THE BLUE FAIRY BOOK
By Various
Edited by Andrew Lang
CONTENTS
PRINCE HYACINTH AND THE DEAR LITTLE PRINCESS
EAST OF THE SUN AND WEST OF THE MOON
THE SLEEPING BEAUTY IN THE WOOD
CINDERELLA, OR THE LITTLE GLASS SLIPPER
ALADDIN AND THE WONDERFUL LAMP
THE TALE OF A YOUTH WHO SET OUT TO LEARN WHAT
FEAR WASTHE MASTER CAT; OR, PUSS IN BOOTS
THE WATER-LILY. THE GOLD-SPINNERS
THE STORY OF PRETTY GOLDILOCKS
THE PRINCESS ON THE GLASS HILL
THE STORY OF PRINCE AHMED AND THE FAIRY
PARIBANOU
THE BRONZE RING
Once upon a time in a certain country there lived a king whose palace was
surrounded by a spacious garden. But, though the gardeners were many and
the soil was good, this garden yielded neither flowers nor fruits, not
even grass or shady trees.
The King was in despair about it, when a wise old man said to him:
“Your gardeners do not understand their business: but what can you expect
of men whose fathers were cobblers and carpenters? How should they have
learned to cultivate your garden?”
“You are quite right,” cried the King.
“Therefore,” continued the old man, “you should send for a gardener whose
father and grandfather have been gardeners before him, and very soon your
garden will be full of green grass and gay flowers, and you will enjoy its
delicious fruit.”
So the King sent messengers to every town, village, and hamlet in his
dominions, to look for a gardener whose forefathers had been gardeners
also, and after forty days one was found.
“Come with us and be gardener to the King,” they said to him.
“How can I go to the King,” said the gardener, “a poor wretch like me?”
“That is of no consequence,” they answered. “Here are new clothes for you
and your family.”
“But I owe money to several people.”
“We will pay your debts,” they said.
So the gardener allowed himself to be persuaded, and went away with the
messengers, taking his wife and his son with him; and the King, delighted
to have found a real gardener, entrusted him with the care of his garden.
The man found no difficulty in making the royal garden produce flowers and
fruit, and at the end of a year the park was not like the same place, and
the King showered gifts upon his new servant.
The gardener, as you have heard already, had a son, who was a very
handsome young man, with most agreeable manners, and every day he carried
the best fruit of the garden to the King, and all the prettiest flowers to
his daughter. Now this princess was wonderfully pretty and was just
sixteen years old, and the King was beginning to think it was time that
she should be married.
“My dear child,” said he, “you are of an age to take a husband, therefore
I am thinking of marrying you to the son of my prime minister.
“Father,” replied the Princess, “I will never marry the son of the
minister.”
“Why not?” asked the King.
“Because I love the gardener’s son,” answered the Princess.
On hearing this the King was at first very angry, and then he wept and
sighed, and declared that such a husband was not worthy of his daughter;
but the young Princess was not to be turned from her resolution to marry
the gardener’s son.
Then the King consulted his ministers. “This is what you must do,” they
said. “To get rid of the gardener you must send both suitors to a very
distant country, and the one who returns first shall marry your daughter.”
The King followed this advice, and the minister’s son was presented with a
splendid horse and a purse full of gold pieces, while the gardener’s son
had only an old lame horse and a purse full of copper money, and every one
thought he would never come back from his journey.
The day before they started the Princess met her lover and said to him:
“Be brave, and remember always that I love you. Take this purse full of
jewels and make the best use you can of them for love of me, and come back
quickly and demand my hand.”
The two suitors left the town together, but the minister’s son went off at
a gallop on his good horse, and very soon was lost to sight behind the
most distant hills. He traveled on for some days, and presently reached a
fountain beside which an old woman all in rags sat upon a stone.
“Good-day to you, young traveler,” said she.
But the minister’s son made no reply.
“Have pity upon me, traveler,” she said again. “I am dying of hunger, as
you see, and three days have I been here and no one has given me
anything.”
“Let me alone, old witch,” cried the young man; “I can do nothing for
you,” and so saying he went on his way.
That same evening the gardener’s son rode up to the fountain upon his lame
gray horse.
“Good-day to you, young traveler,” said the beggar-woman.
“Good-day, good woman,” answered he.
“Young traveler, have pity upon me.”
“Take my purse, good woman,” said he, “and mount behind me, for your legs
can’t be very strong.”
The old woman didn’t wait to be asked twice, but mounted behind him, and
in this style they reached the chief city of a powerful kingdom. The
minister’s son was lodged in a grand inn, the gardener’s son and the old
woman dismounted at the inn for beggars.
The next day the gardener’s son heard a great noise in the street, and the
King’s heralds passed, blowing all kinds of instruments, and crying:
“The King, our master, is old and infirm. He will give a great reward to
whoever will cure him and give him back the strength of his youth.”
Then the old beggar-woman said to her benefactor:
“This is what you must do to obtain the reward which the King promises. Go
out of the town by the south gate, and there you will find three little
dogs of different colors; the first will be white, the second black, the
third red. You must kill them and then burn them separately, and gather up
the ashes. Put the ashes of each dog into a bag of its own color, then go
before the door of the palace and cry out, ‘A celebrated physician has
come from Janina in Albania. He alone can cure the King and give him back
the strength of his youth.’ The King’s physicians will say, This is an
impostor, and not a learned man,’ and they will make all sorts of
difficulties, but you will overcome them all at last, and will present
yourself before the sick King. You must then demand as much wood as three
mules can carry, and a great cauldron, and must shut yourself up in a room
with the Sultan, and when the cauldron boils you must throw him into it,
and there leave him until his flesh is completely separated from his
bones. Then arrange the bones in their proper places, and throw over them
the ashes out of the three bags. The King will come back to life, and will
be just as he was when he was twenty years old. For your reward you must
demand the bronze ring which has the power to grant you everything you
desire. Go, my son, and do not forget any of my instructions.”
The young man followed the old beggar-woman’s directions. On going out of
the town he found the white, red, and black dogs, and killed and burnt
them, gathering the ashes in three bags. Then he ran to the palace and
cried:
“A celebrated physician has just come from Janina in Albania. He alone can
cure the King and give him back the strength of his youth.”
The King’s physicians at first laughed at the unknown wayfarer, but the
Sultan ordered that the stranger should be admitted. They brought the
cauldron and the loads of wood, and very soon the King was boiling away.
Toward mid-day the gardener’s son arranged the bones in their places, and
he had hardly scattered the ashes over them before the old King revived,
to find himself once more young and hearty.
“How can I reward you, my benefactor?” he cried. “Will you take half my
treasures?”
“No,” said the gardener’s son.
“My daughter’s hand?”
“No.”
“Take half my kingdom.”
“No. Give me only the bronze ring which can instantly grant me anything I
wish for.”
“Alas!” said the King, “I set great store by that marvelous ring;
nevertheless, you shall have it.” And he gave it to him.
The gardener’s son went back to say good-by to the old beggar-woman; then
he said to the bronze ring:
“Prepare a splendid ship in which I may continue my journey. Let the hull
be of fine gold, the masts of silver, the sails of brocade; let the crew
consist of twelve young men of noble appearance, dressed like kings. St.
Nicholas will be at the helm. As to the cargo, let it be diamonds, rubies,
emeralds, and carbuncles.”
And immediately a ship appeared upon the sea which resembled in every
particular the description given by the gardener’s son, and, stepping on
board, he continued his journey. Presently he arrived at a great town and
established himself in a wonderful palace. After several days he met his
rival, the minister’s son, who had spent all his money and was reduced to
the disagreeable employment of a carrier of dust and rubbish. The
gardener’s son said to him:
“What is your name, what is your family, and from what country do you
come?”
“I am the son of the prime minister of a great nation, and yet see what a
degrading occupation I am reduced to.”
“Listen to me; though I don’t know anything more about you, I am willing
to help you. I will give you a ship to take you back to your own country
upon one condition.”
“Whatever it may be, I accept it willingly.”
“Follow me to my palace.”
The minister’s son followed the rich stranger, whom he had not recognized.
When they reached the palace the gardener’s son made a sign to his slaves,
who completely undressed the new-comer.
“Make this ring red-hot,” commanded the master, “and mark the man with it
upon his back.”
The slaves obeyed him.
“Now, young man,” said the rich stranger, “I am going to give you a vessel
which will take you back to your own country.”
And, going out, he took the bronze ring and said:
“Bronze ring, obey thy master. Prepare me a ship of which the half-rotten
timbers shall be painted black, let the sails be in rags, and the sailors
infirm and sickly. One shall have lost a leg, another an arm, the third
shall be a hunchback, another lame or club-footed or blind, and most of
them shall be ugly and covered with scars. Go, and let my orders be
executed.”
The minister’s son embarked in this old vessel, and thanks to favorable
winds, at length reached his own country. In spite of the pitiable
condition in which he returned they received him joyfully.
“I am the first to come back,” said he to the King; now fulfil your
promise, and give me the princess in marriage.
So they at once began to prepare for the wedding festivities. As to the
poor princess, she was sorrowful and angry enough about it.
The next morning, at daybreak, a wonderful ship with every sail set came
to anchor before the town. The King happened at that moment to be at the
palace window.
“What strange ship is this,” he cried, “that has a golden hull, silver
masts, and silken sails, and who are the young men like princes who man
it? And do I not see St. Nicholas at the helm? Go at once and invite the
captain of the ship to come to the palace.”
His servants obeyed him, and very soon in came an enchantingly handsome
young prince, dressed in rich silk, ornamented with pearls and diamonds.
“Young man,” said the King, “you are welcome, whoever you may be. Do me
the favor to be my guest as long as you remain in my capital.”
“Many thanks, sire,” replied the captain, “I accept your offer.”
“My daughter is about to be married,” said the King; “will you give her
away?”
“I shall be charmed, sire.”
Soon after came the Princess and her betrothed.
“Why, how is this?” cried the young captain; “would you marry this
charming princess to such a man as that?”
“But he is my prime minister’s son!”
“What does that matter? I cannot give your daughter away. The man she is
betrothed to is one of my servants.”
“Your servant?”
“Without doubt. I met him in a distant town reduced to carrying away dust
and rubbish from the houses. I had pity on him and engaged him as one of
my servants.”
“It is impossible!” cried the King.
“Do you wish me to prove what I say? This young man returned in a vessel
which I fitted out for him, an unseaworthy ship with a black battered
hull, and the sailors were infirm and crippled.”
“It is quite true,” said the King.
“It is false,” cried the minister’s son. “I do not know this man!”
“Sire,” said the young captain, “order your daughter’s betrothed to be
stripped, and see if the mark of my ring is not branded upon his back.”
The King was about to give this order, when the minister’s son, to save
himself from such an indignity, admitted that the story was true.
“And now, sire,” said the young captain, “do you not recognize me?”
“I recognize you,” said the Princess; “you are the gardener’s son whom I
have always loved, and it is you I wish to marry.”
“Young man, you shall be my son-in-law,” cried the King. “The marriage
festivities are already begun, so you shall marry my daughter this very
day.”
And so that very day the gardener’s son married the beautiful Princess.
Several months passed. The young couple were as happy as the day was long,
and the King was more and more pleased with himself for having secured
such a son-in-law.
But, presently, the captain of the golden ship found it necessary to take
a long voyage, and after embracing his wife tenderly he embarked.
Now in the outskirts of the capital there lived an old man, who had spent
his life in studying black arts—alchemy, astrology, magic, and
enchantment. This man found out that the gardener’s son had only succeeded
in marrying the Princess by the help of the genii who obeyed the bronze
ring.
“I will have that ring,” said he to himself. So he went down to the
sea-shore and caught some little red fishes. Really, they were quite
wonderfully pretty. Then he came back, and, passing before the Princess’s
window, he began to cry out:
“Who wants some pretty little red fishes?”
The Princess heard him, and sent out one of her slaves, who said to the
old peddler:
“What will you take for your fish?”
“A bronze ring.”
“A bronze ring, old simpleton! And where shall I find one?”
“Under the cushion in the Princess’s room.”
The slave went back to her mistress.
“The old madman will take neither gold nor silver,” said she.
“What does he want then?”
“A bronze ring that is hidden under a cushion.”
“Find the ring and give it to him,” said the Princess.
And at last the slave found the bronze ring, which the captain of the
golden ship had accidentally left behind and carried it to the man, who
made off with it instantly.
Hardly had he reached his own house when, taking the ring, he said,
“Bronze ring, obey thy master. I desire that the golden ship shall turn to
black wood, and the crew to hideous negroes; that St. Nicholas shall leave
the helm and that the only cargo shall be black cats.”
And the genii of the bronze ring obeyed him.
Finding himself upon the sea in this miserable condition, the young
captain understood that some one must have stolen the bronze ring from
him, and he lamented his misfortune loudly; but that did him no good.
“Alas!” he said to himself, “whoever has taken my ring has probably taken
my dear wife also. What good will it do me to go back to my own country?”
And he sailed about from island to island, and from shore to shore,
believing that wherever he went everybody was laughing at him, and very
soon his poverty was so great that he and his crew and the poor black cats
had nothing to eat but herbs and roots. After wandering about a long time
he reached an island inhabited by mice. The captain landed upon the shore
and began to explore the country. There were mice everywhere, and nothing
but mice. Some of the black cats had followed him, and, not having been
fed for several days, they were fearfully hungry, and made terrible havoc
among the mice.
Then the queen of the mice held a council.
“These cats will eat every one of us,” she said, “if the captain of the
ship does not shut the ferocious animals up. Let us send a deputation to
him of the bravest among us.”
Several mice offered themselves for this mission and set out to find the
young captain.
“Captain,” said they, “go away quickly from our island, or we shall
perish, every mouse of us.”
“Willingly,” replied the young captain, “upon one condition. That is that
you shall first bring me back a bronze ring which some clever magician has
stolen from me. If you do not do this I will land all my cats upon your
island, and you shall be exterminated.”
The mice withdrew in great dismay. “What is to be done?” said the Queen.
“How can we find this bronze ring?” She held a new council, calling in
mice from every quarter of the globe, but nobody knew where the bronze
ring was. Suddenly three mice arrived from a very distant country. One was
blind, the second lame, and the third had her ears cropped.
“Ho, ho, ho!” said the new-comers. “We come from a far distant country.”
“Do you know where the bronze ring is which the genii obey?”
“Ho, ho, ho! we know; an old sorcerer has taken possession of it, and now
he keeps it in his pocket by day and in his mouth by night.”
“Go and take it from him, and come back as soon as possible.”
So the three mice made themselves a boat and set sail for the magician’s
country. When they reached the capital they landed and ran to the palace,
leaving only the blind mouse on the shore to take care of the boat. Then
they waited till it was night. The wicked old man lay down in bed and put
the bronze ring into his mouth, and very soon he was asleep.
“Now, what shall we do?” said the two little animals to each other.
The mouse with the cropped ears found a lamp full of oil and a bottle full
of pepper. So she dipped her tail first in the oil and then in the pepper,
and held it to the sorcerer’s nose.
“Atisha! atisha!” sneezed the old man, but he did not wake, and the shock
made the bronze ring jump out of his mouth. Quick as thought the lame
mouse snatched up the precious talisman and carried it off to the boat.
Imagine the despair of the magician when he awoke and the bronze ring was
nowhere to be found!
But by that time our three mice had set sail with their prize. A favoring
breeze was carrying them toward the island where the queen of the mice was
awaiting them. Naturally they began to talk about the bronze ring.
“Which of us deserves the most credit?” they cried all at once.
“I do,” said the blind mouse, “for without my watchfulness our boat would
have drifted away to the open sea.”
“No, indeed,” cried the mouse with the cropped ears; “the credit is mine.
Did I not cause the ring to jump out of the man’s mouth?”
“No, it is mine,” cried the lame one, “for I ran off with the ring.”
And from high words they soon came to blows, and, alas! when the quarrel
was fiercest the bronze ring fell into the sea.
“How are we to face our queen,” said the three mice “when by our folly we
have lost the talisman and condemned our people to be utterly
exterminated? We cannot go back to our country; let us land on this desert
island and there end our miserable lives.” No sooner said than done. The
boat reached the island, and the mice landed.
The blind mouse was speedily deserted by her two sisters, who went off to
hunt flies, but as she wandered sadly along the shore she found a dead
fish, and was eating it, when she felt something very hard. At her cries
the other two mice ran up.
“It is the bronze ring! It is the talisman!” they cried joyfully, and,
getting into their boat again, they soon reached the mouse island. It was
time they did, for the captain was just going to land his cargo of cats,
when a deputation of mice brought him the precious bronze ring.
“Bronze ring,” commanded the young man, “obey thy master. Let my ship
appear as it was before.”
Immediately the genii of the ring set to work, and the old black vessel
became once more the wonderful golden ship with sails of brocade; the
handsome sailors ran to the silver masts and the silken ropes, and very
soon they set sail for the capital.
Ah! how merrily the sailors sang as they flew over the glassy sea!
At last the port was reached.
The captain landed and ran to the palace, where he found the wicked old
man asleep. The Princess clasped her husband in a long embrace. The
magician tried to escape, but he was seized and bound with strong cords.
The next day the sorcerer, tied to the tail of a savage mule loaded with
nuts, was broken into as many pieces as there were nuts upon the mule’s
back.(1)
(1) Traditions Populaires de l’Asie Mineure. Carnoy et Nicolaides. Paris:
Maisonneuve, 1889.
PRINCE HYACINTH AND THE DEAR LITTLE PRINCESS
Once upon a time there lived a king who was deeply in love with a
princess, but she could not marry anyone, because she was under an
enchantment. So the King set out to seek a fairy, and asked what he could
do to win the Princess’s love. The Fairy said to him:
“You know that the Princess has a great cat which she is very fond of.
Whoever is clever enough to tread on that cat’s tail is the man she is
destined to marry.”
The King said to himself that this would not be very difficult, and he
left the Fairy, determined to grind the cat’s tail to powder rather than
not tread on it at all.
You may imagine that it was not long before he went to see the Princess,
and puss, as usual, marched in before him, arching his back. The King took
a long step, and quite thought he had the tail under his foot, but the cat
turned round so sharply that he only trod on air. And so it went on for
eight days, till the King began to think that this fatal tail must be full
of quicksilver—it was never still for a moment.
At last, however, he was lucky enough to come upon puss fast asleep and
with his tail conveniently spread out. So the King, without losing a
moment, set his foot upon it heavily.
With one terrific yell the cat sprang up and instantly changed into a tall
man, who, fixing his angry eyes upon the King, said:
“You shall marry the Princess because you have been able to break the
enchantment, but I will have my revenge. You shall have a son, who will
never be happy until he finds out that his nose is too long, and if you
ever tell anyone what I have just said to you, you shall vanish away
instantly, and no one shall ever see you or hear of you again.”
Though the King was horribly afraid of the enchanter, he could not help
laughing at this threat.
“If my son has such a long nose as that,” he said to himself, “he must
always see it or feel it; at least, if he is not blind or without hands.”
But, as the enchanter had vanished, he did not waste any more time in
thinking, but went to seek the Princess, who very soon consented to marry
him. But after all, they had not been married very long when the King
died, and the Queen had nothing left to care for but her little son, who
was called Hyacinth. The little Prince had large blue eyes, the prettiest
eyes in the world, and a sweet little mouth, but, alas! his nose was so
enormous that it covered half his face. The Queen was inconsolable when
she saw this great nose, but her ladies assured her that it was not really
as large as it looked; that it was a Roman nose, and you had only to open
any history to see that every hero has a large nose. The Queen, who was
devoted to her baby, was pleased with what they told her, and when she
looked at Hyacinth again, his nose certainly did not seem to her quite
so large.
The Prince was brought up with great care; and, as soon as he could speak,
they told him all sorts of dreadful stories about people who had short
noses. No one was allowed to come near him whose nose did not more or less
resemble his own, and the courtiers, to get into favor with the Queen,
took to pulling their babies’ noses several times every day to make them
grow long. But, do what they would, they were nothing by comparison with
the Prince’s.
When he grew sensible he learned history; and whenever any great prince or
beautiful princess was spoken of, his teachers took care to tell him that
they had long noses.
His room was hung with pictures, all of people with very large noses; and
the Prince grew up so convinced that a long nose was a great beauty, that
he would not on any account have had his own a single inch shorter!
When his twentieth birthday was passed the Queen thought it was time that
he should be married, so she commanded that the portraits of several
princesses should be brought for him to see, and among the others was a
picture of the Dear Little Princess!
Now, she was the daughter of a great king, and would some day possess
several kingdoms herself; but Prince Hyacinth had not a thought to spare
for anything of that sort, he was so much struck with her beauty. The
Princess, whom he thought quite charming, had, however, a little saucy
nose, which, in her face, was the prettiest thing possible, but it was a
cause of great embarrassment to the courtiers, who had got into such a
habit of laughing at little noses that they sometimes found themselves
laughing at hers before they had time to think; but this did not do at all
before the Prince, who quite failed to see the joke, and actually banished
two of his courtiers who had dared to mention disrespectfully the Dear
Little Princess’s tiny nose!
The others, taking warning from this, learned to think twice before they
spoke, and one even went so far as to tell the Prince that, though it was
quite true that no man could be worth anything unless he had a long nose,
still, a woman’s beauty was a different thing; and he knew a learned man
who understood Greek and had read in some old manuscripts that the
beautiful Cleopatra herself had a “tip-tilted” nose!
The Prince made him a splendid present as a reward for this good news, and
at once sent ambassadors to ask the Dear Little Princess in marriage. The
King, her father, gave his consent; and Prince Hyacinth, who, in his
anxiety to see the Princess, had gone three leagues to meet her was just
advancing to kiss her hand when, to the horror of all who stood by, the
enchanter appeared as suddenly as a flash of lightning, and, snatching up
the Dear Little Princess, whirled her away out of their sight!
The Prince was left quite unconsolable, and declared that nothing should
induce him to go back to his kingdom until he had found her again, and
refusing to allow any of his courtiers to follow him, he mounted his horse
and rode sadly away, letting the animal choose his own path.
So it happened that he came presently to a great plain, across which he
rode all day long without seeing a single house, and horse and rider were
terribly hungry, when, as the night fell, the Prince caught sight of a
light, which seemed to shine from a cavern.
He rode up to it, and saw a little old woman, who appeared to be at least
a hundred years old.
She put on her spectacles to look at Prince Hyacinth, but it was quite a
long time before she could fix them securely because her nose was so very
short.
The Prince and the Fairy (for that was who she was) had no sooner looked
at one another than they went into fits of laughter, and cried at the same
moment, “Oh, what a funny nose!”
“Not so funny as your own,” said Prince Hyacinth to the Fairy; “but,
madam, I beg you to leave the consideration of our noses—such as
they are—and to be good enough to give me something to eat, for I am
starving, and so is my poor horse.”
“With all my heart,” said the Fairy. “Though your nose is so ridiculous
you are, nevertheless, the son of my best friend. I loved your father as
if he had been my brother. Now he had a very handsome nose!”
“And pray what does mine lack?” said the Prince.
“Oh! it doesn’t lack anything,” replied the Fairy. “On the contrary
quite, there is only too much of it. But never mind, one may be a very
worthy man though his nose is too long. I was telling you that I was your
father’s friend; he often came to see me in the old times, and you must
know that I was very pretty in those days; at least, he used to say so. I
should like to tell you of a conversation we had the last time I ever saw
him.”
“Indeed,” said the Prince, “when I have supped it will give me the
greatest pleasure to hear it; but consider, madam, I beg of you, that I
have had nothing to eat to-day.”
“The poor boy is right,” said the Fairy; “I was forgetting. Come in, then,
and I will give you some supper, and while you are eating I can tell you
my story in a very few words—for I don’t like endless tales myself.
Too long a tongue is worse than too long a nose, and I remember when I was
young that I was so much admired for not being a great chatterer. They
used to tell the Queen, my mother, that it was so. For though you see what
I am now, I was the daughter of a great king. My father——”
“Your father, I dare say, got something to eat when he was hungry!”
interrupted the Prince.
“Oh! certainly,” answered the Fairy, “and you also shall have supper
directly. I only just wanted to tell you——”
“But I really cannot listen to anything until I have had something to
eat,” cried the Prince, who was getting quite angry; but then, remembering
that he had better be polite as he much needed the Fairy’s help, he added:
“I know that in the pleasure of listening to you I should quite forget my
own hunger; but my horse, who cannot hear you, must really be fed!”
The Fairy was very much flattered by this compliment, and said, calling to
her servants:
“You shall not wait another minute, you are so polite, and in spite of the
enormous size of your nose you are really very agreeable.”
“Plague take the old lady! How she does go on about my nose!” said the
Prince to himself. “One would almost think that mine had taken all the
extra length that hers lacks! If I were not so hungry I would soon have
done with this chatterpie who thinks she talks very little! How stupid
people are not to see their own faults! That comes of being a princess:
she has been spoiled by flatterers, who have made her believe that she is
quite a moderate talker!”
Meanwhile the servants were putting the supper on the table, and the
prince was much amused to hear the Fairy who asked them a thousand
questions simply for the pleasure of hearing herself speak; especially he
noticed one maid who, no matter what was being said, always contrived to
praise her mistress’s wisdom.
“Well!” he thought, as he ate his supper, “I’m very glad I came here. This
just shows me how sensible I have been in never listening to flatterers.
People of that sort praise us to our faces without shame, and hide our
faults or change them into virtues. For my part I never will be taken in
by them. I know my own defects, I hope.”
Poor Prince Hyacinth! He really believed what he said, and hadn’t an idea
that the people who had praised his nose were laughing at him, just as the
Fairy’s maid was laughing at her; for the Prince had seen her laugh slyly
when she could do so without the Fairy’s noticing her.
However, he said nothing, and presently, when his hunger began to be
appeased, the Fairy said:
“My dear Prince, might I beg you to move a little more that way, for your
nose casts such a shadow that I really cannot see what I have on my plate.
Ah! thanks. Now let us speak of your father. When I went to his Court he
was only a little boy, but that is forty years ago, and I have been in
this desolate place ever since. Tell me what goes on nowadays; are the
ladies as fond of amusement as ever? In my time one saw them at parties,
theatres, balls, and promenades every day. Dear me! what a long
nose you have! I cannot get used to it!”
“Really, madam,” said the Prince, “I wish you would leave off mentioning
my nose. It cannot matter to you what it is like. I am quite satisfied
with it, and have no wish to have it shorter. One must take what is given
one.”
“Now you are angry with me, my poor Hyacinth,” said the Fairy, “and I
assure you that I didn’t mean to vex you; on the contrary, I wished to do
you a service. However, though I really cannot help your nose being a
shock to me, I will try not to say anything about it. I will even try to
think that you have an ordinary nose. To tell the truth, it would make
three reasonable ones.”
The Prince, who was no longer hungry, grew so impatient at the Fairy’s
continual remarks about his nose that at last he threw himself upon his
horse and rode hastily away. But wherever he came in his journeyings he
thought the people were mad, for they all talked of his nose, and yet he
could not bring himself to admit that it was too long, he had been so used
all his life to hear it called handsome.
The old Fairy, who wished to make him happy, at last hit upon a plan. She
shut the Dear Little Princess up in a palace of crystal, and put this
palace down where the Prince would not fail to find it. His joy at seeing
the Princess again was extreme, and he set to work with all his might to
try to break her prison; but in spite of all his efforts he failed
utterly. In despair he thought at least that he would try to get near
enough to speak to the Dear Little Princess, who, on her part, stretched
out her hand that he might kiss it; but turn which way he might, he never
could raise it to his lips, for his long nose always prevented it. For the
first time he realized how long it really was, and exclaimed:
“Well, it must be admitted that my nose is too long!”
In an instant the crystal prison flew into a thousand splinters, and the
old Fairy, taking the Dear Little Princess by the hand, said to the
Prince:
“Now, say if you are not very much obliged to me. Much good it was for me
to talk to you about your nose! You would never have found out how
extraordinary it was if it hadn’t hindered you from doing what you wanted
to. You see how self-love keeps us from knowing our own defects of mind
and body. Our reason tries in vain to show them to us; we refuse to see
them till we find them in the way of our interests.”
Prince Hyacinth, whose nose was now just like anyone’s else, did not fail
to profit by the lesson he had received. He married the Dear Little
Princess, and they lived happily ever after.(1)
(1) Le Prince Desir et la Princesse Mignonne. Par Madame Leprince de
Beaumont.
EAST OF THE SUN AND WEST OF THE MOON
Once upon a time there was a poor husbandman who had many children and
little to give them in the way either of food or clothing. They were all
pretty, but the prettiest of all was the youngest daughter, who was so
beautiful that there were no bounds to her beauty.
So once—it was late on a Thursday evening in autumn, and wild
weather outside, terribly dark, and raining so heavily and blowing so hard
that the walls of the cottage shook again—they were all sitting
together by the fireside, each of them busy with something or other, when
suddenly some one rapped three times against the window-pane. The man went
out to see what could be the matter, and when he got out there stood a
great big white bear.
“Good-evening to you,” said the White Bear.
“Good-evening,” said the man.
“Will you give me your youngest daughter?” said the White Bear; “if you
will, you shall be as rich as you are now poor.”
Truly the man would have had no objection to be rich, but he thought to
himself: “I must first ask my daughter about this,” so he went in and told
them that there was a great white bear outside who had faithfully promised
to make them all rich if he might but have the youngest daughter.
She said no, and would not hear of it; so the man went out again, and
settled with the White Bear that he should come again next Thursday
evening, and get her answer. Then the man persuaded her, and talked so
much to her about the wealth that they would have, and what a good thing
it would be for herself, that at last she made up her mind to go, and
washed and mended all her rags, made herself as smart as she could, and
held herself in readiness to set out. Little enough had she to take away
with her.
Next Thursday evening the White Bear came to fetch her. She seated herself
on his back with her bundle, and thus they departed. When they had gone a
great part of the way, the White Bear said: “Are you afraid?”
“No, that I am not,” said she.
“Keep tight hold of my fur, and then there is no danger,” said he.
And thus she rode far, far away, until they came to a great mountain. Then
the White Bear knocked on it, and a door opened, and they went into a
castle where there were many brilliantly lighted rooms which shone with
gold and silver, likewise a large hall in which there was a well-spread
table, and it was so magnificent that it would be hard to make anyone
understand how splendid it was. The White Bear gave her a silver bell, and
told her that when she needed anything she had but to ring this bell, and
what she wanted would appear. So after she had eaten, and night was
drawing near, she grew sleepy after her journey, and thought she would
like to go to bed. She rang the bell, and scarcely had she touched it
before she found herself in a chamber where a bed stood ready made for
her, which was as pretty as anyone could wish to sleep in. It had pillows
of silk, and curtains of silk fringed with gold, and everything that was
in the room was of gold or silver, but when she had lain down and put out
the light a man came and lay down beside her, and behold it was the White
Bear, who cast off the form of a beast during the night. She never saw
him, however, for he always came after she had put out her light, and went
away before daylight appeared.
So all went well and happily for a time, but then she began to be very sad
and sorrowful, for all day long she had to go about alone; and she did so
wish to go home to her father and mother and brothers and sisters. Then
the White Bear asked what it was that she wanted, and she told him that it
was so dull there in the mountain, and that she had to go about all alone,
and that in her parents’ house at home there were all her brothers and
sisters, and it was because she could not go to them that she was so
sorrowful.
“There might be a cure for that,” said the White Bear, “if you would but
promise me never to talk with your mother alone, but only when the others
are there too; for she will take hold of your hand,” he said, “and will
want to lead you into a room to talk with you alone; but that you must by
no means do, or you will bring great misery on both of us.”
So one Sunday the White Bear came and said that they could now set out to
see her father and mother, and they journeyed thither, she sitting on his
back, and they went a long, long way, and it took a long, long time; but
at last they came to a large white farmhouse, and her brothers and sisters
were running about outside it, playing, and it was so pretty that it was a
pleasure to look at it.
“Your parents dwell here now,” said the White Bear; “but do not forget
what I said to you, or you will do much harm both to yourself and me.”
“No, indeed,” said she, “I shall never forget;” and as soon as she was at
home the White Bear turned round and went back again.
There were such rejoicings when she went in to her parents that it seemed
as if they would never come to an end. Everyone thought that he could
never be sufficiently grateful to her for all she had done for them all.
Now they had everything that they wanted, and everything was as good as it
could be. They all asked her how she was getting on where she was. All was
well with her too, she said; and she had everything that she could want.
What other answers she gave I cannot say, but I am pretty sure that they
did not learn much from her. But in the afternoon, after they had dined at
midday, all happened just as the White Bear had said. Her mother wanted to
talk with her alone in her own chamber. But she remembered what the White
Bear had said, and would on no account go. “What we have to say can be
said at any time,” she answered. But somehow or other her mother at last
persuaded her, and she was forced to tell the whole story. So she told how
every night a man came and lay down beside her when the lights were all
put out, and how she never saw him, because he always went away before it
grew light in the morning, and how she continually went about in sadness,
thinking how happy she would be if she could but see him, and how all day
long she had to go about alone, and it was so dull and solitary. “Oh!”
cried the mother, in horror, “you are very likely sleeping with a troll!
But I will teach you a way to see him. You shall have a bit of one of my
candles, which you can take away with you hidden in your breast. Look at
him with that when he is asleep, but take care not to let any tallow drop
upon him.”
So she took the candle, and hid it in her breast, and when evening drew
near the White Bear came to fetch her away. When they had gone some
distance on their way, the White Bear asked her if everything had not
happened just as he had foretold, and she could not but own that it had.
“Then, if you have done what your mother wished,” said he, “you have
brought great misery on both of us.” “No,” she said, “I have not done
anything at all.” So when she had reached home and had gone to bed it was
just the same as it had been before, and a man came and lay down beside
her, and late at night, when she could hear that he was sleeping, she got
up and kindled a light, lit her candle, let her light shine on him, and
saw him, and he was the handsomest prince that eyes had ever beheld, and
she loved him so much that it seemed to her that she must die if she did
not kiss him that very moment. So she did kiss him; but while she was
doing it she let three drops of hot tallow fall upon his shirt, and he
awoke. “What have you done now?” said he; “you have brought misery on both
of us. If you had but held out for the space of one year I should have
been free. I have a step-mother who has bewitched me so that I am a white
bear by day and a man by night; but now all is at an end between you and
me, and I must leave you, and go to her. She lives in a castle which lies
east of the sun and west of the moon, and there too is a princess with a
nose which is three ells long, and she now is the one whom I must marry.”
She wept and lamented, but all in vain, for go he must. Then she asked him
if she could not go with him. But no, that could not be. “Can you tell me
the way then, and I will seek you—that I may surely be allowed to
do!”
“Yes, you may do that,” said he; “but there is no way thither. It lies
east of the sun and west of the moon, and never would you find your way
there.”
When she awoke in the morning both the Prince and the castle were gone,
and she was lying on a small green patch in the midst of a dark, thick
wood. By her side lay the self-same bundle of rags which she had brought
with her from her own home. So when she had rubbed the sleep out of her
eyes, and wept till she was weary, she set out on her way, and thus she
walked for many and many a long day, until at last she came to a great
mountain. Outside it an aged woman was sitting, playing with a golden
apple. The girl asked her if she knew the way to the Prince who lived with
his stepmother in the castle which lay east of the sun and west of the
moon, and who was to marry a princess with a nose which was three ells
long. “How do you happen to know about him?” inquired the old woman;
“maybe you are she who ought to have had him.” “Yes, indeed, I am,” she
said. “So it is you, then?” said the old woman; “I know nothing about him
but that he dwells in a castle which is east of the sun and west of the
moon. You will be a long time in getting to it, if ever you get to it at
all; but you shall have the loan of my horse, and then you can ride on it
to an old woman who is a neighbor of mine: perhaps she can tell you about
him. When you have got there you must just strike the horse beneath the
left ear and bid it go home again; but you may take the golden apple with
you.”
So the girl seated herself on the horse, and rode for a long, long way,
and at last she came to the mountain, where an aged woman was sitting
outside with a gold carding-comb. The girl asked her if she knew the way
to the castle which lay east of the sun and west of the moon; but she said
what the first old woman had said: “I know nothing about it, but that it
is east of the sun and west of the moon, and that you will be a long time
in getting to it, if ever you get there at all; but you shall have the
loan of my horse to an old woman who lives the nearest to me: perhaps she
may know where the castle is, and when you have got to her you may just
strike the horse beneath the left ear and bid it go home again.” Then she
gave her the gold carding-comb, for it might, perhaps, be of use to her,
she said.
So the girl seated herself on the horse, and rode a wearisome long way
onward again, and after a very long time she came to a great mountain,
where an aged woman was sitting, spinning at a golden spinning-wheel. Of
this woman, too, she inquired if she knew the way to the Prince, and where
to find the castle which lay east of the sun and west of the moon. But it
was only the same thing once again. “Maybe it was you who should have had
the Prince,” said the old woman. “Yes, indeed, I should have been the
one,” said the girl. But this old crone knew the way no better than the
others—it was east of the sun and west of the moon, she knew that,
“and you will be a long time in getting to it, if ever you get to it at
all,” she said; “but you may have the loan of my horse, and I think you
had better ride to the East Wind, and ask him: perhaps he may know where
the castle is, and will blow you thither. But when you have got to him you
must just strike the horse beneath the left ear, and he will come home
again.” And then she gave her the golden spinning-wheel, saying: “Perhaps
you may find that you have a use for it.”
The girl had to ride for a great many days, and for a long and wearisome
time, before she got there; but at last she did arrive, and then she asked
the East Wind if he could tell her the way to the Prince who dwelt east of
the sun and west of the moon. “Well,” said the East Wind, “I have heard
tell of the Prince, and of his castle, but I do not know the way to it,
for I have never blown so far; but, if you like, I will go with you to my
brother the West Wind: he may know that, for he is much stronger than I
am. You may sit on my back, and then I can carry you there.” So she seated
herself on his back, and they did go so swiftly! When they got there, the
East Wind went in and said that the girl whom he had brought was the one
who ought to have had the Prince up at the castle which lay east of the
sun and west of the moon, and that now she was traveling about to find him
again, so he had come there with her, and would like to hear if the West
Wind knew whereabout the castle was. “No,” said the West Wind; “so far as
that have I never blown; but if you like I will go with you to the South
Wind, for he is much stronger than either of us, and he has roamed far and
wide, and perhaps he can tell you what you want to know. You may seat
yourself on my back, and then I will carry you to him.”.
So she did this, and journeyed to the South Wind, neither was she very
long on the way. When they had got there, the West Wind asked him if he
could tell her the way to the castle that lay east of the sun and west of
the moon, for she was the girl who ought to marry the Prince who lived
there. “Oh, indeed!” said the South Wind, “is that she? Well,” said he, “I
have wandered about a great deal in my time, and in all kinds of places,
but I have never blown so far as that. If you like, however, I will go
with you to my brother, the North Wind; he is the oldest and strongest of
all of us, and if he does not know where it is no one in the whole world
will be able to tell you. You may sit upon my back, and then I will carry
you there.” So she seated herself on his back, and off he went from his
house in great haste, and they were not long on the way. When they came
near the North Wind’s dwelling, he was so wild and frantic that they felt
cold gusts a long while before they got there. “What do you want?” he
roared out from afar, and they froze as they heard. Said the South Wind:
“It is I, and this is she who should have had the Prince who lives in the
castle which lies east of the sun and west of the moon. And now she wishes
to ask you if you have ever been there, and can tell her the way, for she
would gladly find him again.”
“Yes,” said the North Wind, “I know where it is. I once blew an aspen leaf
there, but I was so tired that for many days afterward I was not able to
blow at all. However, if you really are anxious to go there, and are not
afraid to go with me, I will take you on my back, and try if I can blow
you there.”
“Get there I must,” said she; “and if there is any way of going I will;
and I have no fear, no matter how fast you go.”
“Very well then,” said the North Wind; “but you must sleep here to-night,
for if we are ever to get there we must have the day before us.”
The North Wind woke her betimes next morning, and puffed himself up, and
made himself so big and so strong that it was frightful to see him, and
away they went, high up through the air, as if they would not stop until
they had reached the very end of the world. Down below there was such a
storm! It blew down woods and houses, and when they were above the sea the
ships were wrecked by hundreds. And thus they tore on and on, and a long
time went by, and then yet more time passed, and still they were above the
sea, and the North Wind grew tired, and more tired, and at last so utterly
weary that he was scarcely able to blow any longer, and he sank and sank,
lower and lower, until at last he went so low that the waves dashed
against the heels of the poor girl he was carrying. “Art thou afraid?”
said the North Wind. “I have no fear,” said she; and it was true. But they
were not very, very far from land, and there was just enough strength left
in the North Wind to enable him to throw her on to the shore, immediately
under the windows of a castle which lay east of the sun and west of the
moon; but then he was so weary and worn out that he was forced to rest for
several days before he could go to his own home again.
Next morning she sat down beneath the walls of the castle to play with the
golden apple, and the first person she saw was the maiden with the long
nose, who was to have the Prince. “How much do you want for that gold
apple of yours, girl?” said she, opening the window. “It can’t be bought
either for gold or money,” answered the girl. “If it cannot be bought
either for gold or money, what will buy it? You may say what you please,”
said the Princess.
“Well, if I may go to the Prince who is here, and be with him to-night,
you shall have it,” said the girl who had come with the North Wind. “You
may do that,” said the Princess, for she had made up her mind what she
would do. So the Princess got the golden apple, but when the girl went up
to the Prince’s apartment that night he was asleep, for the Princess had
so contrived it. The poor girl called to him, and shook him, and between
whiles she wept; but she could not wake him. In the morning, as soon as
day dawned, in came the Princess with the long nose, and drove her out
again. In the daytime she sat down once more beneath the windows of the
castle, and began to card with her golden carding-comb; and then all
happened as it had happened before. The Princess asked her what she wanted
for it, and she replied that it was not for sale, either for gold or
money, but that if she could get leave to go to the Prince, and be with
him during the night, she should have it. But when she went up to the
Prince’s room he was again asleep, and, let her call him, or shake him, or
weep as she would, he still slept on, and she could not put any life in
him. When daylight came in the morning, the Princess with the long nose
came too, and once more drove her away. When day had quite come, the girl
seated herself under the castle windows, to spin with her golden
spinning-wheel, and the Princess with the long nose wanted to have that
also. So she opened the window, and asked what she would take for it. The
girl said what she had said on each of the former occasions—that it
was not for sale either for gold or for money, but if she could get leave
to go to the Prince who lived there, and be with him during the night, she
should have it.
“Yes,” said the Princess, “I will gladly consent to that.”
But in that place there were some Christian folk who had been carried off,
and they had been sitting in the chamber which was next to that of the
Prince, and had heard how a woman had been in there who had wept and
called on him two nights running, and they told the Prince of this. So
that evening, when the Princess came once more with her sleeping-drink, he
pretended to drink, but threw it away behind him, for he suspected that it
was a sleeping-drink. So, when the girl went into the Prince’s room this
time he was awake, and she had to tell him how she had come there. “You
have come just in time,” said the Prince, “for I should have been married
to-morrow; but I will not have the long-nosed Princess, and you alone can
save me. I will say that I want to see what my bride can do, and bid her
wash the shirt which has the three drops of tallow on it. This she will
consent to do, for she does not know that it is you who let them fall on
it; but no one can wash them out but one born of Christian folk: it cannot
be done by one of a pack of trolls; and then I will say that no one shall
ever be my bride but the woman who can do this, and I know that you can.”
There was great joy and gladness between them all that night, but the next
day, when the wedding was to take place, the Prince said, “I must see what
my bride can do.” “That you may do,” said the stepmother.
“I have a fine shirt which I want to wear as my wedding shirt, but three
drops of tallow have got upon it which I want to have washed off, and I
have vowed to marry no one but the woman who is able to do it. If she
cannot do that, she is not worth having.”
Well, that was a very small matter, they thought, and agreed to do it. The
Princess with the long nose began to wash as well as she could, but, the
more she washed and rubbed, the larger the spots grew. “Ah! you can’t wash
at all,” said the old troll-hag, who was her mother. “Give it to me.” But
she too had not had the shirt very long in her hands before it looked
worse still, and, the more she washed it and rubbed it, the larger and
blacker grew the spots.
So the other trolls had to come and wash, but, the more they did, the
blacker and uglier grew the shirt, until at length it was as black as if
it had been up the chimney. “Oh,” cried the Prince, “not one of you is
good for anything at all! There is a beggar-girl sitting outside the
window, and I’ll be bound that she can wash better than any of you! Come
in, you girl there!” he cried. So she came in. “Can you wash this shirt
clean?” he cried. “Oh! I don’t know,” she said; “but I will try.” And no
sooner had she taken the shirt and dipped it in the water than it was
white as driven snow, and even whiter than that. “I will marry you,” said
the Prince.
Then the old troll-hag flew into such a rage that she burst, and the
Princess with the long nose and all the little trolls must have burst too,
for they have never been heard of since. The Prince and his bride set free
all the Christian folk who were imprisoned there, and took away with them
all the gold and silver that they could carry, and moved far away from the
castle which lay east of the sun and west of the moon.(1)
(1) Asbjornsen and Moe.
THE YELLOW DWARF
Once upon a time there lived a queen who had been the mother of a great
many children, and of them all only one daughter was left. But then she
was worth at least a thousand.
Her mother, who, since the death of the King, her father, had nothing in
the world she cared for so much as this little Princess, was so terribly
afraid of losing her that she quite spoiled her, and never tried to
correct any of her faults. The consequence was that this little person,
who was as pretty as possible, and was one day to wear a crown, grew up so
proud and so much in love with her own beauty that she despised everyone
else in the world.
The Queen, her mother, by her caresses and flatteries, helped to make her
believe that there was nothing too good for her. She was dressed almost
always in the prettiest frocks, as a fairy, or as a queen going out to
hunt, and the ladies of the Court followed her dressed as forest fairies.
And to make her more vain than ever the Queen caused her portrait to be
taken by the cleverest painters and sent it to several neighboring kings
with whom she was very friendly.
When they saw this portrait they fell in love with the Princess—every
one of them, but upon each it had a different effect. One fell ill, one
went quite crazy, and a few of the luckiest set off to see her as soon as
possible, but these poor princes became her slaves the moment they set
eyes on her.
Never has there been a gayer Court. Twenty delightful kings did everything
they could think of to make themselves agreeable, and after having spent
ever so much money in giving a single entertainment thought themselves
very lucky if the Princess said “That’s pretty.”
All this admiration vastly pleased the Queen. Not a day passed but she
received seven or eight thousand sonnets, and as many elegies, madrigals,
and songs, which were sent her by all the poets in the world. All the
prose and the poetry that was written just then was about Bellissima—for
that was the Princess’s name—and all the bonfires that they had were
made of these verses, which crackled and sparkled better than any other
sort of wood.
Bellissima was already fifteen years old, and every one of the Princes
wished to marry her, but not one dared to say so. How could they when they
knew that any of them might have cut off his head five or six times a day
just to please her, and she would have thought it a mere trifle, so little
did she care? You may imagine how hard-hearted her lovers thought her; and
the Queen, who wished to see her married, did not know how to persuade her
to think of it seriously.
“Bellissima,” she said, “I do wish you would not be so proud. What makes
you despise all these nice kings? I wish you to marry one of them, and you
do not try to please me.”
“I am so happy,” Bellissima answered: “do leave me in peace, madam. I
don’t want to care for anyone.”
“But you would be very happy with any of these Princes,” said the Queen,
“and I shall be very angry if you fall in love with anyone who is not
worthy of you.”
But the Princess thought so much of herself that she did not consider any
one of her lovers clever or handsome enough for her; and her mother, who
was getting really angry at her determination not to be married, began to
wish that she had not allowed her to have her own way so much.
At last, not knowing what else to do, she resolved to consult a certain
witch who was called “The Fairy of the Desert.” Now this was very
difficult to do, as she was guarded by some terrible lions; but happily
the Queen had heard a long time before that whoever wanted to pass these
lions safely must throw to them a cake made of millet flour, sugar-candy,
and crocodile’s eggs. This cake she prepared with her own hands, and
putting it in a little basket, she set out to seek the Fairy. But as she
was not used to walking far, she soon felt very tired and sat down at the
foot of a tree to rest, and presently fell fast asleep. When she awoke she
was dismayed to find her basket empty. The cake was all gone! and, to make
matters worse, at that moment she heard the roaring of the great lions,
who had found out that she was near and were coming to look for her.
“What shall I do?” she cried; “I shall be eaten up,” and being too
frightened to run a single step, she began to cry, and leaned against the
tree under which she had been asleep.
Just then she heard some one say: “H’m, h’m!”
She looked all round her, and then up the tree, and there she saw a little
tiny man, who was eating oranges.
“Oh! Queen,” said he, “I know you very well, and I know how much afraid
you are of the lions; and you are quite right too, for they have eaten
many other people: and what can you expect, as you have not any cake to
give them?”
“I must make up my mind to die,” said the poor Queen. “Alas! I should not
care so much if only my dear daughter were married.”
“Oh! you have a daughter,” cried the Yellow Dwarf (who was so called
because he was a dwarf and had such a yellow face, and lived in the
orange tree). “I’m really glad to hear that, for I’ve been looking for a
wife all over the world. Now, if you will promise that she shall marry me,
not one of the lions, tigers, or bears shall touch you.”
The Queen looked at him and was almost as much afraid of his ugly little
face as she had been of the lions before, so that she could not speak a
word.
“What! you hesitate, madam,” cried the Dwarf. “You must be very fond of
being eaten up alive.”
And, as he spoke, the Queen saw the lions, which were running down a hill
toward them.
Each one had two heads, eight feet, and four rows of teeth, and their
skins were as hard as turtle shells, and were bright red.
At this dreadful sight, the poor Queen, who was trembling like a dove when
it sees a hawk, cried out as loud as she could, “Oh! dear Mr. Dwarf,
Bellissima shall marry you.”
“Oh, indeed!” said he disdainfully. “Bellissima is pretty enough, but I
don’t particularly want to marry her—you can keep her.”
“Oh! noble sir,” said the Queen in great distress, “do not refuse her. She
is the most charming Princess in the world.”
“Oh! well,” he replied, “out of charity I will take her; but be sure and
don’t forget that she is mine.”
As he spoke a little door opened in the trunk of the orange tree, in
rushed the Queen, only just in time, and the door shut with a bang in the
faces of the lions.
The Queen was so confused that at first she did not notice another little
door in the orange tree, but presently it opened and she found herself in
a field of thistles and nettles. It was encircled by a muddy ditch, and a
little further on was a tiny thatched cottage, out of which came the
Yellow Dwarf with a very jaunty air. He wore wooden shoes and a little
yellow coat, and as he had no hair and very long ears he looked altogether
a shocking little object.
“I am delighted,” said he to the Queen, “that, as you are to be my
mother-in-law, you should see the little house in which your Bellissima
will live with me. With these thistles and nettles she can feed a donkey
which she can ride whenever she likes; under this humble roof no weather
can hurt her; she will drink the water of this brook and eat frogs—which
grow very fat about here; and then she will have me always with her,
handsome, agreeable, and gay as you see me now. For if her shadow stays by
her more closely than I do I shall be surprised.”
The unhappy Queen, seeing all at once what a miserable life her daughter
would have with this Dwarf could not bear the idea, and fell down
insensible without saying a word.
When she revived she found to her great surprise that she was lying in her
own bed at home, and, what was more, that she had on the loveliest lace
night cap that she had ever seen in her life. At first she thought that
all her adventures, the terrible lions, and her promise to the Yellow
Dwarf that he should marry Bellissima, must have been a dream, but there
was the new cap with its beautiful ribbon and lace to remind her that it
was all true, which made her so unhappy that she could neither eat, drink,
nor sleep for thinking of it.
The Princess, who, in spite of her wilfulness, really loved her mother
with all her heart, was much grieved when she saw her looking so sad, and
often asked her what was the matter; but the Queen, who didn’t want her to
find out the truth, only said that she was ill, or that one of her
neighbors was threatening to make war against her. Bellissima knew quite
well that something was being hidden from her—and that neither of
these was the real reason of the Queen’s uneasiness. So she made up her
mind that she would go and consult the Fairy of the Desert about it,
especially as she had often heard how wise she was, and she thought that
at the same time she might ask her advice as to whether it would be as
well to be married, or not.
So, with great care, she made some of the proper cake to pacify the lions,
and one night went up to her room very early, pretending that she was
going to bed; but instead of that, she wrapped herself in a long white
veil, and went down a secret staircase, and set off all by herself to find
the Witch.
But when she got as far as the same fatal orange tree, and saw it covered
with flowers and fruit, she stopped and began to gather some of the
oranges—and then, putting down her basket, she sat down to eat them.
But when it was time to go on again the basket had disappeared and, though
she looked everywhere, not a trace of it could she find. The more she
hunted for it, the more frightened she got, and at last she began to cry.
Then all at once she saw before her the Yellow Dwarf.
“What’s the matter with you, my pretty one?” said he. “What are you crying
about?”
“Alas!” she answered; “no wonder that I am crying, seeing that I have lost
the basket of cake that was to help me to get safely to the cave of the
Fairy of the Desert.”
“And what do you want with her, pretty one?” said the little monster, “for
I am a friend of hers, and, for the matter of that, I am quite as clever
as she is.”
“The Queen, my mother,” replied the Princess, “has lately fallen into such
deep sadness that I fear that she will die; and I am afraid that perhaps I
am the cause of it, for she very much wishes me to be married, and I must
tell you truly that as yet I have not found anyone I consider worthy to be
my husband. So for all these reasons I wished to talk to the Fairy.”
“Do not give yourself any further trouble, Princess,” answered the Dwarf.
“I can tell you all you want to know better than she could. The Queen,
your mother, has promised you in marriage——”
“Has promised me!” interrupted the Princess. “Oh! no. I’m sure she
has not. She would have told me if she had. I am too much interested in
the matter for her to promise anything without my consent—you must
be mistaken.”
“Beautiful Princess,” cried the Dwarf suddenly, throwing himself on his
knees before her, “I flatter myself that you will not be displeased at her
choice when I tell you that it is to me she has promised the
happiness of marrying you.”
“You!” cried Bellissima, starting back. “My mother wishes me to marry you!
How can you be so silly as to think of such a thing?”
“Oh! it isn’t that I care much to have that honor,” cried the Dwarf
angrily; “but here are the lions coming; they’ll eat you up in three
mouthfuls, and there will be an end of you and your pride.”
And, indeed, at that moment the poor Princess heard their dreadful howls
coming nearer and nearer.
“What shall I do?” she cried. “Must all my happy days come to an end like
this?”
The malicious Dwarf looked at her and began to laugh spitefully. “At
least,” said he, “you have the satisfaction of dying unmarried. A lovely
Princess like you must surely prefer to die rather than be the wife of a
poor little dwarf like myself.”
“Oh, don’t be angry with me,” cried the Princess, clasping her hands. “I’d
rather marry all the dwarfs in the world than die in this horrible way.”
“Look at me well, Princess, before you give me your word,” said he. “I
don’t want you to promise me in a hurry.”
“Oh!” cried she, “the lions are coming. I have looked at you enough. I am
so frightened. Save me this minute, or I shall die of terror.”
Indeed, as she spoke she fell down insensible, and when she recovered she
found herself in her own little bed at home; how she got there she could
not tell, but she was dressed in the most beautiful lace and ribbons, and
on her finger was a little ring, made of a single red hair, which fitted
so tightly that, try as she might, she could not get it off.
When the Princess saw all these things, and remembered what had happened,
she, too, fell into the deepest sadness, which surprised and alarmed the
whole Court, and the Queen more than anyone else. A hundred times she
asked Bellissima if anything was the matter with her; but she always said
that there was nothing.
At last the chief men of the kingdom, anxious to see their Princess
married, sent to the Queen to beg her to choose a husband for her as soon
as possible. She replied that nothing would please her better, but that
her daughter seemed so unwilling to marry, and she recommended them to go
and talk to the Princess about it themselves so this they at once did. Now
Bellissima was much less proud since her adventure with the Yellow Dwarf,
and she could not think of a better way of getting rid of the little
monster than to marry some powerful king, therefore she replied to their
request much more favorably than they had hoped, saying that, though she
was very happy as she was, still, to please them, she would consent to
marry the King of the Gold Mines. Now he was a very handsome and powerful
Prince, who had been in love with the Princess for years, but had not
thought that she would ever care about him at all. You can easily imagine
how delighted he was when he heard the news, and how angry it made all the
other kings to lose for ever the hope of marrying the Princess; but, after
all, Bellissima could not have married twenty kings—indeed, she had
found it quite difficult enough to choose one, for her vanity made her
believe that there was nobody in the world who was worthy of her.
Preparations were begun at once for the grandest wedding that had ever
been held at the palace. The King of the Gold Mines sent such immense sums
of money that the whole sea was covered with the ships that brought it.
Messengers were sent to all the gayest and most refined Courts,
particularly to the Court of France, to seek out everything rare and
precious to adorn the Princess, although her beauty was so perfect that
nothing she wore could make her look prettier. At least that is what the
King of the Gold Mines thought, and he was never happy unless he was with
her.
As for the Princess, the more she saw of the King the more she liked him;
he was so generous, so handsome and clever, that at last she was almost as
much in love with him as he was with her. How happy they were as they
wandered about in the beautiful gardens together, sometimes listening to
sweet music! And the King used to write songs for Bellissima. This is one
that she liked very much:
They really were as happy as the day was long. All the King’s unsuccessful
rivals had gone home in despair. They said good-by to the Princess so
sadly that she could not help being sorry for them.
“Ah! madam,” the King of the Gold Mines said to her “how is this? Why do
you waste your pity on these princes, who love you so much that all their
trouble would be well repaid by a single smile from you?”
“I should be sorry,” answered Bellissima, “if you had not noticed how much
I pitied these princes who were leaving me for ever; but for you, sire, it
is very different: you have every reason to be pleased with me, but they
are going sorrowfully away, so you must not grudge them my compassion.”
The King of the Gold Mines was quite overcome by the Princess’s
good-natured way of taking his interference, and, throwing himself at her
feet, he kissed her hand a thousand times and begged her to forgive him.
At last the happy day came. Everything was ready for Bellissima’s wedding.
The trumpets sounded, all the streets of the town were hung with flags and
strewn with flowers, and the people ran in crowds to the great square
before the palace. The Queen was so overjoyed that she had hardly been
able to sleep at all, and she got up before it was light to give the
necessary orders and to choose the jewels that the Princess was to wear.
These were nothing less than diamonds, even to her shoes, which were
covered with them, and her dress of silver brocade was embroidered with a
dozen of the sun’s rays. You may imagine how much these had cost; but then
nothing could have been more brilliant, except the beauty of the Princess!
Upon her head she wore a splendid crown, her lovely hair waved nearly to
her feet, and her stately figure could easily be distinguished among all
the ladies who attended her.
The King of the Gold Mines was not less noble and splendid; it was easy to
see by his face how happy he was, and everyone who went near him returned
loaded with presents, for all round the great banqueting hall had been
arranged a thousand barrels full of gold, and numberless bags made of
velvet embroidered with pearls and filled with money, each one containing
at least a hundred thousand gold pieces, which were given away to everyone
who liked to hold out his hand, which numbers of people hastened to do,
you may be sure—indeed, some found this by far the most amusing part
of the wedding festivities.
The Queen and the Princess were just ready to set out with the King when
they saw, advancing toward them from the end of the long gallery, two
great basilisks, dragging after them a very badly made box; behind them
came a tall old woman, whose ugliness was even more surprising than her
extreme old age. She wore a ruff of black taffeta, a red velvet hood, and
a farthingale all in rags, and she leaned heavily upon a crutch. This
strange old woman, without saying a single word, hobbled three times round
the gallery, followed by the basilisks, then stopping in the middle, and
brandishing her crutch threateningly, she cried:
“Ho, ho, Queen! Ho, ho, Princess! Do you think you are going to break with
impunity the promise that you made to my friend the Yellow Dwarf? I am the
Fairy of the Desert; without the Yellow Dwarf and his orange tree my great
lions would soon have eaten you up, I can tell you, and in Fairyland we do
not suffer ourselves to be insulted like this. Make up your minds at once
what you will do, for I vow that you shall marry the Yellow Dwarf. If you
don’t, may I burn my crutch!”
“Ah! Princess,” said the Queen, weeping, “what is this that I hear? What
have you promised?”
“Ah! my mother,” replied Bellissima sadly, “what did you promise,
yourself?”
The King of the Gold Mines, indignant at being kept from his happiness by
this wicked old woman, went up to her, and threatening her with his sword,
said:
“Get away out of my country at once, and for ever, miserable creature,
lest I take your life, and so rid myself of your malice.”
He had hardly spoken these words when the lid of the box fell back on the
floor with a terrible noise, and to their horror out sprang the Yellow
Dwarf, mounted upon a great Spanish cat. “Rash youth!” he cried, rushing
between the Fairy of the Desert and the King. “Dare to lay a finger upon
this illustrious Fairy! Your quarrel is with me only. I am your enemy and
your rival. That faithless Princess who would have married you is promised
to me. See if she has not upon her finger a ring made of one of my hairs.
Just try to take it off, and you will soon find out that I am more
powerful than you are!”
“Wretched little monster!” said the King; “do you dare to call yourself
the Princess’s lover, and to lay claim to such a treasure? Do you know
that you are a dwarf—that you are so ugly that one cannot bear to
look at you—and that I should have killed you myself long before
this if you had been worthy of such a glorious death?”
The Yellow Dwarf, deeply enraged at these words, set spurs to his cat,
which yelled horribly, and leaped hither and thither—terrifying
everybody except the brave King, who pursued the Dwarf closely, till he,
drawing a great knife with which he was armed, challenged the King to meet
him in single combat, and rushed down into the courtyard of the palace
with a terrible clatter. The King, quite provoked, followed him hastily,
but they had hardly taken their places facing one another, and the whole
Court had only just had time to rush out upon the balconies to watch what
was going on, when suddenly the sun became as red as blood, and it was so
dark that they could scarcely see at all. The thunder crashed, and the
lightning seemed as if it must burn up everything; the two basilisks
appeared, one on each side of the bad Dwarf, like giants, mountains high,
and fire flew from their mouths and ears, until they looked like flaming
furnaces. None of these things could terrify the noble young King, and the
boldness of his looks and actions reassured those who were looking on, and
perhaps even embarrassed the Yellow Dwarf himself; but even his
courage gave way when he saw what was happening to his beloved Princess.
For the Fairy of the Desert, looking more terrible than before, mounted
upon a winged griffin, and with long snakes coiled round her neck, had
given her such a blow with the lance she carried that Bellissima fell into
the Queen’s arms bleeding and senseless. Her fond mother, feeling as much
hurt by the blow as the Princess herself, uttered such piercing cries and
lamentations that the King, hearing them, entirely lost his courage and
presence of mind. Giving up the combat, he flew toward the Princess, to
rescue or to die with her; but the Yellow Dwarf was too quick for him.
Leaping with his Spanish cat upon the balcony, he snatched Bellissima from
the Queen’s arms, and before any of the ladies of the Court could stop him
he had sprung upon the roof of the palace and disappeared with his prize.
The King, motionless with horror, looked on despairingly at this dreadful
occurrence, which he was quite powerless to prevent, and to make matters
worse his sight failed him, everything became dark, and he felt himself
carried along through the air by a strong hand.
This new misfortune was the work of the wicked Fairy of the Desert, who
had come with the Yellow Dwarf to help him carry off the Princess, and had
fallen in love with the handsome young King of the Gold Mines directly she
saw him. She thought that if she carried him off to some frightful cavern
and chained him to a rock, then the fear of death would make him forget
Bellissima and become her slave. So, as soon as they reached the place,
she gave him back his sight, but without releasing him from his chains,
and by her magic power she appeared before him as a young and beautiful
fairy, and pretended to have come there quite by chance.
“What do I see?” she cried. “Is it you, dear Prince? What
misfortune has brought you to this dismal place?”
The King, who was quite deceived by her altered appearance, replied:
“Alas! beautiful Fairy, the fairy who brought me here first took away my
sight, but by her voice I recognized her as the Fairy of the Desert,
though what she should have carried me off for I cannot tell you.”
“Ah!” cried the pretended Fairy, “if you have fallen into her
hands, you won’t get away until you have married her. She has carried off
more than one Prince like this, and she will certainly have anything she
takes a fancy to.” While she was thus pretending to be sorry for the King,
he suddenly noticed her feet, which were like those of a griffin, and knew
in a moment that this must be the Fairy of the Desert, for her feet were
the one thing she could not change, however pretty she might make her
face.
Without seeming to have noticed anything, he said, in a confidential way:
“Not that I have any dislike to the Fairy of the Desert, but I really
cannot endure the way in which she protects the Yellow Dwarf and keeps me
chained here like a criminal. It is true that I love a charming princess,
but if the Fairy should set me free my gratitude would oblige me to love
her only.”
“Do you really mean what you say, Prince?” said the Fairy, quite deceived.
“Surely,” replied the Prince; “how could I deceive you? You see it is so
much more flattering to my vanity to be loved by a fairy than by a simple
princess. But, even if I am dying of love for her, I shall pretend to hate
her until I am set free.”
The Fairy of the Desert, quite taken in by these words, resolved at once
to transport the Prince to a pleasanter place. So, making him mount her
chariot, to which she had harnessed swans instead of the bats which
generally drew it, away she flew with him. But imagine the distress of the
Prince when, from the giddy height at which they were rushing through the
air, he saw his beloved Princess in a castle built of polished steel, the
walls of which reflected the sun’s rays so hotly that no one could
approach it without being burnt to a cinder! Bellissima was sitting in a
little thicket by a brook, leaning her head upon her hand and weeping
bitterly, but just as they passed she looked up and saw the King and the
Fairy of the Desert. Now, the Fairy was so clever that she could not only
seem beautiful to the King, but even the poor Princess thought her the
most lovely being she had ever seen.
“What!” she cried; “was I not unhappy enough in this lonely castle to
which that frightful Yellow Dwarf brought me? Must I also be made to know
that the King of the Gold Mines ceased to love me as soon as he lost sight
of me? But who can my rival be, whose fatal beauty is greater than mine?”
While she was saying this, the King, who really loved her as much as ever,
was feeling terribly sad at being so rapidly torn away from his beloved
Princess, but he knew too well how powerful the Fairy was to have any hope
of escaping from her except by great patience and cunning.
The Fairy of the Desert had also seen Bellissima, and she tried to read in
the King’s eyes the effect that this unexpected sight had had upon him.
“No one can tell you what you wish to know better than I can,” said he.
“This chance meeting with an unhappy princess for whom I once had a
passing fancy, before I was lucky enough to meet you, has affected me a
little, I admit, but you are so much more to me than she is that I would
rather die than leave you.”
“Ah, Prince,” she said, “can I believe that you really love me so much?”
“Time will show, madam,” replied the King; “but if you wish to convince me
that you have some regard for me, do not, I beg of you, refuse to aid
Bellissima.”
“Do you know what you are asking?” said the Fairy of the Desert, frowning,
and looking at him suspiciously. “Do you want me to employ my art against
the Yellow Dwarf, who is my best friend, and take away from him a proud
princess whom I can but look upon as my rival?”
The King sighed, but made no answer—indeed, what was there to be
said to such a clear-sighted person? At last they reached a vast meadow,
gay with all sorts of flowers; a deep river surrounded it, and many little
brooks murmured softly under the shady trees, where it was always cool and
fresh. A little way off stood a splendid palace, the walls of which were
of transparent emeralds. As soon as the swans which drew the Fairy’s
chariot had alighted under a porch, which was paved with diamonds and had
arches of rubies, they were greeted on all sides by thousands of beautiful
beings, who came to meet them joyfully, singing these words:
The Fairy of the Desert was delighted to hear them sing of her triumphs;
she led the King into the most splendid room that can be imagined, and
left him alone for a little while, just that he might not feel that he was
a prisoner; but he felt sure that she had not really gone quite away, but
was watching him from some hiding-place. So walking up to a great mirror,
he said to it, “Trusty counsellor, let me see what I can do to make myself
agreeable to the charming Fairy of the Desert; for I can think of nothing
but how to please her.”
And he at once set to work to curl his hair, and, seeing upon a table a
grander coat than his own, he put it on carefully. The Fairy came back so
delighted that she could not conceal her joy.
“I am quite aware of the trouble you have taken to please me,” said she,
“and I must tell you that you have succeeded perfectly already. You see it
is not difficult to do if you really care for me.”
The King, who had his own reasons for wishing to keep the old Fairy in a
good humor, did not spare pretty speeches, and after a time he was allowed
to walk by himself upon the sea-shore. The Fairy of the Desert had by her
enchantments raised such a terrible storm that the boldest pilot would not
venture out in it, so she was not afraid of her prisoner’s being able to
escape; and he found it some relief to think sadly over his terrible
situation without being interrupted by his cruel captor.
Presently, after walking wildly up and down, he wrote these verses upon
the sand with his stick:
While he was still writing he heard a voice which attracted his attention
in spite of himself. Seeing that the waves were rolling in higher than
ever, he looked all round, and presently saw a lovely lady floating gently
toward him upon the crest of a huge billow, her long hair spread all about
her; in one hand she held a mirror, and in the other a comb, and instead
of feet she had a beautiful tail like a fish, with which she swam.
The King was struck dumb with astonishment at this unexpected sight; but
as soon as she came within speaking distance, she said to him, “I know how
sad you are at losing your Princess and being kept a prisoner by the Fairy
of the Desert; if you like I will help you to escape from this fatal
place, where you may otherwise have to drag on a weary existence for
thirty years or more.”
The King of the Gold Mines hardly knew what answer to make to this
proposal. Not because he did not wish very much to escape, but he was
afraid that this might be only another device by which the Fairy of the
Desert was trying to deceive him. As he hesitated the Mermaid, who guessed
his thoughts, said to him:
“You may trust me: I am not trying to entrap you. I am so angry with the
Yellow Dwarf and the Fairy of the Desert that I am not likely to wish to
help them, especially since I constantly see your poor Princess, whose
beauty and goodness make me pity her so much; and I tell you that if you
will have confidence in me I will help you to escape.”
“I trust you absolutely,” cried the King, “and I will do whatever you tell
me; but if you have seen my Princess I beg of you to tell me how she is
and what is happening to her.
“We must not waste time in talking,” said she. “Come with me and I will
carry you to the Castle of Steel, and we will leave upon this shore a
figure so like you that even the Fairy herself will be deceived by it.”
So saying, she quickly collected a bundle of sea-weed, and, blowing it
three times, she said:
“My friendly sea-weeds, I order you to stay here stretched upon the sand
until the Fairy of the Desert comes to take you away.” And at once the
sea-weeds became like the King, who stood looking at them in great
astonishment, for they were even dressed in a coat like his, but they lay
there pale and still as the King himself might have lain if one of the
great waves had overtaken him and thrown him senseless upon the shore. And
then the Mermaid caught up the King, and away they swam joyfully together.
“Now,” said she, “I have time to tell you about the Princess. In spite of
the blow which the Fairy of the Desert gave her, the Yellow Dwarf
compelled her to mount behind him upon his terrible Spanish cat; but she
soon fainted away with pain and terror, and did not recover till they were
within the walls of his frightful Castle of Steel. Here she was received
by the prettiest girls it was possible to find, who had been carried there
by the Yellow Dwarf, who hastened to wait upon her and showed her every
possible attention. She was laid upon a couch covered with cloth of gold,
embroidered with pearls as big as nuts.”
“Ah!” interrupted the King of the Gold Mines, “if Bellissima forgets me,
and consents to marry him, I shall break my heart.”
“You need not be afraid of that,” answered the Mermaid, “the Princess
thinks of no one but you, and the frightful Dwarf cannot persuade her to
look at him.”
“Pray go on with your story,” said the King.
“What more is there to tell you?” replied the Mermaid. “Bellissima was
sitting in the wood when you passed, and saw you with the Fairy of the
Desert, who was so cleverly disguised that the Princess took her to be
prettier than herself; you may imagine her despair, for she thought that
you had fallen in love with her.”
“She believes that I love her!” cried the King. “What a fatal mistake!
What is to be done to undeceive her?”
“You know best,” answered the Mermaid, smiling kindly at him. “When people
are as much in love with one another as you two are, they don’t need
advice from anyone else.”
As she spoke they reached the Castle of Steel, the side next the sea being
the only one which the Yellow Dwarf had left unprotected by the dreadful
burning walls.
“I know quite well,” said the Mermaid, “that the Princess is sitting by
the brook-side, just where you saw her as you passed, but as you will have
many enemies to fight with before you can reach her, take this sword;
armed with it you may dare any danger, and overcome the greatest
difficulties, only beware of one thing—that is, never to let it fall
from your hand. Farewell; now I will wait by that rock, and if you need my
help in carrying off your beloved Princess I will not fail you, for the
Queen, her mother, is my best friend, and it was for her sake that I went
to rescue you.”
So saying, she gave to the King a sword made from a single diamond, which
was more brilliant than the sun. He could not find words to express his
gratitude, but he begged her to believe that he fully appreciated the
importance of her gift, and would never forget her help and kindness.
We must now go back to the Fairy of the Desert. When she found that the
King did not return, she hastened out to look for him, and reached the
shore, with a hundred of the ladies of her train, loaded with splendid
presents for him. Some carried baskets full of diamonds, others golden
cups of wonderful workmanship, and amber, coral, and pearls, others,
again, balanced upon their heads bales of the richest and most beautiful
stuffs, while the rest brought fruit and flowers, and even birds. But what
was the horror of the Fairy, who followed this gay troop, when she saw,
stretched upon the sands, the image of the King which the Mermaid had made
with the sea-weeds. Struck with astonishment and sorrow, she uttered a
terrible cry, and threw herself down beside the pretended King, weeping,
and howling, and calling upon her eleven sisters, who were also fairies,
and who came to her assistance. But they were all taken in by the image of
the King, for, clever as they were, the Mermaid was still cleverer, and
all they could do was to help the Fairy of the Desert to make a wonderful
monument over what they thought was the grave of the King of the Gold
Mines. But while they were collecting jasper and porphyry, agate and
marble, gold and bronze, statues and devices, to immortalize the King’s
memory, he was thanking the good Mermaid and begging her still to help
him, which she graciously promised to do as she disappeared; and then he
set out for the Castle of Steel. He walked fast, looking anxiously round
him, and longing once more to see his darling Bellissima, but he had not
gone far before he was surrounded by four terrible sphinxes who would very
soon have torn him to pieces with their sharp talons if it had not been
for the Mermaid’s diamond sword. For, no sooner had he flashed it before
their eyes than down they fell at his feet quite helpless, and he killed
them with one blow. But he had hardly turned to continue his search when
he met six dragons covered with scales that were harder than iron.
Frightful as this encounter was the King’s courage was unshaken, and by
the aid of his wonderful sword he cut them in pieces one after the other.
Now he hoped his difficulties were over, but at the next turning he was
met by one which he did not know how to overcome. Four-and-twenty pretty
and graceful nymphs advanced toward him, holding garlands of flowers, with
which they barred the way.
“Where are you going, Prince?” they said; “it is our duty to guard this
place, and if we let you pass great misfortunes will happen to you and to
us. We beg you not to insist upon going on. Do you want to kill
four-and-twenty girls who have never displeased you in any way?”
The King did not know what to do or to say. It went against all his ideas
as a knight to do anything a lady begged him not to do; but, as he
hesitated, a voice in his ear said:
“Strike! strike! and do not spare, or your Princess is lost for ever!”
So, without reply to the nymphs, he rushed forward instantly, breaking
their garlands, and scattering them in all directions; and then went on
without further hindrance to the little wood where he had seen Bellissima.
She was seated by the brook looking pale and weary when he reached her,
and he would have thrown himself down at her feet, but she drew herself
away from him with as much indignation as if he had been the Yellow Dwarf.
“Ah! Princess,” he cried, “do not be angry with me. Let me explain
everything. I am not faithless or to blame for what has happened. I am a
miserable wretch who has displeased you without being able to help
himself.”
“Ah!” cried Bellissima, “did I not see you flying through the air with the
loveliest being imaginable? Was that against your will?”
“Indeed it was, Princess,” he answered; “the wicked Fairy of the Desert,
not content with chaining me to a rock, carried me off in her chariot to
the other end of the earth, where I should even now be a captive but for
the unexpected help of a friendly mermaid, who brought me here to rescue
you, my Princess, from the unworthy hands that hold you. Do not refuse the
aid of your most faithful lover.” So saying, he threw himself at her feet
and held her by her robe. But, alas! in so doing he let fall the magic
sword, and the Yellow Dwarf, who was crouching behind a lettuce, no sooner
saw it than he sprang out and seized it, well knowing its wonderful power.
The Princess gave a cry of terror on seeing the Dwarf, but this only
irritated the little monster; muttering a few magical words he summoned
two giants, who bound the King with great chains of iron.
“Now,” said the Dwarf, “I am master of my rival’s fate, but I will give
him his life and permission to depart unharmed if you, Princess, will
consent to marry me.”
“Let me die a thousand times rather,” cried the unhappy King.
“Alas!” cried the Princess, “must you die? Could anything be more
terrible?”
“That you should marry that little wretch would be far more terrible,”
answered the King.
“At least,” continued she, “let us die together.”
“Let me have the satisfaction of dying for you, my Princess,” said he.
“Oh, no, no!” she cried, turning to the Dwarf; “rather than that I will do
as you wish.”
“Cruel Princess!” said the King, “would you make my life horrible to me by
marrying another before my eyes?”
“Not so,” replied the Yellow Dwarf; “you are a rival of whom I am too much
afraid; you shall not see our marriage.” So saying, in spite of
Bellissima’s tears and cries, he stabbed the King to the heart with the
diamond sword.
The poor Princess, seeing her lover lying dead at her feet, could no
longer live without him; she sank down by him and died of a broken heart.
So ended these unfortunate lovers, whom not even the Mermaid could help,
because all the magic power had been lost with the diamond sword.
As to the wicked Dwarf, he preferred to see the Princess dead rather than
married to the King of the Gold Mines; and the Fairy of the Desert, when
she heard of the King’s adventures, pulled down the grand monument which
she had built, and was so angry at the trick that had been played her that
she hated him as much as she had loved him before.
The kind Mermaid, grieved at the sad fate of the lovers, caused them to be
changed into two tall palm trees, which stand always side by side,
whispering together of their faithful love and caressing one another with
their interlacing branches.(1)
(1) Madame d’Aulnoy.
LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD
Once upon a time there lived in a certain village a little country girl,
the prettiest creature was ever seen. Her mother was excessively fond of
her; and her grandmother doted on her still more. This good woman had made
for her a little red riding-hood; which became the girl so extremely well
that everybody called her Little Red Riding-Hood.
One day her mother, having made some custards, said to her:
“Go, my dear, and see how thy grandmamma does, for I hear she has been
very ill; carry her a custard, and this little pot of butter.”
Little Red Riding-Hood set out immediately to go to her grandmother, who
lived in another village.
As she was going through the wood, she met with Gaffer Wolf, who had a
very great mind to eat her up, but he dared not, because of some
faggot-makers hard by in the forest. He asked her whither she was going.
The poor child, who did not know that it was dangerous to stay and hear a
wolf talk, said to him:
“I am going to see my grandmamma and carry her a custard and a little pot
of butter from my mamma.”
“Does she live far off?” said the Wolf.
“Oh! ay,” answered Little Red Riding-Hood; “it is beyond that mill you see
there, at the first house in the village.”
“Well,” said the Wolf, “and I’ll go and see her too. I’ll go this way and
you go that, and we shall see who will be there soonest.”
The Wolf began to run as fast as he could, taking the nearest way, and the
little girl went by that farthest about, diverting herself in gathering
nuts, running after butterflies, and making nosegays of such little
flowers as she met with. The Wolf was not long before he got to the old
woman’s house. He knocked at the door—tap, tap.
“Who’s there?”
“Your grandchild, Little Red Riding-Hood,” replied the Wolf,
counterfeiting her voice; “who has brought you a custard and a little pot
of butter sent you by mamma.”
The good grandmother, who was in bed, because she was somewhat ill, cried
out:
“Pull the bobbin, and the latch will go up.”
The Wolf pulled the bobbin, and the door opened, and then presently he
fell upon the good woman and ate her up in a moment, for it was above
three days that he had not touched a bit. He then shut the door and went
into the grandmother’s bed, expecting Little Red Riding-Hood, who came
some time afterward and knocked at the door—tap, tap.
“Who’s there?”
Little Red Riding-Hood, hearing the big voice of the Wolf, was at first
afraid; but believing her grandmother had got a cold and was hoarse,
answered:
“‘Tis your grandchild, Little Red Riding-Hood, who has brought you a
custard and a little pot of butter mamma sends you.”
The Wolf cried out to her, softening his voice as much as he could:
“Pull the bobbin, and the latch will go up.”
Little Red Riding-Hood pulled the bobbin, and the door opened.
The Wolf, seeing her come in, said to her, hiding himself under the
bed-clothes:
“Put the custard and the little pot of butter upon the stool, and come and
lie down with me.”
Little Red Riding-Hood undressed herself and went into bed, where, being
greatly amazed to see how her grandmother looked in her night-clothes, she
said to her:
“Grandmamma, what great arms you have got!”
“That is the better to hug thee, my dear.”
“Grandmamma, what great legs you have got!”
“That is to run the better, my child.”
“Grandmamma, what great ears you have got!”
“That is to hear the better, my child.”
“Grandmamma, what great eyes you have got!”
“It is to see the better, my child.”
“Grandmamma, what great teeth you have got!”
“That is to eat thee up.”
And, saying these words, this wicked wolf fell upon Little Red
Riding-Hood, and ate her all up.
THE SLEEPING BEAUTY IN THE WOOD
There were formerly a king and a queen, who were so sorry that they had no
children; so sorry that it cannot be expressed. They went to all the
waters in the world; vows, pilgrimages, all ways were tried, and all to no
purpose.
At last, however, the Queen had a daughter. There was a very fine
christening; and the Princess had for her god-mothers all the fairies they
could find in the whole kingdom (they found seven), that every one of them
might give her a gift, as was the custom of fairies in those days. By this
means the Princess had all the perfections imaginable.
After the ceremonies of the christening were over, all the company
returned to the King’s palace, where was prepared a great feast for the
fairies. There was placed before every one of them a magnificent cover
with a case of massive gold, wherein were a spoon, knife, and fork, all of
pure gold set with diamonds and rubies. But as they were all sitting down
at table they saw come into the hall a very old fairy, whom they had not
invited, because it was above fifty years since she had been out of a
certain tower, and she was believed to be either dead or enchanted.
The King ordered her a cover, but could not furnish her with a case of
gold as the others, because they had only seven made for the seven
fairies. The old Fairy fancied she was slighted, and muttered some threats
between her teeth. One of the young fairies who sat by her overheard how
she grumbled; and, judging that she might give the little Princess some
unlucky gift, went, as soon as they rose from table, and hid herself
behind the hangings, that she might speak last, and repair, as much as she
could, the evil which the old Fairy might intend.
In the meanwhile all the fairies began to give their gifts to the
Princess. The youngest gave her for gift that she should be the most
beautiful person in the world; the next, that she should have the wit of
an angel; the third, that she should have a wonderful grace in everything
she did; the fourth, that she should dance perfectly well; the fifth, that
she should sing like a nightingale; and the sixth, that she should play
all kinds of music to the utmost perfection.
The old Fairy’s turn coming next, with a head shaking more with spite than
age, she said that the Princess should have her hand pierced with a
spindle and die of the wound. This terrible gift made the whole company
tremble, and everybody fell a-crying.
At this very instant the young Fairy came out from behind the hangings,
and spake these words aloud:
“Assure yourselves, O King and Queen, that your daughter shall not die of
this disaster. It is true, I have no power to undo entirely what my elder
has done. The Princess shall indeed pierce her hand with a spindle; but,
instead of dying, she shall only fall into a profound sleep, which shall
last a hundred years, at the expiration of which a king’s son shall come
and awake her.”
The King, to avoid the misfortune foretold by the old Fairy, caused
immediately proclamation to be made, whereby everybody was forbidden, on
pain of death, to spin with a distaff and spindle, or to have so much as
any spindle in their houses. About fifteen or sixteen years after, the
King and Queen being gone to one of their houses of pleasure, the young
Princess happened one day to divert herself in running up and down the
palace; when going up from one apartment to another, she came into a
little room on the top of the tower, where a good old woman, alone, was
spinning with her spindle. This good woman had never heard of the King’s
proclamation against spindles.
“What are you doing there, goody?” said the Princess.
“I am spinning, my pretty child,” said the old woman, who did not know who
she was.
“Ha!” said the Princess, “this is very pretty; how do you do it? Give it
to me, that I may see if I can do so.”
She had no sooner taken it into her hand than, whether being very hasty at
it, somewhat unhandy, or that the decree of the Fairy had so ordained it,
it ran into her hand, and she fell down in a swoon.
The good old woman, not knowing very well what to do in this affair, cried
out for help. People came in from every quarter in great numbers; they
threw water upon the Princess’s face, unlaced her, struck her on the palms
of her hands, and rubbed her temples with Hungary-water; but nothing would
bring her to herself.
And now the King, who came up at the noise, bethought himself of the
prediction of the fairies, and, judging very well that this must
necessarily come to pass, since the fairies had said it, caused the
Princess to be carried into the finest apartment in his palace, and to be
laid upon a bed all embroidered with gold and silver.
One would have taken her for a little angel, she was so very beautiful;
for her swooning away had not diminished one bit of her complexion; her
cheeks were carnation, and her lips were coral; indeed, her eyes were
shut, but she was heard to breathe softly, which satisfied those about her
that she was not dead. The King commanded that they should not disturb
her, but let her sleep quietly till her hour of awaking was come.
The good Fairy who had saved her life by condemning her to sleep a hundred
years was in the kingdom of Matakin, twelve thousand leagues off, when
this accident befell the Princess; but she was instantly informed of it by
a little dwarf, who had boots of seven leagues, that is, boots with which
he could tread over seven leagues of ground in one stride. The Fairy came
away immediately, and she arrived, about an hour after, in a fiery chariot
drawn by dragons.
The King handed her out of the chariot, and she approved everything he had
done, but as she had very great foresight, she thought when the Princess
should awake she might not know what to do with herself, being all alone
in this old palace; and this was what she did: she touched with her wand
everything in the palace (except the King and Queen)—governesses,
maids of honor, ladies of the bedchamber, gentlemen, officers, stewards,
cooks, undercooks, scullions, guards, with their beefeaters, pages,
footmen; she likewise touched all the horses which were in the stables,
pads as well as others, the great dogs in the outward court and pretty
little Mopsey too, the Princess’s little spaniel, which lay by her on the
bed.
Immediately upon her touching them they all fell asleep, that they might
not awake before their mistress and that they might be ready to wait upon
her when she wanted them. The very spits at the fire, as full as they
could hold of partridges and pheasants, did fall asleep also. All this was
done in a moment. Fairies are not long in doing their business.
And now the King and the Queen, having kissed their dear child without
waking her, went out of the palace and put forth a proclamation that
nobody should dare to come near it.
This, however, was not necessary, for in a quarter of an hour’s time there
grew up all round about the park such a vast number of trees, great and
small, bushes and brambles, twining one within another, that neither man
nor beast could pass through; so that nothing could be seen but the very
top of the towers of the palace; and that, too, not unless it was a good
way off. Nobody; doubted but the Fairy gave herein a very extraordinary
sample of her art, that the Princess, while she continued sleeping, might
have nothing to fear from any curious people.
When a hundred years were gone and passed the son of the King then
reigning, and who was of another family from that of the sleeping
Princess, being gone a-hunting on that side of the country, asked:
What those towers were which he saw in the middle of a great thick wood?
Everyone answered according as they had heard. Some said:
That it was a ruinous old castle, haunted by spirits.
Others, That all the sorcerers and witches of the country kept there their
sabbath or night’s meeting.
The common opinion was: That an ogre lived there, and that he carried
thither all the little children he could catch, that he might eat them up
at his leisure, without anybody being able to follow him, as having
himself only the power to pass through the wood.
The Prince was at a stand, not knowing what to believe, when a very good
countryman spake to him thus:
“May it please your royal highness, it is now about fifty years since I
heard from my father, who heard my grandfather say, that there was then in
this castle a princess, the most beautiful was ever seen; that she must
sleep there a hundred years, and should be waked by a king’s son, for whom
she was reserved.”
The young Prince was all on fire at these words, believing, without
weighing the matter, that he could put an end to this rare adventure; and,
pushed on by love and honor, resolved that moment to look into it.
Scarce had he advanced toward the wood when all the great trees, the
bushes, and brambles gave way of themselves to let him pass through; he
walked up to the castle which he saw at the end of a large avenue which he
went into; and what a little surprised him was that he saw none of his
people could follow him, because the trees closed again as soon as he had
passed through them. However, he did not cease from continuing his way; a
young and amorous prince is always valiant.
He came into a spacious outward court, where everything he saw might have
frozen the most fearless person with horror. There reigned all over a most
frightful silence; the image of death everywhere showed itself, and there
was nothing to be seen but stretched-out bodies of men and animals, all
seeming to be dead. He, however, very well knew, by the ruby faces and
pimpled noses of the beefeaters, that they were only asleep; and their
goblets, wherein still remained some drops of wine, showed plainly that
they fell asleep in their cups.
He then crossed a court paved with marble, went up the stairs and came
into the guard chamber, where guards were standing in their ranks, with
their muskets upon their shoulders, and snoring as loud as they could.
After that he went through several rooms full of gentlemen and ladies, all
asleep, some standing, others sitting. At last he came into a chamber all
gilded with gold, where he saw upon a bed, the curtains of which were all
open, the finest sight was ever beheld—a princess, who appeared to
be about fifteen or sixteen years of age, and whose bright and, in a
manner, resplendent beauty, had somewhat in it divine. He approached with
trembling and admiration, and fell down before her upon his knees.
And now, as the enchantment was at an end, the Princess awaked, and
looking on him with eyes more tender than the first view might seem to
admit of:
“Is it you, my Prince?” said she to him. “You have waited a long while.”
The Prince, charmed with these words, and much more with the manner in
which they were spoken, knew not how to show his joy and gratitude; he
assured her that he loved her better than he did himself; their discourse
was not well connected, they did weep more than talk—little
eloquence, a great deal of love. He was more at a loss than she, and we
need not wonder at it; she had time to think on what to say to him; for it
is very probable (though history mentions nothing of it) that the good
Fairy, during so long a sleep, had given her very agreeable dreams. In
short, they talked four hours together, and yet they said not half what
they had to say.
In the meanwhile all the palace awaked; everyone thought upon their
particular business, and as all of them were not in love they were ready
to die for hunger. The chief lady of honor, being as sharp set as other
folks, grew very impatient, and told the Princess aloud that supper was
served up. The Prince helped the Princess to rise; she was entirely
dressed, and very magnificently, but his royal highness took care not to
tell her that she was dressed like his great-grandmother, and had a point
band peeping over a high collar; she looked not a bit less charming and
beautiful for all that.
They went into the great hall of looking-glasses, where they supped, and
were served by the Princess’s officers, the violins and hautboys played
old tunes, but very excellent, though it was now above a hundred years
since they had played; and after supper, without losing any time, the lord
almoner married them in the chapel of the castle, and the chief lady of
honor drew the curtains. They had but very little sleep—the Princess
had no occasion; and the Prince left her next morning to return to the
city, where his father must needs have been in pain for him. The Prince
told him:
That he lost his way in the forest as he was hunting, and that he had lain
in the cottage of a charcoal-burner, who gave him cheese and brown bread.
The King, his father, who was a good man, believed him; but his mother
could not be persuaded it was true; and seeing that he went almost every
day a-hunting, and that he always had some excuse ready for so doing,
though he had lain out three or four nights together, she began to suspect
that he was married, for he lived with the Princess above two whole years,
and had by her two children, the eldest of which, who was a daughter, was
named Morning, and the youngest, who was a son, they called Day, because
he was a great deal handsomer and more beautiful than his sister.
The Queen spoke several times to her son, to inform herself after what
manner he did pass his time, and that in this he ought in duty to satisfy
her. But he never dared to trust her with his secret; he feared her,
though he loved her, for she was of the race of the Ogres, and the King
would never have married her had it not been for her vast riches; it was
even whispered about the Court that she had Ogreish inclinations, and
that, whenever she saw little children passing by, she had all the
difficulty in the world to avoid falling upon them. And so the Prince
would never tell her one word.
But when the King was dead, which happened about two years afterward, and
he saw himself lord and master, he openly declared his marriage; and he
went in great ceremony to conduct his Queen to the palace. They made a
magnificent entry into the capital city, she riding between her two
children.
Soon after the King went to make war with the Emperor Contalabutte, his
neighbor. He left the government of the kingdom to the Queen his mother,
and earnestly recommended to her care his wife and children. He was
obliged to continue his expedition all the summer, and as soon as he
departed the Queen-mother sent her daughter-in-law to a country house
among the woods, that she might with the more ease gratify her horrible
longing.
Some few days afterward she went thither herself, and said to her clerk of
the kitchen:
“I have a mind to eat little Morning for my dinner to-morrow.”
“Ah! madam,” cried the clerk of the kitchen.
“I will have it so,” replied the Queen (and this she spoke in the tone of
an Ogress who had a strong desire to eat fresh meat), “and will eat her
with a sauce Robert.”
The poor man, knowing very well that he must not play tricks with
Ogresses, took his great knife and went up into little Morning’s chamber.
She was then four years old, and came up to him jumping and laughing, to
take him about the neck, and ask him for some sugar-candy. Upon which he
began to weep, the great knife fell out of his hand, and he went into the
back yard, and killed a little lamb, and dressed it with such good sauce
that his mistress assured him that she had never eaten anything so good in
her life. He had at the same time taken up little Morning, and carried her
to his wife, to conceal her in the lodging he had at the bottom of the
courtyard.
About eight days afterward the wicked Queen said to the clerk of the
kitchen, “I will sup on little Day.”
He answered not a word, being resolved to cheat her as he had done before.
He went to find out little Day, and saw him with a little foil in his
hand, with which he was fencing with a great monkey, the child being then
only three years of age. He took him up in his arms and carried him to his
wife, that she might conceal him in her chamber along with his sister, and
in the room of little Day cooked up a young kid, very tender, which the
Ogress found to be wonderfully good.
This was hitherto all mighty well; but one evening this wicked Queen said
to her clerk of the kitchen:
“I will eat the Queen with the same sauce I had with her children.”
It was now that the poor clerk of the kitchen despaired of being able to
deceive her. The young Queen was turned of twenty, not reckoning the
hundred years she had been asleep; and how to find in the yard a beast so
firm was what puzzled him. He took then a resolution, that he might save
his own life, to cut the Queen’s throat; and going up into her chamber,
with intent to do it at once, he put himself into as great fury as he
could possibly, and came into the young Queen’s room with his dagger in
his hand. He would not, however, surprise her, but told her, with a great
deal of respect, the orders he had received from the Queen-mother.
“Do it; do it” (said she, stretching out her neck). “Execute your orders,
and then I shall go and see my children, my poor children, whom I so much
and so tenderly loved.”
For she thought them dead ever since they had been taken away without her
knowledge.
“No, no, madam” (cried the poor clerk of the kitchen, all in tears); “you
shall not die, and yet you shall see your children again; but then you
must go home with me to my lodgings, where I have concealed them, and I
shall deceive the Queen once more, by giving her in your stead a young
hind.”
Upon this he forthwith conducted her to his chamber, where, leaving her to
embrace her children, and cry along with them, he went and dressed a young
hind, which the Queen had for her supper, and devoured it with the same
appetite as if it had been the young Queen. Exceedingly was she delighted
with her cruelty, and she had invented a story to tell the King, at his
return, how the mad wolves had eaten up the Queen his wife and her two
children.
One evening, as she was, according to her custom, rambling round about the
courts and yards of the palace to see if she could smell any fresh meat,
she heard, in a ground room, little Day crying, for his mamma was going to
whip him, because he had been naughty; and she heard, at the same time,
little Morning begging pardon for her brother.
The Ogress presently knew the voice of the Queen and her children, and
being quite mad that she had been thus deceived, she commanded next
morning, by break of day (with a most horrible voice, which made everybody
tremble), that they should bring into the middle of the great court a
large tub, which she caused to be filled with toads, vipers, snakes, and
all sorts of serpents, in order to have thrown into it the Queen and her
children, the clerk of the kitchen, his wife and maid; all whom she had
given orders should be brought thither with their hands tied behind them.
They were brought out accordingly, and the executioners were just going to
throw them into the tub, when the King (who was not so soon expected)
entered the court on horseback (for he came post) and asked, with the
utmost astonishment, what was the meaning of that horrible spectacle.
No one dared to tell him, when the Ogress, all enraged to see what had
happened, threw herself head foremost into the tub, and was instantly
devoured by the ugly creatures she had ordered to be thrown into it for
others. The King could not but be very sorry, for she was his mother; but
he soon comforted himself with his beautiful wife and his pretty children.
CINDERELLA, OR THE LITTLE GLASS SLIPPER
Once there was a gentleman who married, for his second wife, the proudest
and most haughty woman that was ever seen. She had, by a former husband,
two daughters of her own humor, who were, indeed, exactly like her in all
things. He had likewise, by another wife, a young daughter, but of
unparalleled goodness and sweetness of temper, which she took from her
mother, who was the best creature in the world.
No sooner were the ceremonies of the wedding over but the mother-in-law
began to show herself in her true colors. She could not bear the good
qualities of this pretty girl, and the less because they made her own
daughters appear the more odious. She employed her in the meanest work of
the house: she scoured the dishes, tables, etc., and scrubbed madam’s
chamber, and those of misses, her daughters; she lay up in a sorry garret,
upon a wretched straw bed, while her sisters lay in fine rooms, with
floors all inlaid, upon beds of the very newest fashion, and where they
had looking-glasses so large that they might see themselves at their full
length from head to foot.
The poor girl bore all patiently, and dared not tell her father, who would
have rattled her off; for his wife governed him entirely. When she had
done her work, she used to go into the chimney-corner, and sit down among
cinders and ashes, which made her commonly be called Cinderwench; but the
youngest, who was not so rude and uncivil as the eldest, called her
Cinderella. However, Cinderella, notwithstanding her mean apparel, was a
hundred times handsomer than her sisters, though they were always dressed
very richly.
It happened that the King’s son gave a ball, and invited all persons of
fashion to it. Our young misses were also invited, for they cut a very
grand figure among the quality. They were mightily delighted at this
invitation, and wonderfully busy in choosing out such gowns, petticoats,
and head-clothes as might become them. This was a new trouble to
Cinderella; for it was she who ironed her sisters’ linen, and plaited
their ruffles; they talked all day long of nothing but how they should be
dressed.
“For my part,” said the eldest, “I will wear my red velvet suit with
French trimming.”
“And I,” said the youngest, “shall have my usual petticoat; but then, to
make amends for that, I will put on my gold-flowered manteau, and my
diamond stomacher, which is far from being the most ordinary one in the
world.”
They sent for the best tire-woman they could get to make up their
head-dresses and adjust their double pinners, and they had their red
brushes and patches from Mademoiselle de la Poche.
Cinderella was likewise called up to them to be consulted in all these
matters, for she had excellent notions, and advised them always for the
best, nay, and offered her services to dress their heads, which they were
very willing she should do. As she was doing this, they said to her:
“Cinderella, would you not be glad to go to the ball?”
“Alas!” said she, “you only jeer me; it is not for such as I am to go
thither.”
“Thou art in the right of it,” replied they; “it would make the people
laugh to see a Cinderwench at a ball.”
Anyone but Cinderella would have dressed their heads awry, but she was
very good, and dressed them perfectly well They were almost two days
without eating, so much were they transported with joy. They broke above a
dozen laces in trying to be laced up close, that they might have a fine
slender shape, and they were continually at their looking-glass. At last
the happy day came; they went to Court, and Cinderella followed them with
her eyes as long as she could, and when she had lost sight of them, she
fell a-crying.
Her godmother, who saw her all in tears, asked her what was the matter.
“I wish I could—I wish I could—“; she was not able to speak
the rest, being interrupted by her tears and sobbing.
This godmother of hers, who was a fairy, said to her, “Thou wishest thou
couldst go to the ball; is it not so?”
“Y—es,” cried Cinderella, with a great sigh.
“Well,” said her godmother, “be but a good girl, and I will contrive that
thou shalt go.” Then she took her into her chamber, and said to her, “Run
into the garden, and bring me a pumpkin.”
Cinderella went immediately to gather the finest she could get, and
brought it to her godmother, not being able to imagine how this pumpkin
could make her go to the ball. Her godmother scooped out all the inside of
it, having left nothing but the rind; which done, she struck it with her
wand, and the pumpkin was instantly turned into a fine coach, gilded all
over with gold.
She then went to look into her mouse-trap, where she found six mice, all
alive, and ordered Cinderella to lift up a little the trapdoor, when,
giving each mouse, as it went out, a little tap with her wand, the mouse
was that moment turned into a fine horse, which altogether made a very
fine set of six horses of a beautiful mouse-colored dapple-gray. Being at
a loss for a coachman,
“I will go and see,” says Cinderella, “if there is never a rat in the
rat-trap—we may make a coachman of him.”
“Thou art in the right,” replied her godmother; “go and look.”
Cinderella brought the trap to her, and in it there were three huge rats.
The fairy made choice of one of the three which had the largest beard,
and, having touched him with her wand, he was turned into a fat, jolly
coachman, who had the smartest whiskers eyes ever beheld. After that, she
said to her:
“Go again into the garden, and you will find six lizards behind the
watering-pot, bring them to me.”
She had no sooner done so but her godmother turned them into six footmen,
who skipped up immediately behind the coach, with their liveries all
bedaubed with gold and silver, and clung as close behind each other as if
they had done nothing else their whole lives. The Fairy then said to
Cinderella:
“Well, you see here an equipage fit to go to the ball with; are you not
pleased with it?”
“Oh! yes,” cried she; “but must I go thither as I am, in these nasty
rags?”
Her godmother only just touched her with her wand, and, at the same
instant, her clothes were turned into cloth of gold and silver, all beset
with jewels. This done, she gave her a pair of glass slippers, the
prettiest in the whole world. Being thus decked out, she got up into her
coach; but her godmother, above all things, commanded her not to stay till
after midnight, telling her, at the same time, that if she stayed one
moment longer, the coach would be a pumpkin again, her horses mice, her
coachman a rat, her footmen lizards, and her clothes become just as they
were before.
She promised her godmother she would not fail of leaving the ball before
midnight; and then away she drives, scarce able to contain herself for
joy. The King’s son who was told that a great princess, whom nobody knew,
was come, ran out to receive her; he gave her his hand as she alighted out
of the coach, and led her into the ball, among all the company. There was
immediately a profound silence, they left off dancing, and the violins
ceased to play, so attentive was everyone to contemplate the singular
beauties of the unknown new-comer. Nothing was then heard but a confused
noise of:
“Ha! how handsome she is! Ha! how handsome she is!”
The King himself, old as he was, could not help watching her, and telling
the Queen softly that it was a long time since he had seen so beautiful
and lovely a creature.
All the ladies were busied in considering her clothes and headdress, that
they might have some made next day after the same pattern, provided they
could meet with such fine material and as able hands to make them.
The King’s son conducted her to the most honorable seat, and afterward
took her out to dance with him; she danced so very gracefully that they
all more and more admired her. A fine collation was served up, whereof the
young prince ate not a morsel, so intently was he busied in gazing on her.
She went and sat down by her sisters, showing them a thousand civilities,
giving them part of the oranges and citrons which the Prince had presented
her with, which very much surprised them, for they did not know her. While
Cinderella was thus amusing her sisters, she heard the clock strike eleven
and three-quarters, whereupon she immediately made a courtesy to the
company and hasted away as fast as she could.
When she got home she ran to seek out her godmother, and, after having
thanked her, she said she could not but heartily wish she might go next
day to the ball, because the King’s son had desired her.
As she was eagerly telling her godmother whatever had passed at the ball,
her two sisters knocked at the door, which Cinderella ran and opened.
“How long you have stayed!” cried she, gaping, rubbing her eyes and
stretching herself as if she had been just waked out of her sleep; she had
not, however, any manner of inclination to sleep since they went from
home.
“If thou hadst been at the ball,” said one of her sisters, “thou wouldst
not have been tired with it. There came thither the finest princess, the
most beautiful ever was seen with mortal eyes; she showed us a thousand
civilities, and gave us oranges and citrons.”
Cinderella seemed very indifferent in the matter; indeed, she asked them
the name of that princess; but they told her they did not know it, and
that the King’s son was very uneasy on her account and would give all the
world to know who she was. At this Cinderella, smiling, replied:
“She must, then, be very beautiful indeed; how happy you have been! Could
not I see her? Ah! dear Miss Charlotte, do lend me your yellow suit of
clothes which you wear every day.”
“Ay, to be sure!” cried Miss Charlotte; “lend my clothes to such a dirty
Cinderwench as thou art! I should be a fool.”
Cinderella, indeed, expected well such answer, and was very glad of the
refusal; for she would have been sadly put to it if her sister had lent
her what she asked for jestingly.
The next day the two sisters were at the ball, and so was Cinderella, but
dressed more magnificently than before. The King’s son was always by her,
and never ceased his compliments and kind speeches to her; to whom all
this was so far from being tiresome that she quite forgot what her
godmother had recommended to her; so that she, at last, counted the clock
striking twelve when she took it to be no more than eleven; she then rose
up and fled, as nimble as a deer. The Prince followed, but could not
overtake her. She left behind one of her glass slippers, which the Prince
took up most carefully. She got home but quite out of breath, and in her
nasty old clothes, having nothing left her of all her finery but one of
the little slippers, fellow to that she dropped. The guards at the palace
gate were asked:
If they had not seen a princess go out.
Who said: They had seen nobody go out but a young girl, very meanly
dressed, and who had more the air of a poor country wench than a
gentlewoman.
When the two sisters returned from the ball Cinderella asked them: If they
had been well diverted, and if the fine lady had been there.
They told her: Yes, but that she hurried away immediately when it struck
twelve, and with so much haste that she dropped one of her little glass
slippers, the prettiest in the world, which the King’s son had taken up;
that he had done nothing but look at her all the time at the ball, and
that most certainly he was very much in love with the beautiful person who
owned the glass slipper.
What they said was very true; for a few days after the King’s son caused
it to be proclaimed, by sound of trumpet, that he would marry her whose
foot the slipper would just fit. They whom he employed began to try it
upon the princesses, then the duchesses and all the Court, but in vain; it
was brought to the two sisters, who did all they possibly could to thrust
their foot into the slipper, but they could not effect it. Cinderella, who
saw all this, and knew her slipper, said to them, laughing:
“Let me see if it will not fit me.”
Her sisters burst out a-laughing, and began to banter her. The gentleman
who was sent to try the slipper looked earnestly at Cinderella, and,
finding her very handsome, said:
It was but just that she should try, and that he had orders to let
everyone make trial.
He obliged Cinderella to sit down, and, putting the slipper to her foot,
he found it went on very easily, and fitted her as if it had been made of
wax. The astonishment her two sisters were in was excessively great, but
still abundantly greater when Cinderella pulled out of her pocket the
other slipper, and put it on her foot. Thereupon, in came her godmother,
who, having touched with her wand Cinderella’s clothes, made them richer
and more magnificent than any of those she had before.
And now her two sisters found her to be that fine, beautiful lady whom
they had seen at the ball. They threw themselves at her feet to beg pardon
for all the ill-treatment they had made her undergo. Cinderella took them
up, and, as she embraced them, cried:
That she forgave them with all her heart, and desired them always to love
her.
She was conducted to the young prince, dressed as she was; he thought her
more charming than ever, and, a few days after, married her. Cinderella,
who was no less good than beautiful, gave her two sisters lodgings in the
palace, and that very same day matched them with two great lords of the
Court.(1)
(1) Charles Perrault.
ALADDIN AND THE WONDERFUL LAMP
There once lived a poor tailor, who had a son called Aladdin, a careless,
idle boy who would do nothing but play ball all day long in the streets
with little idle boys like himself. This so grieved the father that he
died; yet, in spite of his mother’s tears and prayers, Aladdin did not
mend his ways. One day, when he was playing in the streets as usual, a
stranger asked him his age, and if he was not the son of Mustapha the
tailor. “I am, sir,” replied Aladdin; “but he died a long while ago.” On
this the stranger, who was a famous African magician, fell on his neck and
kissed him, saying, “I am your uncle, and knew you from your likeness to
my brother. Go to your mother and tell her I am coming.” Aladdin ran home
and told his mother of his newly found uncle. “Indeed, child,” she said,
“your father had a brother, but I always thought he was dead.” However,
she prepared supper, and bade Aladdin seek his uncle, who came laden with
wine and fruit. He presently fell down and kissed the place where Mustapha
used to sit, bidding Aladdin’s mother not to be surprised at not having
seen him before, as he had been forty years out of the country. He then
turned to Aladdin, and asked him his trade, at which the boy hung his
head, while his mother burst into tears. On learning that Aladdin was idle
and would learn no trade, he offered to take a shop for him and stock it
with merchandise. Next day he bought Aladdin a fine suit of clothes and
took him all over the city, showing him the sights, and brought him home
at nightfall to his mother, who was overjoyed to see her son so fine.
The next day the magician led Aladdin into some beautiful gardens a long
way outside the city gates. They sat down by a fountain and the magician
pulled a cake from his girdle, which he divided between them. They then
journeyed onward till they almost reached the mountains. Aladdin was so
tired that he begged to go back, but the magician beguiled him with
pleasant stories, and led him on in spite of himself. At last they came to
two mountains divided by a narrow valley. “We will go no farther,” said
the false uncle. “I will show you something wonderful; only do you gather
up sticks while I kindle a fire.” When it was lit the magician threw on it
a powder he had about him, at the same time saying some magical words. The
earth trembled a little and opened in front of them, disclosing a square
flat stone with a brass ring in the middle to raise it by. Aladdin tried
to run away, but the magician caught him and gave him a blow that knocked
him down. “What have I done, uncle?” he said piteously; whereupon the
magician said more kindly: “Fear nothing, but obey me. Beneath this stone
lies a treasure which is to be yours, and no one else may touch it, so you
must do exactly as I tell you.” At the word treasure Aladdin forgot his
fears, and grasped the ring as he was told, saying the names of his father
and grandfather. The stone came up quite easily, and some steps appeared.
“Go down,” said the magician; “at the foot of those steps you will find an
open door leading into three large halls. Tuck up your gown and go through
them without touching anything, or you will die instantly. These halls
lead into a garden of fine fruit trees. Walk on until you come to a niche
in a terrace where stands a lighted lamp. Pour out the oil it contains,
and bring it to me.” He drew a ring from his finger and gave it to
Aladdin, bidding him prosper.
Aladdin found everything as the magician had said, gathered some fruit off
the trees, and, having got the lamp, arrived at the mouth of the cave. The
magician cried out in a great hurry: “Make haste and give me the lamp.”
This Aladdin refused to do until he was out of the cave. The magician flew
into a terrible passion, and throwing some more powder on to the fire, he
said something, and the stone rolled back into its place.
The magician left Persia for ever, which plainly showed that he was no
uncle of Aladdin’s, but a cunning magician, who had read in his magic
books of a wonderful lamp, which would make him the most powerful man in
the world. Though he alone knew where to find it, he could only receive it
from the hand of another. He had picked out the foolish Aladdin for this
purpose, intending to get the lamp and kill him afterward.
For two days Aladdin remained in the dark, crying and lamenting. At last
he clasped his hands in prayer, and in so doing rubbed the ring, which the
magician had forgotten to take from him. Immediately an enormous and
frightful genie rose out of the earth, saying: “What wouldst thou with me?
I am the Slave of the Ring, and will obey thee in all things.” Aladdin
fearlessly replied: “Deliver me from this place!” whereupon the earth
opened, and he found himself outside. As soon as his eyes could bear the
light he went home, but fainted on the threshold. When he came to himself
he told his mother what had passed, and showed her the lamp and the fruits
he had gathered in the garden, which were, in reality, precious stones. He
then asked for some food. “Alas! child,” she said, “I have nothing in the
house, but I have spun a little cotton and will go and sell it.” Aladdin
bade her keep her cotton, for he would sell the lamp instead. As it was
very dirty she began to rub it, that it might fetch a higher price.
Instantly a hideous genie appeared, and asked what she would have. She
fainted away, but Aladdin, snatching the lamp, said boldly: “Fetch me
something to eat!” The genie returned with a silver bowl, twelve silver
plates containing rich meats, two silver cups, and two bottles of wine.
Aladdin’s mother, when she came to herself, said: “Whence comes this
splendid feast?” “Ask not, but eat,” replied Aladdin. So they sat at
breakfast till it was dinner-time, and Aladdin told his mother about the
lamp. She begged him to sell it, and have nothing to do with devils. “No,”
said Aladdin, “since chance hath made us aware of its virtues, we will use
it, and the ring likewise, which I shall always wear on my finger.” When
they had eaten all the genie had brought, Aladdin sold one of the silver
plates, and so on until none were left. He then had recourse to the genie,
who gave him another set of plates, and thus they lived for many years.
One day Aladdin heard an order from the Sultan proclaimed that everyone
was to stay at home and close his shutters while the Princess, his
daughter, went to and from the bath. Aladdin was seized by a desire to see
her face, which was very difficult, as she always went veiled. He hid
himself behind the door of the bath, and peeped through a chink. The
Princess lifted her veil as she went in, and looked so beautiful that
Aladdin fell in love with her at first sight. He went home so changed that
his mother was frightened. He told her he loved the Princess so deeply
that he could not live without her, and meant to ask her in marriage of
her father. His mother, on hearing this, burst out laughing, but Aladdin
at last prevailed upon her to go before the Sultan and carry his request.
She fetched a napkin and laid in it the magic fruits from the enchanted
garden, which sparkled and shone like the most beautiful jewels. She took
these with her to please the Sultan, and set out, trusting in the lamp.
The Grand Vizier and the lords of council had just gone in as she entered
the hall and placed herself in front of the Sultan. He, however, took no
notice of her. She went every day for a week, and stood in the same place.
When the council broke up on the sixth day the Sultan said to his Vizier:
“I see a certain woman in the audience-chamber every day carrying
something in a napkin. Call her next time, that I may find out what she
wants.” Next day, at a sign from the Vizier, she went up to the foot of
the throne and remained kneeling till the Sultan said to her: “Rise, good
woman, and tell me what you want.” She hesitated, so the Sultan sent away
all but the Vizier, and bade her speak frankly, promising to forgive her
beforehand for anything she might say. She then told him of her son’s
violent love for the Princess. “I prayed him to forget her,” she said,
“but in vain; he threatened to do some desperate deed if I refused to go
and ask your Majesty for the hand of the Princess. Now I pray you to
forgive not me alone, but my son Aladdin.” The Sultan asked her kindly
what she had in the napkin, whereupon she unfolded the jewels and
presented them. He was thunderstruck, and turning to the Vizier said:
“What sayest thou? Ought I not to bestow the Princess on one who values
her at such a price?” The Vizier, who wanted her for his own son, begged
the Sultan to withhold her for three months, in the course of which he
hoped his son would contrive to make him a richer present. The Sultan
granted this, and told Aladdin’s mother that, though he consented to the
marriage, she must not appear before him again for three months.
Aladdin waited patiently for nearly three months, but after two had
elapsed his mother, going into the city to buy oil, found every one
rejoicing, and asked what was going on. “Do you not know,” was the answer,
“that the son of the Grand Vizier is to marry the Sultan’s daughter
to-night?” Breathless, she ran and told Aladdin, who was overwhelmed at
first, but presently bethought him of the lamp. He rubbed it, and the
genie appeared, saying, “What is thy will?” Aladdin replied: “The Sultan,
as thou knowest, has broken his promise to me, and the Vizier’s son is to
have the Princess. My command is that to-night you bring hither the bride
and bridegroom.” “Master, I obey,” said the genie. Aladdin then went to
his chamber, where, sure enough, at midnight the genie transported the bed
containing the Vizier’s son and the Princess. “Take this new-married man,”
he said, “and put him outside in the cold, and return at daybreak.”
Whereupon the genie took the Vizier’s son out of bed, leaving Aladdin with
the Princess. “Fear nothing,” Aladdin said to her; “you are my wife,
promised to me by your unjust father, and no harm shall come to you.” The
Princess was too frightened to speak, and passed the most miserable night
of her life, while Aladdin lay down beside her and slept soundly. At the
appointed hour the genie fetched in the shivering bridegroom, laid him in
his place, and transported the bed back to the palace.
Presently the Sultan came to wish his daughter good-morning. The unhappy
Vizier’s son jumped up and hid himself, while the Princess would not say a
word, and was very sorrowful. The Sultan sent her mother to her, who said:
“How comes it, child, that you will not speak to your father? What has
happened?” The Princess sighed deeply, and at last told her mother how,
during the night, the bed had been carried into some strange house, and
what had passed there. Her mother did not believe her in the least, but
bade her rise and consider it an idle dream.
The following night exactly the same thing happened, and next morning, on
the Princess’s refusal to speak, the Sultan threatened to cut off her
head. She then confessed all, bidding him to ask the Vizier’s son if it
were not so. The Sultan told the Vizier to ask his son, who owned the
truth, adding that, dearly as he loved the Princess, he had rather die
than go through another such fearful night, and wished to be separated
from her. His wish was granted, and there was an end to feasting and
rejoicing.
When the three months were over, Aladdin sent his mother to remind the
Sultan of his promise. She stood in the same place as before, and the
Sultan, who had forgotten Aladdin, at once remembered him, and sent for
her. On seeing her poverty the Sultan felt less inclined than ever to keep
his word, and asked his Vizier’s advice, who counselled him to set so high
a value on the Princess that no man living could come up to it. The Sultan
then turned to Aladdin’s mother, saying: “Good woman, a Sultan must
remember his promises, and I will remember mine, but your son must first
send me forty basins of gold brimful of jewels, carried by forty black
slaves, led by as many white ones, splendidly dressed. Tell him that I
await his answer.” The mother of Aladdin bowed low and went home, thinking
all was lost. She gave Aladdin the message, adding: “He may wait long
enough for your answer!” “Not so long, mother, as you think,” her son
replied. “I would do a great deal more than that for the Princess.” He
summoned the genie, and in a few moments the eighty slaves arrived, and
filled up the small house and garden. Aladdin made them set out to the
palace, two and two, followed by his mother. They were so richly dressed,
with such splendid jewels in their girdles, that everyone crowded to see
them and the basins of gold they carried on their heads. They entered the
palace, and, after kneeling before the Sultan, stood in a half-circle
round the throne with their arms crossed, while Aladdin’s mother presented
them to the Sultan. He hesitated no longer, but said: “Good woman, return
and tell your son that I wait for him with open arms.” She lost no time in
telling Aladdin, bidding him make haste. But Aladdin first called the
genie. “I want a scented bath,” he said, “a richly embroidered habit, a
horse surpassing the Sultan’s, and twenty slaves to attend me. Besides
this, six slaves, beautifully dressed, to wait on my mother; and lastly,
ten thousand pieces of gold in ten purses.” No sooner said than done.
Aladdin mounted his horse and passed through the streets, the slaves
strewing gold as they went. Those who had played with him in his childhood
knew him not, he had grown so handsome. When the Sultan saw him he came
down from his throne, embraced him, and led him into a hall where a feast
was spread, intending to marry him to the Princess that very day. But
Aladdin refused, saying, “I must build a palace fit for her,” and took his
leave. Once home, he said to the genie: “Build me a palace of the finest
marble, set with jasper, agate, and other precious stones. In the middle
you shall build me a large hall with a dome, its four walls of massy gold
and silver, each having six windows, whose lattices, all except one which
is to be left unfinished, must be set with diamonds and rubies. There must
be stables and horses and grooms and slaves; go and see about it!”
The palace was finished by the next day, and the genie carried him there
and showed him all his orders faithfully carried out, even to the laying
of a velvet carpet from Aladdin’s palace to the Sultan’s. Aladdin’s mother
then dressed herself carefully, and walked to the palace with her slaves,
while he followed her on horseback. The Sultan sent musicians with
trumpets and cymbals to meet them, so that the air resounded with music
and cheers. She was taken to the Princess, who saluted her and treated her
with great honor. At night the Princess said good-by to her father, and
set out on the carpet for Aladdin’s palace, with his mother at her side,
and followed by the hundred slaves. She was charmed at the sight of
Aladdin, who ran to receive her. “Princess,” he said, “blame your beauty
for my boldness if I have displeased you.” She told him that, having seen
him, she willingly obeyed her father in this matter. After the wedding had
taken place Aladdin led her into the hall, where a feast was spread, and
she supped with him, after which they danced till midnight. Next day
Aladdin invited the Sultan to see the palace. On entering the hall with
the four-and-twenty windows, with their rubies, diamonds, and emeralds, he
cried: “It is a world’s wonder! There is only one thing that surprises me.
Was it by accident that one window was left unfinished?” “No, sir, by
design,” returned Aladdin. “I wished your Majesty to have the glory of
finishing this palace.” The Sultan was pleased, and sent for the best
jewelers in the city. He showed them the unfinished window, and bade them
fit it up like the others. “Sir,” replied their spokesman, “we cannot find
jewels enough.” The Sultan had his own fetched, which they soon used, but
to no purpose, for in a month’s time the work was not half done. Aladdin,
knowing that their task was vain, bade them undo their work and carry the
jewels back, and the genie finished the window at his command. The Sultan
was surprised to receive his jewels again, and visited Aladdin, who showed
him the window finished. The Sultan embraced him, the envious Vizier
meanwhile hinting that it was the work of enchantment.
Aladdin had won the hearts of the people by his gentle bearing. He was
made captain of the Sultan’s armies, and won several battles for him, but
remained modest and courteous as before, and lived thus in peace and
content for several years.
But far away in Africa the magician remembered Aladdin, and by his magic
arts discovered that Aladdin, instead of perishing miserably in the cave,
had escaped, and had married a princess, with whom he was living in great
honor and wealth. He knew that the poor tailor’s son could only have
accomplished this by means of the lamp, and traveled night and day until
he reached the capital of China, bent on Aladdin’s ruin. As he passed
through the town he heard people talking everywhere about a marvellous
palace. “Forgive my ignorance,” he asked, “what is this palace you speak
Of?” “Have you not heard of Prince Aladdin’s palace,” was the reply, “the
greatest wonder of the world? I will direct you if you have a mind to see
it.” The magician thanked him who spoke, and having seen the palace, knew
that it had been raised by the Genie of the Lamp, and became half mad with
rage. He determined to get hold of the lamp, and again plunge Aladdin into
the deepest poverty.
Unluckily, Aladdin had gone a-hunting for eight days, which gave the
magician plenty of time. He bought a dozen copper lamps, put them into a
basket, and went to the palace, crying: “New lamps for old!” followed by a
jeering crowd. The Princess, sitting in the hall of four-and-twenty
windows, sent a slave to find out what the noise was about, who came back
laughing, so that the Princess scolded her. “Madam,” replied the slave,
“who can help laughing to see an old fool offering to exchange fine new
lamps for old ones?” Another slave, hearing this, said: “There is an old
one on the cornice there which he can have.” Now this was the magic lamp,
which Aladdin had left there, as he could not take it out hunting with
him. The Princess, not knowing its value, laughingly bade the slave take
it and make the exchange. She went and said to the magician: “Give me a
new lamp for this.” He snatched it and bade the slave take her choice,
amid the jeers of the crowd. Little he cared, but left off crying his
lamps, and went out of the city gates to a lonely place, where he remained
till nightfall, when he pulled out the lamp and rubbed it. The genie
appeared, and at the magician’s command carried him, together with the
palace and the Princess in it, to a lonely place in Africa.
Next morning the Sultan looked out of the window toward Aladdin’s palace
and rubbed his eyes, for it was gone. He sent for the Vizier and asked
what had become of the palace. The Vizier looked out too, and was lost in
astonishment. He again put it down to enchantment, and this time the
Sultan believed him, and sent thirty men on horseback to fetch Aladdin in
chains. They met him riding home, bound him, and forced him to go with
them on foot. The people, however, who loved him, followed, armed, to see
that he came to no harm. He was carried before the Sultan, who ordered the
executioner to cut off his head. The executioner made Aladdin kneel down,
bandaged his eyes, and raised his scimitar to strike. At that instant the
Vizier, who saw that the crowd had forced their way into the courtyard and
were scaling the walls to rescue Aladdin, called to the executioner to
stay his hand. The people, indeed, looked so threatening that the Sultan
gave way and ordered Aladdin to be unbound, and pardoned him in the sight
of the crowd. Aladdin now begged to know what he had done. “False wretch!”
said the Sultan, “come thither,” and showed him from the window the place
where his palace had stood. Aladdin was so amazed that he could not say a
word. “Where is my palace and my daughter?” demanded the Sultan. “For the
first I am not so deeply concerned, but my daughter I must have, and you
must find her or lose your head.” Aladdin begged for forty days in which
to find her, promising, if he failed, to return and suffer death at the
Sultan’s pleasure. His prayer was granted, and he went forth sadly from
the Sultan’s presence. For three days he wandered about like a madman,
asking everyone what had become of his palace, but they only laughed and
pitied him. He came to the banks of a river, and knelt down to say his
prayers before throwing himself in. In so doing he rubbed the magic ring
he still wore. The genie he had seen in the cave appeared, and asked his
will. “Save my life, genie,” said Aladdin, “bring my palace back.” “That
is not in my power,” said the genie; “I am only the Slave of the Ring; you
must ask him of the lamp.” “Even so,” said Aladdin, “but thou canst take
me to the palace, and set me down under my dear wife’s window.” He at once
found himself in Africa, under the window of the Princess, and fell asleep
out of sheer weariness.
He was awakened by the singing of the birds, and his heart was lighter. He
saw plainly that all his misfortunes were owing to the loss of the lamp,
and vainly wondered who had robbed him of it.
That morning the Princess rose earlier than she had done since she had
been carried into Africa by the magician, whose company she was forced to
endure once a day. She, however, treated him so harshly that he dared not
live there altogether. As she was dressing, one of her women looked out
and saw Aladdin. The Princess ran and opened the window, and at the noise
she made Aladdin looked up. She called to him to come to her, and great
was the joy of these lovers at seeing each other again. After he had
kissed her Aladdin said: “I beg of you, Princess, in God’s name, before we
speak of anything else, for your own sake and mine, tell me that has
become of an old lamp I left on the cornice in the hall of four-and-twenty
windows, when I went a-hunting.” “Alas!” she said, “I am the innocent
cause of our sorrows,” and told him of the exchange of the lamp. “Now I
know,” cried Aladdin, “that we have to thank the African magician for
this! Where is the lamp?” “He carries it about with him,” said the
Princess. “I know, for he pulled it out of his breast to show me. He
wishes me to break my faith with you and marry him, saying that you were
beheaded by my father’s command. He is for ever speaking ill of you but I
only reply by my tears. If I persist, I doubt not but he will use
violence.” Aladdin comforted her, and left her for a while. He changed
clothes with the first person he met in the town, and having bought a
certain powder, returned to the Princess, who let him in by a little side
door. “Put on your most beautiful dress,” he said to her “and receive the
magician with smiles, leading him to believe that you have forgotten me.
Invite him to sup with you, and say you wish to taste the wine of his
country. He will go for some and while he is gone I will tell you what to
do.” She listened carefully to Aladdin and when he left she arrayed
herself gaily for the first time since she left China. She put on a girdle
and head-dress of diamonds, and, seeing in a glass that she was more
beautiful than ever, received the magician, saying, to his great
amazement: “I have made up my mind that Aladdin is dead, and that all my
tears will not bring him back to me, so I am resolved to mourn no more,
and have therefore invited you to sup with me; but I am tired of the wines
of China, and would fain taste those of Africa.” The magician flew to his
cellar, and the Princess put the powder Aladdin had given her in her cup.
When he returned she asked him to drink her health in the wine of Africa,
handing him her cup in exchange for his, as a sign she was reconciled to
him. Before drinking the magician made her a speech in praise of her
beauty, but the Princess cut him short, saying: “Let us drink first, and
you shall say what you will afterward.” She set her cup to her lips and
kept it there, while the magician drained his to the dregs and fell back
lifeless. The Princess then opened the door to Aladdin, and flung her arms
round his neck; but Aladdin put her away, bidding her leave him, as he had
more to do. He then went to the dead magician, took the lamp out of his
vest, and bade the genie carry the palace and all in it back to China.
This was done, and the Princess in her chamber only felt two little
shocks, and little thought she was at home again.
The Sultan, who was sitting in his closet, mourning for his lost daughter,
happened to look up, and rubbed his eyes, for there stood the palace as
before! He hastened thither, and Aladdin received him in the hall of the
four-and-twenty windows, with the Princess at his side. Aladdin told him
what had happened, and showed him the dead body of the magician, that he
might believe. A ten days’ feast was proclaimed, and it seemed as if
Aladdin might now live the rest of his life in peace; but it was not to
be.
The African magician had a younger brother, who was, if possible, more
wicked and more cunning than himself. He traveled to China to avenge his
brother’s death, and went to visit a pious woman called Fatima, thinking
she might be of use to him. He entered her cell and clapped a dagger to
her breast, telling her to rise and do his bidding on pain of death. He
changed clothes with her, colored his face like hers, put on her veil, and
murdered her, that she might tell no tales. Then he went toward the palace
of Aladdin, and all the people, thinking he was the holy woman, gathered
round him, kissing his hands and begging his blessing. When he got to the
palace there was such a noise going on round him that the Princess bade
her slave look out of the window and ask what was the matter. The slave
said it was the holy woman, curing people by her touch of their ailments,
whereupon the Princess, who had long desired to see Fatima, sent for her.
On coming to the Princess the magician offered up a prayer for her health
and prosperity. When he had done the Princess made him sit by her, and
begged him to stay with her always. The false Fatima, who wished for
nothing better, consented, but kept his veil down for fear of discovery.
The Princess showed him the hall, and asked him what he thought of it. “It
is truly beautiful,” said the false Fatima. “In my mind it wants but one
thing.” “And what is that?” said the Princess. “If only a roc’s egg,”
replied he, “were hung up from the middle of this dome, it would be the
wonder of the world.”
After this the Princess could think of nothing but the roc’s egg, and when
Aladdin returned from hunting he found her in a very ill humor. He begged
to know what was amiss, and she told him that all her pleasure in the hall
was spoiled for the want of a roc’s egg hanging from the dome. “If that is
all,” replied Aladdin, “you shall soon be happy.” He left her and rubbed
the lamp, and when the genie appeared commanded him to bring a roc’s egg.
The genie gave such a loud and terrible shriek that the hall shook.
“Wretch!” he cried, “is it not enough that I have done everything for you,
but you must command me to bring my master and hang him up in the midst of
this dome? You and your wife and your palace deserve to be burnt to ashes,
but that this request does not come from you, but from the brother of the
African magician, whom you destroyed. He is now in your palace disguised
as the holy woman—whom he murdered. He it was who put that wish into
your wife’s head. Take care of yourself, for he means to kill you.” So
saying, the genie disappeared.
Aladdin went back to the Princess, saying his head ached, and requesting
that the holy Fatima should be fetched to lay her hands on it. But when
the magician came near, Aladdin, seizing his dagger, pierced him to the
heart. “What have you done?” cried the Princess. “You have killed the holy
woman!” “Not so,” replied Aladdin, “but a wicked magician,” and told her
of how she had been deceived.
After this Aladdin and his wife lived in peace. He succeeded the Sultan
when he died, and reigned for many years, leaving behind him a long line
of kings.(1)
(1) Arabian Nights.
THE TALE OF A YOUTH WHO SET OUT TO LEARN WHAT FEAR WAS
A father had two sons, of whom the eldest was clever and bright, and
always knew what he was about; but the youngest was stupid, and couldn’t
learn or understand anything. So much so that those who saw him exclaimed:
“What a burden he’ll be to his father!” Now when there was anything to be
done, the eldest had always to do it; but if something was required later
or in the night-time, and the way led through the churchyard or some such
ghostly place, he always replied: “Oh! no, father: nothing will induce me
to go there, it makes me shudder!” for he was afraid. Or, when they sat of
an evening around the fire telling stories which made one’s flesh creep,
the listeners sometimes said: “Oh! it makes one shudder,” the youngest sat
in a corner, heard the exclamation, and could not understand what it
meant. “They are always saying it makes one shudder! it makes one shudder!
Nothing makes me shudder. It’s probably an art quite beyond me.”
Now it happened that his father said to him one day: “Hearken, you there
in the corner; you are growing big and strong, and you must learn to earn
your own bread. Look at your brother, what pains he takes; but all the
money I’ve spent on your education is thrown away.” “My dear father,” he
replied, “I will gladly learn—in fact, if it were possible I should
like to learn to shudder; I don’t understand that a bit yet.” The eldest
laughed when he heard this, and thought to himself: “Good heavens! what a
ninny my brother is! he’ll never come to any good; as the twig is bent, so
is the tree inclined.” The father sighed, and answered him: “You’ll soon
learn to shudder; but that won’t help you to make a living.”
Shortly after this, when the sexton came to pay them a visit, the father
broke out to him, and told him what a bad hand his youngest son was at
everything: he knew nothing and learned nothing. “Only think! when I asked
him how he purposed gaining a livelihood, he actually asked to be taught
to shudder.” “If that’s all he wants,” said the sexton, “I can teach him
that; just you send him to me, I’ll soon polish him up.” The father was
quite pleased with the proposal, because he thought: “It will be a good
discipline for the youth.” And so the sexton took him into his house, and
his duty was to toll the bell. After a few days he woke him at midnight,
and bade him rise and climb into the tower and toll. “Now, my friend, I’ll
teach you to shudder,” thought he. He stole forth secretly in front, and
when the youth was up above, and had turned round to grasp the bell-rope,
he saw, standing opposite the hole of the belfry, a white figure. “Who’s
there?” he called out, but the figure gave no answer, and neither stirred
nor moved. “Answer,” cried the youth, “or begone; you have no business
here at this hour of the night.” But the sexton remained motionless, so
that the youth might think that it was a ghost. The youth called out the
second time: “What do you want here? Speak if you are an honest fellow, or
I’ll knock you down the stairs.” The sexton thought: “He can’t mean that
in earnest,” so gave forth no sound, and stood as though he were made of
stone. Then the youth shouted out to him the third time, and as that too
had no effect, he made a dash at the spectre and knocked it down the
stairs, so that it fell about ten steps and remained lying in a corner.
Thereupon he tolled the bell, went home to bed without saying a word, and
fell asleep. The sexton’s wife waited a long time for her husband, but he
never appeared. At last she became anxious, and woke the youth, and asked:
“Don’t you know where my husband is? He went up to the tower in front of
you.” “No,” answered the youth; “but someone stood on the stairs up there
just opposite the trap-door in the belfry, and because he wouldn’t answer
me, or go away, I took him for a rogue and knocked him down. You’d better
go and see if it was he; I should be much distressed if it were.” The wife
ran and found her husband who was lying groaning in a corner, with his leg
broken.
She carried him down, and then hurried with loud protestations to the
youth’s father. “Your son has been the cause of a pretty misfortune,” she
cried; “he threw my husband downstairs so that he broke his leg. Take the
good-for-nothing wretch out of our house.” The father was horrified,
hurried to the youth, and gave him a scolding.
“What unholy pranks are these? The evil one must have put them into your
head.” “Father,” he replied, “only listen to me; I am quite guiltless. He
stood there in the night, like one who meant harm. I didn’t know who it
was, and warned him three times to speak or begone.” “Oh!” groaned the
father, “you’ll bring me nothing but misfortune; get out of my sight, I
won’t have anything more to do with you.” “Yes, father, willingly; only
wait till daylight, then I’ll set out and learn to shudder, and in that
way I shall be master of an art which will gain me a living.” “Learn what
you will,” said the father, “it’s all one to me. Here are fifty dollars
for you, set forth into the wide world with them; but see you tell no one
where you come from or who your father is, for I am ashamed of you.” “Yes,
father, whatever you wish; and if that’s all you ask, I can easily keep it
in mind.”
When day broke the youth put the fifty dollars into his pocket, set out on
the hard high road, and kept muttering to himself: “If I could only
shudder! if I could only shudder!” Just at this moment a man came by who
heard the youth speaking to himself, and when they had gone on a bit and
were in sight of the gallows the man said to him: “Look! there is the tree
where seven people have been hanged, and are now learning to fly; sit down
under it and wait till nightfall, and then you’ll pretty soon learn to
shudder.” “If that’s all I have to do,” answered the youth, “it’s easily
done; but if I learn to shudder so quickly, then you shall have my fifty
dollars. Just come back to me to-morrow morning early.” Then the youth
went to the gallows-tree and sat down underneath it, and waited for the
evening; and because he felt cold he lit himself a fire. But at midnight
it got so chill that in spite of the fire he couldn’t keep warm. And as
the wind blew the corpses one against the other, tossing them to and fro,
he thought to himself: “If you are perishing down here by the fire, how
those poor things up there must be shaking and shivering!” And because he
had a tender heart, he put up a ladder, which he climbed unhooked one body
after the other, and took down all the seven. Then he stirred the fire,
blew it up, and placed them all round in a circle, that they might warm
themselves. But they sat there and did not move, and the fire caught their
clothes. Then he spoke: “Take care, or I’ll hang you up again.” But the
dead men did not hear and let their rags go on burning. Then he got angry,
and said: “If you aren’t careful yourselves, then I can’t help you, and I
don’t mean to burn with you”; and he hung them up again in a row. Then he
sat down at his fire and fell asleep. On the following morning the man
came to him, and, wishing to get his fifty dollars, said: “Now you know
what it is to shudder.” “No,” he answered, “how should I? Those fellows up
there never opened their mouths, and were so stupid that they let those
few old tatters they have on their bodies burn.” Then the man saw he
wouldn’t get his fifty dollars that day, and went off, saying: “Well, I’m
blessed if I ever met such a person in my life before.”
The youth went too on his way, and began to murmur to himself: “Oh! if I
could only shudder! if I could only shudder!” A carrier who was walking
behind him heard these words, and asked him: “Who are you” “I don’t know,”
said the youth. “Where do you hail from?” “I don’t know.” “Who’s your
father?” “I mayn’t say.” “What are you constantly muttering to yourself?”
“Oh!” said the youth, “I would give worlds to shudder, but no one can
teach me.” “Stuff and nonsense!” spoke the carrier; “come along with me,
and I’ll soon put that right.” The youth went with the carrier, and in the
evening they reached an inn, where they were to spend the night. Then,
just as he was entering the room, he said again, quite aloud: “Oh! if I
could only shudder! if I could only shudder!” The landlord, who heard
this, laughed and said: “If that’s what you’re sighing for, you shall be
given every opportunity here.” “Oh! hold your tongue!” said the landlord’s
wife; “so many people have paid for their curiosity with their lives, it
were a thousand pities if those beautiful eyes were never again to behold
daylight.” But the youth said: “No matter how difficult, I insist on
learning it; why, that’s what I’ve set out to do.” He left the landlord no
peace till he told him that in the neighborhood stood a haunted castle,
where one could easily learn to shudder if one only kept watch in it for
three nights. The King had promised the man who dared to do this thing his
daughter as wife, and she was the most beautiful maiden under the sun.
There was also much treasure hid in the castle, guarded by evil spirits,
which would then be free, and was sufficient to make a poor man more than
rich. Many had already gone in, but so far none had ever come out again.
So the youth went to the King and spoke: “If I were allowed, I should much
like to watch for three nights in the castle.” The King looked at him, and
because he pleased him, he said: “You can ask for three things, none of
them living, and those you may take with you into the castle.” Then he
answered: “Well, I shall beg for a fire, a turning lathe, and a carving
bench with the knife attached.”
On the following day the King had everything put into the castle; and when
night drew on the youth took up his position there, lit a bright fire in
one of the rooms, placed the carving bench with the knife close to it, and
sat himself down on the turning lathe. “Oh! if I could only shudder!” he
said: “but I sha’n’t learn it here either.” Toward midnight he wanted to
make up the fire, and as he was blowing up a blaze he heard a shriek from
a corner. “Ou, miou! how cold we are!” “You fools!” he cried; “why do you
scream? If you are cold, come and sit at the fire and warm yourselves.”
And as he spoke two huge black cats sprang fiercely forward and sat down,
one on each side of him, and gazed wildly at him with their fiery eyes.
After a time, when they had warmed themselves, they said: “Friend, shall
we play a little game of cards?” “Why not?” he replied; “but first let me
see your paws.” Then they stretched out their claws. “Ha!” said he; “what
long nails you’ve got! Wait a minute: I must first cut them off.”
Thereupon he seized them by the scruff of their necks, lifted them on to
the carving bench, and screwed down their paws firmly. “After watching you
narrowly,” said he, “I no longer feel any desire to play cards with you”;
and with these words he struck them dead and threw them out into the
water. But when he had thus sent the two of them to their final rest, and
was again about to sit down at the fire, out of every nook and corner came
forth black cats and black dogs with fiery chains in such swarms that he
couldn’t possibly get away from them. They yelled in the most ghastly
manner, jumped upon his fire, scattered it all, and tried to put it out.
He looked on quietly for a time, but when it got beyond a joke he seized
his carving-knife and called out: “Be off, you rabble rout!” and let fly
at them. Some of them fled away, and the others he struck dead and threw
them out into the pond below. When he returned he blew up the sparks of
the fire once more, and warmed himself. And as he sat thus his eyes
refused to keep open any longer, and a desire to sleep stole over him.
Then he looked around him and beheld in the corner a large bed. “The very
thing,” he said, and laid himself down in it. But when he wished to close
his eyes the bed began to move by itself, and ran all round the castle.
“Capital,” he said, “only a little quicker.” Then the bed sped on as if
drawn by six horses, over thresholds and stairs, up this way and down
that. All of a sudden—crash, crash! with a bound it turned over,
upside down, and lay like a mountain on the top of him. But he tossed the
blankets and pillows in the air, emerged from underneath, and said: “Now
anyone who has the fancy for it may go a drive,” lay down at his fire, and
slept till daylight. In the morning the King came, and when he beheld him
lying on the ground he imagined the ghosts had been too much for him, and
that he was dead. Then he said: “What a pity! and such a fine fellow he
was.” The youth heard this, got up, and said: “It’s not come to that yet.”
Then the King was astonished, but very glad, and asked how it had fared
with him. “First-rate,” he answered; “and now I’ve survived the one night,
I shall get through the other two also.” The landlord, when he went to
him, opened his eyes wide, and said: “Well, I never thought to see you
alive again. Have you learned now what shuddering is?” “No,” he replied,
“it’s quite hopeless; if someone could only tell me how to!”
The second night he went up again to the old castle, sat down at the fire,
and began his old refrain: “If I could only shudder!” As midnight
approached, a noise and din broke out, at first gentle, but gradually
increasing; then all was quiet for a minute, and at length, with a loud
scream, half of a man dropped down the chimney and fell before him. “Hi,
up there!” shouted he; “there’s another half wanted down here, that’s not
enough”; then the din commenced once more, there was a shrieking and a
yelling, and then the other half fell down. “Wait a bit,” he said; “I’ll
stir up the fire for you.” When he had done this and again looked around,
the two pieces had united, and a horrible-looking man sat on his seat.
“Come,” said the youth, “I didn’t bargain for that, the seat is mine.” The
man tried to shove him away, but the youth wouldn’t allow it for a moment,
and, pushing him off by force, sat down in his place again. Then more men
dropped down, one after the other, who fetching nine skeleton legs and two
skulls, put them up and played ninepins with them. The youth thought he
would like to play too, and said: “Look here; do you mind my joining the
game?” “No, not if you have money.” “I’ve money enough,” he replied, “but
your balls aren’t round enough.” Then he took the skulls, placed them on
his lathe, and turned them till they were round. “Now they’ll roll along
better,” said he, “and houp-la! now the fun begins.” He played with them
and lost some of his money, but when twelve struck everything vanished
before his eyes. He lay down and slept peacefully. The next morning the
King came, anxious for news. “How have you got on this time?” he asked. “I
played ninepins,” he answered, “and lost a few pence.” “Didn’t you shudder
then?” “No such luck,” said he; “I made myself merry. Oh! if I only knew
what it was to shudder!”
On the third night he sat down again on his bench, and said, in the most
desponding way: “If I could only shudder!” When it got late, six big men
came in carrying a coffin. Then he cried: “Ha! ha! that’s most likely my
little cousin who only died a few days ago”; and beckoning with his finger
he called out: “Come, my small cousin, come.” They placed the coffin on
the ground, and he approached it and took off the cover. In it lay a dead
man. He felt his face, and it was cold as ice. “Wait,” he said “I’ll heat
you up a bit,” went to the fire, warmed his hand, and laid it on the man’s
face, but the dead remained cold. Then he lifted him out, sat down at the
fire, laid him on his knee, and rubbed his arms that the blood should
circulate again. When that too had no effect it occurred to him that if
two people lay together in bed they warmed each other; so he put him into
the bed, covered him up, and lay down beside him; after a time the corpse
became warm and began to move. Then the youth said: “Now, my little
cousin, what would have happened if I hadn’t warmed you?” But the dead man
rose up and cried out: “Now I will strangle you.” “What!” said he, “is
that all the thanks I get? You should be put straight back into your
coffin,” lifted him up, threw him in, and closed the lid. Then the six men
came and carried him out again. “I simply can’t shudder,” he said, “and
it’s clear I sha’n’t learn it in a lifetime here.”
Then a man entered, of more than ordinary size and of a very fearful
appearance; but he was old and had a white beard. “Oh! you miserable
creature, now you will soon know what it is to shudder,” he cried, “for
you must die.” “Not so quickly,” answered the youth. “If I am to die, you
must catch me first.” “I shall soon lay hold of you,” spoke the monster.
“Gently, gently, don’t boast too much, I’m as strong as you, and stronger
too.” “We’ll soon see,” said the old man; “if you are stronger than I then
I’ll let you off; come, let’s have a try.” Then he led him through some
dark passages to a forge, and grasping an axe he drove one of the anvils
with a blow into the earth. “I can do better than that,” cried the youth,
and went to the other anvil. The old man drew near him in order to watch
closely, and his white beard hung right down. The youth seized the axe,
cleft the anvil open, and jammed in the old man’s beard. “Now I have you,”
said the youth; “this time it’s your turn to die.” Then he seized an iron
rod and belabored the old man till he, whimpering, begged him to leave
off, and he would give him great riches. The youth drew out the axe and
let him go. The old man led him back to the castle and showed him in a
cellar three chests of gold. “One of these,” said he, “belongs to the
poor, one to the King, and the third is yours.” At that moment twelve
struck, and the spirit vanished, leaving the youth alone in the dark.
“I’ll surely be able to find a way out,” said he, and groping about he at
length found his way back to the room, and fell asleep at his fire. The
next morning the King came, and said: “Well, now you’ve surely learned to
shudder?” “No,” he answered; “what can it be? My dead cousin was here, and
an old bearded man came, who showed me heaps of money down below there,
but what shuddering is no one has told me.” Then the King spoke: “You have
freed the castle from its curse, and you shall marry my daughter.” “That’s
all charming,” he said; “but I still don’t know what it is to shudder.”
Then the gold was brought up, and the wedding was celebrated, but the
young King, though he loved his wife dearly, and though he was very happy,
still kept on saying: “If I could only shudder! if I could only shudder!”
At last he reduced her to despair. Then her maid said: “I’ll help you;
we’ll soon make him shudder.” So she went out to the stream that flowed
through the garden, and had a pail full of little gudgeons brought to her.
At night, when the young King was asleep, his wife had to pull the clothes
off him, and pour the pail full of little gudgeons over him, so that the
little fish swam all about him. Then he awoke and cried out: “Oh! how I
shudder, how I shudder, dear wife! Yes, now I know what shuddering is.” (1)
(1) Grimm.
RUMPELSTILTZKIN
There was once upon a time a poor miller who had a very beautiful
daughter. Now it happened one day that he had an audience with the King,
and in order to appear a person of some importance he told him that he had
a daughter who could spin straw into gold. “Now that’s a talent worth
having,” said the King to the miller; “if your daughter is as clever as
you say, bring her to my palace to-morrow, and I’ll put her to the test.”
When the girl was brought to him he led her into a room full of straw,
gave her a spinning-wheel and spindle, and said: “Now set to work and spin
all night till early dawn, and if by that time you haven’t spun the straw
into gold you shall die.” Then he closed the door behind him and left her
alone inside.
So the poor miller’s daughter sat down, and didn’t know what in the world
she was to do. She hadn’t the least idea of how to spin straw into gold,
and became at last so miserable that she began to cry. Suddenly the door
opened, and in stepped a tiny little man and said: “Good-evening, Miss
Miller-maid; why are you crying so bitterly?” “Oh!” answered the girl, “I
have to spin straw into gold, and haven’t a notion how it’s done.” “What
will you give me if I spin it for you?” asked the manikin. “My necklace,”
replied the girl. The little man took the necklace, sat himself down at
the wheel, and whir, whir, whir, the wheel went round three times, and the
bobbin was full. Then he put on another, and whir, whir, whir, the wheel
went round three times, and the second too was full; and so it went on
till the morning, when all the straw was spun away, and all the bobbins
were full of gold. As soon as the sun rose the King came, and when he
perceived the gold he was astonished and delighted, but his heart only
lusted more than ever after the precious metal. He had the miller’s
daughter put into another room full of straw, much bigger than the first,
and bade her, if she valued her life, spin it all into gold before the
following morning. The girl didn’t know what to do, and began to cry; then
the door opened as before, and the tiny little man appeared and said:
“What’ll you give me if I spin the straw into gold for you?” “The ring
from my finger,” answered the girl. The manikin took the ring, and whir!
round went the spinning-wheel again, and when morning broke he had spun
all the straw into glittering gold. The King was pleased beyond measure at
the sights but his greed for gold was still not satisfied, and he had the
miller’s daughter brought into a yet bigger room full of straw, and said:
“You must spin all this away in the night; but if you succeed this time
you shall become my wife.” “She’s only a miller’s daughter, it’s true,” he
thought; “but I couldn’t find a richer wife if I were to search the whole
world over.” When the girl was alone the little man appeared for the third
time, and said: “What’ll you give me if I spin the straw for you once
again?” “I’ve nothing more to give,” answered the girl. “Then promise me
when you are Queen to give me your first child.” “Who knows what may not
happen before that?” thought the miller’s daughter; and besides, she saw
no other way out of it, so she promised the manikin what he demanded, and
he set to work once more and spun the straw into gold. When the King came
in the morning, and found everything as he had desired, he straightway
made her his wife, and the miller’s daughter became a queen.
When a year had passed a beautiful son was born to her, and she thought no
more of the little man, till all of a sudden one day he stepped into her
room and said: “Now give me what you promised.” The Queen was in a great
state, and offered the little man all the riches in her kingdom if he
would only leave her the child. But the manikin said: “No, a living
creature is dearer to me than all the treasures in the world.” Then the
Queen began to cry and sob so bitterly that the little man was sorry for
her, and said: “I’ll give you three days to guess my name, and if you find
it out in that time you may keep your child.”
Then the Queen pondered the whole night over all the names she had ever
heard, and sent a messenger to scour the land, and to pick up far and near
any names he could come across. When the little man arrived on the
following day she began with Kasper, Melchior, Belshazzar, and all the
other names she knew, in a string, but at each one the manikin called out:
“That’s not my name.” The next day she sent to inquire the names of all
the people in the neighborhood, and had a long list of the most uncommon
and extraordinary for the little man when he made his appearance. “Is your
name, perhaps, Sheepshanks Cruickshanks, Spindleshanks?” but he always
replied: “That’s not my name.” On the third day the messenger returned and
announced: “I have not been able to find any new names, but as I came upon
a high hill round the corner of the wood, where the foxes and hares bid
each other good-night, I saw a little house, and in front of the house
burned a fire, and round the fire sprang the most grotesque little man,
hopping on one leg and crying:
You can imagine the Queen’s delight at hearing the name, and when the
little man stepped in shortly afterward and asked: “Now, my lady Queen,
what’s my name?” she asked first: “Is your name Conrad?” “No.” “Is your
name Harry?” “No.” “Is your name perhaps, Rumpelstiltzkin?” “Some demon
has told you that! some demon has told you that!” screamed the little man,
and in his rage drove his right foot so far into the ground that it sank
in up to his waist; then in a passion he seized the left foot with both
hands and tore himself in two.(1)
(1) Grimm.
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
Once upon a time, in a very far-off country, there lived a merchant who
had been so fortunate in all his undertakings that he was enormously rich.
As he had, however, six sons and six daughters, he found that his money
was not too much to let them all have everything they fancied, as they
were accustomed to do.
But one day a most unexpected misfortune befell them. Their house caught
fire and was speedily burnt to the ground, with all the splendid
furniture, the books, pictures, gold, silver, and precious goods it
contained; and this was only the beginning of their troubles. Their
father, who had until this moment prospered in all ways, suddenly lost
every ship he had upon the sea, either by dint of pirates, shipwreck, or
fire. Then he heard that his clerks in distant countries, whom he trusted
entirely, had proved unfaithful; and at last from great wealth he fell
into the direst poverty.
All that he had left was a little house in a desolate place at least a
hundred leagues from the town in which he had lived, and to this he was
forced to retreat with his children, who were in despair at the idea of
leading such a different life. Indeed, the daughters at first hoped that
their friends, who had been so numerous while they were rich, would insist
on their staying in their houses now they no longer possessed one. But
they soon found that they were left alone, and that their former friends
even attributed their misfortunes to their own extravagance, and showed no
intention of offering them any help. So nothing was left for them but to
take their departure to the cottage, which stood in the midst of a dark
forest, and seemed to be the most dismal place upon the face of the earth.
As they were too poor to have any servants, the girls had to work hard,
like peasants, and the sons, for their part, cultivated the fields to earn
their living. Roughly clothed, and living in the simplest way, the girls
regretted unceasingly the luxuries and amusements of their former life;
only the youngest tried to be brave and cheerful. She had been as sad as
anyone when misfortune overtook her father, but, soon recovering her
natural gaiety, she set to work to make the best of things, to amuse her
father and brothers as well as she could, and to try to persuade her
sisters to join her in dancing and singing. But they would do nothing of
the sort, and, because she was not as doleful as themselves, they declared
that this miserable life was all she was fit for. But she was really far
prettier and cleverer than they were; indeed, she was so lovely that she
was always called Beauty. After two years, when they were all beginning to
get used to their new life, something happened to disturb their
tranquillity. Their father received the news that one of his ships, which
he had believed to be lost, had come safely into port with a rich cargo.
All the sons and daughters at once thought that their poverty was at an
end, and wanted to set out directly for the town; but their father, who
was more prudent, begged them to wait a little, and, though it was harvest
time, and he could ill be spared, determined to go himself first, to make
inquiries. Only the youngest daughter had any doubt but that they would
soon again be as rich as they were before, or at least rich enough to live
comfortably in some town where they would find amusement and gay
companions once more. So they all loaded their father with commissions for
jewels and dresses which it would have taken a fortune to buy; only
Beauty, feeling sure that it was of no use, did not ask for anything. Her
father, noticing her silence, said: “And what shall I bring for you,
Beauty?”
“The only thing I wish for is to see you come home safely,” she answered.
But this only vexed her sisters, who fancied she was blaming them for
having asked for such costly things. Her father, however, was pleased, but
as he thought that at her age she certainly ought to like pretty presents,
he told her to choose something.
“Well, dear father,” she said, “as you insist upon it, I beg that you will
bring me a rose. I have not seen one since we came here, and I love them
so much.”
So the merchant set out and reached the town as quickly as possible, but
only to find that his former companions, believing him to be dead, had
divided between them the goods which the ship had brought; and after six
months of trouble and expense he found himself as poor as when he started,
having been able to recover only just enough to pay the cost of his
journey. To make matters worse, he was obliged to leave the town in the
most terrible weather, so that by the time he was within a few leagues of
his home he was almost exhausted with cold and fatigue. Though he knew it
would take some hours to get through the forest, he was so anxious to be
at his journey’s end that he resolved to go on; but night overtook him,
and the deep snow and bitter frost made it impossible for his horse to
carry him any further. Not a house was to be seen; the only shelter he
could get was the hollow trunk of a great tree, and there he crouched all
the night which seemed to him the longest he had ever known. In spite of
his weariness the howling of the wolves kept him awake, and even when at
last the day broke he was not much better off, for the falling snow had
covered up every path, and he did not know which way to turn.
At length he made out some sort of track, and though at the beginning it
was so rough and slippery that he fell down more than once, it presently
became easier, and led him into an avenue of trees which ended in a
splendid castle. It seemed to the merchant very strange that no snow had
fallen in the avenue, which was entirely composed of orange trees, covered
with flowers and fruit. When he reached the first court of the castle he
saw before him a flight of agate steps, and went up them, and passed
through several splendidly furnished rooms. The pleasant warmth of the air
revived him, and he felt very hungry; but there seemed to be nobody in all
this vast and splendid palace whom he could ask to give him something to
eat. Deep silence reigned everywhere, and at last, tired of roaming
through empty rooms and galleries, he stopped in a room smaller than the
rest, where a clear fire was burning and a couch was drawn up closely to
it. Thinking that this must be prepared for someone who was expected, he
sat down to wait till he should come, and very soon fell into a sweet
sleep.
When his extreme hunger wakened him after several hours, he was still
alone; but a little table, upon which was a good dinner, had been drawn up
close to him, and, as he had eaten nothing for twenty-four hours, he lost
no time in beginning his meal, hoping that he might soon have an
opportunity of thanking his considerate entertainer, whoever it might be.
But no one appeared, and even after another long sleep, from which he
awoke completely refreshed, there was no sign of anybody, though a fresh
meal of dainty cakes and fruit was prepared upon the little table at his
elbow. Being naturally timid, the silence began to terrify him, and he
resolved to search once more through all the rooms; but it was of no use.
Not even a servant was to be seen; there was no sign of life in the
palace! He began to wonder what he should do, and to amuse himself by
pretending that all the treasures he saw were his own, and considering how
he would divide them among his children. Then he went down into the
garden, and though it was winter everywhere else, here the sun shone, and
the birds sang, and the flowers bloomed, and the air was soft and sweet.
The merchant, in ecstacies with all he saw and heard, said to himself:
“All this must be meant for me. I will go this minute and bring my
children to share all these delights.”
In spite of being so cold and weary when he reached the castle, he had
taken his horse to the stable and fed it. Now he thought he would saddle
it for his homeward journey, and he turned down the path which led to the
stable. This path had a hedge of roses on each side of it, and the
merchant thought he had never seen or smelt such exquisite flowers. They
reminded him of his promise to Beauty, and he stopped and had just
gathered one to take to her when he was startled by a strange noise behind
him. Turning round, he saw a frightful Beast, which seemed to be very
angry and said, in a terrible voice:
“Who told you that you might gather my roses? Was it not enough that I
allowed you to be in my palace and was kind to you? This is the way you
show your gratitude, by stealing my flowers! But your insolence shall not
go unpunished.” The merchant, terrified by these furious words, dropped
the fatal rose, and, throwing himself on his knees, cried: “Pardon me,
noble sir. I am truly grateful to you for your hospitality, which was so
magnificent that I could not imagine that you would be offended by my
taking such a little thing as a rose.” But the Beast’s anger was not
lessened by this speech.
“You are very ready with excuses and flattery,” he cried; “but that will
not save you from the death you deserve.”
“Alas!” thought the merchant, “if my daughter could only know what danger
her rose has brought me into!”
And in despair he began to tell the Beast all his misfortunes, and the
reason of his journey, not forgetting to mention Beauty’s request.
“A king’s ransom would hardly have procured all that my other daughters
asked.” he said: “but I thought that I might at least take Beauty her
rose. I beg you to forgive me, for you see I meant no harm.”
The Beast considered for a moment, and then he said, in a less furious
tone:
“I will forgive you on one condition—that is, that you will give me
one of your daughters.”
“Ah!” cried the merchant, “if I were cruel enough to buy my own life at
the expense of one of my children’s, what excuse could I invent to bring
her here?”
“No excuse would be necessary,” answered the Beast. “If she comes at all
she must come willingly. On no other condition will I have her. See if any
one of them is courageous enough, and loves you well enough to come and
save your life. You seem to be an honest man, so I will trust you to go
home. I give you a month to see if either of your daughters will come back
with you and stay here, to let you go free. If neither of them is willing,
you must come alone, after bidding them good-by for ever, for then you
will belong to me. And do not imagine that you can hide from me, for if
you fail to keep your word I will come and fetch you!” added the Beast
grimly.
The merchant accepted this proposal, though he did not really think any of
his daughters could be persuaded to come. He promised to return at the
time appointed, and then, anxious to escape from the presence of the
Beast, he asked permission to set off at once. But the Beast answered that
he could not go until next day.
“Then you will find a horse ready for you,” he said. “Now go and eat your
supper, and await my orders.”
The poor merchant, more dead than alive, went back to his room, where the
most delicious supper was already served on the little table which was
drawn up before a blazing fire. But he was too terrified to eat, and only
tasted a few of the dishes, for fear the Beast should be angry if he did
not obey his orders. When he had finished he heard a great noise in the
next room, which he knew meant that the Beast was coming. As he could do
nothing to escape his visit, the only thing that remained was to seem as
little afraid as possible; so when the Beast appeared and asked roughly if
he had supped well, the merchant answered humbly that he had, thanks to
his host’s kindness. Then the Beast warned him to remember their
agreement, and to prepare his daughter exactly for what she had to expect.
“Do not get up to-morrow,” he added, “until you see the sun and hear a
golden bell ring. Then you will find your breakfast waiting for you here,
and the horse you are to ride will be ready in the courtyard. He will also
bring you back again when you come with your daughter a month hence.
Farewell. Take a rose to Beauty, and remember your promise!”
The merchant was only too glad when the Beast went away, and though he
could not sleep for sadness, he lay down until the sun rose. Then, after a
hasty breakfast, he went to gather Beauty’s rose, and mounted his horse,
which carried him off so swiftly that in an instant he had lost sight of
the palace, and he was still wrapped in gloomy thoughts when it stopped
before the door of the cottage.
His sons and daughters, who had been very uneasy at his long absence,
rushed to meet him, eager to know the result of his journey, which, seeing
him mounted upon a splendid horse and wrapped in a rich mantle, they
supposed to be favorable. He hid the truth from them at first, only saying
sadly to Beauty as he gave her the rose:
“Here is what you asked me to bring you; you little know what it has
cost.”
But this excited their curiosity so greatly that presently he told them
his adventures from beginning to end, and then they were all very unhappy.
The girls lamented loudly over their lost hopes, and the sons declared
that their father should not return to this terrible castle, and began to
make plans for killing the Beast if it should come to fetch him. But he
reminded them that he had promised to go back. Then the girls were very
angry with Beauty, and said it was all her fault, and that if she had
asked for something sensible this would never have happened, and
complained bitterly that they should have to suffer for her folly.
Poor Beauty, much distressed, said to them:
“I have, indeed, caused this misfortune, but I assure you I did it
innocently. Who could have guessed that to ask for a rose in the middle of
summer would cause so much misery? But as I did the mischief it is only
just that I should suffer for it. I will therefore go back with my father
to keep his promise.”
At first nobody would hear of this arrangement, and her father and
brothers, who loved her dearly, declared that nothing should make them let
her go; but Beauty was firm. As the time drew near she divided all her
little possessions between her sisters, and said good-by to everything she
loved, and when the fatal day came she encouraged and cheered her father
as they mounted together the horse which had brought him back. It seemed
to fly rather than gallop, but so smoothly that Beauty was not frightened;
indeed, she would have enjoyed the journey if she had not feared what
might happen to her at the end of it. Her father still tried to persuade
her to go back, but in vain. While they were talking the night fell, and
then, to their great surprise, wonderful colored lights began to shine in
all directions, and splendid fireworks blazed out before them; all the
forest was illuminated by them, and even felt pleasantly warm, though it
had been bitterly cold before. This lasted until they reached the avenue
of orange trees, where were statues holding flaming torches, and when they
got nearer to the palace they saw that it was illuminated from the roof to
the ground, and music sounded softly from the courtyard. “The Beast must
be very hungry,” said Beauty, trying to laugh, “if he makes all this
rejoicing over the arrival of his prey.”
But, in spite of her anxiety, she could not help admiring all the
wonderful things she saw.
The horse stopped at the foot of the flight of steps leading to the
terrace, and when they had dismounted her father led her to the little
room he had been in before, where they found a splendid fire burning, and
the table daintily spread with a delicious supper.
The merchant knew that this was meant for them, and Beauty, who was rather
less frightened now that she had passed through so many rooms and seen
nothing of the Beast, was quite willing to begin, for her long ride had
made her very hungry. But they had hardly finished their meal when the
noise of the Beast’s footsteps was heard approaching, and Beauty clung to
her father in terror, which became all the greater when she saw how
frightened he was. But when the Beast really appeared, though she trembled
at the sight of him, she made a great effort to hide her terror, and
saluted him respectfully.
This evidently pleased the Beast. After looking at her he said, in a tone
that might have struck terror into the boldest heart, though he did not
seem to be angry:
“Good-evening, old man. Good-evening, Beauty.”
The merchant was too terrified to reply, but Beauty answered sweetly:
“Good-evening, Beast.”
“Have you come willingly?” asked the Beast. “Will you be content to stay
here when your father goes away?”
Beauty answered bravely that she was quite prepared to stay.
“I am pleased with you,” said the Beast. “As you have come of your own
accord, you may stay. As for you, old man,” he added, turning to the
merchant, “at sunrise to-morrow you will take your departure. When the
bell rings get up quickly and eat your breakfast, and you will find the
same horse waiting to take you home; but remember that you must never
expect to see my palace again.”
Then turning to Beauty, he said:
“Take your father into the next room, and help him to choose everything
you think your brothers and sisters would like to have. You will find two
traveling-trunks there; fill them as full as you can. It is only just that
you should send them something very precious as a remembrance of
yourself.”
Then he went away, after saying, “Good-by, Beauty; good-by, old man”; and
though Beauty was beginning to think with great dismay of her father’s
departure, she was afraid to disobey the Beast’s orders; and they went
into the next room, which had shelves and cupboards all round it. They
were greatly surprised at the riches it contained. There were splendid
dresses fit for a queen, with all the ornaments that were to be worn with
them; and when Beauty opened the cupboards she was quite dazzled by the
gorgeous jewels that lay in heaps upon every shelf. After choosing a vast
quantity, which she divided between her sisters—for she had made a
heap of the wonderful dresses for each of them—she opened the last
chest, which was full of gold.
“I think, father,” she said, “that, as the gold will be more useful to
you, we had better take out the other things again, and fill the trunks
with it.” So they did this; but the more they put in the more room there
seemed to be, and at last they put back all the jewels and dresses they
had taken out, and Beauty even added as many more of the jewels as she
could carry at once; and then the trunks were not too full, but they were
so heavy that an elephant could not have carried them!
“The Beast was mocking us,” cried the merchant; “he must have pretended to
give us all these things, knowing that I could not carry them away.”
“Let us wait and see,” answered Beauty. “I cannot believe that he meant to
deceive us. All we can do is to fasten them up and leave them ready.”
So they did this and returned to the little room, where, to their
astonishment, they found breakfast ready. The merchant ate his with a good
appetite, as the Beast’s generosity made him believe that he might perhaps
venture to come back soon and see Beauty. But she felt sure that her
father was leaving her for ever, so she was very sad when the bell rang
sharply for the second time, and warned them that the time had come for
them to part. They went down into the courtyard, where two horses were
waiting, one loaded with the two trunks, the other for him to ride. They
were pawing the ground in their impatience to start, and the merchant was
forced to bid Beauty a hasty farewell; and as soon as he was mounted he
went off at such a pace that she lost sight of him in an instant. Then
Beauty began to cry, and wandered sadly back to her own room. But she soon
found that she was very sleepy, and as she had nothing better to do she
lay down and instantly fell asleep. And then she dreamed that she was
walking by a brook bordered with trees, and lamenting her sad fate, when a
young prince, handsomer than anyone she had ever seen, and with a voice
that went straight to her heart, came and said to her, “Ah, Beauty! you
are not so unfortunate as you suppose. Here you will be rewarded for all
you have suffered elsewhere. Your every wish shall be gratified. Only try
to find me out, no matter how I may be disguised, as I love you dearly,
and in making me happy you will find your own happiness. Be as
true-hearted as you are beautiful, and we shall have nothing left to wish
for.”
“What can I do, Prince, to make you happy?” said Beauty.
“Only be grateful,” he answered, “and do not trust too much to your eyes.
And, above all, do not desert me until you have saved me from my cruel
misery.”
After this she thought she found herself in a room with a stately and
beautiful lady, who said to her:
“Dear Beauty, try not to regret all you have left behind you, for you are
destined to a better fate. Only do not let yourself be deceived by
appearances.”
Beauty found her dreams so interesting that she was in no hurry to awake,
but presently the clock roused her by calling her name softly twelve
times, and then she got up and found her dressing-table set out with
everything she could possibly want; and when her toilet was finished she
found dinner was waiting in the room next to hers. But dinner does not
take very long when you are all by yourself, and very soon she sat down
cosily in the corner of a sofa, and began to think about the charming
Prince she had seen in her dream.
“He said I could make him happy,” said Beauty to herself.
“It seems, then, that this horrible Beast keeps him a prisoner. How can I
set him free? I wonder why they both told me not to trust to appearances?
I don’t understand it. But, after all, it was only a dream, so why should
I trouble myself about it? I had better go and find something to do to
amuse myself.”
So she got up and began to explore some of the many rooms of the palace.
The first she entered was lined with mirrors, and Beauty saw herself
reflected on every side, and thought she had never seen such a charming
room. Then a bracelet which was hanging from a chandelier caught her eye,
and on taking it down she was greatly surprised to find that it held a
portrait of her unknown admirer, just as she had seen him in her dream.
With great delight she slipped the bracelet on her arm, and went on into a
gallery of pictures, where she soon found a portrait of the same handsome
Prince, as large as life, and so well painted that as she studied it he
seemed to smile kindly at her. Tearing herself away from the portrait at
last, she passed through into a room which contained every musical
instrument under the sun, and here she amused herself for a long while in
trying some of them, and singing until she was tired. The next room was a
library, and she saw everything she had ever wanted to read, as well as
everything she had read, and it seemed to her that a whole lifetime would
not be enough to even read the names of the books, there were so many. By
this time it was growing dusk, and wax candles in diamond and ruby
candlesticks were beginning to light themselves in every room.
Beauty found her supper served just at the time she preferred to have it,
but she did not see anyone or hear a sound, and, though her father had
warned her that she would be alone, she began to find it rather dull.
But presently she heard the Beast coming, and wondered tremblingly if he
meant to eat her up now.
However, as he did not seem at all ferocious, and only said gruffly:
“Good-evening, Beauty,” she answered cheerfully and managed to conceal her
terror. Then the Beast asked her how she had been amusing herself, and she
told him all the rooms she had seen.
Then he asked if she thought she could be happy in his palace; and Beauty
answered that everything was so beautiful that she would be very hard to
please if she could not be happy. And after about an hour’s talk Beauty
began to think that the Beast was not nearly so terrible as she had
supposed at first. Then he got up to leave her, and said in his gruff
voice:
“Do you love me, Beauty? Will you marry me?”
“Oh! what shall I say?” cried Beauty, for she was afraid to make the Beast
angry by refusing.
“Say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ without fear,” he replied.
“Oh! no, Beast,” said Beauty hastily.
“Since you will not, good-night, Beauty,” he said.
And she answered, “Good-night, Beast,” very glad to find that her refusal
had not provoked him. And after he was gone she was very soon in bed and
asleep, and dreaming of her unknown Prince. She thought he came and said
to her:
“Ah, Beauty! why are you so unkind to me? I fear I am fated to be unhappy
for many a long day still.”
And then her dreams changed, but the charming Prince figured in them all;
and when morning came her first thought was to look at the portrait, and
see if it was really like him, and she found that it certainly was.
This morning she decided to amuse herself in the garden, for the sun
shone, and all the fountains were playing; but she was astonished to find
that every place was familiar to her, and presently she came to the brook
where the myrtle trees were growing where she had first met the Prince in
her dream, and that made her think more than ever that he must be kept a
prisoner by the Beast. When she was tired she went back to the palace, and
found a new room full of materials for every kind of work—ribbons to
make into bows, and silks to work into flowers. Then there was an aviary
full of rare birds, which were so tame that they flew to Beauty as soon as
they saw her, and perched upon her shoulders and her head.
“Pretty little creatures,” she said, “how I wish that your cage was nearer
to my room, that I might often hear you sing!”
So saying she opened a door, and found, to her delight, that it led into
her own room, though she had thought it was quite the other side of the
palace.
There were more birds in a room farther on, parrots and cockatoos that
could talk, and they greeted Beauty by name; indeed, she found them so
entertaining that she took one or two back to her room, and they talked to
her while she was at supper; after which the Beast paid her his usual
visit, and asked her the same questions as before, and then with a gruff
“good-night” he took his departure, and Beauty went to bed to dream of her
mysterious Prince. The days passed swiftly in different amusements, and
after a while Beauty found out another strange thing in the palace, which
often pleased her when she was tired of being alone. There was one room
which she had not noticed particularly; it was empty, except that under
each of the windows stood a very comfortable chair; and the first time she
had looked out of the window it had seemed to her that a black curtain
prevented her from seeing anything outside. But the second time she went
into the room, happening to be tired, she sat down in one of the chairs,
when instantly the curtain was rolled aside, and a most amusing pantomime
was acted before her; there were dances, and colored lights, and music,
and pretty dresses, and it was all so gay that Beauty was in ecstacies.
After that she tried the other seven windows in turn, and there was some
new and surprising entertainment to be seen from each of them, so that
Beauty never could feel lonely any more. Every evening after supper the
Beast came to see her, and always before saying good-night asked her in
his terrible voice:
“Beauty, will you marry me?”
And it seemed to Beauty, now she understood him better, that when she
said, “No, Beast,” he went away quite sad. But her happy dreams of the
handsome young Prince soon made her forget the poor Beast, and the only
thing that at all disturbed her was to be constantly told to distrust
appearances, to let her heart guide her, and not her eyes, and many other
equally perplexing things, which, consider as she would, she could not
understand.
So everything went on for a long time, until at last, happy as she was,
Beauty began to long for the sight of her father and her brothers and
sisters; and one night, seeing her look very sad, the Beast asked her what
was the matter. Beauty had quite ceased to be afraid of him. Now she knew
that he was really gentle in spite of his ferocious looks and his dreadful
voice. So she answered that she was longing to see her home once more.
Upon hearing this the Beast seemed sadly distressed, and cried miserably.
“Ah! Beauty, have you the heart to desert an unhappy Beast like this? What
more do you want to make you happy? Is it because you hate me that you
want to escape?”
“No, dear Beast,” answered Beauty softly, “I do not hate you, and I should
be very sorry never to see you any more, but I long to see my father
again. Only let me go for two months, and I promise to come back to you
and stay for the rest of my life.”
The Beast, who had been sighing dolefully while she spoke, now replied:
“I cannot refuse you anything you ask, even though it should cost me my
life. Take the four boxes you will find in the room next to your own, and
fill them with everything you wish to take with you. But remember your
promise and come back when the two months are over, or you may have cause
to repent it, for if you do not come in good time you will find your
faithful Beast dead. You will not need any chariot to bring you back. Only
say good-by to all your brothers and sisters the night before you come
away, and when you have gone to bed turn this ring round upon your finger
and say firmly: ‘I wish to go back to my palace and see my Beast again.’
Good-night, Beauty. Fear nothing, sleep peacefully, and before long you
shall see your father once more.”
As soon as Beauty was alone she hastened to fill the boxes with all the
rare and precious things she saw about her, and only when she was tired of
heaping things into them did they seem to be full.
Then she went to bed, but could hardly sleep for joy. And when at last she
did begin to dream of her beloved Prince she was grieved to see him
stretched upon a grassy bank, sad and weary, and hardly like himself.
“What is the matter?” she cried.
He looked at her reproachfully, and said:
“How can you ask me, cruel one? Are you not leaving me to my death
perhaps?”
“Ah! don’t be so sorrowful,” cried Beauty; “I am only going to assure my
father that I am safe and happy. I have promised the Beast faithfully that
I will come back, and he would die of grief if I did not keep my word!”
“What would that matter to you?” said the Prince “Surely you would not
care?”
“Indeed, I should be ungrateful if I did not care for such a kind Beast,”
cried Beauty indignantly. “I would die to save him from pain. I assure you
it is not his fault that he is so ugly.”
Just then a strange sound woke her—someone was speaking not very far
away; and opening her eyes she found herself in a room she had never seen
before, which was certainly not nearly so splendid as those she was used
to in the Beast’s palace. Where could she be? She got up and dressed
hastily, and then saw that the boxes she had packed the night before were
all in the room. While she was wondering by what magic the Beast had
transported them and herself to this strange place she suddenly heard her
father’s voice, and rushed out and greeted him joyfully. Her brothers and
sisters were all astonished at her appearance, as they had never expected
to see her again, and there was no end to the questions they asked her.
She had also much to hear about what had happened to them while she was
away, and of her father’s journey home. But when they heard that she had
only come to be with them for a short time, and then must go back to the
Beast’s palace for ever, they lamented loudly. Then Beauty asked her
father what he thought could be the meaning of her strange dreams, and why
the Prince constantly begged her not to trust to appearances. After much
consideration, he answered: “You tell me yourself that the Beast,
frightful as he is, loves you dearly, and deserves your love and gratitude
for his gentleness and kindness; I think the Prince must mean you to
understand that you ought to reward him by doing as he wishes you to, in
spite of his ugliness.”
Beauty could not help seeing that this seemed very probable; still, when
she thought of her dear Prince who was so handsome, she did not feel at
all inclined to marry the Beast. At any rate, for two months she need not
decide, but could enjoy herself with her sisters. But though they were
rich now, and lived in town again, and had plenty of acquaintances, Beauty
found that nothing amused her very much; and she often thought of the
palace, where she was so happy, especially as at home she never once
dreamed of her dear Prince, and she felt quite sad without him.
Then her sisters seemed to have got quite used to being without her, and
even found her rather in the way, so she would not have been sorry when
the two months were over but for her father and brothers, who begged her
to stay, and seemed so grieved at the thought of her departure that she
had not the courage to say good-by to them. Every day when she got up she
meant to say it at night, and when night came she put it off again, until
at last she had a dismal dream which helped her to make up her mind. She
thought she was wandering in a lonely path in the palace gardens, when she
heard groans which seemed to come from some bushes hiding the entrance of
a cave, and running quickly to see what could be the matter, she found the
Beast stretched out upon his side, apparently dying. He reproached her
faintly with being the cause of his distress, and at the same moment a
stately lady appeared, and said very gravely:
“Ah! Beauty, you are only just in time to save his life. See what happens
when people do not keep their promises! If you had delayed one day more,
you would have found him dead.”
Beauty was so terrified by this dream that the next morning she announced
her intention of going back at once, and that very night she said good-by
to her father and all her brothers and sisters, and as soon as she was in
bed she turned her ring round upon her finger, and said firmly, “I wish to
go back to my palace and see my Beast again,” as she had been told to do.
Then she fell asleep instantly, and only woke up to hear the clock saying
“Beauty, Beauty” twelve times in its musical voice, which told her at once
that she was really in the palace once more. Everything was just as
before, and her birds were so glad to see her! But Beauty thought she had
never known such a long day, for she was so anxious to see the Beast again
that she felt as if suppertime would never come.
But when it did come and no Beast appeared she was really frightened; so,
after listening and waiting for a long time, she ran down into the garden
to search for him. Up and down the paths and avenues ran poor Beauty,
calling him in vain, for no one answered, and not a trace of him could she
find; until at last, quite tired, she stopped for a minute’s rest, and saw
that she was standing opposite the shady path she had seen in her dream.
She rushed down it, and, sure enough, there was the cave, and in it lay
the Beast—asleep, as Beauty thought. Quite glad to have found him,
she ran up and stroked his head, but, to her horror, he did not move or
open his eyes.
“Oh! he is dead; and it is all my fault,” said Beauty, crying bitterly.
But then, looking at him again, she fancied he still breathed, and,
hastily fetching some water from the nearest fountain, she sprinkled it
over his face, and, to her great delight, he began to revive.
“Oh! Beast, how you frightened me!” she cried. “I never knew how much I
loved you until just now, when I feared I was too late to save your life.”
“Can you really love such an ugly creature as I am?” said the Beast
faintly. “Ah! Beauty, you only came just in time. I was dying because I
thought you had forgotten your promise. But go back now and rest, I shall
see you again by and by.”
Beauty, who had half expected that he would be angry with her, was
reassured by his gentle voice, and went back to the palace, where supper
was awaiting her; and afterward the Beast came in as usual, and talked
about the time she had spent with her father, asking if she had enjoyed
herself, and if they had all been very glad to see her.
Beauty answered politely, and quite enjoyed telling him all that had
happened to her. And when at last the time came for him to go, and he
asked, as he had so often asked before, “Beauty, will you marry me?”
She answered softly, “Yes, dear Beast.”
As she spoke a blaze of light sprang up before the windows of the palace;
fireworks crackled and guns banged, and across the avenue of orange trees,
in letters all made of fire-flies, was written: “Long live the Prince and
his Bride.”
Turning to ask the Beast what it could all mean, Beauty found that he had
disappeared, and in his place stood her long-loved Prince! At the same
moment the wheels of a chariot were heard upon the terrace, and two ladies
entered the room. One of them Beauty recognized as the stately lady she
had seen in her dreams; the other was also so grand and queenly that
Beauty hardly knew which to greet first.
But the one she already knew said to her companion:
“Well, Queen, this is Beauty, who has had the courage to rescue your son
from the terrible enchantment. They love one another, and only your
consent to their marriage is wanting to make them perfectly happy.”
“I consent with all my heart,” cried the Queen. “How can I ever thank you
enough, charming girl, for having restored my dear son to his natural
form?”
And then she tenderly embraced Beauty and the Prince, who had meanwhile
been greeting the Fairy and receiving her congratulations.
“Now,” said the Fairy to Beauty, “I suppose you would like me to send for
all your brothers and sisters to dance at your wedding?”
And so she did, and the marriage was celebrated the very next day with the
utmost splendor, and Beauty and the Prince lived happily ever after.(1)
(1) La Belle et la Bete. Par Madame de Villeneuve.
THE MASTER-MAID
Once upon a time there was a king who had many sons. I do not exactly know
how many there were, but the youngest of them could not stay quietly at
home, and was determined to go out into the world and try his luck, and
after a long time the King was forced to give him leave to go. When he had
traveled about for several days, he came to a giant’s house, and hired
himself to the giant as a servant. In the morning the giant had to go out
to pasture his goats, and as he was leaving the house he told the King’s
son that he must clean out the stable. “And after you have done that,” he
said, “you need not do any more work to-day, for you have come to a kind
master, and that you shall find. But what I set you to do must be done
both well and thoroughly, and you must on no account go into any of the
rooms which lead out of the room in which you slept last night. If you do,
I will take your life.”
“Well to be sure, he is an easy master!” said the Prince to himself as he
walked up and down the room humming and singing, for he thought there
would be plenty of time left to clean out the stable; “but it would be
amusing to steal a glance into his other rooms as well,” thought the
Prince, “for there must be something that he is afraid of my seeing, as I
am not allowed to enter them.” So he went into the first room. A cauldron
was hanging from the walls; it was boiling, but the Prince could see no
fire under it. “I wonder what is inside it,” he thought, and dipped a lock
of his hair in, and the hair became just as if it were all made of copper.
“That’s a nice kind of soup. If anyone were to taste that his throat would
be gilded,” said the youth, and then he went into the next chamber. There,
too, a cauldron was hanging from the wall, bubbling and boiling, but there
was no fire under this either. “I will just try what this is like too,”
said the Prince, thrusting another lock of his hair into it, and it came
out silvered over. “Such costly soup is not to be had in my father’s
palace,” said the Prince; “but everything depends on how it tastes,” and
then he went into the third room. There, too, a cauldron was hanging from
the wall, boiling, exactly the same as in the two other rooms, and the
Prince took pleasure in trying this also, so he dipped a lock of hair in,
and it came out so brightly gilded that it shone again. “Some talk about
going from bad to worse,” said the Prince; “but this is better and better.
If he boils gold here, what can he boil in there?” He was determined to
see, and went through the door into the fourth room. No cauldron was to be
seen there, but on a bench someone was seated who was like a king’s
daughter, but, whosoever she was, she was so beautiful that never in the
Prince’s life had he seen her equal.
“Oh! in heaven’s name what are you doing here?” said she who sat upon the
bench.
“I took the place of servant here yesterday,” said the Prince.
“May you soon have a better place, if you have come to serve here!” said
she.
“Oh, but I think I have got a kind master,” said the Prince. “He has not
given me hard work to do to-day. When I have cleaned out the stable I
shall be done.”
“Yes, but how will you be able to do that?” she asked again. “If you clean
it out as other people do, ten pitchforksful will come in for every one
you throw out. But I will teach you how to do it; you must turn your
pitchfork upside down, and work with the handle, and then all will fly out
of its own accord.”
“Yes, I will attend to that,” said the Prince, and stayed sitting where he
was the whole day, for it was soon settled between them that they would
marry each other, he and the King’s daughter; so the first day of his
service with the giant did not seem long to him. But when evening was
drawing near she said that it would now be better for him to clean out the
stable before the giant came home. When he got there he had a fancy to try
if what she had said were true, so he began to work in the same way that
he had seen the stable-boys doing in his father’s stables, but he soon saw
that he must give up that, for when he had worked a very short time he had
scarcely any room left to stand. So he did what the Princess had taught
him, turned the pitchfork round, and worked with the handle, and in the
twinkling of an eye the stable was as clean as if it had been scoured.
When he had done that, he went back again into the room in which the giant
had given him leave to stay, and there he walked backward and forward on
the floor, and began to hum and sing.
Then came the giant home with the goats. “Have you cleaned the stable?”
asked the giant.
“Yes, now it is clean and sweet, master,” said the King’s son.
“I shall see about that,” said the giant, and went round to the stable,
but it was just as the Prince had said.
“You have certainly been talking to my Master-maid, for you never got that
out of your own head,” said the giant.
“Master-maid! What kind of a thing is that, master?” said the Prince,
making himself look as stupid as an ass; “I should like to see that.”
“Well, you will see her quite soon enough,” said the giant.
On the second morning the giant had again to go out with his goats, so he
told the Prince that on that day he was to fetch home his horse, which was
out on the mountain-side, and when he had done that he might rest himself
for the remainder of the day, “for you have come to a kind master, and
that you shall find,” said the giant once more. “But do not go into any of
the rooms that I spoke of yesterday, or I will wring your head off,” said
he, and then went away with his flock of goats.
“Yes, indeed, you are a kind master,” said the Prince; “but I will go in
and talk to the Master-maid again; perhaps before long she may like better
to be mine than yours.”
So he went to her. Then she asked him what he had to do that day.
“Oh! not very dangerous work, I fancy,” said the King’s son. “I have only
to go up the mountain-side after his horse.”
“Well, how do you mean to set about it?” asked the Master-maid.
“Oh! there is no great art in riding a horse home,” said the King’s son.
“I think I must have ridden friskier horses before now.”
“Yes, but it is not so easy a thing as you think to ride the horse home,”
said the Master-maid; “but I will teach you what to do. When you go near
it, fire will burst out of its nostrils like flames from a pine torch; but
be very careful, and take the bridle which is hanging by the door there,
and fling the bit straight into his jaws, and then it will become so tame
that you will be able to do what you like with it.” He said he would bear
this in mind, and then he again sat in there the whole day by the
Master-maid, and they chatted and talked of one thing and another, but the
first thing and the last now was, how happy and delightful it would be if
they could but marry each other, and get safely away from the giant; and
the Prince would have forgotten both the mountain-side and the horse if
the Master-maid had not reminded him of them as evening drew near, and
said that now it would be better if he went to fetch the horse before the
giant came. So he did this, and took the bridle which was hanging on a
crook, and strode up the mountain-side, and it was not long before he met
with the horse, and fire and red flames streamed forth out of its
nostrils. But the youth carefully watched his opportunity, and just as it
was rushing at him with open jaws he threw the bit straight into its
mouth, and the horse stood as quiet as a young lamb, and there was no
difficulty at all in getting it home to the stable. Then the Prince went
back into his room again, and began to hum and to sing.
Toward evening the giant came home. “Have you fetched the horse back from
the mountain-side?” he asked.
“That I have, master; it was an amusing horse to ride, but I rode him
straight home, and put him in the stable too,” said the Prince.
“I will see about that,” said the giant, and went out to the stable, but
the horse was standing there just as the Prince had said. “You have
certainly been talking with my Master-maid, for you never got that out of
your own head,” said the giant again.
“Yesterday, master, you talked about this Master-maid, and to-day you are
talking about her; ah, heaven bless you, master, why will you not show me
the thing? for it would be a real pleasure to me to see it,” said the
Prince, who again pretended to be silly and stupid.
“Oh! you will see her quite soon enough,” said the giant.
On the morning of the third day the giant again had to go into the wood
with the goats. “To-day you must go underground and fetch my taxes,” he
said to the Prince. “When you have done this, you may rest for the
remainder of the day, for you shall see what an easy master you have come
to,” and then he went away.
“Well, however easy a master you may be, you set me very hard work to do,”
thought the Prince; “but I will see if I cannot find your Master-maid; you
say she is yours, but for all that she may be able to tell me what to do
now,” and he went back to her. So, when the Master-maid asked him what the
giant had set him to do that day, he told her that he was to go
underground and get the taxes.
“And how will you set about that?” said the Master-maid.
“Oh! you must tell me how to do it,” said the Prince, “for I have never
yet been underground, and even if I knew the way I do not know how much I
am to demand.”
“Oh! yes, I will soon tell you that; you must go to the rock there under
the mountain-ridge, and take the club that is there, and knock on the
rocky wall,” said the Master-maid. “Then someone will come out who will
sparkle with fire; you shall tell him your errand, and when he asks you
how much you want to have you are to say: ‘As much as I can carry.’”
“Yes, I will keep that in mind,” said he, and then he sat there with the
Master-maid the whole day, until night drew near, and he would gladly have
stayed there till now if the Master-maid had not reminded him that it was
time to be off to fetch the taxes before the giant came.
So he set out on his way, and did exactly what the Master-maid had told
him. He went to the rocky wall, and took the club, and knocked on it. Then
came one so full of sparks that they flew both out of his eyes and his
nose. “What do you want?” said he.
“I was to come here for the giant, and demand the tax for him,” said the
King’s son.
“How much are you to have then?” said the other.
“I ask for no more than I am able to carry with me,” said the Prince.
“It is well for you that you have not asked for a horse-load,” said he who
had come out of the rock. “But now come in with me.”
This the Prince did, and what a quantity of gold and silver he saw! It was
lying inside the mountain like heaps of stones in a waste place, and he
got a load that was as large as he was able to carry, and with that he
went his way. So in the evening, when the giant came home with the goats,
the Prince went into the chamber and hummed and sang again as he had done
on the other two evenings.
“Have you been for the tax?” said the giant.
“Yes, that I have, master,” said the Prince.
“Where have you put it then?” said the giant again.
“The bag of gold is standing there on the bench,” said the Prince.
“I will see about that,” said the giant, and went away to the bench, but
the bag was standing there, and it was so full that gold and silver
dropped out when the giant untied the string.
“You have certainly been talking with my Master-maid!” said the giant,
“and if you have I will wring your neck.”
“Master-maid?” said the Prince; “yesterday my master talked about this
Master-maid, and to-day he is talking about her again, and the first day
of all it was talk of the same kind. I do wish I could see the thing
myself,” said he.
“Yes, yes, wait till to-morrow,” said the giant, “and then I myself will
take you to her.”
“Ah! master, I thank you—but you are only mocking me,” said the
King’s son.
Next day the giant took him to the Master-maid. “Now you shall kill him,
and boil him in the great big cauldron you know of, and when you have got
the broth ready give me a call,” said the giant; then he lay down on the
bench to sleep, and almost immediately began to snore so that it sounded
like thunder among the hills.
So the Master-maid took a knife, and cut the Prince’s little finger, and
dropped three drops of blood upon a wooden stool; then she took all the
old rags, and shoe-soles, and all the rubbish she could lay hands on, and
put them in the cauldron; and then she filled a chest with gold dust, and
a lump of salt, and a water-flask which was hanging by the door, and she
also took with her a golden apple, and two gold chickens; and then she and
the Prince went away with all the speed they could, and when they had gone
a little way they came to the sea, and then they sailed, but where they
got the ship from I have never been able to learn.
Now, when the giant had slept a good long time, he began to stretch
himself on the bench on which he was lying. “Will it soon boil?” said he.
“It is just beginning,” said the first drop of blood on the stool.
So the giant lay down to sleep again, and slept for a long, long time.
Then he began to move about a little again. “Will it soon be ready now?”
said he, but he did not look up this time any more than he had done the
first time, for he was still half asleep.
“Half done!” said the second drop of blood, and the giant believed it was
the Master-maid again, and turned himself on the bench, and lay down to
sleep once more. When he had slept again for many hours, he began to move
and stretch himself. “Is it not done yet?” said he.
“It is quite ready,” said the third drop of blood. Then the giant began to
sit up and rub his eyes, but he could not see who it was who had spoken to
him, so he asked for the Master-maid, and called her. But there was no one
to give him an answer.
“Ah! well, she has just stolen out for a little,” thought the giant, and
he took a spoon, and went off to the cauldron to have a taste; but there
was nothing in it but shoe-soles, and rags, and such trumpery as that, and
all was boiled up together, so that he could not tell whether it was
porridge or milk pottage. When he saw this, he understood what had
happened, and fell into such a rage that he hardly knew what he was doing.
Away he went after the Prince and the Master-maid so fast that the wind
whistled behind him, and it was not long before he came to the water, but
he could not get over it. “Well, well, I will soon find a cure for that; I
have only to call my river-sucker,” said the giant, and he did call him.
So his river-sucker came and lay down, and drank one, two, three draughts,
and with that the water in the sea fell so low that the giant saw the
Master-maid and the Prince out on the sea in their ship. “Now you must
throw out the lump of salt,” said the Master-maid, and the Prince did so,
and it grew up into such a great high mountain right across the sea that
the giant could not come over it, and the river-sucker could not drink any
more water. “Well, well, I will soon find a cure for that,” said the
giant, so he called to his hill-borer to come and bore through the
mountain so that the river-sucker might be able to drink up the water
again. But just as the hole was made, and the river-sucker was beginning
to drink, the Master-maid told the Prince to throw one or two drops out of
the flask, and when he did this the sea instantly became full of water
again, and before the river-sucker could take one drink they reached the
land and were in safety. So they determined to go home to the Prince’s
father, but the Prince would on no account permit the Master-maid to walk
there, for he thought that it was unbecoming either for her or for him to
go on foot.
“Wait here the least little bit of time, while I go home for the seven
horses which stand in my father’s stable,” said he; “it is not far off,
and I shall not be long away, but I will not let my betrothed bride go on
foot to the palace.”
“Oh! no, do not go, for if you go home to the King’s palace you will
forget me, I foresee that.”
“How could I forget you? We have suffered so much evil together, and love
each other so much,” said the Prince; and he insisted on going home for
the coach with the seven horses, and she was to wait for him there, by the
sea-shore. So at last the Master-maid had to yield, for he was so
absolutely determined to do it. “But when you get there you must not even
give yourself time to greet anyone, but go straight into the stable, and
take the horses, and put them in the coach, and drive back as quickly as
you can. For they will all come round about you; but you must behave just
as if you did not see them, and on no account must you taste anything, for
if you do it will cause great misery both to you and to me,” said she; and
this he promised.
But when he got home to the King’s palace one of his brothers was just
going to be married, and the bride and all her kith and kin had come to
the palace; so they all thronged round him, and questioned him about this
and that, and wanted him to go in with them; but he behaved as if he did
not see them, and went straight to the stable, and got out the horses and
began to harness them. When they saw that they could not by any means
prevail on him to go in with them, they came out to him with meat and
drink, and the best of everything that they had prepared for the wedding;
but the Prince refused to touch anything, and would do nothing but put the
horses in as quickly as he could. At last, however, the bride’s sister
rolled an apple across the yard to him, and said: “As you won’t eat
anything else, you may like to take a bite of that, for you must be both
hungry and thirsty after your long journey.” And he took up the apple and
bit a piece out of it. But no sooner had he got the piece of apple in his
mouth than he forgot the Master-maid and that he was to go back in the
coach to fetch her.
“I think I must be mad! what do I want with this coach and horses?” said
he; and then he put the horses back into the stable, and went into the
King’s palace, and there it was settled that he should marry the bride’s
sister, who had rolled the apple to him.
The Master-maid sat by the sea-shore for a long, long time, waiting for
the Prince, but no Prince came. So she went away, and when she had walked
a short distance she came to a little hut which stood all alone in a small
wood, hard by the King’s palace. She entered it and asked if she might be
allowed to stay there. The hut belonged to an old crone, who was also an
ill-tempered and malicious troll. At first she would not let the
Master-maid remain with her; but at last, after a long time, by means of
good words and good payment, she obtained leave. But the hut was as dirty
and black inside as a pigsty, so the Master-maid said that she would
smarten it up a little, that it might look a little more like what other
people’s houses looked inside. The old crone did not like this either. She
scowled, and was very cross, but the Master-maid did not trouble herself
about that. She took out her chest of gold, and flung a handful of it or
so into the fire, and the gold boiled up and poured out over the whole of
the hut, until every part of it both inside and out was gilded. But when
the gold began to bubble up the old hag grew so terrified that she fled as
if the Evil One himself were pursuing her, and she did not remember to
stoop down as she went through the doorway, and so she split her head and
died. Next morning the sheriff came traveling by there. He was greatly
astonished when he saw the gold hut shining and glittering there in the
copse, and he was still more astonished when he went in and caught sight
of the beautiful young maiden who was sitting there; he fell in love with
her at once, and straightway on the spot he begged her, both prettily and
kindly, to marry him.
“Well, but have you a great deal of money?” said the Master-maid.
“Oh! yes; so far as that is concerned, I am not ill off,” said the
sheriff. So now he had to go home to get the money, and in the evening he
came back, bringing with him a bag with two bushels in it, which he set
down on the bench. Well, as he had such a fine lot of money, the
Master-maid said she would have him, so they sat down to talk.
But scarcely had they sat down together before the Master-maid wanted to
jump up again. “I have forgotten to see to the fire,” she said.
“Why should you jump up to do that?” said the sheriff; “I will do that!”
So he jumped up, and went to the chimney in one bound.
“Just tell me when you have got hold of the shovel,” said the Master-maid.
“Well, I have hold of it now,” said the sheriff.
“Then you may hold the shovel, and the shovel you, and pour red-hot coals
over you, till day dawns,” said the Master-maid. So the sheriff had to
stand there the whole night and pour red-hot coals over himself, and, no
matter how much he cried and begged and entreated, the red-hot coals did
not grow the colder for that. When the day began to dawn, and he had power
to throw down the shovel, he did not stay long where he was, but ran away
as fast as he possibly could; and everyone who met him stared and looked
after him, for he was flying as if he were mad, and he could not have
looked worse if he had been both flayed and tanned, and everyone wondered
where he had been, but for very shame he would tell nothing.
The next day the attorney came riding by the place where the Master-maid
dwelt. He saw how brightly the hut shone and gleamed through the wood, and
he too went into it to see who lived there, and when he entered and saw
the beautiful young maiden he fell even more in love with her than the
sheriff had done, and began to woo her at once. So the Master-maid asked
him, as she had asked the sheriff, if he had a great deal of money, and
the attorney said he was not ill off for that, and would at once go home
to get it; and at night he came with a great big sack of money—this
time it was a four-bushel sack—and set it on the bench by the
Master-maid. So she promised to have him, and he sat down on the bench by
her to arrange about it, but suddenly she said that she had forgotten to
lock the door of the porch that night, and must do it.
“Why should you do that?” said the attorney; “sit still, I will do it.”
So he was on his feet in a moment, and out in the porch.
“Tell me when you have got hold of the door-latch,” said the Master-maid.
“I have hold of it now,” cried the attorney.
“Then you may hold the door, and the door you, and may you go between wall
and wall till day dawns.”
What a dance the attorney had that night! He had never had such a waltz
before, and he never wished to have such a dance again. Sometimes he was
in front of the door, and sometimes the door was in front of him, and it
went from one side of the porch to the other, till the attorney was
well-nigh beaten to death. At first he began to abuse the Master-maid, and
then to beg and pray, but the door did not care for anything but keeping
him where he was till break of day.
As soon as the door let go its hold of him, off went the attorney. He
forgot who ought to be paid off for what he had suffered, he forgot both
his sack of money and his wooing, for he was so afraid lest the house-door
should come dancing after him. Everyone who met him stared and looked
after him, for he was flying like a madman, and he could not have looked
worse if a herd of rams had been butting at him all night long.
On the third day the bailiff came by, and he too saw the gold house in the
little wood, and he too felt that he must go and see who lived there; and
when he caught sight of the Master-maid he became so much in love with her
that he wooed her almost before he greeted her.
The Master-maid answered him as she had answered the other two, that if he
had a great deal of money, she would have him. “So far as that is
concerned, I am not ill off,” said the bailiff; so he was at once told to
go home and fetch it, and this he did. At night he came back, and he had a
still larger sack of money with him than the attorney had brought; it must
have been at least six bushels, and he set it down on the bench. So it was
settled that he was to have the Master-maid. But hardly had they sat down
together before she said that she had forgotten to bring in the calf, and
must go out to put it in the byre.
“No, indeed, you shall not do that,” said the bailiff; “I am the one to do
that.” And, big and fat as he was, he went out as briskly as a boy.
“Tell me when you have got hold of the calf’s tail,” said the Master-maid.
“I have hold of it now,” cried the bailiff.
“Then may you hold the calf’s tail, and the calf’s tail hold you, and may
you go round the world together till day dawns!” said the Master-maid. So
the bailiff had to bestir himself, for the calf went over rough and
smooth, over hill and dale, and, the more the bailiff cried and screamed,
the faster the calf went. When daylight began to appear, the bailiff was
half dead; and so glad was he to leave loose of the calf’s tail, that he
forgot the sack of money and all else. He walked now slowly—more
slowly than the sheriff and the attorney had done, but, the slower he
went, the more time had everyone to stare and look at him; and they used
it too, and no one can imagine how tired out and ragged he looked after
his dance with the calf.
On the following day the wedding was to take place in the King’s palace,
and the elder brother was to drive to church with his bride, and the
brother who had been with the giant with her sister. But when they had
seated themselves in the coach and were about to drive off from the palace
one of the trace-pins broke, and, though they made one, two, and three to
put in its place, that did not help them, for each broke in turn, no
matter what kind of wood they used to make them of. This went on for a
long time, and they could not get away from the palace, so they were all
in great trouble. Then the sheriff said (for he too had been bidden to the
wedding at Court): “Yonder away in the thicket dwells a maiden, and if you
can get her to lend you the handle of the shovel that she uses to make up
her fire I know very well that it will hold fast.” So they sent off a
messenger to the thicket, and begged so prettily that they might have the
loan of her shovel-handle of which the sheriff had spoken that they were
not refused; so now they had a trace-pin which would not snap in two.
But all at once, just as they were starting, the bottom of the coach fell
in pieces. They made a new bottom as fast as they could, but, no matter
how they nailed it together, or what kind of wood they used, no sooner had
they got the new bottom into the coach and were about to drive off than it
broke again, so that they were still worse off than when they had broken
the trace-pin. Then the attorney said, for he too was at the wedding in
the palace: “Away there in the thicket dwells a maiden, and if you could
but get her to lend you one-half of her porch-door I am certain that it
will hold together.” So they again sent a messenger to the thicket, and
begged so prettily for the loan of the gilded porch-door of which the
attorney had told them that they got it at once. They were just setting
out again, but now the horses were not able to draw the coach. They had
six horses already, and now they put in eight, and then ten, and then
twelve, but the more they put in, and the more the coachman whipped them,
the less good it did; and the coach never stirred from the spot. It was
already beginning to be late in the day, and to church they must and would
go, so everyone who was in the palace was in a state of distress. Then the
bailiff spoke up and said: “Out there in the gilded cottage in the thicket
dwells a girl, and if you could but get her to lend you her calf I know it
could draw the coach, even if it were as heavy as a mountain.” They all
thought that it was ridiculous to be drawn to church by a calf, but there
was nothing else for it but to send a messenger once more, and beg as
prettily as they could, on behalf of the King, that she would let them
have the loan of the calf that the bailiff had told them about. The
Master-maid let them have it immediately—this time also she would
not say “no.”
Then they harnessed the calf to see if the coach would move; and away it
went, over rough and smooth, over stock and stone, so that they could
scarcely breathe, and sometimes they were on the ground, and sometimes up
in the air; and when they came to the church the coach began to go round
and round like a spinning-wheel, and it was with the utmost difficulty and
danger that they were able to get out of the coach and into the church.
And when they went back again the coach went quicker still, so that most
of them did not know how they got back to the palace at all.
When they had seated themselves at the table the Prince who had been in
service with the giant said that he thought they ought to have invited the
maiden who had lent them the shovel-handle, and the porch-door, and the
calf up to the palace, “for,” said he, “if we had not got these three
things, we should never have got away from the palace.”
The King also thought that this was both just and proper, so he sent five
of his best men down to the gilded hut, to greet the maiden courteously
from the King, and to beg her to be so good as to come up to the palace to
dinner at mid-day.
“Greet the King, and tell him that, if he is too good to come to me, I am
too good to come to him,” replied the Master-maid.
So the King had to go himself, and the Master-maid went with him
immediately, and, as the King believed that she was more than she appeared
to be, he seated her in the place of honor by the youngest bridegroom.
When they had sat at the table for a short time, the Master-maid took out
the cock, and the hen, and the golden apple which she had brought away
with her from the giant’s house, and set them on the table in front of
her, and instantly the cock and the hen began to fight with each other for
the golden apple.
“Oh! look how those two there are fighting for the golden apple,” said the
King’s son.
“Yes, and so did we two fight to get out that time when we were in the
mountain,” said the Master-maid.
So the Prince knew her again, and you may imagine how delighted he was. He
ordered the troll-witch who had rolled the apple to him to be torn in
pieces between four-and-twenty horses, so that not a bit of her was left,
and then for the first time they began really to keep the wedding, and,
weary as they were, the sheriff, the attorney, and the bailiff kept it up
too.(1)
(1) Asbjornsen and Moe.
WHY THE SEA IS SALT
Once upon a time, long, long ago, there were two brothers, the one rich
and the other poor. When Christmas Eve came, the poor one had not a bite
in the house, either of meat or bread; so he went to his brother, and
begged him, in God’s name, to give him something for Christmas Day. It was
by no means the first time that the brother had been forced to give
something to him, and he was not better pleased at being asked now than he
generally was.
“If you will do what I ask you, you shall have a whole ham,” said he. The
poor one immediately thanked him, and promised this.
“Well, here is the ham, and now you must go straight to Dead Man’s Hall,”
said the rich brother, throwing the ham to him.
“Well, I will do what I have promised,” said the other, and he took the
ham and set off. He went on and on for the livelong day, and at nightfall
he came to a place where there was a bright light.
“I have no doubt this is the place,” thought the man with the ham.
An old man with a long white beard was standing in the outhouse, chopping
Yule logs.
“Good-evening,” said the man with the ham.
“Good-evening to you. Where are you going at this late hour?” said the
man.
“I am going to Dead Man’s Hall, if only I am on the right track,” answered
the poor man.
“Oh! yes, you are right enough, for it is here,” said the old man. “When
you get inside they will all want to buy your ham, for they don’t get much
meat to eat there; but you must not sell it unless you can get the
hand-mill which stands behind the door for it. When you come out again I
will teach you how to stop the hand-mill, which is useful for almost
everything.”
So the man with the ham thanked the other for his good advice, and rapped
at the door.
When he got in, everything happened just as the old man had said it would:
all the people, great and small, came round him like ants on an ant-hill,
and each tried to outbid the other for the ham.
“By rights my old woman and I ought to have it for our Christmas dinner,
but, since you have set your hearts upon it, I must just give it up to
you,” said the man. “But, if I sell it, I will have the hand-mill which is
standing there behind the door.”
At first they would not hear of this, and haggled and bargained with the
man, but he stuck to what he had said, and the people were forced to give
him the hand-mill. When the man came out again into the yard, he asked the
old wood-cutter how he was to stop the hand-mill, and when he had learned
that, he thanked him and set off home with all the speed he could, but did
not get there until after the clock had struck twelve on Christmas Eve.
“Where in the world have you been?” said the old woman. “Here I have sat
waiting hour after hour, and have not even two sticks to lay across each
other under the Christmas porridge-pot.”
“Oh! I could not come before; I had something of importance to see about,
and a long way to go, too; but now you shall just see!” said the man, and
then he set the hand-mill on the table, and bade it first grind light,
then a table-cloth, and then meat, and beer, and everything else that was
good for a Christmas Eve’s supper; and the mill ground all that he
ordered. “Bless me!” said the old woman as one thing after another
appeared; and she wanted to know where her husband had got the mill from,
but he would not tell her that.
“Never mind where I got it; you can see that it is a good one, and the
water that turns it will never freeze,” said the man. So he ground meat
and drink, and all kinds of good things, to last all Christmas-tide, and
on the third day he invited all his friends to come to a feast.
Now when the rich brother saw all that there was at the banquet and in the
house, he was both vexed and angry, for he grudged everything his brother
had. “On Christmas Eve he was so poor that he came to me and begged for a
trifle, for God’s sake, and now he gives a feast as if he were both a
count and a king!” thought he. “But, for heaven’s sake, tell me where you
got your riches from,” said he to his brother.
“From behind the door,” said he who owned the mill, for he did not choose
to satisfy his brother on that point; but later in the evening, when he
had taken a drop too much, he could not refrain from telling how he had
come by the hand-mill. “There you see what has brought me all my wealth!”
said he, and brought out the mill, and made it grind first one thing and
then another. When the brother saw that, he insisted on having the mill,
and after a great deal of persuasion got it; but he had to give three
hundred dollars for it, and the poor brother was to keep it till the
haymaking was over, for he thought: “If I keep it as long as that, I can
make it grind meat and drink that will last many a long year.” During that
time you may imagine that the mill did not grow rusty, and when
hay-harvest came the rich brother got it, but the other had taken good
care not to teach him how to stop it. It was evening when the rich man got
the mill home, and in the morning he bade the old woman go out and spread
the hay after the mowers, and he would attend to the house himself that
day, he said.
So, when dinner-time drew near, he set the mill on the kitchen-table, and
said: “Grind herrings and milk pottage, and do it both quickly and well.”
So the mill began to grind herrings and milk pottage, and first all the
dishes and tubs were filled, and then it came out all over the
kitchen-floor. The man twisted and turned it, and did all he could to make
the mill stop, but, howsoever he turned it and screwed it, the mill went
on grinding, and in a short time the pottage rose so high that the man was
like to be drowned. So he threw open the parlor door, but it was not long
before the mill had ground the parlor full too, and it was with difficulty
and danger that the man could go through the stream of pottage and get
hold of the door-latch. When he got the door open, he did not stay long in
the room, but ran out, and the herrings and pottage came after him, and it
streamed out over both farm and field. Now the old woman, who was out
spreading the hay, began to think dinner was long in coming, and said to
the women and the mowers: “Though the master does not call us home, we may
as well go. It may be that he finds he is not good at making pottage and I
should do well to help him.” So they began to straggle homeward, but when
they had got a little way up the hill they met the herrings and pottage
and bread, all pouring forth and winding about one over the other, and the
man himself in front of the flood. “Would to heaven that each of you had a
hundred stomachs! Take care that you are not drowned in the pottage!” he
cried as he went by them as if Mischief were at his heels, down to where
his brother dwelt. Then he begged him, for God’s sake, to take the mill
back again, and that in an instant, for, said he: “If it grind one hour
more the whole district will be destroyed by herrings and pottage.” But
the brother would not take it until the other paid him three hundred
dollars, and that he was obliged to do. Now the poor brother had both the
money and the mill again. So it was not long before he had a farmhouse
much finer than that in which his brother lived, but the mill ground him
so much money that he covered it with plates of gold; and the farmhouse
lay close by the sea-shore, so it shone and glittered far out to sea.
Everyone who sailed by there now had to be put in to visit the rich man in
the gold farmhouse, and everyone wanted to see the wonderful mill, for the
report of it spread far and wide, and there was no one who had not heard
tell of it.
After a long, long time came also a skipper who wished to see the mill. He
asked if it could make salt. “Yes, it could make salt,” said he who owned
it, and when the skipper heard that, he wished with all his might and main
to have the mill, let it cost what it might, for, he thought, if he had
it, he would get off having to sail far away over the perilous sea for
freights of salt. At first the man would not hear of parting with it, but
the skipper begged and prayed, and at last the man sold it to him, and got
many, many thousand dollars for it. When the skipper had got the mill on
his back he did not stay there long, for he was so afraid that the man
would change his mind, and he had no time to ask how he was to stop it
grinding, but got on board his ship as fast as he could.
When he had gone a little way out to sea he took the mill on deck. “Grind
salt, and grind both quickly and well,” said the skipper. So the mill
began to grind salt, till it spouted out like water, and when the skipper
had got the ship filled he wanted to stop the mill, but whichsoever way he
turned it, and how much soever he tried, it went on grinding, and the heap
of salt grew higher and higher, until at last the ship sank. There lies
the mill at the bottom of the sea, and still, day by day, it grinds on;
and that is why the sea is salt.(1)
(1) Asbjornsen and Moe.
THE MASTER CAT; OR, PUSS IN BOOTS
There was a miller who left no more estate to the three sons he had than
his mill, his ass, and his cat. The partition was soon made. Neither
scrivener nor attorney was sent for. They would soon have eaten up all the
poor patrimony. The eldest had the mill, the second the ass, and the
youngest nothing but the cat. The poor young fellow was quite comfortless
at having so poor a lot.
“My brothers,” said he, “may get their living handsomely enough by joining
their stocks together; but for my part, when I have eaten up my cat, and
made me a muff of his skin, I must die of hunger.”
The Cat, who heard all this, but made as if he did not, said to him with a
grave and serious air:
“Do not thus afflict yourself, my good master. You have nothing else to do
but to give me a bag and get a pair of boots made for me that I may
scamper through the dirt and the brambles, and you shall see that you have
not so bad a portion in me as you imagine.”
The Cat’s master did not build very much upon what he said. He had often
seen him play a great many cunning tricks to catch rats and mice, as when
he used to hang by the heels, or hide himself in the meal, and make as if
he were dead; so that he did not altogether despair of his affording him
some help in his miserable condition. When the Cat had what he asked for
he booted himself very gallantly, and putting his bag about his neck, he
held the strings of it in his two forepaws and went into a warren where
was great abundance of rabbits. He put bran and sow-thistle into his bag,
and stretching out at length, as if he had been dead, he waited for some
young rabbits, not yet acquainted with the deceits of the world, to come
and rummage his bag for what he had put into it.
Scarce was he lain down but he had what he wanted. A rash and foolish
young rabbit jumped into his bag, and Monsieur Puss, immediately drawing
close the strings, took and killed him without pity. Proud of his prey, he
went with it to the palace and asked to speak with his majesty. He was
shown upstairs into the King’s apartment, and, making a low reverence,
said to him:
“I have brought you, sir, a rabbit of the warren, which my noble lord the
Marquis of Carabas” (for that was the title which puss was pleased to give
his master) “has commanded me to present to your majesty from him.”
“Tell thy master,” said the king, “that I thank him and that he does me a
great deal of pleasure.”
Another time he went and hid himself among some standing corn, holding
still his bag open, and when a brace of partridges ran into it he drew the
strings and so caught them both. He went and made a present of these to
the king, as he had done before of the rabbit which he took in the warren.
The king, in like manner, received the partridges with great pleasure, and
ordered him some money for drink.
The Cat continued for two or three months thus to carry his Majesty, from
time to time, game of his master’s taking. One day in particular, when he
knew for certain that he was to take the air along the river-side, with
his daughter, the most beautiful princess in the world, he said to his
master:
“If you will follow my advice your fortune is made. You have nothing else
to do but go and wash yourself in the river, in that part I shall show
you, and leave the rest to me.”
The Marquis of Carabas did what the Cat advised him to, without knowing
why or wherefore. While he was washing the King passed by, and the Cat
began to cry out:
“Help! help! My Lord Marquis of Carabas is going to be drowned.”
At this noise the King put his head out of the coach-window, and, finding
it was the Cat who had so often brought him such good game, he commanded
his guards to run immediately to the assistance of his Lordship the
Marquis of Carabas. While they were drawing the poor Marquis out of the
river, the Cat came up to the coach and told the King that, while his
master was washing, there came by some rogues, who went off with his
clothes, though he had cried out: “Thieves! thieves!” several times, as
loud as he could.
This cunning Cat had hidden them under a great stone. The King immediately
commanded the officers of his wardrobe to run and fetch one of his best
suits for the Lord Marquis of Carabas.
The King caressed him after a very extraordinary manner, and as the fine
clothes he had given him extremely set off his good mien (for he was well
made and very handsome in his person), the King’s daughter took a secret
inclination to him, and the Marquis of Carabas had no sooner cast two or
three respectful and somewhat tender glances but she fell in love with him
to distraction. The King would needs have him come into the coach and take
part of the airing. The Cat, quite overjoyed to see his project begin to
succeed, marched on before, and, meeting with some countrymen, who were
mowing a meadow, he said to them:
“Good people, you who are mowing, if you do not tell the King that the
meadow you mow belongs to my Lord Marquis of Carabas, you shall be chopped
as small as herbs for the pot.”
The King did not fail asking of the mowers to whom the meadow they were
mowing belonged.
“To my Lord Marquis of Carabas,” answered they altogether, for the Cat’s
threats had made them terribly afraid.
“You see, sir,” said the Marquis, “this is a meadow which never fails to
yield a plentiful harvest every year.”
The Master Cat, who went still on before, met with some reapers, and said
to them:
“Good people, you who are reaping, if you do not tell the King that all
this corn belongs to the Marquis of Carabas, you shall be chopped as small
as herbs for the pot.”
The King, who passed by a moment after, would needs know to whom all that
corn, which he then saw, did belong.
“To my Lord Marquis of Carabas,” replied the reapers, and the King was
very well pleased with it, as well as the Marquis, whom he congratulated
thereupon. The Master Cat, who went always before, said the same words to
all he met, and the King was astonished at the vast estates of my Lord
Marquis of Carabas.
Monsieur Puss came at last to a stately castle, the master of which was an
ogre, the richest had ever been known; for all the lands which the King
had then gone over belonged to this castle. The Cat, who had taken care to
inform himself who this ogre was and what he could do, asked to speak with
him, saying he could not pass so near his castle without having the honor
of paying his respects to him.
The ogre received him as civilly as an ogre could do, and made him sit
down.
“I have been assured,” said the Cat, “that you have the gift of being able
to change yourself into all sorts of creatures you have a mind to; you
can, for example, transform yourself into a lion, or elephant, and the
like.”
“That is true,” answered the ogre very briskly; “and to convince you, you
shall see me now become a lion.”
Puss was so sadly terrified at the sight of a lion so near him that he
immediately got into the gutter, not without abundance of trouble and
danger, because of his boots, which were of no use at all to him in
walking upon the tiles. A little while after, when Puss saw that the ogre
had resumed his natural form, he came down, and owned he had been very
much frightened.
“I have been, moreover, informed,” said the Cat, “but I know not how to
believe it, that you have also the power to take on you the shape of the
smallest animals; for example, to change yourself into a rat or a mouse;
but I must own to you I take this to be impossible.”
“Impossible!” cried the ogre; “you shall see that presently.”
And at the same time he changed himself into a mouse, and began to run
about the floor. Puss no sooner perceived this but he fell upon him and
ate him up.
Meanwhile the King, who saw, as he passed, this fine castle of the ogre’s,
had a mind to go into it. Puss, who heard the noise of his Majesty’s coach
running over the draw-bridge, ran out, and said to the King:
“Your Majesty is welcome to this castle of my Lord Marquis of Carabas.”
“What! my Lord Marquis,” cried the King, “and does this castle also belong
to you? There can be nothing finer than this court and all the stately
buildings which surround it; let us go into it, if you please.”
The Marquis gave his hand to the Princess, and followed the King, who went
first. They passed into a spacious hall, where they found a magnificent
collation, which the ogre had prepared for his friends, who were that very
day to visit him, but dared not to enter, knowing the King was there. His
Majesty was perfectly charmed with the good qualities of my Lord Marquis
of Carabas, as was his daughter, who had fallen violently in love with
him, and, seeing the vast estate he possessed, said to him, after having
drunk five or six glasses:
“It will be owing to yourself only, my Lord Marquis, if you are not my
son-in-law.”
The Marquis, making several low bows, accepted the honor which his Majesty
conferred upon him, and forthwith, that very same day, married the
Princess.
Puss became a great lord, and never ran after mice any more but only for
his diversion.(1)
(1) Charles Perrault.
FELICIA AND THE POT OF PINKS
Once upon a time there was a poor laborer who, feeling that he had not
much longer to live, wished to divide his possessions between his son and
daughter, whom he loved dearly.
So he called them to him, and said: “Your mother brought me as her dowry
two stools and a straw bed; I have, besides, a hen, a pot of pinks, and a
silver ring, which were given me by a noble lady who once lodged in my
poor cottage. When she went away she said to me:
“‘Be careful of my gifts, good man; see that you do not lose the ring or
forget to water the pinks. As for your daughter, I promise you that she
shall be more beautiful than anyone you ever saw in your life; call her
Felicia, and when she grows up give her the ring and the pot of pinks to
console her for her poverty.’ Take them both, then, my dear child,” he
added, “and your brother shall have everything else.”
The two children seemed quite contented, and when their father died they
wept for him, and divided his possessions as he had told them. Felicia
believed that her brother loved her, but when she sat down upon one of the
stools he said angrily:
“Keep your pot of pinks and your ring, but let my things alone. I like
order in my house.”
Felicia, who was very gentle, said nothing, but stood up crying quietly;
while Bruno, for that was her brother’s name, sat comfortably by the fire.
Presently, when supper-time came, Bruno had a delicious egg, and he threw
the shell to Felicia, saying:
“There, that is all I can give you; if you don’t like it, go out and catch
frogs; there are plenty of them in the marsh close by.” Felicia did not
answer, but she cried more bitterly than ever, and went away to her own
little room. She found it filled with the sweet scent of the pinks, and,
going up to them, she said sadly:
“Beautiful pinks, you are so sweet and so pretty, you are the only comfort
I have left. Be very sure that I will take care of you, and water you
well, and never allow any cruel hand to tear you from your stems.”
As she leaned over them she noticed that they were very dry. So taking her
pitcher, she ran off in the clear moonlight to the fountain, which was at
some distance. When she reached it she sat down upon the brink to rest,
but she had hardly done so when she saw a stately lady coming toward her,
surrounded by numbers of attendants. Six maids of honor carried her train,
and she leaned upon the arm of another.
When they came near the fountain a canopy was spread for her, under which
was placed a sofa of cloth-of-gold, and presently a dainty supper was
served, upon a table covered with dishes of gold and crystal, while the
wind in the trees and the falling water of the fountain murmured the
softest music.
Felicia was hidden in the shade, too much astonished by all she saw to
venture to move; but in a few moments the Queen said:
“I fancy I see a shepherdess near that tree; bid her come hither.”
So Felicia came forward and saluted the Queen timidly, but with so much
grace that all were surprised.
“What are you doing here, my pretty child?” asked the Queen. “Are you not
afraid of robbers?”
“Ah! madam,” said Felicia, “a poor shepherdess who has nothing to lose
does not fear robbers.”
“You are not very rich, then?” said the Queen, smiling.
“I am so poor,” answered Felicia, “that a pot of pinks and a silver ring
are my only possessions in the world.”
“But you have a heart,” said the Queen. “What should you say if anybody
wanted to steal that?”
“I do not know what it is like to lose one’s heart, madam,” she replied;
“but I have always heard that without a heart one cannot live, and if it
is broken one must die; and in spite of my poverty I should be sorry not
to live.”
“You are quite right to take care of your heart, pretty one,” said the
Queen. “But tell me, have you supped?”
“No, madam,” answered Felicia; “my brother ate all the supper there was.”
Then the Queen ordered that a place should be made for her at the table,
and herself loaded Felicia’s plate with good things; but she was too much
astonished to be hungry.
“I want to know what you were doing at the fountain so late?” said the
Queen presently.
“I came to fetch a pitcher of water for my pinks, madam,” she answered,
stooping to pick up the pitcher which stood beside her; but when she
showed it to the Queen she was amazed to see that it had turned to gold,
all sparkling with great diamonds, and the water, of which it was full,
was more fragrant than the sweetest roses. She was afraid to take it until
the Queen said:
“It is yours, Felicia; go and water your pinks with it, and let it remind
you that the Queen of the Woods is your friend.”
The shepherdess threw herself at the Queen’s feet, and thanked her humbly
for her gracious words.
“Ah! madam,” she cried, “if I might beg you to stay here a moment I would
run and fetch my pot of pinks for you—they could not fall into
better hands.”
“Go, Felicia,” said the Queen, stroking her cheek softly; “I will wait
here until you come back.”
So Felicia took up her pitcher and ran to her little room, but while she
had been away Bruno had gone in and taken the pot of pinks, leaving a
great cabbage in its place. When she saw the unlucky cabbage Felicia was
much distressed, and did not know what to do; but at last she ran back to
the fountain, and, kneeling before the Queen, said:
“Madam, Bruno has stolen my pot of pinks, so I have nothing but my silver
ring; but I beg you to accept it as a proof of my gratitude.”
“But if I take your ring, my pretty shepherdess,” said the Queen, “you
will have nothing left; and what will you do then?”
“Ah! madam,” she answered simply, “if I have your friendship I shall do
very well.”
So the Queen took the ring and put it on her finger, and mounted her
chariot, which was made of coral studded with emeralds, and drawn by six
milk-white horses. And Felicia looked after her until the winding of the
forest path hid her from her sight, and then she went back to the cottage,
thinking over all the wonderful things that had happened.
The first thing she did when she reached her room was to throw the cabbage
out of the window.
But she was very much surprised to hear an odd little voice cry out: “Oh!
I am half killed!” and could not tell where it came from, because cabbages
do not generally speak.
As soon as it was light, Felicia, who was very unhappy about her pot of
pinks, went out to look for it, and the first thing she found was the
unfortunate cabbage. She gave it a push with her foot, saying: “What are
you doing here, and how dared you put yourself in the place of my pot of
pinks?”
“If I hadn’t been carried,” replied the cabbage, “you may be very sure
that I shouldn’t have thought of going there.”
It made her shiver with fright to hear the cabbage talk, but he went on:
“If you will be good enough to plant me by my comrades again, I can tell
you where your pinks are at this moment—hidden in Bruno’s bed!”
Felicia was in despair when she heard this, not knowing how she was to get
them back. But she replanted the cabbage very kindly in his old place,
and, as she finished doing it, she saw Bruno’s hen, and said, catching
hold of it:
“Come here, horrid little creature! you shall suffer for all the unkind
things my brother has done to me.”
“Ah! shepherdess,” said the hen, “don’t kill me; I am rather a gossip, and
I can tell you some surprising things that you will like to hear. Don’t
imagine that you are the daughter of the poor laborer who brought you up;
your mother was a queen who had six girls already, and the King threatened
that unless she had a son who could inherit his kingdom she should have
her head cut off.
“So when the Queen had another little daughter she was quite frightened,
and agreed with her sister (who was a fairy) to exchange her for the
fairy’s little son. Now the Queen had been shut up in a great tower by the
King’s orders, and when a great many days went by and still she heard
nothing from the Fairy she made her escape from the window by means of a
rope ladder, taking her little baby with her. After wandering about until
she was half dead with cold and fatigue she reached this cottage. I was
the laborer’s wife, and was a good nurse, and the Queen gave you into my
charge, and told me all her misfortunes, and then died before she had time
to say what was to become of you.
“As I never in all my life could keep a secret, I could not help telling
this strange tale to my neighbors, and one day a beautiful lady came here,
and I told it to her also. When I had finished she touched me with a wand
she held in her hand, and instantly I became a hen, and there was an end
of my talking! I was very sad, and my husband, who was out when it
happened, never knew what had become of me. After seeking me everywhere he
believed that I must have been drowned, or eaten up by wild beasts in the
forest. That same lady came here once more, and commanded that you should
be called Felicia, and left the ring and the pot of pinks to be given to
you; and while she was in the house twenty-five of the King’s guards came
to search for you, doubtless meaning to kill you; but she muttered a few
words, and immediately they all turned into cabbages. It was one of them
whom you threw out of your window yesterday.
“I don’t know how it was that he could speak—I have never heard
either of them say a word before, nor have I been able to do it myself
until now.”
The Princess was greatly astonished at the hen’s story, and said kindly:
“I am truly sorry for you, my poor nurse, and wish it was in my power to
restore you to your real form. But we must not despair; it seems to me,
after what you have told me, that something must be going to happen soon.
Just now, however, I must go and look for my pinks, which I love better
than anything in the world.”
Bruno had gone out into the forest, never thinking that Felicia would
search in his room for the pinks, and she was delighted by his unexpected
absence, and thought to get them back without further trouble. But as soon
as she entered the room she saw a terrible army of rats, who were guarding
the straw bed; and when she attempted to approach it they sprang at her,
biting and scratching furiously. Quite terrified, she drew back, crying
out: “Oh! my dear pinks, how can you stay here in such bad company?”
Then she suddenly bethought herself of the pitcher of water, and, hoping
that it might have some magic power, she ran to fetch it, and sprinkled a
few drops over the fierce-looking swarm of rats. In a moment not a tail or
a whisker was to be seen. Each one had made for his hole as fast as his
legs could carry him, so that the Princess could safely take her pot of
pinks. She found them nearly dying for want of water, and hastily poured
all that was left in the pitcher upon them. As she bent over them,
enjoying their delicious scent, a soft voice, that seemed to rustle among
the leaves, said:
“Lovely Felicia, the day has come at last when I may have the happiness of
telling you how even the flowers love you and rejoice in your beauty.”
The Princess, quite overcome by the strangeness of hearing a cabbage, a
hen, and a pink speak, and by the terrible sight of an army of rats,
suddenly became very pale, and fainted away.
At this moment in came Bruno. Working hard in the heat had not improved
his temper, and when he saw that Felicia had succeeded in finding her
pinks he was so angry that he dragged her out into the garden and shut the
door upon her. The fresh air soon made her open her pretty eyes, and there
before her stood the Queen of the Woods, looking as charming as ever.
“You have a bad brother,” she said; “I saw he turned you out. Shall I
punish him for it?”
“Ah! no, madam,” she said; “I am not angry with him.
“But supposing he was not your brother, after all, what would you say
then?” asked the Queen.
“Oh! but I think he must be,” said Felicia.
“What!” said the Queen, “have you not heard that you are a Princess?”
“I was told so a little while ago, madam, but how could I believe it
without a single proof?”
“Ah! dear child,” said the Queen, “the way you speak assures me that, in
spite of your humble upbringing, you are indeed a real princess, and I can
save you from being treated in such a way again.”
She was interrupted at this moment by the arrival of a very handsome young
man. He wore a coat of green velvet fastened with emerald clasps, and had
a crown of pinks on his head. He knelt upon one knee and kissed the
Queen’s hand.
“Ah!” she cried, “my pink, my dear son, what a happiness to see you
restored to your natural shape by Felicia’s aid!” And she embraced him
joyfully. Then, turning to Felicia, she said:
“Charming Princess, I know all the hen told you, but you cannot have heard
that the zephyrs, to whom was entrusted the task of carrying my son to the
tower where the Queen, your mother, so anxiously waited for him, left him
instead in a garden of flowers, while they flew off to tell your mother.
Whereupon a fairy with whom I had quarrelled changed him into a pink, and
I could do nothing to prevent it.
“You can imagine how angry I was, and how I tried to find some means of
undoing the mischief she had done; but there was no help for it. I could
only bring Prince Pink to the place where you were being brought up,
hoping that when you grew up he might love you, and by your care be
restored to his natural form. And you see everything has come right, as I
hoped it would. Your giving me the silver ring was the sign that the power
of the charm was nearly over, and my enemy’s last chance was to frighten
you with her army of rats. That she did not succeed in doing; so now, my
dear Felicia, if you will be married to my son with this silver ring your
future happiness is certain. Do you think him handsome and amiable enough
to be willing to marry him?”
“Madam,” replied Felicia, blushing, “you overwhelm me with your kindness.
I know that you are my mother’s sister, and that by your art you turned
the soldiers who were sent to kill me into cabbages, and my nurse into a
hen, and that you do me only too much honor in proposing that I shall
marry your son. How can I explain to you the cause of my hesitation? I
feel, for the first time in my life, how happy it would make me to be
beloved. Can you indeed give me the Prince’s heart?”
“It is yours already, lovely Princess!” he cried, taking her hand in his;
“but for the horrible enchantment which kept me silent I should have told
you long ago how dearly I love you.”
This made the Princess very happy, and the Queen, who could not bear to
see her dressed like a poor shepherdess, touched her with her wand,
saying:
“I wish you to be attired as befits your rank and beauty.” And immediately
the Princess’s cotton dress became a magnificent robe of silver brocade
embroidered with carbuncles, and her soft dark hair was encircled by a
crown of diamonds, from which floated a clear white veil. With her bright
eyes, and the charming color in her cheeks, she was altogether such a
dazzling sight that the Prince could hardly bear it.
“How pretty you are, Felicia!” he cried. “Don’t keep me in suspense, I
entreat you; say that you will marry me.”
“Ah!” said the Queen, smiling, “I think she will not refuse now.”
Just then Bruno, who was going back to his work, came out of the cottage,
and thought he must be dreaming when he saw Felicia; but she called him
very kindly, and begged the Queen to take pity on him.
“What!” she said, “when he was so unkind to you?”
“Ah! madam,” said the Princess, “I am so happy that I should like
everybody else to be happy too.”
The Queen kissed her, and said: “Well, to please you, let me see what I
can do for this cross Bruno.” And with a wave of her wand she turned the
poor little cottage into a splendid palace, full of treasures; only the
two stools and the straw bed remained just as they were, to remind him of
his former poverty. Then the Queen touched Bruno himself, and made him
gentle and polite and grateful, and he thanked her and the Princess a
thousand times. Lastly, the Queen restored the hen and the cabbages to
their natural forms, and left them all very contented. The Prince and
Princess were married as soon as possible with great splendor, and lived
happily ever after.(1)
(1) Fortunee. Par Madame la Comtesse d’Aulnoy.
THE WHITE CAT
Once upon a time there was a king who had three sons, who were all so
clever and brave that he began to be afraid that they would want to reign
over the kingdom before he was dead. Now the King, though he felt that he
was growing old, did not at all wish to give up the government of his
kingdom while he could still manage it very well, so he thought the best
way to live in peace would be to divert the minds of his sons by promises
which he could always get out of when the time came for keeping them.
So he sent for them all, and, after speaking to them kindly, he added:
“You will quite agree with me, my dear children, that my great age makes
it impossible for me to look after my affairs of state as carefully as I
once did. I begin to fear that this may affect the welfare of my subjects,
therefore I wish that one of you should succeed to my crown; but in return
for such a gift as this it is only right that you should do something for
me. Now, as I think of retiring into the country, it seems to me that a
pretty, lively, faithful little dog would be very good company for me; so,
without any regard for your ages, I promise that the one who brings me the
most beautiful little dog shall succeed me at once.”
The three Princes were greatly surprised by their father’s sudden fancy
for a little dog, but as it gave the two younger ones a chance they would
not otherwise have had of being king, and as the eldest was too polite to
make any objection, they accepted the commission with pleasure. They bade
farewell to the King, who gave them presents of silver and precious
stones, and appointed to meet them at the same hour, in the same place,
after a year had passed, to see the little dogs they had brought for him.
Then they went together to a castle which was about a league from the
city, accompanied by all their particular friends, to whom they gave a
grand banquet, and the three brothers promised to be friends always, to
share whatever good fortune befell them, and not to be parted by any envy
or jealousy; and so they set out, agreeing to meet at the same castle at
the appointed time, to present themselves before the King together. Each
one took a different road, and the two eldest met with many adventures;
but it is about the youngest that you are going to hear. He was young, and
gay, and handsome, and knew everything that a prince ought to know; and as
for his courage, there was simply no end to it.
Hardly a day passed without his buying several dogs—big and little,
greyhounds, mastiffs, spaniels, and lapdogs. As soon as he had bought a
pretty one he was sure to see a still prettier, and then he had to get rid
of all the others and buy that one, as, being alone, he found it
impossible to take thirty or forty thousand dogs about with him. He
journeyed from day to day, not knowing where he was going, until at last,
just at nightfall, he reached a great, gloomy forest. He did not know his
way, and, to make matters worse, it began to thunder, and the rain poured
down. He took the first path he could find, and after walking for a long
time he fancied he saw a faint light, and began to hope that he was coming
to some cottage where he might find shelter for the night. At length,
guided by the light, he reached the door of the most splendid castle he
could have imagined. This door was of gold covered with carbuncles, and it
was the pure red light which shone from them that had shown him the way
through the forest. The walls were of the finest porcelain in all the most
delicate colors, and the Prince saw that all the stories he had ever read
were pictured upon them; but as he was terribly wet, and the rain still
fell in torrents, he could not stay to look about any more, but came back
to the golden door. There he saw a deer’s foot hanging by a chain of
diamonds, and he began to wonder who could live in this magnificent
castle.
“They must feel very secure against robbers,” he said to himself. “What is
to hinder anyone from cutting off that chain and digging out those
carbuncles, and making himself rich for life?”
He pulled the deer’s foot, and immediately a silver bell sounded and the
door flew open, but the Prince could see nothing but numbers of hands in
the air, each holding a torch. He was so much surprised that he stood
quite still, until he felt himself pushed forward by other hands, so that,
though he was somewhat uneasy, he could not help going on. With his hand
on his sword, to be prepared for whatever might happen, he entered a hall
paved with lapis-lazuli, while two lovely voices sang:
The Prince could not believe that any danger threatened him when he was
welcomed in this way, so, guided by the mysterious hands, he went toward a
door of coral, which opened of its own accord, and he found himself in a
vast hall of mother-of-pearl, out of which opened a number of other rooms,
glittering with thousands of lights, and full of such beautiful pictures
and precious things that the Prince felt quite bewildered. After passing
through sixty rooms the hands that conducted him stopped, and the Prince
saw a most comfortable-looking arm-chair drawn up close to the
chimney-corner; at the same moment the fire lighted itself, and the
pretty, soft, clever hands took off the Prince’s wet, muddy clothes, and
presented him with fresh ones made of the richest stuffs, all embroidered
with gold and emeralds. He could not help admiring everything he saw, and
the deft way in which the hands waited on him, though they sometimes
appeared so suddenly that they made him jump.
When he was quite ready—and I can assure you that he looked very
different from the wet and weary Prince who had stood outside in the rain,
and pulled the deer’s foot—the hands led him to a splendid room,
upon the walls of which were painted the histories of Puss in Boots and a
number of other famous cats. The table was laid for supper with two golden
plates, and golden spoons and forks, and the sideboard was covered with
dishes and glasses of crystal set with precious stones. The Prince was
wondering who the second place could be for, when suddenly in came about a
dozen cats carrying guitars and rolls of music, who took their places at
one end of the room, and under the direction of a cat who beat time with a
roll of paper began to mew in every imaginable key, and to draw their
claws across the strings of the guitars, making the strangest kind of
music that could be heard. The Prince hastily stopped up his ears, but
even then the sight of these comical musicians sent him into fits of
laughter.
“What funny thing shall I see next?” he said to himself, and instantly the
door opened, and in came a tiny figure covered by a long black veil. It
was conducted by two cats wearing black mantles and carrying swords, and a
large party of cats followed, who brought in cages full of rats and mice.
The Prince was so much astonished that he thought he must be dreaming, but
the little figure came up to him and threw back its veil, and he saw that
it was the loveliest little white cat it is possible to imagine. She
looked very young and very sad, and in a sweet little voice that went
straight to his heart she said to the Prince:
“King’s son, you are welcome; the Queen of the Cats is glad to see you.”
“Lady Cat,” replied the Prince, “I thank you for receiving me so kindly,
but surely you are no ordinary pussy-cat? Indeed, the way you speak and
the magnificence of your castle prove it plainly.”
“King’s son,” said the White Cat, “I beg you to spare me these
compliments, for I am not used to them. But now,” she added, “let supper
be served, and let the musicians be silent, as the Prince does not
understand what they are saying.”
So the mysterious hands began to bring in the supper, and first they put
on the table two dishes, one containing stewed pigeons and the other a
fricassee of fat mice. The sight of the latter made the Prince feel as if
he could not enjoy his supper at all; but the White Cat, seeing this,
assured him that the dishes intended for him were prepared in a separate
kitchen, and he might be quite certain that they contained neither rats
nor mice; and the Prince felt so sure that she would not deceive him that
he had no more hesitation in beginning. Presently he noticed that on the
little paw that was next him the White Cat wore a bracelet containing a
portrait, and he begged to be allowed to look at it. To his great surprise
he found it represented an extremely handsome young man, who was so like
himself that it might have been his own portrait! The White Cat sighed as
he looked at it, and seemed sadder than ever, and the Prince dared not ask
any questions for fear of displeasing her; so he began to talk about other
things, and found that she was interested in all the subjects he cared for
himself, and seemed to know quite well what was going on in the world.
After supper they went into another room, which was fitted up as a
theatre, and the cats acted and danced for their amusement, and then the
White Cat said good-night to him, and the hands conducted him into a room
he had not seen before, hung with tapestry worked with butterflies’ wings
of every color; there were mirrors that reached from the ceiling to the
floor, and a little white bed with curtains of gauze tied up with ribbons.
The Prince went to bed in silence, as he did not quite know how to begin a
conversation with the hands that waited on him, and in the morning he was
awakened by a noise and confusion outside of his window, and the hands
came and quickly dressed him in hunting costume. When he looked out all
the cats were assembled in the courtyard, some leading greyhounds, some
blowing horns, for the White Cat was going out hunting. The hands led a
wooden horse up to the Prince, and seemed to expect him to mount it, at
which he was very indignant; but it was no use for him to object, for he
speedily found himself upon its back, and it pranced gaily off with him.
The White Cat herself was riding a monkey, which climbed even up to the
eagles’ nests when she had a fancy for the young eaglets. Never was there
a pleasanter hunting party, and when they returned to the castle the
Prince and the White Cat supped together as before, but when they had
finished she offered him a crystal goblet, which must have contained a
magic draught, for, as soon as he had swallowed its contents, he forgot
everything, even the little dog that he was seeking for the King, and only
thought how happy he was to be with the White Cat! And so the days passed,
in every kind of amusement, until the year was nearly gone. The Prince had
forgotten all about meeting his brothers: he did not even know what
country he belonged to; but the White Cat knew when he ought to go back,
and one day she said to him:
“Do you know that you have only three days left to look for the little dog
for your father, and your brothers have found lovely ones?”
Then the Prince suddenly recovered his memory, and cried:
“What can have made me forget such an important thing? My whole fortune
depends upon it; and even if I could in such a short time find a dog
pretty enough to gain me a kingdom, where should I find a horse who would
carry me all that way in three days?” And he began to be very vexed. But
the White Cat said to him: “King’s son, do not trouble yourself; I am your
friend, and will make everything easy for you. You can still stay here for
a day, as the good wooden horse can take you to your country in twelve
hours.”
“I thank you, beautiful Cat,” said the Prince; “but what good will it do
me to get back if I have not a dog to take to my father?”
“See here,” answered the White Cat, holding up an acorn; “there is a
prettier one in this than in the Dogstar!”
“Oh! White Cat dear,” said the Prince, “how unkind you are to laugh at me
now!”
“Only listen,” she said, holding the acorn to his ear.
And inside it he distinctly heard a tiny voice say: “Bow-wow!”
The Prince was delighted, for a dog that can be shut up in an acorn must
be very small indeed. He wanted to take it out and look at it, but the
White Cat said it would be better not to open the acorn till he was before
the King, in case the tiny dog should be cold on the journey. He thanked
her a thousand times, and said good-by quite sadly when the time came for
him to set out.
“The days have passed so quickly with you,” he said, “I only wish I could
take you with me now.”
But the White Cat shook her head and sighed deeply in answer.
After all the Prince was the first to arrive at the castle where he had
agreed to meet his brothers, but they came soon after, and stared in
amazement when they saw the wooden horse in the courtyard jumping like a
hunter.
The Prince met them joyfully, and they began to tell him all their
adventures; but he managed to hide from them what he had been doing, and
even led them to think that a turnspit dog which he had with him was the
one he was bringing for the King. Fond as they all were of one another,
the two eldest could not help being glad to think that their dogs
certainly had a better chance. The next morning they started in the same
chariot. The elder brothers carried in baskets two such tiny, fragile dogs
that they hardly dared to touch them. As for the turnspit, he ran after
the chariot, and got so covered with mud that one could hardly see what he
was like at all. When they reached the palace everyone crowded round to
welcome them as they went into the King’s great hall; and when the two
brothers presented their little dogs nobody could decide which was the
prettier. They were already arranging between themselves to share the
kingdom equally, when the youngest stepped forward, drawing from his
pocket the acorn the White Cat had given him. He opened it quickly, and
there upon a white cushion they saw a dog so small that it could easily
have been put through a ring. The Prince laid it upon the ground, and it
got up at once and began to dance. The King did not know what to say, for
it was impossible that anything could be prettier than this little
creature. Nevertheless, as he was in no hurry to part with his crown, he
told his sons that, as they had been so successful the first time, he
would ask them to go once again, and seek by land and sea for a piece of
muslin so fine that it could be drawn through the eye of a needle. The
brothers were not very willing to set out again, but the two eldest
consented because it gave them another chance, and they started as before.
The youngest again mounted the wooden horse, and rode back at full speed
to his beloved White Cat. Every door of the castle stood wide open, and
every window and turret was illuminated, so it looked more wonderful than
before. The hands hastened to meet him, and led the wooden horse off to
the stable, while he hurried in to find the White Cat. She was asleep in a
little basket on a white satin cushion, but she very soon started up when
she heard the Prince, and was overjoyed at seeing him once more.
“How could I hope that you would come back to me King’s son?” she said.
And then he stroked and petted her, and told her of his successful
journey, and how he had come back to ask her help, as he believed that it
was impossible to find what the King demanded. The White Cat looked
serious, and said she must think what was to be done, but that, luckily,
there were some cats in the castle who could spin very well, and if
anybody could manage it they could, and she would set them the task
herself.
And then the hands appeared carrying torches, and conducted the Prince and
the White Cat to a long gallery which overlooked the river, from the
windows of which they saw a magnificent display of fireworks of all sorts;
after which they had supper, which the Prince liked even better than the
fireworks, for it was very late, and he was hungry after his long ride.
And so the days passed quickly as before; it was impossible to feel dull
with the White Cat, and she had quite a talent for inventing new
amusements—indeed, she was cleverer than a cat has any right to be.
But when the Prince asked her how it was that she was so wise, she only
said:
“King’s son, do not ask me; guess what you please. I may not tell you
anything.”
The Prince was so happy that he did not trouble himself at all about the
time, but presently the White Cat told him that the year was gone, and
that he need not be at all anxious about the piece of muslin, as they had
made it very well.
“This time,” she added, “I can give you a suitable escort”; and on looking
out into the courtyard the Prince saw a superb chariot of burnished gold,
enameled in flame color with a thousand different devices. It was drawn by
twelve snow-white horses, harnessed four abreast; their trappings were
flame-colored velvet, embroidered with diamonds. A hundred chariots
followed, each drawn by eight horses, and filled with officers in splendid
uniforms, and a thousand guards surrounded the procession. “Go!” said the
White Cat, “and when you appear before the King in such state he surely
will not refuse you the crown which you deserve. Take this walnut, but do
not open it until you are before him, then you will find in it the piece
of stuff you asked me for.”
“Lovely Blanchette,” said the Prince, “how can I thank you properly for
all your kindness to me? Only tell me that you wish it, and I will give up
for ever all thought of being king, and will stay here with you always.”
“King’s son,” she replied, “it shows the goodness of your heart that you
should care so much for a little white cat, who is good for nothing but to
catch mice; but you must not stay.”
So the Prince kissed her little paw and set out. You can imagine how fast
he traveled when I tell you that they reached the King’s palace in just
half the time it had taken the wooden horse to get there. This time the
Prince was so late that he did not try to meet his brothers at their
castle, so they thought he could not be coming, and were rather glad of
it, and displayed their pieces of muslin to the King proudly, feeling sure
of success. And indeed the stuff was very fine, and would go through the
eye of a very large needle; but the King, who was only too glad to make a
difficulty, sent for a particular needle, which was kept among the Crown
jewels, and had such a small eye that everybody saw at once that it was
impossible that the muslin should pass through it. The Princes were angry,
and were beginning to complain that it was a trick, when suddenly the
trumpets sounded and the youngest Prince came in. His father and brothers
were quite astonished at his magnificence, and after he had greeted them
he took the walnut from his pocket and opened it, fully expecting to find
the piece of muslin, but instead there was only a hazel-nut. He cracked
it, and there lay a cherry-stone. Everybody was looking on, and the King
was chuckling to himself at the idea of finding the piece of muslin in a
nutshell.
However, the Prince cracked the cherry-stone, but everyone laughed when he
saw it contained only its own kernel. He opened that and found a grain of
wheat, and in that was a millet seed. Then he himself began to wonder, and
muttered softly:
“White Cat, White Cat, are you making fun of me?”
In an instant he felt a cat’s claw give his hand quite a sharp scratch,
and hoping that it was meant as an encouragement he opened the millet
seed, and drew out of it a piece of muslin four hundred ells long, woven
with the loveliest colors and most wonderful patterns; and when the needle
was brought it went through the eye six times with the greatest ease! The
King turned pale, and the other Princes stood silent and sorrowful, for
nobody could deny that this was the most marvelous piece of muslin that
was to be found in the world.
Presently the King turned to his sons, and said, with a deep sigh:
“Nothing could console me more in my old age than to realize your
willingness to gratify my wishes. Go then once more, and whoever at the
end of a year can bring back the loveliest princess shall be married to
her, and shall, without further delay, receive the crown, for my successor
must certainly be married.” The Prince considered that he had earned the
kingdom fairly twice over but still he was too well bred to argue about
it, so he just went back to his gorgeous chariot, and, surrounded by his
escort, returned to the White Cat faster than he had come. This time she
was expecting him, the path was strewn with flowers, and a thousand
braziers were burning scented woods which perfumed the air. Seated in a
gallery from which she could see his arrival, the White Cat waited for
him. “Well, King’s son,” she said, “here you are once more, without a
crown.” “Madam,” said he, “thanks to your generosity I have earned one
twice over; but the fact is that my father is so loth to part with it that
it would be no pleasure to me to take it.”
“Never mind,” she answered, “it’s just as well to try and deserve it. As
you must take back a lovely princess with you next time I will be on the
look-out for one for you. In the meantime let us enjoy ourselves; to-night
I have ordered a battle between my cats and the river rats on purpose to
amuse you.” So this year slipped away even more pleasantly than the
preceding ones. Sometimes the Prince could not help asking the White Cat
how it was she could talk.
“Perhaps you are a fairy,” he said. “Or has some enchanter changed you
into a cat?”
But she only gave him answers that told him nothing. Days go by so quickly
when one is very happy that it is certain the Prince would never have
thought of its being time to go back, when one evening as they sat
together the White Cat said to him that if he wanted to take a lovely
princess home with him the next day he must be prepared to do what she
told him.
“Take this sword,” she said, “and cut off my head!”
“I!” cried the Prince, “I cut off your head! Blanchette darling, how could
I do it?”
“I entreat you to do as I tell you, King’s son,” she replied.
The tears came into the Prince’s eyes as he begged her to ask him anything
but that—to set him any task she pleased as a proof of his devotion,
but to spare him the grief of killing his dear Pussy. But nothing he could
say altered her determination, and at last he drew his sword, and
desperately, with a trembling hand, cut off the little white head. But
imagine his astonishment and delight when suddenly a lovely princess stood
before him, and, while he was still speechless with amazement, the door
opened and a goodly company of knights and ladies entered, each carrying a
cat’s skin! They hastened with every sign of joy to the Princess, kissing
her hand and congratulating her on being once more restored to her natural
shape. She received them graciously, but after a few minutes begged that
they would leave her alone with the Prince, to whom she said:
“You see, Prince, that you were right in supposing me to be no ordinary
cat. My father reigned over six kingdoms. The Queen, my mother, whom he
loved dearly, had a passion for traveling and exploring, and when I was
only a few weeks old she obtained his permission to visit a certain
mountain of which she had heard many marvelous tales, and set out, taking
with her a number of her attendants. On the way they had to pass near an
old castle belonging to the fairies. Nobody had ever been into it, but it
was reported to be full of the most wonderful things, and my mother
remembered to have heard that the fairies had in their garden such fruits
as were to be seen and tasted nowhere else. She began to wish to try them
for herself, and turned her steps in the direction of the garden. On
arriving at the door, which blazed with gold and jewels, she ordered her
servants to knock loudly, but it was useless; it seemed as if all the
inhabitants of the castle must be asleep or dead. Now the more difficult
it became to obtain the fruit, the more the Queen was determined that have
it she would. So she ordered that they should bring ladders, and get over
the wall into the garden; but though the wall did not look very high, and
they tied the ladders together to make them very long, it was quite
impossible to get to the top.
“The Queen was in despair, but as night was coming on she ordered that
they should encamp just where they were, and went to bed herself, feeling
quite ill, she was so disappointed. In the middle of the night she was
suddenly awakened, and saw to her surprise a tiny, ugly old woman seated
by her bedside, who said to her:
“‘I must say that we consider it somewhat troublesome of your Majesty to
insist upon tasting our fruit; but to save you annoyance, my sisters and I
will consent to give you as much as you can carry away, on one condition—that
is, that you shall give us your little daughter to bring up as our own.’
“‘Ah! my dear madam,’ cried the Queen, ‘is there nothing else that you
will take for the fruit? I will give you my kingdoms willingly.’
“‘No,’ replied the old fairy, ‘we will have nothing but your little
daughter. She shall be as happy as the day is long, and we will give her
everything that is worth having in fairy-land, but you must not see her
again until she is married.’
“‘Though it is a hard condition,’ said the Queen, ‘I consent, for I shall
certainly die if I do not taste the fruit, and so I should lose my little
daughter either way.’
“So the old fairy led her into the castle, and, though it was still the
middle of the night, the Queen could see plainly that it was far more
beautiful than she had been told, which you can easily believe, Prince,”
said the White Cat, “when I tell you that it was this castle that we are
now in. ‘Will you gather the fruit yourself, Queen?’ said the old fairy,
‘or shall I call it to come to you?’
“‘I beg you to let me see it come when it is called,’ cried the Queen;
‘that will be something quite new.’ The old fairy whistled twice, then she
cried:
“‘Apricots, peaches, nectarines, cherries, plums, pears, melons, grapes,
apples, oranges, lemons, gooseberries, strawberries, raspberries, come!’
“And in an instant they came tumbling in one over another, and yet they
were neither dusty nor spoilt, and the Queen found them quite as good as
she had fancied them. You see they grew upon fairy trees.
“The old fairy gave her golden baskets in which to take the fruit away,
and it was as much as four hundred mules could carry. Then she reminded
the Queen of her agreement, and led her back to the camp, and next morning
she went back to her kingdom, but before she had gone very far she began
to repent of her bargain, and when the King came out to meet her she
looked so sad that he guessed that something had happened, and asked what
was the matter. At first the Queen was afraid to tell him, but when, as
soon as they reached the palace, five frightful little dwarfs were sent by
the fairies to fetch me, she was obliged to confess what she had promised.
The King was very angry, and had the Queen and myself shut up in a great
tower and safely guarded, and drove the little dwarfs out of his kingdom;
but the fairies sent a great dragon who ate up all the people he met, and
whose breath burnt up everything as he passed through the country; and at
last, after trying in vain to rid himself of this monster, the King, to
save his subjects, was obliged to consent that I should be given up to the
fairies. This time they came themselves to fetch me, in a chariot of pearl
drawn by sea-horses, followed by the dragon, who was led with chains of
diamonds. My cradle was placed between the old fairies, who loaded me with
caresses, and away we whirled through the air to a tower which they had
built on purpose for me. There I grew up surrounded with everything that
was beautiful and rare, and learning everything that is ever taught to a
princess, but without any companions but a parrot and a little dog, who
could both talk; and receiving every day a visit from one of the old
fairies, who came mounted upon the dragon. One day, however, as I sat at
my window I saw a handsome young prince, who seemed to have been hunting
in the forest which surrounded my prison, and who was standing and looking
up at me. When he saw that I observed him he saluted me with great
deference. You can imagine that I was delighted to have some one new to
talk to, and in spite of the height of my window our conversation was
prolonged till night fell, then my prince reluctantly bade me farewell.
But after that he came again many times and at last I consented to marry
him, but the question was how was I to escape from my tower. The fairies
always supplied me with flax for my spinning, and by great diligence I
made enough cord for a ladder that would reach to the foot of the tower;
but, alas! just as my prince was helping me to descend it, the crossest
and ugliest of the old fairies flew in. Before he had time to defend
himself my unhappy lover was swallowed up by the dragon. As for me, the
fairies, furious at having their plans defeated, for they intended me to
marry the king of the dwarfs, and I utterly refused, changed me into a
white cat. When they brought me here I found all the lords and ladies of
my father’s court awaiting me under the same enchantment, while the people
of lesser rank had been made invisible, all but their hands.
“As they laid me under the enchantment the fairies told me all my history,
for until then I had quite believed that I was their child, and warned me
that my only chance of regaining my natural form was to win the love of a
prince who resembled in every way my unfortunate lover.
“And you have won it, lovely Princess,” interrupted the Prince.
“You are indeed wonderfully like him,” resumed the Princess—“in
voice, in features, and everything; and if you really love me all my
troubles will be at an end.”
“And mine too,” cried the Prince, throwing himself at her feet, “if you
will consent to marry me.”
“I love you already better than anyone in the world,” she said; “but now
it is time to go back to your father, and we shall hear what he says about
it.”
So the Prince gave her his hand and led her out, and they mounted the
chariot together; it was even more splendid than before, and so was the
whole company. Even the horses’ shoes were of rubies with diamond nails,
and I suppose that is the first time such a thing was ever seen.
As the Princess was as kind and clever as she was beautiful, you may
imagine what a delightful journey the Prince found it, for everything the
Princess said seemed to him quite charming.
When they came near the castle where the brothers were to meet, the
Princess got into a chair carried by four of the guards; it was hewn out
of one splendid crystal, and had silken curtains, which she drew round her
that she might not be seen.
The Prince saw his brothers walking upon the terrace, each with a lovely
princess, and they came to meet him, asking if he had also found a wife.
He said that he had found something much rarer—a white cat! At which
they laughed very much, and asked him if he was afraid of being eaten up
by mice in the palace. And then they set out together for the town. Each
prince and princess rode in a splendid carriage; the horses were decked
with plumes of feathers, and glittered with gold. After them came the
youngest prince, and last of all the crystal chair, at which everybody
looked with admiration and curiosity. When the courtiers saw them coming
they hastened to tell the King.
“Are the ladies beautiful?” he asked anxiously.
And when they answered that nobody had ever before seen such lovely
princesses he seemed quite annoyed.
However, he received them graciously, but found it impossible to choose
between them.
Then turning to his youngest son he said:
“Have you come back alone, after all?”
“Your Majesty,” replied the Prince, “will find in that crystal chair a
little white cat, which has such soft paws, and mews so prettily, that I
am sure you will be charmed with it.”
The King smiled, and went to draw back the curtains himself, but at a
touch from the Princess the crystal shivered into a thousand splinters,
and there she stood in all her beauty; her fair hair floated over her
shoulders and was crowned with flowers, and her softly falling robe was of
the purest white. She saluted the King gracefully, while a murmur of
admiration rose from all around.
“Sire,” she said, “I am not come to deprive you of the throne you fill so
worthily. I have already six kingdoms, permit me to bestow one upon you,
and upon each of your sons. I ask nothing but your friendship, and your
consent to my marriage with your youngest son; we shall still have three
kingdoms left for ourselves.”
The King and all the courtiers could not conceal their joy and
astonishment, and the marriage of the three Princes was celebrated at
once. The festivities lasted several months, and then each king and queen
departed to their own kingdom and lived happily ever after.(1)
(1) La Chatte blanche. Par Madame la Comtesse d’Aulnoy.
THE WATER-LILY. THE GOLD-SPINNERS
Once upon a time, in a large forest, there lived an old woman and three
maidens. They were all three beautiful, but the youngest was the fairest.
Their hut was quite hidden by trees, and none saw their beauty but the sun
by day, and the moon by night, and the eyes of the stars. The old woman
kept the girls hard at work, from morning till night, spinning gold flax
into yarn, and when one distaff was empty another was given them, so they
had no rest. The thread had to be fine and even, and when done was locked
up in a secret chamber by the old woman, who twice or thrice every summer
went a journey. Before she went she gave out work for each day of her
absence, and always returned in the night, so that the girls never saw
what she brought back with her, neither would she tell them whence the
gold flax came, nor what it was to be used for.
Now, when the time came round for the old woman to set out on one of these
journeys, she gave each maiden work for six days, with the usual warning:
“Children, don’t let your eyes wander, and on no account speak to a man,
for, if you do, your thread will lose its brightness, and misfortunes of
all kinds will follow.” They laughed at this oft-repeated caution, saying
to each other: “How can our gold thread lose its brightness, and have we
any chance of speaking to a man?”
On the third day after the old woman’s departure a young prince, hunting
in the forest, got separated from his companions, and completely lost.
Weary of seeking his way, he flung himself down under a tree, leaving his
horse to browse at will, and fell asleep.
The sun had set when he awoke and began once more to try and find his way
out of the forest. At last he perceived a narrow foot-path, which he
eagerly followed and found that it led him to a small hut. The maidens,
who were sitting at the door of their hut for coolness, saw him
approaching, and the two elder were much alarmed, for they remembered the
old woman’s warning; but the youngest said: “Never before have I seen
anyone like him; let me have one look.” They entreated her to come in,
but, seeing that she would not, left her, and the Prince, coming up,
courteously greeted the maiden, and told her he had lost his way in the
forest and was both hungry and weary. She set food before him, and was so
delighted with his conversation that she forgot the old woman’s caution,
and lingered for hours. In the meantime the Prince’s companions sought him
far and wide, but to no purpose, so they sent two messengers to tell the
sad news to the King, who immediately ordered a regiment of cavalry and
one of infantry to go and look for him.
After three days’ search, they found the hut. The Prince was still sitting
by the door and had been so happy in the maiden’s company that the time
had seemed like a single hour. Before leaving he promised to return and
fetch her to his father’s court, where he would make her his bride. When
he had gone, she sat down to her wheel to make up for lost time, but was
dismayed to find that her thread had lost all its brightness. Her heart
beat fast and she wept bitterly, for she remembered the old woman’s
warning and knew not what misfortune might now befall her.
The old woman returned in the night and knew by the tarnished thread what
had happened in her absence. She was furiously angry and told the maiden
that she had brought down misery both on herself and on the Prince. The
maiden could not rest for thinking of this. At last she could bear it no
longer, and resolved to seek help from the Prince.
As a child she had learned to understand the speech of birds, and this was
now of great use to her, for, seeing a raven pluming itself on a pine
bough, she cried softly to it: “Dear bird, cleverest of all birds, as well
as swiftest on wing, wilt thou help me?” “How can I help thee?” asked the
raven. She answered: “Fly away, until thou comest to a splendid town,
where stands a king’s palace; seek out the king’s son and tell him that a
great misfortune has befallen me.” Then she told the raven how her thread
had lost its brightness, how terribly angry the old woman was, and how she
feared some great disaster. The raven promised faithfully to do her
bidding, and, spreading its wings, flew away. The maiden now went home and
worked hard all day at winding up the yarn her elder sisters had spun, for
the old woman would let her spin no longer. Toward evening she heard the
raven’s “craa, craa,” from the pine tree and eagerly hastened thither to
hear the answer.
By great good fortune the raven had found a wind wizard’s son in the
palace garden, who understood the speech of birds, and to him he had
entrusted the message. When the Prince heard it, he was very sorrowful,
and took counsel with his friends how to free the maiden. Then he said to
the wind wizard’s son: “Beg the raven to fly quickly back to the maiden
and tell her to be ready on the ninth night, for then will I come and
fetch her away.” The wind wizard’s son did this, and the raven flew so
swiftly that it reached the hut that same evening. The maiden thanked the
bird heartily and went home, telling no one what she had heard.
As the ninth night drew near she became very unhappy, for she feared lest
some terrible mischance should arise and ruin all. On this night she crept
quietly out of the house and waited trembling at some little distance from
the hut. Presently she heard the muffled tramp of horses, and soon the
armed troop appeared, led by the Prince, who had prudently marked all the
trees beforehand, in order to know the way. When he saw the maiden he
sprang from his horse, lifted her into the saddle, and then, mounting
behind, rode homeward. The moon shone so brightly that they had no
difficulty in seeing the marked trees.
By and by the coming of dawn loosened the tongues of all the birds, and,
had the Prince only known what they were saying, or the maiden been
listening, they might have been spared much sorrow, but they were thinking
only of each other, and when they came out of the forest the sun was high
in the heavens.
Next morning, when the youngest girl did not come to her work, the old
woman asked where she was. The sisters pretended not to know, but the old
woman easily guessed what had happened, and, as she was in reality a
wicked witch, determined to punish the fugitives. Accordingly, she
collected nine different kinds of enchanters’ nightshade, added some salt,
which she first bewitched, and, doing all up in a cloth into the shape of
a fluffy ball, sent it after them on the wings of the wind, saying:
At midday the Prince and his men came to a deep river, spanned by so
narrow a bridge that only one rider could cross at a time. The horse on
which the Prince and the maiden were riding had just reached the middle
when the magic ball flew by. The horse in its fright suddenly reared, and
before anyone could stop it flung the maiden into the swift current below.
The Prince tried to jump in after her, but his men held him back, and in
spite of his struggles led him home, where for six weeks he shut himself
up in a secret chamber, and would neither eat nor drink, so great was his
grief. At last he became so ill his life was despaired of, and in great
alarm the King caused all the wizards of his country to be summoned. But
none could cure him. At last the wind wizard’s son said to the King: “Send
for the old wizard from Finland he knows more than all the wizards of your
kingdom put together.” A messenger was at once sent to Finland, and a week
later the old wizard himself arrived on the wings of the wind. “Honored
King,” said the wizard, “the wind has blown this illness upon your son,
and a magic ball has snatched away his beloved. This it is which makes him
grieve so constantly. Let the wind blow upon him that it may blow away his
sorrow.” Then the King made his son go out into the wind, and he gradually
recovered and told his father all. “Forget the maiden,” said the King,
“and take another bride”; but the Prince said he could never love another.
A year afterward he came suddenly upon the bridge where his beloved met
her death. As he recalled the misfortune he wept bitterly, and would have
given all he possessed to have her once more alive. In the midst of his
grief he thought he heard a voice singing, and looked round, but could see
no one. Then he heard the voice again, and it said:
“Alas! bewitched and all forsaken, ‘Tis I must lie for ever here! My
beloved no thought has taken To free his bride, that was so dear.”
He was greatly astonished, sprang from his horse, and looked everywhere to
see if no one were hidden under the bridge; but no one was there. Then he
noticed a yellow water-lily floating on the surface of the water, half
hidden by its broad leaves; but flowers do not sing, and in great surprise
he waited, hoping to hear more. Then again the voice sang:
The Prince suddenly remembered the gold-spinners, and said to himself: “If
I ride thither, who knows but that they could explain this to me?” He at
once rode to the hut, and found the two maidens at the fountain. He told
them what had befallen their sister the year before, and how he had twice
heard a strange song, but yet could see no singer. They said that the
yellow water-lily could be none other than their sister, who was not dead,
but transformed by the magic ball. Before he went to bed, the eldest made
a cake of magic herbs, which she gave him to eat. In the night he dreamed
that he was living in the forest and could understand all that the birds
said to each other. Next morning he told this to the maidens, and they
said that the charmed cake had caused it, and advised him to listen well
to the birds, and see what they could tell him, and when he had recovered
his bride they begged him to return and deliver them from their wretched
bondage.
Having promised this, he joyfully returned home, and as he was riding
through the forest he could perfectly understand all that the birds said.
He heard a thrush say to a magpie: “How stupid men are! they cannot
understand the simplest thing. It is now quite a year since the maiden was
transformed into a water-lily, and, though she sings so sadly that anyone
going over the bridge must hear her, yet no one comes to her aid. Her
former bridegroom rode over it a few days ago and heard her singing, but
was no wiser than the rest.”
“And he is to blame for all her misfortunes,” added the magpie. “If he
heeds only the words of men she will remain a flower for ever. She were
soon delivered were the matter only laid before the old wizard of
Finland.”
After hearing this, the Prince wondered how he could get a message
conveyed to Finland. He heard one swallow say to another: “Come, let us
fly to Finland; we can build better nests there.”
“Stop, kind friends!” cried the Prince. “Will you do something for me?”
The birds consented, and he said: “Take a thousand greetings from me to
the wizard of Finland, and ask him how I may restore a maiden transformed
into a flower to her own form.”
The swallows flew away, and the Prince rode on to the bridge. There he
waited, hoping to hear the song. But he heard nothing but the rushing of
the water and the moaning of the wind, and, disappointed, rode home.
Shortly after, he was sitting in the garden, thinking that the swallows
must have forgotten his message, when he saw an eagle flying above him.
The bird gradually descended until it perched on a tree close to the
Prince and said: “The wizard of Finland greets thee and bids me say that
thou mayest free the maiden thus: Go to the river and smear thyself all
over with mud; then say: ‘From a man into a crab,’ and thou wilt become a
crab. Plunge boldly into the water, swim as close as thou canst to the
water-lily’s roots, and loosen them from the mud and reeds. This done,
fasten thy claws into the roots and rise with them to the surface. Let the
water flow all over the flower, and drift with the current until thou
comest to a mountain ash tree on the left bank. There is near it a large
stone. Stop there and say: ‘From a crab into a man, from a water-lily into
a maiden,’ and ye both will be restored to your own forms.”
Full of doubt and fear, the Prince let some time pass before he was bold
enough to attempt to rescue the maiden. Then a crow said to him: “Why dost
thou hesitate? The old wizard has not told thee wrong, neither have the
birds deceived thee; hasten and dry the maiden’s tears.”
“Nothing worse than death can befall me,” thought the Prince, “and death
is better than endless sorrow.” So he mounted his horse and went to the
bridge. Again he heard the water-lily’s lament, and, hesitating no longer,
smeared himself all over with mud, and, saying: “From a man into a crab,”
plunged into the river. For one moment the water hissed in his ears, and
then all was silent. He swam up to the plant and began to loosen its
roots, but so firmly were they fixed in the mud and reeds that this took
him a long time. He then grasped them and rose to the surface, letting the
water flow over the flower. The current carried them down the stream, but
nowhere could he see the mountain ash. At last he saw it, and close by the
large stone. Here he stopped and said: “From a crab into a man, from a
water-lily into a maiden,” and to his delight found himself once more a
prince, and the maiden was by his side. She was ten times more beautiful
than before, and wore a magnificent pale yellow robe, sparkling with
jewels. She thanked him for having freed her from the cruel witch’s power,
and willingly consented to marry him.
But when they came to the bridge where he had left his horse it was
nowhere to be seen, for, though the Prince thought he had been a crab only
a few hours, he had in reality been under the water for more than ten
days. While they were wondering how they should reach his father’s court,
they saw a splendid coach driven by six gaily caparisoned horses coming
along the bank. In this they drove to the palace. The King and Queen were
at church, weeping for their son, whom they had long mourned for dead.
Great was their delight and astonishment when the Prince entered, leading
the beautiful maiden by the hand. The wedding was at once celebrated and
there was feasting and merry-making throughout the kingdom for six weeks.
Some time afterward the Prince and his bride were sitting in the garden,
when a crow said to them: “Ungrateful creatures! Have you forgotten the
two poor maidens who helped you in your distress? Must they spin gold flax
for ever? Have no pity on the old witch. The three maidens are princesses,
whom she stole away when they were children together, with all the silver
utensils, which she turned into gold flax. Poison were her fittest
punishment.”
The Prince was ashamed of having forgotten his promise and set out at
once, and by great good fortune reached the hut when the old woman was
away. The maidens had dreamed that he was coming, and were ready to go
with him, but first they made a cake in which they put poison, and left it
on a table where the old woman was likely to see it when she returned. She
did see it, and thought it looked so tempting that she greedily ate
it up and at once died.
In the secret chamber were found fifty wagon-loads of gold flax, and as
much more was discovered buried. The hut was razed to the ground, and the
Prince and his bride and her two sisters lived happily ever after.
THE TERRIBLE HEAD
Once upon a time there was a king whose only child was a girl. Now the
King had been very anxious to have a son, or at least a grandson, to come
after him, but he was told by a prophet whom he consulted that his own
daughter’s son should kill him. This news terrified him so much that he
determined never to let his daughter be married, for he thought it was
better to have no grandson at all than to be killed by his grandson. He
therefore called his workmen together, and bade them dig a deep round hole
in the earth, and then he had a prison of brass built in the hole, and
then, when it was finished, he locked up his daughter. No man ever saw
her, and she never saw even the fields and the sea, but only the sky and
the sun, for there was a wide open window in the roof of the house of
brass. So the Princess would sit looking up at the sky, and watching the
clouds float across, and wondering whether she should ever get out of her
prison. Now one day it seemed to her that the sky opened above her, and a
great shower of shining gold fell through the window in the roof, and lay
glittering in her room. Not very long after, the Princess had a baby, a
little boy, but when the King her father heard of it he was very angry and
afraid, for now the child was born that should be his death. Yet, cowardly
as he was, he had not quite the heart to kill the Princess and her baby
outright, but he had them put in a huge brass-bound chest and thrust out
to sea, that they might either be drowned or starved, or perhaps come to a
country where they would be out of his way.
So the Princess and the baby floated and drifted in the chest on the sea
all day and night, but the baby was not afraid of the waves nor of the
wind, for he did not know that they could hurt him, and he slept quite
soundly. And the Princess sang a song over him, and this was her song:
Well, the daylight came at last, and the great chest was driven by the
waves against the shore of an island. There the brass-bound chest lay,
with the Princess and her baby in it, till a man of that country came
past, and saw it, and dragged it on to the beach, and when he had broken
it open, behold! there was a beautiful lady and a little boy. So he took
them home, and was very kind to them, and brought up the boy till he was a
young man. Now when the boy had come to his full strength the King of that
country fell in love with his mother, and wanted to marry her, but he knew
that she would never part from her boy. So he thought of a plan to get rid
of the boy, and this was his plan: A great Queen of a country not far off
was going to be married, and this king said that all his subjects must
bring him wedding presents to give her. And he made a feast to which he
invited them all, and they all brought their presents; some brought gold
cups, and some brought necklaces of gold and amber, and some brought
beautiful horses; but the boy had nothing, though he was the son of a
princess, for his mother had nothing to give him. Then the rest of the
company began to laugh at him, and the King said: “If you have nothing
else to give, at least you might go and fetch the Terrible Head.”
The boy was proud, and spoke without thinking:
“Then I swear that I will bring the Terrible Head, if it may be
brought by a living man. But of what head you speak I know not.”
Then they told him that somewhere, a long way off, there dwelt three
dreadful sisters, monstrous ogrish women, with golden wings and claws of
brass, and with serpents growing on their heads instead of hair. Now these
women were so awful to look on that whoever saw them was turned at once
into stone. And two of them could not be put to death, but the youngest,
whose face was very beautiful, could be killed, and it was her head
that the boy had promised to bring. You may imagine it was no easy
adventure.
When he heard all this he was perhaps sorry that he had sworn to bring the
Terrible Head, but he was determined to keep his oath. So he went out from
the feast, where they all sat drinking and making merry, and he walked
alone beside the sea in the dusk of the evening, at the place where the
great chest, with himself and his mother in it, had been cast ashore.
There he went and sat down on a rock, looking toward the sea, and
wondering how he should begin to fulfill his vow. Then he felt some one
touch him on the shoulder; and he turned, and saw a young man like a
king’s son, having with him a tall and beautiful lady, whose blue eyes
shone like stars. They were taller than mortal men, and the young man had
a staff in his hand with golden wings on it, and two golden serpents
twisted round it, and he had wings on his cap and on his shoes. He spoke
to the boy, and asked him why he was so unhappy; and the boy told him how
he had sworn to bring the Terrible Head, and knew not how to begin to set
about the adventure.
Then the beautiful lady also spoke, and said that “it was a foolish oath
and a hasty, but it might be kept if a brave man had sworn it.” Then the
boy answered that he was not afraid, if only he knew the way.
Then the lady said that to kill the dreadful woman with the golden wings
and the brass claws, and to cut off her head, he needed three things:
first, a Cap of Darkness, which would make him invisible when he wore it;
next, a Sword of Sharpness, which would cleave iron at one blow; and last,
the Shoes of Swiftness, with which he might fly in the air.
The boy answered that he knew not where such things were to be procured,
and that, wanting them, he could only try and fail. Then the young man,
taking off his own shoes, said: “First, you shall use these shoes till you
have taken the Terrible Head, and then you must give them back to me. And
with these shoes you will fly as fleet as a bird, or a thought, over the
land or over the waves of the sea, wherever the shoes know the way. But
there are ways which they do not know, roads beyond the borders of the
world. And these roads have you to travel. Now first you must go to the
Three Gray Sisters, who live far off in the north, and are so very cold
that they have only one eye and one tooth among the three. You must creep
up close to them, and as one of them passes the eye to the other you must
seize it, and refuse to give it up till they have told you the way to the
Three Fairies of the Garden, and they will give you the Cap of
Darkness and the Sword of Sharpness, and show you how to wing beyond this
world to the land of the Terrible Head.”
Then the beautiful lady said: “Go forth at once, and do not return to say
good-by to your mother, for these things must be done quickly, and the
Shoes of Swiftness themselves will carry you to the land of the Three Gray
Sisters—for they know the measure of that way.”
So the boy thanked her, and he fastened on the Shoes of Swiftness, and
turned to say good-by to the young man and the lady. But, behold! they had
vanished, he knew not how or where! Then he leaped in the air to try the
Shoes of Swiftness, and they carried him more swiftly than the wind, over
the warm blue sea, over the happy lands of the south, over the northern
peoples who drank mare’s milk and lived in great wagons, wandering after
their flocks. Across the wide rivers, where the wild fowl rose and fled
before him, and over the plains and the cold North Sea he went, over the
fields of snow and the hills of ice, to a place where the world ends, and
all water is frozen, and there are no men, nor beasts, nor any green
grass. There in a blue cave of the ice he found the Three Gray Sisters,
the oldest of living things. Their hair was as white as the snow, and
their flesh of an icy blue, and they mumbled and nodded in a kind of
dream, and their frozen breath hung round them like a cloud. Now the
opening of the cave in the ice was narrow, and it was not easy to pass in
without touching one of the Gray Sisters. But, floating on the Shoes of
Swiftness, the boy just managed to steal in, and waited till one of the
sisters said to another, who had their one eye:
“Sister, what do you see? do you see old times coming back?”
“No, sister.”
“Then give me the eye, for perhaps I can see farther than you.”
Then the first sister passed the eye to the second, but as the second
groped for it the boy caught it cleverly out of her hand.
“Where is the eye, sister?” said the second gray woman.
“You have taken it yourself, sister,” said the first gray woman.
“Have you lost the eye, sister? have you lost the eye?” said the third
gray woman; “shall we never find it again, and see old times coming
back?”
Then the boy slipped from behind them out of the cold cave into the air,
and he laughed aloud.
When the gray women heard that laugh they began to weep, for now they knew
that a stranger had robbed them, and that they could not help themselves,
and their tears froze as they fell from the hollows where no eyes were,
and rattled on the icy ground of the cave. Then they began to implore the
boy to give them their eye back again, and he could not help being sorry
for them, they were so pitiful. But he said he would never give them the
eye till they told him the way to the Fairies of the Garden.
Then they wrung their hands miserably, for they guessed why he had come,
and how he was going to try to win the Terrible Head. Now the Dreadful
Women were akin to the Three Gray Sisters, and it was hard for them to
tell the boy the way. But at last they told him to keep always south, and
with the land on his left and the sea on his right, till he reached the
Island of the Fairies of the Garden. Then he gave them back the eye, and
they began to look out once more for the old times coming back again. But
the boy flew south between sea and land, keeping the land always on his
left hand, till he saw a beautiful island crowned with flowering trees.
There he alighted, and there he found the Three Fairies of the Garden.
They were like three very beautiful young women, dressed one in green, one
in white, and one in red, and they were dancing and singing round an apple
tree with apples of gold, and this was their song:
These grave dancing fairies were very unlike the Grey Women, and they were
glad to see the boy, and treated him kindly. Then they asked him why he
had come; and he told them how he was sent to find the Sword of Sharpness
and the Cap of Darkness. And the fairies gave him these, and a wallet, and
a shield, and belted the sword, which had a diamond blade, round his
waist, and the cap they set on his head, and told him that now even they
could not see him though they were fairies. Then he took it off, and they
each kissed him and wished him good fortune, and then they began again
their eternal dance round the golden tree, for it is their business to
guard it till the new times come, or till the world’s ending. So the boy
put the cap on his head, and hung the wallet round his waist, and the
shining shield on his shoulders, and flew beyond the great river that lies
coiled like a serpent round the whole world. And by the banks of that
river, there he found the three Terrible Women all asleep beneath a poplar
tree, and the dead poplar leaves lay all about them. Their golden wings
were folded and their brass claws were crossed, and two of them slept with
their hideous heads beneath their wings like birds, and the serpents in
their hair writhed out from under the feathers of gold. But the youngest
slept between her two sisters, and she lay on her back, with her beautiful
sad face turned to the sky; and though she slept her eyes were wide open.
If the boy had seen her he would have been changed into stone by the
terror and the pity of it, she was so awful; but he had thought of a plan
for killing her without looking on her face. As soon as he caught sight of
the three from far off he took his shining shield from his shoulders, and
held it up like a mirror, so that he saw the Dreadful Women reflected in
it, and did not see the Terrible Head itself. Then he came nearer and
nearer, till he reckoned that he was within a sword’s stroke of the
youngest, and he guessed where he should strike a back blow behind him.
Then he drew the Sword of Sharpness and struck once, and the Terrible Head
was cut from the shoulders of the creature, and the blood leaped out and
struck him like a blow. But he thrust the Terrible Head into his wallet,
and flew away without looking behind. Then the two Dreadful Sisters who
were left wakened, and rose in the air like great birds; and though they
could not see him because of his Cap of Darkness, they flew after him up
the wind, following by the scent through the clouds, like hounds hunting
in a wood. They came so close that he could hear the clatter of their
golden wings, and their shrieks to each other: “here, here,” “no,
there; this way he went,” as they chased him. But the Shoes of
Swiftness flew too fast for them, and at last their cries and the rattle
of their wings died away as he crossed the great river that runs round the
world.
Now when the horrible creatures were far in the distance, and the boy
found himself on the right side of the river, he flew straight eastward,
trying to seek his own country. But as he looked down from the air he saw
a very strange sight—a beautiful girl chained to a stake at the
high-water mark of the sea. The girl was so frightened or so tired that
she was only prevented from falling by the iron chain about her waist, and
there she hung, as if she were dead. The boy was very sorry for her and
flew down and stood beside her. When he spoke she raised her head and
looked round, but his voice only seemed to frighten her. Then he
remembered that he was wearing the Cap of Darkness, and that she could
only hear him, not see him. So he took it off, and there he stood before
her, the handsomest young man she had ever seen in all her life, with
short curly yellow hair, and blue eyes, and a laughing face. And he
thought her the most beautiful girl in the world. So first with one blow
of the Sword of Sharpness he cut the iron chain that bound her, and then
he asked her what she did there, and why men treated her so cruelly. And
she told him that she was the daughter of the King of that country, and
that she was tied there to be eaten by a monstrous beast out of the sea;
for the beast came and devoured a girl every day. Now the lot had fallen
on her; and as she was just saying this a long fierce head of a cruel sea
creature rose out of the waves and snapped at the girl. But the beast had
been too greedy and too hurried, so he missed his aim the first time.
Before he could rise and bite again the boy had whipped the Terrible Head
out of his wallet and held it up. And when the sea beast leaped out once
more its eyes fell on the head, and instantly it was turned into a stone.
And the stone beast is there on the sea-coast to this day.
Then the boy and the girl went to the palace of the King, her father,
where everyone was weeping for her death, and they could hardly believe
their eyes when they saw her come back well. And the King and Queen made
much of the boy, and could not contain themselves for delight when they
found he wanted to marry their daughter. So the two were married with the
most splendid rejoicings, and when they had passed some time at court they
went home in a ship to the boy’s own country. For he could not carry his
bride through the air, so he took the Shoes of Swiftness, and the Cap of
Darkness, and the Sword of Sharpness up to a lonely place in the hills.
There he left them, and there they were found by the man and woman who had
met him at home beside the sea, and had helped him to start on his
journey.
When this had been done the boy and his bride set forth for home, and
landed at the harbor of his native land. But whom should he meet in the
very street of the town but his own mother, flying for her life from the
wicked King, who now wished to kill her because he found that she would
never marry him! For if she had liked the King ill before, she liked him
far worse now that he had caused her son to disappear so suddenly. She did
not know, of course, where the boy had gone, but thought the King had
slain him secretly. So now she was running for her very life, and the
wicked King was following her with a sword in his hand. Then, behold! she
ran into her son’s very arms, but he had only time to kiss her and step in
front of her, when the King struck at him with his sword. The boy caught
the blow on his shield, and cried to the King:
“I swore to bring you the Terrible Head, and see how I keep my oath!”
Then he drew forth the head from his wallet, and when the King’s eyes fell
on it, instantly he was turned into stone, just as he stood there with his
sword lifted!
Now all the people rejoiced, because the wicked King should rule them no
longer. And they asked the boy to be their king, but he said no, he must
take his mother home to her father’s house. So the people chose for king
the man who had been kind to his mother when first she was cast on the
island in the great chest.
Presently the boy and his mother and his wife set sail for his mother’s
own country, from which she had been driven so unkindly. But on the way
they stayed at the court of a king, and it happened that he was holding
games, and giving prizes to the best runners, boxers, and quoit-throwers.
Then the boy would try his strength with the rest, but he threw the quoit
so far that it went beyond what had ever been thrown before, and fell in
the crowd, striking a man so that he died. Now this man was no other than
the father of the boy’s mother, who had fled away from his own kingdom for
fear his grandson should find him and kill him after all. Thus he was
destroyed by his own cowardice and by chance, and thus the prophecy was
fulfilled. But the boy and his wife and his mother went back to the
kingdom that was theirs, and lived long and happily after all their
troubles.
THE STORY OF PRETTY GOLDILOCKS
Once upon a time there was a princess who was the prettiest creature in
the world. And because she was so beautiful, and because her hair was like
the finest gold, and waved and rippled nearly to the ground, she was
called Pretty Goldilocks. She always wore a crown of flowers, and her
dresses were embroidered with diamonds and pearls, and everybody who saw
her fell in love with her.
Now one of her neighbors was a young king who was not married. He was very
rich and handsome, and when he heard all that was said about Pretty
Goldilocks, though he had never seen her, he fell so deeply in love with
her that he could neither eat nor drink. So he resolved to send an
ambassador to ask her in marriage. He had a splendid carriage made for his
ambassador, and gave him more than a hundred horses and a hundred
servants, and told him to be sure and bring the Princess back with him.
After he had started nothing else was talked of at Court, and the King
felt so sure that the Princess would consent that he set his people to
work at pretty dresses and splendid furniture, that they might be ready by
the time she came. Meanwhile, the ambassador arrived at the Princess’s
palace and delivered his little message, but whether she happened to be
cross that day, or whether the compliment did not please her, is not
known. She only answered that she was very much obliged to the King, but
she had no wish to be married. The ambassador set off sadly on his
homeward way, bringing all the King’s presents back with him, for the
Princess was too well brought up to accept the pearls and diamonds when
she would not accept the King, so she had only kept twenty-five English
pins that he might not be vexed.
When the ambassador reached the city, where the King was waiting
impatiently, everybody was very much annoyed with him for not bringing the
Princess, and the King cried like a baby, and nobody could console him.
Now there was at the Court a young man, who was more clever and handsome
than anyone else. He was called Charming, and everyone loved him,
excepting a few envious people who were angry at his being the King’s
favorite and knowing all the State secrets. He happened to one day be with
some people who were speaking of the ambassador’s return and saying that
his going to the Princess had not done much good, when Charming said
rashly:
“If the King had sent me to the Princess Goldilocks I am sure she would
have come back with me.”
His enemies at once went to the King and said:
“You will hardly believe, sire, what Charming has the audacity to say—that
if he had been sent to the Princess Goldilocks she would certainly
have come back with him. He seems to think that he is so much handsomer
than you that the Princess would have fallen in love with him and followed
him willingly.” The King was very angry when he heard this.
“Ha, ha!” said he; “does he laugh at my unhappiness, and think himself
more fascinating than I am? Go, and let him be shut up in my great tower
to die of hunger.”
So the King’s guards went to fetch Charming, who had thought no more of
his rash speech, and carried him off to prison with great cruelty. The
poor prisoner had only a little straw for his bed, and but for a little
stream of water which flowed through the tower he would have died of
thirst.
One day when he was in despair he said to himself:
“How can I have offended the King? I am his most faithful subject, and
have done nothing against him.”
The King chanced to be passing the tower and recognized the voice of his
former favorite. He stopped to listen in spite of Charming’s enemies, who
tried to persuade him to have nothing more to do with the traitor. But the
King said:
“Be quiet, I wish to hear what he says.”
And then he opened the tower door and called to Charming, who came very
sadly and kissed the King’s hand, saying:
“What have I done, sire, to deserve this cruel treatment?”
“You mocked me and my ambassador,” said the King, “and you said that if I
had sent you for the Princess Goldilocks you would certainly have brought
her back.”
“It is quite true, sire,” replied Charming; “I should have drawn such a
picture of you, and represented your good qualities in such a way, that I
am certain the Princess would have found you irresistible. But I cannot
see what there is in that to make you angry.”
The King could not see any cause for anger either when the matter was
presented to him in this light, and he began to frown very fiercely at the
courtiers who had so misrepresented his favorite.
So he took Charming back to the palace with him, and after seeing that he
had a very good supper he said to him:
“You know that I love Pretty Goldilocks as much as ever, her refusal has
not made any difference to me; but I don’t know how to make her change her
mind; I really should like to send you, to see if you can persuade her to
marry me.”
Charming replied that he was perfectly willing to go, and would set out
the very next day.
“But you must wait till I can get a grand escort for you,” said the King.
But Charming said that he only wanted a good horse to ride, and the King,
who was delighted at his being ready to start so promptly, gave him
letters to the Princess, and bade him good speed. It was on a Monday
morning that he set out all alone upon his errand, thinking of nothing but
how he could persuade the Princess Goldilocks to marry the King. He had a
writing-book in his pocket, and whenever any happy thought struck him he
dismounted from his horse and sat down under the trees to put it into the
harangue which he was preparing for the Princess, before he forgot it.
One day when he had started at the very earliest dawn, and was riding over
a great meadow, he suddenly had a capital idea, and, springing from his
horse, he sat down under a willow tree which grew by a little river. When
he had written it down he was looking round him, pleased to find himself
in such a pretty place, when all at once he saw a great golden carp lying
gasping and exhausted upon the grass. In leaping after little flies she
had thrown herself high upon the bank, where she had lain till she was
nearly dead. Charming had pity upon her, and, though he couldn’t help
thinking that she would have been very nice for dinner, he picked her up
gently and put her back into the water. As soon as Dame Carp felt the
refreshing coolness of the water she sank down joyfully to the bottom of
the river, then, swimming up to the bank quite boldly, she said:
“I thank you, Charming, for the kindness you have done me. You have saved
my life; one day I will repay you.” So saying, she sank down into the
water again, leaving Charming greatly astonished at her politeness.
Another day, as he journeyed on, he saw a raven in great distress. The
poor bird was closely pursued by an eagle, which would soon have eaten it
up, had not Charming quickly fitted an arrow to his bow and shot the eagle
dead. The raven perched upon a tree very joyfully.
“Charming,” said he, “it was very generous of you to rescue a poor raven;
I am not ungrateful, some day I will repay you.”
Charming thought it was very nice of the raven to say so, and went on his
way.
Before the sun rose he found himself in a thick wood where it was too dark
for him to see his path, and here he heard an owl crying as if it were in
despair.
“Hark!” said he, “that must be an owl in great trouble, I am sure it has
gone into a snare”; and he began to hunt about, and presently found a
great net which some bird-catchers had spread the night before.
“What a pity it is that men do nothing but torment and persecute poor
creatures which never do them any harm!” said he, and he took out his
knife and cut the cords of the net, and the owl flitted away into the
darkness, but then turning, with one flicker of her wings, she came back
to Charming and said:
“It does not need many words to tell you how great a service you have done
me. I was caught; in a few minutes the fowlers would have been here—without
your help I should have been killed. I am grateful, and one day I will
repay you.”
These three adventures were the only ones of any consequence that befell
Charming upon his journey, and he made all the haste he could to reach the
palace of the Princess Goldilocks.
When he arrived he thought everything he saw delightful and magnificent.
Diamonds were as plentiful as pebbles, and the gold and silver, the
beautiful dresses, the sweetmeats and pretty things that were everywhere
quite amazed him; he thought to himself: “If the Princess consents to
leave all this, and come with me to marry the King, he may think himself
lucky!”
Then he dressed himself carefully in rich brocade, with scarlet and white
plumes, and threw a splendid embroidered scarf over his shoulder, and,
looking as gay and as graceful as possible, he presented himself at the
door of the palace, carrying in his arm a tiny pretty dog which he had
bought on the way. The guards saluted him respectfully, and a messenger
was sent to the Princess to announce the arrival of Charming as ambassador
of her neighbor the King.
“Charming,” said the Princess, “the name promises well; I have no doubt
that he is good looking and fascinates everybody.”
“Indeed he does, madam,” said all her maids of honor in one breath. “We
saw him from the window of the garret where we were spinning flax, and we
could do nothing but look at him as long as he was in sight.”
“Well to be sure,” said the Princess, “that’s how you amuse yourselves, is
it? Looking at strangers out of the window! Be quick and give me my blue
satin embroidered dress, and comb out my golden hair. Let somebody make me
fresh garlands of flowers, and give me my high-heeled shoes and my fan,
and tell them to sweep my great hall and my throne, for I want everyone to
say I am really ‘Pretty Goldilocks.’”
You can imagine how all her maids scurried this way and that to make the
Princess ready, and how in their haste they knocked their heads together
and hindered each other, till she thought they would never have done.
However, at last they led her into the gallery of mirrors that she might
assure herself that nothing was lacking in her appearance, and then she
mounted her throne of gold, ebony, and ivory, while her ladies took their
guitars and began to sing softly. Then Charming was led in, and was so
struck with astonishment and admiration that at first not a word could he
say. But presently he took courage and delivered his harangue, bravely
ending by begging the Princess to spare him the disappointment of going
back without her.
“Sir Charming,” answered she, “all the reasons you have given me are very
good ones, and I assure you that I should have more pleasure in obliging
you than anyone else, but you must know that a month ago as I was walking
by the river with my ladies I took off my glove, and as I did so a ring
that I was wearing slipped off my finger and rolled into the water. As I
valued it more than my kingdom, you may imagine how vexed I was at losing
it, and I vowed to never listen to any proposal of marriage unless the
ambassador first brought me back my ring. So now you know what is expected
of you, for if you talked for fifteen days and fifteen nights you could
not make me change my mind.”
Charming was very much surprised by this answer, but he bowed low to the
Princess, and begged her to accept the embroidered scarf and the tiny dog
he had brought with him. But she answered that she did not want any
presents, and that he was to remember what she had just told him. When he
got back to his lodging he went to bed without eating any supper, and his
little dog, who was called Frisk, couldn’t eat any either, but came and
lay down close to him. All night Charming sighed and lamented.
“How am I to find a ring that fell into the river a month ago?” said he.
“It is useless to try; the Princess must have told me to do it on purpose,
knowing it was impossible.” And then he sighed again.
Frisk heard him and said:
“My dear master, don’t despair; the luck may change, you are too good not
to be happy. Let us go down to the river as soon as it is light.”
But Charming only gave him two little pats and said nothing, and very soon
he fell asleep.
At the first glimmer of dawn Frisk began to jump about, and when he had
waked Charming they went out together, first into the garden, and then
down to the river’s brink, where they wandered up and down. Charming was
thinking sadly of having to go back unsuccessful when he heard someone
calling: “Charming, Charming!” He looked all about him and thought he must
be dreaming, as he could not see anybody. Then he walked on and the voice
called again: “Charming, Charming!”
“Who calls me?” said he. Frisk, who was very small and could look closely
into the water, cried out: “I see a golden carp coming.” And sure enough
there was the great carp, who said to Charming:
“You saved my life in the meadow by the willow tree, and I promised that I
would repay you. Take this, it is Princess Goldilock’s ring.” Charming
took the ring out of Dame Carp’s mouth, thanking her a thousand times, and
he and tiny Frisk went straight to the palace, where someone told the
Princess that he was asking to see her.
“Ah! poor fellow,” said she, “he must have come to say good-by, finding it
impossible to do as I asked.”
So in came Charming, who presented her with the ring and said:
“Madam, I have done your bidding. Will it please you to marry my master?”
When the Princess saw her ring brought back to her unhurt she was so
astonished that she thought she must be dreaming.
“Truly, Charming,” said she, “you must be the favorite of some fairy, or
you could never have found it.”
“Madam,” answered he, “I was helped by nothing but my desire to obey your
wishes.”
“Since you are so kind,” said she, “perhaps you will do me another
service, for till it is done I will never be married. There is a prince
not far from here whose name is Galifron, who once wanted to marry me, but
when I refused he uttered the most terrible threats against me, and vowed
that he would lay waste my country. But what could I do? I could not marry
a frightful giant as tall as a tower, who eats up people as a monkey eats
chestnuts, and who talks so loud that anybody who has to listen to him
becomes quite deaf. Nevertheless, he does not cease to persecute me and to
kill my subjects. So before I can listen to your proposal you must kill
him and bring me his head.”
Charming was rather dismayed at this command, but he answered:
“Very well, Princess, I will fight this Galifron; I believe that he will
kill me, but at any rate I shall die in your defense.”
Then the Princess was frightened and said everything she could think of to
prevent Charming from fighting the giant, but it was of no use, and he
went out to arm himself suitably, and then, taking little Frisk with him,
he mounted his horse and set out for Galifron’s country. Everyone he met
told him what a terrible giant Galifron was, and that nobody dared go near
him; and the more he heard, the more frightened he grew. Frisk tried to
encourage him by saying: “While you are fighting the giant, dear master, I
will go and bite his heels, and when he stoops down to look at me you can
kill him.”
Charming praised his little dog’s plan, but knew that this help would not
do much good.
At last he drew near the giant’s castle, and saw to his horror that every
path that led to it was strewn with bones. Before long he saw Galifron
coming. His head was higher than the tallest trees, and he sang in a
terrible voice:
Thereupon Charming sang out as loud as he could to the same tune:
The rhymes were not very correct, but you see he had made them up so
quickly that it is a miracle that they were not worse; especially as he
was horribly frightened all the time. When Galifron heard these words he
looked all about him, and saw Charming standing, sword in hand this put
the giant into a terrible rage, and he aimed a blow at Charming with his
huge iron club, which would certainly have killed him if it had reached
him, but at that instant a raven perched upon the giant’s head, and,
pecking with its strong beak and beating with its great wings so confused
and blinded him that all his blows fell harmlessly upon the air, and
Charming, rushing in, gave him several strokes with his sharp sword so
that he fell to the ground. Whereupon Charming cut off his head before he
knew anything about it, and the raven from a tree close by croaked out:
“You see I have not forgotten the good turn you did me in killing the
eagle. To-day I think I have fulfilled my promise of repaying you.”
“Indeed, I owe you more gratitude than you ever owed me,” replied
Charming.
And then he mounted his horse and rode off with Galifron’s head.
When he reached the city the people ran after him in crowds, crying:
“Behold the brave Charming, who has killed the giant!” And their shouts
reached the Princess’s ear, but she dared not ask what was happening, for
fear she should hear that Charming had been killed. But very soon he
arrived at the palace with the giant’s head, of which she was still
terrified, though it could no longer do her any harm.
“Princess,” said Charming, “I have killed your enemy; I hope you will now
consent to marry the King my master.”
“Oh dear! no,” said the Princess, “not until you have brought me some
water from the Gloomy Cavern.
“Not far from here there is a deep cave, the entrance to which is guarded
by two dragons with fiery eyes, who will not allow anyone to pass them.
When you get into the cavern you will find an immense hole, which you must
go down, and it is full of toads and snakes; at the bottom of this hole
there is another little cave, in which rises the Fountain of Health and
Beauty. It is some of this water that I really must have: everything it
touches becomes wonderful. The beautiful things will always remain
beautiful, and the ugly things become lovely. If one is young one never
grows old, and if one is old one becomes young. You see, Charming, I could
not leave my kingdom without taking some of it with me.”
“Princess,” said he, “you at least can never need this water, but I am an
unhappy ambassador, whose death you desire. Where you send me I will go,
though I know I shall never return.”
And, as the Princess Goldilocks showed no sign of relenting, he started
with his little dog for the Gloomy Cavern. Everyone he met on the way
said:
“What a pity that a handsome young man should throw away his life so
carelessly! He is going to the cavern alone, though if he had a hundred
men with him he could not succeed. Why does the Princess ask
impossibilities?” Charming said nothing, but he was very sad. When he was
near the top of a hill he dismounted to let his horse graze, while Frisk
amused himself by chasing flies. Charming knew he could not be far from
the Gloomy Cavern, and on looking about him he saw a black hideous rock
from which came a thick smoke, followed in a moment by one of the dragons
with fire blazing from his mouth and eyes. His body was yellow and green,
and his claws scarlet, and his tail was so long that it lay in a hundred
coils. Frisk was so terrified at the sight of it that he did not know
where to hide. Charming, quite determined to get the water or die, now
drew his sword, and, taking the crystal flask which Pretty Goldilocks had
given him to fill, said to Frisk:
“I feel sure that I shall never come back from this expedition; when I am
dead, go to the Princess and tell her that her errand has cost me my life.
Then find the King my master, and relate all my adventures to him.”
As he spoke he heard a voice calling: “Charming, Charming!”
“Who calls me?” said he; then he saw an owl sitting in a hollow tree, who
said to him:
“You saved my life when I was caught in the net, now I can repay you.
Trust me with the flask, for I know all the ways of the Gloomy Cavern, and
can fill it from the Fountain of Beauty.” Charming was only too glad to
give her the flask, and she flitted into the cavern quite unnoticed by the
dragon, and after some time returned with the flask, filled to the very
brim with sparkling water. Charming thanked her with all his heart, and
joyfully hastened back to the town.
He went straight to the palace and gave the flask to the Princess, who had
no further objection to make. So she thanked Charming, and ordered that
preparations should be made for her departure, and they soon set out
together. The Princess found Charming such an agreeable companion that she
sometimes said to him: “Why didn’t we stay where we were? I could have
made you king, and we should have been so happy!”
But Charming only answered:
“I could not have done anything that would have vexed my master so much,
even for a kingdom, or to please you, though I think you are as beautiful
as the sun.”
At last they reached the King’s great city, and he came out to meet the
Princess, bringing magnificent presents, and the marriage was celebrated
with great rejoicings. But Goldilocks was so fond of Charming that she
could not be happy unless he was near her, and she was always singing his
praises.
“If it hadn’t been for Charming,” she said to the King, “I should never
have come here; you ought to be very much obliged to him, for he did the
most impossible things and got me water from the Fountain of Beauty, so I
can never grow old, and shall get prettier every year.”
Then Charming’s enemies said to the King:
“It is a wonder that you are not jealous, the Queen thinks there is nobody
in the world like Charming. As if anybody you had sent could not have done
just as much!”
“It is quite true, now I come to think of it,” said the King. “Let him be
chained hand and foot, and thrown into the tower.”
So they took Charming, and as a reward for having served the King so
faithfully he was shut up in the tower, where he only saw the jailer, who
brought him a piece of black bread and a pitcher of water every day.
However, little Frisk came to console him, and told him all the news.
When Pretty Goldilocks heard what had happened she threw herself at the
King’s feet and begged him to set Charming free, but the more she cried,
the more angry he was, and at last she saw that it was useless to say any
more; but it made her very sad. Then the King took it into his head that
perhaps he was not handsome enough to please the Princess Goldilocks, and
he thought he would bathe his face with the water from the Fountain of
Beauty, which was in the flask on a shelf in the Princess’s room, where
she had placed it that she might see it often. Now it happened that one of
the Princess’s ladies in chasing a spider had knocked the flask off the
shelf and broken it, and every drop of the water had been spilt. Not
knowing what to do, she had hastily swept away the pieces of crystal, and
then remembered that in the King’s room she had seen a flask of exactly
the same shape, also filled with sparkling water. So, without saying a
word, she fetched it and stood it upon the Queen’s shelf.
Now the water in this flask was what was used in the kingdom for getting
rid of troublesome people. Instead of having their heads cut off in the
usual way, their faces were bathed with the water, and they instantly fell
asleep and never woke up any more. So, when the King, thinking to improve
his beauty, took the flask and sprinkled the water upon his face, he
fell asleep, and nobody could wake him.
Little Frisk was the first to hear the news, and he ran to tell Charming,
who sent him to beg the Princess not to forget the poor prisoner. All the
palace was in confusion on account of the King’s death, but tiny Frisk
made his way through the crowd to the Princess’s side, and said:
“Madam, do not forget poor Charming.”
Then she remembered all he had done for her, and without saying a word to
anyone went straight to the tower, and with her own hands took off
Charming’s chains. Then, putting a golden crown upon his head, and the
royal mantle upon his shoulders, she said:
“Come, faithful Charming, I make you king, and will take you for my
husband.”
Charming, once more free and happy, fell at her feet and thanked her for
her gracious words.
Everybody was delighted that he should be king, and the wedding, which
took place at once, was the prettiest that can be imagined, and Prince
Charming and Princess Goldilocks lived happily ever after.(1)
(1) Madame d’Aulnoy.
THE HISTORY OF WHITTINGTON
Dick Whittington was a very little boy when his father and mother died; so
little, indeed, that he never knew them, nor the place where he was born.
He strolled about the country as ragged as a colt, till he met with a
wagoner who was going to London, and who gave him leave to walk all the
way by the side of his wagon without paying anything for his passage. This
pleased little Whittington very much, as he wanted to see London sadly,
for he had heard that the streets were paved with gold, and he was willing
to get a bushel of it; but how great was his disappointment, poor boy!
when he saw the streets covered with dirt instead of gold, and found
himself in a strange place, without a friend, without food, and without
money.
Though the wagoner was so charitable as to let him walk up by the side of
the wagon for nothing, he took care not to know him when he came to town,
and the poor boy was, in a little time, so cold and hungry that he wished
himself in a good kitchen and by a warm fire in the country.
In his distress he asked charity of several people, and one of them bid
him “Go to work for an idle rogue.” “That I will,” said Whittington, “with
all my heart; I will work for you if you will let me.”
The man, who thought this savored of wit and impertinence (though the poor
lad intended only to show his readiness to work), gave him a blow with a
stick which broke his head so that the blood ran down. In this situation,
and fainting for want of food, he laid himself down at the door of one Mr.
Fitzwarren, a merchant, where the cook saw him, and, being an ill-natured
hussy, ordered him to go about his business or she would scald him. At
this time Mr. Fitzwarren came from the Exchange, and began also to scold
at the poor boy, bidding him to go to work.
Whittington answered that he should be glad to work if anybody would
employ him, and that he should be able if he could get some victuals to
eat, for he had had nothing for three days, and he was a poor country boy,
and knew nobody, and nobody would employ him.
He then endeavored to get up, but he was so very weak that he fell down
again, which excited so much compassion in the merchant that he ordered
the servants to take him in and give him some meat and drink, and let him
help the cook to do any dirty work that she had to set him about. People
are too apt to reproach those who beg with being idle, but give themselves
no concern to put them in the way of getting business to do, or
considering whether they are able to do it, which is not charity.
But we return to Whittington, who could have lived happy in this worthy
family had he not been bumped about by the cross cook, who must be always
roasting and basting, or when the spit was idle employed her hands upon
poor Whittington! At last Miss Alice, his master’s daughter, was informed
of it, and then she took compassion on the poor boy, and made the servants
treat him kindly.
Besides the crossness of the cook, Whittington had another difficulty to
get over before he could be happy. He had, by order of his master, a
flock-bed placed for him in a garret, where there was a number of rats and
mice that often ran over the poor boy’s nose and disturbed him in his
sleep. After some time, however, a gentleman who came to his master’s
house gave Whittington a penny for brushing his shoes. This he put into
his pocket, being determined to lay it out to the best advantage; and the
next day, seeing a woman in the street with a cat under her arm, he ran up
to know the price of it. The woman (as the cat was a good mouser) asked a
deal of money for it, but on Whittington’s telling her he had but a penny
in the world, and that he wanted a cat sadly, she let him have it.
This cat Whittington concealed in the garret, for fear she should be beat
about by his mortal enemy the cook, and here she soon killed or frightened
away the rats and mice, so that the poor boy could now sleep as sound as a
top.
Soon after this the merchant, who had a ship ready to sail, called for his
servants, as his custom was, in order that each of them might venture
something to try their luck; and whatever they sent was to pay neither
freight nor custom, for he thought justly that God Almighty would bless
him the more for his readiness to let the poor partake of his fortune.
All the servants appeared but poor Whittington, who, having neither money
nor goods, could not think of sending anything to try his luck; but his
good friend Miss Alice, thinking his poverty kept him away, ordered him to
be called.
She then offered to lay down something for him, but the merchant told his
daughter that would not do, it must be something of his own. Upon which
poor Whittington said he had nothing but a cat which he bought for a penny
that was given him. “Fetch thy cat, boy,” said the merchant, “and send
her.” Whittington brought poor puss and delivered her to the captain, with
tears in his eyes, for he said he should now be disturbed by the rats and
mice as much as ever. All the company laughed at the adventure but Miss
Alice, who pitied the poor boy, and gave him something to buy another cat.
While puss was beating the billows at sea, poor Whittington was severely
beaten at home by his tyrannical mistress the cook, who used him so
cruelly, and made such game of him for sending his cat to sea, that at
last the poor boy determined to run away from his place, and having packed
up the few things he had, he set out very early in the morning on
All-Hallows day. He traveled as far as Holloway, and there sat down on a
stone to consider what course he should take; but while he was thus
ruminating, Bow bells, of which there were only six, began to ring; and he
thought their sounds addressed him in this manner:
“Lord Mayor of London!” said he to himself, “what would not one endure to
be Lord Mayor of London, and ride in such a fine coach? Well, I’ll go back
again, and bear all the pummelling and ill-usage of Cicely rather than
miss the opportunity of being Lord Mayor!” So home he went, and happily
got into the house and about his business before Mrs. Cicely made her
appearance.
We must now follow Miss Puss to the coast of Africa. How perilous are
voyages at sea, how uncertain the winds and the waves, and how many
accidents attend a naval life!
The ship that had the cat on board was long beaten at sea, and at last, by
contrary winds, driven on a part of the coast of Barbary which was
inhabited by Moors unknown to the English. These people received our
countrymen with civility, and therefore the captain, in order to trade
with them, showed them the patterns of the goods he had on board, and sent
some of them to the King of the country, who was so well pleased that he
sent for the captain and the factor to come to his palace, which was about
a mile from the sea. Here they were placed, according to the custom of the
country, on rich carpets, flowered with gold and silver; and the King and
Queen being seated at the upper end of the room, dinner was brought in,
which consisted of many dishes; but no sooner were the dishes put down but
an amazing number of rats and mice came from all quarters and devoured all
the meat in an instant.
The factor, in surprise, turned round to the nobles and asked if these
vermin were not offensive. “Oh! yes,” said they, “very offensive; and the
King would give half his treasure to be freed of them, for they not only
destroy his dinner, as you see, but they assault him in his chamber, and
even in bed, so that he is obliged to be watched while he is sleeping, for
fear of them.”
The factor jumped for joy; he remembered poor Whittington and his cat, and
told the King he had a creature on board the ship that would despatch all
these vermin immediately. The King’s heart heaved so high at the joy which
this news gave him that his turban dropped off his head. “Bring this
creature to me,” said he; “vermin are dreadful in a court, and if she will
perform what you say I will load your ship with gold and jewels in
exchange for her.” The factor, who knew his business, took this
opportunity to set forth the merits of Miss Puss. He told his Majesty that
it would be inconvenient to part with her, as, when she was gone, the rats
and mice might destroy the goods in the ship—but to oblige his
Majesty he would fetch her. “Run, run,” said the Queen; “I am impatient to
see the dear creature.”
Away flew the factor, while another dinner was providing, and returned
with the cat just as the rats and mice were devouring that also. He
immediately put down Miss Puss, who killed a great number of them.
The King rejoiced greatly to see his old enemies destroyed by so small a
creature, and the Queen was highly pleased, and desired the cat might be
brought near that she might look at her. Upon which the factor called
“Pussy, pussy, pussy!” and she came to him. He then presented her to the
Queen, who started back, and was afraid to touch a creature who had made
such havoc among the rats and mice; however, when the factor stroked the
cat and called “Pussy, pussy!” the Queen also touched her and cried
“Putty, putty!” for she had not learned English.
He then put her down on the Queen’s lap, where she, purring, played with
her Majesty’s hand, and then sang herself to sleep.
The King, having seen the exploits of Miss Puss, and being informed that
her kittens would stock the whole country, bargained with the captain and
factor for the whole ship’s cargo, and then gave them ten times as much
for the cat as all the rest amounted to. On which, taking leave of their
Majesties and other great personages at court, they sailed with a fair
wind for England, whither we must now attend them.
The morn had scarcely dawned when Mr. Fitzwarren arose to count over the
cash and settle the business for that day. He had just entered the
counting-house, and seated himself at the desk, when somebody came, tap,
tap, at the door. “Who’s there?” said Mr. Fitzwarren. “A friend,” answered
the other. “What friend can come at this unseasonable time?” “A real
friend is never unseasonable,” answered the other. “I come to bring you
good news of your ship Unicorn.” The merchant bustled up in such a hurry
that he forgot his gout; instantly opened the door, and who should be seen
waiting but the captain and factor, with a cabinet of jewels, and a bill
of lading, for which the merchant lifted up his eyes and thanked heaven
for sending him such a prosperous voyage. Then they told him the
adventures of the cat, and showed him the cabinet of jewels which they had
brought for Mr. Whittington. Upon which he cried out with great
earnestness, but not in the most poetical manner:
It is not our business to animadvert upon these lines; we are not critics,
but historians. It is sufficient for us that they are the words of Mr.
Fitzwarren; and though it is beside our purpose, and perhaps not in our
power to prove him a good poet, we shall soon convince the reader that he
was a good man, which was a much better character; for when some who were
present told him that this treasure was too much for such a poor boy as
Whittington, he said: “God forbid that I should deprive him of a penny; it
is his own, and he shall have it to a farthing.” He then ordered Mr.
Whittington in, who was at this time cleaning the kitchen and would have
excused himself from going into the counting-house, saying the room was
swept and his shoes were dirty and full of hob-nails. The merchant,
however, made him come in, and ordered a chair to be set for him. Upon
which, thinking they intended to make sport of him, as had been too often
the case in the kitchen, he besought his master not to mock a poor simple
fellow, who intended them no harm, but let him go about his business. The
merchant, taking him by the hand, said: “Indeed, Mr. Whittington, I am in
earnest with you, and sent for you to congratulate you on your great
success. Your cat has procured you more money than I am worth in the
world, and may you long enjoy it and be happy!”
At length, being shown the treasure, and convinced by them that all of it
belonged to him, he fell upon his knees and thanked the Almighty for his
providential care of such a poor and miserable creature. He then laid all
the treasure at his master’s feet, who refused to take any part of it, but
told him he heartily rejoiced at his prosperity, and hoped the wealth he
had acquired would be a comfort to him, and would make him happy. He then
applied to his mistress, and to his good friend Miss Alice, who refused to
take any part of the money, but told him she heartily rejoiced at his good
success, and wished him all imaginable felicity. He then gratified the
captain, factor, and the ship’s crew for the care they had taken of his
cargo. He likewise distributed presents to all the servants in the house,
not forgetting even his old enemy the cook, though she little deserved it.
After this Mr. Fitzwarren advised Mr. Whittington to send for the
necessary people and dress himself like a gentleman, and made him the
offer of his house to live in till he could provide himself with a better.
Now it came to pass when Mr. Whittington’s face was washed, his hair
curled, and he dressed in a rich suit of clothes, that he turned out a
genteel young fellow; and, as wealth contributes much to give a man
confidence, he in a little time dropped that sheepish behavior which was
principally occasioned by a depression of spirits, and soon grew a
sprightly and good companion, insomuch that Miss Alice, who had formerly
pitied him, now fell in love with him.
When her father perceived they had this good liking for each other he
proposed a match between them, to which both parties cheerfully consented,
and the Lord Mayor, Court of Aldermen, Sheriffs, the Company of
Stationers, the Royal Academy of Arts, and a number of eminent merchants
attended the ceremony, and were elegantly treated at an entertainment made
for that purpose.
History further relates that they lived very happy, had several children,
and died at a good old age. Mr. Whittington served as Sheriff of London
and was three times Lord Mayor. In the last year of his mayoralty he
entertained King Henry V and his Queen, after his conquest of France, upon
which occasion the King, in consideration of Whittington’s merit, said:
“Never had prince such a subject”; which being told to Whittington at the
table, he replied: “Never had subject such a king.” His Majesty, out of
respect to his good character, conferred the honor of knighthood on him
soon after.
Sir Richard many years before his death constantly fed a great number of
poor citizens, built a church and a college to it, with a yearly allowance
for poor scholars, and near it erected a hospital.
He also built Newgate for criminals, and gave liberally to St.
Bartholomew’s Hospital and other public charities.
THE WONDERFUL SHEEP
Once upon a time—in the days when the fairies lived—there was
a king who had three daughters, who were all young, and clever, and
beautiful; but the youngest of the three, who was called Miranda, was the
prettiest and the most beloved.
The King, her father, gave her more dresses and jewels in a month than he
gave the others in a year; but she was so generous that she shared
everything with her sisters, and they were all as happy and as fond of one
another as they could be.
Now, the King had some quarrelsome neighbors, who, tired of leaving him in
peace, began to make war upon him so fiercely that he feared he would be
altogether beaten if he did not make an effort to defend himself. So he
collected a great army and set off to fight them, leaving the Princesses
with their governess in a castle where news of the war was brought every
day—sometimes that the King had taken a town, or won a battle, and,
at last, that he had altogether overcome his enemies and chased them out
of his kingdom, and was coming back to the castle as quickly as possible,
to see his dear little Miranda whom he loved so much.
The three Princesses put on dresses of satin, which they had had made on
purpose for this great occasion, one green, one blue, and the third white;
their jewels were the same colors. The eldest wore emeralds, the second
turquoises, and the youngest diamonds, and thus adorned they went to meet
the King, singing verses which they had composed about his victories.
When he saw them all so beautiful and so gay he embraced them tenderly,
but gave Miranda more kisses than either of the others.
Presently a splendid banquet was served, and the King and his daughters
sat down to it, and as he always thought that there was some special
meaning in everything, he said to the eldest:
“Tell me why you have chosen a green dress.”
“Sire,” she answered, “having heard of your victories I thought that green
would signify my joy and the hope of your speedy return.”
“That is a very good answer,” said the King; “and you, my daughter,” he
continued, “why did you take a blue dress?”
“Sire,” said the Princess, “to show that we constantly hoped for your
success, and that the sight of you is as welcome to me as the sky with its
most beautiful stars.”
“Why,” said the King, “your wise answers astonish me, and you, Miranda.
What made you dress yourself all in white?
“Because, sire,” she answered, “white suits me better than anything else.”
“What!” said the King angrily, “was that all you thought of, vain child?”
“I thought you would be pleased with me,” said the Princess; “that was
all.”
The King, who loved her, was satisfied with this, and even pretended to be
pleased that she had not told him all her reasons at first.
“And now,” said he, “as I have supped well, and it is not time yet to go
to bed, tell me what you dreamed last night.”
The eldest said she had dreamed that he brought her a dress, and the
precious stones and gold embroidery on it were brighter than the sun.
The dream of the second was that the King had brought her a spinning wheel
and a distaff, that she might spin him some shirts.
But the youngest said: “I dreamed that my second sister was to be married,
and on her wedding-day, you, father, held a golden ewer and said: ‘Come,
Miranda, and I will hold the water that you may dip your hands in it.’”
The King was very angry indeed when he heard this dream, and frowned
horribly; indeed, he made such an ugly face that everyone knew how angry
he was, and he got up and went off to bed in a great hurry; but he could
not forget his daughter’s dream.
“Does the proud girl wish to make me her slave?” he said to himself. “I am
not surprised at her choosing to dress herself in white satin without a
thought of me. She does not think me worthy of her consideration! But I
will soon put an end to her pretensions!”
He rose in a fury, and although it was not yet daylight, he sent for the
Captain of his Bodyguard, and said to him:
“You have heard the Princess Miranda’s dream? I consider that it means
strange things against me, therefore I order you to take her away into the
forest and kill her, and, that I may be sure it is done, you must bring me
her heart and her tongue. If you attempt to deceive me you shall be put to
death!”
The Captain of the Guard was very much astonished when he heard this
barbarous order, but he did not dare to contradict the King for fear of
making him still more angry, or causing him to send someone else, so he
answered that he would fetch the Princess and do as the King had said.
When he went to her room they would hardly let him in, it was so early,
but he said that the King had sent for Miranda, and she got up quickly and
came out; a little black girl called Patypata held up her train, and her
pet monkey and her little dog ran after her. The monkey was called
Grabugeon, and the little dog Tintin.
The Captain of the Guard begged Miranda to come down into the garden where
the King was enjoying the fresh air, and when they got there, he pretended
to search for him, but as he was not to be found, he said:
“No doubt his Majesty has strolled into the forest,” and he opened the
little door that led to it and they went through.
By this time the daylight had begun to appear, and the Princess, looking
at her conductor, saw that he had tears in his eyes and seemed too sad to
speak.
“What is the matter?” she said in the kindest way. “You seem very
sorrowful.”
“Alas! Princess,” he answered, “who would not be sorrowful who was ordered
to do such a terrible thing as I am? The King has commanded me to kill you
here, and carry your heart and your tongue to him, and if I disobey I
shall lose my life.”
The poor Princess was terrified, she grew very pale and began to cry
softly.
Looking up at the Captain of the Guard with her beautiful eyes, she said
gently:
“Will you really have the heart to kill me? I have never done you any
harm, and have always spoken well of you to the King. If I had deserved my
father’s anger I would suffer without a murmur, but, alas! he is unjust to
complain of me, when I have always treated him with love and respect.”
“Fear nothing, Princess,” said the Captain of the Guard. “I would far
rather die myself than hurt you; but even if I am killed you will not be
safe: we must find some way of making the King believe that you are dead.”
“What can we do?” said Miranda; “unless you take him my heart and my
tongue he will never believe you.”
The Princess and the Captain of the Guard were talking so earnestly that
they did not think of Patypata, but she had overheard all they said, and
now came and threw herself at Miranda’s feet.
“Madam,” she said, “I offer you my life; let me be killed, I shall be only
too happy to die for such a kind mistress.”
“Why, Patypata,” cried the Princess, kissing her, “that would never do;
your life is as precious to me as my own, especially after such a proof of
your affection as you have just given me.”
“You are right, Princess,” said Grabugeon, coming forward, “to love such a
faithful slave as Patypata; she is of more use to you than I am, I offer
you my tongue and my heart most willingly, especially as I wish to make a
great name for myself in Goblin Land.”
“No, no, my little Grabugeon,” replied Miranda, “I cannot bear the thought
of taking your life.”
“Such a good little dog as I am,” cried Tintin, “could not think of
letting either of you die for his mistress. If anyone is to die for her it
must be me.”
And then began a great dispute between Patypata, Grabugeon, and Tintin,
and they came to high words, until at last Grabugeon, who was quicker than
the others, ran up to the very top of the nearest tree, and let herself
fall, head first, to the ground, and there she lay—quite dead!
The Princess was very sorry, but as Grabugeon was really dead, she allowed
the Captain of the Guard to take her tongue; but, alas! it was such a
little one—not bigger than the Princess’s thumb—that they
decided sorrowfully that it was of no use at all: the King would not have
been taken in by it for a moment!
“Alas! my little monkey,” cried the Princess, “I have lost you, and yet I
am no better off than I was before.”
“The honor of saving your life is to be mine,” interrupted Patypata, and,
before they could prevent her, she had picked up a knife and cut her head
off in an instant.
But when the Captain of the Guard would have taken her tongue it turned
out to be quite black, so that would not have deceived the King either.
“Am I not unlucky?” cried the poor Princess; “I lose everything I love,
and am none the better for it.”
“If you had accepted my offer,” said Tintin, “you would only have had me
to regret, and I should have had all your gratitude.”
Miranda kissed her little dog, crying so bitterly, that at last she could
bear it no longer, and turned away into the forest. When she looked back
the Captain of the Guard was gone, and she was alone, except for Patypata,
Grabugeon, and Tintin, who lay upon the ground. She could not leave the
place until she had buried them in a pretty little mossy grave at the foot
of a tree, and she wrote their names upon the bark of the tree, and how
they had all died to save her life. And then she began to think where she
could go for safety—for this forest was so close to her father’s
castle that she might be seen and recognized by the first passer-by, and,
besides that, it was full of lions and wolves, who would have snapped up a
princess just as soon as a stray chicken. So she began to walk as fast as
she could, but the forest was so large and the sun was so hot that she
nearly died of heat and terror and fatigue; look which way she would there
seemed to be no end to the forest, and she was so frightened that she
fancied every minute that she heard the King running after her to kill
her. You may imagine how miserable she was, and how she cried as she went
on, not knowing which path to follow, and with the thorny bushes
scratching her dreadfully and tearing her pretty frock to pieces.
At last she heard the bleating of a sheep, and said to herself:
“No doubt there are shepherds here with their flocks; they will show me
the way to some village where I can live disguised as a peasant girl.
Alas! it is not always kings and princes who are the happiest people in
the world. Who could have believed that I should ever be obliged to run
away and hide because the King, for no reason at all, wishes to kill me?”
So saying she advanced toward the place where she heard the bleating, but
what was her surprise when, in a lovely little glade quite surrounded by
trees, she saw a large sheep; its wool was as white as snow, and its horns
shone like gold; it had a garland of flowers round its neck, and strings
of great pearls about its legs, and a collar of diamonds; it lay upon a
bank of orange-flowers, under a canopy of cloth of gold which protected it
from the heat of the sun. Nearly a hundred other sheep were scattered
about, not eating the grass, but some drinking coffee, lemonade, or
sherbet, others eating ices, strawberries and cream, or sweetmeats, while
others, again, were playing games. Many of them wore golden collars with
jewels, flowers, and ribbons.
Miranda stopped short in amazement at this unexpected sight, and was
looking in all directions for the shepherd of this surprising flock, when
the beautiful sheep came bounding toward her.
“Approach, lovely Princess,” he cried; “have no fear of such gentle and
peaceable animals as we are.”
“What a marvel!” cried the Princess, starting back a little. “Here is a
sheep that can talk.”
“Your monkey and your dog could talk, madam,” said he; “are you more
astonished at us than at them?”
“A fairy gave them the power to speak,” replied Miranda. “So I was used to
them.”
“Perhaps the same thing has happened to us,” he said, smiling sheepishly.
“But, Princess, what can have led you here?”
“A thousand misfortunes, Sir Sheep,” she answered.
“I am the unhappiest princess in the world, and I am seeking a shelter
against my father’s anger.”
“Come with me, madam,” said the Sheep; “I offer you a hiding-place which
you only will know of, and where you will be mistress of everything you
see.”
“I really cannot follow you,” said Miranda, “for I am too tired to walk
another step.”
The Sheep with the golden horns ordered that his chariot should be
fetched, and a moment after appeared six goats, harnessed to a pumpkin,
which was so big that two people could quite well sit in it, and was all
lined with cushions of velvet and down. The Princess stepped into it, much
amused at such a new kind of carriage, the King of the Sheep took his
place beside her, and the goats ran away with them at full speed, and only
stopped when they reached a cavern, the entrance to which was blocked by a
great stone. This the King touched with his foot, and immediately it fell
down, and he invited the Princess to enter without fear. Now, if she had
not been so alarmed by everything that had happened, nothing could have
induced her to go into this frightful cave, but she was so afraid of what
might be behind her that she would have thrown herself even down a well at
this moment. So, without hesitation, she followed the Sheep, who went
before her, down, down, down, until she thought they must come out at the
other side of the world—indeed, she was not sure that he wasn’t
leading her into Fairyland. At last she saw before her a great plain,
quite covered with all sorts of flowers, the scent of which seemed to her
nicer than anything she had ever smelled before; a broad river of
orange-flower water flowed round it and fountains of wine of every kind
ran in all directions and made the prettiest little cascades and brooks.
The plain was covered with the strangest trees, there were whole avenues
where partridges, ready roasted, hung from every branch, or, if you
preferred pheasants, quails, turkeys, or rabbits, you had only to turn to
the right hand or to the left and you were sure to find them. In places
the air was darkened by showers of lobster-patties, white puddings,
sausages, tarts, and all sorts of sweetmeats, or with pieces of gold and
silver, diamonds and pearls. This unusual kind of rain, and the
pleasantness of the whole place, would, no doubt, have attracted numbers
of people to it, if the King of the Sheep had been of a more sociable
disposition, but from all accounts it is evident that he was as grave as a
judge.
As it was quite the nicest time of the year when Miranda arrived in this
delightful land the only palace she saw was a long row of orange trees,
jasmines, honeysuckles, and musk-roses, and their interlacing branches
made the prettiest rooms possible, which were hung with gold and silver
gauze, and had great mirrors and candlesticks, and most beautiful
pictures. The Wonderful Sheep begged that the Princess would consider
herself queen over all that she saw, and assured her that, though for some
years he had been very sad and in great trouble, she had it in her power
to make him forget all his grief.
“You are so kind and generous, noble Sheep,” said the Princess, “that I
cannot thank you enough, but I must confess that all I see here seems to
me so extraordinary that I don’t know what to think of it.”
As she spoke a band of lovely fairies came up and offered her amber
baskets full of fruit, but when she held out her hands to them they glided
away, and she could feel nothing when she tried to touch them.
“Oh!” she cried, “what can they be? Whom am I with?” and she began to cry.
At this instant the King of the Sheep came back to her, and was so
distracted to find her in tears that he could have torn his wool.
“What is the matter, lovely Princess?” he cried. “Has anyone failed to
treat you with due respect?”
“Oh! no,” said Miranda; “only I am not used to living with sprites and
with sheep that talk, and everything here frightens me. It was very kind
of you to bring me to this place, but I shall be even more grateful to you
if you will take me up into the world again.”
“Do not be afraid,” said the Wonderful Sheep; “I entreat you to have
patience, and listen to the story of my misfortunes. I was once a king,
and my kingdom was the most splendid in the world. My subjects loved me,
my neighbors envied and feared me. I was respected by everyone, and it was
said that no king ever deserved it more.
“I was very fond of hunting, and one day, while chasing a stag, I left my
attendants far behind; suddenly I saw the animal leap into a pool of
water, and I rashly urged my horse to follow it, but before we had gone
many steps I felt an extraordinary heat, instead of the coolness of the
water; the pond dried up, a great gulf opened before me, out of which
flames of fire shot up, and I fell helplessly to the bottom of a
precipice.
“I gave myself up for lost, but presently a voice said: ‘Ungrateful
Prince, even this fire is hardly enough to warm your cold heart!’
“‘Who complains of my coldness in this dismal place?’ I cried.
“‘An unhappy being who loves you hopelessly,’ replied the voice, and at
the same moment the flames began to flicker and cease to burn, and I saw a
fairy, whom I had known as long as I could remember, and whose ugliness
had always horrified me. She was leaning upon the arm of a most beautiful
young girl, who wore chains of gold on her wrists and was evidently her
slave.
“‘Why, Ragotte,’ I said, for that was the fairy’s name, ‘what is the
meaning of all this? Is it by your orders that I am here?’
“‘And whose fault is it,’ she answered, ‘that you have never understood me
until now? Must a powerful fairy like myself condescend to explain her
doings to you who are no better than an ant by comparison, though you
think yourself a great king?’
“‘Call me what you like,’ I said impatiently; ‘but what is it that you
want—my crown, or my cities, or my treasures?’
“‘Treasures!’ said the fairy, disdainfully. ‘If I chose I could make any
one of my scullions richer and more powerful than you. I do not want your
treasures, but,’ she added softly, ‘if you will give me your heart—if
you will marry me—I will add twenty kingdoms to the one you have
already; you shall have a hundred castles full of gold and five hundred
full of silver, and, in short, anything you like to ask me for.’
“‘Madam Ragotte,’ said I, ‘when one is at the bottom of a pit where one
has fully expected to be roasted alive, it is impossible to think of
asking such a charming person as you are to marry one! I beg that you will
set me at liberty, and then I shall hope to answer you fittingly.’
“‘Ah!’ said she, ‘if you really loved me you would not care where you were—a
cave, a wood, a fox-hole, a desert, would please you equally well. Do not
think that you can deceive me; you fancy you are going to escape, but I
assure you that you are going to stay here and the first thing I shall
give you to do will be to keep my sheep—they are very good company
and speak quite as well as you do.
“As she spoke she advanced, and led me to this plain where we now stand,
and showed me her flock, but I paid little attention to it or to her.
“To tell the truth, I was so lost in admiration of her beautiful slave
that I forgot everything else, and the cruel Ragotte, perceiving this,
turned upon her so furious and terrible a look that she fell lifeless to
the ground.
“At this dreadful sight I drew my sword and rushed at Ragotte, and should
certainly have cut off her head had she not by her magic arts chained me
to the spot on which I stood; all my efforts to move were useless, and at
last, when I threw myself down on the ground in despair, she said to me,
with a scornful smile:
“‘I intend to make you feel my power. It seems that you are a lion at
present, I mean you to be a sheep.’
“So saying, she touched me with her wand, and I became what you see. I did
not lose the power of speech, or of feeling the misery of my present
state.
“‘For five years,’ she said, ‘you shall be a sheep, and lord of this
pleasant land, while I, no longer able to see your face, which I loved so
much, shall be better able to hate you as you deserve to be hated.’
“She disappeared as she finished speaking, and if I had not been too
unhappy to care about anything I should have been glad that she was gone.
“The talking sheep received me as their king, and told me that they, too,
were unfortunate princes who had, in different ways, offended the
revengeful fairy, and had been added to her flock for a certain number of
years; some more, some less. From time to time, indeed, one regains his
own proper form and goes back again to his place in the upper world; but
the other beings whom you saw are the rivals or the enemies of Ragotte,
whom she has imprisoned for a hundred years or so; though even they will
go back at last. The young slave of whom I told you about is one of these;
I have seen her often, and it has been a great pleasure to me. She never
speaks to me, and if I were nearer to her I know I should find her only a
shadow, which would be very annoying. However, I noticed that one of my
companions in misfortune was also very attentive to this little sprite,
and I found out that he had been her lover, whom the cruel Ragotte had
taken away from her long before; since then I have cared for, and thought
of, nothing but how I might regain my freedom. I have often been in the
forest; that is where I have seen you, lovely Princess, sometimes driving
your chariot, which you did with all the grace and skill in the world;
sometimes riding to the chase on so spirited a horse that it seemed as if
no one but yourself could have managed it, and sometimes running races on
the plain with the Princesses of your Court—running so lightly that
it was you always who won the prize. Oh! Princess, I have loved you so
long, and yet how dare I tell you of my love! what hope can there be for
an unhappy sheep like myself?”
Miranda was so surprised and confused by all that she had heard that she
hardly knew what answer to give to the King of the Sheep, but she managed
to make some kind of little speech, which certainly did not forbid him to
hope, and said that she should not be afraid of the shadows now she knew
that they would some day come to life again. “Alas!” she continued, “if my
poor Patypata, my dear Grabugeon, and pretty little Tintin, who all died
for my sake, were equally well off, I should have nothing left to wish for
here!”
Prisoner though he was, the King of the Sheep had still some powers and
privileges.
“Go,” said he to his Master of the Horse, “go and seek the shadows of the
little black girl, the monkey, and the dog: they will amuse our Princess.”
And an instant afterward Miranda saw them coming toward her, and their
presence gave her the greatest pleasure, though they did not come near
enough for her to touch them.
The King of the Sheep was so kind and amusing, and loved Miranda so
dearly, that at last she began to love him too. Such a handsome sheep, who
was so polite and considerate, could hardly fail to please, especially if
one knew that he was really a king, and that his strange imprisonment
would soon come to an end. So the Princess’s days passed very gaily while
she waited for the happy time to come. The King of the Sheep, with the
help of all the flock, got up balls, concerts, and hunting parties, and
even the shadows joined in all the fun, and came, making believe to be
their own real selves.
One evening, when the couriers arrived (for the King sent most carefully
for news—and they always brought the very best kinds), it was
announced that the sister of the Princess Miranda was going to be married
to a great Prince, and that nothing could be more splendid than all the
preparations for the wedding.
“Ah!” cried the young Princess, “how unlucky I am to miss the sight of so
many pretty things! Here am I imprisoned under the earth, with no company
but sheep and shadows, while my sister is to be adorned like a queen and
surrounded by all who love and admire her, and everyone but myself can go
to wish her joy!”
“Why do you complain, Princess?” said the King of the Sheep. “Did I say
that you were not to go to the wedding? Set out as soon as you please;
only promise me that you will come back, for I love you too much to be
able to live without you.”
Miranda was very grateful to him, and promised faithfully that nothing in
the world should keep her from coming back. The King caused an escort
suitable to her rank to be got ready for her, and she dressed herself
splendidly, not forgetting anything that could make her more beautiful.
Her chariot was of mother-of-pearl, drawn by six dun-colored griffins just
brought from the other side of the world, and she was attended by a number
of guards in splendid uniforms, who were all at least eight feet high and
had come from far and near to ride in the Princess’s train.
Miranda reached her father’s palace just as the wedding ceremony began,
and everyone, as soon as she came in, was struck with surprise at her
beauty and the splendor of her jewels. She heard exclamations of
admiration on all sides; and the King her father looked at her so
attentively that she was afraid he must recognize her; but he was so sure
that she was dead that the idea never occurred to him.
However, the fear of not getting away made her leave before the marriage
was over. She went out hastily, leaving behind her a little coral casket
set with emeralds. On it was written in diamond letters: “Jewels for the
Bride,” and when they opened it, which they did as soon as it was found,
there seemed to be no end to the pretty things it contained. The King, who
had hoped to join the unknown Princess and find out who she was, was
dreadfully disappointed when she disappeared so suddenly, and gave orders
that if she ever came again the doors were to be shut that she might not
get away so easily. Short as Miranda’s absence had been, it had seemed
like a hundred years to the King of the Sheep. He was waiting for her by a
fountain in the thickest part of the forest, and the ground was strewn
with splendid presents which he had prepared for her to show his joy and
gratitude at her coming back.
As soon as she was in sight he rushed to meet her, leaping and bounding
like a real sheep. He caressed her tenderly, throwing himself at her feet
and kissing her hands, and told her how uneasy he had been in her absence,
and how impatient for her return, with an eloquence which charmed her.
After some time came the news that the King’s second daughter was going to
be married. When Miranda heard it she begged the King of the Sheep to
allow her to go and see the wedding as before. This request made him feel
very sad, as if some misfortune must surely come of it, but his love for
the Princess being stronger than anything else he did not like to refuse
her.
“You wish to leave me, Princess,” said he; “it is my unhappy fate—you
are not to blame. I consent to your going, but, believe me, I can give you
no stronger proof of my love than by so doing.”
The Princess assured him that she would only stay a very short time, as
she had done before, and begged him not to be uneasy, as she would be
quite as much grieved if anything detained her as he could possibly be.
So, with the same escort, she set out, and reached the palace as the
marriage ceremony began. Everybody was delighted to see her; she was so
pretty that they thought she must be some fairy princess, and the Princes
who were there could not take their eyes off her.
The King was more glad than anyone else that she had come again, and gave
orders that the doors should all be shut and bolted that very minute. When
the wedding was all but over the Princess got up quickly, hoping to slip
away unnoticed among the crowd, but, to her great dismay, she found every
door fastened.
She felt more at ease when the King came up to her, and with the greatest
respect begged her not to run away so soon, but at least to honor him by
staying for the splendid feast which was prepared for the Princes and
Princesses. He led her into a magnificent hall, where all the Court was
assembled, and himself taking up the golden bowl full of water, he offered
it to her that she might dip her pretty fingers into it.
At this the Princess could no longer contain herself; throwing herself at
the King’s feet, she cried out:
“My dream has come true after all—you have offered me water to wash
my hands on my sister’s wedding day, and it has not vexed you to do it.”
The King recognized her at once—indeed, he had already thought
several times how much like his poor little Miranda she was.
“Oh! my dear daughter,” he cried, kissing her, “can you ever forget my
cruelty? I ordered you to be put to death because I thought your dream
portended the loss of my crown. And so it did,” he added, “for now your
sisters are both married and have kingdoms of their own—and mine
shall be for you.” So saying he put his crown on the Princess’s head and
cried:
“Long live Queen Miranda!”
All the Court cried: “Long live Queen Miranda!” after him, and the young
Queen’s two sisters came running up, and threw their arms round her neck,
and kissed her a thousand times, and then there was such a laughing and
crying, talking and kissing, all at once, and Miranda thanked her father,
and began to ask after everyone—particularly the Captain of the
Guard, to whom she owed so much; but, to her great sorrow, she heard that
he was dead. Presently they sat down to the banquet, and the King asked
Miranda to tell them all that had happened to her since the terrible
morning when he had sent the Captain of the Guard to fetch her. This she
did with so much spirit that all the guests listened with breathless
interest. But while she was thus enjoying herself with the King and her
sisters, the King of the Sheep was waiting impatiently for the time of her
return, and when it came and went, and no Princess appeared, his anxiety
became so great that he could bear it no longer.
“She is not coming back any more,” he cried. “My miserable sheep’s face
displeases her, and without Miranda what is left to me, wretched creature
that I am! Oh! cruel Ragotte; my punishment is complete.”
For a long time he bewailed his sad fate like this, and then, seeing that
it was growing dark, and that still there was no sign of the Princess, he
set out as fast as he could in the direction of the town. When he reached
the palace he asked for Miranda, but by this time everyone had heard the
story of her adventures, and did not want her to go back again to the King
of the Sheep, so they refused sternly to let him see her. In vain he
begged and prayed them to let him in; though his entreaties might have
melted hearts of stone they did not move the guards of the palace, and at
last, quite broken-hearted, he fell dead at their feet.
In the meantime the King, who had not the least idea of the sad thing that
was happening outside the gate of his palace, proposed to Miranda that she
should be driven in her chariot all round the town, which was to be
illuminated with thousands and thousands of torches, placed in windows and
balconies, and in all the grand squares. But what a sight met her eyes at
the very entrance of the palace! There lay her dear, kind sheep, silent
and motionless, upon the pavement!
She threw herself out of the chariot and ran to him, crying bitterly, for
she realized that her broken promise had cost him his life, and for a
long, long time she was so unhappy that they thought she would have died
too.
So you see that even a princess is not always happy—especially if
she forgets to keep her word; and the greatest misfortunes often happen to
people just as they think they have obtained their heart’s desires!(1)
(1) Madame d’Aulnoy.
LITTLE THUMB
There was, once upon a time, a man and his wife fagot-makers by trade, who
had several children, all boys. The eldest was but ten years old, and the
youngest only seven.
They were very poor, and their seven children incommoded them greatly,
because not one of them was able to earn his bread. That which gave them
yet more uneasiness was that the youngest was of a very puny constitution,
and scarce ever spoke a word, which made them take that for stupidity
which was a sign of good sense. He was very little, and when born no
bigger than one’s thumb, which made him be called Little Thumb.
The poor child bore the blame of whatsoever was done amiss in the house,
and, guilty or not, was always in the wrong; he was, notwithstanding, more
cunning and had a far greater share of wisdom than all his brothers put
together; and, if he spake little, he heard and thought the more.
There happened now to come a very bad year, and the famine was so great
that these poor people resolved to rid themselves of their children. One
evening, when they were all in bed and the fagot-maker was sitting with
his wife at the fire, he said to her, with his heart ready to burst with
grief:
“Thou seest plainly that we are not able to keep our children, and I
cannot see them starve to death before my face; I am resolved to lose them
in the wood to-morrow, which may very easily be done; for, while they are
busy in tying up fagots, we may run away, and leave them, without their
taking any notice.”
“Ah!” cried his wife; “and canst thou thyself have the heart to take thy
children out along with thee on purpose to lose them?”
In vain did her husband represent to her their extreme poverty: she would
not consent to it; she was indeed poor, but she was their mother. However,
having considered what a grief it would be to her to see them perish with
hunger, she at last consented, and went to bed all in tears.
Little Thumb heard every word that had been spoken; for observing, as he
lay in his bed, that they were talking very busily, he got up softly, and
hid himself under his father’s stool, that he might hear what they said
without being seen. He went to bed again, but did not sleep a wink all the
rest of the night, thinking on what he had to do. He got up early in the
morning, and went to the river-side, where he filled his pockets full of
small white pebbles, and then returned home.
They all went abroad, but Little Thumb never told his brothers one
syllable of what he knew. They went into a very thick forest, where they
could not see one another at ten paces distance. The fagot-maker began to
cut wood, and the children to gather up the sticks to make fagots. Their
father and mother, seeing them busy at their work, got away from them
insensibly, and ran away from them all at once, along a by-way through the
winding bushes.
When the children saw they were left alone, they began to cry as loud as
they could. Little Thumb let them cry on, knowing very well how to get
home again, for, as he came, he took care to drop all along the way the
little white pebbles he had in his pockets. Then he said to them:
“Be not afraid, brothers; father and mother have left us here, but I will
lead you home again, only follow me.”
They did so, and he brought them home by the very same way they came into
the forest. They dared not go in, but sat themselves down at the door,
listening to what their father and mother were saying.
The very moment the fagot-maker and his wife reached home the lord of the
manor sent them ten crowns, which he had owed them a long while, and which
they never expected. This gave them new life, for the poor people were
almost famished. The fagot-maker sent his wife immediately to the
butcher’s. As it was a long while since they had eaten a bit, she bought
thrice as much meat as would sup two people. When they had eaten, the
woman said:
“Alas! where are now our poor children? they would make a good feast of
what we have left here; but it was you, William, who had a mind to lose
them: I told you we should repent of it. What are they now doing in the
forest? Alas! dear God, the wolves have perhaps already eaten them up;
thou art very inhuman thus to have lost thy children.”
The fagot-maker grew at last quite out of patience, for she repeated it
above twenty times, that they should repent of it, and that she was in the
right of it for so saying. He threatened to beat her if she did not hold
her tongue. It was not that the fagot-maker was not, perhaps, more vexed
than his wife, but that she teased him, and that he was of the humor of a
great many others, who love wives to speak well, but think those very
importunate who are continually doing so. She was half-drowned in tears,
crying out:
“Alas! where are now my children, my poor children?”
She spoke this so very loud that the children, who were at the gate, began
to cry out all together:
“Here we are! Here we are!”
She ran immediately to open the door, and said, hugging them:
“I am glad to see you, my dear children; you are very hungry and weary;
and my poor Peter, thou art horribly bemired; come in and let me clean
thee.”
Now, you must know that Peter was her eldest son, whom she loved above all
the rest, because he was somewhat carroty, as she herself was. They sat
down to supper, and ate with such a good appetite as pleased both father
and mother, whom they acquainted how frightened they were in the forest,
speaking almost always all together. The good folks were extremely glad to
see their children once more at home, and this joy continued while the ten
crowns lasted; but, when the money was all gone, they fell again into
their former uneasiness, and resolved to lose them again; and, that they
might be the surer of doing it, to carry them to a much greater distance
than before.
They could not talk of this so secretly but they were overheard by Little
Thumb, who made account to get out of this difficulty as well as the
former; but, though he got up very early in the morning to go and pick up
some little pebbles, he was disappointed, for he found the house-door
double-locked, and was at a stand what to do. When their father had given
each of them a piece of bread for their breakfast, Little Thumb fancied he
might make use of this instead of the pebbles by throwing it in little
bits all along the way they should pass; and so he put the bread in his
pocket.
Their father and mother brought them into the thickest and most obscure
part of the forest, when, stealing away into a by-path, they there left
them. Little Thumb was not very uneasy at it, for he thought he could
easily find the way again by means of his bread, which he had scattered
all along as he came; but he was very much surprised when he could not
find so much as one crumb; the birds had come and had eaten it up, every
bit. They were now in great affliction, for the farther they went the more
they were out of their way, and were more and more bewildered in the
forest.
Night now came on, and there arose a terribly high wind, which made them
dreadfully afraid. They fancied they heard on every side of them the
howling of wolves coming to eat them up. They scarce dared to speak or
turn their heads. After this, it rained very hard, which wetted them to
the skin; their feet slipped at every step they took, and they fell into
the mire, whence they got up in a very dirty pickle; their hands were
quite benumbed.
Little Thumb climbed up to the top of a tree, to see if he could discover
anything; and having turned his head about on every side, he saw at last a
glimmering light, like that of a candle, but a long way from the forest.
He came down, and, when upon the ground, he could see it no more, which
grieved him sadly. However, having walked for some time with his brothers
toward that side on which he had seen the light, he perceived it again as
he came out of the wood.
They came at last to the house where this candle was, not without an
abundance of fear: for very often they lost sight of it, which happened
every time they came into a bottom. They knocked at the door, and a good
woman came and opened it; she asked them what they would have.
Little Thumb told her they were poor children who had been lost in the
forest, and desired to lodge there for God’s sake.
The woman, seeing them so very pretty, began to weep, and said to them:
“Alas! poor babies; whither are ye come? Do ye know that this house
belongs to a cruel ogre who eats up little children?”
“Ah! dear madam,” answered Little Thumb (who trembled every joint of him,
as well as his brothers), “what shall we do? To be sure the wolves of the
forest will devour us to-night if you refuse us to lie here; and so we
would rather the gentleman should eat us; and perhaps he may take pity
upon us, especially if you please to beg it of him.”
The Ogre’s wife, who believed she could conceal them from her husband till
morning, let them come in, and brought them to warm themselves at a very
good fire; for there was a whole sheep upon the spit, roasting for the
Ogre’s supper.
As they began to be a little warm they heard three or four great raps at
the door; this was the Ogre, who had come home. Upon this she hid them
under the bed and went to open the door. The Ogre presently asked if
supper was ready and the wine drawn, and then sat himself down to table.
The sheep was as yet all raw and bloody; but he liked it the better for
that. He sniffed about to the right and left, saying:
“I smell fresh meat.”
“What you smell so,” said his wife, “must be the calf which I have just
now killed and flayed.”
“I smell fresh meat, I tell thee once more,” replied the Ogre, looking
crossly at his wife; “and there is something here which I do not
understand.”
As he spoke these words he got up from the table and went directly to the
bed.
“Ah, ah!” said he; “I see then how thou wouldst cheat me, thou cursed
woman; I know not why I do not eat thee up too, but it is well for thee
that thou art a tough old carrion. Here is good game, which comes very
quickly to entertain three ogres of my acquaintance who are to pay me a
visit in a day or two.”
With that he dragged them out from under the bed one by one. The poor
children fell upon their knees, and begged his pardon; but they had to do
with one of the most cruel ogres in the world, who, far from having any
pity on them, had already devoured them with his eyes, and told his wife
they would be delicate eating when tossed up with good savory sauce. He
then took a great knife, and, coming up to these poor children, whetted it
upon a great whet-stone which he held in his left hand. He had already
taken hold of one of them when his wife said to him:
“Why need you do it now? Is it not time enough to-morrow?”
“Hold your prating,” said the Ogre; “they will eat the tenderer.
“But you have so much meat already,” replied his wife, “you have no
occasion; here are a calf, two sheep, and half a hog.”
“That is true,” said the Ogre; “give them their belly full that they may
not fall away, and put them to bed.”
The good woman was overjoyed at this, and gave them a good supper; but
they were so much afraid they could not eat a bit. As for the Ogre, he sat
down again to drink, being highly pleased that he had got wherewithal to
treat his friends. He drank a dozen glasses more than ordinary, which got
up into his head and obliged him to go to bed.
The Ogre had seven daughters, all little children, and these young
ogresses had all of them very fine complexions, because they used to eat
fresh meat like their father; but they had little gray eyes, quite round,
hooked noses, and very long sharp teeth, standing at a good distance from
each other. They were not as yet over and above mischievous, but they
promised very fair for it, for they had already bitten little children,
that they might suck their blood.
They had been put to bed early, with every one a crown of gold upon her
head. There was in the same chamber a bed of the like bigness, and it was
into this bed the Ogre’s wife put the seven little boys, after which she
went to bed to her husband.
Little Thumb, who had observed that the Ogre’s daughters had crowns of
gold upon their heads, and was afraid lest the Ogre should repent his not
killing them, got up about midnight, and, taking his brothers’ bonnets and
his own, went very softly and put them upon the heads of the seven little
ogresses, after having taken off their crowns of gold, which he put upon
his own head and his brothers’, that the Ogre might take them for his
daughters, and his daughters for the little boys whom he wanted to kill.
All this succeeded according to his desire; for, the Ogre waking about
midnight, and sorry that he deferred to do that till morning which he
might have done over-night, threw himself hastily out of bed, and, taking
his great knife,
“Let us see,” said he, “how our little rogues do, and not make two jobs of
the matter.”
He then went up, groping all the way, into his daughters’ chamber, and,
coming to the bed where the little boys lay, and who were every soul of
them fast asleep, except Little Thumb, who was terribly afraid when he
found the Ogre fumbling about his head, as he had done about his
brothers’, the Ogre, feeling the golden crowns, said:
“I should have made a fine piece of work of it, truly; I find I drank too
much last night.”
Then he went to the bed where the girls lay; and, having found the boys’
little bonnets,
“Ah!” said he, “my merry lads, are you there? Let us work as we ought.”
And saying these words, without more ado, he cut the throats of all his
seven daughters.
Well pleased with what he had done, he went to bed again to his wife. So
soon as Little Thumb heard the Ogre snore, he waked his brothers, and bade
them all put on their clothes presently and follow him. They stole down
softly into the garden, and got over the wall. They kept running about all
night, and trembled all the while, without knowing which way they went.
The Ogre, when he awoke, said to his wife: “Go upstairs and dress those
young rascals who came here last night.”
The wife was very much surprised at this goodness of her husband, not
dreaming after what manner she should dress them; but, thinking that he
had ordered her to go and put on their clothes, she went up, and was
strangely astonished when she perceived her seven daughters killed, and
weltering in their blood.
She fainted away, for this is the first expedient almost all women find in
such cases. The Ogre, fearing his wife would be too long in doing what he
had ordered, went up himself to help her. He was no less amazed than his
wife at this frightful spectacle.
“Ah! what have I done?” cried he. “The wretches shall pay for it, and that
instantly.”
He threw a pitcher of water upon his wife’s face, and, having brought her
to herself, said:
“Give me quickly my boots of seven leagues, that I may go and catch them.”
He went out, and, having run over a vast deal of ground, both on this side
and that, he came at last into the very road where the poor children were,
and not above a hundred paces from their father’s house. They espied the
Ogre, who went at one step from mountain to mountain, and over rivers as
easily as the narrowest kennels. Little Thumb, seeing a hollow rock near
the place where they were, made his brothers hide themselves in it, and
crowded into it himself, minding always what would become of the Ogre.
The Ogre, who found himself much tired with his long and fruitless journey
(for these boots of seven leagues greatly fatigued the wearer), had a
great mind to rest himself, and, by chance, went to sit down upon the rock
where the little boys had hid themselves. As it was impossible he could be
more weary than he was, he fell asleep, and, after reposing himself some
time, began to snore so frightfully that the poor children were no less
afraid of him than when he held up his great knife and was going to cut
their throats. Little Thumb was not so much frightened as his brothers,
and told them that they should run away immediately toward home while the
Ogre was asleep so soundly, and that they should not be in any pain about
him. They took his advice, and got home presently. Little Thumb came up to
the Ogre, pulled off his boots gently and put them on his own legs. The
boots were very long and large, but, as they were fairies, they had the
gift of becoming big and little, according to the legs of those who wore
them; so that they fitted his feet and legs as well as if they had been
made on purpose for him. He went immediately to the Ogre’s house, where he
saw his wife crying bitterly for the loss of the Ogre’s murdered
daughters.
“Your husband,” said Little Thumb, “is in very great danger, being taken
by a gang of thieves, who have sworn to kill him if he does not give them
all his gold and silver. The very moment they held their daggers at his
throat he perceived me, and desired me to come and tell you the condition
he is in, and that you should give me whatsoever he has of value, without
retaining any one thing; for otherwise they will kill him without mercy;
and, as his case is very pressing, he desired me to make use (you see I
have them on) of his boots, that I might make the more haste and to show
you that I do not impose upon you.”
The good woman, being sadly frightened, gave him all she had: for this
Ogre was a very good husband, though he used to eat up little children.
Little Thumb, having thus got all the Ogre’s money, came home to his
father’s house, where he was received with abundance of joy.
There are many people who do not agree in this circumstance, and pretend
that Little Thumb never robbed the Ogre at all, and that he only thought
he might very justly, and with a safe conscience, take off his boots of
seven leagues, because he made no other use of them but to run after
little children. These folks affirm that they are very well assured of
this, and the more as having drunk and eaten often at the fagot-maker’s
house. They aver that when Little Thumb had taken off the Ogre’s boots he
went to Court, where he was informed that they were very much in pain
about a certain army, which was two hundred leagues off, and the success
of a battle. He went, say they, to the King, and told him that, if he
desired it, he would bring him news from the army before night.
The King promised him a great sum of money upon that condition. Little
Thumb was as good as his word, and returned that very same night with the
news; and, this first expedition causing him to be known, he got whatever
he pleased, for the King paid him very well for carrying his orders to the
army. After having for some time carried on the business of a messenger,
and gained thereby great wealth, he went home to his father, where it was
impossible to express the joy they were all in at his return. He made the
whole family very easy, bought places for his father and brothers, and, by
that means, settled them very handsomely in the world, and, in the
meantime, made his court to perfection.(1)
(1) Charles Perrault.
THE FORTY THIEVES
In a town in Persia there dwelt two brothers, one named Cassim, the other
Ali Baba. Cassim was married to a rich wife and lived in plenty, while Ali
Baba had to maintain his wife and children by cutting wood in a
neighboring forest and selling it in the town. One day, when Ali Baba was
in the forest, he saw a troop of men on horseback, coming toward him in a
cloud of dust. He was afraid they were robbers, and climbed into a tree
for safety. When they came up to him and dismounted, he counted forty of
them. They unbridled their horses and tied them to trees. The finest man
among them, whom Ali Baba took to be their captain, went a little way
among some bushes, and said: “Open, Sesame!”(1) so plainly that Ali Baba
heard him. A door opened in the rocks, and having made the troop go in, he
followed them, and the door shut again of itself. They stayed some time
inside, and Ali Baba, fearing they might come out and catch him, was
forced to sit patiently in the tree. At last the door opened again, and
the Forty Thieves came out. As the Captain went in last he came out first,
and made them all pass by him; he then closed the door, saying: “Shut,
Sesame!” Every man bridled his horse and mounted, the Captain put himself
at their head, and they returned as they came.
(1) Sesame is a kind of grain.
Then Ali Baba climbed down and went to the door concealed among the
bushes, and said: “Open, Sesame!” and it flew open. Ali Baba, who expected
a dull, dismal place, was greatly surprised to find it large and well
lighted, hollowed by the hand of man in the form of a vault, which
received the light from an opening in the ceiling. He saw rich bales of
merchandise—silk, stuff-brocades, all piled together, and gold and
silver in heaps, and money in leather purses. He went in and the door shut
behind him. He did not look at the silver, but brought out as many bags of
gold as he thought his asses, which were browsing outside, could carry,
loaded them with the bags, and hid it all with fagots. Using the words:
“Shut, Sesame!” he closed the door and went home.
Then he drove his asses into the yard, shut the gates, carried the
money-bags to his wife, and emptied them out before her. He bade her keep
the secret, and he would go and bury the gold. “Let me first measure it,”
said his wife. “I will go borrow a measure of someone, while you dig the
hole.” So she ran to the wife of Cassim and borrowed a measure. Knowing
Ali Baba’s poverty, the sister was curious to find out what sort of grain
his wife wished to measure, and artfully put some suet at the bottom of
the measure. Ali Baba’s wife went home and set the measure on the heap of
gold, and filled it and emptied it often, to her great content. She then
carried it back to her sister, without noticing that a piece of gold was
sticking to it, which Cassim’s wife perceived directly her back was
turned. She grew very curious, and said to Cassim when he came home:
“Cassim, your brother is richer than you. He does not count his money, he
measures it.” He begged her to explain this riddle, which she did by
showing him the piece of money and telling him where she found it. Then
Cassim grew so envious that he could not sleep, and went to his brother in
the morning before sunrise. “Ali Baba,” he said, showing him the gold
piece, “you pretend to be poor and yet you measure gold.” By this Ali Baba
perceived that through his wife’s folly Cassim and his wife knew their
secret, so he confessed all and offered Cassim a share. “That I expect,”
said Cassim; “but I must know where to find the treasure, otherwise I will
discover all, and you will lose all.” Ali Baba, more out of kindness than
fear, told him of the cave, and the very words to use. Cassim left Ali
Baba, meaning to be beforehand with him and get the treasure for himself.
He rose early next morning, and set out with ten mules loaded with great
chests. He soon found the place, and the door in the rock. He said: “Open,
Sesame!” and the door opened and shut behind him. He could have feasted
his eyes all day on the treasures, but he now hastened to gather together
as much of it as possible; but when he was ready to go he could not
remember what to say for thinking of his great riches. Instead of
“Sesame,” he said: “Open, Barley!” and the door remained fast. He named
several different sorts of grain, all but the right one, and the door
still stuck fast. He was so frightened at the danger he was in that he had
as much forgotten the word as if he had never heard it.
About noon the robbers returned to their cave, and saw Cassim’s mules
roving about with great chests on their backs. This gave them the alarm;
they drew their sabres, and went to the door, which opened on their
Captain’s saying: “Open, Sesame!” Cassim, who had heard the trampling of
their horses’ feet, resolved to sell his life dearly, so when the door
opened he leaped out and threw the Captain down. In vain, however, for the
robbers with their sabres soon killed him. On entering the cave they saw
all the bags laid ready, and could not imagine how anyone had got in
without knowing their secret. They cut Cassim’s body into four quarters,
and nailed them up inside the cave, in order to frighten anyone who should
venture in, and went away in search of more treasure.
As night drew on Cassim’s wife grew very uneasy, and ran to her
brother-in-law, and told him where her husband had gone. Ali Baba did his
best to comfort her, and set out to the forest in search of Cassim. The
first thing he saw on entering the cave was his dead brother. Full of
horror, he put the body on one of his asses, and bags of gold on the other
two, and, covering all with some fagots, returned home. He drove the two
asses laden with gold into his own yard, and led the other to Cassim’s
house. The door was opened by the slave Morgiana, whom he knew to be both
brave and cunning. Unloading the ass, he said to her: “This is the body of
your master, who has been murdered, but whom we must bury as though he had
died in his bed. I will speak with you again, but now tell your mistress I
am come.” The wife of Cassim, on learning the fate of her husband, broke
out into cries and tears, but Ali Baba offered to take her to live with
him and his wife if she would promise to keep his counsel and leave
everything to Morgiana; whereupon she agreed, and dried her eyes.
Morgiana, meanwhile, sought an apothecary and asked him for some lozenges.
“My poor master,” she said, “can neither eat nor speak, and no one knows
what his distemper is.” She carried home the lozenges and returned next
day weeping, and asked for an essence only given to those just about to
die. Thus, in the evening, no one was surprised to hear the wretched
shrieks and cries of Cassim’s wife and Morgiana, telling everyone that
Cassim was dead. The day after Morgiana went to an old cobbler near the
gates of the town who opened his stall early, put a piece of gold in his
hand, and bade him follow her with his needle and thread. Having bound his
eyes with a handkerchief, she took him to the room where the body lay,
pulled off the bandage, and bade him sew the quarters together, after
which she covered his eyes again and led him home. Then they buried
Cassim, and Morgiana his slave followed him to the grave, weeping and
tearing her hair, while Cassim’s wife stayed at home uttering lamentable
cries. Next day she went to live with Ali Baba, who gave Cassim’s shop to
his eldest son.
The Forty Thieves, on their return to the cave, were much astonished to
find Cassim’s body gone and some of their money-bags. “We are certainly
discovered,” said the Captain, “and shall be undone if we cannot find out
who it is that knows our secret. Two men must have known it; we have
killed one, we must now find the other. To this end one of you who is bold
and artful must go into the city dressed as a traveler, and discover whom
we have killed, and whether men talk of the strange manner of his death.
If the messenger fails he must lose his life, lest we be betrayed.” One of
the thieves started up and offered to do this, and after the rest had
highly commended him for his bravery he disguised himself, and happened to
enter the town at daybreak, just by Baba Mustapha’s stall. The thief bade
him good-day, saying: “Honest man, how can you possibly see to stitch at
your age?” “Old as I am,” replied the cobbler, “I have very good eyes, and
will you believe me when I tell you that I sewed a dead body together in a
place where I had less light than I have now.” The robber was overjoyed at
his good fortune, and, giving him a piece of gold, desired to be shown the
house where he stitched up the dead body. At first Mustapha refused,
saying that he had been blindfolded; but when the robber gave him another
piece of gold he began to think he might remember the turnings if
blindfolded as before. This means succeeded; the robber partly led him,
and was partly guided by him, right in front of Cassim’s house, the door
of which the robber marked with a piece of chalk. Then, well pleased, he
bade farewell to Baba Mustapha and returned to the forest. By and by
Morgiana, going out, saw the mark the robber had made, quickly guessed
that some mischief was brewing, and fetching a piece of chalk marked two
or three doors on each side, without saying anything to her master or
mistress.
The thief, meantime, told his comrades of his discovery. The Captain
thanked him, and bade him show him the house he had marked. But when they
came to it they saw that five or six of the houses were chalked in the
same manner. The guide was so confounded that he knew not what answer to
make, and when they returned he was at once beheaded for having failed.
Another robber was dispatched, and, having won over Baba Mustapha, marked
the house in red chalk; but Morgiana being again too clever for them, the
second messenger was put to death also. The Captain now resolved to go
himself, but, wiser than the others, he did not mark the house, but looked
at it so closely that he could not fail to remember it. He returned, and
ordered his men to go into the neighboring villages and buy nineteen
mules, and thirty-eight leather jars, all empty except one, which was full
of oil. The Captain put one of his men, fully armed, into each, rubbing
the outside of the jars with oil from the full vessel. Then the nineteen
mules were loaded with thirty-seven robbers in jars, and the jar of oil,
and reached the town by dusk. The Captain stopped his mules in front of
Ali Baba’s house, and said to Ali Baba, who was sitting outside for
coolness: “I have brought some oil from a distance to sell at to-morrow’s
market, but it is now so late that I know not where to pass the night,
unless you will do me the favor to take me in.” Though Ali Baba had seen
the Captain of the robbers in the forest, he did not recognize him in the
disguise of an oil merchant. He bade him welcome, opened his gates for the
mules to enter, and went to Morgiana to bid her prepare a bed and supper
for his guest. He brought the stranger into his hall, and after they had
supped went again to speak to Morgiana in the kitchen, while the Captain
went into the yard under pretense of seeing after his mules, but really to
tell his men what to do. Beginning at the first jar and ending at the
last, he said to each man: “As soon as I throw some stones from the window
of the chamber where I lie, cut the jars open with your knives and come
out, and I will be with you in a trice.” He returned to the house, and
Morgiana led him to his chamber. She then told Abdallah, her fellow-slave,
to set on the pot to make some broth for her master, who had gone to bed.
Meanwhile her lamp went out, and she had no more oil in the house. “Do not
be uneasy,” said Abdallah; “go into the yard and take some out of one of
those jars.” Morgiana thanked him for his advice, took the oil pot, and
went into the yard. When she came to the first jar the robber inside said
softly: “Is it time?”
Any other slave but Morgiana, on finding a man in the jar instead of the
oil she wanted, would have screamed and made a noise; but she, knowing the
danger her master was in, bethought herself of a plan, and answered
quietly: “Not yet, but presently.” She went to all the jars, giving the
same answer, till she came to the jar of oil. She now saw that her master,
thinking to entertain an oil merchant, had let thirty-eight robbers into
his house. She filled her oil pot, went back to the kitchen, and, having
lit her lamp, went again to the oil jar and filled a large kettle full of
oil. When it boiled she went and poured enough oil into every jar to
stifle and kill the robber inside. When this brave deed was done she went
back to the kitchen, put out the fire and the lamp, and waited to see what
would happen.
In a quarter of an hour the Captain of the robbers awoke, got up, and
opened the window. As all seemed quiet, he threw down some little pebbles
which hit the jars. He listened, and as none of his men seemed to stir he
grew uneasy, and went down into the yard. On going to the first jar and
saying, “Are you asleep?” he smelt the hot boiled oil, and knew at once
that his plot to murder Ali Baba and his household had been discovered. He
found all the gang was dead, and, missing the oil out of the last jar,
became aware of the manner of their death. He then forced the lock of a
door leading into a garden, and climbing over several walls made his
escape. Morgiana heard and saw all this, and, rejoicing at her success,
went to bed and fell asleep.
At daybreak Ali Baba arose, and, seeing the oil jars still there, asked
why the merchant had not gone with his mules. Morgiana bade him look in
the first jar and see if there was any oil. Seeing a man, he started back
in terror. “Have no fear,” said Morgiana; “the man cannot harm you: he is
dead.” Ali Baba, when he had recovered somewhat from his astonishment,
asked what had become of the merchant. “Merchant!” said she, “he is no
more a merchant than I am!” and she told him the whole story, assuring him
that it was a plot of the robbers of the forest, of whom only three were
left, and that the white and red chalk marks had something to do with it.
Ali Baba at once gave Morgiana her freedom, saying that he owed her his
life. They then buried the bodies in Ali Baba’s garden, while the mules
were sold in the market by his slaves.
The Captain returned to his lonely cave, which seemed frightful to him
without his lost companions, and firmly resolved to avenge them by killing
Ali Baba. He dressed himself carefully, and went into the town, where he
took lodgings in an inn. In the course of a great many journeys to the
forest he carried away many rich stuffs and much fine linen, and set up a
shop opposite that of Ali Baba’s son. He called himself Cogia Hassan, and
as he was both civil and well dressed he soon made friends with Ali Baba’s
son, and through him with Ali Baba, whom he was continually asking to sup
with him. Ali Baba, wishing to return his kindness, invited him into his
house and received him smiling, thanking him for his kindness to his son.
When the merchant was about to take his leave Ali Baba stopped him,
saying: “Where are you going, sir, in such haste? Will you not stay and
sup with me?” The merchant refused, saying that he had a reason; and, on
Ali Baba’s asking him what that was, he replied: “It is, sir, that I can
eat no victuals that have any salt in them.” “If that is all,” said Ali
Baba, “let me tell you that there shall be no salt in either the meat or
the bread that we eat to-night.” He went to give this order to Morgiana,
who was much surprised. “Who is this man,” she said, “who eats no salt
with his meat?” “He is an honest man, Morgiana,” returned her master;
“therefore do as I bid you.” But she could not withstand a desire to see
this strange man, so she helped Abdallah to carry up the dishes, and saw
in a moment that Cogia Hassan was the robber Captain, and carried a dagger
under his garment. “I am not surprised,” she said to herself, “that this
wicked man, who intends to kill my master, will eat no salt with him; but
I will hinder his plans.”
She sent up the supper by Abdallah, while she made ready for one of the
boldest acts that could be thought on. When the dessert had been served,
Cogia Hassan was left alone with Ali Baba and his son, whom he thought to
make drunk and then to murder them. Morgiana, meanwhile, put on a
head-dress like a dancing-girl’s, and clasped a girdle round her waist,
from which hung a dagger with a silver hilt, and said to Abdallah: “Take
your tabor, and let us go and divert our master and his guest.” Abdallah
took his tabor and played before Morgiana until they came to the door,
where Abdallah stopped playing and Morgiana made a low courtesy. “Come in,
Morgiana,” said Ali Baba, “and let Cogia Hassan see what you can do”; and,
turning to Cogia Hassan, he said: “She’s my slave and my housekeeper.”
Cogia Hassan was by no means pleased, for he feared that his chance of
killing Ali Baba was gone for the present; but he pretended great
eagerness to see Morgiana, and Abdallah began to play and Morgiana to
dance. After she had performed several dances she drew her dagger and made
passes with it, sometimes pointing it at her own breast, sometimes at her
master’s, as if it were part of the dance. Suddenly, out of breath, she
snatched the tabor from Abdallah with her left hand, and, holding the
dagger in her right hand, held out the tabor to her master. Ali Baba and
his son put a piece of gold into it, and Cogia Hassan, seeing that she was
coming to him, pulled out his purse to make her a present, but while he
was putting his hand into it Morgiana plunged the dagger into his heart.
“Unhappy girl!” cried Ali Baba and his son, “what have you done to ruin
us?”
“It was to preserve you, master, not to ruin you,” answered Morgiana. “See
here,” opening the false merchant’s garment and showing the dagger; “see
what an enemy you have entertained! Remember, he would eat no salt with
you, and what more would you have? Look at him! he is both the false oil
merchant and the Captain of the Forty Thieves.”
Ali Baba was so grateful to Morgiana for thus saving his life that he
offered her to his son in marriage, who readily consented, and a few days
after the wedding was celebrated with greatest splendor.
At the end of a year Ali Baba, hearing nothing of the two remaining
robbers, judged they were dead, and set out to the cave. The door opened
on his saying: “Open Sesame!” He went in, and saw that nobody had been
there since the Captain left it. He brought away as much gold as he could
carry, and returned to town. He told his son the secret of the cave, which
his son handed down in his turn, so the children and grandchildren of Ali
Baba were rich to the end of their lives.(1)
(1) Arabian Nights.
HANSEL AND GRETTEL
Once upon a time there dwelt on the outskirts of a large forest a poor
woodcutter with his wife and two children; the boy was called Hansel and
the girl Grettel. He had always little enough to live on, and once, when
there was a great famine in the land, he couldn’t even provide them with
daily bread. One night, as he was tossing about in bed, full of cares and
worry, he sighed and said to his wife: “What’s to become of us? how are we
to support our poor children, now that we have nothing more for
ourselves?” “I’ll tell you what, husband,” answered the woman; “early
to-morrow morning we’ll take the children out into the thickest part of
the wood; there we shall light a fire for them and give them each a piece
of bread; then we’ll go on to our work and leave them alone. They won’t be
able to find their way home, and we shall thus be rid of them.” “No,
wife,” said her husband, “that I won’t do; how could I find it in my heart
to leave my children alone in the wood? The wild beasts would soon come
and tear them to pieces.” “Oh! you fool,” said she, “then we must all four
die of hunger, and you may just as well go and plane the boards for our
coffins”; and she left him no peace till he consented. “But I can’t help
feeling sorry for the poor children,” added the husband.
The children, too, had not been able to sleep for hunger, and had heard
what their step-mother had said to their father. Grettel wept bitterly and
spoke to Hansel: “Now it’s all up with us.” “No, no, Grettel,” said
Hansel, “don’t fret yourself; I’ll be able to find a way to escape, no
fear.” And when the old people had fallen asleep he got up, slipped on his
little coat, opened the back door and stole out. The moon was shining
clearly, and the white pebbles which lay in front of the house glittered
like bits of silver. Hansel bent down and filled his pocket with as many
of them as he could cram in. Then he went back and said to Grettel: “Be
comforted, my dear little sister, and go to sleep: God will not desert
us”; and he lay down in bed again.
At daybreak, even before the sun was up, the woman came and woke the two
children: “Get up, you lie-abeds, we’re all going to the forest to fetch
wood.” She gave them each a bit of bread and said: “There’s something for
your luncheon, but don’t you eat it up before, for it’s all you’ll get.”
Grettel took the bread under her apron, as Hansel had the stones in his
pocket. Then they all set out together on the way to the forest. After
they had walked for a little, Hansel stood still and looked back at the
house, and this maneuver he repeated again and again. His father observed
him, and said: “Hansel, what are you gazing at there, and why do you
always remain behind? Take care, and don’t lose your footing.” “Oh!
father,” said Hansel, “I am looking back at my white kitten, which is
sitting on the roof, waving me a farewell.” The woman exclaimed: “What a
donkey you are! that isn’t your kitten, that’s the morning sun shining on
the chimney.” But Hansel had not looked back at his kitten, but had always
dropped one of the white pebbles out of his pocket on to the path.
When they had reached the middle of the forest the father said: “Now,
children, go and fetch a lot of wood, and I’ll light a fire that you may
not feel cold.” Hansel and Grettel heaped up brushwood till they had made
a pile nearly the size of a small hill. The brushwood was set fire to, and
when the flames leaped high the woman said: “Now lie down at the fire,
children, and rest yourselves: we are going into the forest to cut down
wood; when we’ve finished we’ll come back and fetch you.” Hansel and
Grettel sat down beside the fire, and at midday ate their little bits of
bread. They heard the strokes of the axe, so they thought their father was
quite near. But it was no axe they heard, but a bough he had tied on a
dead tree, and that was blown about by the wind. And when they had sat for
a long time their eyes closed with fatigue, and they fell fast asleep.
When they awoke at last it was pitch dark. Grettel began to cry, and said:
“How are we ever to get out of the wood?” But Hansel comforted her. “Wait
a bit,” he said, “till the moon is up, and then we’ll find our way sure
enough.” And when the full moon had risen he took his sister by the hand
and followed the pebbles, which shone like new threepenny bits, and showed
them the path. They walked on through the night, and at daybreak reached
their father’s house again. They knocked at the door, and when the woman
opened it she exclaimed: “You naughty children, what a time you’ve slept
in the wood! we thought you were never going to come back.” But the father
rejoiced, for his conscience had reproached him for leaving his children
behind by themselves.
Not long afterward there was again great dearth in the land, and the
children heard their mother address their father thus in bed one night:
“Everything is eaten up once more; we have only half a loaf in the house,
and when that’s done it’s all up with us. The children must be got rid of;
we’ll lead them deeper into the wood this time, so that they won’t be able
to find their way out again. There is no other way of saving ourselves.”
The man’s heart smote him heavily, and he thought: “Surely it would be
better to share the last bite with one’s children!” But his wife wouldn’t
listen to his arguments, and did nothing but scold and reproach him. If a
man yields once he’s done for, and so, because he had given in the first
time, he was forced to do so the second.
But the children were awake, and had heard the conversation. When the old
people were asleep Hansel got up, and wanted to go out and pick up pebbles
again, as he had done the first time; but the woman had barred the door,
and Hansel couldn’t get out. But he consoled his little sister, and said:
“Don’t cry, Grettel, and sleep peacefully, for God is sure to help us.”
At early dawn the woman came and made the children get up. They received
their bit of bread, but it was even smaller than the time before. On the
way to the wood Hansel crumbled it in his pocket, and every few minutes he
stood still and dropped a crumb on the ground. “Hansel, what are you
stopping and looking about you for?” said the father. “I’m looking back at
my little pigeon, which is sitting on the roof waving me a farewell,”
answered Hansel. “Fool!” said the wife; “that isn’t your pigeon, it’s the
morning sun glittering on the chimney.” But Hansel gradually threw all his
crumbs on the path. The woman led the children still deeper into the
forest farther than they had ever been in their lives before. Then a big
fire was lit again, and the mother said: “Just sit down there, children,
and if you’re tired you can sleep a bit; we’re going into the forest to
cut down wood, and in the evening when we’re finished we’ll come back to
fetch you.” At midday Grettel divided her bread with Hansel, for he had
strewn his all along their path. Then they fell asleep, and evening passed
away, but nobody came to the poor children. They didn’t awake till it was
pitch dark, and Hansel comforted his sister, saying: “Only wait, Grettel,
till the moon rises, then we shall see the bread-crumbs I scattered along
the path; they will show us the way back to the house.” When the moon
appeared they got up, but they found no crumbs, for the thousands of birds
that fly about the woods and fields had picked them all up. “Never mind,”
said Hansel to Grettel; “you’ll see we’ll find a way out”; but all the
same they did not. They wandered about the whole night, and the next day,
from morning till evening, but they could not find a path out of the wood.
They were very hungry, too, for they had nothing to eat but a few berries
they found growing on the ground. And at last they were so tired that
their legs refused to carry them any longer, so they lay down under a tree
and fell fast asleep.
On the third morning after they had left their father’s house they set
about their wandering again, but only got deeper and deeper into the wood,
and now they felt that if help did not come to them soon they must perish.
At midday they saw a beautiful little snow-white bird sitting on a branch,
which sang so sweetly that they stopped still and listened to it. And when
its song was finished it flapped its wings and flew on in front of them.
They followed it and came to a little house, on the roof of which it
perched; and when they came quite near they saw that the cottage was made
of bread and roofed with cakes, while the window was made of transparent
sugar. “Now we’ll set to,” said Hansel, “and have a regular blow-out.(1)
I’ll eat a bit of the roof, and you, Grettel, can eat some of the window,
which you’ll find a sweet morsel.” Hansel stretched up his hand and broke
off a little bit of the roof to see what it was like, and Grettel went to
the casement and began to nibble at it. Thereupon a shrill voice called
out from the room inside:
The children answered:
and went on eating, without putting themselves about. Hansel, who
thoroughly appreciated the roof, tore down a big bit of it, while Grettel
pushed out a whole round window-pane, and sat down the better to enjoy it.
Suddenly the door opened, and an ancient dame leaning on a staff hobbled
out. Hansel and Grettel were so terrified that they let what they had in
their hands fall. But the old woman shook her head and said: “Oh, ho! you
dear children, who led you here? Just come in and stay with me, no ill
shall befall you.” She took them both by the hand and let them into the
house, and laid a most sumptuous dinner before them—milk and sugared
pancakes, with apples and nuts. After they had finished, two beautiful
little white beds were prepared for them, and when Hansel and Grettel lay
down in them they felt as if they had got into heaven.
(1) He was a vulgar boy!
The old woman had appeared to be most friendly, but she was really an old
witch who had waylaid the children, and had only built the little bread
house in order to lure them in. When anyone came into her power she
killed, cooked, and ate him, and held a regular feast-day for the
occasion. Now witches have red eyes, and cannot see far, but, like beasts,
they have a keen sense of smell, and know when human beings pass by. When
Hansel and Grettel fell into her hands she laughed maliciously, and said
jeeringly: “I’ve got them now; they sha’n’t escape me.” Early in the
morning, before the children were awake, she rose up, and when she saw
them both sleeping so peacefully, with their round rosy cheeks, she
muttered to herself: “That’ll be a dainty bite.” Then she seized Hansel
with her bony hand and carried him into a little stable, and barred the
door on him; he might scream as much as he liked, it did him no good. Then
she went to Grettel, shook her till she awoke, and cried: “Get up, you
lazy-bones, fetch water and cook something for your brother. When he’s fat
I’ll eat him up.” Grettel began to cry bitterly, but it was of no use; she
had to do what the wicked witch bade her.
So the best food was cooked for poor Hansel, but Grettel got nothing but
crab-shells. Every morning the old woman hobbled out to the stable and
cried: “Hansel, put out your finger, that I may feel if you are getting
fat.” But Hansel always stretched out a bone, and the old dame, whose eyes
were dim, couldn’t see it, and thinking always it was Hansel’s finger,
wondered why he fattened so slowly. When four weeks had passed and Hansel
still remained thin, she lost patience and determined to wait no longer.
“Hi, Grettel,” she called to the girl, “be quick and get some water.
Hansel may be fat or thin, I’m going to kill him to-morrow and cook him.”
Oh! how the poor little sister sobbed as she carried the water, and how
the tears rolled down her cheeks! “Kind heaven help us now!” she cried;
“if only the wild beasts in the wood had eaten us, then at least we should
have died together.” “Just hold your peace,” said the old hag; “it won’t
help you.”
Early in the morning Grettel had to go out and hang up the kettle full of
water, and light the fire. “First we’ll bake,” said the old dame; “I’ve
heated the oven already and kneaded the dough.” She pushed Grettel out to
the oven, from which fiery flames were already issuing. “Creep in,” said
the witch, “and see if it’s properly heated, so that we can shove in the
bread.” For when she had got Grettel in she meant to close the oven and
let the girl bake, that she might eat her up too. But Grettel perceived
her intention, and said: “I don’t know how I’m to do it; how do I get in?”
“You silly goose!” said the hag, “the opening is big enough; see, I could
get in myself,” and she crawled toward it, and poked her head into the
oven. Then Grettel gave her a shove that sent her right in, shut the iron
door, and drew the bolt. Gracious! how she yelled, it was quite horrible;
but Grettel fled, and the wretched old woman was left to perish miserably.
Grettel flew straight to Hansel, opened the little stable-door, and cried:
“Hansel, we are free; the old witch is dead.” Then Hansel sprang like a
bird out of a cage when the door is opened. How they rejoiced, and fell on
each other’s necks, and jumped for joy, and kissed one another! And as
they had no longer any cause for fear, they went in the old hag’s house,
and here they found, in every corner of the room, boxes with pearls and
precious stones. “These are even better than pebbles,” said Hansel, and
crammed his pockets full of them; and Grettel said: “I too will bring
something home,” and she filled her apron full. “But now,” said Hansel,
“let’s go and get well away from the witch’s wood.” When they had wandered
about for some hours they came to a big lake. “We can’t get over,” said
Hansel; “I see no bridge of any sort or kind.” “Yes, and there’s no
ferry-boat either,” answered Grettel; “but look, there swims a white duck;
if I ask her she’ll help us over,” and she called out:
The duck swam toward them, and Hansel got on her back and bade his little
sister sit beside him. “No,” answered Grettel, “we should be too heavy a
load for the duck: she shall carry us across separately.” The good bird
did this, and when they were landed safely on the other side, and had gone
for a while, the wood became more and more familiar to them, and at length
they saw their father’s house in the distance. Then they set off to run,
and bounding into the room fell on their father’s neck. The man had not
passed a happy hour since he left them in the wood, but the woman had
died. Grettel shook out her apron so that the pearls and precious stones
rolled about the room, and Hansel threw down one handful after the other
out of his pocket. Thus all their troubles were ended, and they lived
happily ever afterward.
My story is done. See! there runs a little mouse; anyone who catches it
may make himself a large fur cap out of it.(1)
(1) Grimm.
SNOW-WHITE AND ROSE-RED
A poor widow once lived in a little cottage with a garden in front of it,
in which grew two rose trees, one bearing white roses and the other red.
She had two children, who were just like the two rose trees; one was
called Snow-white and the other Rose-red, and they were the sweetest and
best children in the world, always diligent and always cheerful; but
Snow-white was quieter and more gentle than Rose-red. Rose-red loved to
run about the fields and meadows, and to pick flowers and catch
butterflies; but Snow-white sat at home with her mother and helped her in
the household, or read aloud to her when there was no work to do. The two
children loved each other so dearly that they always walked about hand in
hand whenever they went out together, and when Snow-white said, “We will
never desert each other,” Rose-red answered: “No, not as long as we live”;
and the mother added: “Whatever one gets she shall share with the other.”
They often roamed about in the woods gathering berries and no beast
offered to hurt them; on the contrary, they came up to them in the most
confiding manner; the little hare would eat a cabbage leaf from their
hands, the deer grazed beside them, the stag would bound past them
merrily, and the birds remained on the branches and sang to them with all
their might.
No evil ever befell them; if they tarried late in the wood and night
overtook them, they lay down together on the moss and slept till morning,
and their mother knew they were quite safe, and never felt anxious about
them. Once, when they had slept all night in the wood and had been wakened
by the morning sun, they perceived a beautiful child in a shining white
robe sitting close to their resting-place. The figure got up, looked at
them kindly, but said nothing, and vanished into the wood. And when they
looked round about them they became aware that they had slept quite close
to a precipice, over which they would certainly have fallen had they gone
on a few steps further in the darkness. And when they told their mother of
their adventure, she said what they had seen must have been the angel that
guards good children.
Snow-white and Rose-red kept their mother’s cottage so beautifully clean
and neat that it was a pleasure to go into it. In summer Rose-red looked
after the house, and every morning before her mother awoke she placed a
bunch of flowers before the bed, from each tree a rose. In winter
Snow-white lit the fire and put on the kettle, which was made of brass,
but so beautifully polished that it shone like gold. In the evening when
the snowflakes fell their mother said: “Snow-white, go and close the
shutters,” and they drew round the fire, while the mother put on her
spectacles and read aloud from a big book and the two girls listened and
sat and span. Beside them on the ground lay a little lamb, and behind them
perched a little white dove with its head tucked under its wings.
One evening as they sat thus cosily together someone knocked at the door
as though he desired admittance. The mother said: “Rose-red, open the door
quickly; it must be some traveler seeking shelter.” Rose-red hastened to
unbar the door, and thought she saw a poor man standing in the darkness
outside; but it was no such thing, only a bear, who poked his thick black
head through the door. Rose-red screamed aloud and sprang back in terror,
the lamb began to bleat, the dove flapped its wings, and Snow-white ran
and hid behind her mother’s bed. But the bear began to speak, and said:
“Don’t be afraid: I won’t hurt you. I am half frozen, and only wish to
warm myself a little.” “My poor bear,” said the mother, “lie down by the
fire, only take care you don’t burn your fur.” Then she called out:
“Snow-white and Rose-red, come out; the bear will do you no harm; he is a
good, honest creature.” So they both came out of their hiding-places, and
gradually the lamb and dove drew near too, and they all forgot their fear.
The bear asked the children to beat the snow a little out of his fur, and
they fetched a brush and scrubbed him till he was dry. Then the beast
stretched himself in front of the fire, and growled quite happily and
comfortably. The children soon grew quite at their ease with him, and led
their helpless guest a fearful life. They tugged his fur with their hands,
put their small feet on his back, and rolled him about here and there, or
took a hazel wand and beat him with it; and if he growled they only
laughed. The bear submitted to everything with the best possible
good-nature, only when they went too far he cried: “Oh! children, spare my
life!
When it was time to retire for the night, and the others went to bed, the
mother said to the bear: “You can lie there on the hearth, in heaven’s
name; it will be shelter for you from the cold and wet.” As soon as day
dawned the children led him out, and he trotted over the snow into the
wood. From this time on the bear came every evening at the same hour, and
lay down by the hearth and let the children play what pranks they liked
with him; and they got so accustomed to him that the door was never shut
till their black friend had made his appearance.
When spring came, and all outside was green, the bear said one morning to
Snow-white: “Now I must go away, and not return again the whole summer.”
“Where are you going to, dear bear?” asked Snow-white. “I must go to the
wood and protect my treasure from the wicked dwarfs. In winter, when the
earth is frozen hard, they are obliged to remain underground, for they
can’t work their way through; but now, when the sun has thawed and warmed
the ground, they break through and come up above to spy the land and steal
what they can; what once falls into their hands and into their caves is
not easily brought back to light.” Snow-white was quite sad over their
friend’s departure, and when she unbarred the door for him, the bear,
stepping out, caught a piece of his fur in the door-knocker, and
Snow-white thought she caught sight of glittering gold beneath it, but she
couldn’t be certain of it; and the bear ran hastily away, and soon
disappeared behind the trees.
A short time after this the mother sent the children into the wood to
collect fagots. They came in their wanderings upon a big tree which lay
felled on the ground, and on the trunk among the long grass they noticed
something jumping up and down, but what it was they couldn’t distinguish.
When they approached nearer they perceived a dwarf with a wizened face and
a beard a yard long. The end of the beard was jammed into a cleft of the
tree, and the little man sprang about like a dog on a chain, and didn’t
seem to know what he was to do. He glared at the girls with his fiery red
eyes, and screamed out: “What are you standing there for? Can’t you come
and help me?” “What were you doing, little man?” asked Rose-red. “You
stupid, inquisitive goose!” replied the dwarf; “I wanted to split the
tree, in order to get little chips of wood for our kitchen fire; those
thick logs that serve to make fires for coarse, greedy people like
yourselves quite burn up all the little food we need. I had successfully
driven in the wedge, and all was going well, but the cursed wood was so
slippery that it suddenly sprang out, and the tree closed up so rapidly
that I had no time to take my beautiful white beard out, so here I am
stuck fast, and I can’t get away; and you silly, smooth-faced,
milk-and-water girls just stand and laugh! Ugh! what wretches you are!”
The children did all in their power, but they couldn’t get the beard out;
it was wedged in far too firmly. “I will run and fetch somebody,” said
Rose-red. “Crazy blockheads!” snapped the dwarf; “what’s the good of
calling anyone else? You’re already two too many for me. Does nothing
better occur to you than that?” “Don’t be so impatient,” said Snow-white,
“I’ll see you get help,” and taking her scissors out of her pocket she cut
off the end of his beard. As soon as the dwarf felt himself free he seized
a bag full of gold which was hidden among the roots of the tree, lifted it
up, and muttered aloud: “Curse these rude wretches, cutting off a piece of
my splendid beard!” With these words he swung the bag over his back, and
disappeared without as much as looking at the children again.
Shortly after this Snow-white and Rose-red went out to get a dish of fish.
As they approached the stream they saw something which looked like an
enormous grasshopper springing toward the water as if it were going to
jump in. They ran forward and recognized their old friend the dwarf.
“Where are you going to?” asked Rose-red; “you’re surely not going to jump
into the water?” “I’m not such a fool,” screamed the dwarf. “Don’t you see
that cursed fish is trying to drag me in?” The little man had been sitting
on the bank fishing, when unfortunately the wind had entangled his beard
in the line; and when immediately afterward a big fish bit, the feeble
little creature had no strength to pull it out; the fish had the upper
fin, and dragged the dwarf toward him. He clung on with all his might to
every rush and blade of grass, but it didn’t help him much; he had to
follow every movement of the fish, and was in great danger of being drawn
into the water. The girls came up just at the right moment, held him firm,
and did all they could to disentangle his beard from the line; but in
vain, beard and line were in a hopeless muddle. Nothing remained but to
produce the scissors and cut the beard, by which a small part of it was
sacrificed.
When the dwarf perceived what they were about he yelled to them: “Do you
call that manners, you toad-stools! to disfigure a fellow’s face? It
wasn’t enough that you shortened my beard before, but you must now needs
cut off the best bit of it. I can’t appear like this before my own people.
I wish you’d been in Jericho first.” Then he fetched a sack of pearls that
lay among the rushes, and without saying another word he dragged it away
and disappeared behind a stone.
It happened that soon after this the mother sent the two girls to the town
to buy needles, thread, laces, and ribbons. Their road led over a heath
where huge boulders of rock lay scattered here and there. While trudging
along they saw a big bird hovering in the air, circling slowly above them,
but always descending lower, till at last it settled on a rock not far
from them. Immediately afterward they heard a sharp, piercing cry. They
ran forward, and saw with horror that the eagle had pounced on their old
friend the dwarf, and was about to carry him off. The tender-hearted
children seized hold of the little man, and struggled so long with the
bird that at last he let go his prey. When the dwarf had recovered from
the first shock he screamed in his screeching voice: “Couldn’t you have
treated me more carefully? You have torn my thin little coat all to
shreds, useless, awkward hussies that you are!” Then he took a bag of
precious stones and vanished under the rocks into his cave. The girls were
accustomed to his ingratitude, and went on their way and did their
business in town. On their way home, as they were again passing the heath,
they surprised the dwarf pouring out his precious stones on an open space,
for he had thought no one would pass by at so late an hour. The evening
sun shone on the glittering stones, and they glanced and gleamed so
beautifully that the children stood still and gazed on them. “What are you
standing there gaping for?” screamed the dwarf, and his ashen-gray face
became scarlet with rage. He was about to go off with these angry words
when a sudden growl was heard, and a black bear trotted out of the wood.
The dwarf jumped up in great fright, but he hadn’t time to reach his place
of retreat, for the bear was already close to him. Then he cried in
terror: “Dear Mr. Bear, spare me! I’ll give you all my treasure. Look at
those beautiful precious stones lying there. Spare my life! what pleasure
would you get from a poor feeble little fellow like me? You won’t feel me
between your teeth. There, lay hold of these two wicked girls, they will
be a tender morsel for you, as fat as young quails; eat them up, for
heaven’s sake.” But the bear, paying no attention to his words, gave the
evil little creature one blow with his paw, and he never moved again.
The girls had run away, but the bear called after them: “Snow-white and
Rose-red, don’t be afraid; wait, and I’ll come with you.” Then they
recognized his voice and stood still, and when the bear was quite close to
them his skin suddenly fell off, and a beautiful man stood beside them,
all dressed in gold. “I am a king’s son,” he said, “and have been doomed
by that unholy little dwarf, who had stolen my treasure, to roam about the
woods as a wild bear till his death should set me free. Now he has got his
well-merited punishment.”
Snow-white married him, and Rose-red his brother, and they divided the
great treasure the dwarf had collected in his cave between them. The old
mother lived for many years peacefully with her children; and she carried
the two rose trees with her, and they stood in front of her window, and
every year they bore the finest red and white roses.(1)
(1) Grimm.
THE GOOSE-GIRL
Once upon a time an old queen, whose husband had been dead for many years,
had a beautiful daughter. When she grew up she was betrothed to a prince
who lived a great way off. Now, when the time drew near for her to be
married and to depart into a foreign kingdom, her old mother gave her much
costly baggage, and many ornaments, gold and silver, trinkets and
knicknacks, and, in fact, everything that belonged to a royal trousseau,
for she loved her daughter very dearly. She gave her a waiting-maid also,
who was to ride with her and hand her over to the bridegroom, and she
provided each of them with a horse for the journey. Now the Princess’s
horse was called Falada, and could speak.
When the hour for departure drew near the old mother went to her bedroom,
and taking a small knife she cut her fingers till they bled; then she held
a white rag under them, and letting three drops of blood fall into it, she
gave it to her daughter, and said: “Dear child, take great care of this
rag: it may be of use to you on the journey.”
So they took a sad farewell of each other, and the Princess stuck the rag
in front of her dress, mounted her horse, and set forth on the journey to
her bridegroom’s kingdom. After they had ridden for about an hour the
Princess began to feel very thirsty, and said to her waiting-maid: “Pray
get down and fetch me some water in my golden cup out of yonder stream: I
would like a drink.” “If you’re thirsty,” said the maid, “dismount
yourself, and lie down by the water and drink; I don’t mean to be your
servant any longer.” The Princess was so thirsty that she got down, bent
over the stream, and drank, for she wasn’t allowed to drink out of the
golden goblet. As she drank she murmured: “Oh! heaven, what am I to do?”
and the three drops of blood replied:
But the Princess was meek, and said nothing about her maid’s rude
behavior, and quietly mounted her horse again. They rode on their way for
several miles, but the day was hot, and the sun’s rays smote fiercely on
them, so that the Princess was soon overcome by thirst again. And as they
passed a brook she called once more to her waiting-maid: “Pray get down
and give me a drink from my golden cup,” for she had long ago forgotten
her maid’s rude words. But the waiting-maid replied, more haughtily even
than before: “If you want a drink, you can dismount and get it; I don’t
mean to be your servant.” Then the Princess was compelled by her thirst to
get down, and bending over the flowing water she cried and said: “Oh!
heaven, what am I to do?” and the three drops of blood replied:
And as she drank thus, and leaned right over the water, the rag containing
the three drops of blood fell from her bosom and floated down the stream,
and she in her anxiety never even noticed her loss. But the waiting-maid
had observed it with delight, as she knew it gave her power over the
bride, for in losing the drops of blood the Princess had become weak and
powerless. When she wished to get on her horse Falada again, the
waiting-maid called out: “I mean to ride Falada: you must mount my beast”;
and this too she had to submit to. Then the waiting-maid commanded her
harshly to take off her royal robes, and to put on her common ones, and
finally she made her swear by heaven not to say a word about the matter
when they reached the palace; and if she hadn’t taken this oath she would
have been killed on the spot. But Falada observed everything, and laid it
all to heart.
The waiting-maid now mounted Falada, and the real bride the worse horse,
and so they continued their journey till at length they arrived at the
palace yard. There was great rejoicing over the arrival, and the Prince
sprang forward to meet them, and taking the waiting-maid for his bride, he
lifted her down from her horse and led her upstairs to the royal chamber.
In the meantime the real Princess was left standing below in the
courtyard. The old King, who was looking out of his window, beheld her in
this plight, and it struck him how sweet and gentle, even beautiful, she
looked. He went at once to the royal chamber, and asked the bride who it
was she had brought with her and had left thus standing in the court
below. “Oh!” replied the bride, “I brought her with me to keep me company
on the journey; give the girl something to do, that she may not be idle.”
But the old King had no work for her, and couldn’t think of anything; so
he said, “I’ve a small boy who looks after the geese, she’d better help
him.” The youth’s name was Curdken, and the real bride was made to assist
him in herding geese.
Soon after this the false bride said to the Prince: “Dearest husband, I
pray you grant me a favor.” He answered: “That I will.” “Then let the
slaughterer cut off the head of the horse I rode here upon, because it
behaved very badly on the journey.” But the truth was she was afraid lest
the horse should speak and tell how she had treated the Princess. She
carried her point, and the faithful Falada was doomed to die. When the
news came to the ears of the real Princess she went to the slaughterer,
and secretly promised him a piece of gold if he would do something for
her. There was in the town a large dark gate, through which she had to
pass night and morning with the geese; would he “kindly hang up Falada’s
head there, that she might see it once again?” The slaughterer said he
would do as she desired, chopped off the head, and nailed it firmly over
the gateway.
Early next morning, as she and Curdken were driving their flock through
the gate, she said as she passed under:
and the head replied:
Then she left the tower and drove the geese into a field. And when they
had reached the common where the geese fed she sat down and unloosed her
hair, which was of pure gold. Curdken loved to see it glitter in the sun,
and wanted much to pull some hair out. Then she spoke:
Then a gust of wind blew Curdken’s hat away, and he had to chase it over
hill and dale. When he returned from the pursuit she had finished her
combing and curling, and his chance of getting any hair was gone. Curdken
was very angry, and wouldn’t speak to her. So they herded the geese till
evening and then went home.
The next morning, as they passed under the gate, the girl said:
and the head replied:
Then she went on her way till she came to the common, where she sat down
and began to comb out her hair; then Curdken ran up to her and wanted to
grasp some of the hair from her head, but she called out hastily:
Then a puff of wind came and blew Curdken’s hat far away, so that he had
to run after it; and when he returned she had long finished putting up her
golden locks, and he couldn’t get any hair; so they watched the geese till
it was dark.
But that evening when they got home Curdken went to the old King, and
said: “I refuse to herd geese any longer with that girl.” “For what
reason?” asked the old King. “Because she does nothing but annoy me all
day long,” replied Curdken; and he proceeded to relate all her iniquities,
and said: “Every morning as we drive the flock through the dark gate she
says to a horse’s head that hangs on the wall:
and the head replies:
And Curdken went on to tell what passed on the common where the geese fed,
and how he had always to chase his hat.
The old King bade him go and drive forth his flock as usual next day; and
when morning came he himself took up his position behind the dark gate,
and heard how the goose-girl greeted Falada. Then he followed her through
the field, and hid himself behind a bush on the common. He soon saw with
his own eyes how the goose-boy and the goose-girl looked after the geese,
and how after a time the maiden sat down and loosed her hair, that
glittered like gold, and repeated:
Then a gust of wind came and blew Curdken’s hat away, so that he had to
fly over hill and dale after it, and the girl in the meantime quietly
combed and plaited her hair: all this the old King observed, and returned
to the palace without anyone having noticed him. In the evening when the
goose-girl came home he called her aside, and asked her why she behaved as
she did. “I may not tell you why; how dare I confide my woes to anyone?
for I swore not to by heaven, otherwise I should have lost my life.” The
old King begged her to tell him all, and left her no peace, but he could
get nothing out of her. At last he said: “Well, if you won’t tell me,
confide your trouble to the iron stove there,” and he went away. Then she
crept to the stove, and began to sob and cry and to pour out her poor
little heart, and said: “Here I sit, deserted by all the world, I who am a
king’s daughter, and a false waiting-maid has forced me to take off my own
clothes, and has taken my place with my bridegroom, while I have to
fulfill the lowly office of goose-girl.
But the old King stood outside at the stove chimney, and listened to her
words. Then he entered the room again, and bidding her leave the stove, he
ordered royal apparel to be put on her, in which she looked amazingly
lovely. Then he summoned his son, and revealed to him that he had got the
false bride, who was nothing but a waiting-maid, while the real one, in
the guise of the ex-goose-girl, was standing at his side. The young King
rejoiced from his heart when he saw her beauty and learned how good she
was, and a great banquet was prepared, to which everyone was bidden. The
bridegroom sat at the head of the table, the Princess on one side of him
and the waiting-maid on the other; but she was so dazzled that she did not
recognize the Princess in her glittering garments. Now when they had eaten
and drunk, and were merry, the old King asked the waiting-maid to solve a
knotty point for him. “What,” said he, “should be done to a certain person
who has deceived everyone?” and he proceeded to relate the whole story,
ending up with, “Now what sentence should be passed?” Then the false bride
answered: “She deserves to be put stark naked into a barrel lined with
sharp nails, which should be dragged by two white horses up and down the
street till she is dead.”
“You are the person,” said the King, “and you have passed sentence on
yourself; and even so it shall be done to you.” And when the sentence had
been carried out the young King was married to his real bride, and both
reigned over the kingdom in peace and happiness.(1)
(1) Grimm.
TOADS AND DIAMONDS
THERE was once upon a time a widow who had two daughters. The eldest was
so much like her in the face and humor that whoever looked upon the
daughter saw the mother. They were both so disagreeable and so proud that
there was no living with them.
The youngest, who was the very picture of her father for courtesy and
sweetness of temper, was withal one of the most beautiful girls ever seen.
As people naturally love their own likeness, this mother even doted on her
eldest daughter and at the same time had a horrible aversion for the
youngest—she made her eat in the kitchen and work continually.
Among other things, this poor child was forced twice a day to draw water
above a mile and a-half off the house, and bring home a pitcher full of
it. One day, as she was at this fountain, there came to her a poor woman,
who begged of her to let her drink.
“Oh! ay, with all my heart, Goody,” said this pretty little girl; and
rinsing immediately the pitcher, she took up some water from the clearest
place of the fountain, and gave it to her, holding up the pitcher all the
while, that she might drink the easier.
The good woman, having drunk, said to her:
“You are so very pretty, my dear, so good and so mannerly, that I cannot
help giving you a gift.” For this was a fairy, who had taken the form of a
poor country woman, to see how far the civility and good manners of this
pretty girl would go. “I will give you for a gift,” continued the Fairy,
“that, at every word you speak, there shall come out of your mouth either
a flower or a jewel.”
When this pretty girl came home her mother scolded her for staying so long
at the fountain.
“I beg your pardon, mamma,” said the poor girl, “for not making more
haste.”
And in speaking these words there came out of her mouth two roses, two
pearls, and two diamonds.
“What is it I see there?” said the mother, quite astonished. “I think I
see pearls and diamonds come out of the girl’s mouth! How happens this,
child?”
This was the first time she had ever called her child.
The poor creature told her frankly all the matter, not without dropping
out infinite numbers of diamonds.
“In good faith,” cried the mother, “I must send my child thither. Come
hither, Fanny; look what comes out of thy sister’s mouth when she speaks.
Wouldst not thou be glad, my dear, to have the same gift given thee? Thou
hast nothing else to do but go and draw water out of the fountain, and
when a certain poor woman asks you to let her drink, to give it to her
very civilly.”
“It would be a very fine sight indeed,” said this ill-bred minx, “to see
me go draw water.”
“You shall go, hussy!” said the mother; “and this minute.”
So away she went, but grumbling all the way, taking with her the best
silver tankard in the house.
She was no sooner at the fountain than she saw coming out of the wood a
lady most gloriously dressed, who came up to her, and asked to drink. This
was, you must know, the very fairy who appeared to her sister, but now had
taken the air and dress of a princess, to see how far this girl’s rudeness
would go.
“Am I come hither,” said the proud, saucy one, “to serve you with water,
pray? I suppose the silver tankard was brought purely for your ladyship,
was it? However, you may drink out of it, if you have a fancy.”
“You are not over and above mannerly,” answered the Fairy, without putting
herself in a passion. “Well, then, since you have so little breeding, and
are so disobliging, I give you for a gift that at every word you speak
there shall come out of your mouth a snake or a toad.”
So soon as her mother saw her coming she cried out:
“Well, daughter?”
“Well, mother?” answered the pert hussy, throwing out of her mouth two
vipers and two toads.
“Oh! mercy,” cried the mother; “what is it I see? Oh! it is that wretch
her sister who has occasioned all this; but she shall pay for it”; and
immediately she ran to beat her. The poor child fled away from her, and
went to hide herself in the forest, not far from thence.
The King’s son, then on his return from hunting, met her, and seeing her
so very pretty, asked her what she did there alone and why she cried.
“Alas! sir, my mamma has turned me out of doors.”
The King’s son, who saw five or six pearls and as many diamonds come out
of her mouth, desired her to tell him how that happened. She thereupon
told him the whole story; and so the King’s son fell in love with her,
and, considering himself that such a gift was worth more than any marriage
portion, conducted her to the palace of the King his father, and there
married her.
As for the sister, she made herself so much hated that her own mother
turned her off; and the miserable wretch, having wandered about a good
while without finding anybody to take her in, went to a corner of the
wood, and there died.(1)
(1) Charles Perrault.
PRINCE DARLING
ONCE upon a time there lived a king who was so just and kind that his
subjects called him “the Good King.” It happened one day, when he was out
hunting, that a little white rabbit, which his dogs were chasing, sprang
into his arms for shelter. The King stroked it gently, and said to it:
“Well, bunny, as you have come to me for protection I will see that nobody
hurts you.”
And he took it home to his palace and had it put in a pretty little house,
with all sorts of nice things to eat.
That night, when he was alone in his room, a beautiful lady suddenly
appeared before him; her long dress was as white as snow, and she had a
crown of white roses upon her head. The good King was very much surprised
to see her, for he knew his door had been tightly shut, and he could not
think how she had got in. But she said to him:
“I am the Fairy Truth. I was passing through the wood when you were out
hunting, and I wished to find out if you were really good, as everybody
said you were, so I took the shape of a little rabbit and came to your
arms for shelter, for I know that those who are merciful to animals will
be still kinder to their fellow-men. If you had refused to help me I
should have been certain that you were wicked. I thank you for the
kindness you have shown me, which has made me your friend for ever. You
have only to ask me for anything you want and I promise that I will give
it to you.”
“Madam,” said the good King, “since you are a fairy you no doubt know all
my wishes. I have but one son whom I love very dearly, that is why he is
called Prince Darling. If you are really good enough to wish to do me a
favor, I beg that you will become his friend.”
“With all my heart,” answered the Fairy. “I can make your son the
handsomest prince in the world, or the richest, or the most powerful;
choose whichever you like for him.”
“I do not ask either of these things for my son,” replied the good King;
“but if you will make him the best of princes, I shall indeed be grateful
to you. What good would it do him to be rich, or handsome, or to possess
all the kingdoms of the world if he were wicked? You know well he would
still be unhappy. Only a good man can be really contented.”
“You are quite right,” answered the Fairy; “but it is not in my power to
make Prince Darling a good man unless he will help me; he must himself try
hard to become good, I can only promise to give him good advice, to scold
him for his faults, and to punish him if he will not correct and punish
himself.”
The good King was quite satisfied with this promise; and very soon
afterward he died.
Prince Darling was very sorry, for he loved his father with all his heart,
and he would willingly have given all his kingdoms and all his treasures
of gold and silver if they could have kept the good King with him.
Two days afterward, when the Prince had gone to bed, the Fairy suddenly
appeared to him and said:
“I promised your father that I would be your friend, and to keep my word I
have come to bring you a present.” At the same time she put a little gold
ring upon his finger.
“Take great care of this ring,” she said: “it is more precious than
diamonds; every time you do a bad deed it will prick your finger, but if,
in spite of its pricking, you go on in your own evil way, you will lose my
friendship, and I shall become your enemy.”
So saying, the Fairy disappeared, leaving Prince Darling very much
astonished.
For some time he behaved so well that the ring never pricked him, and that
made him so contented that his subjects called him Prince Darling the
Happy.
One day, however, he went out hunting, but could get no sport, which put
him in a very bad temper; it seemed to him as he rode along that his ring
was pressing into his finger, but as it did not prick him he did not heed
it. When he got home and went to his own room, his little dog Bibi ran to
meet him, jumping round him with pleasure. “Get away!” said the Prince,
quite gruffly. “I don’t want you, you are in the way.”
The poor little dog, who didn’t understand this at all, pulled at his coat
to make him at least look at her, and this made Prince Darling so cross
that he gave her quite a hard kick.
Instantly his ring pricked him sharply, as if it had been a pin. He was
very much surprised, and sat down in a corner of his room feeling quite
ashamed of himself.
“I believe the Fairy is laughing at me,” he thought. “Surely I can have
done no great wrong in just kicking a tiresome animal! What is the good of
my being ruler of a great kingdom if I am not even allowed to beat my own
dog?”
“I am not making fun of you,” said a voice, answering Prince Darling’s
thoughts. “You have committed three faults. First of all, you were out of
temper because you could not have what you wanted, and you thought all men
and animals were only made to do your pleasure; then you were really
angry, which is very naughty indeed; and lastly, you were cruel to a poor
little animal who did not in the least deserve to be ill-treated.
“I know you are far above a little dog, but if it were right and allowable
that great people should ill-treat all who are beneath them, I might at
this moment beat you, or kill you, for a fairy is greater than a man. The
advantage of possessing a great empire is not to be able to do the evil
that one desires, but to do all the good that one possibly can.”
The Prince saw how naughty he had been, and promised to try and do better
in future, but he did not keep his word. The fact was he had been brought
up by a foolish nurse, who had spoiled him when he was little. If he
wanted anything he only had to cry and fret and stamp his feet and she
would give him whatever he asked for, which had made him self-willed; also
she had told him from morning to night that he would one day be a king,
and that kings were very happy, because everyone was bound to obey and
respect them, and no one could prevent them from doing just as they liked.
When the Prince grew old enough to understand, he soon learned that there
could be nothing worse than to be proud, obstinate, and conceited, and he
had really tried to cure himself of these defects, but by that time all
his faults had become habits; and a bad habit is very hard to get rid of.
Not that he was naturally of a bad disposition; he was truly sorry when he
had been naughty, and said:
“I am very unhappy to have to struggle against my anger and pride every
day; if I had been punished for them when I was little they would not be
such a trouble to me now.”
His ring pricked him very often, and sometimes he left off what he was
doing at once; but at other times he would not attend to it. Strangely
enough, it gave him only a slight prick for a trifling fault, but when he
was really naughty it made his finger actually bleed. At last he got tired
of being constantly reminded, and wanted to be able to do as he liked, so
he threw his ring aside, and thought himself the happiest of men to have
got rid of its teasing pricks. He gave himself up to doing every foolish
thing that occurred to him, until he became quite wicked and nobody could
like him any longer.
One day, when the Prince was walking about, he saw a young girl who was so
very pretty that he made up his mind at once that he would marry her. Her
name was Celia, and she was as good as she was beautiful.
Prince Darling fancied that Celia would think herself only too happy if he
offered to make her a great queen, but she said fearlessly:
“Sire, I am only a shepherdess, and a poor girl, but, nevertheless, I will
not marry you.”
“Do you dislike me?” asked the Prince, who was very much vexed at this
answer.
“No, my Prince,” replied Celia; “I cannot help thinking you very handsome;
but what good would riches be to me, and all the grand dresses and
splendid carriages that you would give me, if the bad deeds which I should
see you do every day made me hate and despise you?”
The Prince was very angry at this speech, and commanded his officers to
make Celia a prisoner and carry her off to his palace. All day long the
remembrance of what she had said annoyed him, but as he loved her he could
not make up his mind to have her punished.
One of the Prince’s favorite companions was his foster-brother, whom he
trusted entirely; but he was not at all a good man, and gave Prince
Darling very bad advice, and encouraged him in all his evil ways. When he
saw the Prince so downcast he asked what was the matter, and when he
explained that he could not bear Celia’s bad opinion of him, and was
resolved to be a better man in order to please her, this evil adviser said
to him:
“You are very kind to trouble yourself about this little girl; if I were
you I would soon make her obey me. Remember that you are a king, and that
it would be laughable to see you trying to please a shepherdess, who ought
to be only too glad to be one of your slaves. Keep her in prison, and feed
her on bread and water for a little while, and then, if she still says she
will not marry you, have her head cut off, to teach other people that you
mean to be obeyed. Why, if you cannot make a girl like that do as you
wish, your subjects will soon forget that they are only put into this
world for our pleasure.”
“But,” said Prince Darling, “would it not be a shame if I had an innocent
girl put to death? For Celia has done nothing to deserve punishment.”
“If people will not do as you tell them they ought to suffer for it,”
answered his foster-brother; “but even if it were unjust, you had better
be accused of that by your subjects than that they should find out that
they may insult and thwart you as often as they please.”
In saying this he was touching a weak point in his brother’s character;
for the Prince’s fear of losing any of his power made him at once abandon
his first idea of trying to be good, and resolve to try and frighten the
shepherdess into consenting to marry him.
His foster-brother, who wanted him to keep this resolution, invited three
young courtiers, as wicked as himself to sup with the Prince, and they
persuaded him to drink a great deal of wine, and continued to excite his
anger against Celia by telling him that she had laughed at his love for
her; until at last, in quite a furious rage, he rushed off to find her,
declaring that if she still refused to marry him she should be sold as a
slave the very next day.
But when he reached the room in which Celia had been locked up, he was
greatly surprised to find that she was not in it, though he had the key in
his own pocket all the time. His anger was terrible, and he vowed
vengeance against whoever had helped her to escape. His bad friends, when
they heard him, resolved to turn his wrath upon an old nobleman who had
formerly been his tutor; and who still dared sometimes to tell the Prince
of his faults, for he loved him as if he had been his own son. At first
Prince Darling had thanked him, but after a time he grew impatient and
thought it must be just mere love of fault-finding that made his old tutor
blame him when everyone else was praising and flattering him. So he
ordered him to retire from his Court, though he still, from time to time,
spoke of him as a worthy man whom he respected, even if he no longer loved
him. His unworthy friends feared that he might some day take it into his
head to recall his old tutor, so they thought they now had a good
opportunity of getting him banished for ever.
They reported to the Prince that Suliman, for that was the tutor’s name,
had boasted of having helped Celia to escape, and they bribed three men to
say that Suliman himself had told them about it. The Prince, in great
anger, sent his foster-brother with a number of soldiers to bring his
tutor before him, in chains, like a criminal. After giving this order he
went to his own room, but he had scarcely got into it when there was a
clap of thunder which made the ground shake, and the Fairy Truth appeared
suddenly before him.
“I promised your father,” said she sternly, “to give you good advice, and
to punish you if you refused to follow it. You have despised my counsel,
and have gone your own evil way until you are only outwardly a man; really
you are a monster—the horror of everyone who knows you. It is time
that I should fulfil my promise, and begin your punishment. I condemn you
to resemble the animals whose ways you have imitated. You have made
yourself like the lion by your anger, and like the wolf by your
greediness. Like a snake, you have ungratefully turned upon one who was a
second father to you; your churlishness has made you like a bull.
Therefore, in your new form, take the appearance of all these animals.”
The Fairy had scarcely finished speaking when Prince Darling saw to his
horror that her words were fulfilled. He had a lion’s head, a bull’s
horns, a wolf’s feet, and a snake’s body. At the same instant he found
himself in a great forest, beside a clear lake, in which he could see
plainly the horrible creature he had become, and a voice said to him:
“Look carefully at the state to which your wickedness has brought you;
believe me, your soul is a thousand times more hideous than your body.”
Prince Darling recognized the voice of the Fairy Truth and turned in a
fury to catch her and eat her up if he possibly could; but he saw no one,
and the same voice went on:
“I laugh at your powerlessness and anger, and I intend to punish your
pride by letting you fall into the hands of your own subjects.”
The Prince began to think that the best thing he could do would be to get
as far away from the lake as he could, then at least he would not be
continually reminded of his terrible ugliness. So he ran toward the wood,
but before he had gone many yards he fell into a deep pit which had been
made to trap bears, and the hunters, who were hiding in a tree, leaped
down, and secured him with several chains, and led him into the chief city
of his own kingdom.
On the way, instead of recognizing that his own faults had brought this
punishment upon him, he accused the Fairy of being the cause of all his
misfortunes, and bit and tore at his chains furiously.
As they approached the town he saw that some great rejoicing was being
held, and when the hunters asked what had happened they were told that the
Prince, whose only pleasure it was to torment his people, had been found
in his room, killed by a thunder-bolt (for that was what was supposed to
have become of him). Four of his courtiers, those who had encouraged him
in his wicked doings, had tried to seize the kingdom and divide it between
them, but the people, who knew it was their bad counsels which had so
changed the Prince, had cut off their heads, and had offered the crown to
Suliman, whom the Prince had left in prison. This noble lord had just been
crowned, and the deliverance of the kingdom was the cause of the rejoicing
“For,” they said, “he is a good and just man, and we shall once more enjoy
peace and prosperity.”
Prince Darling roared with anger when he heard this; but it was still
worse for him when he reached the great square before his own palace. He
saw Suliman seated upon a magnificent throne, and all the people crowded
round, wishing him a long life that he might undo all the mischief done by
his predecessor.
Presently Suliman made a sign with his hand that the people should be
silent, and said: “I have accepted the crown you have offered me, but only
that I may keep it for Prince Darling, who is not dead as you suppose; the
Fairy has assured me that there is still hope that you may some day see
him again, good and virtuous as he was when he first came to the throne.
Alas!” he continued, “he was led away by flatterers. I knew his heart, and
am certain that if it had not been for the bad influence of those who
surrounded him he would have been a good king and a father to his people.
We may hate his faults, but let us pity him and hope for his restoration.
As for me, I would die gladly if that could bring back our Prince to reign
justly and worthily once more.”
These words went to Prince Darling’s heart; he realized the true affection
and faithfulness of his old tutor, and for the first time reproached
himself for all his evil deeds; at the same instant he felt all his anger
melting away, and he began quickly to think over his past life, and to
admit that his punishment was not more than he had deserved. He left off
tearing at the iron bars of the cage in which he was shut up, and became
as gentle as a lamb.
The hunters who had caught him took him to a great menagerie, where he was
chained up among all the other wild beasts, and he determined to show his
sorrow for his past bad behavior by being gentle and obedient to the man
who had to take care of him. Unfortunately, this man was very rough and
unkind, and though the poor monster was quite quiet, he often beat him
without rhyme or reason when he happened to be in a bad temper. One day
when this keeper was asleep a tiger broke its chain, and flew at him to
eat him up. Prince Darling, who saw what was going on, at first felt quite
pleased to think that he should be delivered from his persecutor, but soon
thought better of it and wished that he were free.
“I would return good for evil,” he said to himself, “and save the unhappy
man’s life.” He had hardly wished this when his iron cage flew open, and
he rushed to the side of the keeper, who was awake and was defending
himself against the tiger. When he saw the monster had got out he gave
himself up for lost, but his fear was soon changed into joy, for the kind
monster threw itself upon the tiger and very soon killed it, and then came
and crouched at the feet of the man it had saved.
Overcome with gratitude, the keeper stooped to caress the strange creature
which had done him such a great service; but suddenly a voice said in his
ear:
“A good action should never go unrewarded,” and at the same instant the
monster disappeared, and he saw at his feet only a pretty little dog!
Prince Darling, delighted by the change, frisked about the keeper, showing
his joy in every way he could, and the man, taking him up in his arms,
carried him to the King, to whom he told the whole story.
The Queen said she would like to have this wonderful little dog, and the
Prince would have been very happy in his new home if he could have
forgotten that he was a man and a king. The Queen petted and took care of
him, but she was so afraid that he would get too fat that she consulted
the court physician, who said that he was to be fed only upon bread, and
was not to have much even of that. So poor Prince Darling was terribly
hungry all day long, but he was very patient about it.
One day, when they gave him his little loaf for breakfast, he thought he
would like to eat it out in the garden; so he took it up in his mouth and
trotted away toward a brook that he knew of a long way from the palace.
But he was surprised to find that the brook was gone, and where it had
been stood a great house that seemed to be built of gold and precious
stones. Numbers of people splendidly dressed were going into it, and
sounds of music and dancing and feasting could be heard from the windows.
But what seemed very strange was that those people who came out of the
house were pale and thin, and their clothes were torn, and hanging in rags
about them. Some fell down dead as they came out before they had time to
get away; others crawled farther with great difficulty; while others again
lay on the ground, fainting with hunger, and begged a morsel of bread from
those who were going into the house, but they would not so much as look at
the poor creatures.
Prince Darling went up to a young girl who was trying to eat a few blades
of grass, she was so hungry. Touched with compassion, he said to himself:
“I am very hungry, but I shall not die of starvation before I get my
dinner; if I give my breakfast to this poor creature perhaps I may save
her life.”
So he laid his piece of bread in the girl’s hand, and saw her eat it up
eagerly.
She soon seemed to be quite well again, and the Prince, delighted to have
been able to help her, was thinking of going home to the palace, when he
heard a great outcry, and, turning round, saw Celia, who was being carried
against her will into the great house.
For the first time the Prince regretted that he was no longer the monster,
then he would have been able to rescue Celia; now he could only bark
feebly at the people who were carrying her off, and try to follow them,
but they chased and kicked him away.
He determined not to quit the place till he knew what had become of Celia,
and blamed himself for what had befallen her.
“Alas!” he said to himself, “I am furious with the people who are carrying
Celia off, but isn’t that exactly what I did myself, and if I had not been
prevented did I not intend to be still more cruel to her?”
Here he was interrupted by a noise above his head—someone was
opening a window, and he saw with delight that it was Celia herself, who
came forward and threw out a plate of most delicious-looking food, then
the window was shut again, and Prince Darling, who had not had anything to
eat all day, thought he might as well take the opportunity of getting
something. He ran forward to begin, but the young girl to whom he had
given his bread gave a cry of terror and took him up in her arms, saying:
“Don’t touch it, my poor little dog—that house is the palace of
pleasure, and everything that comes out of it is poisoned!”
At the same moment a voice said:
“You see a good action always brings its reward,” and the Prince found
himself changed into a beautiful white dove. He remembered that white was
the favorite color of the Fairy Truth, and began to hope that he might at
last win back her favor. But just now his first care was for Celia, and
rising into the air he flew round and round the house, until he saw an
open window; but he searched through every room in vain. No trace of Celia
was to be seen, and the Prince, in despair, determined to search through
the world till he found her. He flew on and on for several days, till he
came to a great desert, where he saw a cavern, and, to his delight, there
sat Celia, sharing the simple breakfast of an old hermit.
Overjoyed to have found her, Prince Darling perched upon her shoulder,
trying to express by his caresses how glad he was to see her again, and
Celia, surprised and delighted by the tameness of this pretty white dove,
stroked it softly, and said, though she never thought of its understanding
her:
“I accept the gift that you make me of yourself, and I will love you
always.”
“Take care what you are saying, Celia,” said the old hermit; “are you
prepared to keep that promise?”
“Indeed, I hope so, my sweet shepherdess,” cried the Prince, who was at
that moment restored to his natural shape. “You promised to love me
always; tell me that you really mean what you said, or I shall have to ask
the Fairy to give me back the form of the dove which pleased you so much.”
“You need not be afraid that she will change her mind,” said the Fairy,
throwing off the hermit’s robe in which she had been disguised and
appearing before them.
“Celia has loved you ever since she first saw you, only she would not tell
you while you were so obstinate and naughty. Now you have repented and
mean to be good you deserve to be happy, and so she may love you as much
as she likes.”
Celia and Prince Darling threw themselves at the Fairy’s feet, and the
Prince was never tired of thanking her for her kindness. Celia was
delighted to hear how sorry he was for all his past follies and misdeeds,
and promised to love him as long as she lived.
“Rise, my children,” said the Fairy, “and I will transport you to the
palace, and Prince Darling shall have back again the crown he forfeited by
his bad behavior.”
While she was speaking, they found themselves in Suliman’s hall, and his
delight was great at seeing his dear master once more. He gave up the
throne joyfully to the Prince, and remained always the most faithful of
his subjects.
Celia and Prince Darling reigned for many years, but he was so determined
to govern worthily and to do his duty that his ring, which he took to
wearing again, never once pricked him severely.(1)
(1) Cabinet des Fees.
BLUE BEARD
There was a man who had fine houses, both in town and country, a deal of
silver and gold plate, embroidered furniture, and coaches gilded all over
with gold. But this man was so unlucky as to have a blue beard, which made
him so frightfully ugly that all the women and girls ran away from him.
One of his neighbors, a lady of quality, had two daughters who were
perfect beauties. He desired of her one of them in marriage, leaving to
her choice which of the two she would bestow on him. They would neither of
them have him, and sent him backward and forward from one another, not
being able to bear the thoughts of marrying a man who had a blue beard,
and what besides gave them disgust and aversion was his having already
been married to several wives, and nobody ever knew what became of them.
Blue Beard, to engage their affection, took them, with the lady their
mother and three or four ladies of their acquaintance, with other young
people of the neighborhood, to one of his country seats, where they stayed
a whole week.
There was nothing then to be seen but parties of pleasure, hunting,
fishing, dancing, mirth, and feasting. Nobody went to bed, but all passed
the night in rallying and joking with each other. In short, everything
succeeded so well that the youngest daughter began to think the master of
the house not to have a beard so very blue, and that he was a mighty civil
gentleman.
As soon as they returned home, the marriage was concluded. About a month
afterward, Blue Beard told his wife that he was obliged to take a country
journey for six weeks at least, about affairs of very great consequence,
desiring her to divert herself in his absence, to send for her friends and
acquaintances, to carry them into the country, if she pleased, and to make
good cheer wherever she was.
“Here,” said he, “are the keys of the two great wardrobes, wherein I have
my best furniture; these are of my silver and gold plate, which is not
every day in use; these open my strong boxes, which hold my money, both
gold and silver; these my caskets of jewels; and this is the master-key to
all my apartments. But for this little one here, it is the key of the
closet at the end of the great gallery on the ground floor. Open them all;
go into all and every one of them, except that little closet, which I
forbid you, and forbid it in such a manner that, if you happen to open it,
there’s nothing but what you may expect from my just anger and
resentment.”
She promised to observe, very exactly, whatever he had ordered; when he,
after having embraced her, got into his coach and proceeded on his
journey.
Her neighbors and good friends did not stay to be sent for by the new
married lady, so great was their impatience to see all the rich furniture
of her house, not daring to come while her husband was there, because of
his blue beard, which frightened them. They ran through all the rooms,
closets, and wardrobes, which were all so fine and rich that they seemed
to surpass one another.
After that they went up into the two great rooms, where was the best and
richest furniture; they could not sufficiently admire the number and
beauty of the tapestry, beds, couches, cabinets, stands, tables, and
looking-glasses, in which you might see yourself from head to foot; some
of them were framed with glass, others with silver, plain and gilded, the
finest and most magnificent ever were seen.
They ceased not to extol and envy the happiness of their friend, who in
the meantime in no way diverted herself in looking upon all these rich
things, because of the impatience she had to go and open the closet on the
ground floor. She was so much pressed by her curiosity that, without
considering that it was very uncivil to leave her company, she went down a
little back staircase, and with such excessive haste that she had twice or
thrice like to have broken her neck.
Coming to the closet-door, she made a stop for some time, thinking upon
her husband’s orders, and considering what unhappiness might attend her if
she was disobedient; but the temptation was so strong she could not
overcome it. She then took the little key, and opened it, trembling, but
could not at first see anything plainly, because the windows were shut.
After some moments she began to perceive that the floor was all covered
over with clotted blood, on which lay the bodies of several dead women,
ranged against the walls. (These were all the wives whom Blue Beard had
married and murdered, one after another.) She thought she should have died
for fear, and the key, which she pulled out of the lock, fell out of her
hand.
After having somewhat recovered her surprise, she took up the key, locked
the door, and went upstairs into her chamber to recover herself; but she
could not, she was so much frightened. Having observed that the key of the
closet was stained with blood, she tried two or three times to wipe it
off, but the blood would not come out; in vain did she wash it, and even
rub it with soap and sand; the blood still remained, for the key was
magical and she could never make it quite clean; when the blood was gone
off from one side, it came again on the other.
Blue Beard returned from his journey the same evening, and said he had
received letters upon the road, informing him that the affair he went
about was ended to his advantage. His wife did all she could to convince
him she was extremely glad of his speedy return.
Next morning he asked her for the keys, which she gave him, but with such
a trembling hand that he easily guessed what had happened.
“What!” said he, “is not the key of my closet among the rest?”
“I must certainly have left it above upon the table,” said she.
“Fail not to bring it to me presently,” said Blue Beard.
After several goings backward and forward she was forced to bring him the
key. Blue Beard, having very attentively considered it, said to his wife,
“How comes this blood upon the key?”
“I do not know,” cried the poor woman, paler than death.
“You do not know!” replied Blue Beard. “I very well know. You were
resolved to go into the closet, were you not? Mighty well, madam; you
shall go in, and take your place among the ladies you saw there.”
Upon this she threw herself at her husband’s feet, and begged his pardon
with all the signs of true repentance, vowing that she would never more be
disobedient. She would have melted a rock, so beautiful and sorrowful was
she; but Blue Beard had a heart harder than any rock!
“You must die, madam,” said he, “and that presently.”
“Since I must die,” answered she (looking upon him with her eyes all
bathed in tears), “give me some little time to say my prayers.”
“I give you,” replied Blue Beard, “half a quarter of an hour, but not one
moment more.”
When she was alone she called out to her sister, and said to her:
“Sister Anne” (for that was her name), “go up, I beg you, upon the top of
the tower, and look if my brothers are not coming over; they promised me
that they would come to-day, and if you see them, give them a sign to make
haste.”
Her sister Anne went up upon the top of the tower, and the poor afflicted
wife cried out from time to time:
“Anne, sister Anne, do you see anyone coming?”
And sister Anne said:
“I see nothing but the sun, which makes a dust, and the grass, which looks
green.”
In the meanwhile Blue Beard, holding a great sabre in his hand, cried out
as loud as he could bawl to his wife:
“Come down instantly, or I shall come up to you.”
“One moment longer, if you please,” said his wife, and then she cried out
very softly, “Anne, sister Anne, dost thou see anybody coming?”
And sister Anne answered:
“I see nothing but the sun, which makes a dust, and the grass, which is
green.”
“Come down quickly,” cried Blue Beard, “or I will come up to you.”
“I am coming,” answered his wife; and then she cried, “Anne, sister Anne,
dost thou not see anyone coming?”
“I see,” replied sister Anne, “a great dust, which comes on this side
here.”
“Are they my brothers?”
“Alas! no, my dear sister, I see a flock of sheep.”
“Will you not come down?” cried Blue Beard
“One moment longer,” said his wife, and then she cried out: “Anne, sister
Anne, dost thou see nobody coming?”
“I see,” said she, “two horsemen, but they are yet a great way off.”
“God be praised,” replied the poor wife joyfully; “they are my brothers; I
will make them a sign, as well as I can, for them to make haste.”
Then Blue Beard bawled out so loud that he made the whole house tremble.
The distressed wife came down, and threw herself at his feet, all in
tears, with her hair about her shoulders.
“This signifies nothing,” says Blue Beard; “you must die”; then, taking
hold of her hair with one hand, and lifting up the sword with the other,
he was going to take off her head. The poor lady, turning about to him,
and looking at him with dying eyes, desired him to afford her one little
moment to recollect herself.
“No, no,” said he, “recommend thyself to God,” and was just ready to
strike…
At this very instant there was such a loud knocking at the gate that Blue
Beard made a sudden stop. The gate was opened, and presently entered two
horsemen, who, drawing their swords, ran directly to Blue Beard. He knew
them to be his wife’s brothers, one a dragoon, the other a musketeer, so
that he ran away immediately to save himself; but the two brothers pursued
so close that they overtook him before he could get to the steps of the
porch, when they ran their swords through his body and left him dead. The
poor wife was almost as dead as her husband, and had not strength enough
to rise and welcome her brothers.
Blue Beard had no heirs, and so his wife became mistress of all his
estate. She made use of one part of it to marry her sister Anne to a young
gentleman who had loved her a long while; another part to buy captains
commissions for her brothers, and the rest to marry herself to a very
worthy gentleman, who made her forget the ill time she had passed with
Blue Beard.(1)
(1) Charles Perrault.
TRUSTY JOHN
Once upon a time there was an old king who was so ill that he thought to
himself, “I am most likely on my death-bed.” Then he said, “Send Trusty
John to me.” Now Trusty John was his favorite servant, and was so called
because all his life he had served him so faithfully. When he approached
the bed the King spake to him: “Most trusty John, I feel my end is drawing
near, and I could face it without a care were it not for my son. He is
still too young to decide everything for himself, and unless you promise
me to instruct him in all he should know, and to be to him as a father, I
shall not close my eyes in peace.” Then Trusty John answered: “I will
never desert him, and will serve him faithfully, even though it should
cost me my life.” Then the old King said: “Now I die comforted and in
peace”; and then he went on: “After my death you must show him the whole
castle, all the rooms and apartments and vaults, and all the treasures
that lie in them; but you must not show him the last room in the long
passage, where the picture of the Princess of the Golden Roof is hidden.
When he beholds that picture he will fall violently in love with it and go
off into a dead faint, and for her sake he will encounter many dangers;
you must guard him from this.” And when Trusty John had again given the
King his hand upon it the old man became silent, laid his head on the
pillow, and died.
When the old King had been carried to his grave Trusty John told the young
King what he had promised his father on his death-bed, and added: “And I
shall assuredly keep my word, and shall be faithful to you as I have been
to him, even though it should cost me my life.”
Now when the time of mourning was over, Trusty John said to him: “It is
time you should see your inheritance. I will show you your ancestral
castle.” So he took him over everything, and let him see all the riches
and splendid apartments, only the one room where the picture was he did
not open. But the picture was placed so that if the door opened you gazed
straight upon it, and it was so beautifully painted that you imagined it
lived and moved, and that it was the most lovable and beautiful thing in
the whole world. But the young King noticed that Trusty John always missed
one door, and said: “Why do you never open this one for me?” “There is
something inside that would appall you,” he answered. But the King
replied: “I have seen the whole castle, and shall find out what is in
there”; and with these words he approached the door and wanted to force it
open. But Trusty John held him back, and said: “I promised your father
before his death that you shouldn’t see what that room contains. It might
bring both you and me to great grief.” “Ah! no,” answered the young King;
“if I don’t get in, it will be my certain destruction; I should have no
peace night or day till I had seen what was in the room with my own eyes.
Now I don’t budge from the spot till you have opened the door.”
Then Trusty John saw there was no way out of it, so with a heavy heart and
many sighs he took the key from the big bunch. When he had opened the door
he stepped in first, and thought to cover the likeness so that the King
might not perceive it; but it was hopeless: the King stood on tiptoe and
looked over his shoulder. And when he saw the picture of the maid, so
beautiful and glittering with gold and precious stones, he fell swooning
to the ground. Trusty John lifted him up, carried him to bed, and thought
sorrowfully: “The curse has come upon us; gracious heaven! what will be
the end of it all?” Then he poured wine down his throat till he came to
himself again. The first words he spoke were: “Oh! who is the original of
the beautiful picture?” “She is the Princess of the Golden Roof,” answered
Trusty John. Then the King continued: “My love for her is so great that if
all the leaves on the trees had tongues they could not express it; my very
life depends on my winning her. You are my most trusty John: you must
stand by me.”
The faithful servant pondered long how they were to set about the matter,
for it was said to be difficult even to get into the presence of the
Princess. At length he hit upon a plan, and spoke to the King: “All the
things she has about her—tables, chairs, dishes, goblets, bowls, and
all her household furniture—are made of gold. You have in your
treasure five tons of gold; let the goldsmiths of your kingdom manufacture
them into all manner of vases and vessels, into all sorts of birds and
game and wonderful beasts; that will please her. We shall go to her with
them and try our luck.” The King summoned all his goldsmiths, and they had
to work hard day and night, till at length the most magnificent things
were completed. When a ship had been laden with them the faithful John
disguised himself as a merchant, and the King had to do the same, so that
they should be quite unrecognizable. And so they crossed the seas and
journeyed till they reached the town where the Princess of the Golden Roof
dwelt.
Trusty John made the King remain behind on the ship and await his return.
“Perhaps,” he said, “I may bring the Princess back with me, so see that
everything is in order; let the gold ornaments be arranged and the whole
ship decorated.” Then he took a few of the gold things in his apron, went
ashore, and proceeded straight to the palace. When he came to the
courtyard he found a beautiful maiden standing at the well, drawing water
with two golden pails. And as she was about to carry away the glittering
water she turned round and saw the stranger, and asked him who he was.
Then he replied: “I am a merchant,” and opening his apron, he let her peep
in. “Oh! my,” she cried; “what beautiful gold wares!” she set down her
pails, and examined one thing after the other. Then she said: “The
Princess must see this, she has such a fancy for gold things that she will
buy up all you have.” She took him by the hand and let him into the
palace, for she was the lady’s maid.
When the Princess had seen the wares she was quite enchanted, and said:
“They are all so beautifully made that I shall buy everything you have.”
But Trusty John said: “I am only the servant of a rich merchant, what I
have here is nothing compared to what my master has on his ship; his
merchandise is more artistic and costly than anything that has ever been
made in gold before.” She desired to have everything brought up to her,
but he said: “There is such a quantity of things that it would take many
days to bring them up, and they would take up so many rooms that you would
have no space for them in your house.” Thus her desire and curiosity were
excited to such an extent that at last she said: “Take me to your ship; I
shall go there myself and view your master’s treasures.”
Then Trusty John was quite delighted, and brought her to the ship; and the
King, when he beheld her, saw that she was even more beautiful than her
picture, and thought every moment that his heart would burst. She stepped
on to the ship, and the King led her inside. But Trusty John remained
behind with the steersman, and ordered the ship to push off. “Spread all
sail, that we may fly on the ocean like a bird in the air.” Meanwhile the
King showed the Princess inside all his gold wares, every single bit of it—dishes,
goblets, bowls, the birds and game, and all the wonderful beasts. Many
hours passed thus, and she was so happy that she did not notice that the
ship was sailing away. After she had seen the last thing she thanked the
merchant and prepared to go home; but when she came to the ship’s side she
saw that they were on the high seas, far from land, and that the ship was
speeding on its way under full canvas. “Oh!” she cried in terror, “I am
deceived, carried away and betrayed into the power of a merchant; I would
rather have died!” But the King seized her hand and spake: “I am no
merchant, but a king of as high birth as yourself; and it was my great
love for you that made me carry you off by stratagem. The first time I saw
your likeness I fell to the ground in a swoon.” When the Princess of the
Golden Roof heard this she was comforted, and her heart went out to him,
so that she willingly consented to become his wife.
Now it happened one day, while they were sailing on the high seas, that
Trusty John, sitting on the forepart of the ship, fiddling away to
himself, observed three ravens in the air flying toward him. He ceased
playing, and listened to what they were saying, for he understood their
language. The one croaked: “Ah, ha! so he’s bringing the Princess of the
Golden Roof home.” “Yes,” answered the second, “but he’s not got her yet.”
“Yes, he has,” spake the third, “for she’s sitting beside him on the
ship.” Then number one began again and cried: “That’ll not help him! When
they reach the land a chestnut horse will dash forward to greet them: the
King will wish to mount it, and if he does it will gallop away with him,
and disappear into the air, and he will never see his bride again.” “Is
there no escape for him?” asked number two. “Oh! yes, if someone else
mounts quickly and shoots the horse dead with the pistol that is sticking
in the holster, then the young King is saved. But who’s to do that? And
anyone who knows it and tells him will be turned into stone from his feet
to his knees.” Then spake number two: “I know more than that: even if the
horse is slain, the young King will still not keep his bride: when they
enter the palace together they will find a ready-made wedding shirt in a
cupboard, which looks as though it were woven of gold and silver, but is
really made of nothing but sulphur and tar: when the King puts it on it
will burn him to his marrow and bones.” Number three asked: “Is there no
way of escape, then?” “Oh! yes,” answered number two: “If someone seizes
the shirt with gloved hands and throws it into the fire, and lets it burn,
then the young King is saved. But what’s the good? Anyone knowing this and
telling it will have half his body turned into stone, from his knees to
his heart.” Then number three spake: “I know yet more: though the bridal
shirt too be burnt, the King hasn’t even then secured his bride: when the
dance is held after the wedding, and the young Queen is dancing, she will
suddenly grow deadly white, and drop down like one dead, and unless some
one lifts her up and draws three drops of blood from her right side, and
spits them out again, she will die. But if anyone who knows this betrays
it, he will be turned into stone from the crown of his head to the soles
of his feet.” When the ravens had thus conversed they fled onward, but
Trusty John had taken it all in, and was sad and depressed from that time
forward; for if he were silent to his master concerning what he had heard,
he would involve him in misfortune; but if he took him into his
confidence, then he himself would forfeit his life. At last he said: “I
will stand by my master, though it should be my ruin.”
Now when they drew near the land it came to pass just as the ravens had
predicted, and a splendid chestnut horse bounded forward. “Capital!” said
the King; “this animal shall carry me to my palace,” and was about to
mount, but Trusty John was too sharp for him, and, springing up quickly,
seized the pistol out of the holster and shot the horse dead. Then the
other servants of the King, who at no time looked favorably on Trusty
John, cried out: “What a sin to kill the beautiful beast that was to bear
the King to his palace!” But the King spake: “Silence! let him alone; he
is ever my most trusty John. Who knows for what good end he may have done
this thing?” So they went on their way and entered the palace, and there
in the hall stood a cupboard in which lay the ready-made bridal shirt,
looking for all the world as though it were made of gold and silver. The
young King went toward it and was about to take hold of it, but Trusty
John, pushing him aside, seized it with his gloved hands, threw it hastily
into the fire, and let it burn The other servants commenced grumbling
again, and said: “See, he’s actually burning the King’s bridal shirt.” But
the young King spoke: “Who knows for what good purpose he does it? Let him
alone, he is my most trusty John.” Then the wedding was celebrated, the
dance began, and the bride joined in, but Trusty John watched her
countenance carefully. Of a sudden she grew deadly white, and fell to the
ground as if she were dead. He at once sprang hastily toward her, lifted
her up, and bore her to a room, where he laid her down, and kneeling
beside her he drew three drops of blood from her right side, and spat them
out. She soon breathed again and came to herself; but the young King had
watched the proceeding, and not knowing why Trusty John had acted as he
did, he flew into a passion, and cried: “Throw him into prison.” On the
following morning sentence was passed on Trusty John, and he was condemned
to be hanged. As he stood on the gallows he said: “Every one doomed to
death has the right to speak once before he dies; and I too have that
privilege?” “Yes,” said the King, “it shall be granted to you.” So Trusty
John spoke: “I am unjustly condemned, for I have always been faithful to
you”; and he proceeded to relate how he had heard the ravens’ conversation
on the sea, and how he had to do all he did in order to save his master.
Then the King cried: “Oh! my most trusty John, pardon! pardon! Take him
down.” But as he uttered the last word Trusty John had fallen lifeless to
the ground, and was a stone.
The King and Queen were in despair, and the King spake: “Ah! how ill have
I rewarded such great fidelity!” and made them lift up the stone image and
place it in his bedroom near his bed. As often as he looked at it he wept
and said: “Oh! if I could only restore you to life, my most trusty John!”
After a time the Queen gave birth to twins, two small sons, who throve and
grew, and were a constant joy to her. One day when the Queen was at
church, and the two children sat and played with their father, he gazed
again full of grief on the stone statue, and sighing, wailed: “Oh, if I
could only restore you to life, my most trusty John!” Suddenly the stone
began to speak, and said: “Yes, you can restore me to life again if you
are prepared to sacrifice what you hold most dear.” And the King cried
out: “All I have in the world will I give up for your sake.” The stone
continued: “If you cut off with your own hand the heads of your two
children, and smear me with their blood, I shall come back to life.” The
King was aghast when he heard that he had himself to put his children to
death; but when he thought of Trusty John’s fidelity, and how he had even
died for him, he drew his sword, and with his own hand cut the heads off
his children. And when he had smeared the stone with their blood, life
came back, and Trusty John stood once more safe and sound before him. He
spake to the King: “Your loyalty shall be rewarded,” and taking up the
heads of the children, he placed them on their bodies, smeared the wounds
with their blood, and in a minute they were all right again and jumping
about as if nothing had happened. Then the King was full of joy, and when
he saw the Queen coming, he hid Trusty John and the two children in a big
cupboard. As she entered he said to her: “Did you pray in church?” “Yes,”
she answered, “but my thoughts dwelt constantly on Trusty John, and of
what he has suffered for us.” Then he spake: “Dear wife, we can restore
him to life, but the price asked is our two little sons; we must sacrifice
them.” The Queen grew white and her heart sank, but she replied: “We owe
it to him on account of his great fidelity.” Then he rejoiced that she was
of the same mind as he had been, and going forward he opened the cupboard,
and fetched the two children and Trusty John out, saying: “God be praised!
Trusty John is free once more, and we have our two small sons again.” Then
he related to her all that had passed, and they lived together happily
ever afterward.(1)
(1) Grimm.
THE BRAVE LITTLE TAILOR
One summer’s day a little tailor sat on his table by the window in the
best of spirits, and sewed for dear life. As he was sitting thus a peasant
woman came down the street, calling out: “Good jam to sell, good jam to
sell.” This sounded sweetly in the tailor’s ears; he put his frail little
head out of the window, and shouted: “up here, my good woman, and you’ll
find a willing customer.” The woman climbed up the three flights of stairs
with her heavy basket to the tailor’s room, and he made her spread out all
the pots in a row before him. He examined them all, lifted them up and
smelled them, and said at last: “This jam seems good, weigh me four ounces
of it, my good woman; and even if it’s a quarter of a pound I won’t stick
at it.” The woman, who had hoped to find a good market, gave him what he
wanted, but went away grumbling wrathfully. “Now heaven shall bless this
jam for my use,” cried the little tailor, “and it shall sustain and
strengthen me.” He fetched some bread out of a cupboard, cut a round off
the loaf, and spread the jam on it. “That won’t taste amiss,” he said;
“but I’ll finish that waistcoat first before I take a bite.” He placed the
bread beside him, went on sewing, and out of the lightness of his heart
kept on making his stitches bigger and bigger. In the meantime the smell
of the sweet jam rose to the ceiling, where heaps of flies were sitting,
and attracted them to such an extent that they swarmed on to it in masses.
“Ha! who invited you?” said the tailor, and chased the unwelcome guests
away. But the flies, who didn’t understand English, refused to let
themselves be warned off, and returned again in even greater numbers. At
last the little tailor, losing all patience, reached out of his chimney
corner for a duster, and exclaiming: “Wait, and I’ll give it to you,” he
beat them mercilessly with it. When he left off he counted the slain, and
no fewer than seven lay dead before him with outstretched legs. “What a
desperate fellow I am!” said he, and was filled with admiration at his own
courage. “The whole town must know about this”; and in great haste the
little tailor cut out a girdle, hemmed it, and embroidered on it in big
letters, “Seven at a blow.” “What did I say, the town? no, the whole world
shall hear of it,” he said; and his heart beat for joy as a lamb wags his
tail.
The tailor strapped the girdle round his waist and set out into the wide
world, for he considered his workroom too small a field for his prowess.
Before he set forth he looked round about him, to see if there was
anything in the house he could take with him on his journey; but he found
nothing except an old cheese, which he took possession of. In front of the
house he observed a bird that had been caught in some bushes, and this he
put into his wallet beside the cheese. Then he went on his way merrily,
and being light and agile he never felt tired. His way led up a hill, on
the top of which sat a powerful giant, who was calmly surveying the
landscape. The little tailor went up to him, and greeting him cheerfully
said: “Good-day, friend; there you sit at your ease viewing the whole wide
world. I’m just on my way there. What do you say to accompanying me?” The
giant looked contemptuously at the tailor, and said: “What a poor wretched
little creature you are!” “That’s a good joke,” answered the little
tailor, and unbuttoning his coat he showed the giant the girdle. “There
now, you can read what sort of a fellow I am.” The giant read: “Seven at a
blow”; and thinking they were human beings the tailor had slain, he
conceived a certain respect for the little man. But first he thought he’d
test him, so taking up a stone in his hand, he squeezed it till some drops
of water ran out. “Now you do the same,” said the giant, “if you really
wish to be thought strong.” “Is that all?” said the little tailor; “that’s
child’s play to me,” so he dived into his wallet, brought out the cheese,
and pressed it till the whey ran out. “My squeeze was in sooth better than
yours,” said he. The giant didn’t know what to say, for he couldn’t have
believed it of the little fellow. To prove him again, the giant lifted a
stone and threw it so high that the eye could hardly follow it. “Now, my
little pigmy, let me see you do that.” “Well thrown,” said the tailor;
“but, after all, your stone fell to the ground; I’ll throw one that won’t
come down at all.” He dived into his wallet again, and grasping the bird
in his hand, he threw it up into the air. The bird, enchanted to be free,
soared up into the sky, and flew away never to return. “Well, what do you
think of that little piece of business, friend?” asked the tailor. “You
can certainly throw,” said the giant; “but now let’s see if you can carry
a proper weight.” With these words he led the tailor to a huge oak tree
which had been felled to the ground, and said: “If you are strong enough,
help me to carry the tree out of the wood.” “Most certainly,” said the
little tailor: “just you take the trunk on your shoulder; I’ll bear the
top and branches, which is certainly the heaviest part.” The giant laid
the trunk on his shoulder, but the tailor sat at his ease among the
branches; and the giant, who couldn’t see what was going on behind him,
had to carry the whole tree, and the little tailor into the bargain. There
he sat behind in the best of spirits, lustily whistling a tune, as if
carrying the tree were mere sport. The giant, after dragging the heavy
weight for some time, could get on no further, and shouted out: “Hi! I
must let the tree fall.” The tailor sprang nimbly down, seized the tree
with both hands as if he had carried it the whole way and said to the
giant: “Fancy a big lout like you not being able to carry a tree!”
They continued to go on their way together, and as they passed by a cherry
tree the giant grasped the top of it, where the ripest fruit hung, gave
the branches into the tailor’s hand, and bade him eat. But the little
tailor was far too weak to hold the tree down, and when the giant let go
the tree swung back into the air, bearing the little tailor with it. When
he had fallen to the ground again without hurting himself, the giant said:
“What! do you mean to tell me you haven’t the strength to hold down a
feeble twig?” “It wasn’t strength that was wanting,” replied the tailor;
“do you think that would have been anything for a man who has killed seven
at a blow? I jumped over the tree because the huntsmen are shooting among
the branches near us. Do you do the like if you dare.” The giant made an
attempt, but couldn’t get over the tree, and stuck fast in the branches,
so that here too the little tailor had the better of him.
“Well, you’re a fine fellow, after all,” said the giant; “come and spend
the night with us in our cave.” The little tailor willingly consented to
do this, and following his friend they went on till they reached a cave
where several other giants were sitting round a fire, each holding a roast
sheep in his hand, of which he was eating. The little tailor looked about
him, and thought: “Yes, there’s certainly more room to turn round in here
than in my workshop.” The giant showed him a bed and bade him lie down and
have a good sleep. But the bed was too big for the little tailor, so he
didn’t get into it, but crept away into the corner. At midnight, when the
giant thought the little tailor was fast asleep, he rose up, and taking
his big iron walking-stick, he broke the bed in two with a blow, and
thought he had made an end of the little grasshopper. At early dawn the
giants went off to the wood, and quite forgot about the little tailor,
till all of a sudden they met him trudging along in the most cheerful
manner. The giants were terrified at the apparition, and, fearful lest he
should slay them, they all took to their heels as fast as they could.
The little tailor continued to follow his nose, and after he had wandered
about for a long time he came to the courtyard of a royal palace, and
feeling tired he lay down on the grass and fell asleep. While he lay there
the people came, and looking him all over read on his girdle: “Seven at a
blow.” “Oh!” they said, “what can this great hero of a hundred fights want
in our peaceful land? He must indeed be a mighty man of valor.” They went
and told the King about him, and said what a weighty and useful man he’d
be in time of war, and that it would be well to secure him at any price.
This counsel pleased the King, and he sent one of his courtiers down to
the little tailor, to offer him, when he awoke, a commission in their
army. The messenger remained standing by the sleeper, and waited till he
stretched his limbs and opened his eyes, when he tendered his proposal.
“That’s the very thing I came here for,” he answered; “I am quite ready to
enter the King’s service.” So he was received with all honor, and given a
special house of his own to live in.
But the other officers resented the success of the little tailor, and
wished him a thousand miles away. “What’s to come of it all?” they asked
each other; “if we quarrel with him, he’ll let out at us, and at every
blow seven will fall. There’ll soon be an end of us.” So they resolved to
go in a body to the King, and all to send in their papers. “We are not
made,” they said, “to hold out against a man who kills seven at a blow.”
The King was grieved at the thought of losing all his faithful servants
for the sake of one man, and he wished heartily that he had never set eyes
on him, or that he could get rid of him. But he didn’t dare to send him
away, for he feared he might kill him along with his people, and place
himself on the throne. He pondered long and deeply over the matter, and
finally came to a conclusion. He sent to the tailor and told him that,
seeing what a great and warlike hero he was, he was about to make him an
offer. In a certain wood of his kingdom there dwelled two giants who did
much harm; by the way they robbed, murdered, burned, and plundered
everything about them; “no one could approach them without endangering his
life. But if he could overcome and kill these two giants he should have
his only daughter for a wife, and half his kingdom into the bargain; he
might have a hundred horsemen, too, to back him up.” “That’s the very
thing for a man like me,” thought the little tailor; “one doesn’t get the
offer of a beautiful princess and half a kingdom every day.” “Done with
you,” he answered; “I’ll soon put an end to the giants. But I haven’t the
smallest need of your hundred horsemen; a fellow who can slay seven men at
a blow need not be afraid of two.”
The little tailor set out, and the hundred horsemen followed him. When he
came to the outskirts of the wood he said to his followers: “You wait
here, I’ll manage the giants by myself”; and he went on into the wood,
casting his sharp little eyes right and left about him. After a while he
spied the two giants lying asleep under a tree, and snoring till the very
boughs bent with the breeze. The little tailor lost no time in filling his
wallet with stones, and then climbed up the tree under which they lay.
When he got to about the middle of it he slipped along a branch till he
sat just above the sleepers, when he threw down one stone after the other
on the nearest giant. The giant felt nothing for a long time, but at last
he woke up, and pinching his companion said: “What did you strike me for?”
“I didn’t strike you,” said the other, “you must be dreaming.” They both
lay down to sleep again, and the tailor threw down a stone on the second
giant, who sprang up and cried: “What’s that for? Why did you throw
something at me?” “I didn’t throw anything,” growled the first one. They
wrangled on for a time, till, as both were tired, they made up the matter
and fell asleep again. The little tailor began his game once more, and
flung the largest stone he could find in his wallet with all his force,
and hit the first giant on the chest. “This is too much of a good thing!”
he yelled, and springing up like a madman, he knocked his companion
against the tree till he trembled. He gave, however, as good as he got,
and they became so enraged that they tore up trees and beat each other
with them, till they both fell dead at once on the ground. Then the little
tailor jumped down. “It’s a mercy,” he said, “that they didn’t root up the
tree on which I was perched, or I should have had to jump like a squirrel
on to another, which, nimble though I am, would have been no easy job.” He
drew his sword and gave each of the giants a very fine thrust or two on
the breast, and then went to the horsemen and said: “The deed is done,
I’ve put an end to the two of them; but I assure you it has been no easy
matter, for they even tore up trees in their struggle to defend
themselves; but all that’s of no use against one who slays seven men at a
blow.” “Weren’t you wounded?” asked the horsemen.
“No fear,” answered the tailor; “they haven’t touched a hair of my head.”
But the horsemen wouldn’t believe him till they rode into the wood and
found the giants weltering in their blood, and the trees lying around,
torn up by the roots.
The little tailor now demanded the promised reward from the King, but he
repented his promise, and pondered once more how he could rid himself of
the hero. “Before you obtain the hand of my daughter and half my kingdom,”
he said to him, “you must do another deed of valor. A unicorn is running
about loose in the wood, and doing much mischief; you must first catch
it.” “I’m even less afraid of one unicorn than of two giants; seven at a
blow, that’s my motto.” He took a piece of cord and an axe with him, went
out to the wood, and again told the men who had been sent with him to
remain outside. He hadn’t to search long, for the unicorn soon passed by,
and, on perceiving the tailor, dashed straight at him as though it were
going to spike him on the spot. “Gently, gently,” said he, “not so fast,
my friend”; and standing still he waited till the beast was quite near,
when he sprang lightly behind a tree; the unicorn ran with all its force
against the tree, and rammed its horn so firmly into the trunk that it had
no strength left to pull it out again, and was thus successfully captured.
“Now I’ve caught my bird,” said the tailor, and he came out from behind
the tree, placed the cord round its neck first, then struck the horn out
of the tree with his axe, and when everything was in order led the beast
before the King.
Still the King didn’t want to give him the promised reward and made a
third demand. The tailor was to catch a wild boar for him that did a great
deal of harm in the wood; and he might have the huntsmen to help him.
“Willingly,” said the tailor; “that’s mere child’s play.” But he didn’t
take the huntsmen into the wood with him, and they were well enough
pleased to remain behind, for the wild boar had often received them in a
manner which did not make them desire its further acquaintance. As soon as
the boar perceived the tailor it ran at him with foaming mouth and
gleaming teeth, and tried to knock him down; but our alert little friend
ran into a chapel that stood near, and got out of the window again with a
jump. The boar pursued him into the church, but the tailor skipped round
to the door, and closed it securely. So the raging beast was caught, for
it was far too heavy and unwieldy to spring out of the window. The little
tailor summoned the huntsmen together, that they might see the prisoner
with their own eyes. Then the hero betook himself to the King, who was
obliged now, whether he liked it or not, to keep his promise, and hand him
over his daughter and half his kingdom. Had he known that no hero-warrior,
but only a little tailor stood before him, it would have gone even more to
his heart. So the wedding was celebrated with much splendor and little
joy, and the tailor became a king.
After a time the Queen heard her husband saying one night in his sleep:
“My lad, make that waistcoat and patch these trousers, or I’ll box your
ears.” Thus she learned in what rank the young gentleman had been born,
and next day she poured forth her woes to her father, and begged him to
help her to get rid of a husband who was nothing more nor less than a
tailor. The King comforted her, and said: “Leave your bedroom door open
to-night, my servants shall stand outside, and when your husband is fast
asleep they shall enter, bind him fast, and carry him on to a ship, which
shall sail away out into the wide ocean.” The Queen was well satisfied
with the idea, but the armor-bearer, who had overheard everything, being
much attached to his young master, went straight to him and revealed the
whole plot. “I’ll soon put a stop to the business,” said the tailor. That
night he and his wife went to bed at the usual time; and when she thought
he had fallen asleep she got up, opened the door, and then lay down again.
The little tailor, who had only pretended to be asleep, began to call out
in a clear voice: “My lad, make that waistcoat and patch those trousers,
or I’ll box your ears. I have killed seven at a blow, slain two giants,
led a unicorn captive, and caught a wild boar, then why should I be afraid
of those men standing outside my door?” The men, when they heard the
tailor saying these words, were so terrified that they fled as if pursued
by a wild army, and didn’t dare go near him again. So the little tailor
was and remained a king all the days of his life.
A VOYAGE TO LILLIPUT
CHAPTER I
My father had a small estate in Nottinghamshire, and I was the third of
four sons. He sent me to Cambridge at fourteen years old, and after
studying there three years I was bound apprentice to Mr. Bates, a famous
surgeon in London. There, as my father now and then sent me small sums of
money, I spent them in learning navigation, and other arts useful to those
who travel, as I always believed it would be some time or other my fortune
to do.
Three years after my leaving him my good master, Mr. Bates, recommended me
as ship’s surgeon to the “Swallow,” on which I voyaged three years. When I
came back I settled in London, and, having taken part of a small house, I
married Miss Mary Burton, daughter of Mr. Edmund Burton, hosier.
But my good master Bates died two years after; and as I had few friends my
business began to fail, and I determined to go again to sea. After several
voyages, I accepted an offer from Captain W. Pritchard, master of the
“Antelope,” who was making a voyage to the South Sea. We set sail from
Bristol, May 4, 1699; and our voyage at first was very prosperous.
But in our passage to the East Indies we were driven by a violent storm to
the north-west of Van Diemen’s Land. Twelve of our crew died from hard
labor and bad food, and the rest were in a very weak condition. On the 5th
of November, the weather being very hazy, the seamen spied a rock within
120 yards of the ship; but the wind was so strong that we were driven
straight upon it, and immediately split. Six of the crew, of whom I was
one, letting down the boat, got clear of the ship, and we rowed about
three leagues, till we could work no longer. We therefore trusted
ourselves to the mercy of the waves; and in about half an hour the boat
was upset by a sudden squall. What became of my companions in the boat, or
those who escaped on the rock or were left in the vessel, I cannot tell;
but I conclude they were all lost. For my part, I swam as fortune directed
me, and was pushed forward by wind and tide; but when I was able to
struggle no longer I found myself within my depth. By this time the storm
was much abated. I reached the shore at last, about eight o’clock in the
evening, and advanced nearly half a mile inland, but could not discover
any sign of inhabitants. I was extremely tired, and with the heat of the
weather I found myself much inclined to sleep. I lay down on the grass,
which was very short and soft, and slept sounder than ever I did in my
life for about nine hours. When I woke, it was just daylight. I attempted
to rise, but could not; for as I happened to be lying on my back, I found
my arms and legs were fastened on each side to the ground; and my hair,
which was long and thick, tied down in the same manner. I could only look
upward. The sun began to grow hot, and the light hurt my eyes. I heard a
confused noise about me, but could see nothing except the sky. In a little
time I felt something alive and moving on my left leg, which, advancing
gently over my breast, came almost up to my chin, when, bending my eyes
downward, I perceived it to be a human creature, not six inches high, with
a bow and arrow in his hands, and a quiver at his back. In the meantime I
felt at least forty more following the first. I was in the utmost
astonishment, and roared so loud that they all ran back in a fright; and
some of them were hurt with the falls they got by leaping from my sides
upon the ground. However, they soon returned, and one of them, who
ventured so far as to get a full sight of my face, lifted up his hands in
admiration. I lay all this while in great uneasiness; but at length,
struggling to get loose, I succeeded in breaking the strings that fastened
my left arm to the ground; and at the same time, with a violent pull that
gave me extreme pain, I a little loosened the strings that tied down my
hair, so that I was just able to turn my head about two inches. But the
creatures ran off a second time before I could seize them, whereupon there
was a great shout, and in an instant I felt above a hundred arrows
discharged on my left hand, which pricked me like so many needles.
Moreover, they shot another flight into the air, of which some fell on my
face, which I immediately covered with my left hand. When this shower of
arrows was over I groaned with grief and pain, and then, striving again to
get loose, they discharged another flight of arrows larger than the first,
and some of them tried to stab me with their spears; but by good luck I
had on a leather jacket, which they could not pierce. By this time I
thought it most prudent to lie still till night, when, my left hand being
already loose, I could easily free myself; and as for the inhabitants, I
thought I might be a match for the greatest army they could bring against
me if they were all of the same size as him I saw. When the people
observed that I was quiet they discharged no more arrows, but by the noise
I heard I knew that their number was increased; and about four yards from
me, for more than an hour, there was a knocking, like people at work.
Then, turning my head that way as well as the pegs and strings would let
me, I saw a stage set up, about a foot and a half from the ground, with
two or three ladders to mount it. From this, one of them, who seemed to be
a person of quality, made me a long speech, of which I could not
understand a word, though I could tell from his manner that he sometimes
threatened me, and sometimes spoke with pity and kindness. I answered in
few words, but in the most submissive manner; and, being almost famished
with hunger, I could not help showing my impatience by putting my finger
frequently to my mouth, to signify that I wanted food. He understood me
very well, and, descending from the stage, commanded that several ladders
should be set against my sides, on which more than a hundred of the
inhabitants mounted, and walked toward my mouth with baskets full of food,
which had been sent by the King’s orders when he first received tidings of
me. There were legs and shoulders like mutton but smaller than the wings
of a lark. I ate them two or three at a mouthful, and took three loaves at
a time. They supplied me as fast as they could, with a thousand marks of
wonder at my appetite. I then made a sign that I wanted something to
drink. They guessed that a small quantity would not suffice me, and, being
a most ingenious people, they slung up one of their largest hogsheads,
then rolled it toward my hand, and beat out the top. I drank it off at a
draught, which I might well do, for it did not hold half a pint. They
brought me a second hogshead, which I drank, and made signs for more; but
they had none to give me. However, I could not wonder enough at the daring
of these tiny mortals, who ventured to mount and walk upon my body, while
one of my hands was free, without trembling at the very sight of so huge a
creature as I must have seemed to them. After some time there appeared
before me a person of high rank from his Imperial Majesty. His Excellency,
having mounted my right leg, advanced to my face, with about a dozen of
his retinue, and spoke about ten minutes, often pointing forward, which,
as I afterward found, was toward the capital city, about half a mile
distant, whither it was commanded by his Majesty that I should be
conveyed. I made a sign with my hand that was loose, putting it to the
other (but over his Excellency’s head, for fear of hurting him or his
train), to show that I desired my liberty. He seemed to understand me well
enough, for he shook his head, though he made other signs to let me know
that I should have meat and drink enough, and very good treatment. Then I
once more thought of attempting to escape; but when I felt the smart of
their arrows on my face and hands, which were all in blisters and observed
likewise that the number of my enemies increased, I gave tokens to let
them know that they might do with me what they pleased. Then they daubed
my face and hands with a sweet-smelling ointment, which in a few minutes
removed all the smarts of the arrows. The relief from pain and hunger made
me drowsy, and presently I fell asleep. I slept about eight hours, as I
was told afterward; and it was no wonder, for the physicians, by the
Emperor’s orders, had mingled a sleeping draught in the hogsheads of wine.
It seems that, when I was discovered sleeping on the ground after my
landing, the Emperor had early notice of it, and determined that I should
be tied in the manner I have related (which was done in the night, while I
slept), that plenty of meat and drink should be sent me, and a machine
prepared to carry me to the capital city. Five hundred carpenters and
engineers were immediately set to work to prepare the engine. It was a
frame of wood, raised three inches from the ground, about seven feet long
and four wide, moving upon twenty-two wheels. But the difficulty was to
place me on it. Eighty poles were erected for this purpose, and very
strong cords fastened to bandages which the workmen had tied round my
neck, hands, body, and legs. Nine hundred of the strongest men were
employed to draw up these cords by pulleys fastened on the poles, and in
less than three hours I was raised and slung into the engine, and there
tied fast. Fifteen hundred of the Emperor’s largest horses, each about
four inches and a half high, were then employed to draw me toward the
capital. But while all this was done I still lay in a deep sleep, and I
did not wake till four hours after we began our journey.
The Emperor and all his Court came out to meet us when we reached the
capital; but his great officials would not suffer his Majesty to risk his
person by mounting on my body. Where the carriage stopped there stood an
ancient temple, supposed to be the largest in the whole kingdom, and here
it was determined that I should lodge. Near the great gate, through which
I could easily creep, they fixed ninety-one chains, like those which hang
to a lady’s watch, which were locked to my left leg with thirty-six
padlocks; and when the workmen found it was impossible for me to break
loose, they cut all the strings that bound me. Then I rose up, feeling as
melancholy as ever I did in my life. But the noise and astonishment of the
people on seeing me rise and walk were inexpressible. The chains that held
my left leg were about two yards long, and gave me not only freedom to
walk backward and forward in a semicircle, but to creep in and lie at full
length inside the temple. The Emperor, advancing toward me from among his
courtiers, all most magnificently clad, surveyed me with great admiration,
but kept beyond the length of my chain. He was taller by about the breadth
of my nail than any of his Court, which alone was enough to strike awe
into the beholders, and graceful and majestic. The better to behold him, I
lay down on my side, so that my face was level with his, and he stood
three yards off. However, I have had him since many times in my hand, and
therefore cannot be deceived. His dress was very simple; but he wore a
light helmet of gold, adorned with jewels and a plume. He held his sword
drawn in his hand, to defend himself if I should break loose; it was
almost three inches long, and the hilt was of gold, enriched with
diamonds. His voice was shrill, but very clear. His Imperial Majesty spoke
often to me, and I answered; but neither of us could understand a word.
CHAPTER II
After about two hours the Court retired, and I was left with a strong
guard to keep away the crowd, some of whom had had the impudence to shoot
their arrows at me as I sat by the door of my house. But the colonel
ordered six of them to be seized and delivered bound into my hands. I put
five of them into my coat pocket; and as to the sixth, I made a face as if
I would eat him alive. The poor man screamed terribly, and the colonel and
his officers were much distressed, especially when they saw me take out my
penknife. But I soon set them at ease, for, cutting the strings he was
bound with, I put him gently on the ground, and away he ran. I treated the
rest in the same manner, taking them one by one out of my pocket; and I
saw that both the soldiers and people were delighted at this mark of my
kindness.
Toward night I got with some difficulty into my house, where I lay on the
ground, as I had to do for a fortnight, till a bed was prepared for me out
of six hundred beds of the ordinary measure.
Six hundred servants were appointed me, and three hundred tailors made me
a suit of clothes. Moreover, six of his Majesty’s greatest scholars were
employed to teach me their language, so that soon I was able to converse
after a fashion with the Emperor, who often honored me with his visits.
The first words I learned were to desire that he would please to give me
my liberty, which I every day repeated on my knees; but he answered that
this must be a work of time, and that first I must swear a peace with him
and his kingdom. He told me also that by the laws of the nation I must be
searched by two of his officers, and that as this could not be done
without my help, he trusted them in my hands, and whatever they took from
me should be returned when I left the country. I took up the two officers,
and put them into my coat pockets. These gentlemen, having pen, ink, and
paper about them, made an exact list of everything they saw, which I
afterward translated into English, and which ran as follows:
“In the right coat pocket of the great Man-Mountain we found only one
great piece of coarse cloth, large enough to cover the carpet of your
Majesty’s chief room of state. In the left pocket we saw a huge silver
chest, with a silver cover, which we could not lift. We desired that it
should be opened, and one of us stepping into it found himself up to the
mid-leg in a sort of dust, some of which flying into our faces sent us
both into a fit of sneezing. In his right waistcoat pocket we found a
number of white thin substances, folded one over another, about the size
of three men, tied with a strong cable, and marked with black figures,
which we humbly conceive to be writings. In the left there was a sort of
engine, from the back of which extended twenty long poles, with which, we
conjecture, the Man-Mountain combs his head. In the smaller pocket on the
right side were several round flat pieces of white and red metal, of
different sizes. Some of the white, which appeared to be silver, were so
large and heavy that my comrade and I could hardly lift them. From another
pocket hung a huge silver chain, with a wonderful kind of engine fastened
to it, a globe half silver and half of some transparent metal; for on the
transparent side we saw certain strange figures, and thought we could
touch them till we found our fingers stopped by the shining substance.
This engine made an incessant noise, like a water-mill, and we conjecture
it is either some unknown animal, or the god he worships, but probably the
latter, for he told us that he seldom did anything without consulting it.
“This is a list of what we found about the body of the Man-Mountain, who
treated us with great civility.”
I had one private pocket which escaped their search, containing a pair of
spectacles and a small spy-glass, which, being of no consequence to the
Emperor, I did not think myself bound in honor to discover.
CHAPTER III
My gentleness and good behavior gained so far on the Emperor and his
Court, and, indeed, on the people in general, that I began to have hopes
of getting my liberty in a short time. The natives came by degrees to be
less fearful of danger from me. I would sometimes lie down and let five or
six of them dance on my hand; and at last the boys and girls ventured to
come and play at hide-and-seek in my hair.
The horses of the army and of the royal stables were no longer shy, having
been daily led before me; and one of the Emperor’s huntsmen, on a large
courser, took my foot, shoe and all, which was indeed a prodigious leap. I
amused the Emperor one day in a very extraordinary manner. I took nine
sticks, and fixed them firmly in the ground in a square. Then I took four
other sticks, and tied them parallel at each corner, about two feet from
the ground. I fastened my handkerchief to the nine sticks that stood
erect, and extended it on all sides till it was as tight as the top of a
drum; and I desired the Emperor to let a troop of his best horse,
twenty-four in number, come and exercise upon this plain. His majesty
approved of the proposal, and I took them up one by one, with the proper
officers to exercise them. As soon as they got into order they divided
into two parties, discharged blunt arrows, drew their swords, fled and
pursued, and, in short, showed the best military discipline I ever beheld.
The parallel sticks secured them and their horses from falling off the
stage, and the Emperor was so much delighted that he ordered this
entertainment to be repeated several days, and persuaded the Empress
herself to let me hold her in her chair within two yards of the stage,
whence she could view the whole performance. Fortunately no accident
happened, only once a fiery horse, pawing with his hoof, struck a hole in
my handkerchief, and overthrew his rider and himself. But I immediately
relieved them both, and covering the hole with one hand, I set down the
troop with the other as I had taken them up. The horse that fell was
strained in the shoulder; but the rider was not hurt, and I repaired my
handkerchief as well as I could. However, I would not trust to the
strength of it any more in such dangerous enterprises.
I had sent so many petitions for my liberty that his Majesty at length
mentioned the matter in a full council, where it was opposed by none
except Skyresh Bolgolam, admiral of the realm, who was pleased without any
provocation to be my mortal enemy. However, he agreed at length, though he
succeeded in himself drawing up the conditions on which I should be set
free. After they were read I was requested to swear to perform them in the
method prescribed by their laws, which was to hold my right foot in my
left hand, and to place the middle finger of my right hand on the crown of
my head, and my thumb on the top of my right ear. But I have made a
translation of the conditions, which I here offer to the public:
“Golbaste Mamarem Evlame Gurdile Shefin Mully Ully Gue, Most Mighty
Emperor of Lilliput, delight and terror of the universe, whose dominions
extend to the ends of the globe, monarch of all monarchs, taller than the
sons of men, whose feet press down to the center, and whose head strikes
against the sun, at whose nod the princes of the earth shake their knees,
pleasant as the spring, comfortable as the summer, fruitful as autumn,
dreadful as winter: His Most Sublime Majesty proposeth to the
Man-Mountain, lately arrived at our celestial dominions, the following
articles, which by a solemn oath he shall be obliged to perform:
“First. The Man-Mountain shall not depart from our dominions without our
license under the great seal.
“Second. He shall not presume to come into our metropolis without our
express order, at which time the inhabitants shall have two hours’ warning
to keep within doors.
“Third. The said Man-Mountain shall confine his walks to our principal
high roads, and not offer to walk or lie down in a meadow or field of
corn.
“Fourth. As he walks the said roads he shall take the utmost care not to
trample upon the bodies of any of our loving subjects, their horses or
carriages, nor take any of our subjects into his hands without their own
consent.
“Fifth. If an express requires extraordinary speed the Man-Mountain shall
be obliged to carry in his pocket the messenger and horse a six days’
journey, and return the said messenger (if so required) safe to our
imperial presence.
“Sixth. He shall be our ally against our enemies in the island of
Blefuscu, and do his utmost to destroy their fleet, which is now preparing
to invade us.
“Lastly. Upon his solemn oath to observe all the above articles, the said
Man-Mountain shall have a daily allowance of meat and drink sufficient for
the support of 1,724 of our subjects, with free access to our royal
person, and other marks of our favor. Given at our palace at Belfaburac,
the twelfth day of the ninety-first moon of our reign.”
I swore to these articles with great cheerfulness, whereupon my chains
were immediately unlocked, and I was at full liberty.
One morning, about a fortnight after I had obtained my freedom, Reldresal,
the Emperor’s secretary for private affairs, came to my house, attended
only by one servant. He ordered his coach to wait at a distance, and
desired that I would give him an hour’s audience. I offered to lie down
that he might the more conveniently reach my ear; but he chose rather to
let me hold him in my hand during our conversation. He began with
compliments on my liberty, but he added that, save for the present state
of things at Court, perhaps I might not have obtained it so soon. “For,”
he said, “however flourishing we may seem to foreigners, we are in danger
of an invasion from the island of Blefuscu, which is the other great
empire of the universe, almost as large and as powerful as this of his
Majesty. For as to what we have heard you say, that there are other
kingdoms in the world, inhabited by human creatures as large as yourself,
our philosophers are very doubtful, and rather conjecture that you dropped
from the moon, or one of the stars, because a hundred mortals of your size
would soon destroy all the fruit and cattle of his Majesty’s dominions.
Besides, our histories of six thousand moons make no mention of any other
regions than the two mighty empires of Lilliput and Blefuscu, which, as I
was going to tell you, are engaged in a most obstinate war, which began in
the following manner: It is allowed on all hands that the primitive way of
breaking eggs was upon the larger end; but his present Majesty’s
grandfather, while he was a boy, going to eat an egg, and breaking it
according to the ancient practice, happened to cut one of his fingers.
Whereupon the Emperor, his father, made a law commanding all his subjects
to break the smaller end of their eggs. The people so highly resented this
law that there have been six rebellions raised on that account, wherein
one emperor lost his life, and another his crown. It is calculated that
eleven hundred persons have at different times suffered rather than break
their eggs at the smaller end. But these rebels, the Bigendians, have
found so much encouragement at the Emperor of Blefuscu’s Court, to which
they always fled for refuge, that a bloody war, as I said, has been
carried on between the two empires for six-and-thirty moons; and now the
Blefuscudians have equipped a large fleet, and are preparing to descend
upon us. Therefore his Imperial Majesty, placing great confidence in your
valor and strength, has commanded me to set the case before you.”
I desired the secretary to present my humble duty to the Emperor, and to
let him know that I was ready, at the risk of my life, to defend him
against all invaders.
CHAPTER IV
It was not long before I communicated to his Majesty the plan I formed for
seizing the enemy’s whole fleet. The Empire of Blefuscu is an island
parted from Lilliput only by a channel eight hundred yards wide. I
consulted the most experienced seamen on the depth of the channel, and
they told me that in the middle, at high water, it was seventy glumguffs
(about six feet of European measure). I walked toward the coast, where,
lying down behind a hillock, I took out my spy-glass, and viewed the
enemy’s fleet at anchor—about fifty men-of-war, and other vessels. I
then came back to my house and gave orders for a great quantity of the
strongest cables and bars of iron. The cable was about as thick as
packthread, and the bars of the length and size of a knitting-needle. I
trebled the cable to make it stronger, and for the same reason twisted
three of the iron bars together, bending the ends into a hook. Having thus
fixed fifty hooks to as many cables, I went back to the coast, and taking
off my coat, shoes, and stockings, walked into the sea in my leather
jacket about half an hour before high water. I waded with what haste I
could, swimming in the middle about thirty yards, till I felt ground, and
thus arrived at the fleet in less than half an hour. The enemy was so
frightened when they saw me that they leaped out of their ships and swam
ashore, where there could not be fewer than thirty thousand. Then,
fastening a hook to the hole at the prow of each ship, I tied all the
cords together at the end. Meanwhile the enemy discharged several thousand
arrows, many of which stuck in my hands and face. My greatest fear was for
my eyes, which I should have lost if I had not suddenly thought of the
pair of spectacles which had escaped the Emperor’s searchers. These I took
out and fastened upon my nose, and thus armed went on with my work in
spite of the arrows, many of which struck against the glasses of my
spectacles, but without any other effect than slightly disturbing them.
Then, taking the knot in my hand, I began to pull; but not a ship would
stir, for they were too fast held by their anchors. Thus the boldest part
of my enterprise remained. Letting go the cord, I resolutely cut with my
knife the cables that fastened the anchors, receiving more than two
hundred shots in my face and hands. Then I took up again the knotted end
of the cables to which my hooks were tied, and with great ease drew fifty
of the enemy’s largest men-of-war after me.
When the Blefuscudians saw the fleet moving in order, and me pulling at
the end, they set up a scream of grief and despair that it is impossible
to describe. When I had got out of danger I stopped awhile to pick out the
arrows that stuck in my hands and face, and rubbed on some of the same
ointment that was given me at my arrival. I then took off my spectacles,
and after waiting about an hour, till the tide was a little fallen, I
waded on to the royal port of Lilliput.
The Emperor and his whole Court stood on the shore awaiting me. They saw
the ships move forward in a large half-moon, but could not discern me,
who, in the middle of the channel, was under water up to my neck. The
Emperor concluded that I was drowned, and that the enemy’s fleet was
approaching in a hostile manner. But he was soon set at ease, for, the
channel growing shallower every step I made, I came in a short time within
hearing, and holding up the end of the cable by which the fleet was
fastened, I cried in a loud voice: “Long live the most puissant Emperor of
Lilliput!” The Prince received me at my landing with all possible joy, and
made me a Nardal on the spot, which is the highest title of honor among
them.
His Majesty desired that I would take some opportunity to bring all the
rest of his enemy’s ships into his ports, and seemed to think of nothing
less than conquering the whole Empire of Blefuscu, and becoming the sole
monarch of the world. But I plainly protested that I would never be the
means of bringing a free and brave people into slavery; and though the
wisest of the Ministers were of my opinion, my open refusal was so opposed
to his Majesty’s ambition that he could never forgive me. And from this
time a plot began between himself and those of his Ministers who were my
enemies, that nearly ended in my utter destruction.
About three weeks after this exploit there arrived an embassy from
Blefuscu, with humble offers of peace, which was soon concluded, on terms
very advantageous to our Emperor. There were six ambassadors, with a train
of about five hundred persons, all very magnificent. Having been privately
told that I had befriended them, they made me a visit, and paying me many
compliments on my valor and generosity, invited me to their kingdom in the
Emperor their master’s name. I asked them to present my most humble
respects to the Emperor their master, whose royal person I resolved to
attend before I returned to my own country. Accordingly, the next time I
had the honor to see our Emperor I desired his general permission to visit
the Blefuscudian monarch. This he granted me, but in a very cold manner,
of which I afterward learned the reason.
When I was just preparing to pay my respects to the Emperor of Blefuscu, a
distinguished person at Court, to whom I had once done a great service,
came to my house very privately at night, and without sending his name
desired admission. I put his lordship into my coat pocket, and, giving
orders to a trusty servant to admit no one, I fastened the door, placed my
visitor on the table, and sat down by it. His lordship’s face was full of
trouble; and he asked me to hear him with patience, in a matter that
highly concerned my honor and my life.
“You are aware,” he said, “that Skyresh Bolgolam has been your mortal
enemy ever since your arrival, and his hatred is increased since your
great success against Blefuscu, by which his glory as admiral is obscured.
This lord and others have accused you of treason, and several councils
have been called in the most private manner on your account. Out of
gratitude for your favors I procured information of the whole proceedings,
venturing my head for your service, and this was the charge against you:
“First, that you, having brought the imperial fleet of Blefuscu into the
royal port, were commanded by his Majesty to seize all the other ships,
and put to death all the Bigendian exiles, and also all the people of the
empire who would not immediately consent to break their eggs at the
smaller end. And that, like a false traitor to his Most Serene Majesty,
you excused yourself from the service on pretence of unwillingness to
force the consciences and destroy the liberties and lives of an innocent
people.
“Again, when ambassadors arrived from the Court of Blefuscu, like a false
traitor, you aided and entertained them, though you knew them to be
servants of a prince lately in open war against his Imperial Majesty.
“Moreover, you are now preparing, contrary to the duty of a faithful
subject, to voyage to the Court of Blefuscu.
“In the debate on this charge,” my friend continued, “his Majesty often
urged the services you had done him, while the admiral and treasurer
insisted that you should be put to a shameful death. But Reldresal,
secretary for private affairs, who has always proved himself your friend
suggested that if his Majesty would please to spare your life and only
give orders to put out both your eyes, justice might in some measure be
satisfied. At this Bolgolam rose up in fury, wondering how the secretary
dared desire to preserve the life of a traitor; and the treasurer,
pointing out the expense of keeping you, also urged your death. But his
Majesty was graciously pleased to say that since the council thought the
loss of your eyes too easy a punishment, some other might afterward be
inflicted. And the secretary, humbly desiring to be heard again, said that
as to expense your allowance might be gradually lessened, so that, for
want of sufficient food you should grow weak and faint, and die in a few
months, when his Majesty’s subjects might cut your flesh from your bones
and bury it, leaving the skeleton for the admiration of posterity.
“Thus, through the great friendship of the secretary the affair was
arranged. It was commanded that the plan of starving you by degrees should
be kept a secret; but the sentence of putting out your eyes was entered on
the books. In three days your friend the secretary will come to your house
and read the accusation before you, and point out the great mercy of his
Majesty, that only condemns you to the loss of your eyes—which, he
does not doubt, you will submit to humbly and gratefully. Twenty of his
Majesty’s surgeons will attend, to see the operation well performed, by
discharging very sharp-pointed arrows into the balls of your eyes as you
lie on the ground.
“I leave you,” said my friend, “to consider what measures you will take;
and, to escape suspicion, I must immediately return, as secretly as I
came.”
His lordship did so; and I remained alone, in great perplexity. At first I
was bent on resistance; for while I had liberty I could easily with stones
pelt the metropolis to pieces; but I soon rejected that idea with horror,
remembering the oath I had made to the Emperor, and the favors I had
received from him. At last, having his Majesty’s leave to pay my respects
to the Emperor of Blefuscu, I resolved to take this opportunity. Before
the three days had passed I wrote a letter to my friend the secretary
telling him of my resolution; and, without waiting for an answer, went to
the coast, and entering the channel, between wading and swimming reached
the port of Blefuscu, where the people, who had long expected me, led me
to the capital.
His Majesty, with the royal family and great officers of the Court, came
out to receive me, and they entertained me in a manner suited to the
generosity of so great a prince. I did not, however, mention my disgrace
with the Emperor of Lilliput, since I did not suppose that prince would
disclose the secret while I was out of his power. But in this, it soon
appeared, I was deceived.
CHAPTER V
Three days after my arrival, walking out of curiosity to the northeast
coast of the island, I observed at some distance in the sea something that
looked like a boat overturned. I pulled off my shoes and stockings, and
wading two or three hundred yards, I plainly saw it to be a real boat,
which I supposed might by some tempest have been driven from a ship. I
returned immediately to the city for help, and after a huge amount of
labor I managed to get my boat to the royal port of Blefuscu, where a
great crowd of people appeared, full of wonder at sight of so prodigious a
vessel. I told the Emperor that my good fortune had thrown this boat in my
way to carry me to some place whence I might return to my native country,
and begged his orders for materials to fit it up, and leave to depart—which,
after many kindly speeches, he was pleased to grant.
Meanwhile the Emperor of Lilliput, uneasy at my long absence (but never
imagining that I had the least notice of his designs), sent a person of
rank to inform the Emperor of Blefuscu of my disgrace; this messenger had
orders to represent the great mercy of his master, who was content to
punish me with the loss of my eyes, and who expected that his brother of
Blefuscu would have me sent back to Lilliput, bound hand and foot, to be
punished as a traitor. The Emperor of Blefuscu answered with many civil
excuses. He said that as for sending me bound, his brother knew it was
impossible. Moreover, though I had taken away his fleet he was grateful to
me for many good offices I had done him in making the peace. But that both
their Majesties would soon be made easy; for I had found a prodigious
vessel on the shore, able to carry me on the sea, which he had given
orders to fit up; and he hoped in a few weeks both empires would be free
from me.
With this answer the messenger returned to Lilliput; and I (though the
monarch of Blefuscu secretly offered me his gracious protection if I would
continue in his service) hastened my departure, resolving never more to
put confidence in princes.
In about a month I was ready to take leave. The Emperor of Blefuscu, with
the Empress and the royal family, came out of the palace; and I lay down
on my face to kiss their hands, which they graciously gave me. His Majesty
presented me with fifty purses of sprugs (their greatest gold coin) and
his picture at full length, which I put immediately into one of my gloves,
to keep it from being hurt. Many other ceremonies took place at my
departure.
I stored the boat with meat and drink, and took six cows and two bulls
alive, with as many ewes and rams, intending to carry them into my own
country; and to feed them on board, I had a good bundle of hay and a bag
of corn. I would gladly have taken a dozen of the natives; but this was a
thing the Emperor would by no means permit, and besides a diligent search
into my pockets, his Majesty pledged my honor not to carry away any of his
subjects, though with their own consent and desire.
Having thus prepared all things as well as I was able, I set sail. When I
had made twenty-four leagues, by my reckoning, from the island of
Blefuscu, I saw a sail steering to the northeast. I hailed her, but could
get no answer; yet I found I gained upon her, for the wind slackened; and
in half an hour she spied me, and discharged a gun. I came up with her
between five and six in the evening, Sept. 26, 1701; but my heart leaped
within me to see her English colors. I put my cows and sheep into my coat
pockets, and got on board with all my little cargo. The captain received
me with kindness, and asked me to tell him what place I came from last;
but at my answer he thought I was raving. However, I took my black cattle
and sheep out of my pocket, which, after great astonishment, clearly
convinced him.
We arrived in England on the 13th of April, 1702. I stayed two months with
my wife and family; but my eager desire to see foreign countries would
suffer me to remain no longer. However, while in England I made great
profit by showing my cattle to persons of quality and others; and before I
began my second voyage I sold them for 600l. I left 1500l.
with my wife, and fixed her in a good house; then taking leave of her and
my boy and girl, with tears on both sides, I sailed on board the
“Adventure.” (1)
(1) Swift.
THE PRINCESS ON THE GLASS HILL
Once upon a time there was a man who had a meadow which lay on the side of
a mountain, and in the meadow there was a barn in which he stored hay. But
there had not been much hay in the barn for the last two years, for every
St. John’s eve, when the grass was in the height of its vigor, it was all
eaten clean up, just as if a whole flock of sheep had gnawed it down to
the ground during the night. This happened once, and it happened twice,
but then the man got tired of losing his crop, and said to his sons—he
had three of them, and the third was called Cinderlad—that one of
them must go and sleep in the barn on St. John’s night, for it was absurd
to let the grass be eaten up again, blade and stalk, as it had been the
last two years, and the one who went to watch must keep a sharp look-out,
the man said.
The eldest was quite willing to go to the meadow; he would watch the
grass, he said, and he would do it so well that neither man, nor beast,
nor even the devil himself should have any of it. So when evening came he
went to the barn, and lay down to sleep, but when night was drawing near
there was such a rumbling and such an earthquake that the walls and roof
shook again, and the lad jumped up and took to his heels as fast as he
could, and never even looked back, and the barn remained empty that year
just as it had been for the last two.
Next St. John’s eve the man again said that he could not go on in this
way, losing all the grass in the outlying field year after year, and that
one of his sons must just go there and watch it, and watch well too. So
the next oldest son was willing to show what he could do. He went to the
barn and lay down to sleep, as his brother had done; but when night was
drawing near there was a great rumbling, and then an earthquake, which was
even worse than that on the former St. John’s night, and when the youth
heard it he was terrified, and went off, running as if for a wager.
The year after, it was Cinderlad’s turn, but when he made ready to go the
others laughed at him, and mocked him. “Well, you are just the right one
to watch the hay, you who have never learned anything but how to sit among
the ashes and bake yourself!” said they. Cinderlad, however, did not
trouble himself about what they said, but when evening drew near rambled
away to the outlying field. When he got there he went into the barn and
lay down, but in about an hour’s time the rumbling and creaking began, and
it was frightful to hear it. “Well, if it gets no worse than that, I can
manage to stand it,” thought Cinderlad. In a little time the creaking
began again, and the earth quaked so that all the hay flew about the boy.
“Oh! if it gets no worse than that I can manage to stand it,” thought
Cinderlad. But then came a third rumbling, and a third earthquake, so
violent that the boy thought the walls and roof had fallen down, but when
that was over everything suddenly grew as still as death around him. “I am
pretty sure that it will come again,” thought Cinderlad; but no, it did
not. Everything was quiet, and everything stayed quiet, and when he had
lain still a short time he heard something that sounded as if a horse were
standing chewing just outside the barn door. He stole away to the door,
which was ajar, to see what was there, and a horse was standing eating. It
was so big, and fat, and fine a horse that Cinderlad had never seen one
like it before, and a saddle and bridle lay upon it, and a complete suit
of armor for a knight, and everything was of copper, and so bright that it
shone again. “Ha, ha! it is thou who eatest up our hay then,” thought the
boy; “but I will stop that.” So he made haste, and took out his steel for
striking fire, and threw it over the horse, and then it had no power to
stir from the spot, and became so tame that the boy could do what he liked
with it. So he mounted it and rode away to a place which no one knew of
but himself, and there he tied it up. When he went home again his brothers
laughed and asked how he had got on.
“You didn’t lie long in the barn, if even you have been so far as the
field!” said they.
“I lay in the barn till the sun rose, but I saw nothing and heard nothing,
not I,” said the boy. “God knows what there was to make you two so
frightened.”
“Well, we shall soon see whether you have watched the meadow or not,”
answered the brothers, but when they got there the grass was all standing
just as long and as thick as it had been the night before.
The next St. John’s eve it was the same thing, once again: neither of the
two brothers dared to go to the outlying field to watch the crop, but
Cinderlad went, and everything happened exactly the same as on the
previous St. John’s eve: first there was a rumbling and an earthquake, and
then there was another, and then a third: but all three earthquakes were
much, very much more violent than they had been the year before. Then
everything became still as death again, and the boy heard something
chewing outside the barn door, so he stole as softly as he could to the
door, which was slightly ajar, and again there was a horse standing close
by the wall of the house, eating and chewing, and it was far larger and
fatter than the first horse, and it had a saddle on its back, and a bridle
was on it too, and a full suit of armor for a knight, all of bright
silver, and as beautiful as anyone could wish to see. “Ho, ho!” thought
the boy, “is it thou who eatest up our hay in the night? but I will put a
stop to that.” So he took out his steel for striking fire, and threw it
over the horse’s mane, and the beast stood there as quiet as a lamb. Then
the boy rode this horse, too, away to the place where he kept the other,
and then went home again.
“I suppose you will tell us that you have watched well again this time,”
said the brothers.
“Well, so I have,” said Cinderlad. So they went there again, and there the
grass was, standing as high and as thick as it had been before, but that
did not make them any kinder to Cinderlad.
When the third St. John’s night came neither of the two elder brothers
dared to lie in the outlying barn to watch the grass, for they had been so
heartily frightened the night that they had slept there that they could
not get over it, but Cinderlad dared to go, and everything happened just
the same as on the two former nights. There were three earthquakes, each
worse than the other, and the last flung the boy from one wall of the barn
to the other, but then everything suddenly became still as death. When he
had lain quietly a short time, he heard something chewing outside the barn
door; then he once more stole to the door, which was slightly ajar, and
behold, a horse was standing just outside it, which was much larger and
fatter than the two others he had caught. “Ho, ho! it is thou, then, who
art eating up our hay this time,” thought the boy; “but I will put a stop
to that.” So he pulled out his steel for striking fire, and threw it over
the horse, and it stood as still as if it had been nailed to the field,
and the boy could do just what he liked with it. Then he mounted it and
rode away to the place where he had the two others, and then he went home
again. Then the two brothers mocked him just as they had done before, and
told him that they could see that he must have watched the grass very
carefully that night, for he looked just as if he were walking in his
sleep; but Cinderlad did not trouble himself about that, but just bade
them go to the field and see. They did go, and this time too the grass was
standing, looking as fine and as thick as ever.
The King of the country in which Cinderlad’s father dwelt had a daughter
whom he would give to no one who could not ride up to the top of the glass
hill, for there was a high, high hill of glass, slippery as ice, and it
was close to the King’s palace. Upon the very top of this the King’s
daughter was to sit with three gold apples in her lap, and the man who
could ride up and take the three golden apples should marry her, and have
half the kingdom. The King had this proclaimed in every church in the
whole kingdom, and in many other kingdoms too. The Princess was very
beautiful, and all who saw her fell violently in love with her, even in
spite of themselves. So it is needless to say that all the princes and
knights were eager to win her, and half the kingdom besides, and that for
this cause they came riding thither from the very end of the world,
dressed so splendidly that their raiments gleamed in the sunshine, and
riding on horses which seemed to dance as they went, and there was not one
of these princes who did not think that he was sure to win the Princess.
When the day appointed by the King had come, there was such a host of
knights and princes under the glass hill that they seemed to swarm, and
everyone who could walk or even creep was there too, to see who won the
King’s daughter. Cinderlad’s two brothers were there too, but they would
not hear of letting him go with them, for he was so dirty and black with
sleeping and grubbing among the ashes that they said everyone would laugh
at them if they were seen in the company of such an oaf.
“Well, then, I will go all alone by myself,” said Cinderlad.
When the two brothers got to the glass hill, all the princes and knights
were trying to ride up it, and their horses were in a foam; but it was all
in vain, for no sooner did the horses set foot upon the hill than down
they slipped, and there was not one which could get even so much as a
couple of yards up. Nor was that strange, for the hill was as smooth as a
glass window-pane, and as steep as the side of a house. But they were all
eager to win the King’s daughter and half the kingdom, so they rode and
they slipped, and thus it went on. At length all the horses were so tired
that they could do no more, and so hot that the foam dropped from them and
the riders were forced to give up the attempt. The King was just thinking
that he would cause it to be proclaimed that the riding should begin
afresh on the following day, when perhaps it might go better, when
suddenly a knight came riding up on so fine a horse that no one had ever
seen the like of it before, and the knight had armor of copper, and his
bridle was of copper too, and all his accoutrements were so bright that
they shone again. The other knights all called out to him that he might
just as well spare himself the trouble of trying to ride up the glass
hill, for it was of no use to try; but he did not heed them, and rode
straight off to it, and went up as if it were nothing at all. Thus he rode
for a long way—it may have been a third part of the way up—but
when he had got so far he turned his horse round and rode down again. But
the Princess thought that she had never yet seen so handsome a knight, and
while he was riding up she was sitting thinking, “Oh! how I hope he may be
able to come up to the top!” And when she saw that he was turning his
horse back she threw one of the golden apples down after him, and it
rolled into his shoe. But when he had come down from off the hill he rode
away, and that so fast that no one knew what had become of him.
So all the princes and knights were bidden to present themselves before
the King that night, so that he who had ridden so far up the glass hill
might show the golden apple which the King’s daughter had thrown down. But
no one had anything to show. One knight presented himself after the other,
and none could show the apple.
At night, too, Cinderlad’s brothers came home again and had a long story
to tell about riding up the glass hill. At first, they said, there was not
one who was able to get even so much as one step up, but then came a
knight who had armor of copper, and a bridle of copper, and his armor and
trappings were so bright that they shone to a great distance, and it was
something like a sight to see him riding. He rode one-third of the way up
the glass hill, and he could easily have ridden the whole of it if he had
liked; but he had turned back, for he had made up his mind that that was
enough for once. “Oh! I should have liked to see him too, that I should,”
said Cinderlad, who was as usual sitting by the chimney among the cinders.
“You, indeed!” said the brothers, “you look as if you were fit to be among
such great lords, nasty beast that you are to sit there!”
Next day the brothers were for setting out again, and this time too
Cinderlad begged them to let him go with them and see who rode; but no,
they said he was not fit to do that, for he was much too ugly and dirty.
“Well, well, then I will go all alone by myself,” said Cinderlad. So the
brothers went to the glass hill, and all the princes and knights began to
ride again, and this time they had taken care to roughen the shoes of
their horses; but that did not help them: they rode and they slipped as
they had done the day before, and not one of them could get even so far as
a yard up the hill. When they had tired out their horses, so that they
could do no more, they again had to stop altogether. But just as the King
was thinking that it would be well to proclaim that the riding should take
place next day for the last time, so that they might have one more chance,
he suddenly bethought himself that it would be well to wait a little
longer to see if the knight in copper armor would come on this day too.
But nothing was to be seen of him. Just as they were still looking for
him, however, came a knight riding on a steed that was much, much finer
than that which the knight in copper armor had ridden, and this knight had
silver armor and a silver saddle and bridle, and all were so bright that
they shone and glistened when he was a long way off. Again the other
knights called to him, and said that he might just as well give up the
attempt to ride up the glass hill, for it was useless to try; but the
knight paid no heed to that, but rode straight away to the glass hill, and
went still farther up than the knight in copper armor had gone; but when
he had ridden two-thirds of the way up he turned his horse around, and
rode down again. The Princess liked this knight still better than she had
liked the other, and sat longing that he might be able to get up above,
and when she saw him turning back she threw the second apple after him,
and it rolled into his shoe, and as soon as he had got down the glass hill
he rode away so fast that no one could see what had become of him.
In the evening, when everyone was to appear before the King and Princess,
in order that he who had the golden apple might show it, one knight went
in after the other, but none of them had a golden apple to show.
At night the two brothers went home as they had done the night before, and
told how things had gone, and how everyone had ridden, but no one had been
able to get up the hill. “But last of all,” they said, “came one in silver
armor, and he had a silver bridle on his horse, and a silver saddle, and
oh, but he could ride! He took his horse two-thirds of the way up the
hill, but then he turned back. He was a fine fellow,” said the brothers,
“and the Princess threw the second golden apple to him!”
“Oh, how I should have liked to see him too!” said Cinderlad.
“Oh, indeed! He was a little brighter than the ashes that you sit grubbing
among, you dirty black creature!” said the brothers.
On the third day everything went just as on the former days. Cinderlad
wanted to go with them to look at the riding, but the two brothers would
not have him in their company, and when they got to the glass hill there
was no one who could ride even so far as a yard up it, and everyone waited
for the knight in silver armor, but he was neither to be seen nor heard
of. At last, after a long time, came a knight riding upon a horse that was
such a fine one, its equal had never yet been seen. The knight had golden
armor, and the horse a golden saddle and bridle, and these were all so
bright that they shone and dazzled everyone, even while the knight was
still at a great distance. The other princes and knights were not able
even to call to tell him how useless it was to try to ascend the hill, so
amazed were they at sight of his magnificence. He rode straight away to
the glass hill, and galloped up it as if it were no hill at all, so that
the Princess had not even time to wish that he might get up the whole way.
As soon as he had ridden to the top, he took the third golden apple from
the lap of the Princess and then turned his horse about and rode down
again, and vanished from their sight before anyone was able to say a word
to him.
When the two brothers came home again at night they had much to tell of
how the riding had gone off that day, and at last they told about the
knight in the golden armor too. “He was a fine fellow, that was! Such
another splendid knight is not to be found on earth!” said the brothers.
“Oh, how I should have liked to see him too!” said Cinderlad.
“Well, he shone nearly as brightly as the coal-heaps that thou art always
lying raking among, dirty black creature that thou art!” said the
brothers.
Next day all the knights and princes were to appear before the King and
Princess—it had been too late for them to do it the night before—in
order that he who had the golden apple might produce it. They all went in
turn, first princes, and then knights, but none of them had a golden
apple.
“But somebody must have it,” said the King, “for with our own eyes we all
saw a man ride up and take it.” So he commanded that everyone in the
kingdom should come to the palace, and see if he could show the apple. And
one after the other they all came, but no one had the golden apple, and
after a long, long time Cinderlad’s two brothers came likewise. They were
the last of all, so the King inquired of them if there was no one else in
the kingdom left to come.
“Oh! yes, we have a brother,” said the two, “but he never got the golden
apple! He never left the cinder-heap on any of the three days.”
“Never mind that,” said the King; “as everyone else has come to the
palace, let him come too.”
So Cinderlad was forced to go to the King’s palace.
“Hast thou the golden apple?” asked the King.
“Yes, here is the first, and here is the second, and here is the third,
too,” said Cinderlad, and he took all three apples out of his pocket, and
with that drew off his sooty rags, and appeared there before them in his
bright golden armor, which gleamed as he stood.
“Thou shalt have my daughter, and the half of my kingdom, and thou hast
well earned both!” said the King. So there was a wedding, and Cinderlad
got the King’s daughter, and everyone made merry at the wedding, for all
of them could make merry, though they could not ride up the glass hill,
and if they have not left off their merry-making they must be at it
still.(1)
(1) Asbjornsen and Moe.
THE STORY OF PRINCE AHMED AND THE FAIRY PARIBANOU
There was a sultan, who had three sons and a niece. The eldest of the
Princes was called Houssain, the second Ali, the youngest Ahmed, and the
Princess, his niece, Nouronnihar.
The Princess Nouronnihar was the daughter of the younger brother of the
Sultan, who died, and left the Princess very young. The Sultan took upon
himself the care of his daughter’s education, and brought her up in his
palace with the three Princes, proposing to marry her when she arrived at
a proper age, and to contract an alliance with some neighboring prince by
that means. But when he perceived that the three Princes, his sons, loved
her passionately, he thought more seriously on that affair. He was very
much concerned; the difficulty he foresaw was to make them agree, and that
the two youngest should consent to yield her up to their elder brother. As
he found them positively obstinate, he sent for them all together, and
said to them: “Children, since for your good and quiet I have not been
able to persuade you no longer to aspire to the Princess, your cousin, I
think it would not be amiss if every one traveled separately into
different countries, so that you might not meet each other. And, as you
know I am very curious, and delight in everything that’s singular, I
promise my niece in marriage to him that shall bring me the most
extraordinary rarity; and for the purchase of the rarity you shall go in
search after, and the expense of traveling, I will give you every one a
sum of money.”
As the three Princes were always submissive and obedient to the Sultan’s
will, and each flattered himself fortune might prove favorable to him,
they all consented to it. The Sultan paid them the money he promised them;
and that very day they gave orders for the preparations for their travels,
and took their leave of the Sultan, that they might be the more ready to
go the next morning. Accordingly they all set out at the same gate of the
city, each dressed like a merchant, attended by an officer of confidence
dressed like a slave, and all well mounted and equipped. They went the
first day’s journey together, and lay all at an inn, where the road was
divided into three different tracts. At night, when they were at supper
together, they all agreed to travel for a year, and to meet at that inn;
and that the first that came should wait for the rest; that, as they had
all three taken their leave together of the Sultan, they might all return
together. The next morning by break of day, after they had embraced and
wished each other good success, they mounted their horses and took each a
different road.
Prince Houssain, the eldest brother, arrived at Bisnagar, the capital of
the kingdom of that name, and the residence of its king. He went and
lodged at a khan appointed for foreign merchants; and, having learned that
there were four principal divisions where merchants of all sorts sold
their commodities, and kept shops, and in the midst of which stood the
castle, or rather the King’s palace, he went to one of these divisions the
next day.
Prince Houssain could not view this division without admiration. It was
large, and divided into several streets, all vaulted and shaded from the
sun, and yet very light too. The shops were all of a size, and all that
dealt in the same sort of goods lived in one street; as also the
handicrafts-men, who kept their shops in the smaller streets.
The multitude of shops, stocked with all sorts of merchandise, as the
finest linens from several parts of India, some painted in the most lively
colors, and representing beasts, trees, and flowers; silks and brocades
from Persia, China, and other places, porcelain both from Japan and China,
and tapestries, surprised him so much that he knew not how to believe his
own eyes; but when he came to the goldsmiths and jewelers he was in a kind
of ecstacy to behold such prodigious quantities of wrought gold and
silver, and was dazzled by the lustre of the pearls, diamonds, rubies,
emeralds, and other jewels exposed to sale.
Another thing Prince Houssain particularly admired was the great number of
rose-sellers who crowded the streets; for the Indians are so great lovers
of that flower that no one will stir without a nosegay in his hand or a
garland on his head; and the merchants keep them in pots in their shops,
that the air is perfectly perfumed.
After Prince Houssain had run through that division, street by street, his
thoughts fully employed on the riches he had seen, he was very much tired,
which a merchant perceiving, civilly invited him to sit down in his shop,
and he accepted; but had not been sat down long before he saw a crier pass
by with a piece of tapestry on his arm, about six feet square, and cried
at thirty purses. The Prince called to the crier, and asked to see the
tapestry, which seemed to him to be valued at an exorbitant price, not
only for the size of it, but the meanness of the stuff; when he had
examined it well, he told the crier that he could not comprehend how so
small a piece of tapestry, and of so indifferent appearance, could be set
at so high a price.
The crier, who took him for a merchant, replied: “If this price seems so
extravagant to you, your amazement will be greater when I tell you I have
orders to raise it to forty purses, and not to part with it under.”
“Certainly,” answered Prince Houssain, “it must have something very
extraordinary in it, which I know nothing of.” “You have guessed it, sir,”
replied the crier, “and will own it when you come to know that whoever
sits on this piece of tapestry may be transported in an instant wherever
he desires to be, without being stopped by any obstacle.”
At this discourse of the crier the Prince of the Indies, considering that
the principal motive of his travel was to carry the Sultan, his father,
home some singular rarity, thought that he could not meet with any which
could give him more satisfaction. “If the tapestry,” said he to the crier,
“has the virtue you assign it, I shall not think forty purses too much,
but shall make you a present besides.” “Sir,” replied the crier, “I have
told you the truth; and it is an easy matter to convince you of it, as
soon as you have made the bargain for forty purses, on condition I show
you the experiment. But, as I suppose you have not so much about you, and
to receive them I must go with you to your khan, where you lodge, with the
leave of the master of the shop, we will go into the back shop, and I will
spread the tapestry; and when we have both sat down, and you have formed
the wish to be transported into your apartment of the khan, if we are not
transported thither it shall be no bargain, and you shall be at your
liberty. As to your present, though I am paid for my trouble by the
seller, I shall receive it as a favor, and be very much obliged to you,
and thankful.”
On the credit of the crier, the Prince accepted the conditions, and
concluded the bargain; and, having got the master’s leave, they went into
his back shop; they both sat down on it, and as soon as the Prince formed
his wish to be transported into his apartment at the khan he presently
found himself and the crier there; and, as he wanted not a more sufficient
proof of the virtue of the tapestry, he counted the crier out forty pieces
of gold, and gave him twenty pieces for himself.
In this manner Prince Houssain became the possessor of the tapestry, and
was overjoyed that at his arrival at Bisnagar he had found so rare a
piece, which he never disputed would gain him the hand of Nouronnihar. In
short, he looked upon it as an impossible thing for the Princes his
younger brothers to meet with anything to be compared with it. It was in
his power, by sitting on his tapestry, to be at the place of meeting that
very day; but, as he was obliged to stay there for his brothers, as they
had agreed, and as he was curious to see the King of Bisnagar and his
Court, and to inform himself of the strength, laws, customs, and religion
of the kingdom, he chose to make a longer abode there, and to spend some
months in satisfying his curiosity.
Prince Houssain might have made a longer abode in the kingdom and Court of
Bisnagar, but he was so eager to be nearer the Princess that, spreading
the tapestry, he and the officer he had brought with him sat down, and as
soon as he had formed his wish were transported to the inn at which he and
his brothers were to meet, and where he passed for a merchant till they
came.
Prince Ali, Prince Houssain’s second brother, who designed to travel into
Persia, took the road, having three days after he parted with his brothers
joined a caravan, and after four days’ travel arrived at Schiraz, which
was the capital of the kingdom of Persia. Here he passed for a jeweler.
The next morning Prince Ali, who traveled only for his pleasure, and had
brought nothing but just necessaries along with him, after he had dressed
himself, took a walk into that part of the town which they at Schiraz
called the bezestein.
Among all the criers who passed backward and forward with several sorts of
goods, offering to sell them, he was not a little surprised to see one who
held an ivory telescope in his hand of about a foot in length and the
thickness of a man’s thumb, and cried it at thirty purses. At first he
thought the crier mad, and to inform himself went to a shop, and said to
the merchant, who stood at the door: “Pray, sir, is not that man”
(pointing to the crier who cried the ivory perspective glass at thirty
purses) “mad? If he is not, I am very much deceived.”
“Indeed, sir,” answered the merchant, “he was in his right senses
yesterday; I can assure you he is one of the ablest criers we have, and
the most employed of any when anything valuable is to be sold. And if he
cries the ivory perspective glass at thirty purses it must be worth as
much or more, on some account or other. He will come by presently, and we
will call him, and you shall be satisfied; in the meantime sit down on my
sofa, and rest yourself.”
Prince Ali accepted the merchant’s obliging offer, and presently afterward
the crier passed by. The merchant called him by his name, and, pointing to
the Prince, said to him: “Tell that gentleman, who asked me if you were in
your right senses, what you mean by crying that ivory perspective glass,
which seems not to be worth much, at thirty purses. I should be very much
amazed myself if I did not know you.” The crier, addressing himself to
Prince Ali, said: “Sir, you are not the only person that takes me for a
madman on account of this perspective glass. You shall judge yourself
whether I am or no, when I have told you its property and I hope you will
value it at as high a price as those I have showed it to already, who had
as bad an opinion of me as you.
“First, sir,” pursued the crier, presenting the ivory pipe to the Prince,
“observe that this pipe is furnished with a glass at both ends; and
consider that by looking through one of them you see whatever object you
wish to behold.” “I am,” said the Prince, “ready to make you all
imaginable reparation for the scandal I have thrown on you if you will
make the truth of what you advance appear,” and as he had the ivory pipe
in his hand, after he had looked at the two glasses he said: “Show me at
which of these ends I must look that I may be satisfied.” The crier
presently showed him, and he looked through, wishing at the same time to
see the Sultan his father, whom he immediately beheld in perfect health,
set on his throne, in the midst of his council. Afterward, as there was
nothing in the world so dear to him, after the Sultan, as the Princess
Nouronnihar, he wished to see her; and saw her at her toilet laughing, and
in a pleasant humor, with her women about her.
Prince Ali wanted no other proof to be persuaded that this perspective
glass was the most valuable thing in the world, and believed that if he
should neglect to purchase it he should never meet again with such another
rarity. He therefore took the crier with him to the khan where he lodged,
and counted him out the money, and received the perspective glass.
Prince Ali was overjoyed at his bargain, and persuaded himself that, as
his brothers would not be able to meet with anything so rare and
admirable, the Princess Nouronnihar would be the recompense of his fatigue
and trouble; that he thought of nothing but visiting the Court of Persia
incognito, and seeing whatever was curious in Schiraz and thereabouts,
till the caravan with which he came returned back to the Indies. As soon
as the caravan was ready to set out, the Prince joined them, and arrived
happily without any accident or trouble, otherwise than the length of the
journey and fatigue of traveling, at the place of rendezvous, where he
found Prince Houssain, and both waited for Prince Ahmed.
Prince Ahmed, who took the road of Samarcand, the next day after his
arrival there went, as his brothers had done, into the bezestein, where he
had not walked long but heard a crier, who had an artificial apple in his
hand, cry it at five and thirty purses; upon which he stopped the crier,
and said to him: “Let me see that apple, and tell me what virtue and
extraordinary properties it has, to be valued at so high a rate.” “Sir,”
said the crier, giving it into his hand, “if you look at the outside of
this apple, it is very worthless, but if you consider its properties,
virtues, and the great use and benefit it is to mankind, you will say it
is no price for it, and that he who possesses it is master of a great
treasure. In short, it cures all sick persons of the most mortal diseases;
and if the patient is dying it will recover him immediately and restore
him to perfect health; and this is done after the easiest manner in the
world, which is by the patient’s smelling the apple.”
“If I may believe you,” replied Prince Ahmed, “the virtues of this apple
are wonderful, and it is invaluable; but what ground have I, for all you
tell me, to be persuaded of the truth of this matter?” “Sir,” replied the
crier, “the thing is known and averred by the whole city of Samarcand;
but, without going any further, ask all these merchants you see here, and
hear what they say. You will find several of them will tell you they had
not been alive this day if they had not made use of this excellent remedy.
And, that you may better comprehend what it is, I must tell you it is the
fruit of the study and experiments of a celebrated philosopher of this
city, who applied himself all his lifetime to the study and knowledge of
the virtues of plants and minerals, and at last attained to this
composition, by which he performed such surprising cures in this town as
will never be forgot, but died suddenly himself, before he could apply his
sovereign remedy, and left his wife and a great many young children behind
him, in very indifferent circumstances, who, to support her family and
provide for her children, is resolved to sell it.”
While the crier informed Prince Ahmed of the virtues of the artificial
apple, a great many persons came about them and confirmed what he said;
and one among the rest said he had a friend dangerously ill, whose life
was despaired of; and that was a favorable opportunity to show Prince
Ahmed the experiment. Upon which Prince Ahmed told the crier he would give
him forty purses if he cured the sick person.
The crier, who had orders to sell it at that price, said to Prince Ahmed:
“Come, sir, let us go and make the experiment, and the apple shall be
yours; and I can assure you that it will always have the desired effect.”
In short, the experiment succeeded, and the Prince, after he had counted
out to the crier forty purses, and he had delivered the apple to him,
waited patiently for the first caravan that should return to the Indies,
and arrived in perfect health at the inn where the Princes Houssain and
Ali waited for him.
When the Princes met they showed each other their treasures, and
immediately saw through the glass that the Princess was dying. They then
sat down on the carpet, wished themselves with her, and were there in a
moment.
Prince Ahmed no sooner perceived himself in Nouronnihar’s chamber than he
rose off the tapestry, as did also the other two Princes, and went to the
bedside, and put the apple under her nose; some moments after the Princess
opened her eyes, and turned her head from one side to another, looking at
the persons who stood about her; and then rose up in the bed, and asked to
be dressed, just as if she had waked out of a sound sleep. Her women
having presently informed her, in a manner that showed their joy, that she
was obliged to the three Princes for the sudden recovery of her health,
and particularly to Prince Ahmed, she immediately expressed her joy to see
them, and thanked them all together, and afterward Prince Ahmed in
particular.
While the Princess was dressing the Princes went to throw themselves at
the Sultan their father’s feet, and pay their respects to him. But when
they came before him they found he had been informed of their arrival by
the chief of the Princess’s eunuchs, and by what means the Princess had
been perfectly cured. The Sultan received and embraced them with the
greatest joy, both for their return and the recovery of the Princess his
niece, whom he loved as well as if she had been his own daughter, and who
had been given over by the physicians. After the usual ceremonies and
compliments the Princes presented each his rarity: Prince Houssain his
tapestry, which he had taken care not to leave behind him in the
Princess’s chamber; Prince Ali his ivory perspective glass, and Prince
Ahmed his artificial apple; and after each had commended their present,
when they put it into the Sultan’s hands, they begged of him to pronounce
their fate, and declare to which of them he would give the Princess
Nouronnihar for a wife, according to his promise.
The Sultan of the Indies, having heard, without interrupting them, all
that the Princes could represent further about their rarities, and being
well informed of what had happened in relation to the Princess
Nouronnihar’s cure, remained some time silent, as if he were thinking on
what answer he should make. At last he broke the silence, and said to
them: “I would declare for one of you children with a great deal of
pleasure if I could do it with justice; but consider whether I can do it
or no. ‘Tis true, Prince Ahmed, the Princess my niece is obliged to your
artificial apple for her cure; but I must ask you whether or no you could
have been so serviceable to her if you had not known by Prince Ali’s
perspective glass the danger she was in, and if Prince Houssain’s tapestry
had not brought you so soon. Your perspective glass, Prince Ali, informed
you and your brothers that you were like to lose the Princess your cousin,
and there you must own a great obligation.
“You must also grant that that knowledge would have been of no service
without the artificial apple and the tapestry. And lastly, Prince
Houssain, the Princess would be very ungrateful if she should not show her
acknowledgment of the service of your tapestry, which was so necessary a
means toward her cure. But consider, it would have been of little use if
you had not been acquainted with the Princess’s illness by Prince Ali’s
glass, and Prince Ahmed had not applied his artificial apple. Therefore,
as neither tapestry, ivory perspective glass, nor artificial apple have
the least preference one before the other, but, on the contrary, there’s a
perfect equality, I cannot grant the Princess to any one of you; and the
only fruit you have reaped from your travels is the glory of having
equally contributed to restore her health.
“If all this be true,” added the Sultan, “you see that I must have
recourse to other means to determine certainly in the choice I ought to
make among you; and that, as there is time enough between this and night,
I’ll do it to-day. Go and get each of you a bow and arrow, and repair to
the great plain, where they exercise horses. I’ll soon come to you, and
declare I will give the Princess Nouronnihar to him that shoots the
farthest.”
The three Princes had nothing to say against the decision of the Sultan.
When they were out of his presence they each provided themselves with a
bow and arrow, which they delivered to one of their officers, and went to
the plain appointed, followed by a great concourse of people.
The Sultan did not make them wait long for him, and as soon as he arrived
Prince Houssain, as the eldest, took his bow and arrow and shot first;
Prince Ali shot next, and much beyond him; and Prince Ahmed last of all,
but it so happened that nobody could see where his arrow fell; and,
notwithstanding all the diligence that was used by himself and everybody
else, it was not to be found far or near. And though it was believed that
he shot the farthest, and that he therefore deserved the Princess
Nouronnihar, it was, however, necessary that his arrow should be found to
make the matter more evident and certain; and, notwithstanding his
remonstrance, the Sultan judged in favor of Prince Ali, and gave orders
for preparations to be made for the wedding, which was celebrated a few
days after with great magnificence.
Prince Houssain would not honor the feast with his presence. In short, his
grief was so violent and insupportable that he left the Court, and
renounced all right of succession to the crown, to turn hermit.
Prince Ahmed, too, did not come to Prince Ali’s and the Princess
Nouronnihar’s wedding any more than his brother Houssain, but did not
renounce the world as he had done. But, as he could not imagine what had
become of his arrow, he stole away from his attendants and resolved to
search after it, that he might not have anything to reproach himself with.
With this intent he went to the place where the Princes Houssain’s and
Ali’s were gathered up, and, going straight forward from there, looking
carefully on both sides of him, he went so far that at last he began to
think his labor was all in vain; but yet he could not help going forward
till he came to some steep craggy rocks, which were bounds to his journey,
and were situated in a barren country, about four leagues distant from
where he set out.
II
When Prince Ahmed came pretty nigh to these rocks he perceived an arrow,
which he gathered up, looked earnestly at it, and was in the greatest
astonishment to find it was the same he shot away. “Certainly,” said he to
himself, “neither I nor any man living could shoot an arrow so far,” and,
finding it laid flat, not sticking into the ground, he judged that it
rebounded against the rock. “There must be some mystery in this,” said he
to himself again, “and it may be advantageous to me. Perhaps fortune, to
make me amends for depriving me of what I thought the greatest happiness,
may have reserved a greater blessing for my comfort.”
As these rocks were full of caves and some of those caves were deep, the
Prince entered into one, and, looking about, cast his eyes on an iron
door, which seemed to have no lock, but he feared it was fastened.
However, thrusting against it, it opened, and discovered an easy descent,
but no steps, which he walked down with his arrow in his hand. At first he
thought he was going into a dark, obscure place, but presently a quite
different light succeeded that which he came out of, and, entering into a
large, spacious place, at about fifty or sixty paces distant, he perceived
a magnificent palace, which he had not then time enough to look at. At the
same time a lady of majestic port and air advanced as far as the porch,
attended by a large troop of ladies, so finely dressed and beautiful that
it was difficult to distinguish which was the mistress.
As soon as Prince Ahmed perceived the lady, he made all imaginable haste
to go and pay his respects; and the lady, on her part, seeing him coming,
prevented him from addressing his discourse to her first, but said to him:
“Come nearer, Prince Ahmed, you are welcome.”
It was no small surprise to the Prince to hear himself named in a place he
had never heard of, though so nigh to his father’s capital, and he could
not comprehend how he should be known to a lady who was a stranger to him.
At last he returned the lady’s compliment by throwing himself at her feet,
and, rising up again, said to her:
“Madam, I return you a thousand thanks for the assurance you give me of a
welcome to a place where I believed my imprudent curiosity had made me
penetrate too far. But, madam, may I, without being guilty of ill manners,
dare to ask you by what adventure you know me? and how you, who live in
the same neighborhood with me, should be so great a stranger to me?”
“Prince,” said the lady, “let us go into the hall, there I will gratify
you in your request.”
After these words the lady led Prince Ahmed into the hall. Then she sat
down on a sofa, and when the Prince by her entreaty had done the same she
said: “You are surprised, you say, that I should know you and not be known
by you, but you will be no longer surprised when I inform you who I am.
You are undoubtedly sensible that your religion teaches you to believe
that the world is inhabited by genies as well as men. I am the daughter of
one of the most powerful and distinguished genies, and my name is
Paribanou. The only thing that I have to add is, that you seemed to me
worthy of a more happy fate than that of possessing the Princess
Nouronnihar; and, that you might attain to it, I was present when you drew
your arrow, and foresaw it would not go beyond Prince Houssain’s. I took
it in the air, and gave it the necessary motion to strike against the
rocks near which you found it, and I tell you that it lies in your power
to make use of the favorable opportunity which presents itself to make you
happy.”
As the Fairy Paribanou pronounced these last words with a different tone,
and looked, at the same time, tenderly upon Prince Ahmed, with a modest
blush on her cheeks, it was no hard matter for the Prince to comprehend
what happiness she meant. He presently considered that the Princess
Nouronnihar could never be his and that the Fairy Paribanou excelled her
infinitely in beauty, agreeableness, wit, and, as much as he could
conjecture by the magnificence of the palace, in immense riches. He
blessed the moment that he thought of seeking after his arrow a second
time, and, yielding to his love, “Madam,” replied he, “should I all my
life have the happiness of being your slave, and the admirer of the many
charms which ravish my soul, I should think myself the most blessed of
men. Pardon in me the boldness which inspires me to ask this favor, and
don’t refuse to admit me into your Court, a prince who is entirely devoted
to you.”
“Prince,” answered the Fairy, “will you not pledge your faith to me, as
well as I give mine to you?” “Yes, madam,” replied the Prince, in an
ecstacy of joy; “what can I do better, and with greater pleasure? Yes, my
sultaness, my queen, I’ll give you my heart without the least reserve.”
“Then,” answered the Fairy, “you are my husband, and I am your wife. But,
as I suppose,” pursued she, “that you have eaten nothing to-day, a slight
repast shall be served up for you, while preparations are making for our
wedding feast at night, and then I will show you the apartments of my
palace, and you shall judge if this hall is not the meanest part of it.”
Some of the Fairy’s women, who came into the hall with them, and guessed
her intentions, went immediately out, and returned presently with some
excellent meats and wines.
When Prince Ahmed had ate and drunk as much as he cared for, the Fairy
Paribanou carried him through all the apartments, where he saw diamonds,
rubies, emeralds and all sorts of fine jewels, intermixed with pearls,
agate, jasper, porphyry, and all sorts of the most precious marbles. But,
not to mention the richness of the furniture, which was inestimable, there
was such a profuseness throughout that the Prince, instead of ever having
seen anything like it, owned that he could not have imagined that there
was anything in the world that could come up to it. “Prince,” said the
Fairy, “if you admire my palace so much, which, indeed, is very beautiful,
what would you say to the palaces of the chief of our genies, which are
much more beautiful, spacious, and magnificent? I could also charm you
with my gardens, but we will let that alone till another time. Night draws
near, and it will be time to go to supper.”
The next hall which the Fairy led the Prince into, and where the cloth was
laid for the feast, was the last apartment the Prince had not seen, and
not in the least inferior to the others. At his entrance into it he
admired the infinite number of sconces of wax candles perfumed with amber,
the multitude of which, instead of being confused, were placed with so
just a symmetry as formed an agreeable and pleasant sight. A large side
table was set out with all sorts of gold plate, so finely wrought that the
workmanship was much more valuable than the weight of the gold. Several
choruses of beautiful women richly dressed, and whose voices were
ravishing, began a concert, accompanied with all sorts of the most
harmonious instruments; and when they were set down at table the Fairy
Paribanou took care to help Prince Ahmed to the most delicate meats, which
she named as she invited him to eat of them, and which the Prince found to
be so exquisitely nice that he commended them with exaggeration, and said
that the entertainment far surpassed those of man. He found also the same
excellence in the wines, which neither he nor the Fairy tasted of till the
dessert was served up, which consisted of the choicest sweetmeats and
fruits.
The wedding feast was continued the next day, or, rather, the days
following the celebration were a continual feast.
At the end of six months Prince Ahmed, who always loved and honored the
Sultan his father, conceived a great desire to know how he was, and that
desire could not be satisfied without his going to see; he told the Fairy
of it, and desired she would give him leave.
“Prince,” said she, “go when you please. But first, don’t take it amiss
that I give you some advice how you shall behave yourself where you are
going. First, I don’t think it proper for you to tell the Sultan your
father of our marriage, nor of my quality, nor the place where you have
been. Beg of him to be satisfied in knowing you are happy, and desire no
more; and let him know that the sole end of your visit is to make him
easy, and inform him of your fate.”
She appointed twenty gentlemen, well mounted and equipped, to attend him.
When all was ready Prince Ahmed took his leave of the Fairy, embraced her,
and renewed his promise to return soon. Then his horse, which was most
finely caparisoned, and was as beautiful a creature as any in the Sultan
of Indies’ stables, was led to him, and he mounted him with an
extraordinary grace; and, after he had bid her a last adieu, set forward
on his journey.
As it was not a great way to his father’s capital, Prince Ahmed soon
arrived there. The people, glad to see him again, received him with
acclamations of joy, and followed him in crowds to the Sultan’s apartment.
The Sultan received and embraced him with great joy, complaining at the
same time, with a fatherly tenderness, of the affliction his long absence
had been to him, which he said was the more grievous for that, fortune
having decided in favor of Prince Ali his brother, he was afraid he might
have committed some rash action.
The Prince told a story of his adventures without speaking of the Fairy,
whom he said that he must not mention, and ended: “The only favor I ask of
your Majesty is to give me leave to come often and pay you my respects,
and to know how you do.”
“Son,” answered the Sultan of the Indies, “I cannot refuse you the leave
you ask me; but I should much rather you would resolve to stay with me; at
least tell me where I may send to you if you should fail to come, or when
I may think your presence necessary.” “Sir,” replied Prince Ahmed, “what
your Majesty asks of me is part of the mystery I spoke to your Majesty of.
I beg of you to give me leave to remain silent on this head, for I shall
come so frequently that I am afraid that I shall sooner be thought
troublesome than be accused of negligence in my duty.”
The Sultan of the Indies pressed Prince Ahmed no more, but said to him:
“Son, I penetrate no farther into your secrets, but leave you at your
liberty; but can tell you that you could not do me a greater pleasure than
to come, and by your presence restore to me the joy I have not felt this
long time, and that you shall always be welcome when you come, without
interrupting your business or pleasure.”
Prince Ahmed stayed but three days at the Sultan his father’s Court, and
the fourth returned to the Fairy Paribanou, who did not expect him so
soon.
A month after Prince Ahmed’s return from paying a visit to his father, as
the Fairy Paribanou had observed that the Prince, since the time that he
gave her an account of his journey, his discourse with his father, and the
leave he asked to go and see him often, had never talked of the Sultan, as
if there had been no such person in the world, whereas before he was
always speaking of him, she thought he forebore on her account; therefore
she took an opportunity to say to him one day: “Prince, tell me, have you
forgot the Sultan your father? Don’t you remember the promise you made to
go and see him often? For my part I have not forgot what you told me at
your return, and so put you in mind of it, that you may not be long before
you acquit yourself of your promise.”
So Prince Ahmed went the next morning with the same attendance as before,
but much finer, and himself more magnificently mounted, equipped, and
dressed, and was received by the Sultan with the same joy and
satisfaction. For several months he constantly paid his visits, always in
a richer and finer equipage.
At last some viziers, the Sultan’s favorites, who judged of Prince Ahmed’s
grandeur and power by the figure he cut, made the Sultan jealous of his
son, saying it was to be feared he might inveigle himself into the
people’s favor and dethrone him.
The Sultan of the Indies was so far from thinking that Prince Ahmed could
be capable of so pernicious a design as his favorites would make him
believe that he said to them: “You are mistaken; my son loves me, and I am
certain of his tenderness and fidelity, as I have given him no reason to
be disgusted.”
But the favorites went on abusing Prince Ahmed till the Sultan said: “Be
it as it will, I don’t believe my son Ahmed is so wicked as you would
persuade me he is; how ever, I am obliged to you for your good advice, and
don’t dispute but that it proceeds from your good intentions.”
The Sultan of the Indies said this that his favorites might not know the
impressions their discourse had made on his mind; which had so alarmed him
that he resolved to have Prince Ahmed watched unknown to his grand vizier.
So he sent for a female magician, who was introduced by a back door into
his apartment. “Go immediately,” he said, “and follow my son, and watch
him so well as to find out where he retires, and bring me word.”
The magician left the Sultan, and, knowing the place where Prince Ahmed
found his arrow, went immediately thither, and hid herself near the rocks,
so that nobody could see her.
The next morning Prince Ahmed set out by daybreak, without taking leave
either of the Sultan or any of his Court, according to custom. The
magician, seeing him coming, followed him with her eyes, till on a sudden
she lost sight of him and his attendants.
As the rocks were very steep and craggy, they were an insurmountable
barrier, so that the magician judged that there were but two things for
it: either that the Prince retired into some cavern, or an abode of genies
or fairies. Thereupon she came out of the place where she was hid and went
directly to the hollow way, which she traced till she came to the farther
end, looking carefully about on all sides; but, notwithstanding all her
diligence, could perceive no opening, not so much as the iron gate which
Prince Ahmed discovered, which was to be seen and opened to none but men,
and only to such whose presence was agreeable to the Fairy Paribanou.
The magician, who saw it was in vain for her to search any farther, was
obliged to be satisfied with the discovery she had made, and returned to
give the Sultan an account.
The Sultan was very well pleased with the magician’s conduct, and said to
her: “Do you as you think fit; I’ll wait patiently the event of your
promises,” and to encourage her made her a present of a diamond of great
value.
As Prince Ahmed had obtained the Fairy Paribanou’s leave to go to the
Sultan of the Indies’ Court once a month, he never failed, and the
magician, knowing the time, went a day or two before to the foot of the
rock where she lost sight of the Prince and his attendants, and waited
there.
The next morning Prince Ahmed went out, as usual, at the iron gate, with
the same attendants as before, and passed by the magician, whom he knew
not to be such, and, seeing her lie with her head against the rock, and
complaining as if she were in great pain, he pitied her, turned his horse
about, went to her, and asked her what was the matter with her, and what
he could do to ease her.
The artful sorceress looked at the Prince in a pitiful manner, without
ever lifting up her head, and answered in broken words and sighs, as if
she could hardly fetch her breath, that she was going to the capital city,
but on the way thither she was taken with so violent a fever that her
strength failed her, and she was forced to lie down where he saw her, far
from any habitation, and without any hopes of assistance.
“Good woman,” replied Prince Ahmed, “you are not so far from help as you
imagine. I am ready to assist you, and convey you where you will meet with
a speedy cure; only get up, and let one of my people take you behind him.”
At these words the magician, who pretended sickness only to know where the
Prince lived and what he did, refused not the charitable offer he made
her, and that her actions might correspond with her words she made many
pretended vain endeavors to get up. At the same time two of the Prince’s
attendants, alighting off their horses, helped her up, and set her behind
another, and mounted their horses again, and followed the Prince, who
turned back to the iron gate, which was opened by one of his retinue who
rode before. And when he came into the outward court of the Fairy, without
dismounting himself, he sent to tell her he wanted to speak with her.
The Fairy Paribanou came with all imaginable haste, not knowing what made
Prince Ahmed return so soon, who, not giving her time to ask him the
reason, said: “Princess, I desire you would have compassion on this good
woman,” pointing to the magician, who was held up by two of his retinue.
“I found her in the condition you see her in, and promised her the
assistance she stands in need of, and am persuaded that you, out of your
own goodness, as well as upon my entreaty, will not abandon her.”
The Fairy Paribanou, who had her eyes fixed upon the pretended sick woman
all the time that the Prince was talking to her, ordered two of her women
who followed her to take her from the two men that held her, and carry her
into an apartment of the palace, and take as much care of her as she would
herself.
While the two women executed the Fairy’s commands, she went up to Prince
Ahmed, and, whispering in his ear, said: “Prince, this woman is not so
sick as she pretends to be; and I am very much mistaken if she is not an
impostor, who will be the cause of a great trouble to you. But don’t be
concerned, let what will be devised against you; be persuaded that I will
deliver you out of all the snares that shall be laid for you. Go and
pursue your journey.”
This discourse of the Fairy’s did not in the least frighten Prince Ahmed.
“My Princess,” said he, “as I do not remember I ever did or designed
anybody an injury, I cannot believe anybody can have a thought of doing me
one, but if they have I shall not, nevertheless, forbear doing good
whenever I have an opportunity.” Then he went back to his father’s palace.
In the meantime the two women carried the magician into a very fine
apartment, richly furnished. First they sat her down upon a sofa, with her
back supported with a cushion of gold brocade, while they made a bed on
the same sofa before her, the quilt of which was finely embroidered with
silk, the sheets of the finest linen, and the coverlet cloth-of-gold. When
they had put her into bed (for the old sorceress pretended that her fever
was so violent she could not help herself in the least) one of the women
went out, and returned soon again with a china dish in her hand, full of a
certain liquor, which she presented to the magician, while the other
helped her to sit up. “Drink this liquor,” said she; “it is the Water of
the Fountain of Lions, and a sovereign remedy against all fevers
whatsoever. You will find the effect of it in less than an hour’s time.”
The magician, to dissemble the better, took it after a great deal of
entreaty; but at last she took the china dish, and, holding back her head,
swallowed down the liquor. When she was laid down again the two women
covered her up. “Lie quiet,” said she who brought her the china cup, “and
get a little sleep if you can. We’ll leave you, and hope to find you
perfectly cured when we come again an hour hence.”
The two women came again at the time they said they should, and found the
magician up and dressed, and sitting upon the sofa. “Oh, admirable
potion!” she said: “it has wrought its cure much sooner than you told me
it would, and I shall be able to prosecute my journey.”
The two women, who were fairies as well as their mistress, after they had
told the magician how glad they were that she was cured so soon, walked
before her, and conducted her through several apartments, all more noble
than that wherein she lay, into a large hall, the most richly and
magnificently furnished of all the palace.
Fairy Paribanou sat in this hall on a throne of massive gold, enriched
with diamonds, rubies, and pearls of an extraordinary size, and attended
on each hand by a great number of beautiful fairies, all richly clothed.
At the sight of so much majesty, the magician was not only dazzled, but
was so amazed that, after she had prostrated herself before the throne,
she could not open her lips to thank the Fairy as she proposed. However,
Paribanou saved her the trouble, and said to her: “Good woman, I am glad I
had an opportunity to oblige you, and to see you are able to pursue your
journey. I won’t detain you, but perhaps you may not be displeased to see
my palace; follow my women, and they will show it you.”
Then the magician went back and related to the Sultan of the Indies all
that had happened, and how very rich Prince Ahmed was since his marriage
with the Fairy, richer than all the kings in the world, and how there was
danger that he should come and take the throne from his father.
Though the Sultan of the Indies was very well persuaded that Prince
Ahmed’s natural disposition was good, yet he could not help being
concerned at the discourse of the old sorceress, to whom, when she was
taking her leave, he said: “I thank thee for the pains thou hast taken,
and thy wholesome advice. I am so sensible of the great importance it is
to me that I shall deliberate upon it in council.”
Now the favorites advised that the Prince should be killed, but the
magician advised differently: “Make him give you all kinds of wonderful
things, by the Fairy’s help, till she tires of him and sends him away. As,
for example, every time your Majesty goes into the field, you are obliged
to be at a great expense, not only in pavilions and tents for your army,
but likewise in mules and camels to carry their baggage. Now, might not
you engage him to use his interest with the Fairy to procure you a tent
which might be carried in a man’s hand, and which should be so large as to
shelter your whole army against bad weather?”
When the magician had finished her speech, the Sultan asked his favorites
if they had anything better to propose; and, finding them all silent,
determined to follow the magician’s advice, as the most reasonable and
most agreeable to his mild government.
Next day the Sultan did as the magician had advised him, and asked for the
pavilion.
Prince Ahmed never expected that the Sultan his father would have asked
such a thing, which at first appeared so difficult, not to say impossible.
Though he knew not absolutely how great the power of genies and fairies
was, he doubted whether it extended so far as to compass such a tent as
his father desired. At last he replied: “Though it is with the greatest
reluctance imaginable, I will not fail to ask the favor of my wife your
Majesty desires, but will not promise you to obtain it; and if I should
not have the honor to come again to pay you my respects that shall be the
sign that I have not had success. But beforehand, I desire you to forgive
me, and consider that you yourself have reduced me to this extremity.”
“Son,” replied the Sultan of the Indies, “I should be very sorry if what I
ask of you should cause me the displeasure of never seeing you more. I
find you don’t know the power a husband has over a wife; and yours would
show that her love to you was very indifferent if she, with the power she
has of a fairy, should refuse you so trifling a request as this I desire
you to ask of her for my sake.” The Prince went back, and was very sad for
fear of offending the Fairy. She kept pressing him to tell her what was
the matter, and at last he said: “Madam, you may have observed that
hitherto I have been content with your love, and have never asked you any
other favor. Consider then, I conjure you, that it is not I, but the
Sultan my father, who indiscreetly, or at least I think so, begs of you a
pavilion large enough to shelter him, his Court, and army from the
violence of the weather, and which a man may carry in his hand. But
remember it is the Sultan my father asks this favor.”
“Prince,” replied the Fairy, smiling, “I am sorry that so small a matter
should disturb you, and make you so uneasy as you appeared to me.”
Then the Fairy sent for her treasurer, to whom, when she came, she said:
“Nourgihan”—which was her name—“bring me the largest pavilion
in my treasury.” Nourgiham returned presently with the pavilion, which she
could not only hold in her hand, but in the palm of her hand when she shut
her fingers, and presented it to her mistress, who gave it to Prince Ahmed
to look at.
When Prince Ahmed saw the pavilion which the Fairy called the largest in
her treasury, he fancied she had a mind to jest with him, and thereupon
the marks of his surprise appeared presently in his countenance; which
Paribanou perceiving burst out laughing. “What! Prince,” cried she, “do
you think I jest with you? You’ll see presently that I am in earnest.
Nourgihan,” said she to her treasurer, taking the tent out of Prince
Ahmed’s hands, “go and set it up, that the Prince may judge whether it may
be large enough for the Sultan his father.”
The treasurer went immediately with it out of the palace, and carried it a
great way off; and when she had set it up one end reached to the very
palace; at which time the Prince, thinking it small, found it large enough
to shelter two greater armies than that of the Sultan his father’s, and
then said to Paribanou: “I ask my Princess a thousand pardons for my
incredulity; after what I have seen I believe there is nothing impossible
to you.” “You see,” said the Fairy, “that the pavilion is larger than what
your father may have occasion for; for you must know that it has one
property—that it is larger or smaller according to the army it is to
cover.”
The treasurer took down the tent again, and brought it to the Prince, who
took it, and, without staying any longer than till the next day, mounted
his horse, and went with the same attendants to the Sultan his father.
The Sultan, who was persuaded that there could not be any such thing as
such a tent as he asked for, was in a great surprise at the Prince’s
diligence. He took the tent and after he had admired its smallness his
amazement was so great that he could not recover himself. When the tent
was set up in the great plain, which we have before mentioned, he found it
large enough to shelter an army twice as large as he could bring into the
field.
But the Sultan was not yet satisfied. “Son,” said he, “I have already
expressed to you how much I am obliged to you for the present of the tent
you have procured me; that I look upon it as the most valuable thing in
all my treasury. But you must do one thing more for me, which will be
every whit as agreeable to me. I am informed that the Fairy, your spouse,
makes use of a certain water, called the Water of the Fountain of Lions,
which cures all sorts of fevers, even the most dangerous, and, as I am
perfectly well persuaded my health is dear to you, I don’t doubt but you
will ask her for a bottle of that water for me, and bring it me as a
sovereign medicine, which I may make use of when I have occasion. Do me
this other important piece of service, and thereby complete the duty of a
good son toward a tender father.”
The Prince returned and told the Fairy what his father had said; “There’s
a great deal of wickedness in this demand?” she answered, “as you will
understand by what I am going to tell you. The Fountain of Lions is
situated in the middle of a court of a great castle, the entrance into
which is guarded by four fierce lions, two of which sleep alternately,
while the other two are awake. But don’t let that frighten you: I’ll give
you means to pass by them without any danger.”
The Fairy Paribanou was at that time very hard at work, and, as she had
several clews of thread by her, she took up one, and, presenting it to
Prince Ahmed, said: “First take this clew of thread. I’ll tell you
presently the use of it. In the second place, you must have two horses;
one you must ride yourself, and the other you must lead, which must be
loaded with a sheep cut into four quarters, that must be killed to-day. In
the third place, you must be provided with a bottle, which I will give
you, to bring the water in. Set out early to-morrow morning, and when you
have passed the iron gate throw the clew of thread before you, which will
roll till it comes to the gates of the castle. Follow it, and when it
stops, as the gates will be open, you will see the four lions: the two
that are awake will, by their roaring, wake the other two, but don’t be
frightened, but throw each of them a quarter of mutton, and then clap
spurs to your horse and ride to the fountain; fill your bottle without
alighting, and then return with the same expedition. The lions will be so
busy eating they will let you pass by them.”
Prince Ahmed set out the next morning at the time appointed by the Fairy,
and followed her directions exactly. When he arrived at the gates of the
castle he distributed the quarters of mutton among the four lions, and,
passing through the midst of them bravely, got to the fountain, filled his
bottle, and returned back as safe and sound as he went. When he had gone a
little distance from the castle gates he turned him about, and, perceiving
two of the lions coming after him, he drew his sabre and prepared himself
for defense. But as he went forward he saw one of them turned out of the
road at some distance, and showed by his head and tail that he did not
come to do him any harm, but only to go before him, and that the other
stayed behind to follow, he put his sword up again in its scabbard.
Guarded in this manner, he arrived at the capital of the Indies, but the
lions never left him till they had conducted him to the gates of the
Sultan’s palace; after which they returned the same way they came, though
not without frightening all that saw them, for all they went in a very
gentle manner and showed no fierceness.
A great many officers came to attend the Prince while he dismounted his
horse, and afterward conducted him into the Sultan’s apartment, who was at
that time surrounded with his favorites. He approached toward the throne,
laid the bottle at the Sultan’s feet, and kissed the rich tapestry which
covered his footstool, and then said:
“I have brought you, sir, the healthful water which your Majesty desired
so much to keep among your other rarities in your treasury, but at the
same time wish you such extraordinary health as never to have occasion to
make use of it.”
After the Prince had made an end of his compliment the Sultan placed him
on his right hand, and then said to him: “Son, I am very much obliged to
you for this valuable present, as also for the great danger you have
exposed yourself to upon my account (which I have been informed of by a
magician who knows the Fountain of Lions); but do me the pleasure,”
continued he, “to inform me by what address, or, rather, by what
incredible power, you have been secured.”
“Sir,” replied Prince Ahmed, “I have no share in the compliment your
Majesty is pleased to make me; all the honor is due to the Fairy my
spouse, whose good advice I followed.” Then he informed the Sultan what
those directions were, and by the relation of this his expedition let him
know how well he had behaved himself. When he had done the Sultan, who
showed outwardly all the demonstrations of great joy, but secretly became
more jealous, retired into an inward apartment, where he sent for the
magician.
The magician, at her arrival, saved the Sultan the trouble to tell her of
the success of Prince Ahmed’s journey, which she had heard of before she
came, and therefore was prepared with an infallible means, as she
pretended. This means she communicated to the Sultan who declared it the
next day to the Prince, in the midst of all his courtiers, in these words:
“Son,” said he, “I have one thing more to ask of you, after which I shall
expect nothing more from your obedience, nor your interest with your wife.
This request is, to bring me a man not above a foot and a half high, and
whose beard is thirty feet long who carries a bar of iron upon his
shoulders of five hundredweight, which he uses as a quarterstaff.”
Prince Ahmed, who did not believe that there was such a man in the world
as his father described, would gladly have excused himself; but the Sultan
persisted in his demand, and told him the Fairy could do more incredible
things.
The next day the Prince returned to his dear Paribanou, to whom he told
his father’s new demand, which, he said, he looked upon to be a thing more
impossible than the two first; “for,” added he, “I cannot imagine there
can be such a man in the world; without doubt, he has a mind to try
whether or no I am so silly as to go about it, or he has a design on my
ruin. In short, how can he suppose that I should lay hold of a man so well
armed, though he is but little? What arms can I make use of to reduce him
to my will? If there are any means, I beg you will tell them, and let me
come off with honor this time.”
“Don’t affright yourself, Prince,” replied the Fairy; “you ran a risk in
fetching the Water of the Fountain of Lions for your father, but there’s
no danger in finding out this man, who is my brother Schaibar, but is so
far from being like me, though we both had the same father, that he is of
so violent a nature that nothing can prevent his giving cruel marks of his
resentment for a slight offense; yet, on the other hand, is so good as to
oblige anyone in whatever they desire. He is made exactly as the Sultan
your father has described him, and has no other arms than a bar of iron of
five hundred pounds weight, without which he never stirs, and which makes
him respected. I’ll send for him, and you shall judge of the truth of what
I tell you; but be sure to prepare yourself against being frightened at
his extraordinary figure when you see him.” “What! my Queen,” replied
Prince Ahmed, “do you say Schaibar is your brother? Let him be never so
ugly or deformed I shall be so far from being frightened at the sight of
him that, as our brother, I shall honor and love him.”
The Fairy ordered a gold chafing-dish to be set with a fire in it under
the porch of her palace, with a box of the same metal, which was a present
to her, out of which taking a perfume, and throwing it into the fire,
there arose a thick cloud of smoke.
Some moments after the Fairy said to Prince Ahmed: “See, there comes my
brother.” The Prince immediately perceived Schaibar coming gravely with
his heavy bar on his shoulder, his long beard, which he held up before
him, and a pair of thick mustachios, which he tucked behind his ears and
almost covered his face; his eyes were very small and deep-set in his
head, which was far from being of the smallest size, and on his head he
wore a grenadier’s cap; besides all this, he was very much hump-backed.
If Prince Ahmed had not known that Schaibar was Paribanou’s brother, he
would not have been able to have looked at him without fear, but, knowing
first who he was, he stood by the Fairy without the least concern.
Schaibar, as he came forward, looked at the Prince earnestly enough to
have chilled his blood in his veins, and asked Paribanou, when he first
accosted her, who that man was. To which she replied: “He is my husband,
brother. His name is Ahmed; he is son to the Sultan of the Indies. The
reason why I did not invite you to my wedding was I was unwilling to
divert you from an expedition you were engaged in, and from which I heard
with pleasure you returned victorious, and so took the liberty now to call
for you.”
At these words, Schaibar, looking on Prince Ahmed favorably, said: “Is
there anything else, sister, wherein I can serve him? It is enough for me
that he is your husband to engage me to do for him whatever he desires.”
“The Sultan, his father,” replied Paribanou, “has a curiosity to see you,
and I desire he may be your guide to the Sultan’s Court.” “He needs but
lead me the way I’ll follow him.” “Brother,” replied Paribanou, “it is too
late to go to-day, therefore stay till to-morrow morning; and in the
meantime I’ll inform you of all that has passed between the Sultan of the
Indies and Prince Ahmed since our marriage.”
The next morning, after Schaibar had been informed of the affair, he and
Prince Ahmed set out for the Sultan’s Court. When they arrived at the
gates of the capital the people no sooner saw Schaibar but they ran and
hid themselves; and some shut up their shops and locked themselves up in
their houses, while others, flying, communicated their fear to all they
met, who stayed not to look behind them, but ran too; insomuch that
Schaibar and Prince Ahmed, as they went along, found the streets all
desolate till they came to the palaces where the porters, instead of
keeping the gates, ran away too, so that the Prince and Schaibar advanced
without any obstacle to the council-hall, where the Sultan was seated on
his throne, and giving audience. Here likewise the ushers, at the approach
of Schaibar, abandoned their posts, and gave them free admittance.
Schaibar went boldly and fiercely up to the throne, without waiting to be
presented by Prince Ahmed, and accosted the Sultan of the Indies in these
words: “Thou hast asked for me,” said he; “see, here I am; what wouldst
thou have with me?”
The Sultan, instead of answering him, clapped his hands before his eyes to
avoid the sight of so terrible an object; at which uncivil and rude
reception Schaibar was so much provoked, after he had given him the
trouble to come so far, that he instantly lifted up his iron bar and
killed him before Prince Ahmed could intercede in his behalf. All that he
could do was to prevent his killing the grand vizier, who sat not far from
him, representing to him that he had always given the Sultan his father
good advice. “These are they, then,” said Schaibar, “who gave him bad,”
and as he pronounced these words he killed all the other viziers and
flattering favorites of the Sultan who were Prince Ahmed’s enemies. Every
time he struck he killed some one or other, and none escaped but they who
were not so frightened as to stand staring and gaping, and who saved
themselves by flight.
When this terrible execution was over Schaibar came out of the
council-hall into the midst of the courtyard with the iron bar upon his
shoulder, and, looking hard at the grand vizier, who owed his life to
Prince Ahmed, he said: “I know here is a certain magician, who is a
greater enemy of my brother-in-law than all these base favorites I have
chastised. Let the magician be brought to me presently.” The grand vizier
immediately sent for her, and as soon as she was brought Schaibar said, at
the time he fetched a stroke at her with his iron bar: “Take the reward of
thy pernicious counsel, and learn to feign sickness again.”
After this he said: “This is not yet enough; I will use the whole town
after the same manner if they do not immediately acknowledge Prince Ahmed,
my brother-in-law, for their Sultan and the Sultan of the Indies.” Then
all that were there present made the air echo again with the repeated
acclamations of: “Long life to Sultan Ahmed”; and immediately after he was
proclaimed through the whole town. Schaibar made him be clothed in the
royal vestments, installed him on the throne, and after he had caused all
to swear homage and fidelity to him went and fetched his sister Paribanou,
whom he brought with all the pomp and grandeur imaginable, and made her to
be owned Sultaness of the Indies.
As for Prince Ali and Princess Nouronnihar, as they had no hand in the
conspiracy against Prince Ahmed and knew nothing of any, Prince Ahmed
assigned them a considerable province, with its capital, where they spent
the rest of their lives. Afterwards he sent an officer to Prince Houssain
to acquaint him with the change and make him an offer of which province he
liked best; but that Prince thought himself so happy in his solitude that
he bade the officer return the Sultan his brother thanks for the kindness
he designed him, assuring him of his submission; and that the only favor
he desired of him was to give him leave to live retired in the place he
had made choice of for his retreat.(1)
(1) Arabian Nights.
THE HISTORY OF JACK THE GIANT-KILLER
In the reign of the famous King Arthur there lived in Cornwall a lad named
Jack, who was a boy of a bold temper, and took delight in hearing or
reading of conjurers, giants, and fairies; and used to listen eagerly to
the deeds of the knights of King Arthur’s Round Table.
In those days there lived on St. Michael’s Mount, off Cornwall, a huge
giant, eighteen feet high and nine feet round; his fierce and savage looks
were the terror of all who beheld him.
He dwelt in a gloomy cavern on the top of the mountain, and used to wade
over to the mainland in search of prey; when he would throw half a dozen
oxen upon his back, and tie three times as many sheep and hogs round his
waist, and march back to his own abode.
The giant had done this for many years when Jack resolved to destroy him.
Jack took a horn, a shovel, a pickaxe, his armor, and a dark lantern, and
one winter’s evening he went to the mount. There he dug a pit twenty-two
feet deep and twenty broad. He covered the top over so as to make it look
like solid ground. He then blew his horn so loudly that the giant awoke
and came out of his den crying out: “You saucy villain! you shall pay for
this I’ll broil you for my breakfast!”
He had just finished, when, taking one step further, he tumbled headlong
into the pit, and Jack struck him a blow on the head with his pickaxe
which killed him. Jack then returned home to cheer his friends with the
news.
Another giant, called Blunderbore, vowed to be revenged on Jack if ever he
should have him in his power. This giant kept an enchanted castle in the
midst of a lonely wood; and some time after the death of Cormoran Jack was
passing through a wood, and being weary, sat down and went to sleep.
The giant, passing by and seeing Jack, carried him to his castle, where he
locked him up in a large room, the floor of which was covered with the
bodies, skulls and bones of men and women.
Soon after the giant went to fetch his brother who was likewise a giant,
to take a meal off his flesh; and Jack saw with terror through the bars of
his prison the two giants approaching.
Jack, perceiving in one corner of the room a strong cord, took courage,
and making a slip-knot at each end, he threw them over their heads, and
tied it to the window-bars; he then pulled till he had choked them. When
they were black in the face he slid down the rope and stabbed them to the
heart.
Jack next took a great bunch of keys from the pocket of Blunderbore, and
went into the castle again. He made a strict search through all the rooms,
and in one of them found three ladies tied up by the hair of their heads,
and almost starved to death. They told him that their husbands had been
killed by the giants, who had then condemned them to be starved to death
because they would not eat the flesh of their own dead husbands.
“Ladies,” said Jack, “I have put an end to the monster and his wicked
brother; and I give you this castle and all the riches it contains, to
make some amends for the dreadful pains you have felt.” He then very
politely gave them the keys of the castle, and went further on his journey
to Wales.
As Jack had but little money, he went on as fast as possible. At length he
came to a handsome house. Jack knocked at the door, when there came forth
a Welsh giant. Jack said he was a traveler who had lost his way, on which
the giant made him welcome, and let him into a room where there was a good
bed to sleep in.
Jack took off his clothes quickly, but though he was weary he could not go
to sleep. Soon after this he heard the giant walking backward and forward
in the next room, and saying to himself:
“Say you so?” thought Jack. “Are these your tricks upon travelers? But I
hope to prove as cunning as you are.” Then, getting out of bed, he groped
about the room, and at last found a large thick billet of wood. He laid it
in his own place in the bed, and then hid himself in a dark corner of the
room.
The giant, about midnight, entered the apartment, and with his bludgeon
struck many blows on the bed, in the very place where Jack had laid the
log; and then he went back to his own room, thinking he had broken all
Jack’s bones.
Early in the morning Jack put a bold face upon the matter, and walked into
the giant’s room to thank him for his lodging. The giant started when he
saw him, and began to stammer out: “Oh! dear me; is it you? Pray how did
you sleep last night? Did you hear or see anything in the dead of the
night?”
“Nothing to speak of,” said Jack, carelessly; “a rat, I believe, gave me
three or four slaps with its tail, and disturbed me a little; but I soon
went to sleep again.”
The giant wondered more and more at this; yet he did not answer a word,
but went to bring two great bowls of hasty-pudding for their breakfast.
Jack wanted to make the giant believe that he could eat as much as
himself, so he contrived to button a leathern bag inside his coat, and
slip the hasty-pudding into this bag, while he seemed to put it into his
mouth.
When breakfast was over he said to the giant: “Now I will show you a fine
trick. I can cure all wounds with a touch; I could cut off my head in one
minute, and the next put it sound again on my shoulders. You shall see an
example.” He then took hold of the knife, ripped up the leathern bag, and
all the hasty-pudding tumbled out upon the floor.
“Ods splutter hur nails!” cried the Welsh giant, who was ashamed to be
outdone by such a little fellow as Jack, “hur can do that hurself”; so he
snatched up the knife, plunged it into his own stomach, and in a moment
dropped down dead.
Jack, having hitherto been successful in all his undertakings, resolved
not to be idle in future; he therefore furnished himself with a horse, a
cap of knowledge, a sword of sharpness, shoes of swiftness, and an
invisible coat, the better to perform the wonderful enterprises that lay
before him.
He traveled over high hills, and on the third day he came to a large and
spacious forest through which his road lay. Scarcely had he entered the
forest when he beheld a monstrous giant dragging along by the hair of
their heads a handsome knight and his lady. Jack alighted from his horse,
and tying him to an oak tree, put on his invisible coat, under which he
carried his sword of sharpness.
When he came up to the giant he made several strokes at him, but could not
reach his body, but wounded his thighs in several places; and at length,
putting both hands to his sword and aiming with all his might, he cut off
both his legs. Then Jack, setting his foot upon his neck, plunged his
sword into the giant’s body, when the monster gave a groan and expired.
The knight and his lady thanked Jack for their deliverance, and invited
him to their house, to receive a proper reward for his services. “No,”
said Jack, “I cannot be easy till I find out this monster’s habitation.”
So, taking the knight’s directions, he mounted his horse and soon after
came in sight of another giant, who was sitting on a block of timber
waiting for his brother’s return.
Jack alighted from his horse, and, putting on his invisible coat,
approached and aimed a blow at the giant’s head, but, missing his aim, he
only cut off his nose. On this the giant seized his club and laid about
him most unmercifully.
“Nay,” said Jack, “if this be the case I’d better dispatch you!” so,
jumping upon the block, he stabbed him in the back, when he dropped down
dead.
Jack then proceeded on his journey, and traveled over hills and dales,
till arriving at the foot of a high mountain he knocked at the door of a
lonely house, when an old man let him in.
When Jack was seated the hermit thus addressed him: “My son, on the top of
this mountain is an enchanted castle, kept by the giant Galligantus and a
vile magician. I lament the fate of a duke’s daughter, whom they seized as
she was walking in her father’s garden, and brought hither transformed
into a deer.”
Jack promised that in the morning, at the risk of his life, he would break
the enchantment; and after a sound sleep he rose early, put on his
invisible coat, and got ready for the attempt.
When he had climbed to the top of the mountain he saw two fiery griffins,
but he passed between them without the least fear of danger, for they
could not see him because of his invisible coat. On the castle gate he
found a golden trumpet, under which were written these lines:
As soon as Jack had read this he seized the trumpet and blew a shrill
blast, which made the gates fly open and the very castle itself tremble.
The giant and the conjurer now knew that their wicked course was at an
end, and they stood biting their thumbs and shaking with fear. Jack, with
his sword of sharpness, soon killed the giant, and the magician was then
carried away by a whirlwind; and every knight and beautiful lady who had
been changed into birds and beasts returned to their proper shapes. The
castle vanished away like smoke, and the head of the giant Galligantus was
then sent to King Arthur.
The knights and ladies rested that night at the old man’s hermitage, and
next day they set out for the Court. Jack then went up to the King, and
gave his Majesty an account of all his fierce battles.
Jack’s fame had now spread through the whole country, and at the King’s
desire the duke gave him his daughter in marriage, to the joy of all his
kingdom. After this the King gave him a large estate, on which he and his
lady lived the rest of their days in joy and contentment.(1)
(1) Old Chapbook.
THE BLACK BULL OF NORROWAY
In Norroway, langsyne, there lived a certain lady, and she had three
dochters. The auldest o’ them said to her mither: “Mither, bake me a
bannock, and roast me a collop, for I’m gaun awa’ to seek my fortune.” Her
mither did sae; and the dochter gaed awa’ to an auld witch washerwife and
telled her purpose. The auld wife bade her stay that day, and gang and
look out o’ her back door, and see what she could see. She saw nocht the
first day. The second day she did the same, and saw nocht. On the third
day she looked again, and saw a coach-and-six coming along the road. She
ran in and telled the auld wife what she saw. “Aweel,” quo’ the auld wife,
“yon’s for you.” Sae they took her into the coach, and galloped aff.
The second dochter next says to her mither: “Mither, bake me a bannock,
and roast me a collop, fur I’m gaun awa’ to seek my fortune.” Her mither
did sae; and awa’ she gaed to the auld wife, as her sister had dune. On
the third day she looked out o’ the back door, and saw a coach-and-four
coming along the road. “Aweel,” quo’ the auld wife, “yon’s for you.” Sae
they took her in, and aff they set.
The third dochter says to her mither: “Mither, bake me a bannock, and
roast me a collop, for I’m gaun awa’ to seek my fortune.” Her mither did
sae; and awa’ she gaed to the auld witch-wife. She bade her look out o’
her back door, and see what she could see. She did sae; and when she came
back said she saw nocht. The second day she did the same, and saw nocht.
The third day she looked again, and on coming back said to the auld wife
she saw nocht but a muckle Black Bull coming roaring alang the road.
“Aweel,” quo’ the auld wife, “yon’s for you.” On hearing this she was next
to distracted wi’ grief and terror; but she was lifted up and set on his
back, and awa’ they went.
Aye they traveled, and on they traveled, till the lady grew faint wi’
hunger. “Eat out o’ my right lug,” says the Black Bull, “and drink out o’
my left lug, and set by your leavings.” Sae she did as he said, and was
wonderfully refreshed. And lang they gaed, and sair they rade, till they
came in sight o’ a very big and bonny castle. “Yonder we maun be this
night,” quo’ the bull; “for my auld brither lives yonder”; and presently
they were at the place. They lifted her aff his back, and took her in, and
sent him away to a park for the night. In the morning, when they brought
the bull hame, they took the lady into a fine shining parlor, and gave her
a beautiful apple, telling her no to break it till she was in the greatest
strait ever mortal was in in the world, and that wad bring her o’t. Again
she was lifted on the bull’s back, and after she had ridden far, and farer
than I can tell, they came in sight o’ a far bonnier castle, and far
farther awa’ than the last. Says the bull till her: “Yonder we maun be the
night, for my second brither lives yonder”; and they were at the place
directly. They lifted her down and took her in, and sent the bull to the
field for the night. In the morning they took the lady into a fine and
rich room, and gave her the finest pear she had ever seen, bidding her no
to break it till she was in the greatest strait ever mortal could be in,
and that wad get her out o’t. Again she was lifted and set on his back,
and awa’ they went. And lang they gaed, and sair they rade, till they came
in sight o’ the far biggest castle, and far farthest aff, they had yet
seen. “We maun be yonder the night,” says the bull, “for my young brither
lives yonder”; and they were there directly. They lifted her down, took
her in, and sent the bull to the field for the night. In the morning they
took her into a room, the finest of a’, and gied her a plum, telling her
no to break it till she was in the greatest strait mortal could be in, and
that wad get her out o’t. Presently they brought hame the bull, set the
lady on his back, and awa’ they went.
And aye they gaed, and on they rade, till they came to a dark and ugsome
glen, where they stopped, and the lady lighted down. Says the bull to her:
“Here ye maun stay till I gang and fight the deil. Ye maun seat yoursel’
on that stane, and move neither hand nor fit till I come back, else I’ll
never find ye again. And if everything round about ye turns blue I hae
beated the deil; but should a’ things turn red he’ll hae conquered me.”
She set hersel’ down on the stane, and by-and-by a’ round her turned blue.
O’ercome wi’ joy, she lifted the ae fit and crossed it owre the ither, sae
glad was she that her companion was victorious. The bull returned and
sought for but never could find her.
Lang she sat, and aye she grat, till she wearied. At last she rase and
gaed awa’, she kedna whaur till. On she wandered till she came to a great
hill o’ glass, that she tried a’ she could to climb, bat wasna able. Round
the bottom o’ the hill she gaed, sabbing and seeking a passage owre, till
at last she came to a smith’s house; and the smith promised, if she wad
serve him seven years, he wad make her iron shoon, wherewi’ she could
climb owre the glassy hill. At seven years’ end she got her iron shoon,
clamb the glassy hill, and chanced to come to the auld washerwife’s
habitation. There she was telled of a gallant young knight that had given
in some bluidy sarks to wash, and whaever washed thae sarks was to be his
wife. The auld wife had washed till she was tired, and then she set to her
dochter, and baith washed, and they washed, and they better washed, in
hopes of getting the young knight; but a’ they could do they couldna bring
out a stain. At length they set the stranger damosel to wark; and whenever
she began the stains came out pure and clean, but the auld wife made the
knight believe it was her dochter had washed the sarks. So the knight and
the eldest dochter were to be married, and the stranger damosel was
distracted at the thought of it, for she was deeply in love wi’ him. So
she bethought her of her apple, and breaking it, found it filled with gold
and precious jewelry, the richest she had ever seen. “All these,” she said
to the eldest dochter, “I will give you, on condition that you put off
your marriage for ae day, and allow me to go into his room alone at
night.” So the lady consented; but meanwhile the auld wife had prepared a
sleeping-drink, and given it to the knight, wha drank it, and never
wakened till next morning. The lee-lang night ther damosel sabbed and
sang:
Next day she kentna what to do for grief. She then brak the pear, and
found it filled wi’ jewelry far richer than the contents o’ the apple. Wi’
thae jewels she bargained for permission to be a second night in the young
knight’s chamber; but the auld wife gied him anither sleeping-drink, and
he again sleepit till morning. A’ night she kept sighing and singing as
before:
“Seven lang years I served for thee,” &c. Still he sleepit, and she
nearly lost hope a’thegither. But that day when he was out at the hunting,
somebody asked him what noise and moaning was yon they heard all last
night in his bedchamber. He said he heardna ony noise. But they assured
him there was sae; and he resolved to keep waking that night to try what
he could hear. That being the third night, and the damosel being between
hope and despair, she brak her plum, and it held far the richest jewelry
of the three. She bargained as before; and the auld wife, as before, took
in the sleeping-drink to the young knight’s chamber; but he telled her he
couldna drink it that night without sweetening. And when she gaed awa’ for
some honey to sweeten it wi’, he poured out the drink, and sae made the
auld wife think he had drunk it. They a’ went to bed again, and the
damosel began, as before, singing:
He heard, and turned to her. And she telled him a’ that had befa’en her,
and he telled her a’ that had happened to him. And he caused the auld
washerwife and her dochter to be burned. And they were married, and he and
she are living happy till this day, for aught I ken.(1)
(1) Chambers, Popular Traditions of Scotland.
THE RED ETIN
There were ance twa widows that lived on a small bit o’ ground, which they
rented from a farmer. Ane of them had twa sons, and the other had ane; and
by-and-by it was time for the wife that had twa sons to send them away to
seeke their fortune. So she told her eldest son ae day to take a can and
bring her water from the well, that she might bake a cake for him; and
however much or however little water he might bring, the cake would be
great or sma’ accordingly; and that cake was to be a’ that she could gie
him when he went on his travels.
The lad gaed away wi’ the can to the well, and filled it wi’ water, and
then came away hame again; but the can being broken the maist part of the
water had run out before he got back. So his cake was very sma’; yet sma’
as it was, his mother asked if he was willing to take the half of it with
her blessing, telling him that, if he chose rather to have the hale, he
would only get it wi’ her curse. The young man, thinking he might hae to
travel a far way, and not knowing when or how he might get other
provisions, said he would like to hae the hale cake, com of his mother’s
malison what like; so she gave him the hale cake, and her malison alang
wi’t. Then he took his brither aside, and gave him a knife to keep till he
should come back, desiring him to look at it every morning, and as lang as
it continued to be clear, then he might be sure that the owner of it was
well; but if it grew dim and rusty, then for certain some ill had befallen
him.
So the young man set out to seek his fortune. And he gaed a’ that day, and
a’ the next day; and on the third day, in the afternoon, he came up to
where a shepherd was sitting with a flock o’ sheep. And he gaed up to the
shepherd and asked him wha the sheep belanged to; and the man answered:
The young man then went on his journey; and he had not gone far when he
espied an old man with white locks herding a flock of swine; and he gaed
up to him and asked whose swine these were, when the man answered:
Then the young man gaed on a bit farther, and came to another very old man
herding goats; and when he asked whose goats they were, the answer was:
This old man also told him to beware of the next beasts that he should
meet, for they were of a very different kind from any he had yet seen.
So the young man went on, and by-and-by he saw a multitude of very
dreadfu’ beasts, ilk ane o’ them wi’ twa heads, and on every head four
horns. And he was sore frightened, and ran away from them as fast as he
could; and glad was he when he came to a castle that stood on a hillock,
wi’ the door standing wide to the wa’. And he gaed into the castle for
shelter, and there he saw an auld wife sitting beside the kitchen fire. He
asked the wife if he might stay there for the night, as he was tired wi’ a
lang journey; and the wife said he might, but it was not a good place for
him to be in, as it belanged to the Red Etin, who was a very terrible
beast, wi’ three heads, that spared no living man he could get hold of.
The young man would have gone away, but he was afraid of the beasts on the
outside of the castle; so he beseeched the old woman to conceal him as
well as she could, and not to tell the Etin that he was there. He thought,
if he could put over the night, he might get away in the morning without
meeting wi’ the beasts, and so escape. But he had not been long in his
hidy-hole before the awful Etin came in; and nae sooner was he in than he
was heard crying:
(1) “Kitchen,” that is, “season.”
The monster soon found the poor young man, and pulled him from his hole.
And when he had got him out he told him that if he could answer him three
questions his life should be spared. The first was: Whether Ireland or
Scotland was first inhabited? The second was: Whether man was made for
woman, or woman for man? The third was: Whether men or brutes were made
first? The lad not being able to answer one of these questions, the Red
Etin took a mace and knocked him on the head, and turned him into a pillar
of stone.
On the morning after this happened the younger brither took out the knife
to look at it, and he was grieved to find it a’ brown wi’ rust. He told
his mother that the time was now come for him to go away upon his travels
also; so she requested him to take the can to the well for water, that she
might bake a cake for him. The can being broken, he brought hame as little
water as the other had done, and the cake was as little. She asked whether
he would have the hale cake wi’ her malison, or the half wi’ her blessing;
and, like his brither, he thought it best to have the hale cake, come o’
the malison what might. So he gaed away; and everything happened to him
that had happened to his brother!
The other widow and her son heard of a’ that had happened frae a fairy,
and the young man determined that he would also go upon his travels, and
see if he could do anything to relieve his twa friends. So his mother gave
him a can to go to the well and bring home water, that she might bake him
a cake for his journey. And he gaed, and as he was bringing hame the
water, a raven owre abune his head cried to him to look, and he would see
that the water was running out. And he was a young man of sense, and
seeing the water running out, he took some clay and patched up the holes,
so that he brought home enough water to bake a large cake. When his mother
put it to him to take the half-cake wi’ her blessing, he took it in
preference to having the hale wi’ her malison; and yet the half was bigger
than what the other lads had got a’thegither.
So he gaed away on his journey; and after he had traveled a far way he met
wi’ an auld woman, that asked him if he would give her a bit of his
bannock. And he said he would gladly do that, and so he gave her a piece
of the bannock; and for that she gied him a magical wand, that she said
might yet be of service to him if he took care to use it rightly. Then the
auld woman, who was a fairy, told him a great deal that whould happen to
him, and what he ought to do in a’ circumstances; and after that she
vanished in an instant out o’ his sight. He gaed on a great way farther,
and then he came up to the old man herding the sheep; and when he asked
whose sheep these were, the answer was:
(Repeat the same inquiries to the man attending the swine and the man
attending the goats, with the same answer in each case.)
When he came to the place where the monstrous beasts were standing, he did
not stop nor run away, but went boldly through among them. One came up
roaring with open mouth to devour him, when he struck it with his wand,
and laid it in an instant dead at his feet. He soon came to the Etin’s
castle, where he knocked, and was admitted. The auld woman that sat by the
fire warned him of the terrible Etin, and what had been the fate of the
twa brithers; but he was not to be daunted. The monster soon came in,
saying:
He quickly espied the young man, and bade him come forth on the floor. And
then he put the three questions to him, but the young man had been told
everything by the good fairy, so he was able to answer all the questions.
When the Etin found this he knew that his power was gone. The young man
then took up the axe and hewed off the monster’s three heads. He next
asked the old woman to show him where the King’s daughters lay; and the
old woman took him upstairs and opened a great many doors, and out of
every door came a beautiful lady who had been imprisoned there by the
Etin; and ane o’ the ladies was the King’s daughter. She also took him
down into a low room, and there stood two stone pillars that he had only
to touch wi’ his wand, when his two friends and neighbors started into
life. And the hale o’ the prisoners were overjoyed at their deliverance,
which they all acknowledged to be owing to the prudent young man. Next day
they a’ set out for the King’s Court, and a gallant company they made. And
the King married his daughter to the young man that had delivered her, and
gave a noble’s daughter to ilk ane o’ the other young men; and so they a’
lived happily a’ the rest o’ their days.(1)
(1) Chambers, Popular Traditions of Scotland.