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The Yellow Fairy Book

by Andrew Lang · English · Gutenberg #640 · 604,245 chars · public domain (US)

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Title: The Yellow Fairy Book

Author: Andrew Lang


        
Release date: August 1, 1996 [eBook #640]
                Most recently updated: December 16, 2016

Language: English

Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/640

Credits: Produced by David Widger and Charles Keller for Tina


*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE YELLOW FAIRY BOOK ***




Produced by David Widger and Charles Keller for Tina





THE YELLOW FAIRY BOOK

By Various

Edited By Andrew Lang



Dedication

TO

JOAN, TODDLES, AND TINY

 Books Yellow, Red, and Green and Blue,
 All true, or just as good as true,
 And here’s the Yellow Book for YOU!

 Hard is the path from A to Z,
 And puzzling to a curly head,
 Yet leads to Books--Green, Blue, and Red.

 For every child should understand
 That letters from the first were planned
 To guide us into Fairy Land

 So labour at your Alphabet,
 For by that learning shall you get
 To lands where Fairies may be met.

 And going where this pathway goes,
 You too, at last, may find, who knows?
 The Garden of the Singing Rose.




PREFACE

The Editor thinks that children will readily forgive him for publishing
another Fairy Book. We have had the Blue, the Red, the Green, and here
is the Yellow. If children are pleased, and they are so kind as to say
that they are pleased, the Editor does not care very much for what other
people may say. Now, there is one gentleman who seems to think that it
is not quite right to print so many fairy tales, with pictures, and to
publish them in red and blue covers. He is named Mr. G. Laurence Gomme,
and he is president of a learned body called the Folk Lore Society. Once
a year he makes his address to his subjects, of whom the Editor is one,
and Mr. Joseph Jacobs (who has published many delightful fairy tales
with pretty pictures)(1) is another. Fancy, then, the dismay of Mr.
Jacobs, and of the Editor, when they heard their president say that he
did not think it very nice in them to publish fairy books, above all,
red, green, and blue fairy books! They said that they did not see any
harm in it, and they were ready to ‘put themselves on their country,’
and be tried by a jury of children. And, indeed, they still see no harm
in what they have done; nay, like Father William in the poem, they are
ready ‘to do it again and again.’


(1) You may buy them from Mr. Nutt, in the Strand.


Where is the harm? The truth is that the Folk Lore Society--made up of
the most clever, learned, and beautiful men and women of the country--is
fond of studying the history and geography of Fairy Land. This is
contained in very old tales, such as country people tell, and savages:

     ‘Little Sioux and little Crow,
      Little frosty Eskimo.’


These people are thought to know most about fairyland and its
inhabitants. But, in the Yellow Fairy Book, and the rest, are many tales
by persons who are neither savages nor rustics, such as Madame D’Aulnoy
and Herr Hans Christian Andersen. The Folk Lore Society, or its
president, say that THEIR tales are not so true as the rest, and should
not be published with the rest. But WE say that all the stories which
are pleasant to read are quite true enough for us; so here they are,
with pictures by Mr. Ford, and we do not think that either the pictures
or the stories are likely to mislead children.

As to whether there are really any fairies or not, that is a difficult
question. Professor Huxley thinks there are none. The Editor never saw
any himself, but he knows several people who have seen them--in the
Highlands--and heard their music. If ever you are in Nether Lochaber,
go to the Fairy Hill, and you may hear the music yourself, as grown-up
people have done, but you must goon a fine day. Again, if there are
really no fairies, why do people believe in them, all over the world? The
ancient Greeks believed, so did the old Egyptians, and the Hindoos, and
the Red Indians, and is it likely, if there are no fairies, that so
many different peoples would have seen and heard them? The Rev. Mr.
Baring-Gould saw several fairies when he was a boy, and was travelling
in the land of the Troubadours. For these reasons, the Editor thinks
that there are certainly fairies, but they never do anyone any
harm; and, in England, they have been frightened away by smoke and
schoolmasters. As to Giants, they have died out, but real Dwarfs are
common in the forests of Africa. Probably a good many stories not
perfectly true have been told about fairies, but such stories have also
been told about Napoleon, Claverhouse, Julius Caesar, and Joan of Arc,
all of whom certainly existed. A wise child will, therefore, remember
that, if he grows up and becomes a member of the Folk Lore Society, ALL
the tales in this book were not offered to him as absolutely truthful,
but were printed merely for his entertainment. The exact facts he can
learn later, or he can leave them alone.


There are Russian, German, French, Icelandic, Red Indian, and other
stories here. They were translated by Miss Cheape, Miss Alma, and Miss
Thyra Alleyne, Miss Sellar, Mr. Craigie (he did the Icelandic tales),
Miss Blackley, Mrs. Dent, and Mrs. Lang, but the Red Indian stories
are copied from English versions published by the Smithsonian Bureau of
Ethnology, in America. Mr. Ford did the pictures, and it is hoped that
children will find the book not less pleasing than those which have
already been submitted to their consideration. The Editor cannot say
‘good-bye’ without advising them, as they pursue their studies, to read
The Rose and the Ring, by the late Mr. Thackeray, with pictures by
the author. This book he thinks quite indispensable in every child’s
library, and parents should be urged to purchase it at the first
opportunity, as without it no education is complete.

                                        A. LANG.


CONTENTS

     The Cat and the Mouse in Partnership
     The Six Swans
     The Dragon of the North
     Story of the Emperor’s New Clothes
     The Golden Crab
     The Iron Stove
     The Dragon and his Grandmother
     The Donkey Cabbage
     The Little Green Frog
     The Seven-headed Serpent
     The Grateful Beasts
     The Giants and the Herd-boy
     The Invisible Prince
     The Crow
     How Six Men travelled through the Wide World
     The Wizard King
     The Nixy
     The Glass Mountain
     Alphege, or the Green Monkey
     Fairer-than-a-Fairy
     The Three Brothers
     The Boy and the Wolves, or the Broken Promise
     The Glass Axe
     The Dead Wife
     In the Land of Souls
     The White Duck
     The Witch and her Servants
     The Magic Ring
     The Flower Queen’s Daughter
     The Flying Ship
     The Snow-daughter and the Fire-son
     The Story of King Frost
     The Death of the Sun-hero
     The Witch
     The Hazel-nut Child
     The Story of Big Klaus and Little Klaus
     Prince Ring
     The Swineherd
     How to tell a True Princess
     The Blue Mountains
     The Tinder-box
     The Witch in the Stone Boat
     Thumbelina
     The Nightingale
     Hermod and Hadvor
     The Steadfast Tin-soldier
     Blockhead Hans
     A Story about a Darning-needle





THE YELLOW FAIRY BOOK




THE CAT AND THE MOUSE IN PARTNERSHIP

A cat had made acquaintance with a mouse, and had spoken so much of
the great love and friendship she felt for her, that at last the Mouse
consented to live in the same house with her, and to go shares in the
housekeeping. ‘But we must provide for the winter or else we shall
suffer hunger,’ said the Cat. ‘You, little Mouse, cannot venture
everywhere in case you run at last into a trap.’ This good counsel was
followed, and a little pot of fat was bought. But they did not know
where to put it. At length, after long consultation, the Cat said, ‘I
know of no place where it could be better put than in the church. No one
will trouble to take it away from there. We will hide it in a corner,
and we won’t touch it till we are in want.’ So the little pot was placed
in safety; but it was not long before the Cat had a great longing for
it, and said to the Mouse, ‘I wanted to tell you, little Mouse, that my
cousin has a little son, white with brown spots, and she wants me to be
godmother to it. Let me go out to-day, and do you take care of the house
alone.’

‘Yes, go certainly,’ replied the Mouse, ‘and when you eat anything
good, think of me; I should very much like a drop of the red christening
wine.’

But it was all untrue. The Cat had no cousin, and had not been asked to
be godmother. She went straight to the church, slunk to the little pot
of fat, began to lick it, and licked the top off. Then she took a walk
on the roofs of the town, looked at the view, stretched herself out in
the sun, and licked her lips whenever she thought of the little pot of
fat. As soon as it was evening she went home again.

‘Ah, here you are again!’ said the Mouse; ‘you must certainly have had
an enjoyable day.’

‘It went off very well,’ answered the Cat.

‘What was the child’s name?’ asked the Mouse.

‘Top Off,’ said the Cat drily.

‘Topoff!’ echoed the Mouse, ‘it is indeed a wonderful and curious name.
Is it in your family?’

‘What is there odd about it?’ said the Cat. ‘It is not worse than
Breadthief, as your godchild is called.’

Not long after this another great longing came over the Cat. She said to
the Mouse, ‘You must again be kind enough to look after the house alone,
for I have been asked a second time to stand godmother, and as this
child has a white ring round its neck, I cannot refuse.’

The kind Mouse agreed, but the Cat slunk under the town wall to the
church, and ate up half of the pot of fat. ‘Nothing tastes better,’ said
she, ‘than what one eats by oneself,’ and she was very much pleased with
her day’s work. When she came home the Mouse asked, ‘What was this child
called?’

‘Half Gone,’ answered the Cat.

‘Halfgone! what a name! I have never heard it in my life. I don’t
believe it is in the calendar.’

Soon the Cat’s mouth began to water once more after her licking
business. ‘All good things in threes,’ she said to the Mouse; ‘I have
again to stand godmother. The child is quite black, and has very white
paws, but not a single white hair on its body. This only happens once in
two years, so you will let me go out?’

‘Topoff! Halfgone!’ repeated the Mouse, ‘they are such curious names;
they make me very thoughtful.’

‘Oh, you sit at home in your dark grey coat and your long tail,’ said
the Cat, ‘and you get fanciful. That comes of not going out in the day.’

The Mouse had a good cleaning out while the Cat was gone, and made the
house tidy; but the greedy Cat ate the fat every bit up.

‘When it is all gone one can be at rest,’ she said to herself, and at
night she came home sleek and satisfied. The Mouse asked at once after
the third child’s name.

‘It won’t please you any better,’ said the Cat, ‘he was called Clean
Gone.’

‘Cleangone!’ repeated the Mouse. ‘I do not believe that name has been
printed any more than the others. Cleangone! What can it mean?’ She
shook her head, curled herself up, and went to sleep.

From this time on no one asked the Cat to stand godmother; but when
the winter came and there was nothing to be got outside, the Mouse
remembered their provision and said, ‘Come, Cat, we will go to our pot
of fat which we have stored away; it will taste very good.’

‘Yes, indeed,’ answered the Cat; ‘it will taste as good to you as if
you stretched your thin tongue out of the window.’

They started off, and when they reached it they found the pot in its
place, but quite empty!

‘Ah,’ said the Mouse,’ ‘now I know what has happened! It has all come
out! You are a true friend to me! You have eaten it all when you stood
godmother; first the top off, then half of it gone, then----’

‘Will you be quiet!’ screamed the Cat. ‘Another word and I will eat you
up.’

‘Clean-gone’ was already on the poor Mouse’s tongue, and scarcely was it
out than the Cat made a spring at her, seized and swallowed her.

You see that is the way of the world.




THE SIX SWANS

A king was once hunting in a great wood, and he hunted the game so
eagerly that none of his courtiers could follow him. When evening came
on he stood still and looked round him, and he saw that he had quite
lost himself. He sought a way out, but could find none. Then he saw an
old woman with a shaking head coming towards him; but she was a witch.

‘Good woman,’ he said to her, ‘can you not show me the way out of the
wood?’

‘Oh, certainly, Sir King,’ she replied, ‘I can quite well do that, but
on one condition, which if you do not fulfil you will never get out of
the wood, and will die of hunger.’

‘What is the condition?’ asked the King.

‘I have a daughter,’ said the old woman, ‘who is so beautiful that she
has not her equal in the world, and is well fitted to be your wife; if
you will make her lady-queen I will show you the way out of the wood.’

The King in his anguish of mind consented, and the old woman led him
to her little house where her daughter was sitting by the fire. She
received the King as if she were expecting him, and he saw that she was
certainly very beautiful; but she did not please him, and he could not
look at her without a secret feeling of horror. As soon as he had lifted
the maiden on to his horse the old woman showed him the way, and the
King reached his palace, where the wedding was celebrated.

The King had already been married once, and had by his first wife seven
children, six boys and one girl, whom he loved more than anything in the
world. And now, because he was afraid that their stepmother might not
treat them well and might do them harm, he put them in a lonely castle
that stood in the middle of a wood. It lay so hidden, and the way to it
was so hard to find, that he himself could not have found it out had
not a wise-woman given him a reel of thread which possessed a marvellous
property: when he threw it before him it unwound itself and showed him
the way. But the King went so often to his dear children that the Queen
was offended at his absence. She grew curious, and wanted to know what
he had to do quite alone in the wood. She gave his servants a great deal
of money, and they betrayed the secret to her, and also told her of the
reel which alone could point out the way. She had no rest now till she
had found out where the King guarded the reel, and then she made some
little white shirts, and, as she had learnt from her witch-mother, sewed
an enchantment in each of them.

And when the King had ridden off she took the little shirts and went
into the wood, and the reel showed her the way. The children, who saw
someone coming in the distance, thought it was their dear father coming
to them, and sprang to meet him very joyfully. Then she threw over each
one a little shirt, which when it had touched their bodies changed them
into swans, and they flew away over the forest. The Queen went home
quite satisfied, and thought she had got rid of her step-children; but
the girl had not run to meet her with her brothers, and she knew nothing
of her.

The next day the King came to visit his children, but he found no one
but the girl.

‘Where are your brothers?’ asked the King.

‘Alas! dear father,’ she answered, ‘they have gone away and left me all
alone.’ And she told him that looking out of her little window she had
seen her brothers flying over the wood in the shape of swans, and she
showed him the feathers which they had let fall in the yard, and which
she had collected. The King mourned, but he did not think that the Queen
had done the wicked deed, and as he was afraid the maiden would also be
taken from him, he wanted to take her with him. But she was afraid of
the stepmother, and begged the King to let her stay just one night
more in the castle in the wood. The poor maiden thought, ‘My home is no
longer here; I will go and seek my brothers.’ And when night came she
fled away into the forest. She ran all through the night and the next
day, till she could go no farther for weariness. Then she saw a little
hut, went in, and found a room with six little beds. She was afraid to
lie down on one, so she crept under one of them, lay on the hard floor,
and was going to spend the night there. But when the sun had set she
heard a noise, and saw six swans flying in at the window. They stood on
the floor and blew at one another, and blew all their feathers off, and
their swan-skin came off like a shirt. Then the maiden recognised her
brothers, and overjoyed she crept out from under the bed. Her brothers
were not less delighted than she to see their little sister again, but
their joy did not last long.

‘You cannot stay here,’ they said to her. ‘This is a den of robbers; if
they were to come here and find you they would kill you.’

‘Could you not protect me?’ asked the little sister.

‘No,’ they answered, ‘for we can only lay aside our swan skins for a
quarter of an hour every evening. For this time we regain our human
forms, but then we are changed into swans again.’

Then the little sister cried and said, ‘Can you not be freed?’

‘Oh, no,’ they said, ‘the conditions are too hard. You must not speak or
laugh for six years, and must make in that time six shirts for us out of
star-flowers. If a single word comes out of your mouth, all your labour
is vain.’ And when the brothers had said this the quarter of an hour
came to an end, and they flew away out of the window as swans.

But the maiden had determined to free her brothers even if it should
cost her her life. She left the hut, went into the forest, climbed
a tree, and spent the night there. The next morning she went out,
collected star-flowers, and began to sew. She could speak to no one, and
she had no wish to laugh, so she sat there, looking only at her work.

When she had lived there some time, it happened that the King of the
country was hunting in the forest, and his hunters came to the tree on
which the maiden sat. They called to her and said ‘Who are you?’

But she gave no answer.

‘Come down to us,’ they said, ‘we will do you no harm.’

But she shook her head silently. As they pressed her further with
questions, she threw them the golden chain from her neck. But they did
not leave off, and she threw them her girdle, and when this was no use,
her garters, and then her dress. The huntsmen would not leave her alone,
but climbed the tree, lifted the maiden down, and led her to the King.
The King asked, ‘Who are you? What are you doing up that tree?’

But she answered nothing.

He asked her in all the languages he knew, but she remained as dumb as
a fish. Because she was so beautiful, however, the King’s heart was
touched, and he was seized with a great love for her. He wrapped her up
in his cloak, placed her before him on his horse, and brought her to his
castle. There he had her dressed in rich clothes, and her beauty shone
out as bright as day, but not a word could be drawn from her. He set her
at table by his side, and her modest ways and behaviour pleased him
so much that he said, ‘I will marry this maiden and none other in the
world,’ and after some days he married her. But the King had a wicked
mother who was displeased with the marriage, and said wicked things of
the young Queen. ‘Who knows who this girl is?’ she said; ‘she cannot
speak, and is not worthy of a king.’

After a year, when the Queen had her first child, the old mother took
it away from her. Then she went to the King and said that the Queen had
killed it. The King would not believe it, and would not allow any harm
to be done her. But she sat quietly sewing at the shirts and troubling
herself about nothing. The next time she had a child the wicked mother
did the same thing, but the King could not make up his mind to believe
her. He said, ‘She is too sweet and good to do such a thing as that.
If she were not dumb and could defend herself, her innocence would be
proved.’ But when the third child was taken away, and the Queen was
again accused, and could not utter a word in her own defence, the King
was obliged to give her over to the law, which decreed that she must
be burnt to death. When the day came on which the sentence was to be
executed, it was the last day of the six years in which she must not
speak or laugh, and now she had freed her dear brothers from the power
of the enchantment. The six shirts were done; there was only the left
sleeve wanting to the last.

When she was led to the stake, she laid the shirts on her arm, and as
she stood on the pile and the fire was about to be lighted, she looked
around her and saw six swans flying through the air. Then she knew
that her release was at hand and her heart danced for joy. The swans
fluttered round her, and hovered low so that she could throw the shirts
over them. When they had touched them the swan-skins fell off, and her
brothers stood before her living, well and beautiful. Only the youngest
had a swan’s wing instead of his left arm. They embraced and kissed
each other, and the Queen went to the King, who was standing by in great
astonishment, and began to speak to him, saying, ‘Dearest husband, now
I can speak and tell you openly that I am innocent and have been falsely
accused.’

She told him of the old woman’s deceit, and how she had taken the three
children away and hidden them. Then they were fetched, to the great joy
of the King, and the wicked mother came to no good end.

But the King and the Queen with their six brothers lived many years in
happiness and peace.




THE DRAGON OF THE NORTH(2)

(2) ‘Der Norlands Drache,’ from Esthnische Mahrchen. Kreutzwald.

Very long ago, as old people have told me, there lived a terrible
monster, who came out of the North, and laid waste whole tracts
of country, devouring both men and beasts; and this monster was so
destructive that it was feared that unless help came no living creature
would be left on the face of the earth. It had a body like an ox, and
legs like a frog, two short fore-legs, and two long ones behind, and
besides that it had a tail like a serpent, ten fathoms in length. When
it moved it jumped like a frog, and with every spring it covered half a
mile of ground. Fortunately its habit, was to remain for several years
in the same place, and not to move on till the whole neighbourhood was
eaten up. Nothing could hunt it, because its whole body was covered with
scales, which were harder than stone or metal; its two great eyes shone
by night, and even by day, like the brightest lamps, and anyone who had
the ill luck to look into those eyes became as it were bewitched, and
was obliged to rush of his own accord into the monster’s jaws. In this
way the Dragon was able to feed upon both men and beasts without the
least trouble to itself, as it needed not to move from the spot where it
was lying. All the neighbouring kings had offered rich rewards to
anyone who should be able to destroy the monster, either by force
or enchantment, and many had tried their luck, but all had miserably
failed. Once a great forest in which the Dragon lay had been set on
fire; the forest was burnt down, but the fire did not do the monster the
least harm. However, there was a tradition amongst the wise men of the
country that the Dragon might be overcome by one who possessed King
Solomon’s signet-ring, upon which a secret writing was engraved. This
inscription would enable anyone who was wise enough to interpret it to
find out how the Dragon could be destroyed. Only no one knew where the
ring was hidden, nor was there any sorcerer or learned man to be found
who would be able to explain the inscription.

At last a young man, with a good heart and plenty of courage, set out to
search for the ring. He took his way towards the sunrising, because he
knew that all the wisdom of old time comes from the East. After some
years he met with a famous Eastern magician, and asked for his advice in
the matter. The magician answered:

‘Mortal men have but little wisdom, and can give you no help, but the
birds of the air would be better guides to you if you could learn their
language. I can help you to understand it if you will stay with me a few
days.’

The youth thankfully accepted the magician’s offer, and said, ‘I cannot
now offer you any reward for your kindness, but should my undertaking
succeed your trouble shall be richly repaid.’

Then the magician brewed a powerful potion out of nine sorts of herbs
which he had gathered himself all alone by moonlight, and he gave the
youth nine spoonfuls of it daily for three days, which made him able to
understand the language of birds.

At parting the magician said to him. ‘If you ever find Solomon’s ring
and get possession of it, then come back to me, that I may explain the
inscription on the ring to you, for there is no one else in the world
who can do this.’

From that time the youth never felt lonely as he walked along; he always
had company, because he understood the language of birds; and in this
way he learned many things which mere human knowledge could never have
taught him. But time went on, and he heard nothing about the ring. It
happened one evening, when he was hot and tired with walking, and had
sat down under a tree in a forest to eat his supper, that he saw two
gaily-plumaged birds, that were strange to him, sitting at the top of
the tree talking to one another about him. The first bird said:

‘I know that wandering fool under the tree there, who has come so far
without finding what he seeks. He is trying to find King Solomon’s lost
ring.’

The other bird answered, ‘He will have to seek help from the
Witch-maiden,(3) who will doubtless be able to put him on the right
track. If she has not got the ring herself, she knows well enough who
has it.’

(3) Hollenmadchen.


‘But where is he to find the Witch-maiden?’ said the first bird. ‘She
has no settled dwelling, but is here to-day and gone to-morrow. He might
as well try to catch the wind.’

The other replied, ‘I do not know, certainly, where she is at present,
but in three nights from now she will come to the spring to wash her
face, as she does every month when the moon is full, in order that
she may never grow old nor wrinkled, but may always keep the bloom of
youth.’

‘Well,’ said the first bird, ‘the spring is not far from here. Shall we
go and see how it is she does it?’

‘Willingly, if you like,’ said the other.

The youth immediately resolved to follow the birds to the spring, only
two things made him uneasy: first, lest he might be asleep when the
birds went, and secondly, lest he might lose sight of them, since he had
not wings to carry him along so swiftly. He was too tired to keep awake
all night, yet his anxiety prevented him from sleeping soundly, and when
with the earliest dawn he looked up to the tree-top, he was glad to
see his feathered companions still asleep with their heads under their
wings. He ate his breakfast, and waited until the birds should start,
but they did not leave the place all day. They hopped about from one
tree to another looking for food, all day long until the evening, when
they went back to their old perch to sleep. The next day the same thing
happened, but on the third morning one bird said to the other, ‘To-day
we must go to the spring to see the Witch-maiden wash her face.’ They
remained on the tree till noon; then they flew away and went towards the
south. The young man’s heart beat with anxiety lest he should lose sight
of his guides, but he managed to keep the birds in view until they again
perched upon a tree. The young man ran after them until he was quite
exhausted and out of breath, and after three short rests the birds at
length reached a small open space in the forest, on the edge of which
they placed themselves on the top of a high tree. When the youth had
overtaken them, he saw that there was a clear spring in the middle of
the space. He sat down at the foot of the tree upon which the birds
were perched, and listened attentively to what they were saying to each
other.

‘The sun is not down yet,’ said the first bird; ‘we must wait yet awhile
till the moon rises and the maiden comes to the spring. Do you think she
will see that young man sitting under the tree?’

‘Nothing is likely to escape her eyes, certainly not a young man, said
the other bird. ‘Will the youth have the sense not to let himself be
caught in her toils?’

‘We will wait,’ said the first bird, ‘and see how they get on together.’

The evening light had quite faded, and the full moon was already shining
down upon the forest, when the young man heard a slight rustling sound.
After a few moments there came out of the forest a maiden, gliding over
the grass so lightly that her feet seemed scarcely to touch the ground,
and stood beside the spring. The youth could not turn away his eyes
from the maiden, for he had never in his life seen a woman so beautiful.
Without seeming to notice anything, she went to the spring, looked up
to the full moon, then knelt down and bathed her face nine times, then
looked up to the moon again and walked nine times round the well, and as
she walked she sang this song:

          ‘Full-faced moon with light unshaded,
           Let my beauty ne’er be faded.
            Never let my cheek grow pale!
        While the moon is waning nightly,
           May the maiden bloom more brightly,
           May her freshness never fail!’

Then she dried her face with her long hair, and was about to go away,
when her eye suddenly fell upon the spot where the young man was
sitting, and she turned towards the tree. The youth rose and stood
waiting. Then the maiden said, ‘You ought to have a heavy punishment
because you have presumed to watch my secret doings in the moonlight.
But I will forgive you this time, because you are a stranger and knew no
better. But you must tell me truly who you are and how you came to this
place, where no mortal has ever set foot before.’

The youth answered humbly: ‘Forgive me, beautiful maiden, if I have
unintentionally offended you. I chanced to come here after long
wandering, and found a good place to sleep under this tree. At your
coming I did not know what to do, but stayed where I was, because I
thought my silent watching could not offend you.’

The maiden answered kindly, ‘Come and spend this night with us. You will
sleep better on a pillow than on damp moss.’

The youth hesitated for a little, but presently he heard the birds
saying from the top of the tree, ‘Go where she calls you, but take care
to give no blood, or you will sell your soul.’ So the youth went with
her, and soon they reached a beautiful garden, where stood a splendid
house, which glittered in the moonlight as if it was all built out of
gold and silver. When the youth entered he found many splendid chambers,
each one finer than the last. Hundreds of tapers burnt upon golden
candlesticks, and shed a light like the brightest day. At length they
reached a chamber where a table was spread with the most costly dishes.
At the table were placed two chairs, one of silver, the other of gold.
The maiden seated herself upon the golden chair, and offered the silver
one to her companion. They were served by maidens dressed in white,
whose feet made no sound as they moved about, and not a word was spoken
during the meal. Afterwards the youth and the Witch-maiden conversed
pleasantly together, until a woman, dressed in red, came in to remind
them that it was bedtime. The youth was now shown into another room,
containing a silken bed with down cushions, where he slept delightfully,
yet he seemed to hear a voice near his bed which repeated to him,
‘Remember to give no blood!’

The next morning the maiden asked him whether he would not like to
stay with her always in this beautiful place, and as he did not answer
immediately, she continued: ‘You see how I always remain young and
beautiful, and I am under no one’s orders, but can do just what I like,
so that I have never thought of marrying before. But from the moment I
saw you I took a fancy to you, so if you agree, we might be married and
might live together like princes, because I have great riches.’

The youth could not but be tempted with the beautiful maiden’s offer,
but he remembered how the birds had called her the witch, and their
warning always sounded in his ears. Therefore he answered cautiously,
‘Do not be angry, dear maiden, if I do not decide immediately on this
important matter. Give me a few days to consider before we come to an
understanding.’

‘Why not?’ answered the maiden. ‘Take some weeks to consider if you
like, and take counsel with your own heart.’ And to make the time
pass pleasantly, she took the youth over every part of her beautiful
dwelling, and showed him all her splendid treasures. But these treasures
were all produced by enchantment, for the maiden could make anything she
wished appear by the help of King Solomon’s signet ring; only none of
these things remained fixed; they passed away like the wind without
leaving a trace behind. But the youth did not know this; he thought they
were all real.

One day the maiden took him into a secret chamber, where a little gold
box was standing on a silver table. Pointing to the box, she said, ‘Here
is my greatest treasure, whose like is not to be found in the whole
world. It is a precious gold ring. When you marry me, I will give you
this ring as a marriage gift, and it will make you the happiest of
mortal men. But in order that our love may last for ever, you must give
me for the ring three drops of blood from the little finger of your left
hand.’

When the youth heard these words a cold shudder ran over him, for he
remembered that his soul was at stake. He was cunning enough, however,
to conceal his feelings and to make no direct answer, but he only asked
the maiden, as if carelessly, what was remarkable about the ring?

She answered, ‘No mortal is able entirely to understand the power
of this ring, because no one thoroughly understands the secret signs
engraved upon it. But even with my half-knowledge I can work great
wonders. If I put the ring upon the little finger of my left hand, then
I can fly like a bird through the air wherever I wish to go. If I put
it on the third finger of my left hand I am invisible, and I can see
everything that passes around me, though no one can see me. If I put the
ring upon the middle finger of my left hand, then neither fire nor water
nor any sharp weapon can hurt me. If I put it on the forefinger of my
left hand, then I can with its help produce whatever I wish. I can in a
single moment build houses or anything I desire. Finally, as long as I
wear the ring on the thumb of my left hand, that hand is so strong that
it can break down rocks and walls. Besides these, the ring has other
secret signs which, as I said, no one can understand. No doubt it
contains secrets of great importance. The ring formerly belonged to King
Solomon, the wisest of kings, during whose reign the wisest men lived.
But it is not known whether this ring was ever made by mortal hands: it
is supposed that an angel gave it to the wise King.’

When the youth heard all this he determined to try and get possession of
the ring, though he did not quite believe in all its wonderful gifts.
He wished the maiden would let him have it in his hand, but he did not
quite like to ask her to do so, and after a while she put it back into
the box. A few days after they were again speaking of the magic ring,
and the youth said, ‘I do not think it possible that the ring can have
all the power you say it has.’

Then the maiden opened the box and took the ring out, and it glittered
as she held it like the clearest sunbeam. She put it on the middle
finger of her left hand, and told the youth to take a knife and try as
hard as he could to cut her with it, for he would not be able to hurt
her. He was unwilling at first, but the maiden insisted. Then he tried,
at first only in play, and then seriously, to strike her with the knife,
but an invisible wall of iron seemed to be between them, and the maiden
stood before him laughing and unhurt. Then she put the ring on her third
finger, and in an instant she had vanished from his eyes. Presently she
was beside him again laughing, and holding the ring between her fingers.

‘Do let me try,’ said the youth, ‘whether I can do these wonderful
things.’

The maiden, suspecting no treachery, gave him the magic ring.

The youth pretended to have forgotten what to do, and asked what finger
he must put the ring on so that no sharp weapon could hurt him?’

‘Oh, the middle finger of your left hand,’ the maiden answered,
laughing.

She took the knife and tried to strike the youth, and he even tried to
cut himself with it, but found it impossible. Then he asked the maiden
to show him how to split stones and rocks with the help of the ring. So
she led him into a courtyard where stood a great boulder-stone. ‘Now,’
she said, ‘put the ring upon the thumb of your left hand, and you will
see how strong that hand has become. The youth did so, and found to his
astonishment that with a single blow of his fist the stone flew into a
thousand pieces. Then the youth bethought him that he who does not use
his luck when he has it is a fool, and that this was a chance which once
lost might never return. So while they stood laughing at the shattered
stone he placed the ring, as if in play, upon the third finger of his
left hand.

‘Now,’ said the maiden, ‘you are invisible to me until you take the ring
off again.’

But the youth had no mind to do that; on the contrary, he went farther
off, then put the ring on the little finger of his left hand, and soared
into the air like a bird.

When the maiden saw him flying away she thought at first that he was
still in play, and cried, ‘Come back, friend, for now you see I have
told you the truth.’ But the young man never came back.

Then the maiden saw she was deceived, and bitterly repented that she had
ever trusted him with the ring.

The young man never halted in his flight until he reached the dwelling
of the wise magician who had taught him the speech of birds. The
magician was delighted to find that his search had been successful,
and at once set to work to interpret the secret signs engraved upon the
ring, but it took him seven weeks to make them out clearly. Then he gave
the youth the following instructions how to overcome the Dragon of the
North: ‘You must have an iron horse cast, which must have little wheels
under each foot. You must also be armed with a spear two fathoms long,
which you will be able to wield by means of the magic ring upon your
left thumb. The spear must be as thick in the middle as a large tree,
and both its ends must be sharp. In the middle of the spear you must
have two strong chains ten fathoms in length. As soon as the Dragon has
made himself fast to the spear, which you must thrust through his jaws,
you must spring quickly from the iron horse and fasten the ends of the
chains firmly to the ground with iron stakes, so that he cannot get away
from them. After two or three days the monster’s strength will be so
far exhausted that you will be able to come near him. Then you can put
Solomon’s ring upon your left thumb and give him the finishing stroke,
but keep the ring on your third finger until you have come close to him,
so that the monster cannot see you, else he might strike you dead with
his long tail. But when all is done, take care you do not lose the ring,
and that no one takes it from you by cunning.’

The young man thanked the magician for his directions, and promised,
should they succeed, to reward him. But the magician answered, ‘I have
profited so much by the wisdom the ring has taught me that I desire no
other reward.’ Then they parted, and the youth quickly flew home through
the air. After remaining in his own home for some weeks, he heard people
say that the terrible Dragon of the North was not far off, and might
shortly be expected in the country. The King announced publicly that
he would give his daughter in marriage, as well as a large part of his
kingdom, to whosoever should free the country from the monster. The
youth then went to the King and told him that he had good hopes of
subduing the Dragon, if the King would grant him all he desired for the
purpose. The King willingly agreed, and the iron horse, the great spear,
and the chains were all prepared as the youth requested. When all was
ready, it was found that the iron horse was so heavy that a hundred men
could not move it from the spot, so the youth found there was nothing
for it but to move it with his own strength by means of the magic ring.
The Dragon was now so near that in a couple of springs he would be over
the frontier. The youth now began to consider how he should act, for if
he had to push the iron horse from behind he could not ride upon it as
the sorcerer had said he must. But a raven unexpectedly gave him this
advice: ‘Ride upon the horse, and push the spear against the ground,
as if you were pushing off a boat from the land.’ The youth did so, and
found that in this way he could easily move forwards. The Dragon had his
monstrous jaws wide open, all ready for his expected prey. A few paces
nearer, and man and horse would have been swallowed up by them! The
youth trembled with horror, and his blood ran cold, yet he did not lose
his courage; but, holding the iron spear upright in his hand, he brought
it down with all his might right through the monster’s lower jaw. Then
quick as lightning he sprang from his horse before the Dragon had time
to shut his mouth. A fearful clap like thunder, which could be heard for
miles around, now warned him that the Dragon’s jaws had closed upon
the spear. When the youth turned round he saw the point of the spear
sticking up high above the Dragon’s upper jaw, and knew that the other
end must be fastened firmly to the ground; but the Dragon had got his
teeth fixed in the iron horse, which was now useless. The youth now
hastened to fasten down the chains to the ground by means of the
enormous iron pegs which he had provided. The death struggle of the
monster lasted three days and three nights; in his writhing he beat his
tail so violently against the ground, that at ten miles’ distance the
earth trembled as if with an earthquake. When he at length lost power to
move his tail, the youth with the help of the ring took up a stone which
twenty ordinary men could not have moved, and beat the Dragon so hard
about the head with it that very soon the monster lay lifeless before
him.

You can fancy how great was the rejoicing when the news was spread
abroad that the terrible monster was dead. His conqueror was received
into the city with as much pomp as if he had been the mightiest of
kings. The old King did not need to urge his daughter to marry the
slayer of the Dragon; he found her already willing to bestow her hand
upon this hero, who had done all alone what whole armies had tried in
vain to do. In a few days a magnificent wedding was celebrated, at which
the rejoicings lasted four whole weeks, for all the neighbouring kings
had met together to thank the man who had freed the world from their
common enemy. But everyone forgot amid the general joy that they ought
to have buried the Dragon’s monstrous body, for it began now to have
such a bad smell that no one could live in the neighbourhood, and
before long the whole air was poisoned, and a pestilence broke out
which destroyed many hundreds of people. In this distress, the King’s
son-in-law resolved to seek help once more from the Eastern magician, to
whom he at once travelled through the air like a bird by the help of
the ring. But there is a proverb which says that ill-gotten gains never
prosper, and the Prince found that the stolen ring brought him ill-luck
after all. The Witch-maiden had never rested night nor day until she had
found out where the ring was. As soon as she had discovered by means of
magical arts that the Prince in the form of a bird was on his way to the
Eastern magician, she changed herself into an eagle and watched in the
air until the bird she was waiting for came in sight, for she knew him
at once by the ring which was hung round his neck by a ribbon. Then the
eagle pounced upon the bird, and the moment she seized him in her talons
she tore the ring from his neck before the man in bird’s shape had time
to prevent her. Then the eagle flew down to the earth with her prey, and
the two stood face to face once more in human form.

‘Now, villain, you are in my power!’ cried the Witch-maiden. ‘I favoured
you with my love, and you repaid me with treachery and theft. You stole
my most precious jewel from me, and do you expect to live happily as the
King’s son-in-law? Now the tables are turned; you are in my power, and I
will be revenged on you for your crimes.’

‘Forgive me! forgive me!’ cried the Prince; ‘I know too well how deeply
I have wronged you, and most heartily do I repent it.’

The maiden answered, ‘Your prayers and your repentance come too late,
and if I were to spare you everyone would think me a fool. You have
doubly wronged me; first you scorned my love, and then you stole my
ring, and you must bear the punishment.’

With these words she put the ring upon her left thumb, lifted the young
man with one hand, and walked away with him under her arm. This time
she did not take him to a splendid palace, but to a deep cave in a rock,
where there were chains hanging from the wall. The maiden now chained
the young man’s hands and feet so that he could not escape; then she
said in an angry voice, ‘Here you shall remain chained up until you die.
I will bring you every day enough food to prevent you dying of hunger,
but you need never hope for freedom any more.’ With these words she left
him.

The old King and his daughter waited anxiously for many weeks for the
Prince’s return, but no news of him arrived. The King’s daughter often
dreamed that her husband was going through some great suffering: she
therefore begged her father to summon all the enchanters and magicians,
that they might try to find out where the Prince was and how he could
be set free. But the magicians, with all their arts, could find out
nothing, except that he was still living and undergoing great suffering;
but none could tell where he was to be found. At last a celebrated
magician from Finland was brought before the King, who had found out
that the King’s son-in-law was imprisoned in the East, not by men, but
by some more powerful being. The King now sent messengers to the East to
look for his son-in-law, and they by good luck met with the old magician
who had interpreted the signs on King Solomon’s ring, and thus was
possessed of more wisdom than anyone else in the world. The magician
soon found out what he wished to know, and pointed out the place where
the Prince was imprisoned, but said: ‘He is kept there by enchantment,
and cannot be set free without my help. I will therefore go with you
myself.’

So they all set out, guided by birds, and after some days came to the
cave where the unfortunate Prince had been chained up for nearly seven
years. He recognised the magician immediately, but the old man did not
know him, he had grown so thin. However, he undid the chains by the
help of magic, and took care of the Prince until he recovered and became
strong enough to travel. When he reached home he found that the old King
had died that morning, so that he was now raised to the throne. And now
after his long suffering came prosperity, which lasted to the end of his
life; but he never got back the magic ring, nor has it ever again been
seen by mortal eyes.

Now, if YOU had been the Prince, would you not rather have stayed with
the pretty witch-maiden?




STORY OF THE EMPEROR’S NEW CLOTHES(4)

(4) Andersen.

Many years ago there lived an Emperor who was so fond of new clothes
that he spent all his money on them in order to be beautifully dressed.
He did not care about his soldiers, he did not care about the theatre;
he only liked to go out walking to show off his new clothes. He had a
coat for every hour of the day; and just as they say of a king, ‘He is
in the council-chamber,’ they always said here, ‘The Emperor is in the
wardrobe.’

In the great city in which he lived there was always something going on;
every day many strangers came there. One day two impostors arrived
who gave themselves out as weavers, and said that they knew how to
manufacture the most beautiful cloth imaginable. Not only were the
texture and pattern uncommonly beautiful, but the clothes which were
made of the stuff possessed this wonderful property that they were
invisible to anyone who was not fit for his office, or who was
unpardonably stupid.

‘Those must indeed be splendid clothes,’ thought the Emperor. ‘If I
had them on I could find out which men in my kingdom are unfit for the
offices they hold; I could distinguish the wise from the stupid! Yes,
this cloth must be woven for me at once.’ And he gave both the impostors
much money, so that they might begin their work.

They placed two weaving-looms, and began to do as if they were working,
but they had not the least thing on the looms. They also demanded the
finest silk and the best gold, which they put in their pockets, and
worked at the empty looms till late into the night.

‘I should like very much to know how far they have got on with the
cloth,’ thought the Emperor. But he remembered when he thought about it
that whoever was stupid or not fit for his office would not be able
to see it. Now he certainly believed that he had nothing to fear for
himself, but he wanted first to send somebody else in order to see how
he stood with regard to his office. Everybody in the whole town knew
what a wonderful power the cloth had, and they were all curious to see
how bad or how stupid their neighbour was.

‘I will send my old and honoured minister to the weavers,’ thought
the Emperor. ‘He can judge best what the cloth is like, for he has
intellect, and no one understands his office better than he.’

Now the good old minister went into the hall where the two impostors sat
working at the empty weaving-looms. ‘Dear me!’ thought the old minister,
opening his eyes wide, ‘I can see nothing!’ But he did not say so.

Both the impostors begged him to be so kind as to step closer, and asked
him if it were not a beautiful texture and lovely colours. They pointed
to the empty loom, and the poor old minister went forward rubbing his
eyes; but he could see nothing, for there was nothing there.

‘Dear, dear!’ thought he, ‘can I be stupid? I have never thought that,
and nobody must know it! Can I be not fit for my office? No, I must
certainly not say that I cannot see the cloth!’

‘Have you nothing to say about it?’ asked one of the men who was
weaving.

‘Oh, it is lovely, most lovely!’ answered the old minister, looking
through his spectacles. ‘What a texture! What colours! Yes, I will tell
the Emperor that it pleases me very much.’

‘Now we are delighted at that,’ said both the weavers, and thereupon
they named the colours and explained the make of the texture.

The old minister paid great attention, so that he could tell the same to
the Emperor when he came back to him, which he did.

The impostors now wanted more money, more silk, and more gold to use in
their weaving. They put it all in their own pockets, and there came no
threads on the loom, but they went on as they had done before, working
at the empty loom. The Emperor soon sent another worthy statesman to
see how the weaving was getting on, and whether the cloth would soon
be finished. It was the same with him as the first one; he looked and
looked, but because there was nothing on the empty loom he could see
nothing.

‘Is it not a beautiful piece of cloth?’ asked the two impostors, and
they pointed to and described the splendid material which was not there.

‘Stupid I am not!’ thought the man, ‘so it must be my good office for
which I am not fitted. It is strange, certainly, but no one must be
allowed to notice it.’ And so he praised the cloth which he did not
see, and expressed to them his delight at the beautiful colours and the
splendid texture. ‘Yes, it is quite beautiful,’ he said to the Emperor.

Everybody in the town was talking of the magnificent cloth.

Now the Emperor wanted to see it himself while it was still on the
loom. With a great crowd of select followers, amongst whom were both
the worthy statesmen who had already been there before, he went to
the cunning impostors, who were now weaving with all their might, but
without fibre or thread.

‘Is it not splendid!’ said both the old statesmen who had already been
there. ‘See, your Majesty, what a texture! What colours!’ And then they
pointed to the empty loom, for they believed that the others could see
the cloth quite well.

‘What!’ thought the Emperor, ‘I can see nothing! This is indeed
horrible! Am I stupid? Am I not fit to be Emperor? That were the most
dreadful thing that could happen to me. Oh, it is very beautiful,’ he
said. ‘It has my gracious approval.’ And then he nodded pleasantly, and
examined the empty loom, for he would not say that he could see nothing.

His whole Court round him looked and looked, and saw no more than the
others; but they said like the Emperor, ‘Oh! it is beautiful!’ And they
advised him to wear these new and magnificent clothes for the first time
at the great procession which was soon to take place. ‘Splendid! Lovely!
Most beautiful!’ went from mouth to mouth; everyone seemed delighted
over them, and the Emperor gave to the impostors the title of Court
weavers to the Emperor.

Throughout the whole of the night before the morning on which the
procession was to take place, the impostors were up and were working by
the light of over sixteen candles. The people could see that they were
very busy making the Emperor’s new clothes ready. They pretended they
were taking the cloth from the loom, cut with huge scissors in the
air, sewed with needles without thread, and then said at last, ‘Now the
clothes are finished!’

The Emperor came himself with his most distinguished knights, and each
impostor held up his arm just as if he were holding something, and said,
‘See! here are the breeches! Here is the coat! Here the cloak!’ and so
on.

‘Spun clothes are so comfortable that one would imagine one had nothing
on at all; but that is the beauty of it!’

‘Yes,’ said all the knights, but they could see nothing, for there was
nothing there.

‘Will it please your Majesty graciously to take off your clothes,’ said
the impostors, ‘then we will put on the new clothes, here before the
mirror.’

The Emperor took off all his clothes, and the impostors placed
themselves before him as if they were putting on each part of his new
clothes which was ready, and the Emperor turned and bent himself in
front of the mirror.

‘How beautifully they fit! How well they sit!’ said everybody. ‘What
material! What colours! It is a gorgeous suit!’

‘They are waiting outside with the canopy which your Majesty is wont
to have borne over you in the procession,’ announced the Master of the
Ceremonies.

‘Look, I am ready,’ said the Emperor. ‘Doesn’t it sit well!’ And he
turned himself again to the mirror to see if his finery was on all
right.

The chamberlains who were used to carry the train put their hands near
the floor as if they were lifting up the train; then they did as if they
were holding something in the air. They would not have it noticed that
they could see nothing.

So the Emperor went along in the procession under the splendid canopy,
and all the people in the streets and at the windows said, ‘How
matchless are the Emperor’s new clothes! That train fastened to his
dress, how beautifully it hangs!’

No one wished it to be noticed that he could see nothing, for then he
would have been unfit for his office, or else very stupid. None of the
Emperor’s clothes had met with such approval as these had.

‘But he has nothing on!’ said a little child at last.

‘Just listen to the innocent child!’ said the father, and each one
whispered to his neighbour what the child had said.

‘But he has nothing on!’ the whole of the people called out at last.

This struck the Emperor, for it seemed to him as if they were right; but
he thought to himself, ‘I must go on with the procession now. And the
chamberlains walked along still more uprightly, holding up the train
which was not there at all.




THE GOLDEN CRAB(5)

(5) ‘Prinz Krebs,’ from Griechische Mahrchen. Schmidt.

Once upon a time there was a fisherman who had a wife and three
children. Every morning he used to go out fishing, and whatever fish he
caught he sold to the King. One day, among the other fishes, he caught
a golden crab. When he came home he put all the fishes together into
a great dish, but he kept the Crab separate because it shone so
beautifully, and placed it upon a high shelf in the cupboard. Now while
the old woman, his wife, was cleaning the fish, and had tucked up her
gown so that her feet were visible, she suddenly heard a voice, which
said:

          ‘Let down, let down thy petticoat
           That lets thy feet be seen.’

She turned round in surprise, and then she saw the little creature, the
Golden Crab.

‘What! You can speak, can you, you ridiculous crab?’ she said, for she
was not quite pleased at the Crab’s remarks. Then she took him up and
placed him on a dish.

When her husband came home and they sat down to dinner, they presently
heard the Crab’s little voice saying, ‘Give me some too.’ They were all
very much surprised, but they gave him something to eat. When the old
man came to take away the plate which had contained the Crab’s dinner,
he found it full of gold, and as the same thing happened every day he
soon became very fond of the Crab.

One day the Crab said to the fisherman’s wife, ‘Go to the King and tell
him I wish to marry his younger daughter.’

The old woman went accordingly, and laid the matter before the King, who
laughed a little at the notion of his daughter marrying a crab, but did
not decline the proposal altogether, because he was a prudent monarch,
and knew that the Crab was likely to be a prince in disguise. He said,
therefore, to the fisherman’s wife, ‘Go, old woman, and tell the Crab I
will give him my daughter if by to-morrow morning he can build a wall in
front of my castle much higher than my tower, upon which all the flowers
of the world must grow and bloom.’

The fisherman’s wife went home and gave this message.

Then the Crab gave her a golden rod, and said, ‘Go and strike with this
rod three times upon the ground on the place which the King showed you,
and to-morrow morning the wall will be there.’

The old woman did so and went away again.

The next morning, when the King awoke, what do you think he saw? The
wall stood there before his eyes, exactly as he had bespoken it!

Then the old woman went back to the King and said to him, ‘Your
Majesty’s orders have been fulfilled.’

‘That is all very well,’ said the King, ‘but I cannot give away my
daughter until there stands in front of my palace a garden in which
there are three fountains, of which the first must play gold, the second
diamonds, and the third brilliants.’

So the old woman had to strike again three times upon the ground with
the rod, and the next morning the garden was there. The King now gave
his consent, and the wedding was fixed for the very next day.

Then the Crab said to the old fisherman, ‘Now take this rod; go and
knock with it on a certain mountain; then a black man(6) will come out
and ask you what you wish for. Answer him thus: ‘’Your master, the King,
has sent me to tell you that you must send him his golden garment that
is like the sun.’’ Make him give you, besides, the queenly robes of gold
and precious stones which are like the flowery meadows, and bring them
both to me. And bring me also the golden cushion.’

(6) Ein Mohr.


The old man went and did his errand. When he had brought the precious
robes, the Crab put on the golden garment and then crept upon the golden
cushion, and in this way the fisherman carried him to the castle, where
the Crab presented the other garment to his bride. Now the ceremony
took place, and when the married pair were alone together the Crab made
himself known to his young wife, and told her how he was the son of the
greatest king in the world, and how he was enchanted, so that he became
a crab by day and was a man only at night; and he could also change
himself into an eagle as often as he wished. No sooner had he said this
than he shook himself, and immediately became a handsome youth, but the
next morning he was forced to creep back again into his crab-shell. And
the same thing happened every day. But the Princess’s affection for the
Crab, and the polite attention with which she behaved to him, surprised
the royal family very much. They suspected some secret, but though they
spied and spied, they could not discover it. Thus a year passed away,
and the Princess had a son, whom she called Benjamin. But her mother
still thought the whole matter very strange. At last she said to the
King that he ought to ask his daughter whether she would not like to
have another husband instead of the Crab? But when the daughter was
questioned she only answered:

‘I am married to the Crab, and him only will I have.’

Then the King said to her, ‘I will appoint a tournament in your honour,
and I will invite all the princes in the world to it, and if any one of
them pleases you, you shall marry him.’

In the evening the Princess told this to the Crab, who said to her,
‘Take this rod, go to the garden gate and knock with it, then a black
man will come out and say to you, ‘’Why have you called me, and what do
you require of me?’’ Answer him thus: ‘Your master the King has sent me
hither to tell you to send him his golden armour and his steed and the
silver apple.’’ And bring them to me.’

The Princess did so, and brought him what he desired.

The following evening the Prince dressed himself for the tournament.
Before he went he said to his wife, ‘Now mind you do not say when you
see me that I am the Crab. For if you do this evil will come of it.
Place yourself at the window with your sisters; I will ride by and throw
you the silver apple. Take it in your hand, but if they ask you who I
am, say that you do not know.’ So saying, he kissed her, repeated his
warning once more, and went away.

The Princess went with her sisters to the window and looked on at the
tournament. Presently her husband rode by and threw the apple up to her.
She caught it in her hand and went with it to her room, and by-and-by
her husband came back to her. But her father was much surprised that she
did not seem to care about any of the Princes; he therefore appointed a
second tournament.

The Crab then gave his wife the same directions as before, only this
time the apple which she received from the black man was of gold. But
before the Prince went to the tournament he said to his wife, ‘Now I
know you will betray me to-day.’

But she swore to him that she would not tell who he was. He then
repeated his warning and went away.

In the evening, while the Princess, with her mother and sisters, was
standing at the window, the Prince suddenly galloped past on his steed
and threw her the golden apple.

Then her mother flew into a passion, gave her a box on the ear, and
cried out, ‘Does not even that prince please you, you fool?’

The Princess in her fright exclaimed, ‘That is the Crab himself!’

Her mother was still more angry because she had not been told sooner,
ran into her daughter’s room where the crab-shell was still lying, took
it up and threw it into the fire. Then the poor Princess cried bitterly,
but it was of no use; her husband did not come back.

Now we must leave the Princess and turn to the other persons in the
story. One day an old man went to a stream to dip in a crust of bread
which he was going to eat, when a dog came out of the water, snatched
the bread from his hand, and ran away. The old man ran after him,
but the dog reached a door, pushed it open, and ran in, the old man
following him. He did not overtake the dog, but found himself above a
staircase, which he descended. Then he saw before him a stately palace,
and, entering, he found in a large hall a table set for twelve persons.
He hid himself in the hall behind a great picture, that he might see
what would happen. At noon he heard a great noise, so that he trembled
with fear. When he took courage to look out from behind the picture,
he saw twelve eagles flying in. At this sight his fear became still
greater. The eagles flew to the basin of a fountain that was there and
bathed themselves, when suddenly they were changed into twelve handsome
youths. Now they seated themselves at the table, and one of them took
up a goblet filled with wine, and said, ‘A health to my father!’ And
another said, ‘A health to my mother!’ and so the healths went round.
Then one of them said:

     ‘A health to my dearest lady,
           Long may she live and well!
       But a curse on the cruel mother
           That burnt my golden shell!’

And so saying he wept bitterly. Then the youths rose from the table,
went back to the great stone fountain, turned themselves into eagles
again, and flew away.

Then the old man went away too, returned to the light of day, and went
home. Soon after he heard that the Princess was ill, and that the only
thing that did her good was having stories told to her. He therefore
went to the royal castle, obtained an audience of the Princess, and told
her about the strange things he had seen in the underground palace. No
sooner had he finished than the Princess asked him whether he could find
the way to that palace.

‘Yes,’ he answered, ‘certainly.’

And now she desired him to guide her thither at once. The old man did
so, and when they came to the palace he hid her behind the great picture
and advised her to keep quite still, and he placed himself behind
the picture also. Presently the eagles came flying in, and changed
themselves into young men, and in a moment the Princess recognised her
husband amongst them all, and tried to come out of her hiding-place; but
the old man held her back. The youths seated themselves at the table;
and now the Prince said again, while he took up the cup of wine:

     ‘A health to my dearest lady,
           Long may she live and well!
       But a curse on the cruel mother
           That burnt my golden shell!’

Then the Princess could restrain herself no longer, but ran forward and
threw her arms round her husband. And immediately he knew her again, and
said:

‘Do you remember how I told you that day that you would betray me?
Now you see that I spoke the truth. But all that bad time is past. Now
listen to me: I must still remain enchanted for three months. Will you
stay here with me till that time is over?’

So the Princess stayed with him, and said to the old man, ‘Go back to
the castle and tell my parents that I am staying here.’

Her parents were very much vexed when the old man came back and told
them this, but as soon as the three months of the Prince’s enchantment
were over, he ceased to be an eagle and became once more a man, and they
returned home together. And then they lived happily, and we who hear the
story are happier still.




THE IRON STOVE(7)

(7) Grimm.

Once upon a time when wishes came true there was a king’s son who was
enchanted by an old witch, so that he was obliged to sit in a large iron
stove in a wood. There he lived for many years, and no one could free
him. At last a king’s daughter came into the wood; she had lost her way,
and could not find her father’s kingdom again. She had been wandering
round and round for nine days, and she came at last to the iron case. A
voice came from within and asked her, ‘Where do you come from, and where
do you want to go?’ She answered, ‘I have lost my way to my father’s
kingdom, and I shall never get home again.’ Then the voice from the iron
stove said, ‘I will help you to find your home again, and that in a very
short time, if you will promise to do what I ask you. I am a greater
prince than you are a princess, and I will marry you.’ Then she grew
frightened, and thought, ‘What can a young lassie do with an iron
stove?’ But as she wanted very much to go home to her father, she
promised to do what he wished.

He said, ‘You must come again, and bring a knife with you to scrape a
hole in the iron.’

Then he gave her someone for a guide, who walked near her and said
nothing, but he brought her in two hours to her house. There was great
joy in the castle when the Princess came back, and the old King fell on
her neck and kissed her. But she was very much troubled, and said, ‘Dear
father, listen to what has befallen me! I should never have come home
again out of the great wild wood if I had not come to an iron stove,
to whom I have had to promise that I will go back to free him and marry
him!’ The old King was so frightened that he nearly fainted, for she was
his only daughter. So they consulted together, and determined that the
miller’s daughter, who was very beautiful, should take her place. They
took her there, gave her a knife, and said she must scrape at the iron
stove. She scraped for twenty-four hours, but did not make the least
impression. When the day broke, a voice called from the iron stove, ‘It
seems to me that it is day outside.’ Then she answered, ‘It seems so to
me; I think I hear my father’s mill rattling.’

‘So you are a miller’s daughter! Then go away at once, and tell the
King’s daughter to come.’

Then she went away, and told the old King that the thing inside the
iron stove would not have her, but wanted the Princess. The old King was
frightened, and his daughter wept. But they had a swineherd’s daughter
who was even more beautiful than the miller’s daughter, and they gave
her a piece of gold to go to the iron stove instead of the Princess.
Then she was taken out, and had to scrape for four-and-twenty hours, but
she could make no impression. As soon as the day broke the voice from
the stove called out, ‘It seems to be daylight outside.’ Then she
answered, ‘It seems so to me too; I think I hear my father blowing his
horn.’ ‘So you are a swineherd’s daughter! Go away at once, and let the
King’s daughter come. And say to her that what I foretell shall come to
pass, and if she does not come everything in the kingdom shall fall into
ruin, and not one stone shall be left upon another.’ When the Princess
heard this she began to cry, but it was no good; she had to keep her
word. She took leave of her father, put a knife in her belt, and went
to the iron stove in the wood. As soon as she reached it she began to
scrape, and the iron gave way and before two hours had passed she had
made a little hole. Then she peeped in and saw such a beautiful youth
all shining with gold and precious stones that she fell in love with him
on the spot. So she scraped away harder than ever, and made the hole
so large that he could get out. Then he said, ‘You are mine, and I am
thine; you are my bride and have set me free!’ He wanted to take her
with him to his kingdom, but she begged him just to let her go once more
to her father; and the Prince let her go, but told her not to say more
than three words to her father, then to come back again. So she went
home, but alas! she said MORE THAN THREE WORDS; and immediately the iron
stove vanished and went away over a mountain of glass and sharp swords.
But the Prince was free, and was no longer shut up in it. Then she said
good-bye to her father, and took a little money with her, and went again
into the great wood to look for the iron stove; but she could not find
it. She sought it for nine days, and then her hunger became so great
that she did not know how she could live any longer. And when it was
evening she climbed a little tree and wished that the night would not
come, because she was afraid of the wild beasts. When midnight came she
saw afar off a little light, and thought, ‘Ah! if only I could reach
that!’ Then she got down from the tree and went towards the light. She
came to a little old house with a great deal of grass growing round, and
stood in front of a little heap of wood. She thought, ‘Alas! what am I
coming to?’ and peeped through the window; but she saw nothing inside
except big and little toads, and a table beautifully spread with roast
meats and wine, and all the dishes and drinking-cups were of silver.
Then she took heart and knocked. Then a fat toad called out:

          ‘Little green toad with leg like crook,
           Open wide the door, and look
           Who it was the latch that shook.’

And a little toad came forward and let her in. When she entered they
all bid her welcome, and made her sit down. They asked her how she came
there and what she wanted. Then she told everything that had happened
to her, and how, because she had exceeded her permission only to speak
three words, the stove had disappeared with the Prince; and how she had
searched a very long time, and must wander over mountain and valley till
she found him.

Then the old toad said:

          ‘Little green toad whose leg doth twist,
           Go to the corner of which you wist,
           And bring to me the large old kist.’

And the little toad went and brought out a great chest. Then they gave
her food and drink, and led her to a beautifully made bed of silk and
samite, on which she lay down and slept soundly. When the day dawned she
arose, and the old toad gave her three things out of the huge chest to
take with her. She would have need of them, for she had to cross a high
glass mountain, three cutting swords, and a great lake. When she had
passed these she would find her lover again. So she was given three
large needles, a plough-wheel, and three nuts, which she was to take
great care of. She set out with these things, and when she came to the
glass mountain which was so slippery she stuck the three needles behind
her feet and then in front, and so got over it, and when she was on the
other side put them carefully away.

Then she reached the three cutting swords, and got on her plough-wheel
and rolled over them. At last she came to a great lake, and, when she
had crossed that, arrived at a beautiful castle. She went in and gave
herself out as a servant, a poor maid who would gladly be engaged. But
she knew that the Prince whom she had freed from the iron stove in the
great wood was in the castle. So she was taken on as a kitchen-maid for
very small wages. Now the Prince was about to marry another princess,
for he thought she was dead long ago.

In the evening, when she had washed up and was ready, she felt in her
pocket and found the three nuts which the old toad had given her. She
cracked one and was going to eat the kernel, when behold! there was a
beautiful royal dress inside it! When the bride heard of this, she came
and begged for the dress, and wanted to buy it, saying that it was not a
dress for a serving-maid. Then she said she would not sell it unless she
was granted one favour--namely, to sleep by the Prince’s door. The bride
granted her this, because the dress was so beautiful and she had so few
like it. When it was evening she said to her bridegroom, ‘That stupid
maid wants to sleep by your door.’

‘If you are contented, I am,’ he said. But she gave him a glass of wine
in which she had poured a sleeping-draught. Then they both went to his
room, but he slept so soundly that she could not wake him. The maid wept
all night long, and said, ‘I freed you in the wild wood out of the iron
stove; I have sought you, and have crossed a glassy mountain, three
sharp swords, and a great lake before I found you, and will you not hear
me now?’ The servants outside heard how she cried the whole night, and
they told their master in the morning.

When she had washed up the next evening she bit the second nut, and
there was a still more beautiful dress inside. When the bride saw it she
wanted to buy it also. But the maid did not want money, and asked that
she should sleep again by the Prince’s door. The bride, however, gave
him a sleeping-draught, and he slept so soundly that he heard nothing.
But the kitchen-maid wept the whole night long, and said, ‘I have freed
you in a wood and from an iron stove; I sought you and have crossed a
glassy mountain, three sharp swords, and a great lake to find you, and
now you will not hear me!’ The servants outside heard how she cried the
whole night, and in the morning they told their master.

And when she had washed up on the third night she bit the third nut,
and there was a still more beautiful dress inside that was made of pure
gold. When the bride saw it she wanted to have it, but the maid would
only give it her on condition that she should sleep for the third
time by the Prince’s door. But the Prince took care not to drink
the sleeping-draught. When she began to weep and to say, ‘Dearest
sweetheart, I freed you in the horrible wild wood, and from an iron
stove,’ he jumped up and said, ‘You are right. You are mine, and I am
thine.’ Though it was still night, he got into a carriage with her, and
they took the false bride’s clothes away, so that she could not follow
them. When they came to the great lake they rowed across, and when they
reached the three sharp swords they sat on the plough-wheel, and on the
glassy mountain they stuck the three needles in. So they arrived at last
at the little old house, but when they stepped inside it turned into
a large castle. The toads were all freed, and were beautiful King’s
children, running about for joy. There they were married, and they
remained in the castle, which was much larger than that of the
Princess’s father’s. But because the old man did not like being left
alone, they went and fetched him. So they had two kingdoms and lived in
great wealth.

          A mouse has run,
           My story’s done.




THE DRAGON AND HIS GRANDMOTHER

There was once a great war, and the King had a great many soldiers, but
he gave them so little pay that they could not live upon it. Then three
of them took counsel together and determined to desert.

One of them said to the others, ‘If we are caught, we shall be hanged
on the gallows; how shall we set about it?’ The other said, ‘Do you see
that large cornfield there? If we were to hide ourselves in that, no
one could find us. The army cannot come into it, and to-morrow it is to
march on.’

They crept into the corn, but the army did not march on, but remained
encamped close around them. They sat for two days and two nights in
the corn, and grew so hungry that they nearly died; but if they were to
venture out, it was certain death.

They said at last, ‘What use was it our deserting? We must perish here
miserably.’

Whilst they were speaking a fiery dragon came flying through the air. It
hovered near them, and asked why they were hidden there.

They answered, ‘We are three soldiers, and have deserted because our pay
was so small. Now if we remain here we shall die of hunger, and if we
move out we shall be strung up on the gallows.’

‘If you will serve me for seven years,’ said the dragon, I will lead you
through the midst of the army so that no one shall catch you.’ ‘We have
no choice, and must take your offer,’ said they. Then the dragon seized
them in his claws, took them through the air over the army, and set them
down on the earth a long way from it.

He gave them a little whip, saying, ‘Whip and slash with this, and as
much money as you want will jump up before you. You can then live as
great lords, keep horses, and drive about in carriages. But after seven
years you are mine.’ Then he put a book before them, which he made all
three of them sign. ‘I will then give you a riddle,’ he said; ‘if you
guess it, you shall be free and out of my power.’ The dragon then flew
away, and they journeyed on with their little whip. They had as much
money as they wanted, wore grand clothes, and made their way into the
world. Wherever they went they lived in merrymaking and splendour, drove
about with horses and carriages, ate and drank, but did nothing wrong.

The time passed quickly away, and when the seven years were nearly ended
two of them grew terribly anxious and frightened, but the third
made light of it, saying, ‘Don’t be afraid, brothers, I wasn’t born
yesterday; I will guess the riddle.’

They went into a field, sat down, and the two pulled long faces. An old
woman passed by, and asked them why they were so sad. ‘Alas! what have
you to do with it? You cannot help us.’ ‘Who knows?’ she answered. ‘Only
confide your trouble in me.’

Then they told her that they had become the servants of the Dragon for
seven long years, and how he had given them money as plentifully as
blackberries; but as they had signed their names they were his, unless
when the seven years had passed they could guess a riddle. The old woman
said, ‘If you would help yourselves, one of you must go into the wood,
and there he will come upon a tumble-down building of rocks which looks
like a little house. He must go in, and there he will find help.’

The two melancholy ones thought, ‘That won’t save us!’ and they remained
where they were. But the third and merry one jumped up and went into the
wood till he found the rock hut. In the hut sat a very old woman, who
was the Dragon’s grandmother. She asked him how he came, and what was
his business there. He told her all that happened, and because she was
pleased with him she took compassion on him, and said she would help
him.

She lifted up a large stone which lay over the cellar, saying, ‘Hide
yourself there; you can hear all that is spoken in this room. Only sit
still and don’t stir. When the Dragon comes, I will ask him what the
riddle is, for he tells me everything; then listen carefully what he
answers.’

At midnight the Dragon flew in, and asked for his supper. His
grandmother laid the table, and brought out food and drink till he was
satisfied, and they ate and drank together. Then in the course of the
conversation she asked him what he had done in the day, and how many
souls he had conquered.

‘I haven’t had much luck to-day,’ he said, ‘but I have a tight hold on
three soldiers.’

‘Indeed! three soldiers!’ said she. ‘Who cannot escape you?’

‘They are mine,’ answered the Dragon scornfully, ‘for I shall only give
them one riddle which they will never be able to guess.’

‘What sort of a riddle is it?’ she asked.

‘I will tell you this. In the North Sea lies a dead sea-cat--that shall
be their roast meat; and the rib of a whale--that shall be their
silver spoon; and the hollow foot of a dead horse--that shall be their
wineglass.’

When the Dragon had gone to bed, his old grandmother pulled up the stone
and let out the soldier.

‘Did you pay attention to everything?’

‘Yes,’ he replied, ‘I know enough, and can help myself splendidly.’

Then he went by another way through the window secretly, and in all
haste back to his comrades. He told them how the Dragon had been
outwitted by his grandmother, and how he had heard from his own lips the
answer to the riddle.

Then they were all delighted and in high spirits, took out their whip,
and cracked so much money that it came jumping up from the ground.
When the seven years had quite gone, the Fiend came with his book, and,
pointing at the signatures, said, ‘I will take you underground with me;
you shall have a meal there. If you can tell me what you will get for
your roast meat, you shall be free, and shall also keep the whip.’

Then said the first soldier, ‘In the North Sea lies a dead sea-cat; that
shall be the roast meat.’

The Dragon was much annoyed, and hummed and hawed a good deal, and asked
the second, ‘But what shall be your spoon?’

‘The rib of a whale shall be our silver spoon.’

The Dragon-made a face, and growled again three times, ‘Hum, hum, hum,’
and said to the third, ‘Do you know what your wineglass shall be?’

‘An old horse’s hoof shall be our wineglass.’

Then the Dragon flew away with a loud shriek, and had no more power over
them. But the three soldiers took the little whip, whipped as much money
as they wanted, and lived happily to their lives end.



THE DONKEY CABBAGE

There was once a young Hunter who went boldly into the forest. He had a
merry and light heart, and as he went whistling along there came an ugly
old woman, who said to him, ‘Good-day, dear hunter! You are very merry
and contented, but I suffer hunger and thirst, so give me a trifle.’ The
Hunter was sorry for the poor old woman, and he felt in his pocket and
gave her all he could spare. He was going on then, but the old woman
stopped him and said, ‘Listen, dear hunter, to what I say. Because of
your kind heart I will make you a present. Go on your way, and in a
short time you will come to a tree on which sit nine birds who have a
cloak in their claws and are quarrelling over it. Then take aim with
your gun and shoot in the middle of them; they will let the cloak fall,
but one of the birds will be hit and will drop down dead. Take the cloak
with you; it is a wishing-cloak, and when you throw it on your shoulders
you have only to wish yourself at a certain place, and in the twinkling
of an eye you are there. Take the heart out of the dead bird and swallow
it whole, and early every morning when you get up you will find a gold
piece under your pillow.’

The Hunter thanked the wise woman, and thought to himself ‘These are
splendid things she has promised me, if only they come to pass!’ So
he walked on about a hundred yards, and then he heard above him in the
branches such a screaming and chirping that he looked up, and there
he saw a heap of birds tearing a cloth with their beaks and feet,
shrieking, tugging, and fighting, as if each wanted it for himself.
‘Well,’ said the Hunter, ‘this is wonderful! It is just as the old woman
said’; and he took his gun on his shoulder, pulled the trigger, and
shot into the midst of them, so that their feathers flew about. Then the
flock took flight with much screaming, but one fell dead, and the cloak
fluttered down. Then the Hunter did as the old woman had told him: he
cut open the bird, found its heart, swallowed it, and took the cloak
home with him. The next morning when he awoke he remembered the promise,
and wanted to see if it had come true. But when he lifted up his pillow,
there sparkled the gold piece, and the next morning he found another,
and so on every time he got up. He collected a heap of gold, but at
last he thought to himself, ‘What good is all my gold to me if I stay
at home? I will travel and look a bit about me in the world.’ So he took
leave of his parents, slung his hunting knapsack and his gun round him,
and journeyed into the world.

It happened that one day he went through a thick wood, and when he came
to the end of it there lay in the plain before him a large castle. At
one of the windows in it stood an old woman with a most beautiful maiden
by her side, looking out. But the old woman was a witch, and she said to
the girl, ‘There comes one out of the wood who has a wonderful treasure
in his body which we must manage to possess ourselves of, darling
daughter; we have more right to it than he. He has a bird’s heart in
him, and so every morning there lies a gold piece under his pillow.’

She told her how they could get hold of it, and how she was to coax it
from him, and at last threatened her angrily, saying, ‘And if you do not
obey me, you shall repent it!’

When the Hunter came nearer he saw the maiden, and said to himself, ‘I
have travelled so far now that I will rest, and turn into this beautiful
castle; money I have in plenty.’ But the real reason was that he had
caught sight of the lovely face.

He went into the house, and was kindly received and hospitably
entertained. It was not long before he was so much in love with the
witch-maiden that he thought of nothing else, and only looked in her
eyes, and whatever she wanted, that he gladly did. Then the old witch
said, ‘Now we must have the bird-heart; he will not feel when it is
gone.’ She prepared a drink, and when it was ready she poured it in a
goblet and gave it to the maiden, who had to hand it to the hunter.

‘Drink to me now, my dearest,’ she said. Then he took the goblet, and
when he had swallowed the drink the bird-heart came out of his mouth.
The maiden had to get hold of it secretly and then swallow it herself,
for the old witch wanted to have it. Thenceforward he found no more gold
under his pillow, and it lay under the maiden’s; but he was so much in
love and so much bewitched that he thought of nothing except spending
all his time with the maiden.

Then the old witch said, ‘We have the bird-heart, but we must also get
the wishing-cloak from him.’

The maiden answered, ‘We will leave him that; he has already lost his
wealth!’

The old witch grew angry, and said, ‘Such a cloak is a wonderful thing,
it is seldom to be had in the world, and have it I must and will.’ She
beat the maiden, and said that if she did not obey it would go ill with
her.

So she did her mother’s bidding, and, standing one day by the window,
she looked away into the far distance as if she were very sad.

‘Why are you standing there looking so sad?’ asked the Hunter.

‘Alas, my love,’ she replied, ‘over there lies the granite mountain
where the costly precious stones grow. I have a great longing to go
there, so that when I think of it I am very sad. For who can fetch them?
Only the birds who fly; a man, never.’

‘If you have no other trouble,’ said the Hunter, ‘that one I can easily
remove from your heart.’

So he wrapped her round in his cloak and wished themselves to the
granite mountain, and in an instant there they were, sitting on it! The
precious stones sparkled so brightly on all sides that it was a pleasure
to see them, and they collected the most beautiful and costly together.
But now the old witch had through her caused the Hunter’s eyes to become
heavy.

He said to the maiden, ‘We will sit down for a little while and rest; I
am so tired that I can hardly stand on my feet.’

So they sat down, and he laid his head on her lap and fell asleep. As
soon as he was sound asleep she unfastened the cloak from his shoulders,
threw it on her own, left the granite and stones, and wished herself
home again.

But when the Hunter had finished his sleep and awoke, he found that his
love had betrayed him and left him alone on the wild mountain. ‘Oh,’
said he, ‘why is faithlessness so great in the world?’ and he sat down
in sorrow and trouble, not knowing what to do.

But the mountain belonged to fierce and huge giants, who lived on it
and traded there, and he had not sat long before he saw three of them
striding towards him. So he lay down as if he had fallen into a deep
sleep.

The giants came up, and the first pushed him with his foot, and said,
‘What sort of an earthworm is that?’

The second said, ‘Crush him dead.’

But the third said contemptuously, ‘It is not worth the trouble! Let him
live; he cannot remain here, and if he goes higher up the mountain the
clouds will take him and carry him off.’

Talking thus they went away. But the Hunter had listened to their talk,
and as soon as they had gone he rose and climbed to the summit. When he
had sat there a little while a cloud swept by, and, seizing him, carried
him away. It travelled for a time in the sky, and then it sank down and
hovered over a large vegetable garden surrounded by walls, so that he
came safely to the ground amidst cabbages and vegetables. The Hunter
then looked about him, saying, ‘If only I had something to eat! I am so
hungry, and it will go badly with me in the future, for I see here
not an apple or pear or fruit of any kind--nothing but vegetables
everywhere.’ At last he thought, ‘At a pinch I can eat a salad; it does
not taste particularly nice, but it will refresh me.’ So he looked about
for a good head and ate it, but no sooner had he swallowed a couple
of mouthfuls than he felt very strange, and found himself wonderfully
changed. Four legs began to grow on him, a thick head, and two long
ears, and he saw with horror that he had changed into a donkey. But as
he was still very hungry and this juicy salad tasted very good to his
present nature, he went on eating with a still greater appetite. At last
he got hold of another kind of cabbage, but scarcely had swallowed it
when he felt another change, and he once more regained his human form.

The Hunter now lay down and slept off his weariness. When he awoke
the next morning he broke off a head of the bad and a head of the good
cabbage, thinking, ‘This will help me to regain my own, and to punish
faithlessness.’ Then he put the heads in his pockets, climbed the wall,
and started off to seek the castle of his love. When he had wandered
about for a couple of days he found it quite easily. He then browned his
face quickly, so that his own mother would not have known him, and went
into the castle, where he begged for a lodging.

‘I am so tired,’ he said, ‘I can go no farther.’

The witch asked, ‘Countryman, who are you, and what is your business?’

He answered, ‘I am a messenger of the King, and have been sent to seek
the finest salad that grows under the sun. I have been so lucky as to
find it, and am bringing it with me; but the heat of the sun is so great
that the tender cabbage threatens to grow soft, and I do not know if I
shall be able to bring it any farther.’

When the old witch heard of the fine salad she wanted to eat it, and
said, ‘Dear countryman, just let me taste the wonderful salad.’

‘Why not?’ he answered; ‘I have brought two heads with me, and will give
you one.’

So saying, he opened his sack and gave her the bad one. The witch
suspected no evil, and her mouth watered to taste the new dish, so that
she went into the kitchen to prepare it herself. When it was ready she
could not wait till it was served at the table, but she immediately took
a couple of leaves and put them in her mouth. No sooner, however, had
she swallowed them than she lost human form, and ran into the courtyard
in the shape of a donkey.

Now the servant came into the kitchen, and when she saw the salad
standing there ready cooked she was about to carry it up, but on the
way, according to her old habit, she tasted it and ate a couple of
leaves. Immediately the charm worked, and she became a donkey, and ran
out to join the old witch, and the dish with the salad in it fell to
the ground. In the meantime, the messenger was sitting with the lovely
maiden, and as no one came with the salad, and she wanted very much to
taste it, she said, ‘I don’t know where the salad is.’

Then thought the Hunter, ‘The cabbage must have already begun to work.’
And he said, ‘I will go to the kitchen and fetch it myself.’

When he came there he saw the two donkeys running about in the
courtyard, but the salad was lying on the ground.

‘That’s all right,’ said he; ‘two have had their share!’ And lifting the
remaining leaves up, he laid them on the dish and brought them to the
maiden.

‘I am bringing you the delicious food my own self,’ he said, ‘so that
you need not wait any longer.’

Then she ate, and, as the others had done, she at once lost her human
form, and ran as a donkey into the yard.

When the Hunter had washed his face, so that the changed ones might know
him, he went into the yard, saying, ‘Now you shall receive a reward for
your faithlessness.’

He tied them all three with a rope, and drove them away till he came to
a mill. He knocked at the window, and the miller put his head out and
asked what he wanted.

‘I have three tiresome animals,’ he answered, ‘which I don’t want to
keep any longer. If you will take them, give them food and stabling, and
do as I tell you with them, I will pay you as much as you want.’

The miller replied, ‘Why not? What shall I do with them?’

Then the Hunter said that to the old donkey, which was the witch, three
beatings and one meal; to the younger one, which was the servant, one
beating and three meals; and to the youngest one, which was the maiden,
no beating and three meals; for he could not find it in his heart to let
the maiden be beaten.

Then he went back into the castle, and he found there all that he
wanted. After a couple of days the miller came and said that he must
tell him that the old donkey which was to have three beatings and only
one meal had died. ‘The two others,’ he added, ‘are certainly not dead,
and get their three meals every day, but they are so sad that they
cannot last much longer.’

Then the Hunter took pity on them, laid aside his anger, and told the
miller to drive them back again. And when they came he gave them some
of the good cabbage to eat, so that they became human again. Then the
beautiful maiden fell on her knees before him, saying, ‘Oh, my dearest,
forgive me the ill I have done you! My mother compelled me to do it;
it was against my will, for I love you dearly. Your wishing-cloak is
hanging in a cupboard, and as for the bird-heart I will make a drink and
give it back to you.’

But he changed his mind, and said, ‘Keep it; it makes no difference, for
I will take you to be my own dear true wife.’

And the wedding was celebrated, and they lived happy together till
death.




 THE LITTLE GREEN FROG(8)

(8) Cabinet des Fees.

In a part of the world whose name I forget lived once upon a time two
kings, called Peridor and Diamantino. They were cousins as well as
neighbours, and both were under the protection of the fairies; though it
is only fair to say that the fairies did not love them half so well as
their wives did.

Now it often happens that as princes can generally manage to get their
own way it is harder for them to be good than it is for common people.
So it was with Peridor and Diamantino; but of the two, the fairies
declared that Diamantino was much the worst; indeed, he behaved so badly
to his wife Aglantino, that the fairies would not allow him to live any
longer; and he died, leaving behind him a little daughter. As she was an
only child, of course this little girl was the heiress of the kingdom,
but, being still only a baby, her mother, the widow of Diamantino, was
proclaimed regent. The Queen-dowager was wise and good, and tried her
best to make her people happy. The only thing she had to vex her was
the absence of her daughter; for the fairies, for reasons of their own,
determined to bring up the little Princess Serpentine among themselves.

As to the other King, he was really fond of his wife, Queen Constance,
but he often grieved her by his thoughtless ways, and in order to punish
him for his carelessness, the fairies caused her to die quite suddenly.
When she was gone the King felt how much he had loved her, and his grief
was so great (though he never neglected his duties) that his subjects
called him Peridor the Sorrowful. It seems hardly possible that any
man should live like Peridor for fifteen years plunged in such depth of
grief, and most likely he would have died too if it had not been for the
fairies.

The one comfort the poor King had was his son, Prince Saphir, who was
only three years old at the time of his mother’s death, and great care
was given to his education. By the time he was fifteen Saphir had learnt
everything that a prince should know, and he was, besides, charming and
agreeable.

It was about this time that the fairies suddenly took fright lest his
love for his father should interfere with the plans they had made for
the young prince. So, to prevent this, they placed in a pretty little
room of which Saphir was very fond a little mirror in a black frame,
such as were often brought from Venice. The Prince did not notice
for some days that there was anything new in the room, but at last
he perceived it, and went up to look at it more closely. What was his
surprise to see reflected in the mirror, not his own face, but that of
a young girl as lovely as the morning! And, better still, every movement
of the girl, just growing out of childhood, was also reflected in the
wonderful glass.

As might have been expected, the young Prince lost his heart completely
to the beautiful image, and it was impossible to get him out of the
room, so busy was he in watching the lovely unknown. Certainly it was
very delightful to be able to see her whom he loved at any moment he
chose, but his spirits sometimes sank when he wondered what was to be
the end of this adventure.

The magic mirror had been for about a year in the Prince’s possession,
when one day a new subject of disquiet seized upon him. As usual, he was
engaged in looking at the girl, when suddenly he thought he saw a second
mirror reflected in the first, exactly like his own, and with the same
power. And in this he was perfectly right. The young girl had only
possessed it for a short time, and neglected all her duties for the sake
of the mirror. Now it was not difficult for Saphir to guess the reason
of the change in her, nor why the new mirror was consulted so often;
but try as he would he could never see the face of the person who was
reflected in it, for the young girl’s figure always came between. All he
knew was that the face was that of a man, and this was quite enough to
make him madly jealous. This was the doing of the fairies, and we must
suppose that they had their reasons for acting as they did.

When these things happened Saphir was about eighteen years old, and
fifteen years had passed away since the death of his mother. King
Peridor had grown more and more unhappy as time went on, and at last he
fell so ill that it seemed as if his days were numbered. He was so much
beloved by his subjects that this sad news was heard with despair by the
nation, and more than all by the Prince.

During his whole illness the King never spoke of anything but the Queen,
his sorrow at having grieved her, and his hope of one day seeing her
again. All the doctors and all the water-cures in the kingdom had been
tried, and nothing would do him any good. At last he persuaded them to
let him lie quietly in his room, where no one came to trouble him.

Perhaps the worst pain he had to bear was a sort of weight on his chest,
which made it very hard for him to breathe. So he commanded his servants
to leave the windows open in order that he might get more air. One day,
when he had been left alone for a few minutes, a bird with brilliant
plumage came and fluttered round the window, and finally rested on the
sill. His feathers were sky-blue and gold, his feet and his beak of such
glittering rubies that no one could bear to look at them, his eyes made
the brightest diamonds look dull, and on his head he wore a crown. I
cannot tell you what the crown was made of, but I am quite certain that
it was still more splendid than all the rest. As to his voice I can
say nothing about that, for the bird never sang at all. In fact, he did
nothing but gaze steadily at the King, and as he gazed, the King felt
his strength come back to him. In a little while the bird flew into the
room, still with his eyes fixed on the King, and at every glance the
strength of the sick man became greater, till he was once more as well
as he used to be before the Queen died. Filled with joy at his cure,
he tried to seize the bird to whom he owed it all, but, swifter than a
swallow, it managed to avoid him. In vain he described the bird to
his attendants, who rushed at his first call; in vain they sought the
wonderful creature both on horse and foot, and summoned the fowlers to
their aid: the bird could nowhere be found. The love the people bore
King Peridor was so strong, and the reward he promised was so large,
that in the twinkling of an eye every man, woman, and child had fled
into the fields, and the towns were quite empty.

All this bustle, however, ended in nothing but confusion, and, what
was worse, the King soon fell back into the same condition as he was in
before. Prince Saphir, who loved his father very dearly, was so unhappy
at this that he persuaded himself that he might succeed where the others
had failed, and at once prepared himself for a more distant search.
In spite of the opposition he met with, he rode away, followed by his
household, trusting to chance to help him. He had formed no plan, and
there was no reason that he should choose one path more than another.
His only idea was to make straight for those spots which were the
favourite haunts of birds. But in vain he examined all the hedges and
all the thickets; in vain he questioned everyone he met along the road.
The more he sought the less he found.

At last he came to one of the largest forests in all the world, composed
entirely of cedars. But in spite of the deep shadows cast by the
wide-spreading branches of the trees, the grass underneath was soft and
green, and covered with the rarest flowers. It seemed to Saphir that
this was exactly the place where the birds would choose to live, and
he determined not to quit the wood until he had examined it from end to
end. And he did more. He ordered some nets to be prepared and painted of
the same colours as the bird’s plumage, thinking that we are all easily
caught by what is like ourselves. In this he had to help him not only
the fowlers by profession, but also his attendants, who excelled in this
art. For a man is not a courtier unless he can do everything.

After searching as usual for nearly a whole day Prince Saphir began
to feel overcome with thirst. He was too tired to go any farther,
when happily he discovered a little way off a bubbling fountain of the
clearest water. Being an experienced traveller, he drew from his pocket
a little cup (without which no one should ever take a journey), and was
just about to dip it in the water, when a lovely little green frog,
much prettier than frogs generally are, jumped into the cup. Far from
admiring its beauty, Saphir shook it impatiently off; but it was no
good, for quick as lightning the frog jumped back again. Saphir, who was
raging with thirst, was just about to shake it off anew, when the little
creature fixed upon him the most beautiful eyes in the world, and said,
‘I am a friend of the bird you are seeking, and when you have quenched
your thirst listen to me.’

So the Prince drank his fill, and then, by the command of the Little
Green Frog, he lay down on the grass to rest himself.

‘Now,’ she began, ‘be sure you do exactly in every respect what I tell
you. First you must call together your attendants, and order them to
remain in a little hamlet close by until you want them. Then go, quite
alone, down a road that you will find on your right hand, looking
southwards. This road is planted all the way with cedars of Lebanon; and
after going down it a long way you will come at last to a magnificent
castle. And now,’ she went on, ‘attend carefully to what I am going to
say. Take this tiny grain of sand, and put it into the ground as close
as you can to the gate of the castle. It has the virtue both of opening
the gate and also of sending to sleep all the inhabitants. Then go at
once to the stable, and pay no heed to anything except what I tell you.
Choose the handsomest of all the horses, leap quickly on its back, and
come to me as fast as you can. Farewell, Prince; I wish you good
luck,’ and with these words the Little Frog plunged into the water and
disappeared.

The Prince, who felt more hopeful than he had done since he left home,
did precisely as he had been ordered. He left his attendants in the
hamlet, found the road the frog had described to him, and followed it
all alone, and at last he arrived at the gate of the castle, which was
even more splendid than he had expected, for it was built of crystal,
and all its ornaments were of massive gold. However, he had no thoughts
to spare for its beauty, and quickly buried his grain of sand in the
earth. In one instant the gates flew open, and all the dwellers inside
fell sound asleep. Saphir flew straight to the stable, and already had
his hand on the finest horse it contained, when his eye was caught by
a suit of magnificent harness hanging up close by. It occurred to
him directly that the harness belonged to the horse, and without ever
thinking of harm (for indeed he who steals a horse can hardly be blamed
for taking his saddle), he hastily placed it on the animal’s back.
Suddenly the people in the castle became broad awake, and rushed to the
stable. They flung themselves on the Prince, seized him, and dragged him
before their lord; but, luckily for the Prince, who could only find very
lame excuses for his conduct, the lord of the castle took a fancy to his
face, and let him depart without further questions.

Very sad, and very much ashamed of himself poor Saphir crept back to the
fountain, where the Frog was awaiting him with a good scolding.

‘Whom do you take me for?’ she exclaimed angrily. ‘Do you really believe
that it was just for the pleasure of talking that I gave you the advice
you have neglected so abominably?’

But the Prince was so deeply grieved, and apologised so very humbly,
that after some time the heart of the good little Frog was softened, and
she gave him another tiny little grain, but instead of being sand it was
now a grain of gold. She directed him to do just as he had done before,
with only this difference, that instead of going to the stable which
had been the ruin of his hopes, he was to enter right into the castle
itself, and to glide as fast as he could down the passages till he came
to a room filled with perfume, where he would find a beautiful maiden
asleep on a bed. He was to wake the maiden instantly and carry her off,
and to be sure not to pay any heed to whatever resistance she might
make.

The Prince obeyed the Frog’s orders one by one, and all went well for
this second time also. The gate opened, the inhabitants fell sound
asleep, and he walked down the passage till he found the girl on her
bed, exactly as he had been told he would. He woke her, and begged her
firmly, but politely, to follow him quickly. After a little persuasion
the maiden consented, but only on condition that she was allowed first
to put on her dress. This sounded so reasonable and natural that it did
not enter the Prince’s head to refuse her request.

But the maiden’s hand had hardly touched the dress when the palace
suddenly awoke from its sleep, and the Prince was seized and bound. He
was so vexed with his own folly, and so taken aback at the disaster,
that he did not attempt to explain his conduct, and things would have
gone badly with him if his friends the fairies had not softened the
hearts of his captors, so that they once more allowed him to leave
quietly. However, what troubled him most was the idea of having to meet
the Frog who had been his benefactress. How was he ever to appear before
her with this tale? Still, after a long struggle with himself, he made
up his mind that there was nothing else to be done, and that he deserved
whatever she might say to him. And she said a great deal, for she had
worked herself into a terrible passion; but the Prince humbly implored
her pardon, and ventured to point out that it would have been very hard
to refuse the young lady’s reasonable request. ‘You must learn to do as
you are told,’ was all the Frog would reply.

But poor Saphir was so unhappy, and begged so hard for forgiveness, that
at last the Frog’s anger gave way, and she held up to him a tiny diamond
stone. ‘Go back,’ she said, ‘to the castle, and bury this little diamond
close to the door. But be careful not to return to the stable or to the
bedroom; they have proved too fatal to you. Walk straight to the garden
and enter through a portico, into a small green wood, in the midst of
which is a tree with a trunk of gold and leaves of emeralds. Perched on
this tree you will see the beautiful bird you have been seeking so long.
You must cut the branch on which it is sitting, and bring it back to
me without delay. But I warn you solemnly that if you disobey my
directions, as you have done twice before, you have nothing more to
expect either of me or anyone else.’

With these words she jumped into the water, and the Prince, who had
taken her threats much to heart, took his departure, firmly resolved not
to deserve them. He found it all just as he had been told: the portico,
the wood, the magnificent tree, and the beautiful bird, which was
sleeping soundly on one of the branches. He speedily lopped off the
branch, and though he noticed a splendid golden cage hanging close by,
which would have been very useful for the bird to travel in, he left it
alone, and came back to the fountain, holding his breath and walking on
tip-toe all the way, for fear lest he should awake his prize. But what
was his surprise, when instead of finding the fountain in the spot where
he had left it, he saw in its place a little rustic palace built in
the best taste, and standing in the doorway a charming maiden, at whose
sight his mind seemed to give way.

‘What! Madam!’ he cried, hardly knowing what he said. ‘What! Is it you?’

The maiden blushed and answered: ‘Ah, my lord, it is long since I first
beheld your face, but I did not think you had ever seen mine.’

‘Oh, madam,’ replied he, ‘you can never guess the days and the hours I
have passed lost in admiration of you.’ And after these words they each
related all the strange things that had happened, and the more they
talked the more they felt convinced of the truth of the images they
had seen in their mirrors. After some time spent in the most tender
conversation, the Prince could not restrain himself from asking the
lovely unknown by what lucky chance she was wandering in the forest;
where the fountain had gone; and if she knew anything of the Frog to
whom he owed all his happiness, and to whom he must give up the bird,
which, somehow or other, was still sound asleep.

‘Ah, my lord,’ she replied, with rather an awkward air, ‘as to the Frog,
she stands before you. Let me tell you my story; it is not a long one. I
know neither my country nor my parents, and the only thing I can say for
certain is that I am called Serpentine. The fairies, who have taken
care of me ever since I was born, wished me to be in ignorance as to my
family, but they have looked after my education, and have bestowed on me
endless kindness. I have always lived in seclusion, and for the last two
years I have wished for nothing better. I had a mirror’--here shyness
and embarrassment choked her words--but regaining her self-control,
she added, ‘You know that fairies insist on being obeyed without
questioning. It was they who changed the little house you saw before you
into the fountain for which you are now asking, and, having turned me
into a frog, they ordered me to say to the first person who came to the
fountain exactly what I repeated to you. But, my lord, when you stood
before me, it was agony to my heart, filled as it was with thoughts of
you, to appear to your eyes under so monstrous a form. However, there
was no help for it, and, painful as it was, I had to submit. I desired
your success with all my soul, not only for your own sake, but also for
my own, because I could not get back my proper shape till you had become
master of the beautiful bird, though I am quite ignorant as to your
reason for seeking it.’

On this Saphir explained about the state of his father’s health, and all
that has been told before.

On hearing this story Serpentine grew very sad, and her lovely eyes
filled with tears.

‘Ah, my lord,’ she said, ‘you know nothing of me but what you have seen
in the mirror; and I, who cannot even name my parents, learn that you
are a king’s son.’

In vain Saphir declared that love made them equal; Serpentine would only
reply: ‘I love you too much to allow you to marry beneath your rank. I
shall be very unhappy, of course, but I shall never alter my mind. If
I do not find from the fairies that my birth is worthy of you, then,
whatever be my feelings, I will never accept your hand.’

The conversation was at this point, and bid fair to last some time
longer, when one of the fairies appeared in her ivory car, accompanied
by a beautiful woman past her early youth. At this moment the bird
suddenly awakened, and, flying on to Saphir’s shoulder (which it never
afterwards left), began fondling him as well as a bird can do. The fairy
told Serpentine that she was quite satisfied with her conduct, and made
herself very agreeable to Saphir, whom she presented to the lady she had
brought with her, explaining that the lady was no other than his Aunt
Aglantine, widow of Diamantino.

Then they all fell into each other’s arms, till the fairy mounted her
chariot, placed Aglantine by her side, and Saphir and Serpentine on the
front seat. She also sent a message to the Prince’s attendants that
they might travel slowly back to the Court of King Peridor, and that
the beautiful bird had really been found. This matter being comfortably
arranged, she started off her chariot. But in spite of the swiftness
with which they flew through the air, the time passed even quicker for
Saphir and Serpentine, who had so much to think about.

They were still quite confused with the pleasure of seeing each other,
when the chariot arrived at King Peridor’s palace. He had had himself
carried to a room on the roof, where his nurses thought that he would
die at any moment. Directly the chariot drew within sight of the castle
the beautiful bird took flight, and, making straight for the dying King,
at once cured him of his sickness. Then she resumed her natural shape,
and he found that the bird was no other than the Queen Constance, whom
he had long believed to be dead. Peridor was rejoiced to embrace his
wife and his son once more, and with the help of the fairies began to
make preparations for the marriage of Saphir and Serpentine, who turned
out to be the daughter of Aglantine and Diamantino, and as much a
princess as he was a prince. The people of the kingdom were delighted,
and everybody lived happy and contented to the end of their lives.




 THE SEVEN-HEADED SERPENT(9)

(9) ‘Die Siebenkopfige Schlange,’ from Schmidt’s Griechische Mahrchen.

Once upon a time there was a king who determined to take a long voyage.
He assembled his fleet and all the seamen, and set out. They went
straight on night and day, until they came to an island which was
covered with large trees, and under every tree lay a lion. As soon as
the King had landed his men, the lions all rose up together and tried
to devour them. After a long battle they managed to overcome the
wild beasts, but the greater number of the men were killed. Those who
remained alive now went on through the forest and found on the other
side of it a beautiful garden, in which all the plants of the world
flourished together.

There were also in the garden three springs: the first flowed with
silver, the second with gold, and the third with pearls. The men
unbuckled their knapsacks and filled them with those precious things. In
the middle of the garden they found a large lake, and when they reached
the edge of it the Lake began to speak, and said to them, ‘What men are
you, and what brings you here? Are you come to visit our king?’ But they
were too much frightened to answer.

Then the Lake said, ‘You do well to be afraid, for it is at your peril
that you are come hither. Our king, who has seven heads, is now asleep,
but in a few minutes he will wake up and come to me to take his bath!
Woe to anyone who meets him in the garden, for it is impossible to
escape from him. This is what you must do if you wish to save your
lives. Take off your clothes and spread them on the path which leads
from here to the castle. The King will then glide over something soft,
which he likes very much, and he will be so pleased with that that he
will not devour you. He will give you some punishment, but then he will
let you go.’

The men did as the Lake advised them, and waited for a time. At noon the
earth began to quake, and opened in many places, and out of the openings
appeared lions, tigers, and other wild beasts, which surrounded the
castle, and thousands and thousands of beasts came out of the castle
following their king, the Seven-headed Serpent. The Serpent glided over
the clothes which were spread for him, came to the Lake, and asked it
who had strewed those soft things on the path? The Lake answered that
it had been done by people who had come to do him homage. The King
commanded that the men should be brought before him. They came humbly on
their knees, and in a few words told him their story. Then he spoke to
them with a mighty and terrible voice, and said, ‘Because you have dared
to come here, I lay upon you the punishment. Every year you must bring
me from among your people twelve youths and twelve maidens, that I may
devour them. If you do not do this, I will destroy your whole nation.’

Then he desired one of his beasts to show the men the way out of the
garden, and dismissed them. They then left the island and went back to
their own country, where they related what had happened to them. Soon
the time came round when the king of the beasts would expect the
youths and maidens to be brought to him. The King therefore issued
a proclamation inviting twelve youths and twelve maidens to offer
themselves up to save their country; and immediately many young people,
far more than enough, hastened to do so. A new ship was built, and set
with black sails, and in it the youths and maidens who were appointed
for the king of the beasts embarked and set out for his country. When
they arrived there they went at once to the Lake, and this time the
lions did not stir, nor did the springs flow, and neither did the Lake
speak. So they waited then, and it was not long before the earth quaked
even more terribly than the first time. The Seven-headed Serpent came
without his train of beasts, saw his prey waiting for him, and devoured
it at one mouthful. Then the ship’s crew returned home, and the same
thing happened yearly until many years had passed.

Now the King of this unhappy country was growing old, and so was the
Queen, and they had no children. One day the Queen was sitting at the
window weeping bitterly because she was childless, and knew that the
crown would therefore pass to strangers after the King’s death. Suddenly
a little old woman appeared before her, holding an apple in her hand,
and said, ‘Why do you weep, my Queen, and what makes you so unhappy?’

‘Alas, good mother,’ answered the Queen, ‘I am unhappy because I have no
children.’

‘Is that what vexes you?’ said the old woman. ‘Listen to me. I am a nun
from the Spinning Convent,(10) and my mother when she died left me this
apple. Whoever eats this apple shall have a child.’

(10) Convent Gnothi.


The Queen gave money to the old woman, and bought the apple from her.
Then she peeled it, ate it, and threw the rind out of the window, and it
so happened that a mare that was running loose in the court below ate up
the rind. After a time the Queen had a little boy, and the mare also had
a male foal. The boy and the foal grew up together and loved each other
like brothers. In course of time the King died, and so did the Queen,
and their son, who was now nineteen years old, was left alone. One day,
when he and his horse were talking together, the Horse said to him,
‘Listen to me, for I love you and wish for your good and that of the
country. If you go on every year sending twelve youths and twelve
maidens to the King of the Beasts, your country will very soon be
ruined. Mount upon my back: I will take you to a woman who can direct
you how to kill the Seven-headed Serpent.’

Then the youth mounted his horse, who carried him far away to a mountain
which was hollow, for in its side was a great underground cavern. In the
cavern sat an old woman spinning. This was the cloister of the nuns, and
the old woman was the Abbess. They all spent their time in spinning, and
that is why the convent has this name. All round the walls of the cavern
there were beds cut out of the solid rock, upon which the nuns slept,
and in the middle a light was burning. It was the duty of the nuns to
watch the light in turns, that it might never go out, and if anyone of
them let it go out the others put her to death.

As soon as the King’s son saw the old Abbess spinning he threw himself
at her feet and entreated her to tell him how he could kill the
Seven-headed Serpent.

She made the youth rise, embraced him, and said, ‘Know, my son, that it
is I who sent the nun to your mother and caused you to be born, and with
you the horse, with whose help you will be able to free the world from
the monster. I will tell you what you have to do. Load your horse with
cotton, and go by a secret passage which I will show you, which is
hidden from the wild beasts, to the Serpent’s palace. You will find the
King asleep upon his bed, which is all hung round with bells, and
over his bed you will see a sword hanging. With this sword only it is
possible to kill the Serpent, because even if its blade breaks a new one
will grow again for every head the monster has. Thus you will be able
to cut off all his seven heads. And this you must also do in order to
deceive the King: you must slip into his bed-chamber very softly, and
stop up all the bells which are round his bed with cotton. Then take
down the sword gently, and quickly give the monster a blow on his tail
with it. This will make him waken up, and if he catches sight of you he
will seize you. But you must quickly cut off his first head, and then
wait till the next one comes up. Then strike it off also, and so go on
till you have cut off all his seven heads.’

The old Abbess then gave the Prince her blessing, and he set out upon
his enterprise, arrived at the Serpent’s castle by following the secret
passage which she had shown him, and by carefully attending to all her
directions he happily succeeded in killing the monster. As soon as
the wild beasts heard of their king’s death, they all hastened to the
castle, but the youth had long since mounted his horse and was already
far out of their reach. They pursued him as fast as they could, but they
found it impossible to overtake him, and he reached home in safety. Thus
he freed his country from this terrible oppression.



THE GRATEFUL BEASTS(11)

(11) From the Hungarian. Kletke.

There was once upon a time a man and woman who had three fine-looking
sons, but they were so poor that they had hardly enough food for
themselves, let alone their children. So the sons determined to set out
into the world and to try their luck. Before starting their mother gave
them each a loaf of bread and her blessing, and having taken a tender
farewell of her and their father the three set forth on their travels.

The youngest of the three brothers, whose name was Ferko, was a
beautiful youth, with a splendid figure, blue eyes, fair hair, and a
complexion like milk and roses. His two brothers were as jealous of him
as they could be, for they thought that with his good looks he would be
sure to be more fortunate than they would ever be.

One day all the three were sitting resting under a tree, for the sun
was hot and they were tired of walking. Ferko fell fast asleep, but the
other two remained awake, and the eldest said to the second brother,
‘What do you say to doing our brother Ferko some harm? He is so
beautiful that everyone takes a fancy to him, which is more than they do
to us. If we could only get him out of the way we might succeed better.’

‘I quite agree with you,’ answered the second brother, ‘and my advice
is to eat up his loaf of bread, and then to refuse to give him a bit
of ours until he has promised to let us put out his eyes or break his
legs.’

His eldest brother was delighted with this proposal, and the two wicked
wretches seized Ferko’s loaf and ate it all up, while the poor boy was
still asleep.

When he did awake he felt very hungry and turned to eat his bread, but
his brothers cried out, ‘You ate your loaf in your sleep, you glutton,
and you may starve as long as you like, but you won’t get a scrap of
ours.’

Ferko was at a loss to understand how he could have eaten in his sleep,
but he said nothing, and fasted all that day and the next night. But
on the following morning he was so hungry that he burst into tears, and
implored his brothers to give him a little bit of their bread. Then the
cruel creatures laughed, and repeated what they had said the day before;
but when Ferko continued to beg and beseech them, the eldest said at
last, ‘If you will let us put out one of your eyes and break one of your
legs, then we will give you a bit of our bread.’

At these words poor Ferko wept more bitterly than before, and bore the
torments of hunger till the sun was high in the heavens; then he could
stand it no longer, and he consented to allow his left eye to be put out
and his left leg to be broken. When this was done he stretched out his
hand eagerly for the piece of bread, but his brothers gave him such a
tiny scrap that the starving youth finished it in a moment and besought
them for a second bit.

But the more Ferko wept and told his brothers that he was dying of
hunger, the more they laughed and scolded him for his greed. So he
endured the pangs of starvation all that day, but when night came his
endurance gave way, and he let his right eye be put out and his right
leg broken for a second piece of bread.

After his brothers had thus successfully maimed and disfigured him for
life, they left him groaning on the ground and continued their journey
without him.

Poor Ferko ate up the scrap of bread they had left him and wept
bitterly, but no one heard him or came to his help. Night came on, and
the poor blind youth had no eyes to close, and could only crawl along
the ground, not knowing in the least where he was going. But when the
sun was once more high in the heavens, Ferko felt the blazing heat
scorch him, and sought for some cool shady place to rest his aching
limbs. He climbed to the top of a hill and lay down in the grass, and as
he thought under the shadow of a big tree. But it was no tree he leant
against, but a gallows on which two ravens were seated. The one was
saying to the other as the weary youth lay down, ‘Is there anything the
least wonderful or remarkable about this neighbourhood?’

‘I should just think there was,’ replied the other; ‘many things that
don’t exist anywhere else in the world. There is a lake down there below
us, and anyone who bathes in it, though he were at death’s door, becomes
sound and well on the spot, and those who wash their eyes with the dew
on this hill become as sharp-sighted as the eagle, even if they have
been blind from their youth.’

‘Well,’ answered the first raven, ‘my eyes are in no want of this
healing bath, for, Heaven be praised, they are as good as ever they
were; but my wing has been very feeble and weak ever since it was shot
by an arrow many years ago, so let us fly at once to the lake that I may
be restored to health and strength again.’ And so they flew away.

Their words rejoiced Ferko’s heart, and he waited impatiently till
evening should come and he could rub the precious dew on his sightless
eyes.

At last it began to grow dusk, and the sun sank behind the mountains;
gradually it became cooler on the hill, and the grass grew wet with dew.
Then Ferko buried his face in the ground till his eyes were damp with
dewdrops, and in a moment he saw clearer than he had ever done in his
life before. The moon was shining brightly, and lighted him to the lake
where he could bathe his poor broken legs.

Then Ferko crawled to the edge of the lake and dipped his limbs in the
water. No sooner had he done so than his legs felt as sound and strong
as they had been before, and Ferko thanked the kind fate that had led
him to the hill where he had overheard the ravens’ conversation. He
filled a bottle with the healing water, and then continued his journey
in the best of spirits.

He had not gone far before he met a wolf, who was limping disconsolately
along on three legs, and who on perceiving Ferko began to howl dismally.

‘My good friend,’ said the youth, ‘be of good cheer, for I can soon heal
your leg,’ and with these words he poured some of the precious water
over the wolf’s paw, and in a minute the animal was springing about
sound and well on all fours. The grateful creature thanked his
benefactor warmly, and promised Ferko to do him a good turn if he should
ever need it.

Ferko continued his way till he came to a ploughed field. Here he
noticed a little mouse creeping wearily along on its hind paws, for its
front paws had both been broken in a trap.

Ferko felt so sorry for the little beast that he spoke to it in the most
friendly manner, and washed its small paws with the healing water. In
a moment the mouse was sound and whole, and after thanking the kind
physician it scampered away over the ploughed furrows.

Ferko again proceeded on his journey, but he hadn’t gone far before a
queen bee flew against him, trailing one wing behind her, which had been
cruelly torn in two by a big bird. Ferko was no less willing to help
her than he had been to help the wolf and the mouse, so he poured some
healing drops over the wounded wing. On the spot the queen bee was
cured, and turning to Ferko she said, ‘I am most grateful for your
kindness, and shall reward you some day.’ And with these words she flew
away humming, gaily.

Then Ferko wandered on for many a long day, and at length reached
a strange kingdom. Here, he thought to himself, he might as well
go straight to the palace and offer his services to the King of the
country, for he had heard that the King’s daughter was as beautiful as
the day.

So he went to the royal palace, and as he entered the door the first
people he saw were his two brothers who had so shamefully ill-treated
him. They had managed to obtain places in the King’s service, and when
they recognised Ferko with his eyes and legs sound and well they were
frightened to death, for they feared he would tell the King of their
conduct, and that they would be hung.

No sooner had Ferko entered the palace than all eyes were turned on the
handsome youth, and the King’s daughter herself was lost in admiration,
for she had never seen anyone so handsome in her life before. His
brothers noticed this, and envy and jealousy were added to their fear,
so much so that they determined once more to destroy him. They went to
the King and told him that Ferko was a wicked magician, who had come to
the palace with the intention of carrying off the Princess.

Then the King had Ferko brought before him, and said, ‘You are accused
of being a magician who wishes to rob me of my daughter, and I condemn
you to death; but if you can fulfil three tasks which I shall set you to
do your life shall be spared, on condition you leave the country; but if
you cannot perform what I demand you shall be hung on the nearest tree.’

And turning to the two wicked brothers he said, ‘Suggest something for
him to do; no matter how difficult, he must succeed in it or die.’

They did not think long, but replied, ‘Let him build your Majesty in one
day a more beautiful palace than this, and if he fails in the attempt
let him be hung.’

The King was pleased with this proposal, and commanded Ferko to set to
work on the following day. The two brothers were delighted, for they
thought they had now got rid of Ferko for ever. The poor youth himself
was heart-broken, and cursed the hour he had crossed the boundary of
the King’s domain. As he was wandering disconsolately about the meadows
round the palace, wondering how he could escape being put to death, a
little bee flew past, and settling on his shoulder whispered in his ear,
‘What is troubling you, my kind benefactor? Can I be of any help to you?
I am the bee whose wing you healed, and would like to show my gratitude
in some way.’

Ferko recognised the queen bee, and said, ‘Alas! how could you help me?
for I have been set to do a task which no one in the whole world could
do, let him be ever such a genius! To-morrow I must build a palace more
beautiful than the King’s, and it must be finished before evening.’

‘Is that all?’ answered the bee, ‘then you may comfort yourself; for
before the sun goes down to-morrow night a palace shall be built unlike
any that King has dwelt in before. Just stay here till I come again and
tell you that it is finished.’ Having said this she flew merrily away,
and Ferko, reassured by her words, lay down on the grass and slept
peacefully till the next morning.

Early on the following day the whole town was on its feet, and everyone
wondered how and where the stranger would build the wonderful palace.
The Princess alone was silent and sorrowful, and had cried all night
till her pillow was wet, so much did she take the fate of the beautiful
youth to heart.

Ferko spent the whole day in the meadows waiting the return of the bee.
And when evening was come the queen bee flew by, and perching on his
shoulder she said, ‘The wonderful palace is ready. Be of good cheer,
and lead the King to the hill just outside the city walls.’ And humming
gaily she flew away again.

Ferko went at once to the King and told him the palace was finished. The
whole court went out to see the wonder, and their astonishment was great
at the sight which met their eyes. A splendid palace reared itself on
the hill just outside the walls of the city, made of the most exquisite
flowers that ever grew in mortal garden. The roof was all of crimson
roses, the windows of lilies, the walls of white carnations, the floors
of glowing auriculas and violets, the doors of gorgeous tulips and
narcissi with sunflowers for knockers, and all round hyacinths and other
sweet-smelling flowers bloomed in masses, so that the air was perfumed
far and near and enchanted all who were present.

This splendid palace had been built by the grateful queen bee, who had
summoned all the other bees in the kingdom to help her.

The King’s amazement knew no bounds, and the Princess’s eyes beamed with
delight as she turned them from the wonderful building on the delighted
Ferko. But the two brothers had grown quite green with envy, and only
declared the more that Ferko was nothing but a wicked magician.

The King, although he had been surprised and astonished at the way his
commands had been carried out, was very vexed that the stranger should
escape with his life, and turning to the two brothers he said, ‘He has
certainly accomplished the first task, with the aid no doubt of his
diabolical magic; but what shall we give him to do now? Let us make it
as difficult as possible, and if he fails he shall die.’

Then the eldest brother replied, ‘The corn has all been cut, but it has
not yet been put into barns; let the knave collect all the grain in the
kingdom into one big heap before to-morrow night, and if as much as a
stalk of corn is left let him be put to death.

The Princess grew white with terror when she heard these words; but
Ferko felt much more cheerful than he had done the first time, and
wandered out into the meadows again, wondering how he was to get out of
the difficulty. But he could think of no way of escape. The sun sank to
rest and night came on, when a little mouse started out of the grass
at Ferko’s feet, and said to him, ‘I’m delighted to see you, my kind
benefactor; but why are you looking so sad? Can I be of any help to you,
and thus repay your great kindness to me?’

Then Ferko recognised the mouse whose front paws he had healed, and
replied, ‘Alas I how can you help me in a matter that is beyond any
human power! Before to-morrow night all the grain in the kingdom has
to be gathered into one big heap, and if as much as a stalk of corn is
wanting I must pay for it with my life.’

‘Is that all?’ answered the mouse; ‘that needn’t distress you much. Just
trust in me, and before the sun sets again you shall hear that your task
is done.’ And with these words the little creature scampered away into
the fields.

Ferko, who never doubted that the mouse would be as good as its word,
lay down comforted on the soft grass and slept soundly till next
morning. The day passed slowly, and with the evening came the little
mouse and said, ‘Now there is not a single stalk of corn left in any
field; they are all collected in one big heap on the hill out there.’

Then Ferko went joyfully to the King and told him that all he demanded
had been done. And the whole Court went out to see the wonder, and were
no less astonished than they had been the first time. For in a heap
higher than the King’s palace lay all the grain of the country, and not
a single stalk of corn had been left behind in any of the fields. And
how had all this been done? The little mouse had summoned every other
mouse in the land to its help, and together they had collected all the
grain in the kingdom.

The King could not hide his amazement, but at the same time his wrath
increased, and he was more ready than ever to believe the two brothers,
who kept on repeating that Ferko was nothing more nor less than a wicked
magician. Only the beautiful Princess rejoiced over Ferko’s success, and
looked on him with friendly glances, which the youth returned.

The more the cruel King gazed on the wonder before him, the more
angry he became, for he could not, in the face of his promise, put the
stranger to death. He turned once more to the two brothers and said,
‘His diabolical magic has helped him again, but now what third task
shall we set him to do? No matter how impossible it is, he must do it or
die.’

The eldest answered quickly, ‘Let him drive all the wolves of the
kingdom on to this hill before to-morrow night. If he does this he may
go free; if not he shall be hung as you have said.’

At these words the Princess burst into tears, and when the King saw this
he ordered her to be shut up in a high tower and carefully guarded till
the dangerous magician should either have left the kingdom or been hung
on the nearest tree.

Ferko wandered out into the fields again, and sat down on the stump of
a tree wondering what he should do next. Suddenly a big wolf ran up to
him, and standing still said, ‘I’m very glad to see you again, my kind
benefactor. What are you thinking about all alone by yourself? If I can
help you in any way only say the word, for I would like to give you a
proof of my gratitude.’

Ferko at once recognised the wolf whose broken leg he had healed, and
told him what he had to do the following day if he wished to escape with
his life. ‘But how in the world,’ he added, ‘am I to collect all the
wolves of the kingdom on to that hill over there?’

‘If that’s all you want done,’ answered the wolf, ‘you needn’t worry
yourself. I’ll undertake the task, and you’ll hear from me again before
sunset to-morrow. Keep your spirits up.’ And with these words he trotted
quickly away.

Then the youth rejoiced greatly, for now he felt that his life was safe;
but he grew very sad when he thought of the beautiful Princess, and that
he would never see her again if he left the country. He lay down once
more on the grass and soon fell fast asleep.

All the next day he spent wandering about the fields, and toward
evening the wolf came running to him in a great hurry and said, ‘I have
collected together all the wolves in the kingdom, and they are waiting
for you in the wood. Go quickly to the King, and tell him to go to the
hill that he may see the wonder you have done with his own eyes. Then
return at once to me and get on my back, and I will help you to drive
all the wolves together.’

Then Ferko went straight to the palace and told the King that he was
ready to perform the third task if he would come to the hill and see it
done. Ferko himself returned to the fields, and mounting on the wolf’s
back he rode to the wood close by.

Quick as lightning the wolf flew round the wood, and in a minute many
hundred wolves rose up before him, increasing in number every moment,
till they could be counted by thousands. He drove them all before him on
to the hill, where the King and his whole Court and Ferko’s two brothers
were standing. Only the lovely Princess was not present, for she was
shut up in her tower weeping bitterly.

The wicked brothers stamped and foamed with rage when they saw the
failure of their wicked designs. But the King was overcome by a sudden
terror when he saw the enormous pack of wolves approaching nearer and
nearer, and calling out to Ferko he said, ‘Enough, enough, we don’t want
any more.’

But the wolf on whose back Ferko sat, said to its rider, ‘Go on! go
on!’ and at the same moment many more wolves ran up the hill, howling
horribly and showing their white teeth.

The King in his terror called out, ‘Stop a moment; I will give you half
my kingdom if you will drive all the wolves away.’ But Ferko pretended
not to hear, and drove some more thousands before him, so that everyone
quaked with horror and fear.

Then the King raised his voice again and called out, ‘Stop! you shall
have my whole kingdom, if you will only drive these wolves back to the
places they came from.’

But the wolf kept on encouraging Ferko, and said, ‘Go on! go on!’ So he
led the wolves on, till at last they fell on the King and on the wicked
brothers, and ate them and the whole Court up in a moment.

Then Ferko went straight to the palace and set the Princess free, and on
the same day he married her and was crowned King of the country. And the
wolves all went peacefully back to their own homes, and Ferko and his
bride lived for many years in peace and happiness together, and were
much beloved by great and small in the land.




 THE GIANTS AND THE HERD-BOY(12)

(12) From the Bukowniaer. Von Wliolocki.

There was once upon a time a poor boy who had neither father nor mother.
In order to gain a living he looked after the sheep of a great Lord. Day
and night he spent out in the open fields, and only when it was very
wet and stormy did he take refuge in a little hut on the edge of a
big forest. Now one night, when he was sitting on the grass beside his
flocks, he heard not very far from him the sound as of some one crying.
He rose up and followed the direction of the noise. To his dismay and
astonishment he found a Giant lying at the entrance of the wood; he was
about to run off as fast as his legs could carry him, when the Giant
called out: ‘Don’t be afraid, I won’t harm you. On the contrary, I will
reward you handsomely if you will bind up my foot. I hurt it when I was
trying to root up an oak-tree.’ The Herd-boy took off his shirt, and
bound up the Giant’s wounded foot with it. Then the Giant rose up and
said, ‘Now come and I will reward you. We are going to celebrate a
marriage to-day, and I promise you we shall have plenty of fun. Come and
enjoy yourself, but in order that my brothers mayn’t see you, put this
band round your waist and then you’ll be invisible.’ With these words
he handed the Herd-boy a belt, and walking on in front he led him to
a fountain where hundreds of Giants and Giantesses were assembled
preparing to hold a wedding. They danced and played different games till
midnight; then one of the Giants tore up a plant by its roots, and all
the Giants and Giantesses made themselves so thin that they disappeared
into the earth through the hole made by the uprooting of the plant. The
wounded Giant remained behind to the last and called out, ‘Herd-boy,
where are you?’ ‘Here I am, close to you,’ was the reply. ‘Touch me,’
said the Giant, ‘so that you too may come with us under ground.’ The
Herd-boy did as he was told, and before he could have believed it
possible he found himself in a big hall, where even the walls were
made of pure gold. Then to his astonishment he saw that the hall was
furnished with the tables and chairs that belonged to his master. In a
few minutes the company began to eat and drink.

The banquet was a very gorgeous one, and the poor youth fell to and ate
and drank lustily. When he had eaten and drunk as much as he could he
thought to himself, ‘Why shouldn’t I put a loaf of bread in my pocket?
I shall be glad of it to-morrow.’ So he seized a loaf when no one was
looking and stowed it away under his tunic. No sooner had he done so
than the wounded Giant limped up to him and whispered softly, ‘Herd-boy,
where are you?’ ‘Here I am,’ replied the youth. ‘Then hold on to me,’
said the Giant, ‘so that I may lead you up above again.’ So the Herd-boy
held on to the Giant, and in a few moments he found himself on the earth
once more, but the Giant had vanished. The Herd-boy returned to his
sheep, and took off the invisible belt which he hid carefully in his
bag.

The next morning the lad felt hungry, and thought he would cut off a
piece of the loaf he had carried away from the Giants’ wedding feast,
and eat it. But although he tried with all his might, he couldn’t cut
off the smallest piece. Then in despair he bit the loaf, and what was
his astonishment when a piece of gold fell out of his mouth and rolled
at his feet. He bit the bread a second and third time, and each time a
piece of gold fell out of his mouth; but the bread remained untouched.
The Herd-boy was very much delighted over his stroke of good fortune,
and, hiding the magic loaf in his bag, he hurried off to the nearest
village to buy himself something to eat, and then returned to his sheep.

Now the Lord whose sheep the Herd-boy looked after had a very lovely
daughter, who always smiled and nodded to the youth when she walked with
her father in his fields. For a long time the Herd-boy had made up his
mind to prepare a surprise for this beautiful creature on her birthday.
So when the day approached he put on his invisible belt, took a sack of
gold pieces with him, and slipping into her room in the middle of the
night, he placed the bag of gold beside her bed and returned to his
sheep. The girl’s joy was great, and so was her parents’ next day when
they found the sack full of gold pieces. The Herd-boy was so pleased to
think what pleasure he had given that the next night he placed another
bag of gold beside the girl’s bed. And this he continued to do for seven
nights, and the girl and her parents made up their minds that it must
be a good Fairy who brought the gold every night. But one night they
determined to watch, and see from their hiding place who the bringer of
the sack of gold really was.

On the eighth night a fearful storm of wind and rain came on while the
Herd-boy was on his way to bring the beautiful girl another bag of gold.
Then for the first time he noticed, just as he reached his master’s
house, that he had forgotten the belt which made him invisible. He
didn’t like the idea of going back to his hut in the wind and wet, so
he just stepped as he was into the girl’s room, laid the sack of
gold beside her, and was turning to leave the room, when his master
confronted him and said, ‘You young rogue, so you were going to steal
the gold that a good Fairy brings every night, were you?’ The Herd-boy
was so taken aback by his words, that he stood trembling before him,
and did not dare to explain his presence. Then his master spoke. ‘As you
have hitherto always behaved well in my service I will not send you to
prison; but leave your place instantly and never let me see your face
again.’ So the Herd-boy went back to his hut, and taking his loaf and
belt with him, he went to the nearest town. There he bought himself
some fine clothes, and a beautiful coach with four horses, hired two
servants, and drove back to his master. You may imagine how astonished
he was to see his Herd-boy returning to him in this manner! Then the
youth told him of the piece of good luck that had befallen him, and
asked him for the hand of his beautiful daughter. This was readily
granted, and the two lived in peace and happiness to the end of their
lives.




 THE INVISIBLE PRINCE

Once upon a time there lived a Fairy who had power over the earth, the
sea, fire, and the air; and this Fairy had four sons. The eldest, who
was quick and lively, with a vivid imagination, she made Lord of Fire,
which was in her opinion the noblest of all the elements. To the second
son, whose wisdom and prudence made amends for his being rather dull,
she gave the government of the earth. The third was wild and savage, and
of monstrous stature; and the Fairy, his mother, who was ashamed of
his defects, hoped to hide them by creating him King of the Seas. The
youngest, who was the slave of his passions and of a very uncertain
temper, became Prince of the Air.

Being the youngest, he was naturally his mother’s favourite; but this
did not blind her to his weaknesses, and she foresaw that some day he
would suffer much pain through falling in love. So she thought the best
thing she could do was to bring him up with a horror of women; and, to
her great delight, she saw this dislike only increased as he grew older.
From his earliest childhood he heard nothing but stories of princes who
had fallen into all sorts of troubles through love; and she drew
such terrible pictures of poor little Cupid that the young man had no
difficulty in believing that he was the root of all evil.

All the time that this wise mother could spare from filling her son
with hatred for all womenkind she passed in giving him a love of the
pleasures of the chase, which henceforth became his chief joy. For his
amusement she had made a new forest, planted with the most splendid
trees, and turned loose in it every animal that could be found in any of
the four quarters of the globe. In the midst of this forest she built a
palace which had not its equal for beauty in the whole world, and then
she considered that she had done enough to make any prince happy.

Now it is all very well to abuse the God of Love, but a man cannot
struggle against his fate. In his secret heart the Prince got tired of
his mother’s constant talk on this subject; and when one day she quitted
the palace to attend to some business, begging him never to go beyond
the grounds, he at once jumped at the chance of disobeying her.

Left to himself the Prince soon forgot the wise counsels of his mother,
and feeling very much bored with his own company, he ordered some of
the spirits of the air to carry him to the court of a neighbouring
sovereign. This kingdom was situated in the Island of Roses, where the
climate is so delicious that the grass is always green and the flowers
always sweet. The waves, instead of beating on the rocks, seemed to die
gently on the shore; clusters of golden bushes covered the land, and the
vines were bent low with grapes.

The King of this island had a daughter named Rosalie, who was more
lovely than any girl in the whole world. No sooner had the eyes of the
Prince of the Air rested on her than he forgot all the terrible woes
which had been prophesied to him ever since he was born, for in one
single moment the plans of years are often upset. He instantly began to
think how best to make himself happy, and the shortest way that occurred
to him was to have Rosalie carried off by his attendant spirits.

It is easy to imagine the feelings of the King when he found that his
daughter had vanished. He wept her loss night and day, and his only
comfort was to talk over it with a young and unknown prince, who had
just arrived at the Court. Alas! he did not know what a deep interest
the stranger had in Rosalie, for he too had seen her, and had fallen a
victim to her charms.

One day the King, more sorrowful than usual, was walking sadly along
the sea-shore, when after a long silence the unknown Prince, who was his
only companion, suddenly spoke. ‘There is no evil without a remedy,’ he
said to the unhappy father; ‘and if you will promise me your daughter in
marriage, I will undertake to bring her back to you.’

‘You are trying to soothe me by vain promises,’ answered the King. ‘Did
I not see her caught up into the air, in spite of cries which would have
softened the heart of any one but the barbarian who has robbed me of
her? The unfortunate girl is pining away in some unknown land, where
perhaps no foot of man has ever trod, and I shall see her no more. But
go, generous stranger; bring back Rosalie if you can, and live happy
with her ever after in this country, of which I now declare you heir.’

Although the stranger’s name and rank were unknown to Rosalie’s father,
he was really the son of the King of the Golden Isle, which had for
capital a city that extended from one sea to another. The walls, washed
by the quiet waters, were covered with gold, which made one think of the
yellow sands. Above them was a rampart of orange and lemon trees, and
all the streets were paved with gold.

The King of this beautiful island had one son, for whom a life of
adventure had been foretold at his birth. This so frightened his father
and mother that in order to comfort them a Fairy, who happened to be
present at the time, produced a little pebble which she told them to
keep for the Prince till he grew up, as by putting it in his mouth he
would become invisible, as long as he did not try to speak, for if he
did the stone would lose all its virtue. In this way the good fairy
hoped that the Prince would be protected against all dangers.

No sooner did the Prince begin to grow out of boyhood than he longed to
see if the other countries of the world were as splendid as the one in
which he lived. So, under pretence of visiting some small islands that
belonged to his father, he set out. But a frightful storm drove his ship
on to unknown shores, where most of his followers were put to death by
the savages, and the Prince himself only managed to escape by making use
of his magic pebble. By this means he passed through the midst of them
unseen, and wandered on till he reached the coast, where he re-embarked
on board his ship.

The first land he sighted was the Island of Roses, and he went at once
to the court of the King, Rosalie’s father. The moment his eyes beheld
the Princess, he fell in love with her like everyone else.

He had already spent several months in this condition when the Prince of
the Air whirled her away, to the grief and despair of every man on the
island. But sad though everybody was, the Prince of the Golden Isle was
perfectly inconsolable, and he passed both days and nights in bemoaning
his loss.

‘Alas!’ he cried; ‘shall I never see my lovely Princess again?’ Who
knows where she may be, and what fairy may have her in his keeping? I am
only a man, but I am strong in my love, and I will seek the whole world
through till I find her.’

So saying, he left the court, and made ready for his journey.

He travelled many weary days without hearing a single word of the lost
Princess, till one morning, as he was walking through a thick forest,
he suddenly perceived a magnificent palace standing at the end of a
pine avenue, and his heart bounded to think that he might be gazing on
Rosalie’s prison. He hastened his steps, and quickly arrived at the gate
of the palace, which was formed of a single agate. The gate swung
open to let him through, and he next passed successively three courts,
surrounded by deep ditches filled with running water, with birds of
brilliant plumage flying about the banks. Everything around was rare and
beautiful, but the Prince scarcely raised his eyes to all these wonders.
He thought only of the Princess and where he should find her, but in
vain he opened every door and searched in every corner; he neither saw
Rosalie nor anyone else. At last there was no place left for him to
search but a little wood, which contained in the centre a sort of hall
built entirely of orange-trees, with four small rooms opening out of
the corners. Three of these were empty except for statues and wonderful
things, but in the fourth the Invisible Prince caught sight of Rosalie.
His joy at beholding her again was, however, somewhat lessened by seeing
that the Prince of the Air was kneeling at her feet, and pleading his
own cause. But it was in vain that he implored her to listen; she only
shook her head. ‘No,’ was all she would say; ‘you snatched me from
my father whom I loved, and all the splendour in the world can never
console me. Go! I can never feel anything towards you but hate and
contempt.’ With these words she turned away and entered her own
apartments.

Unknown to herself the Invisible Prince had followed her, but fearing to
be discovered by the Princess in the presence of others, he made up his
mind to wait quietly till dark; and employed the long hours in writing a
poem to the Princess, which he laid on the bed beside her. This done, he
thought of nothing but how best to deliver Rosalie, and he resolved to
take advantage of a visit which the Prince of the Air paid every year to
his mother and brothers in order to strike the blow.

One day Rosalie was sitting alone in her room thinking of her troubles
when she suddenly saw a pen get up from off the desk and begin to write
all by itself on a sheet of white paper. As she did not know that it was
guided by an invisible hand she was very much astonished, and the moment
that the pen had ceased to move she instantly went over to the table,
where she found some lovely verses, telling her that another shared her
distresses, whatever they might be, and loved her with all his heart;
and that he would never rest until he had delivered her from the hands
of the man she hated. Thus encouraged, she told him all her story, and
of the arrival of a young stranger in her father’s palace, whose looks
had so charmed her that since that day she had thought of no one else.
At these words the Prince could contain himself no longer. He took the
pebble from his mouth, and flung himself at Rosalie’s feet.

When they had got over the first rapture of meeting they began to make
plans to escape from the power of the Prince of the Air. But this did
not prove easy, for the magic stone would only serve for one person at
a time, and in order to save Rosalie the Prince of the Golden Isle would
have to expose himself to the fury of his enemy. But Rosalie would not
hear of this.

‘No, Prince,’ she said; ‘since you are here this island no longer feels
a prison. Besides, you are under the protection of a Fairy, who always
visits your father’s court at this season. Go instantly and seek her,
and when she is found implore the gift of another stone with similar
powers. Once you have that, there will be no further difficulty in the
way of escape.’

The Prince of the Air returned a few days later from his mother’s
palace, but the Invisible Prince had already set out. He had, however,
entirely forgotten the road by which he had come, and lost himself for
so long in the forest, that when at last he reached home the Fairy had
already left, and, in spite of all his grief, there was nothing for it
but to wait till the Fairy’s next visit, and allow Rosalie to suffer
three months longer. This thought drove him to despair, and he had
almost made up his mind to return to the place of her captivity, when
one day, as he was strolling along an alley in the woods, he saw a
huge oak open its trunk, and out of it step two Princes in earnest
conversation. As our hero had the magic stone in his mouth they imagined
themselves alone, and did not lower their voices.

‘What!’ said one, ‘are you always going to allow yourself to be
tormented by a passion which can never end happily, and in your whole
kingdom can you find nothing else to satisfy you?’

‘What is the use,’ replied the other, ‘of being Prince of the Gnomes,
and having a mother who is queen over all the four elements, if I cannot
win the love of the Princess Argentine? From the moment that I first saw
her, sitting in the forest surrounded by flowers, I have never ceased
to think of her night and day, and, although I love her, I am quite
convinced that she will never care for me. You know that I have in my
palace the cabinets of the years. In the first, great mirrors reflect
the past; in the second, we contemplate the present; in the third, the
future can be read. It was here that I fled after I had gazed on the
Princess Argentine, but instead of love I only saw scorn and contempt.
Think how great must be my devotion, when, in spite of my fate, I still
love on!’

Now the Prince of the Golden Isle was enchanted with this conversation,
for the Princess Argentine was his sister, and he hoped, by means of her
influence over the Prince of the Gnomes, to obtain from his brother
the release of Rosalie. So he joyfully returned to his father’s palace,
where he found his friend the Fairy, who at once presented him with
a magic pebble like his own. As may be imagined, he lost no time in
setting out to deliver Rosalie, and travelled so fast that he soon
arrived at the forest, in the midst of which she lay a captive. But
though he found the palace he did not find Rosalie. He hunted high and
low, but there was no sign of her, and his despair was so great that
he was ready, a thousand times over, to take his own life. At last he
remembered the conversation of the two Princes about the cabinets of the
years, and that if he could manage to reach the oak tree, he would be
certain to discover what had become of Rosalie. Happily, he soon found
out the secret of the passage and entered the cabinet of the present,
where he saw reflected in the mirrors the unfortunate Rosalie sitting
on the floor weeping bitterly, and surrounded with genii, who never left
her night or day.

This sight only increased the misery of the Prince, for he did not
know where the castle was, nor how to set about finding it. However,
he resolved to seek the whole world through till he came to the right
place. He began by setting sail in a favourable wind, but his bad luck
followed him even on the sea. He had scarcely lost sight of the land
when a violent storm arose, and after several hours of beating about,
the vessel was driven on to some rocks, on which it dashed itself
to bits. The Prince was fortunate enough to be able to lay hold of a
floating spar, and contrived to keep himself afloat; and, after a long
struggle with the winds and waves, he was cast upon a strange island.
But what was his surprise, on reaching the shore, to hear sounds of the
most heartrending distress, mingled with the sweetest songs which had
ever charmed him! His curiosity was instantly roused, and he advanced
cautiously till he saw two huge dragons guarding the gate of a wood.
They were terrible indeed to look upon. Their bodies were covered with
glittering scales; their curly tails extended far over the land; flames
darted from their mouths and noses, and their eyes would have made the
bravest shudder; but as the Prince was invisible and they did not see
him, he slipped past them into the wood. He found himself at once in a
labyrinth, and wandered about for a long time without meeting anyone; in
fact, the only sight he saw was a circle of human hands, sticking out
of the ground above the wrist, each with a bracelet of gold, on which
a name was written. The farther he advanced in the labyrinth the more
curious he became, till he was stopped by two corpses lying in the
midst of a cypress alley, each with a scarlet cord round his neck and a
bracelet on his arm on which were engraved their own names, and those of
two Princesses.

The invisible Prince recognised these dead men as Kings of two large
islands near his own home, but the names of the Princesses were unknown
to him. He grieved for their unhappy fate, and at once proceeded to bury
them; but no sooner had he laid them in their graves, than their hands
started up through the earth and remained sticking up like those of
their fellows.

The Prince went on his way, thinking about this strange adventure, when
suddenly at the turn of the walk he perceived a tall man whose face was
the picture of misery, holding in his hands a silken cord of the exact
colour of those round the necks of the dead men. A few steps further
this man came up with another as miserable to the full as he himself;
they silently embraced, and then without a word passed the cords round
their throats, and fell dead side by side. In vain the Prince rushed to
their assistance and strove to undo the cord. He could not loosen it; so
he buried them like the others and continued his path.

He felt, however, that great prudence was necessary, or he himself might
become the victim of some enchantment; and he was thankful to slip past
the dragons, and enter a beautiful park, with clear streams and sweet
flowers, and a crowd of men and maidens. But he could not forget
the terrible things he had seen, and hoped eagerly for a clue to the
mystery. Noticing two young people talking together, he drew near
thinking that he might get some explanation of what puzzled him. And so
he did.

‘You swear,’ said the Prince, ‘that you will love me till you die, but I
fear your faithless heart, and I feel that I shall soon have to seek the
Fairy Despair, ruler of half this island. She carries off the lovers
who have been cast away by their mistresses, and wish to have done with
life. She places them in a labyrinth where they are condemned to walk
for ever, with a bracelet on their arms and a cord round their necks,
unless they meet another as miserable as themselves. Then the cord is
pulled and they lie where they fall, till they are buried by the first
passer by. Terrible as this death would be,’ added the Prince, ‘it would
be sweeter than life if I had lost your love.’

The sight of all these happy lovers only made the Prince grieve the
more, and he wandered along the seashore spending his days; but one day
he was sitting on a rock bewailing his fate, and the impossibility
of leaving the island, when all in a moment the sea appeared to raise
itself nearly to the skies, and the caves echoed with hideous screams.
As he looked a woman rose from the depths of the sea, flying madly
before a furious giant. The cries she uttered softened the heart of
the Prince; he took the stone from his mouth, and drawing his sword
he rushed after the giant, so as to give the lady time to escape. But
hardly had he come within reach of the enemy, than the giant touched him
with a ring that he held in his hand, and the Prince remained immovable
where he stood. The giant then hastily rejoined his prey, and, seizing
her in his arms, he plunged her into the sea. Then he sent some tritons
to bind chains about the Prince of the Golden Isle, and he too felt
himself borne to the depths of the ocean, and without the hope of ever
again seeing the Princess.

Now the giant whom the invisible had so rashly attacked was the Lord
of the Sea, and the third son of the Queen of the Elements, and he had
touched the youth with a magic ring which enabled a mortal to live under
water. So the Prince of the Golden Isle found, when bound in chains by
the tritons, he was carried through the homes of strange monsters
and past immense seaweed forests, till he reached a vast sandy space,
surrounded by huge rocks. On the tallest of the rocks sat the giant as
on a throne.

‘Rash mortal,’ said he, when the Prince was dragged before him, ‘you
have deserved death, but you shall live only to suffer more cruelly. Go,
and add to the number of those whom it is my pleasure to torture.’

At these words the unhappy Prince found himself tied to a rock; but he
was not alone in his misfortunes, for all round him were chained Princes
and Princesses, whom the giant had led captive. Indeed, it was his chief
delight to create a storm, in order to add to the list of his prisoners.

As his hands were fastened, it was impossible for the Prince of the
Golden Isle to make use of his magic stone, and he passed his nights and
days dreaming of Rosalie. But at last the time came when the giant took
it into his head to amuse himself by arranging fights between some
of his captives. Lots were drawn, and one fell upon our Prince, whose
chains were immediately loosened. The moment he was set free, he
snatched up his stone, and became invisible.

The astonishment of the giant at the sudden disappearance of the Prince
may well be imagined. He ordered all the passages to be watched, but it
was too late, for the Prince had already glided between two rocks. He
wandered for a long while through the forests, where he met nothing but
fearful monsters; he climbed rock after rock, steered his way from tree
to tree, till at length he arrived at the edge of the sea, at the foot
of a mountain that he remembered to have seen in the cabinet of the
present, where Rosalie was held captive.

Filled with joy, he made his way to the top of the mountain which
pierced the clouds, and there he found a palace. He entered, and in the
middle of a long gallery he discovered a crystal room, in the midst of
which sat Rosalie, guarded night and day by genii. There was no door
anywhere, nor any window. At this sight the Prince became more puzzled
than ever, for he did not know how he was to warn Rosalie of his return.
Yet it broke his heart to see her weeping from dawn till dark.

One day, as Rosalie was walking up and down her room, she was surprised
to see that the crystal which served for a wall had grown cloudy, as if
some one had breathed on it, and, what was more, wherever she moved
the brightness of the crystal always became clouded. This was enough to
cause the Princess to suspect that her lover had returned. In order
to set the Prince of the Air’s mind at rest she began by being very
gracious to him, so that when she begged that her captivity might be a
little lightened she should not be refused. At first the only favour she
asked was to be allowed to walk for one hour every day up and down the
long gallery. This was granted, and the Invisible Prince speedily took
the opportunity of handing her the stone, which she at once slipped
into her mouth. No words can paint the fury of her captor at her
disappearance. He ordered the spirits of the air to fly through all
space, and to bring back Rosalie wherever she might be. They instantly
flew off to obey his commands, and spread themselves over the whole
earth.

Meantime Rosalie and the Invisible Prince had reached, hand in hand,
a door of the gallery which led through a terrace into the gardens. In
silence they glided along, and thought themselves already safe, when
a furious monster dashed itself by accident against Rosalie and the
Invisible Prince, and in her fright she let go his hand. No one can
speak as long as he is invisible, and besides, they knew that the
spirits were all around them, and at the slightest sound they would
be recognised; so all they could do was to feel about in the hope that
their hands might once more meet.

But, alas! the joy of liberty lasted but a short time. The Princess,
having wandered in vain up and down the forest, stopped at last on the
edge of a fountain. As she walked she wrote on the trees: ‘If ever the
Prince, my lover, comes this way, let him know that it is here I dwell,
and that I sit daily on the edge of this fountain, mingling my tears
with its waters.’

These words were read by one of the genii, who repeated them to his
master. The Prince of the Air, in his turn making himself invisible, was
led to the fountain, and waited for Rosalie. When she drew near he
held out his hand, which she grasped eagerly, taking it for that of her
lover; and, seizing his opportunity, the Prince passed a cord round her
arms, and throwing off his invisibility cried to his spirits to drag her
into the lowest pit.

It was at this moment that the Invisible Prince appeared, and at the
sight of the Prince of the Genii mounting into the air, holding a silken
cord, he guessed instantly that he was carrying off Rosalie.

He felt so overwhelmed by despair that he thought for an instant of
putting an end to his life. ‘Can I survive my misfortunes?’ he cried. ‘I
fancied I had come to an end of my troubles, and now they are worse than
ever. What will become of me? Never can I discover the place where this
monster will hide Rosalie.’

The unhappy youth had determined to let himself die, and indeed his
sorrow alone was enough to kill him, when the thought that by means
of the cabinets of the years he might find out where the Princess was
imprisoned, gave him a little ray of comfort. So he continued to walk
on through the forest, and after some hours he arrived at the gate of a
temple, guarded by two huge lions. Being invisible, he was able to enter
unharmed. In the middle of the temple was an altar, on which lay a book,
and behind the altar hung a great curtain. The Prince approached the
altar and opened the book, which contained the names of all the lovers
in the world: and in it he read that Rosalie had been carried off by the
Prince of the Air to an abyss which had no entrance except the one that
lay by way of the Fountain of Gold.

Now, as the Prince had not the smallest idea where this fountain was to
be found, it might be thought that he was not much nearer Rosalie than
before. This was not, however, the view taken by the Prince.

‘Though every step that I take may perhaps lead me further from her,’
he said to himself, ‘I am still thankful to know that she is alive
somewhere.’

On leaving the temple the Invisible Prince saw six paths lying before
him, each of which led through the wood. He was hesitating which to
choose, when he suddenly beheld two people coming towards him, down
the track which lay most to his right. They turned out to be the Prince
Gnome and his friend, and the sudden desire to get some news of his
sister, Princess Argentine, caused the Invisible Prince to follow them
and to listen to their conversation.

‘Do you think,’ the Prince Gnome was saying, ‘do you think that I would
not break my chains if I could? I know that the Princess Argentine will
never love me, yet each day I feel her dearer still. And as if this
were not enough, I have the horror of feeling that she probably loves
another. So I have resolved to put myself out of my pain by means of the
Golden Fountain. A single drop of its water falling on the sand around
will trace the name of my rival in her heart. I dread the test, and yet
this very dread convinces me of my misfortune.’

It may be imagined that after listening to these words the Invisible
Prince followed Prince Gnome like his shadow, and after walking some
time they arrived at the Golden Fountain. The unhappy lover stooped down
with a sigh, and dipping his finger in the water let fall a drop on
the sand. It instantly wrote the name of Prince Flame, his brother. The
shock of this discovery was so real, that Prince Gnome sank fainting
into the arms of his friend.

Meanwhile the Invisible Prince was turning over in his mind how he could
best deliver Rosalie. As, since he had been touched by the Giant’s ring,
he had the power to live in the water as well as on land, he at once
dived into the fountain. He perceived in one corner a door leading into
the mountain, and at the foot of the mountain was a high rock on which
was fixed an iron ring with a cord attached. The Prince promptly guessed
that the cord was used to chain the Princess, and drew his sword and cut
it. In a moment he felt the Princess’s hand in his, for she had
always kept her magic pebble in her mouth, in spite of the prayers and
entreaties of the Prince of the Air to make herself visible.

So hand in hand the invisible Prince and Rosalie crossed the mountain;
but as the Princess had no power of living under water, she could not
pass the Golden Fountain. Speechless and invisible they clung together
on the brink, trembling at the frightful tempest the Prince of the Air
had raised in his fury. The storm had already lasted many days when
tremendous heat began to make itself felt. The lightning flashed, the
thunder rattled, fire bolts fell from heaven, burning up the forests and
even the fields of corn. In one instant the very streams were dried up,
and the Prince, seizing his opportunity, carried the Princess over the
Golden Fountain.

It took them a long time still to reach the Golden Isle, but at last
they got there, and we may be quite sure they never wanted to leave it
any more.




 THE CROW(13)

(13) From the Polish. Kletke.

Once upon a time there were three Princesses who were all three young
and beautiful; but the youngest, although she was not fairer than the
other two, was the most loveable of them all.

About half a mile from the palace in which they lived there stood a
castle, which was uninhabited and almost a ruin, but the garden which
surrounded it was a mass of blooming flowers, and in this garden the
youngest Princess used often to walk.

One day when she was pacing to and fro under the lime trees, a black
crow hopped out of a rose-bush in front of her. The poor beast was all
torn and bleeding, and the kind little Princess was quite unhappy about
it. When the crow saw this it turned to her and said:

‘I am not really a black crow, but an enchanted Prince, who has been
doomed to spend his youth in misery. If you only liked, Princess, you
could save me. But you would have to say good-bye to all your own people
and come and be my constant companion in this ruined castle. There is
one habitable room in it, in which there is a golden bed; there you will
have to live all by yourself, and don’t forget that whatever you may see
or hear in the night you must not scream out, for if you give as much as
a single cry my sufferings will be doubled.’

The good-natured Princess at once left her home and her family and
hurried to the ruined castle, and took possession of the room with the
golden bed.

When night approached she lay down, but though she shut her eyes tight
sleep would not come. At midnight she heard to her great horror some one
coming along the passage, and in a minute her door was flung wide open
and a troop of strange beings entered the room. They at once proceeded
to light a fire in the huge fireplace; then they placed a great cauldron
of boiling water on it. When they had done this, they approached the
bed on which the trembling girl lay, and, screaming and yelling all
the time, they dragged her towards the cauldron. She nearly died with
fright, but she never uttered a sound. Then of a sudden the cock crew,
and all the evil spirits vanished.

At the same moment the crow appeared and hopped all round the room with
joy. It thanked the Princess most heartily for her goodness, and said
that its sufferings had already been greatly lessened.

Now one of the Princess’s elder sisters, who was very inquisitive, had
found out about everything, and went to pay her youngest sister a visit
in the ruined castle. She implored her so urgently to let her spend the
night with her in the golden bed, that at last the good-natured little
Princess consented. But at midnight, when the odd folk appeared, the
elder sister screamed with terror, and from this time on the youngest
Princess insisted always on keeping watch alone.

So she lived in solitude all the daytime, and at night she would have
been frightened, had she not been so brave; but every day the crow came
and thanked her for her endurance, and assured her that his sufferings
were far less than they had been.

And so two years passed away, when one day the crow came to the Princess
and said: ‘In another year I shall be freed from the spell I am under
at present, because then the seven years will be over. But before I
can resume my natural form, and take possession of the belongings of
my forefathers, you must go out into the world and take service as a
maidservant.’

The young Princess consented at once, and for a whole year she served as
a maid; but in spite of her youth and beauty she was very badly treated,
and suffered many things. One evening, when she was spinning flax, and
had worked her little white hands weary, she heard a rustling beside her
and a cry of joy. Then she saw a handsome youth standing beside her; who
knelt down at her feet and kissed the little weary white hands.

‘I am the Prince,’ he said, ‘who you in your goodness, when I was
wandering about in the shape of a black crow, freed from the most awful
torments. Come now to my castle with me, and let us live there happily
together.’

So they went to the castle where they had both endured so much. But when
they reached it, it was difficult to believe that it was the same, for
it had all been rebuilt and done up again. And there they lived for a
hundred years, a hundred years of joy and happiness.




HOW SIX MEN TRAVELLED THROUGH THE WIDE WORLD

There was once upon a time a man who understood all sorts of arts; he
served in the war, and bore himself bravely and well; but when the war
was over, he got his discharge, and set out on his travels with three
farthings of his pay in his pocket. ‘Wait,’ he said; ‘that does not
please me; only let me find the right people, and the King shall yet
give me all the treasures of his kingdom.’ He strode angrily into the
forest, and there he saw a man standing who had uprooted six trees as
if they were straws. He said to him, ‘Will you be my servant and travel
with me?’

‘Yes,’ he answered; ‘but first of all I will take this little bundle
of sticks home to my mother,’ and he took one of the trees and wound
it round the other five, raised the bundle on his shoulders and bore it
off. Then he came back and went with his master, who said, ‘We two ought
to be able to travel through the wide world!’ And when they had gone a
little way they came upon a hunter, who was on his knees, his gun on his
shoulder, aiming at something. The master said to him, ‘Hunter, what are
you aiming at?’

He answered, ‘Two miles from this place sits a fly on a branch of an
oak; I want to shoot out its left eye.’

‘Oh, go with me,’ said the man; ‘if we three are together we shall
easily travel through the wide world.’

The hunter agreed and went with him, and they came to seven windmills
whose sails were going round quite fast, and yet there was not a breath
of wind, nor was a leaf moving. The man said, ‘I don’t know what is
turning those windmills; there is not the slightest breeze blowing.’ So
he walked on with his servants, and when they had gone two miles they
saw a man sitting on a tree, holding one of his nostrils and blowing out
of the other.

‘Fellow, what are you puffing at up there?’ asked the man.

He replied, ‘Two miles from this place are standing seven windmills;
see, I am blowing to drive them round.’

‘Oh, go with me,’ said the man; ‘if we four are together we shall easily
travel through the wide world.’

So the blower got down and went with him, and after a time they saw a
man who was standing on one leg, and had unstrapped the other and
laid it near him. Then said the master, ‘You have made yourself very
comfortable to rest!’

‘I am a runner,’ answered he; ‘and so that I shall not go too quickly,
I have unstrapped one leg; when I run with two legs, I go faster than a
bird flies.’

‘Oh, go with me; if we five are together, we shall easily travel through
the wide world.’ So he went with him, and, not long afterwards, they met
a man who wore a little hat, but he had it slouched over one ear.

‘Manners, manners!’ said the master to him; ‘don’t hang your hat over
one ear; you look like a madman!’

‘I dare not,’ said the other, ‘for if I were to put my hat on straight,
there would come such a frost that the very birds in the sky would
freeze and fall dead on the earth.’

‘Oh, go with me,’ said the master; ‘if we six are together, we shall
easily travel through the wide world.

Now the Six came to a town in which the King had proclaimed that whoever
should run with his daughter in a race, and win, should become her
husband; but if he lost, he must lose his head. This was reported to
the man who declared he would compete, ‘but,’ he said, ‘I shall let my
servant run for me.’

The King replied, ‘Then both your heads must be staked, and your head
and his must be guaranteed for the winner.’

When this was agreed upon and settled, the man strapped on the runner’s
other leg, saying to him, ‘Now be nimble, and see that we win!’ It was
arranged that whoever should first bring water out of a stream a long
way off, should be the victor. Then the runner got a pitcher, and the
King’s daughter another, and they began to run at the same time; but in
a moment, when the King’s daughter was only just a little way off,
no spectator could see the runner, and it seemed as if the wind had
whistled past. In a short time he reached the stream, filled his
pitcher with water, and turned round again. But, half way home, a great
drowsiness came over him; he put down his pitcher, lay down, and fell
asleep. He had, however, put a horse’s skull which was lying on the
ground, for his pillow, so that he should not be too comfortable and
might soon wake up.

In the meantime the King’s daughter, who could also run well, as well
as an ordinary man could, reached the stream, and hastened back with her
pitcher full of water. When she saw the runner lying there asleep, she
was delighted, and said, ‘My enemy is given into my hands!’ She emptied
his pitcher and ran on.

Everything now would have been lost, if by good luck the hunter had not
been standing on the castle tower and had seen everything with his sharp
eyes.

‘Ah,’ said he, ‘the King’s daughter shall not overreach us;’ and,
loading his gun, he shot so cleverly, that he shot away the horse’s
skull from under the runner’s head, without its hurting him. Then the
runner awoke, jumped up, and saw that his pitcher was empty and the
King’s daughter far ahead. But he did not lose courage, and ran back
to the stream with his pitcher, filled it once more with water, and was
home ten minutes before the King’s daughter arrived.

‘Look,’ said he, ‘I have only just exercised my legs; that was nothing
of a run.’

But the King was angry, and his daughter even more so, that she should
be carried away by a common, discharged soldier. They consulted together
how they could destroy both him and his companions.

‘Then,’ said the King to her, ‘I have found a way. Don’t be frightened;
they shall not come home again.’ He said to them, ‘You must now make
merry together, and eat and drink,’ and he led them into a room which
had a floor of iron; the doors were also of iron, and the windows were
barred with iron. In the room was a table spread with delicious food.
The King said to them, ‘Go in and enjoy yourselves,’ and as soon as
they were inside he had the doors shut and bolted. Then he made the cook
come, and ordered him to keep up a large fire under the room until the
iron was red-hot. The cook did so, and the Six sitting round the table
felt it grow very warm, and they thought this was because of their good
fare; but when the heat became still greater and they wanted to go out,
but found the doors and windows fastened, then they knew that the King
meant them harm and was trying to suffocate them.

‘But he shall not succeed,’ cried he of the little hat, ‘I will make a
frost come which shall make the fire ashamed and die out!’ So he put his
hat on straight, and at once there came such a frost that all the heat
disappeared and the food on the dishes began to freeze. When a couple of
hours had passed, and the King thought they must be quite dead from the
heat, he had the doors opened and went in himself to see.

But when the doors were opened, there stood all Six, alive and well,
saying they were glad they could come out to warm themselves, for the
great cold in the room had frozen all the food hard in the dishes. Then
the King went angrily to the cook, and scolded him, and asked him why he
had not done what he was told.

But the cook answered, ‘There is heat enough there; see for yourself.’
Then the King saw a huge fire burning under the iron room, and
understood that he could do no harm to the Six in this way. The King
now began again to think how he could free himself from his unwelcome
guests. He commanded the master to come before him, and said, ‘If you
will take gold, and give up your right to my daughter, you shall have as
much as you like.’

‘Oh, yes, your Majesty,’ answered he, ‘give me as much as my servant can
carry, and I will give up your daughter.’

The King was delighted, and the man said, ‘I will come and fetch it in
fourteen days.’

Then he called all the tailors in the kingdom together, and made them
sit down for fourteen days sewing at a sack. When it was finished, he
made the strong man who had uprooted the trees take the sack on his
shoulder and go with him to the King. Then the King said, ‘What a
powerful fellow that is, carrying that bale of linen as large as a house
on his shoulder!’ and he was much frightened, and thought ‘What a lot of
gold he will make away with!’ Then he had a ton of gold brought, which
sixteen of the strongest men had to carry; but the strong man seized it
with one hand, put it in the sack, saying, ‘Why don’t you bring me more?
That scarcely covers the bottom!’ Then the King had to send again and
again to fetch his treasures, which the strong man shoved into the sack,
and the sack was only half full.

‘Bring more,’ he cried, ‘these crumbs don’t fill it.’ So seven thousand
waggons of the gold of the whole kingdom were driven up; these the
strong man shoved into the sack, oxen and all.

‘I will no longer be particular,’ he said, ‘and will take what comes, so
that the sack shall be full.’

When everything was put in and there was not yet enough, he said, ‘I
will make an end of this; it is easy to fasten a sack when it is not
full.’ Then he threw it on his back and went with his companions.

Now, when the King saw how a single man was carrying away the wealth
of the whole country he was very angry, and made his cavalry mount
and pursue the Six, and bring back the strong man with the sack. Two
regiments soon overtook them, and called to them, ‘You are prisoners!
lay down the sack of gold or you shall be cut down.’

‘What do you say?’ said the blower, ‘we are prisoners? Before that, you
shall dance in the air!’ And he held one nostril and blew with the other
at the two regiments; they were separated and blown away in the blue sky
over the mountains, one this way, and the other that. A sergeant-major
cried for mercy, saying he had nine wounds, and was a brave fellow, and
did not deserve this disgrace. So the blower let him off, and he came
down without hurt. Then he said to him, ‘Now go home to the King, and
say that if he sends any more cavalry I will blow them all into the
air.’

When the King received the message, he said, ‘Let the fellows go; they
are bewitched.’ Then the Six brought the treasure home, shared it among
themselves, and lived contentedly till the end of their days.




 THE WIZARD KING(14)

(14) From Les fees illustres.

In very ancient times there lived a King, whose power lay not only in
the vast extent of his dominions, but also in the magic secrets of which
he was master. After spending the greater part of his early youth in
pleasure, he met a Princess of such remarkable beauty that he at once
asked her hand in marriage, and, having obtained it, considered himself
the happiest of men.

After a year’s time a son was born, worthy in every way of such
distinguished parents, and much admired by the whole Court. As soon as
the Queen thought him strong enough for a journey she set out with him
secretly to visit her Fairy godmother. I said secretly, because the
Fairy had warned the Queen that the King was a magician; and as from
time immemorial there had been a standing feud between the Fairies and
the Wizards, he might not have approved of his wife’s visit.

The Fairy godmother, who took the deepest interest in all the Queen’s
concerns, and who was much pleased with the little Prince, endowed him
with the power of pleasing everybody from his cradle, as well as with
a wonderful ease in learning everything which could help to make him
a perfectly accomplished Prince. Accordingly, to the delight of his
teachers, he made the most rapid progress in his education, constantly
surpassing everyone’s expectations. Before he was many years old,
however, he had the great sorrow of losing his mother, whose last words
were to advise him never to undertake anything of importance without
consulting the Fairy under whose protection she had placed him.

The Prince’s grief at the death of his mother was great, but it
was nothing compared to that of the King, his father, who was quite
inconsolable for the loss of his dear wife. Neither time nor reason
seemed to lighten his sorrow, and the sight of all the familiar faces
and things about him only served to remind him of his loss. He therefore
resolved to travel for change, and by means of his magic art was able
to visit every country he came to see under different shapes, returning
every few weeks to the place where he had left a few followers.

Having travelled from land to land in this fashion without finding
anything to rivet his attention, it occurred to him to take the form of
an eagle, and in this shape he flew across many countries and arrived
at length in a new and lovely spot, where the air seemed filled with the
scent of jessamine and orange flowers with which the ground was thickly
planted. Attracted by the sweet perfume he flew lower, and perceived
some large and beautiful gardens filled with the rarest flowers, and
with fountains throwing up their clear waters into the air in a hundred
different shapes. A wide stream flowed through the garden, and on it
floated richly ornamented barges and gondolas filled with people dressed
in the most elegant manner and covered with jewels.

In one of these barges sat the Queen of that country with her only
daughter, a maiden more beautiful than the Day Star, and attended by
the ladies of the Court. No more exquisitely lovely mortal was ever seen
than this Princess, and it needed all an eagle’s strength of sight to
prevent the King being hopelessly dazzled. He perched on the top of a
large orange tree, whence he was able to survey the scene and to gaze at
pleasure on the Princess’s charms.

Now, an eagle with a King’s heart in his breast is apt to be bold,
and accordingly he instantly made up his mind to carry off the lovely
damsel, feeling sure that having once seen her he could not live without
her.

He waited till he saw her in the act of stepping ashore, when, suddenly
swooping down, he carried her off before her equerry in attendance had
advanced to offer her his hand. The Princess, on finding herself in an
eagle’s talons, uttered the most heart-breaking shrieks and cries; but
her captor, though touched by her distress, would not abandon his lovely
prey, and continued to fly through the air too fast to allow of his
saying anything to comfort her.

At length, when he thought they had reached a safe distance, he began
to lower his flight, and gradually descending to earth, deposited
his burden in a flowery meadow. He then entreated her pardon for his
violence, and told her that he was about to carry her to a great kingdom
over which he ruled, and where he desired she should rule with him,
adding many tender and consoling expressions.

For some time the Princess remained speechless; but recovering herself
a little, she burst into a flood of tears. The King, much

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