and I will be revenged on you for your crimes.’
‘Forgive me! forgive me!’ cried the Prince; ‘I know too well how
deeply I have wronged you, and most heartily do I repent it.’
The maiden answered, ‘Your prayers and your repentance come too late,
and if I were to spare you everyone would think me a fool. You have
doubly wronged me; first you scorned my love, and then you stole my
ring, and you must bear the punishment.’
With these words she put the ring upon her left thumb, lifted the
young man with one hand, and walked away with him under her arm. This
time she did not take him to a splendid palace, but to a deep cave in
a rock, where there were chains hanging from the wall. The maiden now
chained the young man’s hands and feet so that he could not escape;
then she said in an angry voice, ‘Here you shall remain chained up
until you die. I will bring you every day enough food to prevent you
dying of hunger, but you need never hope for freedom any more.’ With
these words she left him.
The old King and his daughter waited anxiously for many weeks for the
Prince’s return, but no news of him arrived. The King’s daughter often
dreamed that her husband was going through some great suffering; she
therefore begged her father to summon all the enchanters and
magicians, that they might try to find out where the Prince was and
how he could be set free. But the magicians, with all their arts,
could find out nothing, except that he was still living and undergoing
great suffering; but none could tell where he was to be found. At last
a celebrated magician from Finland was brought before the King, who
had found out that the King’s son-in-law was imprisoned in the East,
not by men, but by some more powerful being. The King now sent
messengers to the East to look for his son-in-law, and they by good
luck met with the old magician who had interpreted the signs on King
Solomon’s ring, and thus was possessed of more wisdom than anyone else
in the world. The magician soon found out what he wished to know, and
pointed out the place where the Prince was imprisoned, but said: ‘He
is kept there by enchantment, and cannot be set free without my help.
I will therefore go with you myself.’
So they all set out, guided by birds, and after some days came to the
cave where the unfortunate Prince had been chained up for nearly seven
years. He recognised the magician immediately, but the old man did not
know him, he had grown so thin. However, he undid the chains by the
help of magic, and took care of the Prince until he recovered and
became strong enough to travel. When he reached home he found that the
old King had died that morning, so that he was now raised to the
throne. And now after his long suffering came prosperity, which lasted
to the end of his life; but he never got back the magic ring, nor has
it ever again been seen by mortal eyes.
Now, if _you_ had been the Prince, would you not rather have stayed
with the pretty witch-maiden?
[Illustration: ‘Here You Shall Remain Chained Up Until You Die’]
_STORY OF THE EMPEROR’S NEW CLOTHES_[4]
Many years ago there lived an Emperor who was so fond of new clothes
that he spent all his money on them in order to be beautifully
dressed. He did not care about his soldiers, he did not care about the
theatre; he only liked to go out walking to show off his new clothes.
He had a coat for every hour of the day; and just as they say of a
king, ‘He is in the council-chamber,’ they always said here, ‘The
Emperor is in the wardrobe.’
In the great city in which he lived there was always something going
on; every day many strangers came there. One day two impostors arrived
who gave themselves out as weavers, and said that they knew how to
manufacture the most beautiful cloth imaginable. Not only were the
texture and pattern uncommonly beautiful, but the clothes which were
made of the stuff possessed this wonderful property that they were
invisible to anyone who was not fit for his office, or who was
unpardonably stupid.
‘Those must indeed be splendid clothes,’ thought the Emperor. ‘If I
had them on I could find out which men in my kingdom are unfit for the
offices they hold; I could distinguish the wise from the stupid! Yes,
this cloth must be woven for me at once.’ And he gave both the
impostors much money, so that they might begin their work.
They placed two weaving-looms, and began to do as if they were
working, but they had not the least thing on the looms. They also
demanded the finest silk and the best gold, which they put in their
pockets, and worked at the empty looms till late into the night.
[Footnote 4: Andersen.]
‘I should like very much to know how far they have got on with the
cloth,’ thought the Emperor. But he remembered when he thought about
it that whoever was stupid or not fit for his office would not be able
to see it. Now he certainly believed that he had nothing to fear for
himself, but he wanted first to send somebody else in order to see how
he stood with regard to his office. Everybody in the whole town knew
what a wonderful power the cloth had, and they were all curious to see
how bad or how stupid their neighbour was.
‘I will send my old and honoured minister to the weavers,’ thought the
Emperor. ‘He can judge best what the cloth is like, for he has
intellect, and no one understands his office better than he.’
Now the good old minister went into the hall where the two impostors
sat working at the empty weaving-looms. ‘Dear me!’ thought the old
minister, opening his eyes wide, ‘I can see nothing!’ But he did not
say so.
Both the impostors begged him to be so kind as to step closer, and
asked him if it were not a beautiful texture and lovely colours. They
pointed to the empty loom, and the poor old minister went forward
rubbing his eyes; but he could see nothing, for there was nothing
there.
‘Dear, dear!’ thought he, ‘can I be stupid? I have never thought that,
and nobody must know it! Can I be not fit for my office? No, I must
certainly not say that I cannot see the cloth!’
‘Have you nothing to say about it?’ asked one of the men who was
weaving.
‘Oh, it is lovely, most lovely!’ answered the old minister, looking
through his spectacles. ‘What a texture! What colours! Yes, I will
tell the Emperor that it pleases me very much.’
‘Now we are delighted at that,’ said both the weavers, and thereupon
they named the colours and explained the make of the texture.
The old minister paid great attention, so that he could tell the same
to the Emperor when he came back to him, which he did.
The impostors now wanted more money, more silk, and more gold to use
in their weaving. They put it all in their own pockets, and there came
no threads on the loom, but they went on as they had done before,
working at the empty loom. The Emperor soon sent another worthy
statesman to see how the weaving was getting on, and whether the cloth
would soon be finished. It was the same with him as the first one; he
looked and looked, but because there was nothing on the empty loom he
could see nothing.
‘Is it not a beautiful piece of cloth?’ asked the two impostors, and
they pointed to and described the splendid material which was not
there.
‘Stupid I am not!’ thought the man, ‘so it must be my good office for
which I am not fitted. It is strange, certainly, but no one must be
allowed to notice it.’ And so he praised the cloth which he did not
see, and expressed to them his delight at the beautiful colours and
the splendid texture. ‘Yes, it is quite beautiful,’ he said to the
Emperor.
Everybody in the town was talking of the magnificent cloth.
Now the Emperor wanted to see it himself while it was still on the
loom. With a great crowd of select followers, amongst whom were both
the worthy statesmen who had already been there before, he went to the
cunning impostors, who were now weaving with all their might, but
without fibre or thread.
‘Is it not splendid!’ said both the old statesmen who had already been
there. ‘See, your Majesty, what a texture! What colours!’ And then
they pointed to the empty loom, for they believed that the others
could see the cloth quite well.
‘What!’ thought the Emperor, ‘I can see nothing! This is indeed
horrible! Am I stupid? Am I not fit to be Emperor? That were the most
dreadful thing that could happen to me.’ ‘Oh, it is very beautiful,’ he
said. ‘It has my gracious approval.’ And then he nodded pleasantly,
and examined the empty loom, for he would not say that he could see
nothing.
His whole Court round him looked and looked, and saw no more than the
others; but they said like the Emperor, ‘Oh! it is beautiful!’ And
they advised him to wear these new and magnificent clothes for the
first time at the great procession which was soon to take place.
‘Splendid! Lovely! Most beautiful!’ went from mouth to mouth; everyone
seemed delighted over them, and the Emperor gave to the impostors the
title of Court weavers to the Emperor.
Throughout the whole of the night before the morning on which the
procession was to take place, the impostors were up and were working
by the light of over sixteen candles. The people could see that they
were very busy making the Emperor’s new clothes ready. They pretended
they were taking the cloth from the loom, cut with huge scissors in
the air, sewed with needles without thread, and then said at last,
‘Now the clothes are finished!’
The Emperor came himself with his most distinguished knights, and each
impostor held up his arm just as if he were holding something, and
said, ‘See! here are the breeches! Here is the coat! Here the cloak!’
and so on.
‘Spun clothes are so comfortable that one would imagine one had
nothing on at all; but that is the beauty of it!’
‘Yes,’ said all the knights, but they could see nothing, for there was
nothing there.
[Illustration: The Emperor comes to see his new clothes]
‘Will it please your Majesty graciously to take off your clothes,’
said the impostors, ‘then we will put on the new clothes, here before
the mirror.’
The Emperor took off all his clothes, and the impostors placed
themselves before him as if they were putting on each part of his new
clothes which was ready, and the Emperor turned and bent himself in
front of the mirror.
‘How beautifully they fit! How well they sit!’ said everybody. ‘What
material! What colours! It is a gorgeous suit!’
‘They are waiting outside with the canopy which your Majesty is wont
to have borne over you in the procession,’ announced the Master of the
Ceremonies.
‘Look, I am ready,’ said the Emperor. ‘Doesn’t it sit well!’ And he
turned himself again to the mirror to see if his finery was on all
right.
The chamberlains who were used to carry the train put their hands near
the floor as if they were lifting up the train; then they did as if
they were holding something in the air. They would not have it noticed
that they could see nothing.
So the Emperor went along in the procession under the splendid canopy,
and all the people in the streets and at the windows said, ‘How
matchless are the Emperor’s new clothes! That train fastened to his
dress, how beautifully it hangs!’
No one wished it to be noticed that he could see nothing, for then he
would have been unfit for his office, or else very stupid. None of the
Emperor’s clothes had met with such approval as these had.
‘But he has nothing on!’ said a little child at last.
‘Just listen to the innocent child!’ said the father, and each one
whispered to his neighbour what the child had said.
‘But he has nothing on!’ the whole of the people called out at last.
This struck the Emperor, for it seemed to him as if they were right;
but he thought to himself, ‘I must go on with the procession now.’ And
the chamberlains walked along still more uprightly, holding up the
train which was not there at all.
_THE GOLDEN CRAB_[5]
Once upon a time there was a fisherman who had a wife and three
children. Every morning he used to go out fishing, and whatever fish
he caught he sold to the King. One day, among the other fishes, he
caught a golden crab. When he came home he put all the fishes together
into a great dish, but he kept the Crab separate because it shone so
beautifully, and placed it upon a high shelf in the cupboard. Now
while the old woman, his wife, was cleaning the fish, and had tucked
up her gown so that her feet were visible, she suddenly heard a voice,
which said:
‘Let down, let down thy petticoat
That lets thy feet be seen.’
She turned round in surprise, and then she saw the little creature,
the Golden Crab.
‘What! You can speak, can you, you ridiculous crab?’ she said, for she
was not quite pleased at the Crab’s remarks. Then she took him up and
placed him on a dish.
When her husband came home and they sat down to dinner, they presently
heard the Crab’s little voice saying, ‘Give me some too.’ They were
all very much surprised, but they gave him something to eat. When the
old man came to take away the plate which had contained the Crab’s
dinner, he found it full of gold, and as the same thing happened every
day he soon became very fond of the Crab.
One day the Crab said to the fisherman’s wife, ‘Go to the King and
tell him I wish to marry his younger daughter.’
[Footnote 5: ‘Prinz Krebs,’ from _Griechische Mährchen_. Schmidt.]
The old woman went accordingly, and laid the matter before the King,
who laughed a little at the notion of his daughter marrying a crab,
but did not decline the proposal altogether, because he was a prudent
monarch, and knew that the Crab was likely to be a prince in disguise.
He said, therefore, to the fisherman’s wife, ‘Go, old woman, and tell
the Crab I will give him my daughter if by to-morrow morning he can
build a wall in front of my castle much higher than my tower, upon
which all the flowers of the world must grow and bloom.’
The fisherman’s wife went home and gave this message.
[Illustration: Let down Let Down thy Petticoat That Lets thy Feet be
Seen]
Then the Crab gave her a golden rod, and said, ‘Go and strike with
this rod three times upon the ground on the place which the King
showed you, and to-morrow morning the wall will be there.’
The old woman did so and went away again.
The next morning, when the King awoke, what do you think he saw? The
wall stood there before his eyes, exactly as he had bespoken it!
Then the old woman went back to the King and said to him, ‘Your
Majesty’s orders have been fulfilled.’
‘That is all very well,’ said the King, ‘but I cannot give away my
daughter until there stands in front of my palace a garden in which
there are three fountains, of which the first must play gold, the
second diamonds, and the third brilliants.’
[Illustration: The fisherman brings the crab on the golden cushion]
So the old woman had to strike again three times upon the ground with
the rod, and the next morning the garden was there. The King now gave
his consent, and the wedding was fixed for the very next day.
Then the Crab said to the old fisherman, ‘Now take this rod; go and
knock with it on a certain mountain; then a black man[6] will come out
and ask you what you wish for. Answer him thus: “Your master, the
King, has sent me to tell you that you must send him his golden
garment that is like the sun.” Make him give you, besides, the queenly
robes of gold and precious stones which are like the flowery meadows,
and bring them both to me. And bring me also the golden cushion.’
[Footnote 6: Ein Mohr.]
The old man went and did his errand. When he had brought the precious
robes, the Crab put on the golden garment and then crept upon the
golden cushion, and in this way the fisherman carried him to the
castle, where the Crab presented the other garment to his bride. Now
the ceremony took place, and when the married pair were alone together
the Crab made himself known to his young wife, and told her how he was
the son of the greatest king in the world, and how he was enchanted,
so that he became a crab by day and was a man only at night; and he
could also change himself into an eagle as often as he wished. No
sooner had he said this than he shook himself, and immediately became
a handsome youth, but the next morning he was forced to creep back
again into his crab-shell. And the same thing happened every day. But
the Princess’s affection for the Crab, and the polite attention with
which she behaved to him, surprised the royal family very much. They
suspected some secret, but though they spied and spied, they could not
discover it. Thus a year passed away, and the Princess had a son, whom
she called Benjamin. But her mother still thought the whole matter
very strange. At last she said to the King that he ought to ask his
daughter whether she would not like to have another husband instead of
the Crab? But when the daughter was questioned she only answered:
‘I am married to the Crab, and him only will I have.’
Then the King said to her, ‘I will appoint a tournament in your
honour, and I will invite all the princes in the world to it, and if
any one of them pleases you, you shall marry him.’
In the evening the Princess told this to the Crab, who said to her,
‘Take this rod, go to the garden gate and knock with it, then a black
man will come out and say to you, “Why have you called me, and what do
you require of me?” Answer him thus: “Your master the King has sent me
hither to tell you to send him his golden armour and his steed and the
silver apple.” And bring them to me.’
The Princess did so, and brought him what he desired.
The following evening the Prince dressed himself for the tournament.
Before he went he said to his wife, ‘Now mind you do not say when you
see me that I am the Crab. For if you do this evil will come of it.
Place yourself at the window with your sisters; I will ride by and
throw you the silver apple. Take it in your hand, but if they ask you
who I am, say that you do not know.’ So saying, he kissed her,
repeated his warning once more, and went away.
The Princess went with her sisters to the window and looked on at the
tournament. Presently her husband rode by and threw the apple up to
her. She caught it in her hand and went with it to her room, and
by-and-by her husband came back to her. But her father was much
surprised that she did not seem to care about any of the Princes; he
therefore appointed a second tournament.
The Crab then gave his wife the same directions as before, only this
time the apple which she received from the black man was of gold. But
before the Prince went to the tournament he said to his wife, ‘Now I
know you will betray me to-day.’
But she swore to him that she would not tell who he was. He then
repeated his warning and went away.
In the evening, while the Princess, with her mother and sisters, was
standing at the window, the Prince suddenly galloped past on his steed
and threw her the golden apple.
Then her mother flew into a passion, gave her a box on the ear, and
cried out, ‘Does not even that prince please you, you fool?’
The Princess in her fright exclaimed, ‘That is the Crab himself!’
Her mother was still more angry because she had not been told sooner,
ran into her daughter’s room where the crab-shell was still lying,
took it up and threw it into the fire. Then the poor Princess cried
bitterly, but it was of no use; her husband did not come back.
Now we must leave the Princess and turn to the other persons in the
story. One day an old man went to a stream to dip in a crust of bread
which he was going to eat, when a dog came out of the water, snatched
the bread from his hand, and ran away. The old man ran after him, but
the dog reached a door, pushed it open, and ran in, the old man
following him. He did not overtake the dog, but found himself above a
staircase, which he descended. Then he saw before him a stately
palace, and, entering, he found in a large hall a table set for twelve
persons. He hid himself in the hall behind a great picture, that he
might see what would happen. At noon he heard a great noise, so that
he trembled with fear. When he took courage to look out from behind
the picture, he saw twelve eagles flying in. At this sight his fear
became still greater. The eagles flew to the basin of a fountain that
was there and bathed themselves, when suddenly they were changed into
twelve handsome youths. Now they seated themselves at the table, and
one of them took up a goblet filled with wine, and said, ‘A health to
my father!’ And another said, ‘A health to my mother!’ and so the
healths went round. Then one of them said:
‘A health to my dearest lady,
Long may she live and well!
But a curse on the cruel mother
That burnt my golden shell!’
[Illustration: The Prince Throws the Apple To the Princess]
And so saying he wept bitterly. Then the youths rose from the table,
went back to the great stone fountain, turned themselves into eagles
again, and flew away.
Then the old man went away too, returned to the light of day, and went
home. Soon after he heard that the Princess was ill, and that the only
thing that did her good was having stories told to her. He therefore
went to the royal castle, obtained an audience of the Princess, and
told her about the strange things he had seen in the underground
palace. No sooner had he finished than the Princess asked him whether
he could find the way to that palace.
‘Yes,’ he answered, ‘certainly.’
And now she desired him to guide her thither at once. The old man did
so, and when they came to the palace he hid her behind the great
picture and advised her to keep quite still, and he placed himself
behind the picture also. Presently the eagles came flying in, and
changed themselves into young men, and in a moment the Princess
recognised her husband amongst them all, and tried to come out of her
hiding-place; but the old man held her back. The youths seated
themselves at the table; and now the Prince said again, while he took
up the cup of wine:
‘A health to my dearest lady,
Long may she live and well!
But a curse on the cruel mother
That burnt my golden shell!’
Then the Princess could restrain herself no longer, but ran forward
and threw her arms round her husband. And immediately he knew her
again, and said:
‘Do you remember how I told you that day that you would betray me? Now
you see that I spoke the truth. But all that bad time is past. Now
listen to me: I must still remain enchanted for three months. Will you
stay here with me till that time is over?’
So the Princess stayed with him, and said to the old man, ‘Go back to
the castle and tell my parents that I am staying here.’
Her parents were very much vexed when the old man came back and told
them this, but as soon as the three months of the Prince’s enchantment
were over, he ceased to be an eagle and became once more a man, and
they returned home together. And then they lived happily, and we who
hear the story are happier still.
_THE IRON STOVE_[7]
Once upon a time when wishes came true there was a king’s son who was
enchanted by an old witch, so that he was obliged to sit in a large
iron stove in a wood. There he lived for many years, and no one could
free him. At last a king’s daughter came into the wood; she had lost
her way, and could not find her father’s kingdom again. She had been
wandering round and round for nine days, and she came at last to the
iron case. A voice came from within and asked her, ‘Where do you come
from, and where do you want to go?’ She answered, ‘I have lost my way
to my father’s kingdom, and I shall never get home again.’ Then the
voice from the iron stove said, ‘I will help you to find your home
again, and that in a very short time, if you will promise to do what I
ask you. I am a greater prince than you are a princess, and I will
marry you.’ Then she grew frightened, and thought, ‘What can a young
lassie do with an iron stove?’ But as she wanted very much to go home
to her father, she promised to do what he wished. He said, ‘You must
come again, and bring a knife with you to scrape a hole in the iron.’
[Footnote 7: Grimm.]
Then he gave her someone for a guide, who walked near her and said
nothing, but he brought her in two hours to her house. There was great
joy in the castle when the Princess came back, and the old King fell
on her neck and kissed her. But she was very much troubled, and said,
‘Dear father, listen to what has befallen me! I should never have come
home again out of the great wild wood if I had not come to an iron
stove, to whom I have had to promise that I will go back to free him
and marry him!’ The old King was so frightened that he nearly fainted,
for she was his only daughter. So they consulted together, and
determined that the miller’s daughter, who was very beautiful, should
take her place. They took her there, gave her a knife, and said she
must scrape at the iron stove. She scraped for twenty-four hours, but
did not make the least impression. When the day broke, a voice called
from the iron stove, ‘It seems to me that it is day outside.’ Then she
answered, ‘It seems so to me; I think I hear my father’s mill
rattling.’
[Illustration: You Are Mine & I Am Thine—The Iron Stove]
‘So you are a miller’s daughter! Then go away at once, and tell the
King’s daughter to come.’
Then she went away, and told the old King that the thing inside the
iron stove would not have her, but wanted the Princess. The old King
was frightened, and his daughter wept. But they had a swineherd’s
daughter who was even more beautiful than the miller’s daughter, and
they gave her a piece of gold to go to the iron stove instead of the
Princess. Then she was taken out, and had to scrape for
four-and-twenty hours, but she could make no impression. As soon as
the day broke the voice from the stove called out, ‘It seems to be
daylight outside.’ Then she answered, ‘It seems so to me too; I think
I hear my father blowing his horn.’ ‘So you are a swineherd’s
daughter! Go away at once, and let the King’s daughter come. And say
to her that what I foretell shall come to pass, and if she does not
come everything in the kingdom shall fall into ruin, and not one stone
shall be left upon another.’ When the Princess heard this she began to
cry, but it was no good; she had to keep her word. She took leave of
her father, put a knife in her belt, and went to the iron stove in the
wood. As soon as she reached it she began to scrape, and the iron gave
way and before two hours had passed she had made a little hole. Then
she peeped in and saw such a beautiful youth all shining with gold and
precious stones that she fell in love with him on the spot. So she
scraped away harder than ever, and made the hole so large that he
could get out. Then he said, ‘You are mine, and I am thine; you are my
bride and have set me free!’ He wanted to take her with him to his
kingdom, but she begged him just to let her go once more to her
father; and the Prince let her go, but told her not to say more than
three words to her father, then to come back again. So she went home,
but alas! she said _more than three words_; and immediately the iron
stove vanished and went away over a mountain of glass and sharp
swords. But the Prince was free, and was no longer shut up in it. Then
she said good-bye to her father, and took a little money with her, and
went again into the great wood to look for the iron stove; but she
could not find it. She sought it for nine days, and then her hunger
became so great that she did not know how she could live any longer.
And when it was evening she climbed a little tree and wished that the
night would not come, because she was afraid of the wild beasts. When
midnight came she saw afar off a little light, and thought, ‘Ah! if
only I could reach that!’ Then she got down from the tree and went
towards the light. She came to a little old house with a great deal of
grass growing round, and stood in front of a little heap of wood. She
thought, ‘Alas! what am I coming to?’ and peeped through the window;
but she saw nothing inside except big and little toads, and a table
beautifully spread with roast meats and wine, and all the dishes and
drinking-cups were of silver. Then she took heart and knocked. Then a
fat toad called out:
‘Little green toad with leg like crook,
Open wide the door, and look
Who it was the latch that shook.’
And a little toad came forward and let her in. When she entered they
all bid her welcome, and made her sit down. They asked her how she
came there and what she wanted. Then she told everything that had
happened to her, and how, because she had exceeded her permission only
to speak three words, the stove had disappeared with the Prince; and
how she had searched a very long time, and must wander over mountain
and valley till she found him.
Then the old toad said:
‘Little green toad whose leg doth twist,
Go to the corner of which you wist,
And bring to me the large old kist.’
And the little toad went and brought out a great chest. Then they gave
her food and drink, and led her to a beautifully made bed of silk and
samite, on which she lay down and slept soundly. When the day dawned
she arose, and the old toad gave her three things out of the huge
chest to take with her. She would have need of them, for she had to
cross a high glass mountain, three cutting swords, and a great lake.
When she had passed these she would find her lover again. So she was
given three large needles, a plough-wheel, and three nuts, which she
was to take great care of. She set out with these things, and when she
came to the glass mountain which was so slippery she stuck the three
needles behind her feet and then in front, and so got over it, and
when she was on the other side put them carefully away.
Then she reached the three cutting swords, and got on her plough-wheel
and rolled over them. At last she came to a great lake, and, when she
had crossed that, arrived at a beautiful castle. She went in and gave
herself out as a servant, a poor maid who would gladly be engaged. But
she knew that the Prince whom she had freed from the iron stove in the
great wood was in the castle. So she was taken on as a kitchenmaid for
very small wages. Now the Prince was about to marry another princess,
for he thought she was dead long ago.
[Illustration: ‘Then she reached the three cutting swords, and got on
her plough-wheel and rolled over them’]
In the evening, when she had washed up and was ready, she felt in her
pocket and found the three nuts which the old toad had given her. She
cracked one and was going to eat the kernel, when behold! there was a
beautiful royal dress inside it! When the bride heard of this, she
came and begged for the dress, and wanted to buy it, saying that it
was not a dress for a serving-maid. Then she said she would not sell
it unless she was granted one favour—namely, to sleep by the Prince’s
door. The bride granted her this, because the dress was so beautiful
and she had so few like it. When it was evening she said to her
bridegroom, ‘That stupid maid wants to sleep by your door.’
‘If you are contented, I am,’ he said. But she gave him a glass of
wine in which she had poured a sleeping-draught. Then they both went
to his room, but he slept so soundly that she could not wake him. The
maid wept all night long, and said, ‘I freed you in the wild wood out
of the iron stove; I have sought you, and have crossed a glassy
mountain, three sharp swords, and a great lake before I found you, and
will you not hear me now?’ The servants outside heard how she cried
the whole night, and they told their master in the morning.
When she had washed up the next evening she bit the second nut, and
there was a still more beautiful dress inside. When the bride saw it
she wanted to buy it also. But the maid did not want money, and asked
that she should sleep again by the Prince’s door. The bride, however,
gave him a sleeping-draught, and he slept so soundly that he heard
nothing. But the kitchenmaid wept the whole night long, and said, ‘I
have freed you in a wood and from an iron stove; I sought you and have
crossed a glassy mountain, three sharp swords, and a great lake to
find you, and now you will not hear me!’ The servants outside heard
how she cried the whole night, and in the morning they told their
master. And when she had washed up on the third night she bit the
third nut, and there was a still more beautiful dress inside that was
made of pure gold. When the bride saw it she wanted to have it, but
the maid would only give it her on condition that she should sleep for
the third time by the Prince’s door. But the Prince took care not to
drink the sleeping-draught. When she began to weep and to say,
‘Dearest sweetheart, I freed you in the horrible wild wood, and from
an iron stove,’ he jumped up and said, ‘You are right. You are mine,
and I am thine.’ Though it was still night, he got into a carriage
with her, and they took the false bride’s clothes away, so that she
could not follow them. When they came to the great lake they rowed
across, and when they reached the three sharp swords they sat on the
plough-wheel, and on the glassy mountain they stuck the three needles
in. So they arrived at last at the little old house, but when they
stepped inside it turned into a large castle. The toads were all
freed, and were beautiful King’s children, running about for joy.
There they were married, and they remained in the castle, which was
much larger than that of the Princess’s father’s. But because the old
man did not like being left alone, they went and fetched him. So they
had two kingdoms and lived in great wealth.
A mouse has run,
My story’s done.
_THE DRAGON AND HIS GRANDMOTHER_
There was once a great war, and the King had a great many soldiers,
but he gave them so little pay that they could not live upon it. Then
three of them took counsel together and determined to desert.
One of them said to the others, ‘If we are caught, we shall be hanged
on the gallows; how shall we set about it?’ The other said, ‘Do you
see that large cornfield there? If we were to hide ourselves in that,
no one could find us. The army cannot come into it, and to-morrow it
is to march on.’
They crept into the corn, but the army did not march on, but remained
encamped close around them. They sat for two days and two nights in
the corn, and grew so hungry that they nearly died; but if they were
to venture out, it was certain death.
They said at last, ‘What use was it our deserting? We must perish here
miserably.’
Whilst they were speaking a fiery dragon came flying through the air.
It hovered near them, and asked why they were hidden there. They
answered, ‘We are three soldiers, and have deserted because our pay
was so small. Now if we remain here we shall die of hunger, and if we
move out we shall be strung up on the gallows.’ ‘If you will serve me
for seven years,’ said the dragon, I will lead you through the midst
of the army so that no one shall catch you.’ ‘We have no choice, and
must take your offer,’ said they. Then the dragon seized them in his
claws, took them through the air over the army, and set them down on
the earth a long way from it.
He gave them a little whip, saying, ‘Whip and slash with this, and as
much money as you want will jump up before you. You can then live as
great lords, keep horses, and drive about in carriages. But after
seven years you are mine.’ Then he put a book before them, which he
made all three of them sign. ‘I will then give you a riddle,’ he said;
‘if you guess it, you shall be free and out of my power.’ The dragon
then flew away, and they journeyed on with their little whip. They had
as much money as they wanted, wore grand clothes, and made their way
into the world. Wherever they went they lived in merrymaking and
splendour, drove about with horses and carriages, ate and drank, but
did nothing wrong.
[Illustration: The Dragon carries off the three soldiers]
The time passed quickly away, and when the seven years were nearly
ended two of them grew terribly anxious and frightened, but the third
made light of it, saying, ‘Don’t be afraid, brothers, I wasn’t born
yesterday; I will guess the riddle.’
They went into a field, sat down, and the two pulled long faces. An
old woman passed by, and asked them why they were so sad. ‘Alas! what
have you to do with it? You cannot help us.’ ‘Who knows?’ she
answered. ‘Only confide your trouble in me.’
Then they told her that they had become the servants of the Dragon for
seven long years, and how he had given them money as plentifully as
blackberries; but as they had signed their names they were his, unless
when the seven years had passed they could guess a riddle. The old
woman said, ‘If you would help yourselves, one of you must go into the
wood, and there he will come upon a tumble-down building of rocks
which looks like a little house. He must go in, and there he will find
help.’
The two melancholy ones thought, ‘That won’t save us!’ and they
remained where they were. But the third and merry one jumped up and
went into the wood till he found the rock hut. In the hut sat a very
old woman, who was the Dragon’s grandmother. She asked him how he
came, and what was his business there. He told her all that happened,
and because she was pleased with him she took compassion on him, and
said she would help him.
She lifted up a large stone which lay over the cellar, saying, ‘Hide
yourself there; you can hear all that is spoken in this room. Only sit
still and don’t stir. When the Dragon comes, I will ask him what the
riddle is, for he tells me everything; then listen carefully what he
answers.’
At midnight the Dragon flew in, and asked for his supper. His
grandmother laid the table, and brought out food and drink till he was
satisfied, and they ate and drank together. Then in the course of the
conversation she asked him what he had done in the day, and how many
souls he had conquered.
‘I haven’t had much luck to-day,’ he said, ‘but I have a tight hold on
three soldiers.’
‘Indeed! three soldiers!’ said she. ‘Who cannot escape you?’
‘They are mine,’ answered the Dragon scornfully, ‘for I shall only
give them one riddle which they will never be able to guess.’
‘What sort of a riddle is it?’ she asked.
‘I will tell you this. In the North Sea lies a dead sea-cat—that
shall be their roast meat; and the rib of a whale—that shall be their
silver spoon; and the hollow foot of a dead horse—that shall be their
wineglass.’
When the Dragon had gone to bed, his old grandmother pulled up the
stone and let out the soldier.
‘Did you pay attention to everything?’
‘Yes,’ he replied, ‘I know enough, and can help myself splendidly.’
Then he went by another way through the window secretly, and in all
haste back to his comrades. He told them how the Dragon had been
outwitted by his grandmother, and how he had heard from his own lips
the answer to the riddle.
Then they were all delighted and in high spirits, took out their whip,
and cracked so much money that it came jumping up from the ground.
When the seven years had quite gone, the Fiend came with his book,
and, pointing at the signatures, said, ‘I will take you underground
with me; you shall have a meal there. If you can tell me what you will
get for your roast meat, you shall be free, and shall also keep the
whip.’
Then said the first soldier, ‘In the North Sea lies a dead sea-cat;
that shall be the roast meat.’
The Dragon was much annoyed, and hummed and hawed a good deal, and
asked the second, ‘But what shall be your spoon?’
‘The rib of a whale shall be our silver spoon.’
The Dragon made a face, and growled again three times, ‘Hum, hum,
hum,’ and said to the third, ‘Do you know what your wineglass shall
be?’
‘An old horse’s hoof shall be our wineglass.’
Then the Dragon flew away with a loud shriek, and had no more power
over them. But the three soldiers took the little whip, whipped as
much money as they wanted, and lived happily to their lives’ end.
[Illustration: The Fiend defeated]
_THE DONKEY CABBAGE_
There was once a young Hunter who went boldly into the forest. He had
a merry and light heart, and as he went whistling along there came an
ugly old woman, who said to him, ‘Good-day, dear hunter! You are very
merry and contented, but I suffer hunger and thirst, so give me a
trifle.’ The Hunter was sorry for the poor old woman, and he felt in
his pocket and gave her all he could spare. He was going on then, but
the old woman stopped him and said, ‘Listen, dear hunter, to what I
say. Because of your kind heart I will make you a present. Go on your
way, and in a short time you will come to a tree on which sit nine
birds who have a cloak in their claws and are quarrelling over it.
Then take aim with your gun and shoot in the middle of them; they will
let the cloak fall, but one of the birds will be hit and will drop
down dead. Take the cloak with you; it is a wishing-cloak, and when
you throw it on your shoulders you have only to wish yourself at a
certain place, and in the twinkling of an eye you are there. Take the
heart out of the dead bird and swallow it whole, and early every
morning when you get up you will find a gold piece under your pillow.’
The Hunter thanked the wise woman, and thought to himself ‘These are
splendid things she has promised me, if only they come to pass!’ So he
walked on about a hundred yards, and then he heard above him in the
branches such a screaming and chirping that he looked up, and there he
saw a heap of birds tearing a cloth with their beaks and feet,
shrieking, tugging, and fighting, as if each wanted it for himself.
‘Well,’ said the Hunter, ‘this is wonderful! It is just as the old
woman said’; and he took his gun on his shoulder, pulled the trigger,
and shot into the midst of them, so that their feathers flew about.
Then the flock took flight with much screaming, but one fell dead, and
the cloak fluttered down. Then the Hunter did as the old woman had
told him: he cut open the bird, found its heart, swallowed it, and
took the cloak home with him. The next morning when he awoke he
remembered the promise, and wanted to see if it had come true. But
when he lifted up his pillow, there sparkled the gold piece, and the
next morning he found another, and so on every time he got up. He
collected a heap of gold, but at last he thought to himself, ‘What
good is all my gold to me if I stay at home? I will travel and look a
bit about me in the world.’ So he took leave of his parents, slung his
hunting knapsack and his gun round him, and journeyed into the world.
It happened that one day he went through a thick wood, and when he
came to the end of it there lay in the plain before him a large
castle. At one of the windows in it stood an old woman with a most
beautiful maiden by her side, looking out. But the old woman was a
witch, and she said to the girl, ‘There comes one out of the wood who
has a wonderful treasure in his body which we must manage to possess
ourselves of, darling daughter; we have more right to it than he. He
has a bird’s heart in him, and so every morning there lies a gold
piece under his pillow.’
She told her how they could get hold of it, and how she was to coax it
from him, and at last threatened her angrily, saying, ‘And if you do
not obey me, you shall repent it!’
When the Hunter came nearer he saw the maiden, and said to himself, ‘I
have travelled so far now that I will rest, and turn into this
beautiful castle; money I have in plenty.’ But the real reason was
that he had caught sight of the lovely face.
He went into the house, and was kindly received and hospitably
entertained. It was not long before he was so much in love with the
witch-maiden that he thought of nothing else, and only looked in her
eyes, and whatever she wanted, that he gladly did. Then the old witch
said, ‘Now we must have the bird-heart; he will not feel when it is
gone.’ She prepared a drink, and when it was ready she poured it in a
goblet and gave it to the maiden, who had to hand it to the hunter.
‘Drink to me now, my dearest,’ she said. Then he took the goblet, and
when he had swallowed the drink the bird-heart came out of his mouth.
The maiden had to get hold of it secretly and then swallow it herself,
for the old witch wanted to have it. Thenceforward he found no more
gold under his pillow, and it lay under the maiden’s; but he was so
much in love and so much bewitched that he thought of nothing except
spending all his time with the maiden.
Then the old witch said, ‘We have the bird-heart, but we must also get
the wishing-cloak from him.’
The maiden answered, ‘We will leave him that; he has already lost his
wealth!’
The old witch grew angry, and said, ‘Such a cloak is a wonderful
thing, it is seldom to be had in the world, and have it I must and
will.’ She beat the maiden, and said that if she did not obey it would
go ill with her.
[Illustration: The Maiden Obtains the Bird-Heart]
So she did her mother’s bidding, and, standing one day by the window,
she looked away into the far distance as if she were very sad.
‘Why are you standing there looking so sad?’ asked the Hunter.
‘Alas, my love,’ she replied, ‘over there lies the granite mountain
where the costly precious stones grow. I have a great longing to go
there, so that when I think of it I am very sad. For who can fetch
them? Only the birds who fly; a man, never.’
‘If you have no other trouble,’ said the Hunter, ‘that one I can
easily remove from your heart.’
So he wrapped her round in his cloak and wished themselves to the
granite mountain, and in an instant there they were, sitting on it!
The precious stones sparkled so brightly on all sides that it was a
pleasure to see them, and they collected the most beautiful and costly
together. But now the old witch had through her witchcraft caused the
Hunter’s eyes to become heavy.
He said to the maiden, ‘We will sit down for a little while and rest;
I am so tired that I can hardly stand on my feet.’
So they sat down, and he laid his head on her lap and fell asleep. As
soon as he was sound asleep she unfastened the cloak from his
shoulders, threw it on her own, left the granite and stones, and
wished herself home again.
But when the Hunter had finished his sleep and awoke, he found that
his love had betrayed him and left him alone on the wild mountain.
‘Oh,’ said he, ‘why is faithlessness so great in the world?’ and he
sat down in sorrow and trouble, not knowing what to do.
But the mountain belonged to fierce and huge giants, who lived on it
and traded there, and he had not sat long before he saw three of them
striding towards him. So he lay down as if he had fallen into a deep
sleep.
The giants came up, and the first pushed him with his foot, and said,
‘What sort of an earthworm is that?’
The second said, ‘Crush him dead.’
But the third said contemptuously, ‘It is not worth the trouble! Let
him live; he cannot remain here, and if he goes higher up the mountain
the clouds will take him and carry him off.’
Talking thus they went away. But the Hunter had listened to their
talk, and as soon as they had gone he rose and climbed to the summit.
When he had sat there a little while a cloud swept by, and, seizing
him, carried him away. It travelled for a time in the sky, and then it
sank down and hovered over a large vegetable garden surrounded by
walls, so that he came safely to the ground amidst cabbages and
vegetables. The Hunter then looked about him, saying, ‘If only I had
something to eat! I am so hungry, and it will go badly with me in the
future, for I see here not an apple or pear or fruit of any
kind—nothing but vegetables everywhere.’ At last he thought, ‘At a
pinch I can eat a salad; it does not taste particularly nice, but it
will refresh me.’ So he looked about for a good head and ate it, but
no sooner had he swallowed a couple of mouthfuls than he felt very
strange, and found himself wonderfully changed. Four legs began to
grow on him, a thick head, and two long ears, and he saw with horror
that he had changed into a donkey. But as he was still very hungry and
this juicy salad tasted very good to his present nature, he went on
eating with a still greater appetite. At last he got hold of another
kind of cabbage, but scarcely had swallowed it when he felt another
change, and he once more regained his human form.
[Illustration: The hunter is transformed into a donkey]
The Hunter now lay down and slept off his weariness. When he awoke the
next morning he broke off a head of the bad and a head of the good
cabbage, thinking, ‘This will help me to regain my own, and to punish
faithlessness.’ Then he put the heads in his pockets, climbed the
wall, and started off to seek the castle of his love. When he had
wandered about for a couple of days he found it quite easily. He then
browned his face quickly, so that his own mother would not have known
him, and went into the castle, where he begged for a lodging.
‘I am so tired,’ he said, ‘I can go no farther.’
The witch asked, ‘Countryman, who are you, and what is your business?’
He answered, ‘I am a messenger of the King, and have been sent to seek
the finest salad that grows under the sun. I have been so lucky as to
find it, and am bringing it with me; but the heat of the sun is so
great that the tender cabbage threatens to grow soft, and I do not
know if I shall be able to bring it any farther.’
When the old witch heard of the fine salad she wanted to eat it, and
said, ‘Dear countryman, just let me taste the wonderful salad.’
‘Why not?’ he answered; ‘I have brought two heads with me, and will
give you one.’
So saying, he opened his sack and gave her the bad one. The witch
suspected no evil, and her mouth watered to taste the new dish, so
that she went into the kitchen to prepare it herself. When it was
ready she could not wait till it was served at the table, but she
immediately took a couple of leaves and put them in her mouth. No
sooner, however, had she swallowed them than she lost human form, and
ran into the courtyard in the shape of a donkey.
Now the servant came into the kitchen, and when she saw the salad
standing there ready cooked she was about to carry it up, but on the
way, according to her old habit, she tasted it and ate a couple of
leaves. Immediately the charm worked, and she became a donkey, and ran
out to join the old witch, and the dish with the salad in it fell to
the ground. In the meantime, the messenger was sitting with the lovely
maiden, and as no one came with the salad, and she wanted very much to
taste it, she said, ‘I don’t know where the salad is.’
Then thought the Hunter, ‘The cabbage must have already begun to
work.’ And he said, ‘I will go to the kitchen and fetch it myself.’
When he came there he saw the two donkeys running about in the
courtyard, but the salad was lying on the ground.
‘That’s all right,’ said he; ‘two have had their share!’ And lifting
the remaining leaves up, he laid them on the dish and brought them to
the maiden.
‘I am bringing you the delicious food my own self,’ he said, ‘so that
you need not wait any longer.’
Then she ate, and, as the others had done, she at once lost her human
form, and ran as a donkey into the yard.
When the Hunter had washed his face, so that the changed ones might
know him, he went into the yard, saying, ‘Now you shall receive a
reward for your faithlessness.’
He tied them all three with a rope, and drove them away till he came
to a mill. He knocked at the window, and the miller put his head out
and asked what he wanted.
‘I have three tiresome animals,’ he answered, ‘which I don’t want to
keep any longer. If you will take them, give them food and stabling,
and do as I tell you with them, I will pay you as much as you want.’
[Illustration: The Young Man Gives the Donkeys to the Miller]
The miller replied, ‘Why not? What shall I do with them?’
Then the Hunter said that to the old donkey, which was the witch,
three beatings and one meal; to the younger one, which was the
servant, one beating and three meals; and to the youngest one, which
was the maiden, no beating and three meals; for he could not find it
in his heart to let the maiden be beaten.
Then he went back into the castle, and he found there all that he
wanted. After a couple of days the miller came and said that he must
tell him that the old donkey which was to have three beatings and only
one meal had died. ‘The two others,’ he added, ‘are certainly not
dead, and get their three meals every day, but they are so sad that
they cannot last much longer.’
Then the Hunter took pity on them, laid aside his anger, and told the
miller to drive them back again. And when they came he gave them some
of the good cabbage to eat, so that they became human again. Then the
beautiful maiden fell on her knees before him, saying, ‘Oh, my
dearest, forgive me the ill I have done you! My mother compelled me to
do it; it was against my will, for I love you dearly. Your
wishing-cloak is hanging in a cupboard, and as for the bird-heart I
will make a drink and give it back to you.’
But he changed his mind, and said, ‘Keep it; it makes no difference,
for I will take you to be my own dear true wife.’
And the wedding was celebrated, and they lived happy together till
death.
_THE LITTLE GREEN FROG_[8]
In a part of the world whose name I forget lived once upon a time two
kings, called Peridor and Diamantino. They were cousins as well as
neighbours, and both were under the protection of the fairies; though
it is only fair to say that the fairies did not love them half so well
as their wives did.
Now it often happens that as princes can generally manage to get their
own way it is harder for them to be good than it is for common people.
So it was with Peridor and Diamantino; but of the two, the fairies
declared that Diamantino was much the worst; indeed, he behaved so
badly to his wife Aglantino, that the fairies would not allow him to
live any longer; and he died, leaving behind him a little daughter. As
she was an only child, of course this little girl was the heiress of
the kingdom, but, being still only a baby, her mother, the widow of
Diamantino, was proclaimed regent. The Queen-dowager was wise and
good, and tried her best to make her people happy. The only thing she
had to vex her was the absence of her daughter; for the fairies, for
reasons of their own, determined to bring up the little Princess
Serpentine among themselves.
As to the other King, he was really fond of his wife, Queen Constance,
but he often grieved her by his thoughtless ways, and in order to
punish him for his carelessness, the fairies caused her to die quite
suddenly. When she was gone the King felt how much he had loved her,
and his grief was so great (though he never neglected his duties) that
his subjects called him Peridor the Sorrowful. It seems hardly
possible that any man should live like Peridor for fifteen years
plunged in such depth of grief, and most likely he would have died too
if it had not been for the fairies.
[Footnote 8: Cabinet des Fées.]
The one comfort the poor King had was his son, Prince Saphir, who was
only three years old at the time of his mother’s death, and great care
was given to his education. By the time he was fifteen Saphir had
learnt everything that a prince should know, and he was, besides,
charming and agreeable.
[Illustration: The prince looks into the magic mirror]
It was about this time that the fairies suddenly took fright lest his
love for his father should interfere with the plans they had made for
the young prince. So, to prevent this, they placed in a pretty little
room of which Saphir was very fond a little mirror in a black frame,
such as were often brought from Venice. The Prince did not notice for
some days that there was anything new in the room, but at last he
perceived it, and went up to look at it more closely. What was his
surprise to see reflected in the mirror, not his own face, but that of
a young girl as lovely as the morning! And, better still, every
movement of the girl, just growing out of childhood, was also
reflected in the wonderful glass.
As might have been expected, the young Prince lost his heart
completely to the beautiful image, and it was impossible to get him
out of the room, so busy was he in watching the lovely unknown.
Certainly it was very delightful to be able to see her whom he loved
at any moment he chose, but his spirits sometimes sank when he
wondered what was to be the end of this adventure.
The magic mirror had been for about a year in the Prince’s possession,
when one day a new subject of disquiet seized upon him. As usual, he
was engaged in looking at the girl, when suddenly he thought he saw a
second mirror reflected in the first, exactly like his own, and with
the same power. And in this he was perfectly right. The young girl had
only possessed it for a short time, and neglected all her duties for
the sake of the mirror. Now it was not difficult for Saphir to guess
the reason of the change in her, nor why the new mirror was consulted
so often; but try as he would he could never see the face of the
person who was reflected in it, for the young girl’s figure always
came between. All he knew was that the face was that of a man, and
this was quite enough to make him madly jealous. This was the doing of
the fairies, and we must suppose that they had their reasons for
acting as they did.
When these things happened Saphir was about eighteen years old, and
fifteen years had passed away since the death of his mother. King
Peridor had grown more and more unhappy as time went on, and at last
he fell so ill that it seemed as if his days were numbered. He was so
much beloved by his subjects that this sad news was heard with despair
by the nation, and more than all by the Prince.
During his whole illness the King never spoke of anything but the
Queen, his sorrow at having grieved her, and his hope of one day
seeing her again. All the doctors and all the water-cures in the
kingdom had been tried, and nothing would do him any good. At last he
persuaded them to let him lie quietly in his room, where no one came
to trouble him.
Perhaps the worst pain he had to bear was a sort of weight on his
chest, which made it very hard for him to breathe. So he commanded his
servants to leave the windows open in order that he might get more
air. One day, when he had been left alone for a few minutes, a bird
with brilliant plumage came and fluttered round the window, and
finally rested on the sill. His feathers were sky-blue and gold, his
feet and his beak of such glittering rubies that no one could bear to
look at them, his eyes made the brightest diamonds look dull, and on
his head he wore a crown. I cannot tell you what the crown was made
of, but I am quite certain that it was still more splendid than all
the rest. As to his voice I can say nothing about that, for the bird
never sang at all. In fact, he did nothing but gaze steadily at the
King, and as he gazed, the King felt his strength come back to him. In
a little while the bird flew into the room, still with his eyes fixed
on the King, and at every glance the strength of the sick man became
greater, till he was once more as well as he used to be before the
Queen died. Filled with joy at his cure, he tried to seize the bird to
whom he owed it all, but, swifter than a swallow, it managed to avoid
him. In vain he described the bird to his attendants, who rushed at
his first call; in vain they sought the wonderful creature both on
horse and foot, and summoned the fowlers to their aid: the bird could
nowhere be found. The love the people bore King Peridor was so strong,
and the reward he promised was so large, that in the twinkling of an
eye every man, woman, and child had fled into the fields, and the
towns were quite empty.
All this bustle, however, ended in nothing but confusion, and, what
was worse, the King soon fell back into the same condition as he was
in before. Prince Saphir, who loved his father very dearly, was so
unhappy at this that he persuaded himself that he might succeed where
the others had failed, and at once prepared himself for a more distant
search. In spite of the opposition he met with, he rode away, followed
by his household, trusting to chance to help him. He had formed no
plan, and there was no reason that he should choose one path more than
another. His only idea was to make straight for those spots which were
the favourite haunts of birds. But in vain he examined all the hedges
and all the thickets; in vain he questioned everyone he met along the
road. The more he sought the less he found.
At last he came to one of the largest forests in all the world,
composed entirely of cedars. But in spite of the deep shadows cast by
the wide-spreading branches of the trees, the grass underneath was
soft and green, and covered with the rarest flowers. It seemed to
Saphir that this was exactly the place where the birds would choose to
live, and he determined not to quit the wood until he had examined it
from end to end. And he did more. He ordered some nets to be prepared
and painted of the same colours as the bird’s plumage, thinking that
we are all easily caught by what is like ourselves. In this he had to
help him not only the fowlers by profession, but also his attendants,
who excelled in this art. For a man is not a courtier unless he can do
everything.
After searching as usual for nearly a whole day Prince Saphir began to
feel overcome with thirst. He was too tired to go any farther, when
happily he discovered a little way off a bubbling fountain of the
clearest water. Being an experienced traveller, he drew from his
pocket a little cup (without which no one should ever take a journey),
and was just about to dip it in the water, when a lovely little green
frog, much prettier than frogs generally are, jumped into the cup. Far
from admiring its beauty, Saphir shook it impatiently off; but it was
no good, for quick as lightning the frog jumped back again. Saphir,
who was raging with thirst, was just about to shake it off anew, when
the little creature fixed upon him the most beautiful eyes in the
world, and said, ‘I am a friend of the bird you are seeking, and when
you have quenched your thirst listen to me.’
So the Prince drank his fill, and then, by the command of the Little
Green Frog, he lay down on the grass to rest himself.
‘Now,’ she began, ‘be sure you do exactly in every respect what I tell
you. First you must call together your attendants, and order them to
remain in a little hamlet close by until you want them. Then go, quite
alone, down a road that you will find on your right hand, looking
southwards. This road is planted all the way with cedars of Lebanon;
and after going down it a long way you will come at last to a
magnificent castle. And now,’ she went on, ‘attend carefully to what I
am going to say. Take this tiny grain of sand, and put it into the
ground as close as you can to the gate of the castle. It has the
virtue both of opening the gate and also of sending to sleep all the
inhabitants. Then go at once to the stable, and pay no heed to
anything except what I tell you. Choose the handsomest of all the
horses, leap quickly on its back, and come to me as fast as you can.
Farewell, Prince; I wish you good luck,’ and with these words the
Little Frog plunged into the water and disappeared.
The Prince, who felt more hopeful than he had done since he left home,
did precisely as he had been ordered. He left his attendants in the
hamlet, found the road the frog had described to him, and followed it
all alone, and at last he arrived at the gate of the castle, which was
even more splendid than he had expected, for it was built of crystal,
and all its ornaments were of massive gold. However, he had no
thoughts to spare for its beauty, and quickly buried his grain of sand
in the earth. In one instant the gates flew open, and all the dwellers
inside fell sound asleep. Saphir flew straight to the stable, and
already had his hand on the finest horse it contained, when his eye
was caught by a suit of magnificent harness hanging up close by. It
occurred to him directly that the harness belonged to the horse, and
without ever thinking of harm (for indeed he who steals a horse can
hardly be blamed for taking his saddle), he hastily placed it on the
animal’s back. Suddenly the people in the castle became broad awake,
and rushed to the stable. They flung themselves on the Prince, seized
him, and dragged him before their lord; but, luckily for the Prince,
who could only find very lame excuses for his conduct, the lord of the
castle took a fancy to his face, and let him depart without further
questions.
[Illustration: Prince Saphir steals the horse and harness]
Very sad, and very much ashamed of himself poor Saphir crept back to
the fountain, where the Frog was awaiting him with a good scolding.
‘Whom do you take me for?’ she exclaimed angrily. ‘Do you really
believe that it was just for the pleasure of talking that I gave you
the advice you have neglected so abominably?’
But the Prince was so deeply grieved, and apologised so very humbly,
that after some time the heart of the good little Frog was softened,
and she gave him another tiny little grain, but instead of being sand
it was now a grain of gold. She directed him to do just as he had done
before, with only this difference, that instead of going to the stable
which had been the ruin of his hopes, he was to enter right into the
castle itself, and to glide as fast as he could down the passages till
he came to a room filled with perfume, where he would find a beautiful
maiden asleep on a bed. He was to wake the maiden instantly and carry
her off, and to be sure not to pay any heed to whatever resistance she
might make.
The Prince obeyed the Frog’s orders one by one, and all went well for
this second time also. The gate opened, the inhabitants fell sound
asleep, and he walked down the passage till he found the girl on her
bed, exactly as he had been told he would. He woke her, and begged her
firmly, but politely, to follow him quickly. After a little persuasion
the maiden consented, but only on condition that she was allowed first
to put on her dress. This sounded so reasonable and natural that it
did not enter the Prince’s head to refuse her request.
But the maiden’s hand had hardly touched the dress when the palace
suddenly awoke from its sleep, and the Prince was seized and bound. He
was so vexed with his own folly, and so taken aback at the disaster,
that he did not attempt to explain his conduct, and things would have
gone badly with him if his friends the fairies had not softened the
hearts of his captors, so that they once more allowed him to leave
quietly. However, what troubled him most was the idea of having to
meet the Frog who had been his benefactress. How was he ever to appear
before her with this tale? Still, after a long struggle with himself,
he made up his mind that there was nothing else to be done, and that
he deserved whatever she might say to him. And she said a great deal,
for she had worked herself into a terrible passion; but the Prince
humbly implored her pardon, and ventured to point out that it would
have been very hard to refuse the young lady’s reasonable request.
‘You must learn to do as you are told,’ was all the Frog would reply.
But poor Saphir was so unhappy, and begged so hard for forgiveness,
that at last the Frog’s anger gave way, and she held up to him a tiny
diamond stone. ‘Go back,’ she said, ‘to the castle, and bury this
little diamond close to the door. But be careful not to return to the
stable or to the bedroom; they have proved too fatal to you. Walk
straight to the garden and enter through a portico, into a small green
wood, in the midst of which is a tree with a trunk of gold and leaves
of emeralds. Perched on this tree you will see the beautiful bird you
have been seeking so long. You must cut the branch on which it is
sitting, and bring it back to me without delay. But I warn you
solemnly that if you disobey my directions, as you have done twice
before, you have nothing more to expect either of me or anyone else.’
With these words she jumped into the water, and the Prince, who had
taken her threats much to heart, took his departure, firmly resolved
not to deserve them. He found it all just as he had been told: the
portico, the wood, the magnificent tree, and the beautiful bird, which
was sleeping soundly on one of the branches. He speedily lopped off
the branch, and though he noticed a splendid golden cage hanging close
by, which would have been very useful for the bird to travel in, he
left it alone, and came back to the fountain, holding his breath and
walking on tip-toe all the way, for fear lest he should awake his
prize. But what was his surprise, when instead of finding the fountain
in the spot where he had left it, he saw in its place a little rustic
palace built in the best taste, and standing in the doorway a charming
maiden, at whose sight his mind seemed to give way.
‘What! Madam!’ he cried, hardly knowing what he said. ‘What! Is it
you?’
The maiden blushed and answered: ‘Ah, my lord, it is long since I
first beheld your face, but I did not think you had ever seen mine.’
‘Oh, madam,’ replied he, ‘you can never guess the days and the hours I
have passed lost in admiration of you.’ And after these words they
each related all the strange things that had happened, and the more
they talked the more they felt convinced of the truth of the images
they had seen in their mirrors. After some time spent in the most
tender conversation, the Prince could not restrain himself from asking
the lovely unknown by what lucky chance she was wandering in the
forest; where the fountain had gone; and if she knew anything of the
Frog to whom he owed all his happiness, and to whom he must give up
the bird, which, somehow or other, was still sound asleep.
‘Ah, my lord,’ she replied, with rather an awkward air, ‘as to the
Frog, she stands before you. Let me tell you my story; it is not a
long one. I know neither my country nor my parents, and the only thing
I can say for certain is that I am called Serpentine. The fairies, who
have taken care of me ever since I was born, wished me to be in
ignorance as to my family, but they have looked after my education,
and have bestowed on me endless kindness. I have always lived in
seclusion, and for the last two years I have wished for nothing
better. I had a mirror’—here shyness and embarrassment choked her
words—but regaining her self-control, she added, ‘You know that
fairies insist on being obeyed without questioning. It was they who
changed the little house you saw before you into the fountain for
which you are now asking, and, having turned me into a frog, they
ordered me to say to the first person who came to the fountain exactly
what I repeated to you. But, my lord, when you stood before me, it was
agony to my heart, filled as it was with thoughts of you, to appear to
your eyes under so monstrous a form. However, there was no help for
it, and, painful as it was, I had to submit. I desired your success
with all my soul, not only for your own sake, but also for my own,
because I could not get back my proper shape till you had become
master of the beautiful bird, though I am quite ignorant as to your
reason for seeking it.’
On this Saphir explained about the state of his father’s health, and
all that has been told before.
On hearing this story Serpentine grew very sad, and her lovely eyes
filled with tears.
‘Ah, my lord,’ she said, ‘you know nothing of me but what you have
seen in the mirror; and I, who cannot even name my parents, learn that
you are a king’s son.’
In vain Saphir declared that love made them equal; Serpentine would
only reply: ‘I love you too much to allow you to marry beneath your
rank. I shall be very unhappy, of course, but I shall never alter my
mind. If I do not find from the fairies that my birth is worthy of
you, then, whatever be my feelings, I will never accept your hand.’
The conversation was at this point, and bid fair to last some time
longer, when one of the fairies appeared in her ivory car, accompanied
by a beautiful woman past her early youth. At this moment the bird
suddenly awakened, and, flying on to Saphir’s shoulder (which it never
afterwards left), began fondling him as well as a bird can do. The
fairy told Serpentine that she was quite satisfied with her conduct,
and made herself very agreeable to Saphir, whom she presented to the
lady she had brought with her, explaining that the lady was no other
than his Aunt Aglantine, widow of Diamantino.
[Illustration: ‘Standing in the Doorway a Charming Maiden at Whose
Sight His Mind Seemed to Give Way’]
Then they all fell into each other’s arms, till the fairy mounted her
chariot, placed Aglantine by her side, and Saphir and Serpentine on
the front seat. She also sent a message to the Prince’s attendants
that they might travel slowly back to the Court of King Peridor, and
that the beautiful bird had really been found. This matter being
comfortably arranged, she started off her chariot. But in spite of the
swiftness with which they flew through the air, the time passed even
quicker for Saphir and Serpentine, who had so much to think about.
They were still quite confused with the pleasure of seeing each other,
when the chariot arrived at King Peridor’s palace. He had had himself
carried to a room on the roof, where his nurses thought that he would
die at any moment. Directly the chariot drew within sight of the
castle the beautiful bird took flight, and, making straight for the
dying King, at once cured him of his sickness. Then she resumed her
natural shape, and he found that the bird was no other than the Queen
Constance, whom he had long believed to be dead. Peridor was rejoiced
to embrace his wife and his son once more, and with the help of the
fairies began to make preparations for the marriage of Saphir and
Serpentine, who turned out to be the daughter of Aglantine and
Diamantino, and as much a princess as he was a prince. The people of
the kingdom were delighted, and everybody lived happy and contented to
the end of their lives.
_THE SEVEN-HEADED SERPENT_[9]
Once upon a time there was a king who determined to take a long
voyage. He assembled his fleet and all the seamen, and set out. They
went straight on night and day, until they came to an island which was
covered with large trees, and under every tree lay a lion. As soon as
the King had landed his men, the lions all rose up together and tried
to devour them. After a long battle they managed to overcome the wild
beasts, but the greater number of the men were killed. Those who
remained alive now went on through the forest and found on the other
side of it a beautiful garden, in which all the plants of the world
flourished together. There were also in the garden three springs: the
first flowed with silver, the second with gold, and the third with
pearls. The men unbuckled their knapsacks and filled them with those
precious things. In the middle of the garden they found a large lake,
and when they reached the edge of it the Lake began to speak, and said
to them, ‘What men are you, and what brings you here? Are you come to
visit our king?’ But they were too much frightened to answer.
Then the Lake said, ‘You do well to be afraid, for it is at your peril
that you are come hither. Our king, who has seven heads, is now
asleep, but in a few minutes he will wake up and come to me to take
his bath! Woe to anyone who meets him in the garden, for it is
impossible to escape from him. This is what you must do if you wish to
save your lives. Take off your clothes and spread them on the path
which leads from here to the castle. The King will then glide over
something soft, which he likes very much, and he will be so pleased
with that that he will not devour you. He will give you some
punishment, but then he will let you go.’
[Footnote 9: ‘Die Siebenköpfige Schlange,’ from Schmidt’s _Griechische
Mährchen_.]
The men did as the Lake advised them, and waited for a time. At noon
the earth began to quake, and opened in many places, and out of the
openings appeared lions, tigers, and other wild beasts, which
surrounded the castle, and thousands and thousands of beasts came out
of the castle following their king, the Seven-headed Serpent. The
Serpent glided over the clothes which were spread for him, came to the
Lake, and asked it who had strewed those soft things on the path? The
Lake answered that it had been done by people who had come to do him
homage. The King commanded that the men should be brought before him.
They came humbly on their knees, and in a few words told him their
story. Then he spoke to them with a mighty and terrible voice, and
said, ‘Because you have dared to come here, I lay upon you the
punishment. Every year you must bring me from among your people twelve
youths and twelve maidens, that I may devour them. If you do not do
this, I will destroy your whole nation.’
Then he desired one of his beasts to show the men the way out of the
garden, and dismissed them. They then left the island and went back to
their own country, where they related what had happened to them. Soon
the time came round when the king of the beasts would expect the
youths and maidens to be brought to him. The King therefore issued a
proclamation inviting twelve youths and twelve maidens to offer
themselves up to save their country; and immediately many young
people, far more than enough, hastened to do so. A new ship was built,
and set with black sails, and in it the youths and maidens who were
appointed for the king of the beasts embarked and set out for his
country. When they arrived there they went at once to the Lake, and
this time the lions did not stir, nor did the springs flow, and
neither did the Lake speak. So they waited then, and it was not long
before the earth quaked even more terribly than the first time. The
Seven-headed Serpent came without his train of beasts, saw his prey
waiting for him, and devoured it at one mouthful. Then the ship’s crew
returned home, and the same thing happened yearly until many years had
passed.
Now the King of this unhappy country was growing old, and so was the
Queen, and they had no children. One day the Queen was sitting at the
window weeping bitterly because she was childless, and knew that the
crown would therefore pass to strangers after the King’s death.
Suddenly a little old woman appeared before her, holding an apple in
her hand, and said, ‘Why do you weep, my Queen, and what makes you so
unhappy?’
‘Alas, good mother,’ answered the Queen, ‘I am unhappy because I have
no children.’
‘Is that what vexes you?’ said the old woman. ‘Listen to me. I am a
nun from the _Spinning Convent_[10] and my mother when she died left
me this apple. Whoever eats this apple shall have a child.’
The Queen gave money to the old woman, and bought the apple from her.
Then she peeled it, ate it, and threw the rind out of the window, and
it so happened that a mare that was running loose in the court below
ate up the rind. After a time the Queen had a little boy, and the mare
also had a male foal. The boy and the foal grew up together and loved
each other like brothers. In course of time the King died, and so did
the Queen, and their son, who was now nineteen years old, was left
alone. One day, when he and his horse were talking together, the Horse
said to him, ‘Listen to me, for I love you and wish for your good and
that of the country. If you go on every year sending twelve youths and
twelve maidens to the King of the Beasts, your country will very soon
be ruined. Mount upon my back: I will take you to a woman who can
direct you how to kill the Seven-headed Serpent.’
Then the youth mounted his horse, who carried him far away to a
mountain which was hollow, for in its side was a great underground
cavern. In the cavern sat an old woman spinning. This was the cloister
of the nuns, and the old woman was the Abbess. They all spent their
time in spinning, and that is why the convent has this name. All round
the walls of the cavern there were beds cut out of the solid rock,
upon which the nuns slept, and in the middle a light was burning. It
was the duty of the nuns to watch the light in turns, that it might
never go out, and if anyone of them let it go out the others put her
to death.
As soon as the King’s son saw the old Abbess spinning he threw himself
at her feet and entreated her to tell him how he could kill the
Seven-headed Serpent.
[Footnote 10: Convent Gnothi.]
She made the youth rise, embraced him, and said, ‘Know, my son, that
it is I who sent the nun to your mother and caused you to be born, and
with you the horse, with whose help you will be able to free the world
from the monster. I will tell you what you have to do. Load your horse
with cotton, and go by a secret passage which I will show you, which
is hidden from the wild beasts, to the Serpent’s palace. You will find
the King asleep upon his bed, which is all hung round with bells, and
over his bed you will see a sword hanging. With this sword only it is
possible to kill the Serpent, because even if its blade breaks a new
one will grow again for every head the monster has. Thus you will be
able to cut off all his seven heads. And this you must also do in
order to deceive the King: you must slip into his bed-chamber very
softly, and stop up all the bells which are round his bed with cotton.
Then take down the sword gently, and quickly give the monster a blow
on his tail with it. This will make him waken up, and if he catches
sight of you he will seize you. But you must quickly cut off his first
head, and then wait till the next one comes up. Then strike it off
also, and so go on till you have cut off all his seven heads.’
[Illustration: The Seven-headed Serpent]
The old Abbess then gave the Prince her blessing, and he set out upon
his enterprise, arrived at the Serpent’s castle by following the
secret passage which she had shown him, and by carefully attending to
all her directions he happily succeeded in killing the monster. As
soon as the wild beasts heard of their king’s death, they all hastened
to the castle, but the youth had long since mounted his horse and was
already far out of their reach. They pursued him as fast as they
could, but they found it impossible to overtake him, and he reached
home in safety. Thus he freed his country from this terrible
oppression.
_THE GRATEFUL BEASTS_[11]
There was once upon a time a man and woman who had three fine-looking
sons, but they were so poor that they had hardly enough food for
themselves, let alone their children. So the sons determined to set
out into the world and to try their luck. Before starting their mother
gave them each a loaf of bread and her blessing, and having taken a
tender farewell of her and their father the three set forth on their
travels.
The youngest of the three brothers, whose name was Ferko, was a
beautiful youth, with a splendid figure, blue eyes, fair hair, and a
complexion like milk and roses. His two brothers were as jealous of
him as they could be, for they thought that with his good looks he
would be sure to be more fortunate than they would ever be.
One day all the three were sitting resting under a tree, for the sun
was hot and they were tired of walking. Ferko fell fast asleep, but
the other two remained awake, and the eldest said to the second
brother, ‘What do you say to doing our brother Ferko some harm? He is
so beautiful that everyone takes a fancy to him, which is more than
they do to us. If we could only get him out of the way we might
succeed better.’
‘I quite agree with you,’ answered the second brother, ‘and my advice
is to eat up his loaf of bread, and then to refuse to give him a bit
of ours until he has promised to let us put out his eyes or break his
legs.’
His eldest brother was delighted with this proposal, and the two
wicked wretches seized Ferko’s loaf and ate it all up, while the poor
boy was still asleep.
When he did awake he felt very hungry and turned to eat his bread, but
his brothers cried out, ‘You ate your loaf in your sleep, you glutton,
and you may starve as long as you like, but you won’t get a scrap of
ours.’
[Footnote 11: From the Hungarian. Kletke.]
Ferko was at a loss to understand how he could have eaten in his
sleep, but he said nothing, and fasted all that day and the next
night. But on the following morning he was so hungry that he burst
into tears, and implored his brothers to give him a little bit of
their bread. Then the cruel creatures laughed, and repeated what they
had said the day before; but when Ferko continued to beg and beseech
them, the eldest said at last, ‘If you will let us put out one of your
eyes and break one of your legs, then we will give you a bit of our
bread.’
At these words poor Ferko wept more bitterly than before, and bore the
torments of hunger till the sun was high in the heavens; then he could
stand it no longer, and he consented to allow his left eye to be put
out and his left leg to be broken. When this was done he stretched out
his hand eagerly for the piece of bread, but his brothers gave him
such a tiny scrap that the starving youth finished it in a moment and
besought them for a second bit.
But the more Ferko wept and told his brothers that he was dying of
hunger, the more they laughed and scolded him for his greed. So he
endured the pangs of starvation all that day, but when night came his
endurance gave way, and he let his right eye be put out and his right
leg broken for a second piece of bread.
After his brothers had thus successfully maimed and disfigured him for
life, they left him groaning on the ground and continued their journey
without him.
Poor Ferko ate up the scrap of bread they had left him and wept
bitterly, but no one heard him or came to his help. Night came on, and
the poor blind youth had no eyes to close, and could only crawl along
the ground, not knowing in the least where he was going. But when the
sun was once more high in the heavens, Ferko felt the blazing heat
scorch him, and sought for some cool shady place to rest his aching
limbs. He climbed to the top of a hill and lay down in the grass, and
as he thought under the shadow of a big tree. But it was no tree he
leant against, but a gallows on which two ravens were seated. The one
was saying to the other as the weary youth lay down, ‘Is there
anything the least wonderful or remarkable about this neighbourhood?’
‘I should just think there was,’ replied the other; ‘many things that
don’t exist anywhere else in the world. There is a lake down there
below us, and anyone who bathes in it, though he were at death’s door,
becomes sound and well on the spot, and those who wash their eyes with
the dew on this hill become as sharp-sighted as the eagle, even if
they have been blind from their youth.’
‘Well,’ answered the first raven, ‘my eyes are in no want of this
healing bath, for, Heaven be praised, they are as good as ever they
were; but my wing has been very feeble and weak ever since it was shot
by an arrow many years ago, so let us fly at once to the lake that I
may be restored to health and strength again.’ And so they flew away.
Their words rejoiced Ferko’s heart, and he waited impatiently till
evening should come and he could rub the precious dew on his sightless
eyes.
At last it began to grow dusk, and the sun sank behind the mountains;
gradually it became cooler on the hill, and the grass grew wet with
dew. Then Ferko buried his face in the ground till his eyes were damp
with dew-drops, and in a moment he saw clearer than he had ever done
in his life before. The moon was shining brightly, and lighted him to
the lake where he could bathe his poor broken legs.
Then Ferko crawled to the edge of the lake and dipped his limbs in the
water. No sooner had he done so than his legs felt as sound and strong
as they had been before, and Ferko thanked the kind fate that had led
him to the hill where he had overheard the ravens’ conversation. He
filled a bottle with the healing water, and then continued his journey
in the best of spirits.
He had not gone far before he met a wolf, who was limping
disconsolately along on three legs, and who on perceiving Ferko began
to howl dismally.
‘My good friend,’ said the youth, ‘be of good cheer, for I can soon
heal your leg,’ and with these words he poured some of the precious
water over the wolf’s paw, and in a minute the animal was springing
about sound and well on all fours. The grateful creature thanked his
benefactor warmly, and promised Ferko to do him a good turn if he
should ever need it.
Ferko continued his way till he came to a ploughed field. Here he
noticed a little mouse creeping wearily along on its hind paws, for
its front paws had both been broken in a trap.
Ferko felt so sorry for the little beast that he spoke to it in the
most friendly manner, and washed its small paws with the healing
water. In a moment the mouse was sound and whole, and after thanking
the kind physician it scampered away over the ploughed furrows.
Ferko again proceeded on his journey, but he hadn’t gone far before a
queen bee flew against him, trailing one wing behind her, which had
been cruelly torn in two by a big bird. Ferko was no less willing to
help her than he had been to help the wolf and the mouse, so he poured
some healing drops over the wounded wing. On the spot the queen bee
was cured, and turning to Ferko she said, ‘I am most grateful for your
kindness, and shall reward you some day.’ And with these words she
flew away humming gaily.
[Illustration: Ferko Healed by Magic Waters]
Then Ferko wandered on for many a long day, and at length reached a
strange kingdom. Here, he thought to himself, he might as well go
straight to the palace and offer his services to the King of the
country, for he had heard that the King’s daughter was as beautiful as
the day.
So he went to the royal palace, and as he entered the door the first
people he saw were his two brothers who had so shamefully ill-treated
him. They had managed to obtain places in the King’s service, and when
they recognised Ferko with his eyes and legs sound and well they were
frightened to death, for they feared he would tell the King of their
conduct, and that they would be hung.
[Illustration: Ferko Before the King]
No sooner had Ferko entered the palace than all eyes were turned on
the handsome youth, and the King’s daughter herself was lost in
admiration, for she had never seen anyone so handsome in her life
before. His brothers noticed this, and envy and jealousy were added to
their fear, so much so that they determined once more to destroy him.
They went to the King and told him that Ferko was a wicked magician,
who had come to the palace with the intention of carrying off the
Princess.
Then the King had Ferko brought before him, and said, ‘You are accused
of being a magician who wishes to rob me of my daughter, and I condemn
you to death; but if you can fulfil three tasks which I shall set you
to do your life shall be spared, on condition you leave the country;
but if you cannot perform what I demand you shall be hung on the
nearest tree.’
And turning to the two wicked brothers he said, ‘Suggest something for
him to do; no matter how difficult, he must succeed in it or die.’
They did not think long, but replied, ‘Let him build your Majesty in
one day a more beautiful palace than this, and if he fails in the
attempt let him be hung.’
The King was pleased with this proposal, and commanded Ferko to set to
work on the following day. The two brothers were delighted, for they
thought they had now got rid of Ferko for ever. The poor youth himself
was heart-broken, and cursed the hour he had crossed the boundary of
the King’s domain. As he was wandering disconsolately about the
meadows round the palace, wondering how he could escape being put to
death, a little bee flew past, and settling on his shoulder whispered
in his ear, ‘What is troubling you, my kind benefactor? Can I be of
any help to you? I am the bee whose wing you healed, and would like to
show my gratitude in some way.’
Ferko recognised the queen bee, and said, ‘Alas! how could you help
me? for I have been set to do a task which no one in the whole world
could do, let him be ever such a genius! To-morrow I must build a
palace more beautiful than the King’s, and it must be finished before
evening.’
‘Is that all?’ answered the bee, ‘then you may comfort yourself; for
before the sun goes down to-morrow night a palace shall be built
unlike any that King has dwelt in before. Just stay here till I come
again and tell you that it is finished.’ Having said this she flew
merrily away, and Ferko, reassured by her words, lay down on the grass
and slept peacefully till the next morning.
Early on the following day the whole town was on its feet, and
everyone wondered how and where the stranger would build the wonderful
palace. The Princess alone was silent and sorrowful, and had cried all
night till her pillow was wet, so much did she take the fate of the
beautiful youth to heart.
Ferko spent the whole day in the meadows waiting the return of the
bee. And when evening was come the queen bee flew by, and perching on
his shoulder she said, ‘The wonderful palace is ready. Be of good
cheer, and lead the King to the hill just outside the city walls.’ And
humming gaily she flew away again.
Ferko went at once to the King and told him the palace was finished.
The whole court went out to see the wonder, and their astonishment was
great at the sight which met their eyes. A splendid palace reared
itself on the hill just outside the walls of the city, made of the
most exquisite flowers that ever grew in mortal garden. The roof was
all of crimson roses, the windows of lilies, the walls of white
carnations, the floors of glowing auriculas and violets, the doors of
gorgeous tulips and narcissi with sunflowers for knockers, and all
round hyacinths and other sweet-smelling flowers bloomed in masses, so
that the air was perfumed far and near and enchanted all who were
present.
This splendid palace had been built by the grateful queen bee, who had
summoned all the other bees in the kingdom to help her.
The King’s amazement knew no bounds, and the Princess’s eyes beamed
with delight as she turned them from the wonderful building on the
delighted Ferko. But the two brothers had grown quite green with envy,
and only declared the more that Ferko was nothing but a wicked
magician.
The King, although he had been surprised and astonished at the way his
commands had been carried out, was very vexed that the stranger should
escape with his life, and turning to the two brothers he said, ‘He has
certainly accomplished the first task, with the aid no doubt of his
diabolical magic; but what shall we give him to do now? Let us make it
as difficult as possible, and if he fails he shall die.’
Then the eldest brother replied, ‘The corn has all been cut, but it
has not yet been put into barns; let the knave collect all the grain
in the kingdom into one big heap before to-morrow night, and if as
much as a stalk of corn is left let him be put to death.’
The Princess grew white with terror when she heard these words; but
Ferko felt much more cheerful than he had done the first time, and
wandered out into the meadows again, wondering how he was to get out
of the difficulty. But he could think of no way of escape. The sun
sank to rest and night came on, when a little mouse started out of the
grass at Ferko’s feet, and said to him, ‘I’m delighted to see you, my
kind benefactor; but why are you looking so sad? Can I be of any help
to you, and thus repay your great kindness to me?’
Then Ferko recognised the mouse whose front paws he had healed, and
replied, ‘Alas! how can you help me in a matter that is beyond any
human power! Before to-morrow night all the grain in the kingdom has
to be gathered into one big heap, and if as much as a stalk of corn is
wanting I must pay for it with my life.’
‘Is that all?’ answered the mouse; ‘that needn’t distress you much.
Just trust in me, and before the sun sets again you shall hear that
your task is done.’ And with these words the little creature scampered
away into the fields.
Ferko, who never doubted that the mouse would be as good as its word,
lay down comforted on the soft grass and slept soundly till next
morning. The day passed slowly, and with the evening came the little
mouse and said, ‘Now there is not a single stalk of corn left in any
field; they are all collected in one big heap on the hill out there.’
Then Ferko went joyfully to the King and told him that all he demanded
had been done. And the whole Court went out to see the wonder, and
were no less astonished than they had been the first time. For in a
heap higher than the King’s palace lay all the grain of the country,
and not a single stalk of corn had been left behind in any of the
fields. And how had all this been done? The little mouse had summoned
every other mouse in the land to its help, and together they had
collected all the grain in the kingdom.
The King could not hide his amazement, but at the same time his wrath
increased, and he was more ready than ever to believe the two
brothers, who kept on repeating that Ferko was nothing more nor less
than a wicked magician. Only the beautiful Princess rejoiced over
Ferko’s success, and looked on him with friendly glances, which the
youth returned.
The more the cruel King gazed on the wonder before him, the more angry
he became, for he could not, in the face of his promise, put the
stranger to death. He turned once more to the two brothers and said,
‘His diabolical magic has helped him again, but now what third task
shall we set him to do? No matter how impossible it is, he must do it
or die.’
The eldest answered quickly, ‘Let him drive all the wolves of the
kingdom on to this hill before to-morrow night. If he does this he may
go free; if not he shall be hung as you have said.’
At these words the Princess burst into tears, and when the King saw
this he ordered her to be shut up in a high tower and carefully
guarded till the dangerous magician should either have left the
kingdom or been hung on the nearest tree.
Ferko wandered out into the fields again, and sat down on the stump of
a tree wondering what he should do next. Suddenly a big wolf ran up to
him, and standing still said, ‘I’m very glad to see you again, my kind
benefactor. What are you thinking about all alone by yourself? If I
can help you in any way only say the word, for I would like to give
you a proof of my gratitude.’
Ferko at once recognised the wolf whose broken leg he had healed, and
told him what he had to do the following day if he wished to escape
with his life. ‘But how in the world,’ he added, ‘am I to collect all
the wolves of the kingdom on to that hill over there?’
‘If that’s all you want done,’ answered the wolf, ‘you needn’t worry
yourself. I’ll undertake the task, and you’ll hear from me again
before sunset to-morrow. Keep your spirits up.’ And with these words
he trotted quickly away.
Then the youth rejoiced greatly, for now he felt that his life was
safe; but he grew very sad when he thought of the beautiful Princess,
and that he would never see her again if he left the country. He lay
down once more on the grass and soon fell fast asleep.
All the next day he spent wandering about the fields, and toward
evening the wolf came running to him in a great hurry and said, ‘I
have collected together all the wolves in the kingdom, and they are
waiting for you in the wood. Go quickly to the King, and tell him to
go to the hill that he may see the wonder you have done with his own
eyes. Then return at once to me and get on my back, and I will help
you to drive all the wolves together.’
Then Ferko went straight to the palace and told the King that he was
ready to perform the third task if he would come to the hill and see
it done. Ferko himself returned to the fields, and mounting on the
wolf’s back he rode to the wood close by.
Quick as lightning the wolf flew round the wood, and in a minute many
hundred wolves rose up before him, increasing in number every moment,
till they could be counted by thousands. He drove them all before him
on to the hill, where the King and his whole Court and Ferko’s two
brothers were standing. Only the lovely Princess was not present, for
she was shut up in her tower weeping bitterly.
The wicked brothers stamped and foamed with rage when they saw the
failure of their wicked designs. But the King was overcome by a sudden
terror when he saw the enormous pack of wolves approaching nearer and
nearer, and calling out to Ferko he said, ‘Enough, enough, we don’t
want any more.’
[Illustration: Ferko leads the wolves on.]
But the wolf on whose back Ferko sat, said to its rider, ‘Go on! go
on!’ and at the same moment many more wolves ran up the hill, howling
horribly and showing their white teeth.
The King in his terror called out, ‘Stop a moment; I will give you
half my kingdom if you will drive all the wolves away.’ But Ferko
pretended not to hear, and drove some more thousands before him, so
that everyone quaked with horror and fear.
Then the King raised his voice again and called out, ‘Stop! you shall
have my whole kingdom, if you will only drive these wolves back to the
places they came from.’
But the wolf kept on encouraging Ferko, and said, ‘Go on! go on!’ So
he led the wolves on, till at last they fell on the King and on the
wicked brothers, and ate them and the whole Court up in a moment.
Then Ferko went straight to the palace and set the Princess free, and
on the same day he married her and was crowned King of the country.
And the wolves all went peacefully back to their own homes, and Ferko
and his bride lived for many years in peace and happiness together,
and were much beloved by great and small in the land.
_THE GIANTS AND THE HERD-BOY_[12]
[Illustration: The Herd-boy binds up the Giant’s foot.]
There was once upon a time a poor boy who had neither father nor
mother. In order to gain a living he looked after the sheep of a great
Lord. Day and night he spent out in the open fields, and only when it
was very wet and stormy did he take refuge in a little hut on the edge
of a big forest. Now one night, when he was sitting on the grass
beside his flocks, he heard not very far from him the sound as of some
one crying. He rose up and followed the direction of the noise. To his
dismay and astonishment he found a Giant lying at the entrance of the
wood; he was about to run off as fast as his legs could carry him,
when the Giant called out: ‘Don’t be afraid, I won’t harm you. On the
contrary, I will reward you handsomely if you will bind up my foot. I
hurt it when I was trying to root up an oak-tree.’ The Herd-boy took
off his shirt, and bound up the Giant’s wounded foot with it. Then the
Giant rose up and said, ‘Now come and I will reward you. We are going
to celebrate a marriage to-day, and I promise you we shall have plenty
of fun. Come and enjoy yourself, but in order that my brothers mayn’t
see you, put this band round your waist and then you’ll be invisible.’
With these words he handed the Herd-boy a belt, and walking on in
front he led him to a fountain where hundreds of Giants and Giantesses
were assembled preparing to hold a wedding. They danced and played
different games till midnight; then one of the Giants tore up a plant
by its roots, and all the Giants and Giantesses made themselves so
thin that they disappeared into the earth through the hole made by the
uprooting of the plant. The wounded Giant remained behind to the last
and called out, ‘Herd-boy, where are you?’ ‘Here I am, close to you,’
was the reply. ‘Touch me,’ said the Giant, ‘so that you too may come
with us under ground.’ The Herd-boy did as he was told, and before he
could have believed it possible he found himself in a big hall, where
even the walls were made of pure gold. Then to his astonishment he saw
that the hall was furnished with the tables and chairs that belonged
to his master. In a few minutes the company began to eat and drink.
The banquet was a very gorgeous one, and the poor youth fell to and
ate and drank lustily. When he had eaten and drunk as much as he could
he thought to himself, ‘Why shouldn’t I put a loaf of bread in my
pocket? I shall be glad of it to-morrow.’ So he seized a loaf when no
one was looking and stowed it away under his tunic. No sooner had he
done so than the wounded Giant limped up to him and whispered softly,
‘Herd-boy, where are you?’ ‘Here I am,’ replied the youth. ‘Then hold
on to me,’ said the Giant, ‘so that I may lead you up above again.’ So
the Herd-boy held on to the Giant, and in a few moments he found
himself on the earth once more, but the Giant had vanished. The
Herd-boy returned to his sheep, and took off the invisible belt which
he hid carefully in his bag.
[Footnote 12: From the _Bukowniaer_. Von Wliolocki.]
The next morning the lad felt hungry, and thought he would cut off a
piece of the loaf he had carried away from the Giants’ wedding feast,
and eat it. But although he tried with all his might, he couldn’t cut
off the smallest piece. Then in despair he bit the loaf, and what was
his astonishment when a piece of gold fell out of his mouth and rolled
at his feet. He bit the bread a second and third time, and each time a
piece of gold fell out of his mouth; but the bread remained untouched.
The Herd-boy was very much delighted over his stroke of good fortune,
and, hiding the magic loaf in his bag, he hurried off to the nearest
village to buy himself something to eat, and then returned to his
sheep.
Now the Lord whose sheep the Herd-boy looked after had a very lovely
daughter, who always smiled and nodded to the youth when she walked
with her father in his fields. For a long time the Herd-boy had made
up his mind to prepare a surprise for this beautiful creature on her
birthday. So when the day approached he put on his invisible belt,
took a sack of gold pieces with him, and slipping into her room in the
middle of the night, he placed the bag of gold beside her bed and
returned to his sheep. The girl’s joy was great, and so was her
parents’ next day when they found the sack full of gold pieces. The
Herd-boy was so pleased to think what pleasure he had given that the
next night he placed another bag of gold beside the girl’s bed. And
this he continued to do for seven nights, and the girl and her parents
made up their minds that it must be a good Fairy who brought the gold
every night. But one night they determined to watch, and see from
their hiding-place who the bringer of the sack of gold really was.
On the eighth night a fearful storm of wind and rain came on while the
Herd-boy was on his way to bring the beautiful girl another bag of
gold. Then for the first time he noticed, just as he reached his
master’s house, that he had forgotten the belt which made him
invisible. He didn’t like the idea of going back to his hut in the
wind and wet, so he just stepped as he was into the girl’s room, laid
the sack of gold beside her, and was turning to leave the room, when
his master confronted him and said, ‘You young rogue, so you were
going to steal the gold that a good Fairy brings every night, were
you?’ The Herd-boy was so taken aback by his words, that he stood
trembling before him, and did not dare to explain his presence. Then
his master spoke. ‘As you have hitherto always behaved well in my
service I will not send you to prison; but leave your place instantly
and never let me see your face again.’ So the Herd-boy went back to
his hut, and taking his loaf and belt with him, he went to the nearest
town. There he bought himself some fine clothes, and a beautiful coach
with four horses, hired two servants, and drove back to his master.
You may imagine how astonished he was to see his Herd-boy returning to
him in this manner! Then the youth told him of the piece of good luck
that had befallen him, and asked him for the hand of his beautiful
daughter. This was readily granted, and the two lived in peace and
happiness to the end of their lives.
_THE INVISIBLE PRINCE_
Once upon a time there lived a Fairy who had power over the earth, the
sea, fire, and the air; and this Fairy had four sons. The eldest, who
was quick and lively, with a vivid imagination, she made Lord of Fire,
which was in her opinion the noblest of all the elements. To the
second son, whose wisdom and prudence made amends for his being rather
dull, she gave the government of the earth. The third was wild and
savage, and of monstrous stature; and the Fairy, his mother, who was
ashamed of his defects, hoped to hide them by creating him King of the
Seas. The youngest, who was the slave of his passions and of a very
uncertain temper, became Prince of the Air.
Being the youngest, he was naturally his mother’s favourite; but this
did not blind her to his weaknesses, and she foresaw that some day he
would suffer much pain through falling in love. So she thought the
best thing she could do was to bring him up with a horror of women;
and, to her great delight, she saw this dislike only increased as he
grew older. From his earliest childhood he heard nothing but stories
of princes who had fallen into all sorts of troubles through love; and
she drew such terrible pictures of poor little Cupid that the young
man had no difficulty in believing that he was the root of all evil.
All the time that this wise mother could spare from filling her son
with hatred for all womenkind she passed in giving him a love of the
pleasures of the chase, which henceforth became his chief joy. For his
amusement she had made a new forest, planted with the most splendid
trees, and turned loose in it every animal that could be found in any
of the four quarters of the globe. In the midst of this forest she
built a palace which had not its equal for beauty in the whole world,
and then she considered that she had done enough to make any prince
happy.
Now it is all very well to abuse the God of Love, but a man cannot
struggle against his fate. In his secret heart the Prince got tired of
his mother’s constant talk on this subject; and when one day she
quitted the palace to attend to some business, begging him never to go
beyond the grounds, he at once jumped at the chance of disobeying her.
Left to himself the Prince soon forgot the wise counsels of his
mother, and feeling very much bored with his own company, he ordered
some of the spirits of the air to carry him to the court of a
neighbouring sovereign. This kingdom was situated in the Island of
Roses, where the climate is so delicious that the grass is always
green and the flowers always sweet. The waves, instead of beating on
the rocks, seemed to die gently on the shore; clusters of golden
bushes covered the land, and the vines were bent low with grapes.
The King of this island had a daughter named Rosalie, who was more
lovely than any girl in the whole world. No sooner had the eyes of the
Prince of the Air rested on her than he forgot all the terrible woes
which had been prophesied to him ever since he was born, for in one
single moment the plans of years are often upset. He instantly began
to think how best to make himself happy, and the shortest way that
occurred to him was to have Rosalie carried off by his attendant
spirits.
It is easy to imagine the feelings of the King when he found that his
daughter had vanished. He wept her loss night and day, and his only
comfort was to talk over it with a young and unknown prince, who had
just arrived at the Court. Alas! he did not know what a deep interest
the stranger had in Rosalie, for he too had seen her, and had fallen a
victim to her charms.
One day the King, more sorrowful than usual, was walking sadly along
the seashore, when after a long silence the unknown Prince, who was
his only companion, suddenly spoke. ‘There is no evil without a
remedy,’ he said to the unhappy father; ‘and if you will promise me
your daughter in marriage, I will undertake to bring her back to you.’
‘You are trying to soothe me by vain promises,’ answered the King.
‘Did I not see her caught up into the air, in spite of cries which
would have softened the heart of any one but the barbarian who has
robbed me of her? The unfortunate girl is pining away in some unknown
land, where perhaps no foot of man has ever trod, and I shall see her
no more. But go, generous stranger; bring back Rosalie if you can, and
live happy with her ever after in this country, of which I now declare
you heir.’
Although the stranger’s name and rank were unknown to Rosalie’s
father, he was really the son of the King of the Golden Isle, which
had for capital a city that extended from one sea to another. The
walls, washed by the quiet waters, were covered with gold, which made
one think of the yellow sands. Above them was a rampart of orange and
lemon trees, and all the streets were paved with gold.
The King of this beautiful island had one son, for whom a life of
adventure had been foretold at his birth. This so frightened his
father and mother that in order to comfort them a Fairy, who happened
to be present at the time, produced a little pebble which she told
them to keep for the Prince till he grew up, as by putting it in his
mouth he would become invisible, as long as he did not try to speak,
for if he did the stone would lose all its virtue. In this way the
good fairy hoped that the Prince would be protected against all
dangers.
No sooner did the Prince begin to grow out of boyhood than he longed
to see if the other countries of the world were as splendid as the one
in which he lived. So, under pretence of visiting some small islands
that belonged to his father, he set out. But a frightful storm drove
his ship on to unknown shores, where most of his followers were put to
death by the savages, and the Prince himself only managed to escape by
making use of his magic pebble. By this means he passed through the
midst of them unseen, and wandered on till he reached the coast, where
he re-embarked on board his ship.
The first land he sighted was the Island of Roses, and he went at once
to the court of the King, Rosalie’s father. The moment his eyes beheld
the Princess, he fell in love with her like everyone else.
He had already spent several months in this condition when the Prince
of the Air whirled her away, to the grief and despair of every man on
the island. But sad though everybody was, the Prince of the Golden
Isle was perfectly inconsolable, and he passed both days and nights in
bemoaning his loss.
‘Alas!’ he cried; ‘shall I never see my lovely Princess again? Who
knows where she may be, and what fairy may have her in his keeping? I
am only a man, but I am strong in my love, and I will seek the whole
world through till I find her.’
So saying, he left the court, and made ready for his journey.
He travelled many weary days without hearing a single word of the lost
Princess, till one morning, as he was walking through a thick forest,
he suddenly perceived a magnificent palace standing at the end of a
pine avenue, and his heart bounded to think that he might be gazing on
Rosalie’s prison. He hastened his steps, and quickly arrived at the
gate of the palace, which was formed of a single agate. The gate swung
open to let him through, and he next passed successively three courts,
surrounded by deep ditches filled with running water, with birds of
brilliant plumage flying about the banks. Everything around was rare
and beautiful, but the Prince scarcely raised his eyes to all these
wonders. He thought only of the Princess and where he should find her,
but in vain he opened every door and searched in every corner; he
neither saw Rosalie nor anyone else. At last there was no place left
for him to search but a little wood, which contained in the centre a
sort of hall built entirely of orange-trees, with four small rooms
opening out of the corners. Three of these were empty except for
statues and wonderful things, but in the fourth the Invisible Prince
caught sight of Rosalie. His joy at beholding her again was, however,
somewhat lessened by seeing that the Prince of the Air was kneeling at
her feet, and pleading his own cause. But it was in vain that he
implored her to listen; she only shook her head. ‘No,’ was all she
would say; ‘you snatched me from my father whom I loved, and all the
splendour in the world can never console me. Go! I can never feel
anything towards you but hate and contempt.’ With these words she
turned away and entered her own apartments.
Unknown to herself the Invisible Prince had followed her, but fearing
to be discovered by the Princess in the presence of others, he made up
his mind to wait quietly till dark; and employed the long hours in
writing a poem to the Princess, which he laid on the bed beside her.
This done, he thought of nothing but how best to deliver Rosalie, and
he resolved to take advantage of a visit which the Prince of the Air
paid every year to his mother and brothers in order to strike the
blow.
One day Rosalie was sitting alone in her room thinking of her troubles
when she suddenly saw a pen get up from off the desk and begin to
write all by itself on a sheet of white paper. As she did not know
that it was guided by an invisible hand she was very much astonished,
and the moment that the pen had ceased to move she instantly went over
to the table, where she found some lovely verses, telling her that
another shared her distresses, whatever they might be, and loved her
with all his heart; and that he would never rest until he had
delivered her from the hands of the man she hated. Thus encouraged,
she told him all her story, and of the arrival of a young stranger in
her father’s palace, whose looks had so charmed her that since that
day she had thought of no one else. At these words the Prince could
contain himself no longer. He took the pebble from his mouth, and
flung himself at Rosalie’s feet.
[Illustration: The Pen Got Up and Wrote All By Itself—Rosalie]
When they had got over the first rapture of meeting they began to make
plans to escape from the power of the Prince of the Air. But this did
not prove easy, for the magic stone would only serve for one person at
a time, and in order to save Rosalie the Prince of the Golden Isle
would have to expose himself to the fury of his enemy. But Rosalie
would not hear of this.
‘No, Prince,’ she said; ‘since you are here this island no longer
feels a prison. Besides, you are under the protection of a Fairy, who
always visits your father’s court at this season. Go instantly and
seek her, and when she is found implore the gift of another stone with
similar powers. Once you have that, there will be no further
difficulty in the way of escape.’
The Prince of the Air returned a few days later from his mother’s
palace, but the Invisible Prince had already set out. He had, however,
entirely forgotten the road by which he had come, and lost himself for
so long in the forest, that when at last he reached home the Fairy had
already left, and, in spite of all his grief, there was nothing for it
but to wait till the Fairy’s next visit, and allow Rosalie to suffer
three months longer. This thought drove him to despair, and he had
almost made up his mind to return to the place of her captivity, when
one day, as he was strolling along an alley in the woods, he saw a
huge oak open its trunk, and out of it step two Princes in earnest
conversation. As our hero had the magic stone in his mouth they
imagined themselves alone, and did not lower their voices.
‘What!’ said one, ‘are you always going to allow yourself to be
tormented by a passion which can never end happily, and in your whole
kingdom can you find nothing else to satisfy you?’
‘What is the use,’ replied the other, ‘of being Prince of the Gnomes,
and having a mother who is queen over all the four elements, if I
cannot win the love of the Princess Argentine? From the moment that I
first saw her, sitting in the forest surrounded by flowers, I have
never ceased to think of her night and day, and, although I love her,
I am quite convinced that she will never care for me. You know that I
have in my palace the cabinets of the years. In the first, great
mirrors reflect the past; in the second, we contemplate the present;
in the third, the future can be read. It was here that I fled after I
had gazed on the Princess Argentine, but instead of love I only saw
scorn and contempt. Think how great must be my devotion, when, in
spite of my fate, I still love on!’
Now the Prince of the Golden Isle was enchanted with this
conversation, for the Princess Argentine was his sister, and he hoped,
by means of her influence over the Prince of the Gnomes, to obtain
from his brother the release of Rosalie. So he joyfully returned to
his father’s palace, where he found his friend the Fairy, who at once
presented him with a magic pebble like his own. As may be imagined, he
lost no time in setting out to deliver Rosalie, and travelled so fast
that he soon arrived at the forest, in the midst of which she lay a
captive. But though he found the palace he did not find Rosalie. He
hunted high and low, but there was no sign of her, and his despair was
so great that he was ready, a thousand times over, to take his own
life. At last he remembered the conversation of the two Princes about
the cabinets of the years, and that if he could manage to reach the
oak-tree, he would be certain to discover what had become of Rosalie.
Happily, he soon found out the secret of the passage and entered the
cabinet of the present, where he saw reflected in the mirrors the
unfortunate Rosalie sitting on the floor weeping bitterly, and
surrounded with genii, who never left her night or day.
[Illustration: Guarded by the Genii—The Mirror of the Present]
This sight only increased the misery of the Prince, for he did not
know where the castle was, nor how to set about finding it. However,
he resolved to seek the whole world through till he came to the right
place. He began by setting sail in a favourable wind, but his bad luck
followed him even on the sea. He had scarcely lost sight of the land
when a violent storm arose, and after several hours of beating about,
the vessel was driven on to some rocks, on which it dashed itself to
bits. The Prince was fortunate enough to be able to lay hold of a
floating spar, and contrived to keep himself afloat; and, after a long
struggle with the winds and waves, he was cast upon a strange island.
But what was his surprise, on reaching the shore, to hear sounds of
the most heartrending distress, mingled with the sweetest songs which
had ever charmed him! His curiosity was instantly roused, and he
advanced cautiously till he saw two huge dragons guarding the gate of
a wood. They were terrible indeed to look upon. Their bodies were
covered with glittering scales; their curly tails extended far over
the land; flames darted from their mouths and noses, and their eyes
would have made the bravest shudder; but as the Prince was invisible
and they did not see him, he slipped past them into the wood. He found
himself at once in a labyrinth, and wandered about for a long time
without meeting anyone; in fact, the only sight he saw was a circle of
human hands, sticking out of the ground above the wrist, each with a
bracelet of gold, on which a name was written. The farther he advanced
in the labyrinth the more curious he became, till he was stopped by
two corpses lying in the midst of a cypress alley, each with a scarlet
cord round his neck and a bracelet on his arm on which were engraved
their own names, and those of two Princesses.
[Illustration: In The Labyrinth of Despair]
The invisible Prince recognised these dead men as Kings of two large
islands near his own home, but the names of the Princesses were
unknown to him. He grieved for their unhappy fate, and at once
proceeded to bury them; but no sooner had he laid them in their
graves, than their hands started up through the earth and remained
sticking up like those of their fellows.
The Prince went on his way, thinking about this strange adventure,
when suddenly at the turn of the walk he perceived a tall man whose
face was the picture of misery, holding in his hands a silken cord of
the exact colour of those round the necks of the dead men. A few steps
further this man came up with another as miserable to the full as he
himself; they silently embraced, and then without a word passed the
cords round their throats, and fell dead side by side. In vain the
Prince rushed to their assistance and strove to undo the cord. He
could not loosen it; so he buried them like the others and continued
his path.
He felt, however, that great prudence was necessary, or he himself
might become the victim of some enchantment; and he was thankful to
slip past the dragons, and enter a beautiful park, with clear streams
and sweet flowers, and a crowd of men and maidens. But he could not
forget the terrible things he had seen, and hoped eagerly for a clue
to the mystery. Noticing two young people talking together, he drew
near thinking that he might get some explanation of what puzzled him.
And so he did.
‘You swear,’ said the Prince, ‘that you will love me till you die, but
I fear your faithless heart, and I feel that I shall soon have to seek
the Fairy Despair, ruler of half this island. She carries off the
lovers who have been cast away by their mistresses, and wish to have
done with life. She places them in a labyrinth where they are
condemned to walk for ever, with a bracelet on their arms and a cord
round their necks, unless they meet another as miserable as
themselves. Then the cord is pulled and they lie where they fall, till
they are buried by the first passer-by. Terrible as this death would
be,’ added the Prince, ‘it would be sweeter than life if I had lost
your love.’
The sight of all these happy lovers only made the Prince grieve the
more, and he wandered along the seashore spending his days; but one
day he was sitting on a rock bewailing his fate, and the impossibility
of leaving the island, when all in a moment the sea appeared to raise
itself nearly to the skies, and the caves echoed with hideous screams.
As he looked a woman rose from the depths of the sea, flying madly
before a furious giant. The cries she uttered softened the heart of
the Prince; he took the stone from his mouth, and drawing his sword he
rushed after the giant, so as to give the lady time to escape. But
hardly had he come within reach of the enemy, than the giant touched
him with a ring that he held in his hand, and the Prince remained
immovable where he stood. The giant then hastily rejoined his prey,
and, seizing her in his arms, he plunged her into the sea. Then he
sent some tritons to bind chains about the Prince of the Golden Isle,
and he too felt himself borne to the depths of the ocean, and without
the hope of ever again seeing the Princess.
Now the giant whom the invisible had so rashly attacked was the Lord
of the Sea, and the third son of the Queen of the Elements, and he had
touched the youth with a magic ring which enabled a mortal to live
under water. So the Prince of the Golden Isle found, when bound in
chains by the tritons, he was carried through the homes of strange
monsters and past immense seaweed forests, till he reached a vast
sandy space, surrounded by huge rocks. On the tallest of the rocks sat
the giant as on a throne.
‘Rash mortal,’ said he, when the Prince was dragged before him, ‘you
have deserved death, but you shall live only to suffer more cruelly.
Go, and add to the number of those whom it is my pleasure to torture.’
At these words the unhappy Prince found himself tied to a rock; but he
was not alone in his misfortunes, for all round him were chained
Princes and Princesses, whom the giant had led captive. Indeed, it was
his chief delight to create a storm, in order to add to the list of
his prisoners.
As his hands were fastened, it was impossible for the Prince of the
Golden Isle to make use of his magic stone, and he passed his nights
and days dreaming of Rosalie. But at last the time came when the giant
took it into his head to amuse himself by arranging fights between
some of his captives. Lots were drawn, and one fell upon our Prince,
whose chains were immediately loosened. The moment he was set free, he
snatched up his stone, and became invisible.
The astonishment of the giant at the sudden disappearance of the
Prince may well be imagined. He ordered all the passages to be
watched, but it was too late, for the Prince had already glided
between two rocks. He wandered for a long while through the forests,
where he met nothing but fearful monsters; he climbed rock after rock,
steered his way from tree to tree, till at length he arrived at the
edge of the sea, at the foot of a mountain that he remembered to have
seen in the cabinet of the present, where Rosalie was held captive.
Filled with joy, he made his way to the top of the mountain which
pierced the clouds, and there he found a palace. He entered, and in
the middle of a long gallery he discovered a crystal room, in the
midst of which sat Rosalie, guarded night and day by genii. There was
no door anywhere, nor any window. At this sight the Prince became more
puzzled than ever, for he did not know how he was to warn Rosalie of
his return. Yet it broke his heart to see her weeping from dawn till
dark.
One day, as Rosalie was walking up and down her room, she was
surprised to see that the crystal which served for a wall had grown
cloudy, as if some one had breathed on it, and, what was more,
wherever she moved the brightness of the crystal always became
clouded. This was enough to cause the Princess to suspect that her
lover had returned. In order to set the Prince of the Air’s mind at
rest she began by being very gracious to him, so that when she begged
that her captivity might be a little lightened she should not be
refused. At first the only favour she asked was to be allowed to walk
for one hour every day up and down the long gallery. This was granted,
and the Invisible Prince speedily took the opportunity of handing her
the stone, which she at once slipped into her mouth. No words can
paint the fury of her captor at her disappearance. He ordered the
spirits of the air to fly through all space, and to bring back Rosalie
wherever she might be. They instantly flew off to obey his commands,
and spread themselves over the whole earth.
Meantime Rosalie and the Invisible Prince had reached, hand in hand, a
door of the gallery which led through a terrace into the gardens. In
silence they glided along, and thought themselves already safe, when a
furious monster dashed itself by accident against Rosalie and the
Invisible Prince, and in her fright she let go his hand. No one can
speak as long as he is invisible, and besides, they knew that the
spirits were all around them, and at the slightest sound they would be
recognised; so all they could do was to feel about in the hope that
their hands might once more meet.
[Illustration: Prince Gnome Learns the Name of His Rival at the Golden
Fountain]
But, alas! the joy of liberty lasted but a short time. The Princess,
having wandered in vain up and down the forest, stopped at last on the
edge of a fountain. As she walked she wrote on the trees: ‘If ever the
Prince, my lover, comes this way, let him know that it is here I
dwell, and that I sit daily on the edge of this fountain, mingling my
tears with its waters.’
These words were read by one of the genii, who repeated them to his
master. The Prince of the Air, in his turn making himself invisible,
was led to the fountain, and waited for Rosalie. When she drew near he
held out his hand, which she grasped eagerly, taking it for that of
her lover; and, seizing his opportunity, the Prince passed a cord
round her arms, and throwing off his invisibility cried to his spirits
to drag her into the lowest pit.
It was at this moment that the Invisible Prince appeared, and at the
sight of the Prince of the Genii mounting into the air, holding a
silken cord, he guessed instantly that he was carrying off Rosalie.
He felt so overwhelmed by despair that he thought for an instant of
putting an end to his life. ‘Can I survive my misfortunes?’ he cried.
‘I fancied I had come to an end of my troubles, and now they are worse
than ever. What will become of me? Never can I discover the place
where this monster will hide Rosalie.’
The unhappy youth had determined to let himself die, and indeed his
sorrow alone was enough to kill him, when the thought that by means of
the cabinets of the years he might find out where the Princess was
imprisoned, gave him a little ray of comfort. So he continued to walk
on through the forest, and after some hours he arrived at the gate of
a temple, guarded by two huge lions. Being invisible, he was able to
enter unharmed. In the middle of the temple was an altar, on which lay
a book, and behind the altar hung a great curtain. The Prince
approached the altar and opened the book, which contained the names of
all the lovers in the world; and in it he read that Rosalie had been
carried off by the Prince of the Air to an abyss which had no entrance
except the one that lay by way of the Fountain of Gold.
Now, as the Prince had not the smallest idea where this fountain was
to be found, it might be thought that he was not much nearer Rosalie
than before. This was not, however, the view taken by the Prince.
‘Though every step that I take may perhaps lead me further from her,’
he said to himself, ‘I am still thankful to know that she is alive
somewhere.’
On leaving the temple the Invisible Prince saw six paths lying before
him, each of which led through the wood. He was hesitating which to
choose, when he suddenly beheld two people coming towards him, down
the track which lay most to his right. They turned out to be the
Prince Gnome and his friend, and the sudden desire to get some news of
his sister, Princess Argentine, caused the Invisible Prince to follow
them and to listen to their conversation.
‘Do you think,’ the Prince Gnome was saying, ‘do you think that I
would not break my chains if I could? I know that the Princess
Argentine will never love me, yet each day I feel her dearer still.
And as if this were not enough, I have the horror of feeling that she
probably loves another. So I have resolved to put myself out of my
pain by means of the Golden Fountain. A single drop of its water
falling on the sand around will trace the name of my rival in her
heart. I dread the test, and yet this very dread convinces me of my
misfortune.’
It may be imagined that after listening to these words the Invisible
Prince followed Prince Gnome like his shadow, and after walking some
time they arrived at the Golden Fountain. The unhappy lover stooped
down with a sigh, and dipping his finger in the water let fall a drop
on the sand. It instantly wrote the name of Prince Flame, his brother.
The shock of this discovery was so real, that Prince Gnome sank
fainting into the arms of his friend.
Meanwhile the Invisible Prince was turning over in his mind how he
could best deliver Rosalie. As, since he had been touched by the
Giant’s ring, he had the power to live in the water as well as on
land, he at once dived into the fountain. He perceived in one corner a
door leading into the mountain, and at the foot of the mountain was a
high rock on which was fixed an iron ring with a cord attached. The
Prince promptly guessed that the cord was used to chain the Princess,
and drew his sword and cut it. In a moment he felt the Princess’s hand
in his, for she had always kept her magic pebble in her mouth, in
spite of the prayers and entreaties of the Prince of the Air to make
herself visible.
So hand in hand the invisible Prince and Rosalie crossed the mountain;
but as the Princess had no power of living under water, she could not
pass the Golden Fountain. Speechless and invisible they clung together
on the brink, trembling at the frightful tempest the Prince of the Air
had raised in his fury. The storm had already lasted many days when
tremendous heat began to make itself felt. The lightning flashed, the
thunder rattled, fire bolts fell from heaven, burning up the forests
and even the fields of corn. In one instant the very streams were
dried up, and the Prince, seizing his opportunity, carried the
Princess over the Golden Fountain.
It took them a long time still to reach the Golden Isle, but at last
they got there, and we may be quite sure they never wanted to leave it
any more.
_THE CROW_[13]
Once upon a time there were three Princesses who were all three young
and beautiful; but the youngest, although she was not fairer than the
other two, was the most loveable of them all.
About half a mile from the palace in which they lived there stood a
castle, which was uninhabited and almost a ruin, but the garden which
surrounded it was a mass of blooming flowers, and in this garden the
youngest Princess used often to walk.
One day when she was pacing to and fro under the lime trees, a black
crow hopped out of a rose-bush in front of her. The poor beast was all
torn and bleeding, and the kind little Princess was quite unhappy
about it. When the crow saw this it turned to her and said:
‘I am not really a black crow, but an enchanted Prince, who has been
doomed to spend his youth in misery. If you only liked, Princess, you
could save me. But you would have to say good-bye to all your own
people, and come and be my constant companion in this ruined castle.
There is one habitable room in it, in which there is a golden bed;
there you will have to live all by yourself, and don’t forget that
whatever you may see or hear in the night you must not scream out, for
if you give as much as a single cry my sufferings will be doubled.’
The good-natured Princess at once left her home and her family and
hurried to the ruined castle, and took possession of the room with the
golden bed.
[Footnote 13: From the Polish. Kletke.]
When night approached she lay down, but though she shut her eyes tight
sleep would not come. At midnight she heard to her great horror some
one coming along the passage, and in a minute her door was flung wide
open and a troop of strange beings entered the room. They at once
proceeded to light a fire in the huge fire-place; then they placed a
great cauldron of boiling water on it. When they had done this, they
approached the bed on which the trembling girl lay, and, screaming and
yelling all the time, they dragged her towards the cauldron. She
nearly died with fright, but she never uttered a sound. Then of a
sudden the cock crew, and all the evil spirits vanished.
At the same moment the crow appeared and hopped all round the room
with joy. It thanked the Princess most heartily for her goodness, and
said that its sufferings had already been greatly lessened.
[Illustration: The evil spirits drag the girl to the cauldron]
Now one of the Princess’s elder sisters, who was very inquisitive, had
found out about everything, and went to pay her youngest sister a
visit in the ruined castle. She implored her so urgently to let her
spend the night with her in the golden bed, that at last the
good-natured little Princess consented. But at midnight, when the odd
folk appeared, the elder sister screamed with terror, and from this
time on the youngest Princess insisted always on keeping watch alone.
So she lived in solitude all the day-time, and at night she would have
been frightened, had she not been so brave; but every day the crow
came and thanked her for her endurance, and assured her that his
sufferings were far less than they had been.
And so two years passed away, when one day the crow came to the
Princess and said: ‘In another year I shall be freed from the spell I
am under at present, because then the seven years will be over. But
before I can resume my natural form, and take possession of the
belongings of my forefathers, you must go out into the world and take
service as a maidservant.’
The young Princess consented at once, and for a whole year she served
as a maid; but in spite of her youth and beauty she was very badly
treated, and suffered many things. One evening, when she was spinning
flax, and had worked her little white hands weary, she heard a
rustling beside her and a cry of joy. Then she saw a handsome youth
standing beside her; who knelt down at her feet and kissed the little
weary white hands.
‘I am the Prince,’ he said, ‘who you in your goodness, when I was
wandering about in the shape of a black crow, freed from the most
awful torments. Come now to my castle with me, and let us live there
happily together.’
So they went to the castle where they had both endured so much. But
when they reached it, it was difficult to believe that it was the
same, for it had all been rebuilt and done up again. And there they
lived for a hundred years, a hundred years of joy and happiness.
_HOW SIX MEN TRAVELLED THROUGH THE WIDE WORLD_
There was once upon a time a man who understood all sorts of arts; he
served in the war, and bore himself bravely and we
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