The Grey Fairy Book
by unknown · English · Gutenberg #33547 · 542,841 chars · public domain (US)
The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Grey Fairy Book
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online
at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States,
you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located
before using this eBook.
Title: The Grey Fairy Book
Editor: Andrew Lang
Illustrator: H. J. Ford
Release date: August 27, 2010 [eBook #33547]
Most recently updated: September 12, 2013
Language: English
Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/33547
Credits: Produced by David Edwards, Ross Cooling and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Canada Team at
http://www.pgdpcanada.net. (This file was produced from
images generously made available by The Internet
Archive/American Libraries.)
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GREY FAIRY BOOK ***
Produced by David Edwards, Ross Cooling and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Canada Team at
http://www.pgdpcanada.net. (This file was produced from
images generously made available by The Internet
Archive/American Libraries.)
[Illustration]
THE
GREY FAIRY BOOK
[Illustration: The Dervish drowning the Pigs]
THE
Grey Fairy Book
EDITED BY
ANDREW LANG
[Illustration: The Goblin Pony]
_WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS BY H. J. FORD_
LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO.
91 AND 93 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK
LONDON AND BOMBAY
1905
All rights reserved
Copyright 1900
by
Longmans, Green, and Co.
First Edition, October 1900.
Reprinted, September, 1901.
Reprinted, August, 1905.
University Press
John Wilson and Son, Cambridge, U.S.A.
_PREFACE_
The tales in the Grey Fairy Book are derived from many
countries--Lithuania, various parts of Africa, Germany, France, Greece,
and other regions of the world. They have been translated and adapted by
Mrs. Dent, Mrs. Lang, Miss Eleanor Sellar, Miss Blackley, and Miss Lang.
'The Three Sons of Hali' is from the last century 'Cabinet des Fées,' a
very large collection. The French author may have had some Oriental
original before him in parts; at all events he copied the Eastern method
of putting tale within tale, like the Eastern balls of carved ivory. The
stories, as usual, illustrate the method of popular fiction. A certain
number of incidents are shaken into many varying combinations, like the
fragments of coloured glass in the kaleidoscope. Probably the possible
combinations, like possible musical combinations, are not unlimited in
number, but children may be less sensitive in the matter of fairies than
Mr. John Stuart Mill was as regards music.
_CONTENTS_
PAGE
_Donkey Skin_ 1
_The Goblin Pony_ 16
_An Impossible Enchantment_ 19
_The Story of Dschemil and Dschemila_ 38
_Janni and the Draken_ 61
_The Partnership of the Thief and the Liar_ 67
_Fortunatus and his Purse_ 74
_The Goat-faced Girl_ 84
_What came of picking Flowers_ 93
_The Story of Bensurdatu_ 103
_The Magician's Horse_ 116
_The Little Gray Man_ 129
_Herr Lazarus and the Draken_ 136
_The Story of the Queen of the Flowery Isles_ 141
_Udea and her Seven Brothers_ 153
_The White Wolf_ 168
_Mohammed with the Magic Finger_ 178
_Bobino_ 197
_The Dog and the Sparrow_ 205
_The Story of the Three Sons of Hali_ 210
_The Story of the Fair Circassians_ 245
_The Jackal and the Spring_ 265
_The Bear_ 269
_The Sunchild_ 275
_The Daughter of Buk Ettemsuch_ 280
_Laughing Eye and Weeping Eye, or the Limping Fox_ 293
_The Unlooked-for Prince_ 300
_The Simpleton_ 309
_The Street Musicians_ 317
_The Twin Brothers_ 322
_Cannetella_ 332
_The Ogre_ 344
_A Fairy's Blunder_ 353
_Long, Broad, and Quickeye_ 366
_Prunella_ 382
_ILLUSTRATIONS_
_PLATES_
_The Dervish drowning the Pigs Frontispiece_
_The Fairy, the Princess, and the Donkey's Skin to face p._ 4
_The King sees Princess Mutinosa out Hunting_ " 20
_The Fairy-car arrives_ " 34
_Dschemila outwits the Ogre_ " 46
_Dschemila gets rid of the Ass's Head_ " 56
_The Gift of Fortuna_ " 76
_The Lizard takes charge of Renzolla_ " 84
_What came of picking Jessamine_ " 94
_How the White Dove escaped_ " 98
_How the Three Princesses were lost_ " 104
_Bensurdatu attacks the Seven-headed Serpent_ " 110
_The Gardener gets the Apple_ " 122
_The little Gray Man_ " 130
_The Princess is swallowed up by the Earth_ " 142
_She spent the whole Day near the Fountain_ " 146
_Udea found Lifeless by her Seven Brothers_ " 162
_The Bride wishes to buy the Spinning-wheel_ " 174
_The Townspeople make Bobino King_ " 200
_There appeared in the Doorway a lovely Jewess_ " 220
_Zelida discovers the Writing on the Flask_ " 224
_Sumi shows Hassan the Book of Magic_ " 236
_The wrong Heads on the wrong Bodies_ " 250
_The Dervish Drowning the Pigs_ " 258
_The Maiden creeps out of the Pot_ " 282
_Limping Fox advises the Simpleton to keep the Golden
Girl himself_ " 294
_The Princess beaten by Quick-as-Thought_ " 312
_The Brother comes to the Rescue_ " 328
_Scioravante leaves Cannetella in the Stable_ " 334
_Cannetella comes out of the Cask_ " 338
_The Sadness of her Face seemed to pass into his Heart_ " 366
_The Guardians caught Napping_ " 376
* * * * *
_IN TEXT_
PAGE
_The King's Pet Donkey_ 3
_The Donkey-skin falls off_ 13
_The Goblin Pony_ 17
_The Sea-people visit Graziella_ 29
_Dschemila gets an Ass's Head_ 51
_Janni and his Dogs fight the Three-headed Draken_ 65
_'I once saw'_ 71
_Renzolla sees her Face in the Mirror_ 91
_How the Magician was thwarted by the Brush_ 119
_The Hero discovered_ 127
_How the Draken found Herr Lazarus asleep by the Spring_ 137
_The Negro compels Udea to walk_ 155
_Udea finds the Man-eater_ 160
_The White Wolf asks the Princess a Question in the Wood_ 171
_My Uncle is coming_ 181
_How Mohammed finds his Uncle_ 187
_How the Carter killed his Horse_ 207
_Neangir sees the Picture of Argentine_ 213
_Zinebi puts the Turban on the Pot_ 219
_The Bassa laughs at the Circassians_ 233
_The Circassians dance into the Bassa's Garden_ 241
_The Prince kicks the Bear out of the Room_ 271
'Letiko, Letiko, come down and see what a beautiful Apron I have' 277
_Letiko gets Home safe after all_ 279
_The Daughter of Buk Ettemsuch_ 287
_Antonio is not afraid of the Ogre_ 345
_Broad puffs himself out_ 371
_DONKEY SKIN_
There was once upon a time a king who was so much beloved by his
subjects that he thought himself the happiest monarch in the whole
world, and he had everything his heart could desire. His palace was
filled with the rarest of curiosities, and his garden with the sweetest
flowers, while the marble stalls of his stables stood a row of
milk-white Arabs, with big brown eyes.
Strangers who had heard of the marvels which the king had collected, and
made long journeys to see them, were, however, surprised to find the
most splendid stall of all occupied by a donkey, with particularly large
and drooping ears. It was a very fine donkey; but still, as far as they
could tell, nothing so very remarkable as to account for the care with
which it was lodged; and they went away wondering, for they could not
know that every night, when it was asleep, bushels of gold pieces
tumbled out of its ears, which were picked up each morning by the
attendants.
After many years of prosperity a sudden blow fell upon the king in the
death of his wife, whom he loved dearly. But before she died, the queen,
who had always thought first of his happiness, gathered all her
strength, and said to him:
'Promise me one thing: you must marry again, I know, for the good of
your people, as well as of yourself. But do not set about it in a hurry.
Wait until you have found a woman more beautiful and better formed than
myself.'
'Oh, do not speak to me of marrying,' sobbed the king; 'rather let me
die with you!' But the queen only smiled faintly, and turned over on her
pillow and died.
For some months the king's grief was great; then gradually he began to
forget a little, and, besides, his counsellors were always urging him to
seek another wife. At first he refused to listen to them, but by-and-by
he allowed himself to be persuaded to think of it, only stipulating that
the bride should be more beautiful and attractive than the late queen,
according to the promise he had made her.
Overjoyed at having obtained what they wanted, the counsellors sent
envoys far and wide to get portraits of all the most famous beauties of
every country. The artists were very busy and did their best, but, alas!
nobody could even pretend that any of the ladies could compare for a
moment with the late queen.
At length, one day, when he had turned away discouraged from a fresh
collection of pictures, the king's eyes fell on his adopted daughter,
who had lived in the palace since she was a baby, and he saw that, if a
woman existed on the whole earth more lovely than the queen, this was
she! He at once made known what his wishes were, but the young girl, who
was not at all ambitious, and had not the faintest desire to marry him,
was filled with dismay, and begged for time to think about it. That
night, when everyone was asleep, she started in a little car drawn by a
big sheep, and went to consult her fairy godmother.
'I know what you have come to tell me,' said the fairy, when the maiden
stepped out of the car; 'and if you don't wish to marry him, I will show
you how to avoid it. Ask him to give you a dress that exactly matches
the sky. It will be impossible for him to get one, so you will be quite
safe.' The girl thanked the fairy and returned home again.
[Illustration: The King's Pet Donkey]
The next morning, when her father (as she had always called him) came
to see her, she told him that she could give him no answer until he had
presented her with a dress the colour of the sky. The king, overjoyed at
this answer, sent for all the choicest weavers and dressmakers in the
kingdom, and commanded them to make a robe the colour of the sky without
an instant's delay, or he would cut off their heads at once. Dreadfully
frightened at this threat, they all began to dye and cut and sew, and
in two days they brought back the dress, which looked as if it had been
cut straight out of the heavens! The poor girl was thunderstruck, and
did not know what to do; so in the night she harnessed her sheep again,
and went in search of her godmother.
'The king is cleverer than I thought,' said the fairy; 'but tell him you
must have a dress of moonbeams.'
And the next day, when the king summoned her into his presence, the girl
told him what she wanted.
'Madam, I can refuse you nothing,' said he; and he ordered the dress to
be ready in twenty-four hours, or every man should be hanged.
They set to work with all their might, and by dawn next day, the dress
of moonbeams was laid across her bed. The girl, though she could not
help admiring its beauty, began to cry, till the fairy, who heard her,
came to her help.
'Well, I could not have believed it of him!' said she; 'but ask for a
dress of sunshine, and I shall be surprised indeed if he manages that!'
The goddaughter did not feel much faith in the fairy after her two
previous failures; but not knowing what else to do, she told her father
what she was bid.
The king made no difficulties about it, and even gave his finest rubies
and diamonds to ornament the dress, which was so dazzling, when
finished, that it could not be looked at save through smoked glasses!
When the princess saw it, she pretended that the sight hurt her eyes,
and retired to her room, where she found the fairy awaiting her, very
much ashamed of herself.
'There is only one thing to be done now,' cried she; 'you must demand
the skin of the ass he sets such store by. It is from that donkey he
obtains all his vast riches, and I am sure he will never give it to
you.'
The princess was not so certain; however, she went to the king, and told
him she could never marry him till he had given her the ass's skin.
The king was both astonished and grieved at this new request, but did
not hesitate an instant. The ass was sacrificed, and the skin laid at
the feet of the princess.
[Illustration: The Fairy, The Princess & The Donkey's Skin]
The poor girl, seeing no escape from the fate she dreaded, wept afresh,
and tore her hair; when, suddenly, the fairy stood before her.
'Take heart,' she said, 'all will now go well! Wrap yourself in this
skin, and leave the palace and go as far as you can. I will look after
you. Your dresses and your jewels shall follow you underground, and if
you strike the earth whenever you need anything, you will have it at
once. But go quickly: you have no time to lose.'
So the princess clothed herself in the ass's skin, and slipped from the
palace without being seen by anyone.
Directly she was missed there was a great hue and cry, and every corner,
possible and impossible, was searched. Then the king sent out parties
along all the roads, but the fairy threw her invisible mantle over the
girl when they approached, and none of them could see her.
The princess walked on a long, long way, trying to find some one who
would take her in, and let her work for them; but though the cottagers,
whose houses she passed, gave her food from charity, the ass's skin was
so dirty they would not allow her to enter their houses. For her flight
had been so hurried she had had no time to clean it.
Tired and disheartened at her ill-fortune, she was wandering, one day,
past the gate of a farmyard, situated just outside the walls of a large
town, when she heard a voice calling to her. She turned and saw the
farmer's wife standing among her turkeys, and making signs to her to
come in.
'I want a girl to wash the dishes and feed the turkeys, and clean out
the pig-sty,' said the woman, 'and, to judge by your dirty clothes, you
would not be too fine for the work.'
The girl accepted her offer with joy, and she was at once set to work in
a corner of the kitchen, where all the farm servants came and made fun
of her, and the ass's skin in which she was wrapped. But by-and-by they
got so used to the sight of it that it ceased to amuse them, and she
worked so hard and so well, that her mistress grew quite fond of her.
And she was so clever at keeping sheep and herding turkeys that you
would have thought she had done nothing else during her whole life!
One day she was sitting on the banks of a stream bewailing her wretched
lot, when she suddenly caught sight of herself in the water. Her hair
and part of her face was quite concealed by the ass's head, which was
drawn right over like a hood, and the filthy matted skin covered her
whole body. It was the first time she had seen herself as other people
saw her, and she was filled with shame at the spectacle. Then she threw
off her disguise and jumped into the water, plunging in again and again,
till she shone like ivory. When it was time to go back to the farm, she
was forced to put on the skin which disguised her, and now seemed more
dirty than ever; but, as she did so, she comforted herself with the
thought that to-morrow was a holiday, and that she would be able for a
few hours to forget that she was a farm girl, and be a princess once
more.
So, at break of day, she stamped on the ground, as the fairy had told
her, and instantly the dress like the sky lay across her tiny bed. Her
room was so small that there was no place for the train of her dress to
spread itself out, but she pinned it up carefully when she combed her
beautiful hair and piled it up on the top of her head, as she had always
worn it. When she had done, she was so pleased with herself that she
determined never to let a chance pass of putting on her splendid
clothes, even if she had to wear them in the fields, with no one to
admire her but the sheep and turkeys.
Now the farm was a royal farm, and, one holiday, when 'Donkey Skin' (as
they had nicknamed the princess) had locked the door of her room and
clothed herself in her dress of sunshine, the king's son rode through
the gate, and asked if he might come and rest himself a little after
hunting. Some food and milk were set before him in the garden, and when
he felt rested he got up, and began to explore the house, which was
famous throughout the whole kingdom for its age and beauty. He opened
one door after the other, admiring the old rooms, when he came to a
handle that would not turn. He stooped and peeped through the keyhole to
see what was inside, and was greatly astonished at beholding a beautiful
girl, clad in a dress so dazzling that he could hardly look at it.
The dark gallery seemed darker than ever as he turned away, but he went
back to the kitchen and inquired who slept in the room at the end of the
passage. The scullery maid, they told him, whom everybody laughed at,
and called 'Donkey Skin;' and though he perceived there was some strange
mystery about this, he saw quite clearly there was nothing to be gained
by asking any more questions. So he rode back to the palace, his head
filled with the vision he had seen through the keyhole.
All night long he tossed about, and awoke the next morning in a high
fever. The queen, who had no other child, and lived in a state of
perpetual anxiety about this one, at once gave him up for lost, and
indeed his sudden illness puzzled the greatest doctors, who tried the
usual remedies in vain. At last they told the queen that some secret
sorrow must be at the bottom of all this, and she threw herself on her
knees beside her son's bed, and implored him to confide his trouble to
her. If it was ambition to be king, his father would gladly resign the
cares of the crown, and suffer him to reign in his stead; or, if it was
love, everything should be sacrificed to get for him the wife he
desired, even if she were daughter of a king with whom the country was
at war at present!
'Madam,' replied the prince, whose weakness would hardly allow him to
speak, 'do not think me so unnatural as to wish to deprive my father of
his crown. As long as he lives I shall remain the most faithful of his
subjects! And as to the princesses you speak of, I have seen none that I
should care for as a wife, though I would always obey your wishes,
whatever it might cost me.'
'Ah! my son,' cried she, 'we will do anything in the world to save your
life--and ours too, for if you die, we shall die also.'
'Well, then,' replied the prince, 'I will tell you the only thing that
will cure me--a cake made by the hand of "Donkey Skin."'
'Donkey Skin?' exclaimed the queen, who thought her son had gone mad;
'and who or what is that?'
'Madam,' answered one of the attendants present, who had been with the
prince at the farm, '"Donkey Skin" is, next to the wolf, the most
disgusting creature on the face of the earth. She is a girl who wears a
black, greasy skin, and lives at your farmer's as hen-wife.'
'Never mind,' said the queen; 'my son seems to have eaten some of her
pastry. It is the whim of a sick man, no doubt; but send at once and let
her bake a cake.'
The attendant bowed and ordered a page to ride with the message.
Now it is by no means certain that 'Donkey Skin' had not caught a
glimpse of the prince, either when his eyes looked through the keyhole,
or else from her little window, which was over the road. But whether she
had actually seen him or only heard him spoken of, directly she received
the queen's command, she flung off the dirty skin, washed herself from
head to foot, and put on a skirt and bodice of shining silver. Then,
locking herself into her room, she took the richest cream, the finest
flour, and the freshest eggs on the farm, and set about making her
cake.
As she was stirring the mixture in the saucepan a ring that she
sometimes wore in secret slipped from her finger and fell into the
dough. Perhaps 'Donkey Skin' saw it, or perhaps she did not; but, any
way, she went on stirring, and soon the cake was ready to be put in the
oven. When it was nice and brown she took off her dress and put on her
dirty skin, and gave the cake to the page, asking at the same time for
news of the prince. But the page turned his head aside, and would not
even condescend to answer.
The page rode like the wind, and as soon as he arrived at the palace he
snatched up a silver tray and hastened to present the cake to the
prince. The sick man began to eat it so fast that the doctors thought he
would choke; and, indeed, he very nearly did, for the ring was in one of
the bits which he broke off, though he managed to extract it from his
mouth without anyone seeing him.
The moment the prince was left alone he drew the ring from under his
pillow and kissed it a thousand times. Then he set his mind to find how
he was to see the owner--for even he did not dare to confess that he had
only beheld 'Donkey Skin' through a keyhole, lest they should laugh at
this sudden passion. All this worry brought back the fever, which the
arrival of the cake had diminished for the time; and the doctors, not
knowing what else to say, informed the queen that her son was simply
dying of love. The queen, stricken with horror, rushed into the king's
presence with the news, and together they hastened to their son's
bedside.
'My boy, my dear boy!' cried the king, 'who is it you want to marry? We
will give her to you for a bride, even if she is the humblest of our
slaves. What is there in the whole world that we would not do for you?'
The prince, moved to tears at these words, drew the ring, which was an
emerald of the purest water, from under his pillow.
'Ah, dear father and mother, let this be a proof that she whom I love is
no peasant girl. The finger which that ring fits has never been
thickened by hard work. But be her condition what it may, I will marry
no other.'
The king and queen examined the tiny ring very closely, and agreed, with
their son, that the wearer could be no mere farm girl. Then the king
went out and ordered heralds and trumpeters to go through the town,
summoning every maiden to the palace. And she whom the ring fitted would
some day be queen.
First came all the princesses, then all the duchesses' daughters, and so
on, in proper order. But not one of them could slip the ring over the
tip of her finger, to the great joy of the prince, whom excitement was
fast curing. At last, when the high-born damsels had failed, the
shopgirls and chambermaids took their turn; but with no better fortune.
'Call in the scullions and shepherdesses,' commanded the prince; but the
sight of their fat, red fingers satisfied everybody.
'There is not a woman left, your Highness,' said the chamberlain; but
the prince waved him aside.
'Have you sent for "Donkey Skin," who made me the cake?' asked he, and
the courtiers began to laugh, and replied that they would not have dared
to introduce so dirty a creature into the palace.
'Let some one go for her at once,' ordered the king. 'I commanded the
presence of every maiden, high or low, and I meant it.'
The princess had heard the trumpets and the proclamations, and knew
quite well that her ring was at the bottom of it all. She too, had
fallen in love with the prince in the brief glimpse she had had of him,
and trembled with fear lest someone else's finger might be as small as
her own. When, therefore, the messenger from the palace rode up to the
gate, she was nearly beside herself with delight. Hoping all the time
for such a summons, she had dressed herself with great care, putting on
the garment of moonlight, whose skirt was scattered over with emeralds.
But when they began calling to her to come down, she hastily covered
herself with her donkey-skin and announced she was ready to present
herself before his Highness. She was taken straight into the hall, where
the prince was awaiting her, but at the sight of the donkey-skin his
heart sank. Had he been mistaken after all?
'Are you the girl,' he said, turning his eyes away as he spoke, 'are you
the girl who has a room in the furthest corner of the inner court of the
farmhouse?'
'Yes, my lord, I am,' answered she.
'Hold out your hand then,' continued the prince, feeling that he must
keep his word, whatever the cost, and, to the astonishment of every one
present, a little hand, white and delicate, came from beneath the black
and dirty skin. The ring slipped on with the utmost ease, and, as it did
so, the skin fell to the ground, disclosing a figure of such beauty that
the prince, weak as he was, fell on his knees before her, while the king
and queen joined their prayers to his. Indeed, their welcome was so
warm, and their caresses so bewildering, that the princess hardly knew
how to find words to reply, when the ceiling of the hall opened, and the
fairy godmother appeared, seated in a car made entirely of white lilac.
In a few words she explained the history of the princess, and how she
came to be there, and, without losing a moment, preparations of the most
magnificent kind were made for the wedding.
[Illustration: The Donkey-skin falls off.]
The kings of every country in the earth were invited, including, of
course, the princess's adopted father (who by this time had married a
widow), and not one refused.
But what a strange assembly it was! Each monarch travelled in the way he
thought most impressive; and some came borne in litters, others had
carriages of every shape and kind, while the rest were mounted on
elephants, tigers, and even upon eagles. So splendid a wedding had never
been seen before; and when it was over the king announced that it was to
be followed by a coronation, for he and the queen were tired of
reigning, and the young couple must take their place. The rejoicings
lasted for three whole months, then the new sovereigns settled down to
govern their kingdom, and made themselves so much beloved by their
subjects, that when they died, a hundred years later, each man mourned
them as his own father and mother.
[From _Le Cabinet des Fées_.]
_THE GOBLIN PONY_
'Don't stir from the fireplace to-night,' said old Peggy, 'for the wind
is blowing so violently that the house shakes; besides, this is
Hallow-e'en, when the witches are abroad, and the goblins, who are their
servants, are wandering about in all sorts of disguises, doing harm to
the children of men.'
'Why should I stay here?' said the eldest of the young people. 'No, I
must go and see what the daughter of old Jacob, the rope-maker, is
doing. She wouldn't close her blue eyes all night if I didn't visit her
father before the moon had gone down.'
'I must go and catch lobsters and crabs,' said the second, 'and not all
the witches and goblins in the world shall hinder me.'
So they all determined to go on their business or pleasure, and scorned
the wise advice of old Peggy. Only the youngest child hesitated a
minute, when she said to him, 'You stay here, my little Richard, and I
will tell you beautiful stories.'
But he wanted to pick a bunch of wild thyme and some blackberries by
moonlight, and ran out after the others. When they got outside the house
they said: 'The old woman talks of wind and storm, but never was the
weather finer or the sky more clear; see how majestically the moon
stalks through the transparent clouds!'
Then all of a sudden they noticed a little black pony close beside them.
'Oh, ho!' they said, 'that is old Valentine's pony; it must have escaped
from its stable, and is going down to drink at the horse-pond.'
'My pretty little pony,' said the eldest, patting the creature with his
hand, 'you mustn't run too far; I'll take you to the pond myself.'
With these words he jumped on the pony's back and was quickly followed
by his second brother, then by the third, and so on, till at last they
were all astride the little beast, down to the small Richard, who didn't
like to be left behind.
[Illustration: The Goblin Pony]
On the way to the pond they met several of their companions, and they
invited them all to mount the pony, which they did, and the little
creature did not seem to mind the extra weight, but trotted merrily
along.
The quicker it trotted the more the young people enjoyed the fun; they
dug their heels into the pony's sides and called out, 'Gallop, little
horse, you have never had such brave riders on your back before!'
In the meantime the wind had risen again, and the waves began to howl;
but the pony did not seem to mind the noise, and instead of going to the
pond, cantered gaily towards the sea-shore.
Richard began to regret his thyme and blackberries, and the eldest
brother seized the pony by the mane and tried to make it turn round, for
he remembered the blue eyes of Jacob the rope-maker's daughter. But he
tugged and pulled in vain, for the pony galloped straight on into the
sea, till the waves met its forefeet. As soon as it felt the water it
neighed lustily and capered about with glee, advancing quickly into the
foaming billows. When the waves had covered the children's legs they
repented their careless behaviour, and cried out: 'The cursed little
black pony is bewitched. If we had only listened to old Peggy's advice
we shouldn't have been lost.'
The further the pony advanced, the higher rose the sea; at last the
waves covered the children's heads and they were all drowned.
Towards morning old Peggy went out, for she was anxious about the fate
of her grandchildren. She sought them high and low, but could not find
them anywhere. She asked all the neighbours if they had seen the
children, but no one knew anything about them, except that the eldest
had not been with the blue-eyed daughter of Jacob the rope-maker.
As she was going home, bowed with grief, she saw a little black pony
coming towards her, springing and curveting in every direction. When it
got quite near her it neighed loudly, and galloped past her so quickly
that in a moment it was out of her sight.
[From the French, _Kletke_.]
_AN IMPOSSIBLE ENCHANTMENT_
There once lived a king who was much loved by his people, and he, too,
loved them warmly. He led a very happy life, but he had the greatest
dislike to the idea of marrying, nor had he ever felt the slightest wish
to fall in love. His subjects begged him to marry, and at last he
promised to try to do so. But as, so far, he had never cared for any
woman he had seen, he made up his mind to travel in hopes of meeting
some lady he could love.
So he arranged all the affairs of state in an orderly manner, and set
out, attended by only one equerry, who, though not very clever, had most
excellent good sense. These people indeed generally make the best
fellow-travellers.
The king explored several countries, doing all he could to fall in love,
but in vain; and at the end of two years' journeys he turned his face
towards home, with as free a heart as when he set out.
As he was riding along through a forest he suddenly heard the most awful
miawing and shrieking of cats you can imagine. The noise drew nearer,
and nearer, and at last they saw a hundred huge Spanish cats rush
through the trees close to them. They were so closely packed together
that you could easily have covered them with a large cloak, and all were
following the same track. They were closely pursued by two enormous
apes, dressed in purple suits, with the prettiest and best made boots
you ever saw.
The apes were mounted on superb mastiffs, and spurred them on in hot
haste, blowing shrill blasts on little toy trumpets all the time.
The king and his equerry stood still to watch this strange hunt, which
was followed by twenty or more little dwarfs, some mounted on wolves,
and leading relays, and others with cats in leash. The dwarfs were all
dressed in purple silk liveries like the apes.
A moment later a beautiful young woman mounted on a tiger came in sight.
She passed close to the king, riding at full speed, without taking any
notice of him; but he was at once enchanted by her, and his heart was
gone in a moment.
[Illustration: The King sees Princess Mutinosa out hunting]
To his great joy he saw that one of the dwarfs had fallen behind the
rest, and at once began to question him.
The dwarf told him that the lady he had just seen was the Princess
Mutinosa, the daughter of the king in whose country they were at that
moment. He added that the princess was very fond of hunting, and that
she was now in pursuit of rabbits.
The king then asked the way to the court, and having been told it,
hurried off, and reached the capital in a couple of hours.
As soon as he arrived, he presented himself to the king and queen, and
on mentioning his own name and that of his country, was received with
open arms. Not long after, the princess returned, and hearing that the
hunt had been very successful, the king complimented her on it, but she
would not answer a word.
Her silence rather surprised him, but he was still more astonished when
he found that she never spoke once all through supper-time. Sometimes
she seemed about to speak, but whenever this was the case her father or
mother at once took up the conversation. However, this silence did not
cool the king's affection, and when he retired to his rooms at night he
confided his feelings to his faithful equerry. But the equerry was by no
means delighted at his king's love affair, and took no pains to hide his
disappointment.
'But why are you vexed?' asked the king. 'Surely the princess is
beautiful enough to please anyone?'
'She is certainly very handsome,' replied the equerry, 'but to be really
happy in love something more than beauty is required. To tell the truth,
sire,' he added, 'her expression seems to me hard.'
'That is pride and dignity,' said the king, 'and nothing can be more
becoming.'
'Pride or hardness, as you will,' said the equerry; 'but to my mind the
choice of so many fierce creatures for her amusements seems to tell of a
fierce nature, and I also think there is something suspicious in the
care taken to prevent her speaking.'
The equerry's remarks were full of good sense; but as opposition is only
apt to increase love in the hearts of men, and especially of kings who
hate being contradicted, this king begged, the very next day, for the
hand of the Princess Mutinosa. It was granted him on two conditions.
The first was that the wedding should take place the very next day; and
the second, that he should not speak to the princess till she was his
wife; to all of which the king agreed, in spite of his equerry's
objections, so that the first word he heard his bride utter was the
'Yes' she spoke at their marriage.
Once married, however, she no longer placed any check on herself, and
her ladies-in-waiting came in for plenty of rude speeches--even the king
did not escape scolding; but as he was a good-tempered man, and very
much in love, he bore it patiently. A few days after the wedding the
newly married pair set out for their kingdom without leaving many
regrets behind.
The good equerry's fears proved only too true, as the king found out to
his cost. The young queen made herself most disagreeable to all her
court, her spite and bad temper knew no bounds, and before the end of a
month she was known far and wide as a regular vixen.
One day, when riding out, she met a poor old woman walking along the
road, who made a curtsy and was going on, when the queen had her
stopped, and cried: 'You are a very impertinent person; don't you know
that I am the queen? And how dare you not make me a deeper curtsy?'
'Madam,' said the old woman, 'I have never learnt how to measure
curtsies; but I had no wish to fail in proper respect.'
'What!' screamed the queen; 'she dares to answer! Tie her to my horse's
tail and I'll just carry her at once to the best dancing-master in the
town to learn how to curtsy.'
The old woman shrieked for mercy, but the queen would not listen, and
only mocked when she said she was protected by the fairies. At last the
poor old thing submitted to be tied up, but when the queen urged her
horse on he never stirred. In vain she spurred him, he seemed turned to
bronze. At the same moment the cord with which the old woman was tied
changed into wreaths of flowers, and she herself into a tall and stately
lady.
Looking disdainfully at the queen, she said, 'Bad woman, unworthy of
your crown; I wished to judge for myself whether all I heard of you was
true. I have now no doubt of it, and you shall see whether the fairies
are to be laughed at.'
So saying the fairy Placida (that was her name) blew a little gold
whistle, and a chariot appeared drawn by six splendid ostriches. In it
was seated the fairy queen, escorted by a dozen other fairies mounted on
dragons.
All having dismounted, Placida told her adventures, and the fairy queen
approved all she had done, and proposed turning Mutinosa into bronze
like her horse. Placida, however, who was very kind and gentle, begged
for a milder sentence, and at last it was settled that Mutinosa should
become her slave for life unless she should have a child to take her
place.
The king was told of his wife's fate and submitted to it, which, as he
could do nothing to help it, was the only course open to him.
The fairies then all dispersed, Placida taking her slave with her, and
on reaching her palace she said: 'You ought by rights to be scullion,
but as you have been delicately brought up the change might be too great
for you. I shall therefore only order you to sweep my rooms carefully,
and to wash and comb my little dog.'
Mutinosa felt there was no use in disobeying, so she did as she was bid
and said nothing.
After some time she gave birth to a most lovely little girl, and when
she was well again the fairy gave her a good lecture on her past life,
made her promise to behave better in future, and sent her back to the
king, her husband.
Placida now gave herself up entirely to the little princess who was left
in her charge. She anxiously thought over which of the fairies she would
invite to be godmothers, so as to secure the best gift, for her adopted
child.
At last she decided on two very kindly and cheerful fairies, and asked
them to the christening feast. Directly it was over the baby was brought
to them in a lovely crystal cradle hung with red silk curtains
embroidered with gold.
The little thing smiled so sweetly at the fairies that they decided to
do all they could for her. They began by naming her Graziella, and then
Placida said: 'You know, dear sisters, that the commonest form of spite
or punishment amongst us consists of changing beauty to ugliness,
cleverness to stupidity, and oftener still to change a person's form
altogether. Now, as we can only each bestow one gift, I think the best
plan will be for one of you to give her beauty, the other good
understanding, whilst I will undertake that she shall never be changed
into any other form.'
The two godmothers quite agreed, and as soon as the little princess had
received their gifts, they went home, and Placida gave herself up to the
child's education. She succeeded so well with it, and little Graziella
grew so lovely, that when she was still quite a child her fame was
spread abroad only too much, and one day Placida was surprised by a
visit from the Fairy Queen, who was attended by a very grave and
severe-looking fairy.
The queen began at once: 'I have been much surprised by your behaviour
to Mutinosa; she had insulted our whole race, and deserved punishment.
You might forgive your own wrongs if you chose, but not those of others.
You treated her very gently whilst she was with you, and I come now to
avenge our wrongs on her daughter. You have ensured her being lovely and
clever, and not subject to change of form, but I shall place her in an
enchanted prison, which she shall never leave till she finds herself in
the arms of a lover whom she herself loves. It will be my care to
prevent anything of the kind happening.'
The enchanted prison was a large high tower in the midst of the sea,
built of shells of all shapes and colours. The lower floor was like a
great bathroom, where the water was let in or off at will. The first
floor contained the princess's apartments, beautifully furnished. On the
second was a library, a large wardrobe-room filled with beautiful
clothes and every kind of linen, a music room, a pantry with bins full
of the best wines, and a store-room with all manner of preserves,
bonbons, pastry and cakes, all of which remained as fresh as if just out
of the oven.
The top of the tower was laid out like a garden, with beds of the
loveliest flowers, fine fruit trees, and shady arbours and shrubs, where
many birds sang amongst the branches.
The fairies escorted Graziella and her governess, Bonnetta, to the
tower, and then mounted a dolphin which was waiting for them. At a
little distance from the tower the queen waved her wand and summoned two
thousand great fierce sharks, whom she ordered to keep close guard, and
not to let a soul enter the tower.
The good governess took such pains with Graziella's education that when
she was nearly grown up she was not only most accomplished, but a very
sweet, good girl.
One day, as the princess was standing on a balcony, she saw the most
extraordinary figure rise out of the sea. She quickly called Bonnetta to
ask her what it could be. It looked like some kind of man, with a bluish
face and long sea-green hair. He was swimming towards the tower, but the
sharks took no notice of him.
'It must be a merman,' said Bonnetta.
'A _man_, do you say?' cried Graziella; 'let us hurry down to the door
and see him nearer.'
When they stood in the doorway the merman stopped to look at the
princess and made many signs of admiration. His voice was very hoarse
and husky, but when he found that he was not understood he took to
signs. He carried a little basket made of osiers and filled with rare
shells, which he presented to the princess.
She took it with signs of thanks; but as it was getting dusk she
retired, and the merman plunged back into the sea.
When they were alone, Graziella said to her governess: 'What a
dreadful-looking creature that was! Why do those odious sharks let him
come near the tower? I suppose all men are not like him?'
'No, indeed,' replied Bonnetta. 'I suppose the sharks look on him as a
sort of relation, and so did not attack him.'
A few days later the two ladies heard a strange sort of music, and
looking out of the window, there was the merman, his head crowned with
water plants, and blowing a great sea-shell with all his might.
They went down to the tower door, and Graziella politely accepted some
coral and other marine curiosities he had brought her. After this he
used to come every evening, and blow his shell, or dive and play antics
under the princess's window. She contented herself with bowing to him
from the balcony, but she would not go down to the door in spite of all
his signs.
Some days later he came with a person of his own kind, but of another
sex. Her hair was dressed with great taste, and she had a lovely voice.
This new arrival induced the ladies to go down to the door. They were
surprised to find that, after trying various languages, she at last
spoke to them in their own, and paid Graziella a very pretty compliment
on her beauty.
The mermaid noticed that the lower floor was full of water. 'Why,' cried
she, 'that is just the place for us, for we can't live quite out of
water.' So saying, she and her brother swam in and took up a position in
the bathroom, the princess and her governess seating themselves on the
steps which ran round the room.
[Illustration: The Sea-People visit Graziella]
'No doubt, madam,' said the mermaid, 'you have given up living on land
so as to escape from crowds of lovers; but I fear that even here you
cannot avoid them, for my brother is already dying of love for you, and
I am sure that once you are seen in our city he will have many rivals.'
She then went on to explain how grieved her brother was not to be able
to make himself understood, adding: 'I interpret for him, having been
taught several languages by a fairy.'
'Oh, then, you have fairies, too?' asked Graziella, with a sigh.
'Yes, we have,' replied the mermaid; 'but if I am not mistaken you have
suffered from the fairies on earth.'
The princess, on this, told her entire history to the mermaid, who
assured her how sorry she felt for her, but begged her not to lose
courage; adding, as she took her leave: 'Perhaps, some day, you may find
a way out of your difficulties.'
The princess was delighted with this visit and with the hopes the
mermaid held out. It was something to meet some one fresh to talk to.
'We will make acquaintance with several of these people,' she said to
her governess, 'and I dare say they are not all as hideous as the first
one we saw. Anyhow, we shan't be so dreadfully lonely.'
'Dear me,' said Bonnetta, 'how hopeful young people are to be sure! As
for me I feel afraid of these folk. But what do you think of the lover
you have captivated?'
'Oh, I could never love him,' cried the princess; 'I can't bear him.
But, perhaps, as his sister says they are related to the fairy Marina,
they may be of some use to us.'
The mermaid often returned, and each time she talked of her brother's
love, and each time Graziella talked of her longing to escape from her
prison, till at length the mermaid promised to bring the fairy Marina to
see her, in hopes she might suggest something.
Next day the fairy came with the mermaid, and the princess received her
with delight. After a little talk she begged Graziella to show her the
inside of the tower and let her see the garden on the top, for with the
help of crutches she could manage to move about, and being a fairy could
live out of water for a long time, provided she wetted her forehead now
and then.
Graziella gladly consented, and Bonnetta stayed below with the mermaid.
When they were in the garden the fairy said: 'Let us lose no time, but
tell me how I can be of use to you.' Graziella then told all her story
and Marina replied: 'My dear princess, I can do nothing for you as
regards dry land, for my power does not reach beyond my own element. I
can only say that if you will honour my cousin by accepting his hand,
you could then come and live amongst us. I could teach you in a moment
to swim and dive with the best of us. I can harden your skin without
spoiling its colour. My cousin is one of the best matches in the sea,
and I will bestow so many gifts on him that you will be quite happy.'
The fairy talked so well and so long that the princess was rather
impressed, and promised to think the matter over.
Just as they were going to leave the garden they saw a ship sailing
nearer the tower than any other had done before. On the deck lay a young
man under a splendid awning, gazing at the tower through a spy-glass;
but before they could see anything clearly the ship moved away, and the
two ladies parted, the fairy promising to return shortly.
As soon as she was gone Graziella told her governess what she had said.
Bonnetta was not at all pleased at the turn matters were taking, for she
did not fancy being turned into a mermaid in her old age. She thought
the matter well over, and this was what she did. She was a very clever
artist, and next morning she began to paint a picture of a handsome
young man, with beautiful curly hair, a fine complexion, and lovely blue
eyes. When it was finished she showed it to Graziella, hoping it would
show her the difference there was between a fine young man and her
marine suitor.
The princess was much struck by the picture, and asked anxiously whether
there could be any man so good-looking in the world. Bonnetta assured
her that there were plenty of them; indeed, many far handsomer.
'I can hardly believe that,' cried the princess; 'but, alas! if there
are, I don't suppose I shall ever see them or they me, so what is the
use? Oh, dear, how unhappy I am!'
She spent the rest of the day gazing at the picture, which certainly had
the effect of spoiling all the merman's hopes or prospects.
After some days, the fairy Marina came back to hear what was decided;
but Graziella hardly paid any attention to her, and showed such dislike
to the idea of the proposed marriage that the fairy went off in a
regular huff.
Without knowing it, the princess had made another conquest. On board the
ship which had sailed so near was the handsomest prince in the world. He
had heard of the enchanted tower, and determined to get as near it as he
could. He had strong glasses on board, and whilst looking through them
he saw the princess quite clearly, and fell desperately in love with her
at once. He wanted to steer straight for the tower and to row off to it
in a small boat, but his entire crew fell at his feet and begged him
not to run such a risk. The captain, too, urged him not to attempt it.
'You will only lead us all to certain death,' he said. 'Pray anchor
nearer land, and I will then seek a kind fairy I know, who has always
been most obliging to me, and who will, I am sure, try to help your
Highness.'
The prince rather unwillingly listened to reason. He landed at the
nearest point, and sent off the captain in all haste to beg the fairy's
advice and help. Meantime he had a tent pitched on the shore, and spent
all his time gazing at the tower and looking for the princess through
his spy-glass.
After a few days the captain came back, bringing the fairy with him. The
prince was delighted to see her, and paid her great attention. 'I have
heard about this matter,' she said; 'and, to lose no time, I am going to
send off a trusty pigeon to test the enchantment. If there is any weak
spot he is sure to find it out and get in. I shall bid him bring a
flower back as a sign of success, and if he does so I quite hope to get
you in too.'
'But,' asked the prince, 'could I not send a line by the pigeon to tell
the princess of my love?'
'Certainly,' replied the fairy, 'it would be a very good plan.'
So the prince wrote as follows:--
'Lovely Princess,--I adore you, and beg you to accept my heart,
and to believe there is nothing I will not do to end your
misfortunes.--Blondel.'
This note was tied round the pigeon's neck, and he flew off with it at
once. He flew fast till he got near the tower, when a fierce wind blew
so hard against him that he could not get on. But he was not to be
beaten, but flew carefully round the top of the tower till he came to
one spot which, by some mistake, had not been enchanted like the rest.
He quickly slipped into the arbour and waited for the princess.
Before long Graziella appeared alone, and the pigeon at once fluttered
to meet her, and seemed so tame that she stopped to caress the pretty
creature. As she did so she saw it had a pink ribbon round its neck, and
tied to the ribbon was a letter. She read it over several times and then
wrote this answer:--
'You say you love me; but I cannot promise to love you without seeing
you. Send me your portrait by this faithful messenger. If I return it to
you, you must give up hope; but if I keep it you will know that to help
me will be to help yourself.--Graziella.'
Before flying back the pigeon remembered about the flower, so, seeing
one in the princess's dress, he stole it and flew away.
The prince was wild with joy at the pigeon's return with the note. After
an hour's rest the trusty little bird was sent back again, carrying a
miniature of the prince, which by good luck he had with him.
On reaching the tower the pigeon found the princess in the garden. She
hastened to untie the ribbon, and on opening the miniature case what was
her surprise and delight to find it very like the picture her governess
had painted for her. She hastened to send the pigeon back, and you can
fancy the prince's joy when he found she had kept his portrait.
'Now,' said the fairy, 'let us lose no more time. I can only make you
happy by changing you into a bird, but I will take care to give you back
your proper shape at the right time.'
The prince was eager to start, so the fairy, touching him with her wand,
turned him into the loveliest humming-bird you ever saw, at the same
time letting him keep the power of speech. The pigeon was told to show
him the way.
Graziella was much surprised to see a perfectly strange bird, and still
more so when it flew to her saying, 'Good-morning, sweet princess.'
She was delighted with the pretty creature, and let him perch on her
finger, when he said, 'Kiss, kiss, little birdie,' which she gladly did,
petting and stroking him at the same time.
After a time the princess, who had been up very early, grew tired, and
as the sun was hot she went to lie down on a mossy bank in the shade of
the arbour. She held the pretty bird near her breast, and was just
falling asleep, when the fairy contrived to restore the prince to his
own shape, so that as Graziella opened her eyes she found herself in the
arms of a lover whom she loved in return!
At the same moment her enchantment came to an end. The tower began to
rock and to split. Bonnetta hurried up to the top so that she might at
least perish with her dear princess. Just as she reached the garden, the
kind fairy who had helped the prince arrived with the fairy Placida, in
a car of Venetian glass drawn by six eagles.
[Illustration: The Fairy-Car Arrives.]
'Come away quickly,' they cried, 'the tower is about to sink!' The
prince, princess, and Bonnetta lost no time in stepping into the car,
which rose in the air just as, with a terrible crash, the tower sank
into the depths of the sea, for the fairy Marina and the mermen had
destroyed its foundations to avenge themselves on Graziella. Luckily
their wicked plans were defeated, and the good fairies took their way to
the kingdom of Graziella's parents.
They found that Queen Mutinosa had died some years ago, but her kind
husband lived on peaceably, ruling his country well and happily. He
received his daughter with great delight, and there were universal
rejoicings at the return of the lovely princess.
The wedding took place the very next day, and, for many days after,
balls, dinners, tournaments, concerts and all sorts of amusements went
on all day and all night.
All the fairies were carefully invited, and they came in great state,
and promised the young couple their protection and all sorts of good
gifts. Prince Blondel and Princess Graziella lived to a good old age,
beloved by every one, and loving each other more and more as time went
on.
_THE STORY OF DSCHEMIL AND DSCHEMILA_
There was once a man whose name was Dschemil, and he had a cousin who
was called Dschemila. They had been betrothed by their parents when they
were children, and now Dschemil thought that the time had come for them
to be married, and he went two or three days' journey, to the nearest
big town, to buy furniture for the new house.
While he was away, Dschemila and her friends set off to the neighbouring
woods to pick up sticks, and as she gathered them she found an iron
mortar lying on the ground. She placed it on her bundle of sticks, but
the mortar would not stay still, and whenever she raised the bundle to
put it on her shoulders it slipped off sideways. At length she saw the
only way to carry the mortar was to tie it in the very middle of her
bundle, and had just unfastened her sticks, when she heard her
companions' voices.
'Dschemila, what are you doing? it is almost dark, and if you mean to
come with us you must be quick!'
But Dschemila only replied, 'You had better go back without me, for I am
not going to leave my mortar behind, if I stay here till midnight.'
'Do as you like,' said the girls, and started on their walk home.
The night soon fell, and at the last ray of light the mortar suddenly
became an ogre, who threw Dschemila on his back, and carried her off
into a desert place, distant a whole month's journey from her native
town. Here he shut her into a castle, and told her not to fear, as her
life was safe. Then he went back to his wife, leaving Dschemila weeping
over the fate that she had brought upon herself.
Meanwhile the other girls had reached home, and Dschemila's mother came
out to look for her daughter.
'What have you done with her?' she asked anxiously.
'We had to leave her in the wood,' they replied, 'for she had picked up
an iron mortar, and could not manage to carry it.'
So the old woman set off at once for the forest, calling to her daughter
as she hurried along.
'Do go home,' cried the townspeople, as they heard her; 'we will go and
look for your daughter; you are only a woman, and it is a task that
needs strong men.'
But she answered, 'Yes, go; but I will go with you! Perhaps it will be
only her corpse that we shall find after all. She has most likely been
stung by asps, or eaten by wild beasts.'
The men, seeing her heart was bent on it, said no more, but told one of
the girls she must come with them, and show them the place where they
had left Dschemila. They found the bundle of wood lying where she had
dropped it, but the maiden was nowhere to be seen.
'Dschemila! Dschemila!' cried they; but nobody answered.
'If we make a fire, perhaps she will see it,' said one of the men. And
they lit a fire, and then went, one this way, and one that, through the
forest, to look for her, whispering to each other that if she had been
killed by a lion they would be sure to find some trace of it; or if she
had fallen asleep, the sound of their voices would wake her; or if a
snake had bitten her, they would at least come on her corpse.
All night they searched, and when morning broke and they knew no more
than before what had become of the maiden, they grew weary, and said to
the mother:
'It is no use. Let us go home, nothing has happened to your daughter,
except that she has run away with a man.'
'Yes, I will come,' answered she, 'but I must first look in the river.
Perhaps some one has thrown her in there.' But the maiden was not in the
river.
For four days the father and mother waited and watched for their child
to come back; then they gave up hope, and said to each other: 'What is
to be done? What are we to say to the man to whom Dschemila is
betrothed? Let us kill a goat, and bury its head in the grave, and when
the man returns we must tell him Dschemila is dead.'
Very soon the bridegroom came back, bringing with him carpets and soft
cushions for the house of his bride. And as he entered the town
Dschemila's father met him, saying, 'Greeting to you. She is dead.'
At these words the young man broke into loud cries, and it was some time
before he could speak. Then he turned to one of the crowd who had
gathered round him, and asked: 'Where have they buried her?'
'Come to the churchyard with me,' answered he; and the young man went
with him, carrying with him some of the beautiful things he had brought.
These he laid on the grass and then began to weep afresh. All day he
stayed, and at nightfall he gathered up his stuffs and carried them to
his own house. But when the day dawned he took them in his arms and
returned to the grave, where he remained as long as it was light,
playing softly on his flute. And this he did daily for six months.
* * * * *
One morning, a man who was wandering through the desert, having lost his
way, came upon a lonely castle. The sun was very hot, and the man was
very tired, so he said to himself, 'I will rest a little in the shadow
of this castle.' He stretched himself out comfortably, and was almost
asleep, when he heard a voice calling to him softly:
'Are you a ghost,' it said, 'or a man?'
He looked up, and saw a girl leaning out of a window, and he answered:
'I am a man, and a better one, too, than your father or your
grandfather.'
'May all good luck be with you,' said she; 'but what has brought you
into this land of ogres and horrors?'
'Does an ogre really live in this castle?' asked he.
'Certainly he does,' replied the girl, 'and as night is not far off he
will be here soon. So, dear friend, depart quickly, lest he return and
snap you up for supper.'
'But I am so thirsty!' said the man. 'Be kind, and give me some drink,
or else I shall die! Surely, even in this desert there must be some
spring?'
'Well, I have noticed that whenever the ogre brings back water he always
comes from that side; so if you follow the same direction perhaps you
may find some.'
The man jumped up at once and was about to start, when the maiden spoke
again:
'Tell me, where you are going?'
'Why do you want to know?'
'I have an errand for you; but tell me first whether you go east or
west.'
'I travel to Damascus.'
'Then do this for me. As you pass through our village, ask for a man
called Dschemil, and say to him: "Dschemila greets you, from the castle,
which lies far away, and is rocked by the wind. In my grave lies only a
goat. So take heart."'
And the man promised, and went his way, till he came to a spring of
water. And he drank a great draught and then lay on the bank and slept
quietly. When he woke he said to himself, 'The maiden did a good deed
when she told me where to find water. A few hours more, and I should
have been dead. So I will do her bidding, and seek out her native town
and the man for whom the message was given.'
For a whole month he travelled, till at last he reached the town where
Dschemil dwelt, and as luck would have it, there was the young man
sitting before his door with his beard unshaven and his shaggy hair
hanging over his eyes.
'Welcome, stranger,' said Dschemil, as the man stopped. 'Where have you
come from?'
'I come from the west, and go towards the east,' he answered.
'Well, stop with us awhile, and rest and eat!' said Dschemil. And the
man entered; and food was set before him, and he sat down with the
father of the maiden and her brothers, and Dschemil. Only Dschemil
himself was absent, squatting on the threshold.
'Why do you not eat too?' asked the stranger. But one of the young men
whispered hastily:
'Leave him alone. Take no notice! It is only at night that he ever
eats.'
So the stranger went on silently with his food. Suddenly one of
Dschemil's brothers called out and said: 'Dschemil, bring us some
water!' And the stranger remembered his message and said:
'Is there a man here named "Dschemil"? I lost my way in the desert, and
came to a castle, and a maiden looked out of the window and----'
'Be quiet,' they cried, fearing that Dschemil might hear. But Dschemil
had heard, and came forward and said:
'What did you see? Tell me truly, or I will cut off your head this
instant!'
'My lord,' replied the stranger, 'as I was wandering, hot and tired,
through the desert, I saw near me a great castle, and I said aloud, "I
will rest a little in its shadow." And a maiden looked out of a window
and said, "Are you a ghost or a man?" And I answered. "I am a man, and a
better one, too, than your father or your grandfather." And I was
thirsty and asked for water, but she had none to give me, and I felt
like to die. Then she told me that the ogre, in whose castle she dwelt,
brought in water always from the same side, and that if I too went that
way most likely I should come to it. But before I started she begged me
to go to her native town, and if I met a man called Dschemil I was to
say to him, "Dschemila greets you, from the castle which lies far away,
and is rocked by the wind. In my grave lies only a goat. So take
heart."'
Then Dschemil turned to his family and said:
'Is this true? and is Dschemila not dead at all, but simply stolen from
her home?'
'No, no,' replied they, 'his story is a pack of lies. Dschemila is
really dead. Everybody knows it.'
'That I shall see for myself,' said Dschemil, and, snatching up a spade,
hastened off to the grave where the goat's head lay buried.
And they answered, 'Then hear what really happened. When you were away,
she went with the other maidens to the forest to gather wood. And there
she found an iron mortar, which she wished to bring home; but she could
not carry it, neither would she leave it. So the maidens returned
without her, and as night was come, we all set out to look for her, but
found nothing. And we said, "The bridegroom will be here to-morrow, and
when he learns that she is lost, he will set out to seek her, and we
shall lose him too. Let us kill a goat, and bury it in her grave, and
tell him she is dead." Now you know, so do as you will. Only, if you go
to seek her, take with you this man with whom she has spoken that he may
show you the way.'
'Yes; that is the best plan,' replied Dschemil; 'so give me food, and
hand me my sword, and we will set out directly.'
But the stranger answered: 'I am not going to waste a whole month in
leading you to the castle! If it were only a day or two's journey I
would not mind; but a month--no!'
'Come with me then for three days,' said Dschemil, 'and put me in the
right road, and I will reward you richly.'
'Very well,' replied the stranger, 'so let it be.'
For three days they travelled from sunrise to sunset, then the stranger
said: 'Dschemil?'
'Yes,' replied he.
'Go straight on till you reach a spring, then go on a little farther,
and soon you will see the castle standing before you.'
'So I will,' said Dschemil.
'Farewell, then,' said the stranger, and turned back the way he had
come.
It was six and twenty days before Dschemil caught sight of a green spot
rising out of the sandy desert, and knew that the spring was near at
last. He hastened his steps, and soon was kneeling by its side, drinking
thirstily of the bubbling water. Then he lay down on the cool grass, and
began to think. 'If the man was right, the castle must be somewhere
about. I had better sleep here to-night, and to-morrow I shall be able
to see where it is.' So he slept long and peacefully. When he awoke the
sun was high, and he jumped up and washed his face and hands in the
spring, before going on his journey. He had not walked far, when the
castle suddenly appeared before him, though a moment before not a trace
of it could be seen. 'How am I to get in?' he thought. 'I dare not
knock, lest the ogre should hear me. Perhaps it would be best for me to
climb up the wall, and wait to see what will happen.' So he did, and
after sitting on the top for about an hour, a window above him opened,
and a voice said: 'Dschemil!' He looked up, and at the sight of
Dschemila, whom he had so long believed to be dead, he began to weep.
'Dear cousin,' she whispered, 'what has brought you here?'
'My grief at losing you.'
'Oh! go away at once. If the ogre comes back he will kill you.'
'I swear by your head, queen of my heart, that I have not found you
only to lose you again! If I must die, well, I must!'
'Oh, what can I do for you?'
'Anything you like!'
'If I let you down a cord, can you make it fast under your arms, and
climb up?'
'Of course I can,' said he.
So Dschemila lowered the cord, and Dschemil tied it round him, and
climbed up to her window. Then they embraced each other tenderly, and
burst into tears of joy.
'But what shall I do when the ogre returns?' asked she.
'Trust to me,' he said.
Now there was a chest in the room, where Dschemila kept her clothes. And
she made Dschemil get into it, and lie at the bottom, and told him to
keep very still.
He was only hidden just in time, for the lid was hardly closed when the
ogre's heavy tread was heard on the stairs. He flung open the door,
bringing men's flesh for himself and lamb's flesh for the maiden. 'I
smell the smell of a man!' he thundered. 'What is he doing here?'
'How could any one have come to this desert place?' asked the girl, and
burst into tears.
'Do not cry,' said the ogre; 'perhaps a raven has dropped some scraps
from his claws.'
'Ah, yes, I was forgetting,' answered she. 'One did drop some bones
about.'
'Well, burn them to powder,' replied the ogre, 'so that I may swallow
it.'
So the maiden took some bones and burned them, and gave them to the
ogre, saying, 'Here is the powder, swallow it.'
And when he had swallowed the powder the ogre stretched himself out and
went to sleep.
In a little while the man's flesh, which the maiden was cooking for the
ogre's supper, called out and said:
'Hist! Hist!
A man lies in the kist!'
And the lamb's flesh answered:
'He is your brother,
And cousin of the other.'
The ogre moved sleepily, and asked, 'What did the meat say, Dschemila?'
'Only that I must be sure to add salt.'
'Well, add salt.'
'Yes, I have done so,' said she.
The ogre was soon sound asleep again, when the man's flesh called out a
second time:
'Hist! Hist!
A man lies in the kist!'
And the lamb's flesh answered:
'He is your brother,
And cousin of the other.'
'What did it say, Dschemila?' asked the ogre.
'Only that I must add pepper.'
'Well, add pepper.'
'Yes, I have done so,' said she.
The ogre had had a long day's hunting, and could not keep himself awake.
In a moment his eyes were tight shut, and then the man's flesh called
out for the third time:
'Hist! Hist!
A man lies in the kist.'
[Illustration: DSCHEMILA-OUTWITS-THE-OGRE]
And the lamb's flesh answered:
'He is your brother,
And cousin of the other.'
'What did it say, Dschemila?' asked the ogre.
'Only that it was ready, and that I had better take it off the fire.'
'Then if it is ready, bring it to me, and I will eat it.'
So she brought it to him, and while he was eating she supped of the
lamb's flesh herself, and managed to put some aside for her cousin.
When the ogre had finished, and had washed his hands, he said to
Dschemila: 'Make my bed, for I am tired.'
So she made his bed, and put a nice soft pillow for his head, and tucked
him up.
'Father,' she said suddenly.
'Well, what is it?'
'Dear father, if you are really asleep, why are your eyes always open?'
'Why do you ask that, Dschemila? Do you want to deal treacherously with
me?'
'No, of course not, father. How could I, and what would be the use of
it?'
'Well, why do you want to know?'
'Because last night I woke up and saw the whole place shining in a red
light, which frightened me.'
'That happens when I am fast asleep.'
'And what is the good of the pin you always keep here so carefully?'
'If I throw that pin in front of me, it turns into an iron mountain.'
'And this darning needle?'
'That becomes a sea.'
'And this hatchet?'
'That becomes a thorn hedge, which no one can pass through. But why do
you ask all these questions? I am sure you have something in your head.'
'Oh, I just wanted to know; and how could anyone find me out here?' and
she began to cry.
'Oh, don't cry, I was only in fun,' said the ogre.
He was soon asleep again, and a yellow light shone through the castle.
'Come quick!' called Dschemil from the chest; 'we must fly now while the
ogre is asleep.'
'Not yet,' she said, 'there is a yellow light shining. I don't think he
is asleep.'
So they waited for an hour. Then Dschemil whispered again: 'Wake up!
There is no time to lose!'
'Let me see if he is asleep,' said she, and she peeped in, and saw a red
light shining. Then she stole back to her cousin, and asked, 'But how
are we to get out?'
'Get the rope, and I will let you down.'
So she fetched the rope, the hatchet, and the pin and the needles, and
said, 'Take them, and put them in the pocket of your cloak, and be sure
not to lose them.'
Dschemil put them carefully in his pocket, and tied the rope round her,
and let her down over the wall.
'Are you safe?' he asked.
'Yes, quite.'
'Then untie the rope, so that I may draw it up.'
And Dschemila did as she was told, and in a few minutes he stood beside
her.
Now all this time the ogre was asleep, and had heard nothing. Then his
dog came to him and said, 'O, sleeper, are you having pleasant dreams?
Dschemila has forsaken you and run away.'
The ogre got out of bed, gave the dog a kick, then went back again, and
slept till morning.
When it grew light, he rose, and called, 'Dschemila! Dschemila!' but he
only heard the echo of his own voice! Then he dressed himself quickly;
buckled on his sword and whistled to his dog, and followed the road
which he knew the fugitives must have taken.
'Cousin,' said Dschemila suddenly, and turning round as she spoke.
'What is it?' answered he.
'The ogre is coming after us. I saw him.'
'But where is he? I don't see him.'
'Over there. He only looks about as tall as a needle.'
Then they both began to run as fast as they could, while the ogre and
his dog kept drawing always nearer. A few more steps, and he would have
been by their side, when Dschemila threw the darning needle behind her.
In a moment it became an iron mountain between them and their enemy.
'We will break it down, my dog and I,' cried the ogre in a rage, and
they dashed at the mountain till they had forced a path through, and
came ever nearer and nearer.
'Cousin!' said Dschemila suddenly.
'What is it?'
'The ogre is coming after us with his dog.'
'You go on in front then,' answered he; and they both ran on as fast as
they could, while the ogre and the dog drew always nearer and nearer.
'They are close upon us!' cried the maiden, glancing behind, 'you must
throw the pin.'
So Dschemil took the pin from his cloak and threw it behind him, and a
dense thicket of thorns sprang up round them, which the ogre and his dog
could not pass through.
'I will get through it somehow, if I burrow underground,' cried he, and
very soon he and the dog were on the other side.
'Cousin,' said Dschemila, 'they are close to us now.'
'Go on in front, and fear nothing,' replied Dschemil.
So she ran on a little way, and then stopped.
'He is only a few yards away now,' she said, and Dschemil flung the
hatchet on the ground, and it turned into a lake.
'I will drink, and my dog shall drink, till it is dry,' shrieked the
ogre, and the dog drank so much that it burst and died. But the ogre did
not stop for that, and soon the whole lake was nearly dry. Then he
exclaimed, 'Dschemila, let your head become a donkey's head, and your
hair fur!'
[Illustration: DSCHEMILA GETS AN ASS'S HEAD]
But when it was done, Dschemil looked at her in horror, and said, 'She
is really a donkey, and not a woman at all!'
And he left her, and went home.
For two days poor Dschemila wandered about alone, weeping bitterly. When
her cousin drew near his native town, he began to think over his
conduct, and to feel ashamed of himself.
'Perhaps by this time she has changed back to her proper shape,' he said
to himself, 'I will go and see!'
So he made all the haste he could, and at last he saw her seated on a
rock, trying to keep off the wolves, who longed to have her for dinner.
He drove them off and said, 'Get up, dear cousin, you have had a narrow
escape.'
Dschemila stood up and answered, 'Bravo, my friend. You persuaded me to
fly with you, and then left me helplessly to my fate.'
'Shall I tell you the truth?' asked he.
'Tell it.'
'I thought you were a witch, and I was afraid of you.'
'Did you not see me before my transformation? and did you not watch it
happen under your very eyes, when the ogre bewitched me?'
'What shall I do?' said Dschemil. 'If I take you into the town, everyone
will laugh, and say, "Is that a new kind of toy you have got? It has
hands like a woman, feet like a woman, the body of a woman; but its head
is the head of an ass, and its hair is fur."'
'Well, what do you mean to do with me?' asked Dschemila. 'Better take me
home to my mother by night, and tell no one anything about it.'
'So I will,' said he.
They waited where they were till it was nearly dark, then Dschemil
brought his cousin home.
'Is that Dschemil?' asked the mother when he knocked softly.
'Yes, it is.'
'And have you found her?'
'Yes, and I have brought her to you.'
'Oh, where is she? let me see her!' cried the mother.
'Here, behind me,' answered Dschemil.
But when the poor woman caught sight of her daughter, she shrieked, and
exclaimed, 'Are you making fun of me? When did I ever give birth to an
ass?'
'Hush!' said Dschemil, 'it is not necessary to let the whole world know!
And if you look at her body, you will see two scars on it.'
'Mother,' sobbed Dschemila, 'do you really not know your own daughter?'
'Yes, of course I know her.'
'What are her two scars then?'
'On her thigh is a scar from the bite of a dog, and on her breast is the
mark of a burn, where she pulled a lamp over her when she was little.'
'Then look at me, and see if I am not your daughter,' said Dschemila,
throwing off her clothes and showing her two scars.
And at the sight her mother embraced her, weeping.
'Dear daughter,' she cried, 'what evil fate has befallen you?'
'It was the ogre who carried me off first, and then bewitched me,'
answered Dschemila.
'But what is to be done with you?' asked her mother.
'Hide me away, and tell no one anything about me. And you, dear cousin,
say nothing to the neighbours, and if they should put questions, you can
make answer that I have not yet been found.'
'So I will,' replied he.
Then he and her mother took her upstairs and hid her in a cupboard,
where she stayed for a whole month, only going out to walk when all the
world was asleep.
Meanwhile Dschemil had returned to his own home, where his father and
mother, his brothers and neighbours, greeted him joyfully.
'When did you come back?' said they, 'and have you found Dschemila?'
'No, I searched the whole world after her, and could hear nothing of
her.'
'Did you part company with the man who started with you?'
'Yes; after three days he got so weak and useless he could not go on. It
must be a month by now since he reached home again. I went on and
visited every castle, and looked in every house. But there were no signs
of her; and so I gave it up.'
And they answered him: 'We told you before that it was no good. An ogre
or an ogress must have snapped her up, and how can you expect to find
her?'
'I loved her too much to be still,' he said.
But his friends did not understand, and soon they spoke to him again
about it.
'We will seek for a wife for you. There are plenty of girls prettier
than Dschemila.'
'I dare say; but I don't want them.'
'But what will you do with all the cushions and carpets, and beautiful
things you bought for your house?'
'They can stay in the chests.'
'But the moths will eat them! For a few weeks, it is of no consequence,
but after a year or two they will be quite useless.'
'And if they have to lie there ten years I will have Dschemila, and her
only, for my wife. For a month, or even two months, I will rest here
quietly. Then I will go and seek her afresh.'
'Oh, you are quite mad! Is she the only maiden in the world? There are
plenty of others better worth having than she is.'
'If there are I have not seen them! And why do you make all this fuss?
Every man knows his own business best.'
'Why, it is you who are making all the fuss yourself----'
But Dschemil turned and went into the house, for he did not want to
quarrel.
Three months later a Jew, who was travelling across the desert, came to
the castle, and laid himself down under the wall to rest.
In the evening the ogre saw him there and said to him, 'Jew, what are
you doing here? Have you anything to sell?'
'I have only some clothes,' answered the Jew, who was in mortal terror
of the ogre.
'Oh, don't be afraid of me,' said the ogre, laughing. 'I shall not eat
you. Indeed, I mean to go a bit of the way with you myself.'
'I am ready, gracious sir,' replied the Jew, rising to his feet.
'Well, go straight on till you reach a town, and in that town you will
find a maiden called Dschemila and a young man called Dschemil. Take
this mirror and this comb with you, and say to Dschemila, "Your father,
the ogre, greets you, and begs you to look at your face in this mirror,
and it will appear as it was before, and to comb your hair with this
comb, and it will be as formerly." If you do not carry out my orders, I
will eat you the next time we meet.'
'Oh, I will obey you punctually,' cried the Jew.
After thirty days the Jew entered the gate of the town, and sat down in
the first street he came to, hungry, thirsty, and very tired.
Quite by chance, Dschemil happened to pass by, and seeing a man sitting
there, full in the glare of the sun, he stopped, and said, 'Get up at
once, Jew; you will have a sunstroke if you sit in such a place.'
'Ah, good sir,' replied the Jew, 'for a whole month I have been
travelling, and I am too tired to move.'
'Which way did you come?' asked Dschemil.
'From out there,' answered the Jew, pointing behind him.
'And you have been travelling for a month, you say? Well, did you see
anything remarkable?'
'Yes, good sir; I saw a castle, and lay down to rest under its shadow.
And an ogre woke me, and told me to come to this town, where I should
find a young man called Dschemil, and a girl called Dschemila.'
'My name is Dschemil. What does the ogre want with me?'
'He gave me some presents for Dschemila. How can I see her?'
'Come with me, and you shall give them into her own hands.'
So the two went together to the house of Dschemil's uncle, and Dschemil
led the Jew into his aunt's room.
'Aunt!' he cried, 'this Jew who is with me has come from the ogre, and
has brought with him, as presents, a mirror and a comb which the ogre
has sent her.'
'But it may be only some wicked trick on the part of the ogre,' said
she.
'Oh, I don't think so,' answered the young man, 'give her the things.'
Then the maiden was called, and she came out of her hiding place, and
went up to the Jew, saying, 'Where have you come from, Jew?'
'From your father the ogre.'
'And what errand did he send you on?'
'He told me I was to give you this mirror and this comb, and to say
"Look in this mirror, and comb your hair with this comb, and both will
become as they were formerly."'
And Dschemila took the mirror and looked into it, and combed her hair
with the comb, and she had no longer an ass's head, but the face of a
beautiful maiden.
[Illustration: DSCHEMILA GETS RID OF THE ASS'S HEAD]
Great was the joy of both mother and cousin at this wonderful sight, and
the news that Dschemila had returned soon spread, and the neighbours
came flocking in with greetings.
'When did you come back?'
'My cousin brought me.'
'Why, he told us he could not find you!'
'Oh, I did that on purpose,' answered Dschemil. 'I did not want everyone
to know.'
Then he turned to his father and his mother, his brothers and his
sisters-in-law, and said, 'We must set to work at once, for the wedding
will be to-day.'
A beautiful litter was prepared to carry the bride to her new home, but
she shrank back, saying, 'I am afraid, lest the ogre should carry me off
again.'
'How can the ogre get at you when we are all here?' they said. 'There
are two thousand of us all told, and every man has his sword.'
'He will manage it somehow,' answered Dschemila, 'he is a powerful
king!'
'She is right,' said an old man. 'Take away the litter, and let her go
on foot if she is afraid.'
'But it is absurd!' exclaimed the rest; 'how can the ogre get hold of
her?'
'I will not go,' said Dschemila again. 'You do not know that monster; I
do.'
And while they were disputing the bridegroom arrived.
'Let her alone. She shall stay in her father's house. After all, I can
live here, and the wedding feast shall be made ready.'
And so they were married at last, and died without having had a single
quarrel.
[Märchen und Gedichte aus der Stadt Tripolis.]
_JANNI AND THE DRAKEN_
Once there was a man who shunned the world, and lived in the wilderness.
He owned nothing but a flock of sheep, whose milk and wool he sold, and
so procured himself bread to eat; he also carried wooden spoons, and
sold them. He had a wife and one little girl, and after a long time his
wife had another child. The evening it was born the man went to the
nearest village to fetch a nurse, and on the way he met a monk who
begged him for a night's lodging. This the man willingly granted, and
took him home with him. There being no one far nor near to baptize the
child, the man asked the monk to do him this service, and the child was
given the name of Janni.
In the course of time Janni's parents died, and he and his sister were
left alone in the world; soon affairs went badly with them, so they
determined to wander away to seek their fortune. In packing up, the
sister found a knife which the monk had left for his godson, and this
she gave to her brother.
Then they went on their way, taking with them the three sheep which were
all that remained of their flocks. After wandering for three days they
met a man with three dogs who proposed that they should exchange
animals, he taking the sheep, and they the dogs. The brother and sister
were quite pleased at this arrangement, and after the exchange was made
they separated, and went their different ways.
Janni and his sister in course of time came to a great castle, in which
dwelt forty Draken, who, when they heard that Janni had come, fled forty
fathoms underground.
So Janni found the castle deserted, and abode there with his sister, and
every day went out to hunt with the weapons the Draken had left in the
castle.
One day, when he was away hunting, one of the Draken came up to get
provisions, not knowing that there was anyone in the castle. When he saw
Janni's sister he was terrified, but she told him not to be afraid, and
by-and-by they fell in love with each other, for every time that Janni
went to hunt the sister called the Drakos up. Thus they went on making
love to each other till at length, unknown to Janni, they got married.
Then, when it was too late, the sister repented, and was afraid of
Janni's wrath when he found it out.
One day the Drakos came to her, and said: 'You must pretend to be ill,
and when Janni asks what ails you, and what you want, you must answer:
"Cherries," and when he inquires where these are to be found, you must
say: "There are some in a garden a day's journey from here." Then your
brother will go there, and will never come back, for there dwell three
of my brothers who will look after him well.'
Then the sister did as the Drakos advised, and next day Janni set out to
fetch the cherries, taking his three dogs with him. When he came to the
garden where the cherries grew he jumped off his horse, drank some water
from the spring, which rose there, and fell directly into a deep sleep.
The Draken came round about to eat him, but the dogs flung themselves on
them and tore them in pieces, and scratched a grave in the ground with
their paws, and buried the Draken so that Janni might not see their dead
bodies. When Janni awoke, and saw his dogs all covered with blood, he
believed that they had caught, somewhere, a wild beast, and was angry
because they had left none of it for him. But he plucked the cherries,
and took them back to his sister.
When the Drakos heard that Janni had come back, he fled for fear forty
fathoms underground. And the sister ate the cherries and declared
herself well again.
The next day, when Janni was gone to hunt, the Drakos came out, and
advised the sister that she should pretend to be ill again, and when her
brother asked her what she would like, she should answer 'Quinces,' and
when he inquired where these were to be found, she should say: 'In a
garden distant about two days' journey.' Then would Janni certainly be
destroyed, for there dwelt six brothers of the Drakos, each of whom had
two heads.
The sister did as she was advised, and next day Janni again set off,
taking his three dogs with him. When he came to the garden he
dismounted, sat down to rest a little, and fell fast asleep. First there
came three Draken round about to eat him, and when these three had been
worried by the dogs, there came three others who were worried in like
manner. Then the dogs again dug a grave and buried the dead Draken, that
their master might not see them. When Janni awoke and beheld the dogs
all covered with blood, he thought, as before, that they had killed a
wild beast, and was again angry with them for leaving him nothing. But
he took the quinces and brought them back to his sister, who, when she
had eaten them, declared herself better. The Drakos, when he heard that
Janni had come back, fled for fear forty fathoms deeper underground.
Next day, when Janni was hunting, the Drakos went to the sister and
advised that she should again pretend to be ill, and should beg for some
pears, which grew in a garden three days' journey from the castle. From
this quest Janni would certainly never return, for there dwelt nine
brothers of the Drakos, each of whom had three heads.
The sister did as she was told, and next day Janni, taking his three
dogs with him, went to get the pears. When he came to the garden he laid
himself down to rest, and soon fell asleep.
Then first came three Draken to eat him, and when the dogs had worried
these, six others came and fought the dogs a long time. The noise of
this combat awoke Janni, and he slew the Draken, and knew at last why
the dogs were covered with blood.
[Illustration: JANNI AND HIS DOGS FIGHT THE THREE-HEADED DRAKEN]
After that he freed all whom the Draken held prisoners, amongst others,
a king's daughter. Out of gratitude she would have taken him for her
husband; but he put her off, saying: 'For the kindness that I have been
able to do to you, you shall receive in this castle all the blind and
lame who pass this way.' The princess promised him to do so, and on his
departure gave him a ring.
So Janni plucked the pears and took them to his sister, who, when she
had eaten them, declared she felt better. When, however, the Drakos
heard that Janni had come back yet a third time safe and sound, he fled
for fright forty fathoms deeper underground; and, next day, when Janni
was away hunting, he crept out and said to the sister: 'Now are we
indeed both lost, unless you find out from him wherein his strength
lies, and then between us we will contrive to do away with him.'
When, therefore, Janni had come back from hunting, and sat at evening
with his sister by the fire, she begged him to tell her wherein lay his
strength, and he answered: 'It lies in my two fingers; if these are
bound together then all my strength disappears.'
'That I will not believe,' said the sister, 'unless I see it for
myself.'
Then he let her tie his fingers together with a thread, and immediately
he became powerless. Then the sister called up the Drakos, who, when he
had come forth, tore out Janni's eyes, gave them to his dogs to eat, and
threw him into a dry well.
Now it happened that some travellers, going to draw water from this
well, heard Janni groaning at the bottom. They came near, and asked him
where he was, and he begged them to draw him up from the well, for he
was a poor unfortunate man.
The travellers let a rope down and drew him up to daylight. It was not
till then that he first became aware that he was blind, and he begged
the travellers to lead him to the country of the king whose daughter he
had freed, and they would be well repaid for their trouble.
When they had brought him there he sent to beg the princess to come to
him; but she did not recognise him till he had shown her the ring she
had given him.
Then she remembered him, and took him with her into the castle.
When she learnt what had befallen him she called together all the
sorceresses in the country in order that they should tell her where the
eyes were. At last she found one who declared that she knew where they
were, and that she could restore them. This sorceress then went straight
to the castle where dwelt the sister and the Drakos, and gave something
to the dogs to eat which caused the eyes to reappear. She took them
with her and put them back in Janni's head, so that he saw as well as
before.
Then he returned to the castle of the Drakos, whom he slew as well as
his sister; and, taking his dogs with him, went back to the princess and
they were immediately married.
_THE PARTNERSHIP OF THE THIEF AND THE LIAR._
There was once upon a time a thief, who, being out of a job, was
wandering by himself up and down the seashore. As he walked he passed a
man who was standing still, looking at the waves.
'I wonder,' said the thief, addressing the stranger, 'if you have ever
seen a stone swimming?'
'Most certainly I have,' replied the other man, 'and, what is more, I
saw the same stone jump out of the water and fly through the air.'
'This is capital,' replied the thief. 'You and I must go into
partnership. We shall certainly make our fortunes. Let us start together
for the palace of the king of the neighbouring country. When we get
there, I will go into his presence alone, and will tell him the most
startling thing I can invent. Then you must follow and back up my lie.'
Having agreed to do this, they set out on their travels. After several
days' journeying, they reached the town where the king's palace was, and
here they parted for a few hours, while the thief sought an interview
with the king, and begged his majesty to give him a glass of beer.
'That is impossible,' said the king, 'as this year there has been a
failure of all the crops, and of the hops and the vines; so we have
neither wine nor beer in the whole kingdom.'
'How extraordinary!' answered the thief. 'I have just come from a
country where the crops were so fine that I saw twelve barrels of beer
made out of one branch of hops.'
'I bet you three hundred florins that is not true,' answered the king.
'And I bet you three hundred florins it is true,' replied the thief.
Then each staked his three hundred florins, and the king said he would
decide the question by sending a servant into that country to see if it
was true.
So the servant set out on horseback, and on the way he met a man, and he
asked him whence he came. And the man told him that he came from the
self-same country to which the servant was at that moment bound.
'If that is the case,' said the servant, 'you can tell me how high the
hops grow in your country, and how many barrels of beer can be brewed
from one branch?'
'I can't tell you that,' answered the man, 'but I happened to be present
when the hops were being gathered in, and I saw that it took three men
with axes three days to cut down one branch.'
Then the servant thought that he might save himself a long journey; so
he gave the man ten florins, and told him he must repeat to the king
what he had just told him. And when they got back to the palace, they
came together into the king's presence.
And the king asked him: 'Well, is it true about the hops?'
'Yes, sire, it is,' answered the servant; 'and here is a man I have
brought with me from the country to confirm the tale.'
So the king paid the thief the three hundred florins; and the partners
once more set out together in search of adventures. As they journeyed,
the thief said to his comrade: 'I will now go to another king, and will
tell him something still more startling; and you must follow and back up
my lie, and we shall get some money out of him; just see if we don't.'
When they reached the next kingdom, the thief presented himself to the
king, and requested him to give him a cauliflower. And the king
answered: 'Owing to a blight among the vegetables we have no
cauliflower.'
'That is strange,' answered the thief. 'I have just come from a country
where it grows so well that one head of cauliflower filled twelve
water-tubs.'
'I don't believe it,' answered the king.
'I bet you six hundred florins it is true,' replied the thief.
'And I bet you six hundred florins it is not true,' answered the king.
And he sent for a servant, and ordered him to start at once for the
country whence the thief had come, to find out if his story of the
cauliflower was true. On his journey the servant met with a man.
Stopping his horse he asked him where he came from, and the man replied
that he came from the country to which the other was travelling.
'If that is the case,' said the servant, 'you can tell me to what size
cauliflower grows in your country? Is it so large that one head fills
twelve water-tubs?'
'I have not seen that,' answered the man. 'But I saw twelve waggons,
drawn by twelve horses, carrying one head of cauliflower to the market.'
And the servant answered: 'Here are ten florins for you, my man, for you
have saved me a long journey. Come with me now, and tell the king what
you have just told me.'
'All right,' said the man, and they went together to the palace; and
when the king asked the servant if he had found out the truth about the
cauliflower, the servant replied: 'Sire, all that you heard was
perfectly true; here is a man from the country who will tell you so.'
So the king had to pay the thief the six hundred florins. And the two
partners set out once more on their travels, with their nine hundred
florins. When they reached the country of the neighbouring king, the
thief entered the royal presence, and began conversation by asking if
his majesty knew that in an adjacent kingdom there was a town with a
church steeple on which a bird had alighted, and that the steeple was so
high, and the bird's beak so long, that it had pecked the stars till
some of them fell out of the sky.
'I don't believe it,' said the king.
'Nevertheless I am prepared to bet twelve hundred florins that it is
true,' answered the thief.
'And I bet twelve hundred florins that it is a lie,' replied the king.
And he straightway sent a servant into the neighbouring country to find
out the truth.
As he rode, the servant met a man coming in the opposite direction. So
he hailed him and asked him where he came from. And the man replied that
he came out of the very town to which the man was bound. Then the
servant asked him if the story they had heard about the bird with the
long beak was true.
'I don't know about that,' answered the man, 'as I have never seen the
bird; but I once saw twelve men shoving all their might and main with
brooms to push a monster egg into a cellar.'
[Illustration: "I once saw"
12 MEN SHOVING ALL THEIR MIGHT AND MAIN WITH BROOMS TO PUSH A
MONSTER EGG INTO A CELLAR]
'That is capital,' answered the servant, presenting the man with ten
florins. 'Come and tell your tale to the king, and you will save me a
long journey.'
So, when the story was repeated to the king, there was nothing for him
to do but to pay the thief the twelve hundred florins.
Then the two partners set out again with their ill-gotten gains, which
they proceeded to divide into two equal shares; but the thief kept back
three of the florins that belonged to the liar's half of the booty.
Shortly afterwards they each married, and settled down in homes of their
own with their wives. One day the liar discovered that he had been done
out of three florins by his partner, so he went to his house and
demanded them from him.
'Come next Saturday, and I will give them to you,' answered the thief.
But as he had no intention of giving the liar the money, when Saturday
morning came he stretched himself out stiff and stark upon the bed, and
told his wife she was to say he was dead. So the wife rubbed her eyes
with an onion, and when the liar appeared at the door, she met him in
tears, and told him that as her husband was dead he could not be paid
the three florins.
But the liar, who knew his partner's tricks, instantly suspected the
truth, and said: 'As he has not paid me, I will pay him out with three
good lashes of my riding whip.'
At these words the thief sprang to his feet, and, appearing at the door,
promised his partner that if he would return the following Saturday he
would pay him. So the liar went away satisfied with this promise.
But when Saturday morning came the thief got up early and hid himself
under a truss of hay in the hay-loft.
When the liar appeared to demand his three florins, the wife met him
with tears in her eyes, and told him that her husband was dead.
'Where have you buried him?' asked the liar.
'In the hay-loft,' answered the wife.
'Then I will go there, and take away some hay in payment of his debt,'
said the liar. And proceeding to the hay-loft, he began to toss about
the hay with a pitch-fork, prodding it into the trusses of hay, till, in
terror of his life, the thief crept out and promised his partner to pay
him the three florins on the following Saturday.
When the day came he got up at sunrise, and going down into the crypt of
a neighbouring chapel, stretched himself out quite still and stiff in an
old stone coffin. But the liar, who was quite as clever as his partner,
very soon bethought him of the crypt, and set out for the chapel,
confident that he would shortly discover the hiding-place of his friend.
He had just entered the crypt, and his eyes were not yet accustomed to
the darkness, when he heard the sound of whispering at the grated
windows. Listening intently, he overheard the plotting of a band of
robbers, who had brought their treasure to the crypt, meaning to hide it
there, while they set out on fresh adventures. All the time they were
speaking they were removing the bars from the window, and in another
minute they would all have entered the crypt, and discovered the liar.
Quick as thought he wound his mantle round him and placed himself,
standing stiff and erect, in a niche in the wall, so that in the dim
light he looked just like an old stone statue. As soon as the robbers
entered the crypt, they set about the work of dividing their treasure.
Now, there were twelve robbers, but by mistake the chief of the band
divided the gold into thirteen heaps. When he saw his mistake he said
they had not time to count it all over again, but that the thirteenth
heap should belong to whoever among them could strike off the head of
the old stone statue in the niche with one stroke. With these words he
took up an axe, and approached the niche where the liar was standing.
But, just as he had waved the axe over his head ready to strike, a voice
was heard from the stone coffin saying, in sepulchral tones: 'Clear out
of this, or the dead will arise from their coffins, and the statues will
descend from the walls, and you will be driven out more dead than
alive.' And with a bound the thief jumped out of his coffin and the liar
from his niche, and the robbers were so terrified that they ran
helter-skelter out of the crypt, leaving all their gold behind them, and
vowing that they would never put foot inside the haunted place again. So
the partners divided the gold between them, and carried it to their
homes; and history tells us no more about them.
_FORTUNATUS AND HIS PURSE_
Once upon a time there lived in the city of Famagosta, in the island of
Cyprus, a rich man called Theodorus. He ought to have been the happiest
person in the whole world, as he had all he could wish for, and a wife
and little son whom he loved dearly; but unluckily, after a short time
he always grew tired of everything, and had to seek new pleasures. When
people are made like this the end is generally the same, and before
Fortunatus (for that was the boy's name) was ten years old, his father
had spent all his money and had not a farthing left.
But though Theodorus had been so foolish he was not quite without sense,
and set about getting work at once. His wife, too, instead of
reproaching him sent away the servants and sold their fine horses, and
did all the work of the house herself, even washing the clothes of her
husband and child.
Thus time passed till Fortunatus was sixteen. One day when they were
sitting at supper, the boy said to Theodorus, 'Father, why do you look
so sad? Tell me what is wrong, and perhaps I can help you.'
'Ah, my son, I have reason enough to be sad; but for me you would now
have been enjoying every kind of pleasure, instead of being buried in
this tiny house.'
'Oh, do not let that trouble you,' replied Fortunatus, 'it is time I
made some money for myself. To be sure I have never been taught any
trade. Still there must be something I can do. I will go and walk on the
seashore and think about it.'
Very soon--sooner than he expected--a chance came, and Fortunatus, like
a wise boy, seized on it at once. The post offered him was that of page
to the Earl of Flanders, and as the Earl's daughter was just going to be
married, splendid festivities were held in her honour, and at some of
the tilting matches Fortunatus was lucky enough to win the prize. These
prizes, together with presents from the lords and ladies of the court,
who liked him for his pleasant ways, made Fortunatus feel quite a rich
man.
But though his head was not turned by the notice taken of him, it
excited the envy of some of the other pages about the Court, and one of
them, called Robert, invented a plot to move Fortunatus out of his way.
So he told the young man that the Earl had taken a dislike to him and
meant to kill him; Fortunatus believed the story, and packing up his
fine clothes and money, slipped away before dawn.
He went to a great many big towns and lived well, and as he was generous
and not wiser than most youths of his age, he very soon found himself
penniless. Like his father, he then began to think of work, and tramped
half over Brittany in search of it. Nobody seemed to want him, and he
wandered about from one place to another, till he found himself in a
dense wood, without any paths, and not much light. Here he spent two
whole days, with nothing to eat and very little water to drink, going
first in one direction and then in another, but never being able to find
his way out. During the first night he slept soundly, and was too tired
to fear either man or beast, but when darkness came on for the second
time, and growls were heard in the distance, he grew frightened and
looked about for a high tree out of reach of his enemies. Hardly had he
settled himself comfortably in one of the forked branches, when a lion
walked up to a spring that burst from a rock close to the tree, and
crouching down drank greedily. This was bad enough, but after all, lions
do not climb trees, and as long as Fortunatus stayed up on his perch, he
was quite safe. But no sooner was the lion out of sight, than his place
was taken by a bear, and bears, as Fortunatus knew very well, _are_
tree-climbers. His heart beat fast, and not without reason, for as the
bear turned away he looked up and saw Fortunatus!
Now in those days every young man carried a sword slung to his belt, and
it was a fashion that came in very handily for Fortunatus. He drew his
sword, and when the bear got within a yard of him he made a fierce
lunge forward. The bear, wild with pain, tried to spring, but the bough
he was standing on broke with his weight, and he fell heavily to the
ground. Then Fortunatus descended from his tree (first taking good care
to see no other wild animals were in sight) and killed him with a single
blow. He was just thinking he would light a fire and make a hearty
dinner off bear's flesh, which is not at all bad eating, when he beheld
a beautiful lady standing by his side leaning on a wheel, and her eyes
hidden by a bandage.
'I am Dame Fortune,' she said, 'and I have a gift for you. Shall it be
wisdom, strength, long life, riches, health, or beauty? Think well, and
tell me what you will have.'
But Fortunatus, who had proved the truth of the proverb that 'It's ill
thinking on an empty stomach,' answered quickly, 'Good lady, let me have
riches in such plenty that I may never again be as hungry as I am now.'
And the lady held out a purse and told him he had only to put his hand
into it, and he and his children would always find ten pieces of gold.
But when they were dead it would be a magic purse no longer.
[Illustration: THE GIFT-OF-FORTUNE]
At this news Fortunatus was beside himself with joy, and could hardly
find words to thank the lady. But she told him that the best thing he
could do was to find his way out of the wood, and before bidding him
farewell pointed out which path he should take. He walked along it as
fast as his weakness would let him, until a welcome light at a little
distance showed him that a house was near. It turned out to be an inn,
but before entering Fortunatus thought he had better make sure of the
truth of what the lady had told him, and took out the purse and looked
inside. Sure enough there were the ten pieces of gold, shining brightly.
Then Fortunatus walked boldly up to the inn, and ordered them to get
ready a good supper at once, as he was very hungry, and to bring him
the best wine in the house. And he seemed to care so little what he
spent that everybody thought he was a great lord, and vied with each
other who should run quickest when he called.
After a night passed in a soft bed, Fortunatus felt so much better that
he asked the landlord if he could find him some men-servants, and tell
him where any good horses were to be got. The next thing was to provide
himself with smart clothes, and then to take a big house where he could
give great feasts to the nobles and beautiful ladies who lived in
palaces round about.
In this manner a whole year soon slipped away, and Fortunatus was so
busy amusing himself that he never once remembered his parents whom he
had left behind in Cyprus. But though he was thoughtless, he was not
bad-hearted. As soon as their existence crossed his mind, he set about
making preparations to visit them, and as he was not fond of being alone
he looked round for some one older and wiser than himself to travel with
him. It was not long before he had the good luck to come across an old
man who had left his wife and children in a far country many years
before, when he went out into the world to seek the fortune which he
never found. He agreed to accompany Fortunatus back to Cyprus, but only
on condition he should first be allowed to return for a few weeks to his
own home before venturing to set sail for an island so strange and
distant. Fortunatus agreed to his proposal, and as he was always fond of
anything new, said that he would go with him.
The journey was long, and they had to cross many large rivers, and climb
over high mountains, and find their way through thick woods, before they
reached at length the old man's castle. His wife and children had almost
given up hopes of seeing him again, and crowded eagerly round him.
Indeed, it did not take Fortunatus five minutes to fall in love with the
youngest daughter, the most beautiful creature in the whole world, whose
name was Cassandra.
'Give her to me for my wife,' he said to the old man, 'and let us all go
together to Famagosta.'
So a ship was bought big enough to hold Fortunatus, the old man and his
wife, and their ten children--five of them sons and five daughters. And
the day before they sailed the wedding was celebrated with magnificent
rejoicings, and everybody thought that Fortunatus must certainly be a
prince in disguise. But when they reached Cyprus, he learned to his
sorrow that both his father and mother were dead, and for some time he
shut himself up in his house and would see nobody, full of shame at
having forgotten them all these years. Then he begged that the old man
and his wife would remain with him, and take the place of his parents.
For twelve years Fortunatus and Cassandra and their two little boys
lived happily in Famagosta. They had a beautiful house and everything
they could possibly want, and when Cassandra's sisters married the purse
provided them each with a fortune. But at last Fortunatus grew tired of
staying at home, and thought he should like to go out and see the world
again. Cassandra shed many tears at first when he told her of his
wishes, and he had a great deal of trouble to persuade her to give her
consent. But on his promising to return at the end of two years she
agreed to let him go. Before he went away he showed her three chests of
gold, which stood in a room with an iron door, and walls twelve feet
thick. 'If anything should happen to me,' he said, 'and I should never
come back, keep one of the chests for yourself, and give the others to
our two sons.' Then he embraced them all and took ship for Alexandria.
The wind was fair and in a few days they entered the harbour, where
Fortunatus was informed by a man whom he met on landing, that if he
wished to be well received in the town, he must begin by making a
handsome present to the Sultan. 'That is easily done,' said Fortunatus,
and went into a goldsmith's shop, where he bought a large gold cup,
which cost five thousand pounds. This gift so pleased the Sultan that he
ordered a hundred casks of spices to be given to Fortunatus; Fortunatus
put them on board his ship, and commanded the captain to return to
Cyprus and deliver them to his wife, Cassandra. He next obtained an
audience of the Sultan, and begged permission to travel through the
country, which the Sultan readily gave him, adding some letters to the
rulers of other lands which Fortunatus might wish to visit.
Filled with delight at feeling himself free to roam through the world
once more, Fortunatus set out on his journey without losing a day. From
court to court he went, astonishing everyone by the magnificence of his
dress and the splendour of his presents. At length he grew as tired of
wandering as he had been of staying at home, and returned to Alexandria,
where he found the same ship that had brought him from Cyprus lying in
the harbour. Of course the first thing he did was to pay his respects to
the Sultan, who was eager to hear about his adventures.
When Fortunatus had told them all, the Sultan observed: 'Well, you have
seen many wonderful things, but I have something to show you more
wonderful still;' and he led him into a room where precious stones lay
heaped against the walls. Fortunatus' eyes were quite dazzled, but the
Sultan went on without pausing and opened a door at the farther end. As
far as Fortunatus could see, the cupboard was quite bare, except for a
little red cap, such as soldiers wear in Turkey.
'Look at this,' said the Sultan.
'But there is nothing very valuable about it,' answered Fortunatus.
'I've seen a dozen better caps than that, this very day.'
'Ah,' said the Sultan, 'you do not know what you are talking about.
Whoever puts this cap on his head and wishes himself in any place, will
find himself there in a moment.'
'But who made it?' asked Fortunatus.
'That I cannot tell you,' replied the Sultan.
'Is it very heavy to wear?' asked Fortunatus.
'No, quite light,' replied the Sultan, 'just feel it.'
Fortunatus took the cap and put it on his head, and then, without
thinking, wished himself back in the ship that was starting for
Famagosta. In a second he was standing at the prow, while the anchor was
being weighed, and while the Sultan was repenting of his folly in
allowing Fortunatus to try on the cap, the vessel was making fast for
Cyprus.
When it arrived, Fortunatus found his wife and children well, but the
two old people were dead and buried. His sons had grown tall and strong,
but unlike their father had no wish to see the world, and found their
chief pleasure in hunting and tilting. In the main, Fortunatus was
content to stay quietly at home, and if a restless fit did seize upon
him, he was able to go away for a few hours without being missed, thanks
to the cap, which he never sent back to the Sultan.
By-and-by he grew old, and feeling that he had not many days to live, he
sent for his two sons, and showing them the purse and cap, he said to
them: 'Never part with these precious possessions. They are worth more
than all the gold and lands I leave behind me. But never tell their
secret, even to your wife or dearest friend. That purse has served me
well for forty years, and no one knows whence I got my riches.' Then he
died and was buried by his wife Cassandra, and he was mourned in
Famagosta for many years.
_THE GOAT-FACED GIRL_
There was once upon a time a peasant called Masaniello who had twelve
daughters. They were exactly like the steps of a staircase, for there
was just a year between each sister. It was all the poor man could do to
bring up such a large family, and in order to provide food for them he
used to dig in the fields all day long. In spite of his hard work he
only just succeeded in keeping the wolf from the door, and the poor
little girls often went hungry to bed.
One day, when Masaniello was working at the foot of a high mountain, he
came upon the mouth of a cave which was so dark and gloomy that even the
sun seemed afraid to enter it. Suddenly a huge green lizard appeared
from the inside and stood before Masaniello, who nearly went out of his
mind with terror, for the beast was as big as a crocodile and quite as
fierce looking.
But the lizard sat down beside him in the most friendly manner, and
said: 'Don't be afraid, my good man, I am not going to hurt you; on the
contrary, I am most anxious to help you.'
When the peasant heard these words he knelt before the lizard and said:
'Dear lady, for I know not what to call you, I am in your power; but I
beg of you to be merciful, for I have twelve wretched little daughters
at home who are dependent on me.'
'That's the very reason why I have come to you,' replied the lizard.
'Bring me your youngest daughter to-morrow morning. I promise to bring
her up as if she were my own child, and to look upon her as the apple of
my eye.'
When Masaniello heard her words he was very unhappy, because he felt
sure, from the lizard's wanting one of his daughters, the youngest and
tenderest too, that the poor little girl would only serve as dessert for
the terrible creature's supper. At the same time he said to himself, 'If
I refuse her request, she will certainly eat me up on the spot. If I
give her what she asks she does indeed take part of myself, but if I
refuse she will take the whole of me. What am I to do, and how in the
world am I to get out of the difficulty?'
As he kept muttering to himself the lizard said, 'Make up your mind to
do as I tell you at once. I desire to have your youngest daughter, and
if you won't comply with my wish, I can only say it will be the worse
for you.'
Seeing that there was nothing else to be done, Masaniello set off for
his home, and arrived there looking so white and wretched that his wife
asked him at once: 'What has happened to you, my dear husband? Have you
quarrelled with anyone, or has the poor donkey fallen down?'
'Neither the one nor the other,' answered her husband, 'but something
far worse than either. A terrible lizard has nearly frightened me out of
my senses, for she threatened that if I did not give her our youngest
daughter, she would make me repent it. My head is going round like a
mill-wheel, and I don't know what to do. I am indeed between the Devil
and the Deep Sea. You know how dearly I love Renzolla, and yet, if I
fail to bring her to the lizard to-morrow morning, I must say farewell
to life. Do advise me what to do.'
When his wife had heard all he had to say, she said to him: 'How do you
know, my dear husband, that the lizard is really our enemy? May she not
be a friend in disguise? And your meeting with her may be the beginning
of better things and the end of all our misery. Therefore go and take
the child to her, for my heart tells me that you will never repent doing
so.'
Masaniello was much comforted by her words, and next morning as soon as
it was light he took his little daughter by the hand and led her to the
cave.
The lizard, who was awaiting the peasant's arrival, came forward to meet
him, and taking the girl by the hand, she gave the father a sack full of
gold, and said: 'Go and marry your other daughters, and give them
dowries with this gold, and be of good cheer, for Renzolla will have
both father and mother in me; it is a great piece of luck for her that
she has fallen into my hands.'
[Illustration: The Lizard takes charge of Renzolla]
Masaniello, quite overcome with gratitude, thanked the lizard, and
returned home to his wife.
As soon as it was known how rich the peasant had become, suitors for the
hands of his daughters were not wanting, and very soon he married them
all off; and even then there was enough gold left to keep himself and
his wife in comfort and plenty all their days.
As soon as the lizard was left alone with Renzolla, she changed the cave
into a beautiful palace, and led the girl inside. Here she brought her
up like a little princess, and the child wanted for nothing. She gave
her sumptuous food to eat, beautiful clothes to wear, and a thousand
servants to wait on her.
Now, it happened, one day, that the king of the country was hunting in a
wood close to the palace, and was overtaken by the dark. Seeing a light
shining in the palace he sent one of his servants to ask if he could get
a night's lodging there.
When the page knocked at the door the lizard changed herself into a
beautiful woman, and opened it herself. When she heard the king's
request she sent him a message to say that she would be delighted to see
him, and give him all he wanted.
The king, on hearing this kind invitation, instantly betook himself to
the palace, where he was received in the most hospitable manner. A
hundred pages with torches came to meet him, a hundred more waited on
him at table, and another hundred waved big fans in the air to keep the
flies from him. Renzolla herself poured out the wine for him, and, so
gracefully did she do it, that his Majesty could not take his eyes off
her.
When the meal was finished and the table cleared, the king retired to
sleep, and Renzolla drew the shoes from his feet, at the same time
drawing his heart from his breast. So desperately had he fallen in love
with her, that he called the fairy to him, and asked her for Renzolla's
hand in marriage. As the kind fairy had only the girl's welfare at
heart, she willingly gave her consent, and not her consent only, but a
wedding portion of seven thousand golden guineas.
The king, full of delight over his good fortune, prepared to take his
departure, accompanied by Renzolla, who never so much as thanked the
fairy for all she had done for her. When the fairy saw such a base want
of gratitude she determined to punish the girl, and, cursing her, she
turned her face into a goat's head. In a moment Renzolla's pretty mouth
stretched out into a snout, with a beard a yard long at the end of it,
her cheeks sank in, and her shining plaits of hair changed into two
sharp horns. When the king turned round and saw her he thought he must
have taken leave of his senses. He burst into tears, and cried out:
'Where is the hair that bound me so tightly, where are the eyes that
pierced through my heart, and where are the lips I kissed? Am I to be
tied to a goat all my life? No, no! nothing will induce me to become the
laughing-stock of my subjects for the sake of a goat-faced girl!'
When they reached his own country he shut Renzolla up in a little turret
chamber of his palace, with a waiting-maid, and gave each of them ten
bundles of flax to spin, telling them that their task must be finished
by the end of the week.
The maid, obedient to the king's commands, set at once to work and
combed out the flax, wound it round the spindle, and sat spinning at her
wheel so diligently that her work was quite done by Saturday evening.
But Renzolla, who had been spoilt and petted in the fairy's house, and
was quite unaware of the change that had taken place in her appearance,
threw the flax out of the window and said: 'What is the king thinking of
that he should give me this work to do? If he wants shirts he can buy
them. It isn't even as if he had picked me out of the gutter, for he
ought to remember that I brought him seven thousand golden guineas as my
wedding portion, and that I am his wife and not his slave. He must be
mad to treat me like this.'
All the same, when Saturday evening came, and she saw that the
waiting-maid had finished her task, she took fright lest she should be
punished for her idleness. So she hurried off to the palace of the
fairy, and confided all her woes to her. The fairy embraced her
tenderly, and gave her a sack full of spun flax, in order that she might
show it to the king, and let him see what a good worker she was.
Renzolla took the sack without one word of thanks, and returned to the
palace, leaving the kind fairy very indignant over her want of
gratitude.
When the king saw the flax all spun, he gave Renzolla and the
waiting-maid each a little dog, and told them to look after the animals
and train them carefully.
The waiting-maid brought hers up with the greatest possible care, and
treated it almost as if it were her son. But Renzolla said: 'I don't
know what to think. Have I come among a lot of lunatics? Does the king
imagine that I am going to comb and feed a dog with my own hands?' With
these words she opened the window and threw the poor little beast out,
and he fell on the ground as dead as a stone.
When a few months had passed the king sent a message to say he would
like to see how the dogs were getting on. Renzolla, who felt very
uncomfortable in her mind at this request, hurried off once more to the
fairy. This time she found an old man at the door of the fairy's palace,
who said to her: 'Who are you, and what do you want?'
When Renzolla heard his question she answered angrily: 'Don't you know
me, old Goat-beard? And how dare you address me in such a way?'
'The pot can't call the kettle black,' answered the old man, 'for it is
not I, but you who have a goat's head. Just wait a moment, you
ungrateful wretch, and I will show you to what a pass your want of
gratitude has brought you.'
With these words he hurried away, and returned with a mirror, which he
held up before Renzolla. At the sight of her ugly, hairy face, the girl
nearly fainted with horror, and she broke into loud sobs at seeing her
countenance so changed.
[Illustration: RENZOLLA SEES HER FACE IN THE MIRROR]
Then the old man said: 'You must remember, Renzolla, that you are a
peasant's daughter, and that the fairy turned you into a queen; but you
were ungrateful, and never as much as thanked her for all she had done
for you. Therefore she has determined to punish you. But if you wish to
lose your long white beard, throw yourself at the fairy's feet and
implore her to forgive you. She has a tender heart, and will, perhaps,
take pity on you.'
Renzolla, who was really sorry for her conduct, took the old man's
advice, and the fairy not only gave her back her former face, but she
dressed her in a gold embroidered dress, presented her with a beautiful
carriage, and brought her back, accompanied by a host of servants, to
her husband. When the king saw her looking as beautiful as ever, he fell
in love with her once more, and bitterly repented having caused her so
much suffering.
So Renzolla lived happily ever afterwards, for she loved her husband,
honoured the fairy, and was grateful to the old man for having told her
the truth.
[From the Italian, _Kletke_.]
_WHAT CAME OF PICKING FLOWERS_
There was once a woman who had three daughters whom she loved very much.
One day the eldest was walking in a water-meadow, when she saw a pink
growing in the stream. She stooped to pick the flower, but her hand had
scarcely touched it, when she vanished altogether. The next morning the
second sister went out into the meadow, to see if she could find any
traces of the lost girl, and as a branch of lovely roses lay trailing
across her path, she bent down to move it away, and in so doing, could
not resist plucking one of the roses. In a moment she too had
disappeared. Wondering what could have become of her two sisters, the
youngest followed in their footsteps, and fell a victim to a branch of
delicious white jessamine. So the old woman was left without any
daughters at all.
She wept, and wept, and wept, all day and all night, and went on weeping
so long, that her son, who had been a little boy when his sisters
disappeared, grew up to be a tall youth. Then one night he asked his
mother to tell him what was the matter.
When he had heard the whole story, he said, 'Give me your blessing,
mother, and I will go and search the world till I find them.'
So he set forth, and after he had travelled several miles without any
adventures, he came upon three big boys fighting in the road. He stopped
and inquired what they were fighting about, and one of them answered:
'My lord! our father left to us, when he died, a pair of boots, a key,
and a cap. Whoever puts on the boots and wishes himself in any place,
will find himself there. The key will open every door in the world, and
with the cap on your head no one can see you. Now our eldest brother
wants to have all three things for himself, and we wish to draw lots for
them.'
'Oh, that is easily settled,' said the youth. 'I will throw this stone
as far as I can, and the one who picks it up first, shall have the three
things.' So he took the stone and flung it, and while the three brothers
were running after it, he drew hastily on the boots, and said, 'Boots,
take me to the place where I shall find my eldest sister.'
The next moment the young man was standing on a steep mountain before
the gates of a strong castle guarded by bolts and bars and iron chains.
The key, which he had not forgotten to put in his pocket, opened the
doors one by one, and he walked through a number of halls and corridors,
till he met a beautiful and richly-dressed young lady who started back
in surprise at the sight of him, and exclaimed, 'Oh, sir, how did you
contrive to get in here?' The young man replied that he was her brother,
and told her by what means he had been able to pass through the doors.
In return, she told him how happy she was, except for one thing, and
that was, her husband lay under a spell, and could never break it till
there should be put to death a man who could not die.
They talked together for a long time, and then the lady said he had
better leave her as she expected her husband back at any moment, and he
might not like him to be there; but the young man assured her she need
not be afraid, as he had with him a cap which would make him invisible.
They were still deep in conversation when the door suddenly opened, and
a bird flew in, but he saw nothing unusual, for, at the first noise, the
youth had put on his cap. The lady jumped up and brought a large golden
basin, into which the bird flew, reappearing directly after as a
handsome man. Turning to his wife, he cried, 'I am sure someone is in
the room!' She got frightened, and declared that she was quite alone,
but her husband persisted, and in the end she had to confess the truth.
[Illustration: What came of Picking Jessamine]
'But if he is really your brother, why did you hide him?' asked he. 'I
believe you are telling me a lie, and if he comes back I shall kill
him!'
At this the youth took off his cap, and came forward. Then the husband
saw that he was indeed so like his wife that he doubted her word no
longer, and embraced his brother-in-law with delight. Drawing a feather
from his bird's skin, he said, 'If you are in danger and cry, "Come and
help me, King of the Birds," everything will go well with you.'
The young man thanked him and went away, and after he had left the
castle he told the boots that they must take him to the place where his
second sister was living. As before, he found himself at the gates of a
huge castle, and within was his second sister, very happy with her
husband, who loved her dearly, but longing for the moment when he should
be set free from the spell that kept him half his life a fish. When he
arrived and had been introduced by his wife to her brother, he welcomed
him warmly, and gave him a fish-scale, saying, 'If you are in danger,
call to me, "Come and help me, King of the Fishes," and everything will
go well with you.'
The young man thanked him and took his leave, and when he was outside
the gates he told the boots to take him to the place where his youngest
sister lived. The boots carried him to a dark cavern, with steps of iron
leading up to it. Inside she sat, weeping and sobbing, and as she had
done nothing else the whole time she had been there, the poor girl had
grown very thin. When she saw a man standing before her, she sprang to
her feet and exclaimed, 'Oh, whoever you are, save me and take me from
this horrible place!' Then he told her who he was, and how he had seen
her sisters, whose happiness was spoilt by the spell under which both
their husbands lay, and she, in turn, related her story. She had been
carried off in the water-meadow by a horrible monster, who wanted to
make her marry him by force, and had kept her a prisoner all these years
because she would not submit to his will. Every day he came to beg her
to consent to his wishes, and to remind her that there was no hope of
her being set free, as he was the most constant man in the world, and
besides that he could never die. At these words the youth remembered his
two enchanted brothers-in-law, and he advised his sister to promise to
marry the old man, if he would tell her why he could never die. Suddenly
everything began to tremble, as if it was shaken by a whirlwind, and
the old man entered, and flinging himself at the feet of the girl, he
said: 'Are you still determined never to marry me? If so you will have
to sit there weeping till the end of the world, for I shall always be
faithful to my wish to marry you!' 'Well, I will marry you,' she said,
'if you will tell me why it is that you can never die.'
Then the old man burst into peals of laughter. 'Ah, ah, ah! You are
thinking how you would be able to kill me? Well, to do that, you would
have to find an iron casket which lies at the bottom of the sea, and has
a white dove inside, and then you would have to find the egg which the
dove laid, and bring it here, and dash it against my head.' And he
laughed again in his certainty that no one had ever got down to the
bottom of the sea, and that if they did, they would never find the
casket, or be able to open it. When he could speak once more, he said,
'Now you will be obliged to marry me, as you know my secret.' But she
begged so hard that the wedding might be put off for three days, that he
consented, and went away rejoicing at his victory. When he had
disappeared, the brother took off the cap which had kept him invisible
all this time, and told his sister not to lose heart as he hoped in
three days she would be free. Then he drew on his boots, and wished
himself at the seashore, and there he was directly. Drawing out the
fish-scale, he cried, 'Come and help me, King of the Fishes!' and his
brother-in-law swam up, and asked what he could do. The young man
related the story, and when he had finished his listener summoned all
the fishes to his presence. The last to arrive was a little sardine, who
apologised for being so late, but said she had hurt herself by knocking
her head against an iron casket that lay in the bottom of the sea. The
king ordered several of the largest and strongest of his subjects to
take the little sardine as a guide, and bring him the iron casket. They
soon returned with the box placed across their backs and laid it down
before him. Then the youth produced the key and said, 'Key, open that
box!' and the key opened it, and though they were all crowding round,
ready to catch it, the white dove within flew away.
[Illustration: HOW THE WHITE DOVE ESCAPED]
It was useless to go after it, and for a moment the young man's heart
sank. The next minute, however, he remembered that he had still his
feather, and drew it out crying, 'Come to me, King of the Birds!' and a
rushing noise was heard, and the King of the Birds perched on his
shoulder, and asked what he could do to help him. His brother-in-law
told him the whole story, and when he had finished the King of the Birds
commanded all his subjects to hasten to his presence. In an instant the
air was dark with birds of all sizes, and at the very last came the
white dove, apologising for being so late by saying that an old friend
had arrived at his nest, and he had been obliged to give him some
dinner. The King of the Birds ordered some of them to show the young man
the white dove's nest, and when they reached it, there lay the egg which
was to break the spell and set them all free. When it was safely in his
pocket, he told the boots to carry him straight to the cavern where his
youngest sister sat awaiting him.
Now it was already far on into the third day, which the old man had
fixed for the wedding, and when the youth reached the cavern with his
cap on his head, he found the monster there, urging the girl to keep her
word and let the marriage take place at once. At a sign from her brother
she sat down and invited the old monster to lay his head on her lap. He
did so with delight, and her brother standing behind her back passed her
the egg unseen. She took it, and dashed it straight at the horrible
head, and the monster started, and with a groan that people took for the
rumblings of an earthquake, he turned over and died.
As the breath went out of his body the husbands of the two eldest
daughters resumed their proper shapes, and, sending for their
mother-in-law, whose sorrow was so unexpectedly turned into joy, they
had a great feast, and the youngest sister was rich to the end of her
days with the treasures she found in the cave, collected by the monster.
[From the Portuguese.]
_THE STORY OF BENSURDATU_
There was once a king and a queen who had three wonderfully beautiful
daughters, and their one thought, from morning till night, was how they
could make the girls happy.
One day the princesses said to the king, 'Dear father, we want so much
to have a picnic, and eat our dinner in the country.'
'Very well, dear children, let us have a picnic by all means,' answered
he, and gave orders that everything should be got ready.
When luncheon was prepared it was put into a cart, and the royal family
stepped into a carriage and drove right away into the country. After a
few miles they reached a house and garden belonging to the king, and
close by was their favourite place for lunch. The drive had made them
very hungry, and they ate with a hearty appetite, till almost all the
food had disappeared.
When they had quite done, they said to their parents: 'Now we should
like to wander about the garden a little, but when you want to go home,
just call to us.' And they ran off, laughing, down a green glade, which
led to the garden.
But no sooner had they stepped across the fence, than a dark cloud came
down and covered them, and prevented them seeing whither they were
going.
[Illustration: NOW THE THREE PRINCESSES WERE LOST]
Meanwhile the king and queen sat lazily among the heather, and an hour
or two slipped away. The sun was dropping towards the horizon, and they
began to think it was time to go home. So they called to their daughters
and called again, but no one answered them.
Frightened at the silence, they searched every corner of the garden, the
house, and the neighbouring wood, but no trace of the girls was to be
found anywhere. The earth seemed to have swallowed them up. The poor
parents were in despair. The queen wept all the way home, and for many
days after, and the king issued a proclamation that whoever should bring
back his lost daughters should have one of them to wife, and should,
after his death, reign in his stead.
Now two young generals were at that time living at the court, and when
they heard the king's declaration, they said one to the other: 'Let us
go in search of them; perhaps we shall be the lucky persons.'
And they set out, each mounted on a strong horse, taking with them a
change of raiment and some money.
But though they inquired at every village they rode through, they could
hear nothing of the princesses, and by-and-by their money was all spent,
and they were forced to sell their horses, or give up the search. Even
this money only lasted a little while longer, and nothing but their
clothes lay between them and starvation. They sold the spare garments
that were bound on their saddles, and went in the coats they stood up in
to the inn, to beg for some food, as they were really starving. When,
however, they had to pay for what they had eaten and drank, they said to
the host: 'We have no money, and naught but the clothes we stand up in.
Take these, and give us instead some old rags, and let us stay here and
serve you.' And the innkeeper was content with the bargain, and the
generals remained, and were his servants.
All this time the king and queen remained in their palace hungering for
their children, but not a word was heard of either of them or of the
generals who had gone to seek for them.
Now there was living in the palace a faithful servant of the king's
called Bensurdatu, who had served him for many years, and when
Bensurdatu saw how grieved the king was, he lifted up his voice and said
to him: 'Your majesty, let me go and seek your daughters.'
'No, no, Bensurdatu,' replied the king. 'Three daughters have I lost,
and two generals, and shall I lose you also?'
But Bensurdatu said again: 'Let me now go, your majesty; trust me, and I
will bring you back your daughters.'
Then the king gave way, and Bensurdatu set forth, and rode on till he
came to the inn, where he dismounted and asked for food. It was brought
by the two generals, whom he knew at once in spite of their miserable
clothes, and, much astonished, asked them how in the world they came
there.
They told him all their adventures, and he sent for the innkeeper, and
said to him: 'Give them back their garments, and I will pay everything
that they owe you.'
And the innkeeper did as he was bid, and when the two generals were
dressed in their proper clothes, they declared they would join
Bensurdatu, and with him seek for the king's daughters.
The three companions rode on for many miles, and at length they came to
a wild place, without sign of a human being. It was getting dark, and
fearing to be lost on this desolate spot they pushed on their horses,
and at last saw a light in the window of a tiny hut.
'Who comes there?' asked a voice, as they knocked at the door.
'Oh! have pity on us, and give us a night's shelter,' replied
Bensurdatu; 'we are three tired travellers who have lost our way.'
Then the door was opened by a very old woman, who stood back, and
beckoned them to enter. 'Whence do you come, and whither do you go?'
said she.
'Ah, good woman, we have a heavy task before us,' answered Bensurdatu,
'we are bound to carry the king's daughters back to the palace!'
'Oh, unhappy creatures,' cried she, 'you know not what you are doing!
The king's daughters were covered by a thick cloud, and no one knows
where they may now be.'
'Oh, tell us, if you know, my good woman,' entreated Bensurdatu, 'for
with them lies all our happiness.'
'Even if I were to tell you,' answered she, 'you could not rescue them.
To do that you would have to go to the very bottom of a deep river, and
though certainly you would find the king's daughters there, yet the two
eldest are guarded by two giants, and the youngest is watched by a
serpent with seven heads.'
The two generals, who stood by listening, were filled with terror at
her words, and wished to return immediately; but Bensurdatu stood firm,
and said: 'Now we have got so far we must carry the thing through. Tell
us where the river is, so that we may get there as soon as possible.'
And the old woman told them, and gave them some cheese, wine, and bread,
so that they should not set forth starving; and when they had eaten and
drunk they laid themselves down to sleep.
The sun had only just risen above the hills next morning before they all
woke, and, taking leave of the wise woman who had helped them, they rode
on till they came to the river.
'I am the eldest,' said one of the generals, 'and it is my right to go
down first.'
So the others fastened a cord round him, and gave him a little bell, and
let him down into the water. But scarcely had the river closed above his
head when such dreadful rushing sounds and peals of thunder came
crashing round about him that he lost all his courage, and rang his
bell, if perchance it might be heard amidst all this clamour. Great was
his relief when the rope began slowly to pull him upwards.
Then the other general plunged in; but he fared no better than the
first, and was soon on dry ground again.
'Well, you are a brave pair!' said Bensurdatu, as he tied the rope round
his own waist; 'let us see what will happen to me.' And when he heard
the thunder and clamour round about him he thought to himself, 'Oh, make
as much noise as you like, it won't hurt me!' When his feet touched the
bottom he found himself in a large, brilliantly lighted hall, and in the
middle sat the eldest princess, and in front of her lay a huge giant,
fast asleep. Directly she saw Bensurdatu she nodded to him, and asked
with her eyes how he had come there.
For answer he drew his sword, and was about to cut off the giant's head,
when she stopped him quickly, and made signs to hide himself, as the
giant was just beginning to wake. 'I smell the flesh of a man!' murmured
he, stretching his great arms.
'Why, how in the world could any man get down here?' replied she; 'you
had better go to sleep again.'
So he turned over and went to sleep. Then the princess signed to
Bensurdatu, who drew his sword and cut off the giant's head with such a
blow that it flew into the corner. And the heart of the princess leapt
within her, and she placed a golden crown on the head of Bensurdatu, and
called him her deliverer.
'Now show me where your sisters are,' he said, 'that I may free them
also.'
So the princess opened a door, and led him into another hall, wherein
sat her next sister, guarded by a giant who was fast asleep. When the
second princess saw them, she made a sign to them to hide themselves,
for the giant was showing symptoms of waking.
'I smell man's flesh!' murmured he, sleepily.
'Now, how could any man get down here?' asked she; 'go to sleep again.'
And as soon as he closed his eyes, Bensurdatu stole out from his corner,
and struck such a blow at his head that it flew far, far away. The
princess could not find words to thank Bensurdatu for what he had done,
and she too placed in his hand a golden crown.
'Now show me where your youngest sister is,' said he, 'that I may free
her also.'
'Ah! that I fear you will never be able to do,' sighed they, 'for she is
in the power of a serpent with seven heads.'
'Take me to him,' replied Bensurdatu. 'It will be a splendid fight.'
Then the princess opened a door, and Bensurdatu passed through, and
found himself in a hall that was even larger than the other two. And
there stood the youngest sister, chained fast to the wall, and before
her was stretched a serpent with seven heads, horrible to see. As
Bensurdatu came forward it twisted all its seven heads in his direction,
and then made a quick dart to snatch him within its grasp. But
Bensurdatu drew his sword and laid about him, till the seven heads were
rolling on the floor. Flinging down his sword he rushed to the princess
and broke her chains, and she wept for joy, and embraced him, and took
the golden crown from off her head, and placed it in his hand.
[Illustration: BENSURDATU ATTACKS THE SEVEN-HEADED SERPENT.]
'Now we must go back to the upper world,' said Bensurdatu, and led her
to the bottom of the river. The other princesses were waiting there, and
he tied the rope round the eldest, and rung his bell. And the generals
above heard, and drew her gently up. They then unfastened the cord and
threw it back into the river, and in a few moments the second princess
stood beside her sister.
So now there were left only Bensurdatu and the youngest princess. 'Dear
Bensurdatu,' said she, 'do me a kindness, and let them draw you up
before me. I dread the treachery of the generals.'
'No, no,' replied Bensurdatu, 'I certainly will not leave you down here.
There is nothing to fear from my comrades.'
'If it is your wish I will go up then; but first I swear that if you do
not follow to marry me, I shall stay single for the rest of my life.'
Then he bound the rope round her, and the generals drew her up.
But instead of lowering the rope again into the river, envy at the
courage and success of Bensurdatu so filled the hearts of the two
generals, that they turned away and left him to perish. And, more than
that, they threatened the princesses, and forced them to promise to tell
their parents that it was the two generals who had set them free. 'And
if they should ask you about Bensurdatu, you must say you have never
seen him,' they added; and the princesses, fearing for their lives,
promised everything, and they rode back to court together.
The king and queen were beside themselves with joy when they saw their
dear children once more. But when the generals had told their story, and
the dangers they had run, the king declared that they had gained their
reward, and that the two eldest princesses should become their wives.
And now we must see what poor Bensurdatu was doing.
He waited patiently a long, long time, but when the rope never came back
he knew he had been wrong, and that his comrades had betrayed him. 'Ah,
now I shall never reach the world again,' murmured he; but being a brave
man, and knowing that moaning his fate would profit him nothing, he rose
and began to search through the three halls, where, perhaps, he might
find something to help him. In the last one stood a dish, covered with
food, which reminded him that he was hungry, and he sat down and ate and
drank.
Months passed away, when, one morning, as he was walking through the
halls, he noticed a purse hanging on the wall, which had never been
there before. He took it down to examine it, and nearly let it fall with
surprise when a voice came from the purse saying: 'What commands have
you?'
'Oh, take me out of this horrible place, and up into the world again;'
and in a moment he was, standing by the river bank, with the purse
tightly grasped in his hand.
'Now let me have the most beautiful ship that ever was built, all manned
and ready for sea.' And there was the ship, with a flag floating from
its mast on which were the words, 'King with the three crowns.' Then
Bensurdatu climbed on board, and sailed away to the city where the three
princesses dwelt; and when he reached the harbour he blew trumpets and
beat drums, so that every one ran to the doors and windows. And the king
heard too, and saw the beautiful vessel, and said to himself: 'That must
indeed be a mighty monarch, for he has three crowns while I have only
one.' So he hastened to greet the stranger, and invited him to his
castle, for, thought he, 'this will be a fine husband for my youngest
daughter.' Now, the youngest princess had never married, and had turned
a deaf ear to all her wooers.
Such a long time had passed since Bensurdatu had left the palace, that
the king never guessed for a moment that the splendidly clad stranger
before him was the man whom he had so deeply mourned as dead. 'Noble
lord,' said he, 'let us feast and make merry together, and then, if it
seem good to you, do me the honour to take my youngest daughter to
wife.'
And Bensurdatu was glad, and they all sat down to a great feast, and
there were great rejoicings. But only the youngest daughter was sad, for
her thoughts were with Bensurdatu. After they arose from the table the
king said to her, 'Dear child, this mighty lord does you the honour to
ask your hand in marriage.'
'Oh, father,' answered she, 'spare me, I pray you, for I desire to
remain single.'
Then Bensurdatu turned to her, and said: 'And if I were Bensurdatu,
would you give the same answer to me?'
And as she stood silently gazing at him, he added: 'Yes, I am
Bensurdatu; and this is my story.'
The king and queen had their hearts stirred within them at the tale of
his adventures, and when he had ended the king stretched out his hand,
and said: 'Dear Bensurdatu, my youngest daughter shall indeed be your
wife; and when I die my crown shall be yours. As for the men who have
betrayed you, they shall leave the country and you shall see them no
more.'
And the wedding feast was ordered, and rejoicings were held for three
days over the marriage of Bensurdatu and the youngest princess.
[From the _Sicilianische Märchen_.]
_THE MAGICIAN'S HORSE_
Once upon a time, there was a king who had three sons. Now it happened
that one day the three princes went out hunting in a large forest at
some distance from their father's palace, and the youngest prince lost
his way, so his brothers had to return home without him.
For four days the prince wandered through the glades of the forest,
sleeping on moss beneath the stars at night, and by day living on roots
and wild berries. At last, on the morning of the fifth day, he came to a
large open space in the middle of the forest, and here stood a stately
palace; but neither within nor without was there a trace of human life.
The prince entered the open door and wandered through the deserted rooms
without seeing a living soul. At last he came on a great hall, and in
the centre of the hall was a table spread with dainty dishes and choice
wines. The prince sat down, and satisfied his hunger and thirst, and
immediately afterwards the table disappeared from his sight. This struck
the prince as very strange; but though he continued his search through
all the rooms, upstairs and down, he could find no one to speak to. At
last, just as it was beginning to get dark, he heard steps in the
distance and he saw an old man coming towards him up the stairs.
'What are you doing wandering about my castle?' asked the old man.
To whom the prince replied: 'I lost my way hunting in the forest. If you
will take me into your service, I should like to stay with you, and will
serve you faithfully.'
'Very well,' said the old man. 'You may enter my service. You will have
to keep the stove always lit, you will have to fetch the wood for it
from the forest, and you will have the charge of the black horse in the
stables. I will pay you a florin a day, and at meal times you will
always find the table in the hall spread with food and wine, and you can
eat and drink as much as you require.'
The prince was satisfied, and he entered the old man's service, and
promised to see that there was always wood on the stove, so that the
fire should never die out. Now, though he did not know it, his new
master was a magician, and the flame of the stove was a magic fire, and
if it had gone out the magician would have lost a great part of his
power.
One day the prince forgot, and let the fire burn so low that it very
nearly burnt out. Just as the flame was flickering the old man stormed
into the room.
'What do you mean by letting the fire burn so low?' he growled. 'I have
only arrived in the nick of time.' And while the prince hastily threw a
log on the stove and blew on the ashes to kindle the glow, his master
gave him a severe box on the ear, and warned him that if ever it
happened again it would fare badly with him.
One day the prince was sitting disconsolate in the stables when, to his
surprise, the black horse spoke to him.
'Come into my stall,' it said, 'I have something to say to you. Fetch my
bridle and saddle from that cupboard and put them on me. Take the bottle
that is beside them; it contains an ointment which will make your hair
shine like pure gold; then put all the wood you can gather together on
to the stove, till it is piled quite high up.'
So the prince did what the horse told him; he saddled and bridled the
horse, he put the ointment on his hair till it shone like gold, and he
made such a big fire in the stove that the flames sprang up and set fire
to the roof, and in a few minutes the palace was burning like a huge
bonfire.
Then he hurried back to the stables, and the horse said to him: 'There
is one thing more you must do. In the cupboad you will find a
looking-glass, a brush and a riding-whip. Bring them with you, mount on
my back, and ride as hard as you can, for now the house is burning
merrily.'
The prince did as the horse bade him. Scarcely had he got into the
saddle than the horse was off and away, galloping at such a pace that,
in a short time, the forest and all the country belonging to the
magician lay far behind them.
In the meantime the magician returned to his palace, which he found in
smouldering ruins. In vain he called for his servant. At last he went to
look for him in the stables, and when he discovered that the black
horse had disappeared too, he at once suspected that they had gone
together; so he mounted a roan horse that was in the next stall, and set
out in pursuit.
As the prince rode, the quick ears of his horse heard the sound of
pursuing feet.
'Look behind you,' he said, 'and see if the old man is following.' And
the prince turned in his saddle and saw a cloud like smoke or dust in
the distance.
'We must hurry,' said the horse.
After they had galloped for some time, the horse said again: 'Look
behind, and see if he is still at some distance.'
'He is quite close,' answered the prince.
'Then throw the looking-glass on the ground,' said the horse. So the
prince threw it; and when the magician came up, the roan horse stepped
on the mirror, and crash! his foot went through the glass, and he
stumbled and fell, cutting his feet so badly that there was nothing for
the old man to do but to go slowly back with him to the stables, and put
new shoes on his feet. Then they started once more in pursuit of the
prince, for the magician set great value on the horse, and was
determined not to lose it.
In the meanwhile the prince had gone a great distance; but the quick
ears of the black horse detected the sound of following feet from afar.
'Dismount,' he said to the prince; 'put your ear to the ground, and tell
me if you do not hear a sound.'
So the prince dismounted and listened. 'I seem to hear the earth
tremble,' he said; 'I think he cannot be very far off.'
'Mount me at once,' answered the horse, 'and I will gallop as fast as I
can.' And he set off so fast that the earth seemed to fly from under his
hoofs.
'Look back once more,' he said, after a short time, 'and see if he is in
sight.'
'I see a cloud and a flame,' answered the prince; 'but a long way off.'
'We must make haste,' said the horse. And shortly after he said: 'Look
back again; he can't be far off now.'
The prince turned in his saddle, and exclaimed: 'He is close behind us,
in a minute the flame from his horse's nostrils will reach us.'
'Then throw the brush on the ground,' said the horse.
And the prince threw it, and in an instant the brush was changed into
such a thick wood that even a bird could not have got through it, and
when the old man got up to it the roan horse came suddenly to a
stand-still, not able to advance a step into the thick tangle. So there
was nothing for the magician to do but to retrace his steps, to fetch an
axe, with which he cut himself a way through the wood. But it took him
some time, during which the prince and the black horse got on well
ahead.
[Illustration: How The Magician Was Thwarted by The BRUSH]
But once more they heard the sound of pursuing feet. 'Look back,' said
the black horse, 'and see if he is following.'
'Yes,' answered the prince, 'this time I hear him distinctly.'
'Let us hurry on,' said the horse. And a little later he said: 'Look
back now, and see if he is in sight.'
'Yes,' said the prince, turning round, 'I see the flame; he is close
behind us.'
'Then you must throw down the whip,' answered the horse. And in the
twinkling of an eye the whip was changed into a broad river. When the
old man got up to it he urged the roan horse into the water, but as the
water mounted higher and higher, the magic flame which gave the magician
all his power grew smaller and smaller, till, with a fizz, it went out,
and the old man and the roan horse sank in the river and disappeared.
When the prince looked round they were no longer to be seen.
'Now,' said the horse, 'you may dismount; there is nothing more to fear,
for the magician is dead. Beside that brook you will find a willow wand.
Gather it, and strike the earth with it, and it will open and you will
see a door at your feet.'
When the prince had struck the earth with the wand a door appeared, and
opened into a large vaulted stone hall.
'Lead me into that hall,' said the horse, 'I will stay there; but you
must go through the fields till you reach a garden, in the midst of
which is a king's palace. When you get there you must ask to be taken
into the king's service. Good-bye, and don't forget me.'
So they parted; but first the horse made the prince promise not to let
anyone in the palace see his golden hair. So he bound a scarf round it,
like a turban, and the prince set out through the fields, till he
reached a beautiful garden, and beyond the garden he saw the walls and
towers of a stately palace. At the garden gate he met the gardener, who
asked him what he wanted.
'I want to take service with the king,' replied the prince.
'Well, you may stay and work under me in the garden,' said the man; for
as the prince was dressed like a poor man, he could not tell that he was
a king's son. 'I need someone to weed the ground and to sweep the dead
leaves from the paths. You shall have a florin a day, a horse to help
you to cart the leaves away, and food and drink.'
So the prince consented, and set about his work. But when his food was
given to him he only ate half of it; the rest he carried to the vaulted
hall beside the brook, and gave to the black horse. And this he did
every day, and the horse thanked him for his faithful friendship.
One evening, as they were together, after his work in the garden was
over, the horse said to him: 'To-morrow a large company of princes and
great lords are coming to your king's palace. They are coming from far
and near, as wooers for the three princesses. They will all stand in a
row in the courtyard of the palace, and the three princesses will come
out, and each will carry a diamond apple in her hand, which she will
throw into the air. At whose-soever feet the apple falls he will be the
bridegroom of that princess. You must be close by in the garden at your
work. The apple of the youngest princess, who is much the most beautiful
of the sisters, will roll past the wooers and stop in front of you. Pick
it up at once and put it in your pocket.'
The next day, when the wooers were all assembled in the courtyard of the
castle, everything happened just as the horse had said. The princesses
threw the apples into the air, and the diamond apple of the youngest
princess rolled past all the wooers, out on to the garden, and stopped
at the feet of the young gardener, who was busy sweeping the leaves
away. In a moment he had stooped down, picked up the apple and put it in
his pocket. As he stooped the scarf round his head slipped a little to
one side, and the princess caught sight of his golden hair, and loved
him from that moment.
[Illustration: The Gardener gets the Apple]
But the king was very sad, for his youngest daughter was the one he
loved best. But there was no help for it; and the next day a threefold
wedding was celebrated at the palace, and after the wedding the youngest
princess returned with her husband to the small hut in the garden where
he lived.
Some time after this the people of a neighbouring country went to war
with the king, and he set out to battle, accompanied by the husbands of
his two eldest daughters mounted on stately steeds. But the husband of
the youngest daughter had nothing but the old broken-down horse which
helped him in his garden work; and the king, who was ashamed of this
son-in-law, refused to give him any other.
So as he was determined not to be left behind, he went into the garden,
mounted the sorry nag, and set out. But scarcely had he ridden a few
yards before the horse stumbled and fell. So he dismounted and went down
to the brook, to where the black horse lived in the vaulted hall. And
the horse said to him: 'Saddle and bridle me, and then go into the next
room and you will find a suit of armour and a sword. Put them on, and we
will ride forth together to battle.'
And the prince did as he was told; and when he had mounted the horse his
armour glittered in the sun, and he looked so brave and handsome, that
no one would have recognised him as the gardener who swept away the dead
leaves from the paths. The horse bore him away at a great pace, and
when they reached the battle-field they saw that the king was losing the
day, so many of his warriors had been slain. But when the warrior on
his black charger and in glittering armour appeared on the scene, hewing
right and left with his sword, the enemy were dismayed and fled in all
directions, leaving the king master of the field. Then the king and his
two sons-in-law, when they saw their deliverer, shouted, and all that
was left of the army joined in the cry: 'A god has come to our rescue!'
And they would have surrounded him, but his black horse rose in the air
and bore him out of their sight.
Soon after this, part of the country rose in rebellion against the king,
and once more he and his two sons-in-law had to fare forth to battle.
And the son-in-law who was disguised as a gardener wanted to fight too.
So he came to the king and said: 'Dear father, let me ride with you to
fight your enemies.'
'I don't want a blockhead like you to fight for me,' answered the king.
'Besides, I haven't got a horse fit for you. But see, there is a carter
on the road carting hay, you may take his horse.'
So the prince took the carter's horse, but the poor beast was old and
tired, and after it had gone a few yards it stumbled and fell. So the
prince returned sadly to the garden and watched the king ride forth at
the head of the army accompanied by his two sons-in-law. When they were
out of sight the prince betook himself to the vaulted chamber by the
brook-side, and having taken counsel of the faithful black horse, he put
on the glittering suit of armour, and was borne on the back of the horse
through the air, to where the battle was being fought. And once more he
routed the king's enemies, hacking to right and left with his sword. And
again they all cried: 'A god has come to our rescue!' But when they
tried to detain him the black horse rose in the air and bore him out of
their sight.
When the king and his sons-in-law returned home they could talk of
nothing but the hero who had fought for them, and all wondered who he
could be.
Shortly afterwards the king of a neighbouring country declared war, and
once more the king and his sons-in-law and his subjects had to prepare
themselves for battle, and once more the prince begged to ride with
them, but the king said he had no horse to spare for him. 'But,' he
added, 'you may take the horse of the woodman who brings the wood from
the forest, it is good enough for you.'
So the prince took the woodman's horse, but it was so old and useless
that it could not carry him beyond the castle gates. So he betook
himself once more to the vaulted hall, where the black horse had
prepared a still more magnificent suit of armour for him than the one he
had worn on the previous occasions, and when he had put it on, and
mounted on the back of the horse, he bore him straight to the
battle-field, and once more he scattered the king's enemies, fighting
single-handed in their ranks, and they fled in all directions. But it
happened that one of the enemy struck with his sword and wounded the
prince in the leg. And the king took his own pocket-handkerchief, with
his name and crown embroidered on it, and bound it round the wounded
leg. And the king would fain have compelled him to mount in a litter and
be carried straight to the palace, and two of his knights were to lead
the black charger to the royal stables. But the prince put his hand on
the mane of his faithful horse, and managed to pull himself up into the
saddle, and the horse mounted into the air with him. Then they all
shouted and cried: 'The warrior who has fought for us is a god! He must
be a god.'
And throughout all the kingdom nothing else was spoken about, and all
the people said: 'Who can the hero be who has fought for us in so many
battles? He cannot be a man, he must be a god.'
And the king said: 'If only I could see him once more, and if it turned
out that after all he was a man and not a god, I would reward him with
half my kingdom.'
Now when the prince reached his home--the gardener's hut where he lived
with his wife--he was weary, and he lay down on his bed and slept. And
his wife noticed the handkerchief bound round his wounded leg, and she
wondered what it could be. Then she looked at it more closely and saw in
the corner that it was embroidered with her father's name and the royal
crown. So she ran straight to the palace and told her father. And he and
his two sons-in-law followed her back to her house, and there the
gardener lay asleep on his bed. And the scarf that he always wore bound
round his head had slipped off, and his golden hair gleamed on the
pillow. And they all recognised that this was the hero who had fought
and won so many battles for them.
[Illustration: The Hero discovered]
Then there was great rejoicing throughout the land, and the king
rewarded his son-in-law with half of his kingdom, and he and his wife
reigned happily over it.
_THE LITTLE GRAY MAN_
A nun, a countryman, and a blacksmith were once wandering through the
world together. One day they lost their way in a thick, dark forest, and
were thankful when they saw, in the distance, the walls of a house,
where they hoped they might obtain refuge for the night. When they got
close to the house they found that it was an old deserted castle, fast
falling into ruins, but with some of the rooms in it still habitable. As
they were homeless they determined to take up their abode in the castle,
and they arranged that one of them should always stay at home and keep
house, while the other two went out into the world to seek their
fortunes.
The lot of remaining at home fell first to the nun, and when the
countryman and the blacksmith had gone out into the wood, she set to
work, tidied up the house, and prepared all the food for the day. As her
companions did not come home for their mid-day meal, she ate up her own
portion and put the rest in the oven to keep warm. Just as she was
sitting down to sew, the door opened and a little gray man came in, and,
standing before her, said: 'Oh! how cold I am!'
The nun was very sorry for him, and said at once: 'Sit down by the fire
and warm yourself.'
The little man did as he was told, and soon called out: 'Oh! how hungry
I am!'
The nun answered: 'There is food in the oven, help yourself.'
The little man did not need to be told twice, for he set to work and ate
up everything with the greatest possible despatch. When the nun saw this
she was very angry, and scolded the dwarf because he had left nothing
for her companions.
The little man resented her words, and flew into such a passion that he
seized the nun, beat her, and threw her first against one wall and then
against the other. When he had nearly killed her he left her lying on
the floor, and hastily walked out of the house.
In the evening the countryman and the blacksmith returned home, and when
they found, on demanding their dinner, that there was nothing left for
them, they reproached the nun bitterly, and refused to believe her when
she tried to tell them what had happened.
The next day the countryman asked to be left in charge of the house, and
promised that, if he remained at home, no one should go hungry to bed.
So the other two went out into the forest, and the countryman having
prepared the food for the day, ate up his own portion, and put the rest
in the oven. Just as he had finished clearing away, the door opened and
the little gray man walked in, and this time he had two heads. He shook
and trembled as before, and exclaimed: 'Oh! how cold I am!'
The countryman, who was frightened out of his wits, begged him to draw
near the fire and warm himself.
Soon after the dwarf looked greedily round, and said: 'Oh! how hungry I
am!'
'There is food in the oven, so you can eat,' replied the countryman.
Then the little man fell to with both his heads, and soon finished the
last morsel.
When the countryman scolded him for this proceeding he treated him
exactly as he had done the nun, and left the poor fellow more dead than
alive.
Now when the blacksmith came home with the nun in the evening, and found
nothing for supper, he flew into a passion; and swore that he would stay
at home the following day, and that no one should go supperless to bed.
When day dawned the countryman and the nun set out into the wood, and
the blacksmith prepared all the food for the day as the others had done.
Again the gray dwarf entered the house without knocking, and this time
he had three heads. When he complained of cold, the blacksmith told him
to sit near the fire; and when he said he was hungry, the blacksmith put
some food on a plate and gave it to him. The dwarf made short work of
what was provided for him, and then, looking greedily round with his six
eyes, he demanded more. When the blacksmith refused to give him another
morsel, he flew into a terrible rage, and proceeded to treat him in the
same way as he had treated his companions.
[Illustration: THE LITTLE GRAY MAN "HE DEMANDED MORE"]
But the blacksmith was a match for him, for he seized a huge hammer and
struck off two of the dwarf's heads with it. The little man yelled with
pain and rage, and hastily fled from the house. The blacksmith ran
after him, and pursued him for a long way; but at last they came to an
iron door, and through it the little creature vanished. The door shut
behind him, and the blacksmith had to give up the pursuit and return
home. He found that the nun and the countryman had come back in the
meantime, and they were much delighted when he placed some food before
them, and showed them the two heads he had struck off with his hammer.
The three companions determined there and then to free themselves from
the power of the gray dwarf, and the very next day they set to work to
find him.
They had to walk a long way, and to search for many hours, before they
found the iron door through which the dwarf had disappeared; and when
they had found it they had the greatest difficulty in opening it. When
at last they succeeded in forcing the lock, they entered a large hall,
in which sat a young and lovely girl, working at a table. The moment she
saw the nun, the blacksmith, and the countryman, she fell at their feet,
thanking them with tears in her eyes for having set her free. She told
them that she was a king's daughter, who had been shut up in the castle
by a mighty magician. The day before, just about noon, she had suddenly
felt the magic power over her disappear, and ever since that moment she
had eagerly awaited the arrival of her deliverers. She went on to say
that there was yet another princess shut up in the castle, who had also
fallen under the might of the magician.
They wandered through many halls and rooms till at last they found the
second princess, who was quite as grateful as the first, and thanked the
three companions most warmly for having set her free.
Then the princesses told their rescuers that a great treasure lay hidden
in the cellars of the castle, but that it was carefully guarded by a
fierce and terrible dog.
Nothing daunted, they all went down below at once, and found the fierce
animal mounting guard over the treasure as the princesses had said. But
one blow from the blacksmith's hammer soon made an end of the monster,
and they found themselves in a vaulted chamber full of gold and silver
and precious stones. Beside the treasure stood a young and handsome man,
who advanced to meet them, and thanked the nun, the blacksmith, and the
countryman, for having freed him from the magic spell he was under. He
told them that he was a king's son, who had been banished to this castle
by a wicked magician, and that he had been changed into the three-headed
dwarf. When he had lost two of his heads the magic power over the two
princesses had been removed, and when the blacksmith had killed the
horrible dog, then he too had been set free.
To show his gratitude he begged the three companions to divide the
treasure between them, which they did; but there was so much of it that
it took a very long time.
The princesses, too, were so grateful to their rescuers, that one
married the blacksmith, and the other the countryman.
Then the prince claimed the nun as his bride, and they all lived happily
together till they died.
[From the German, _Kletke_.]
_HERR LAZARUS AND THE DRAKEN_
Once upon a time there was a cobbler called Lazarus, who was very fond
of honey. One day, as he ate some while he sat at work, the flies
collected in such numbers that with one blow he killed forty. Then he
went and ordered a sword to be made for him, on which he had written
these words: 'With one blow I have slain forty.' When the sword was
ready he took it and went out into the world, and when he was two days'
journey from home he came to a spring, by which he laid himself down and
slept.
Now in that country there dwelt Draken, one of whom came to the spring
to draw water; there he found Lazarus sleeping, and read what was
written on his sword. Then he went back to his people and told them what
he had seen, and they all advised him to make fellowship with this
powerful stranger. So the Draken returned to the spring, awoke Lazarus,
and said that if it was agreeable to him they should make fellowship
together.
[Illustration: How THE DRAKEN FOUND HERR LAZARUS ASLEEP by the SPRING]
Lazarus answered that he was willing, and after a priest had blessed the
fellowship, they returned together to the other Draken, and Lazarus
dwelt among them. After some days they told him that it was their custom
to take it in turns to bring wood and water, and as he was now of their
company, he must take his turn. They went first for water and wood, but
at last it came to be Lazarus's turn to go for water. The Draken had a
great leathern bag, holding two hundred measures of water. This Lazarus
could only, with great difficulty, drag empty to the spring, and because
he could not carry it back full, he did not fill it at all, but,
instead, he dug up the ground all round the spring.
As Lazarus remained so long away, the Draken sent one of their number to
see what had become of him, and when this one came to the spring,
Lazarus said to him: 'We will no more plague ourselves by carrying water
every day. I will bring the entire spring home at once, and so we shall
be freed from this burden.'
But the Draken called out: 'On no account, Herr Lazarus, else we shall
all die of thirst; rather will we carry the water ourselves in turns,
and you alone shall be exempt.'
Next it comes to be Lazarus's turn to bring the wood. Now the Draken,
when they fetched the wood, always took an entire tree on their
shoulder, and so carried it home. Because Lazarus could not imitate them
in this, he went to the forest, tied all the trees together with a thick
rope, and remained in the forest till evening. Again the Draken sent
one of them after him to see what had become of him, and when this one
asked what he was about, Lazarus answered: 'I will bring the entire
forest home at once, so that after that we may have rest.'
But the Draken called out: 'By no means, Herr Lazarus, else we shall all
die of cold; rather will we go ourselves to bring wood, and let you be
free.' And then the Draken tore up one tree, threw it over his shoulder,
and so carried it home.
When they had lived together some time, the Draken became weary of
Lazarus, and agreed among themselves to kill him; each Draken, in the
night while Lazarus slept, should strike him a blow with a hatchet. But
Lazarus heard of this scheme, and when the evening came, he took a log
of wood, covered it with his cloak, laid it in the place where he
usually slept, and then hid himself. In the night the Draken came, and
each one hit the log a blow with his hatchet, till it flew in pieces.
Then they believed their object was gained, and they lay down again.
Thereupon Lazarus took the log, threw it away, and laid himself down in
its stead. Towards dawn, he began to groan, and when the Draken heard
that, they asked what ailed him, to which he made answer: 'The gnats
have stung me horribly.'
This terrified the Draken, for they believed that Lazarus took their
blows for gnat-stings, and they determined at any price to get rid of
him. Next morning, therefore, they asked him if he had not wife or
child, and said that if he would like to go and visit them they would
give him a bag of gold to take away with him. He agreed willingly to
this, but asked further that one of the Draken should go with him to
carry the bag of gold. They consented, and one was sent with him.
When they had come to within a short distance of Lazarus's house, he
said to the Draken: 'Stop here, in the meantime, for I must go on in
front and tie up my children, lest they eat you.'
So he went and tied his children with strong ropes, and said to them:
'As soon as the Draken comes in sight, call out as loud as you can,
"Drakenflesh! Drakenflesh!"'
So, when the Draken appeared, the children cried out; 'Drakenflesh!
Drakenflesh!' and this so terrified the Draken that he let the bag fall
and fled.
On the road he met a fox, which asked him why he seemed so frightened.
He answered that he was afraid of the children of Herr Lazarus, who had
been within a hair-breadth of eating him up.
But the fox laughed, and said: 'What! you were afraid of the children of
Herr Lazarus? He had two fowls, one of which I ate yesterday, the other
I will go and fetch now--If you do not believe me, come and see for
yourself; but you must first tie yourself on to my tail.'
The Draken then tied himself on to the fox's tail, and went back thus
with it to Lazarus's house, in order to see what it would arrange. There
stood Lazarus with his gun raised ready to fire, who, when he saw the
fox coming along with the Draken, called out to the fox: 'Did I not tell
you to bring me all the Draken, and you bring me only one?'
When the Draken heard that he made off to the right-about at once, and
ran so fast that the fox was dashed in pieces against the stones.
When Lazarus had got quit of the Draken he built himself, with their
gold, a magnificent house, in which he spent the rest of his days in
great enjoyment.
_THE STORY OF THE QUEEN OF THE FLOWERY ISLES_
There once lived a queen who ruled over the Flowery Isles, whose
husband, to her extreme grief, died a few years after their marriage. On
being left a widow she devoted herself almost entirely to the education
of the two charming princesses, her only children. The elder of them was
so lovely that as she grew up her mother greatly feared she would excite
the jealousy of the Queen of all the Isles, who prided herself on being
the most beautiful woman in the world, and insisted on all rivals bowing
before her charms.
In order the better to gratify her vanity she had urged the king, her
husband, to make war on all the surrounding islands, and as his greatest
wish was to please her, the only conditions he imposed on any
newly-conquered country was that each princess of every royal house
should attend his court as soon as she was fifteen years old, and do
homage to the transcendent beauty of his queen.
The Queen of the Flowery Isles, well aware of this law, was fully
determined to present her daughter to the proud queen as soon as her
fifteenth birthday was past.
The queen herself had heard a rumour of the young princess's great
beauty, and awaited her visit with some anxiety, which soon developed
into jealousy, for when the interview took place it was impossible not
to be dazzled by such radiant charms, and she was obliged to admit that
she had never beheld anyone so exquisitely lovely.
Of course she thought in her own mind 'excepting myself!' for nothing
could have made her believe it possible that anyone could eclipse her.
But the outspoken admiration of the entire court soon undeceived her,
and made her so angry that she pretended illness and retired to her own
rooms, so as to avoid witnessing the princess's triumph. She also sent
word to the Queen of the Flowery Isles that she was sorry not to be well
enough to see her again, and advised her to return to her own states
with the princess, her daughter.
This message was entrusted to one of the great ladies of the court, who
was an old friend of the Queen of the Flowery Isles, and who advised her
not to wait to take a formal leave but to go home as fast as she could.
The Queen was not slow to take the hint, and lost no time in obeying it.
Being well aware of the magic powers of the incensed queen, she warned
her daughter that she was threatened by some great danger if she left
the palace for any reason whatever during the next six months.
The princess promised obedience, and no pains were spared to make the
time pass pleasantly for her.
The six months were nearly at an end, and on the very last day a
splendid fête was to take place in a lovely meadow quite near the
palace. The princess, who had been able to watch all the preparations
from her window, implored her mother to let her go as far as the meadow;
and the queen, thinking all risks must be over, consented, and promised
to take her there herself.
The whole court was delighted to see their much-loved princess at
liberty, and everyone set off in high glee to join in the fête.
The princess, overjoyed at being once more in the open air, was walking
a little in advance of her party when suddenly the earth opened under
her feet and closed again after swallowing her up!
[Illustration: The Princess is swallowed up by the Earth.]
The queen fainted away with terror, and the younger princess burst into
floods of tears and could hardly be dragged away from the fatal spot,
whilst the court was overwhelmed with horror at so great a calamity.
Orders were given to bore the earth to a great depth, but in vain; not a
trace of the vanished princess was to be found.
She sank right through the earth and found herself in a desert place
with nothing but rocks and trees and no sign of any human being. The
only living creature she saw was a very pretty little dog, who ran up to
her and at once began to caress her. She took him in her arms, and after
playing with him for a little put him down again, when he started off in
front of her, looking round from time to time as though begging her to
follow.
She let him lead her on, and presently reached a little hill, from which
she saw a valley full of lovely fruit trees, bearing flowers and fruit
together. The ground was also covered with fruit and flowers, and in the
middle of the valley rose a fountain surrounded by a velvety lawn.
The princess hastened to this charming spot, and sitting down on the
grass began to think over the misfortune which had befallen her, and
burst into tears as she reflected on her sad condition.
The fruit and clear fresh water would, she knew, prevent her from dying
of hunger or thirst, but how could she escape if any wild beast appeared
and tried to devour her?
At length, having thought over every possible evil which could happen,
the princess tried to distract her mind by playing with the little dog.
She spent the whole day near the fountain, but as night drew on she
wondered what she should do, when she noticed that the little dog was
pulling at her dress.
[Illustration: SHE·SPENT·THE·WHOLE·DAY·NEAR·THE·FOUNTAIN·]
She paid no heed to him at first, but as he continued to pull her dress
and then run a few steps in one particular direction, she at last
decided to follow him; he stopped before a rock with a large opening in
the centre, which he evidently wished her to enter.
The princess did so and discovered a large and beautiful cave lit up by
the brilliancy of the stones with which it was lined, with a little
couch covered with soft moss in one corner. She lay down on it and the
dog at once nestled at her feet. Tired out with all she had gone through
she soon fell asleep.
Next morning she was awakened very early by the songs of many birds. The
little dog woke up too, and sprang round her in his most caressing
manner. She got up and went outside, the dog as before running on in
front and turning back constantly to take her dress and draw her on.
She let him have his way and he soon led her back to the beautiful
garden where she had spent part of the day before. Here she ate some
fruit, drank some water of the fountain, and felt as if she had made an
excellent meal. She walked about amongst the flowers, played with her
little dog, and at night returned to sleep in the cave.
In this way the princess passed several months, and as her first terrors
died away she gradually became more resigned to her fate. The little
dog, too, was a great comfort, and her constant companion.
One day she noticed that he seemed very sad and did not even caress her
as usual. Fearing he might be ill she carried him to a spot where she
had seen him eat some particular herbs, hoping they might do him good,
but he would not touch them. He spent all the night, too, sighing and
groaning as if in great pain.
At last the princess fell asleep, and when she awoke her first thought
was for her little pet, but not finding him at her feet as usual, she
ran out of the cave to look for him. As she stepped out of the cave she
caught sight of an old man, who hurried away so fast that she had barely
time to see him before he disappeared.
This was a fresh surprise and almost as great a shock as the loss of her
little dog, who had been so faithful to her ever since the first day she
had seen him. She wondered if he had strayed away or if the old man had
stolen him.
Tormented by all kinds of thoughts and fears she wandered on, when
suddenly she felt herself wrapped in a thick cloud and carried through
the air. She made no resistance and before very long found herself, to
her great surprise, in an avenue leading to the palace in which she had
been born. No sign of the cloud anywhere.
As the princess approached the palace she perceived that everyone was
dressed in black, and she was filled with fear as to the cause of this
mourning. She hastened on and was soon recognised and welcomed with
shouts of joy. Her sister hearing the cheers ran out and embraced the
wanderer, with tears of happiness, telling her that the shock of her
disappearance had been so terrible that their mother had only survived
it a few days. Since then the younger princess had worn the crown, which
she now resigned to her sister to whom it by right belonged.
But the elder wished to refuse it, and would only accept the crown on
condition that her sister should share in all the power.
The first acts of the new queen were to do honour to the memory of her
dear mother and to shower every mark of generous affection on her
sister. Then, being still very grieved at the loss of her little dog,
she had a careful search made for him in every country, and when nothing
could be heard of him she was so grieved that she offered half her
kingdom to whoever should restore him to her.
Many gentlemen of the court, tempted by the thought of such a reward,
set off in all directions in search of the dog; but all returned
empty-handed to the queen, who, in despair, announced that since life
was unbearable without her little dog, she would give her hand in
marriage to the man who brought him back.
The prospect of such a prize quickly turned the court into a desert,
nearly every courtier starting on the quest. Whilst they were away the
queen was informed one day that a very ill-looking man wished to speak
with her. She desired him to be shown into a room where she was sitting
with her sister.
On entering her presence he said that he was prepared to give the queen
her little dog if she on her side was ready to keep her word.
The princess was the first to speak. She said that the queen had no
right to marry without the consent of the nation, and that on so
important an occasion the general council must be summoned. The queen
could not say anything against this statement; but she ordered an
apartment in the palace to be given to the man, and desired the council
to meet on the following day.
Next day, accordingly, the council assembled in great state, and by the
princess's advice it was decided to offer the man a large sum of money
for the dog, and should he refuse it, to banish him from the kingdom
without seeing the queen again. The man refused the price offered and
left the hall.
The princess informed the queen of what had passed, and the queen
approved of all, but added that as she was her own mistress she had made
up her mind to abdicate her throne, and to wander through the world till
she had found her little dog.
The princess was much alarmed by such a resolution, and implored the
queen to change her mind. Whilst they were discussing the subject, one
of the chamberlains appeared to inform the queen that the bay was
covered with ships. The two sisters ran to the balcony, and saw a large
fleet in full sail for the port.
In a little time they came to the conclusion that the ships must come
from a friendly nation, as every vessel was decked with gay flags,
streamers, and pennons, and the way was led by a small ship flying a
great white flag of peace.
The queen sent a special messenger to the harbour, and was soon informed
that the fleet belonged to the Prince of the Emerald Isles, who begged
leave to land in her kingdom, and to present his humble respects to her.
The queen at once sent some of the court dignitaries to receive the
prince and bid him welcome.
She awaited him seated on her throne, but rose on his appearance, and
went a few steps to meet him; then begged him to be seated, and for
about an hour kept him in close conversation.
The prince was then conducted to a splendid suite of apartments, and the
next day he asked for a private audience. He was admitted to the queen's
own sitting-room, where she was sitting alone with her sister.
After the first greetings the prince informed the queen that he had some
very strange things to tell her, which she only would know to be true.
'Madam,' said he, 'I am a neighbour of the Queen of all the Isles; and a
small isthmus connects part of my states with hers. One day, when
hunting a stag, I had the misfortune to meet her, and not recognising
her, I did not stop to salute her with all proper ceremony. You, Madam,
know better than anyone how revengeful she is, and that she is also a
mistress of magic. I learnt both facts to my cost. The ground opened
under my feet, and I soon found myself in a far distant region
transformed into a little dog, under which shape I had the honour to
meet your Majesty. After six months, the queen's vengeance not being yet
satisfied, she further changed me into a hideous old man, and in this
form I was so afraid of being unpleasant in your eyes, Madam, that I hid
myself in the depths of the woods, where I spent three months more. At
the end of that time I was so fortunate as to meet a benevolent fairy
who delivered me from the proud queen's power, and told me all your
adventures and where to find you. I now come to offer you a heart which
has been entirely yours, Madam, since first we met in the desert.'
A few days later a herald was sent through the kingdom to proclaim the
joyful news of the marriage of the Queen of the Flowery Isles with the
young prince. They lived happily for many years, and ruled their people
well.
As for the bad queen, whose vanity and jealousy had caused so much
mischief, the Fairies took all her power away for a punishment.
['Cabinet des Fées.']
_UDEA AND HER SEVEN BROTHERS_
Once upon a time there was a man and his wife who had seven boys. The
children lived in the open air and grew big and strong, and the six
eldest spent part of every day hunting wild beasts. The youngest did not
care so much about sport, and he often stayed with his mother.
One morning, however, as the whole seven were going out for a long
expedition, they said to their aunt, 'Dear aunt, if a baby sister comes
into the world to-day, wave a white handkerchief, and we will return
immediately; but if it is only a boy, just brandish a sickle, and we
will go on with what we are doing.'
Now the b
Showing first 200,000 characters. Full text: gutenberg.org/ebooks/33547