{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_28314/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_28314","id":"gutenberg_28314","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/28314","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Children & Young Adult Reading","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Fairy tales","Folklore"],"text":"THE\n\nYELLOW FAIRY BOOK\n\n\n\n\nWORKS BY ANDREW LANG.\n\n\n     COCK LANE AND COMMON SENSE: a Series of\n     Papers. Crown 8vo. 6_s._ 6_d._ _net_.\n\n     BAN and ARRI\u00c8RE BAN: a Rally of Fugitive\n     Rhymes. Crown 8vo. 5_s._ _net_.\n\n     ST. ANDREWS. With 8 Plates and 24 Illustrations\n     in the Text by T. Hodge. 8vo. 15_s._ _net_.\n\n     HOMER AND THE EPIC. Crown 8vo. 9_s._ _net_.\n\n     CUSTOM AND MYTH: Studies of Early Usage and\n     Belief. With 15 Illustrations. Crown 8vo. 3_s._ 6_d._\n\n     BALLADS OF BOOKS. Edited by ANDREW LANG.\n     Fcp. 8vo. 6_s._\n\n     LETTERS TO DEAD AUTHORS. Fcp. 8vo. 2_s._ 6_d._ _net_.\n\n     BOOKS AND BOOKMEN. With 2 Coloured Plates\n     and 17 Illustrations. Fcp. 8vo. 2_s._ 6_d._ _net_.\n\n     OLD FRIENDS. Fcp. 8vo. 2_s._ 6_d._ _net_.\n\n     LETTERS ON LITERATURE. Fcp. 8vo. 2_s._ 6_d._ _net_.\n\n     GRASS OF PARNASSUS. Fcp. 8vo. 2_s._ 6_d._ _net_.\n\n     ANGLING SKETCHES. With 20 Illustrations by\n     W. G. Burn-Murdoch. Crown 8vo. 7_s._ 6_d._\n\n     THE BLUE FAIRY BOOK. Edited by ANDREW LANG.\n     With 8 Plates and 130 Illustrations in the Text by\n     H. J. Ford and G. P. Jacomb Hood. Crown 8vo. 6_s._\n\n     THE RED FAIRY BOOK. Edited by ANDREW LANG.\n     With 4 Plates and 96 Illustrations in the Text by H. J. Ford\n     and Lancelot Speed. Crown 8vo. 6_s._\n\n     THE GREEN FAIRY BOOK. Edited by ANDREW LANG.\n     With 11 Plates and 88 Illustrations in the Text by\n     H. J. Ford. Crown 8vo. 6_s._\n\n     THE BLUE POETRY BOOK. Edited by ANDREW LANG.\n     With 12 Plates and 88 Illustrations in the Text by\n     H. J. Ford and Lancelot Speed. Crown 8vo. 6_s._\n\n     SCHOOL EDITION, without Illustrations. Fcp. 8vo.\n     2_s._ 6_d._\n\n     SPECIAL EDITION, printed on Indian paper. With Notes, but\n     without Illustrations. Crown 8vo. 7_s._ 6_d._\n\n     THE TRUE STORY BOOK. Edited by ANDREW LANG.\n     With 8 Plates and 58 Illustrations in the Text by H. J.\n     Ford, Lucien Davis, Lancelot Speed, and L. Bogle. Crown 8vo. 6_s._\n\n\nLondon: LONGMANS, GREEN, & CO.\nNew York: 15 East 16th Street.\n\n\n[Illustration: The Swineherd Takes the Ten Kisses]\n\n\n\n\nTHE\n\nYellow Fairy Book\n\n\nEDITED BY\n\nANDREW LANG\n\n[Illustration]\n\n_WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS BY H. J. FORD_\n\nLONDON\nLONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO.\nAND NEW YORK: 15 EAST 16th STREET\n1894\n\n_All rights reserved_\n\n\n\n\nDedication\n\nTO\n\nJOAN, TODDLES, AND TINY\n\n\n     Books Yellow, Red, and Green and Blue,\n     All true, or just as good as true,\n     And here\u2019s the Yellow Book for _you_!\n\n     Hard is the path from A to Z,\n     And puzzling to a curly head,\n     Yet leads to Books\u2014Green, Blue, and Red\n\n     For every child should understand\n     That letters from the first were planned\n     To guide us into Fairy Land\n\n     So labour at your Alphabet,\n     For by that learning shall you get\n     To lands where Fairies may be met.\n\n     And going where this pathway goes,\n     You too, at last, may find, who knows?\n     The Garden of the Singing Rose.\n\n\n\n\n_PREFACE_\n\n\nThe Editor thinks that children will readily forgive him for\npublishing another Fairy Book. We have had the Blue, the Red, the\nGreen, and here is the Yellow. If children are pleased, and they are\nso kind as to say that they _are_ pleased, the Editor does not care\nvery much for what other people may say. Now, there is one gentleman\nwho seems to think that it is not quite right to print so many fairy\ntales, with pictures, and to publish them in red and blue covers. He\nis named Mr. G. Laurence Gomme, and he is president of a learned body\ncalled the Folk Lore Society. Once a year he makes his address to his\nsubjects, of whom the Editor is one, and Mr. Joseph Jacobs (who has\npublished many delightful fairy tales with pretty pictures)[1] is\nanother. Fancy, then, the dismay of Mr. Jacobs, and of the Editor,\nwhen they heard their president say that he did not think it very nice\nin them to publish fairy books, above all, red, green, and blue fairy\nbooks! They said that they did not see any harm in it, and they were\nready to \u2018put themselves on their country,\u2019 and be tried by a jury of\nchildren. And, indeed, they still see no harm in what they have done;\nnay, like Father William in the poem, they are ready \u2018to do it again\nand again.\u2019\n\n[Footnote 1: You may buy them from Mr. Nutt, in the Strand.]\n\nWhere is the harm? The truth is that the Folk Lore Society\u2014made up of\nthe most clever, learned, and beautiful men and women of the\ncountry\u2014is fond of studying the history and geography of Fairy Land.\nThis is contained in very old tales, such as country people tell, and\nsavages:\n\n     \u2018Little Sioux and little Crow,\n      Little frosty Eskimo.\u2019\n\nThese people are thought to know most about fairyland and its\ninhabitants. But, in the Yellow Fairy Book, and the rest, are many\ntales by persons who are neither savages nor rustics, such as Madame\nD\u2019Aulnoy and Herr Hans Christian Andersen. The Folk Lore Society, or\nits president, say that _their_ tales are not so true as the rest, and\nshould not be published with the rest. But _we_ say that all the\nstories which are pleasant to read are quite true enough for us; so\nhere they are, with pictures by Mr. Ford, and we do not think that\neither the pictures or the stories are likely to mislead children.\n\nAs to whether there are really any fairies or not, that is a difficult\nquestion. Professor Huxley thinks there are none. The Editor never saw\nany himself, but he knows several people who have seen them\u2014in the\nHighlands\u2014and heard their music. If ever you are in Nether Lochaber,\ngo to the Fairy Hill, and you may hear the music yourself, as grown-up\npeople have done, but you must go on a fine day. Again, if there are\nreally no fairies, why do people believe in them, all over the world?\nThe ancient Greeks believed, so did the old Egyptians, and the\nHindoos, and the Red Indians, and is it likely, if there are no\nfairies, that so many different peoples would have seen and heard\nthem? The Rev. Mr. Baring-Gould saw several fairies when he was a boy,\nand was travelling in the land of the Troubadours. For these reasons,\nthe Editor thinks that there are certainly fairies, but they never do\nanyone any harm; and, in England, they have been frightened away by\nsmoke and schoolmasters. As to Giants, they have died out, but real\nDwarfs are common in the forests of Africa. Probably a good many\nstories not perfectly true have been told about fairies, but such\nstories have also been told about Napoleon, Claverhouse, Julius C\u00e6sar,\nand Joan of Arc, all of whom certainly existed. A wise child will,\ntherefore, remember that, if he grows up and becomes a member of the\nFolk Lore Society, _all_ the tales in this book were not offered to\nhim as absolutely truthful, but were printed merely for his\nentertainment. The exact facts he can learn later, or he can leave\nthem alone.\n\nThere are Russian, German, French, Icelandic, Red Indian, and other\nstories here. They were translated by Miss Cheape, Miss Alma, and Miss\nThyra Alleyne, Miss Sellar, Mr. Craigie (he did the Icelandic tales),\nMiss Blackley, Mrs. Dent, and Mrs. Lang, but the Red Indian stories\nare copied from English versions published by the Smithsonian Bureau\nof Ethnology, in America. Mr. Ford did the pictures, and it is hoped\nthat children will find the book not less pleasing than those which\nhave already been submitted to their consideration. The Editor cannot\nsay \u2018good-bye\u2019 without advising them, as they pursue their studies, to\nread _The Rose and the Ring_, by the late Mr. Thackeray, with pictures\nby the author. This book he thinks quite indispensable in every\nchild\u2019s library, and parents should be urged to purchase it at the\nfirst opportunity, as without it no education is complete.\n\nA. LANG.\n\n\n\n\n_CONTENTS_\n\n\n                                                                  PAGE\n_The Cat and the Mouse in Partnership_                               1\n\n_The Six Swans_                                                      4\n\n_The Dragon of the North_                                            9\n\n_Story of the Emperor\u2019s New Clothes_                                21\n\n_The Golden Crab_                                                   26\n\n_The Iron Stove_                                                    32\n\n_The Dragon and his Grandmother_                                    38\n\n_The Donkey Cabbage_                                                42\n\n_The Little Green Frog_                                             50\n\n_The Seven-headed Serpent_                                          60\n\n_The Grateful Beasts_                                               64\n\n_The Giants and the Herd-boy_                                       75\n\n_The Invisible Prince_                                              78\n\n_The Crow_                                                          92\n\n_How Six Men travelled through the Wide World_                      95\n\n_The Wizard King_                                                  100\n\n_The Nixy_                                                         108\n\n_The Glass Mountain_                                               114\n\n_Alphege, or the Green Monkey_                                     119\n\n_Fairer-than-a-Fairy_                                              126\n\n_The Three Brothers_                                               134\n\n_The Boy and the Wolves, or the Broken Promise_                    138\n\n_The Glass Axe_                                                    141\n\n_The Dead Wife_                                                    149\n\n_In the Land of Souls_                                             152\n\n_The White Duck_                                                   155\n\n_The Witch and her Servants_                                       161\n\n_The Magic Ring_                                                   178\n\n_The Flower Queen\u2019s Daughter_                                      192\n\n_The Flying Ship_                                                  198\n\n_The Snow-daughter and the Fire-son_                               206\n\n_The Story of King Frost_                                          209\n\n_The Death of the Sun-hero_                                        213\n\n_The Witch_                                                        216\n\n_The Hazel-nut Child_                                              222\n\n_The Story of Big Klaus and Little Klaus_                          225\n\n_Prince Ring_                                                      237\n\n_The Swineherd_                                                    249\n\n_How to tell a True Princess_                                      254\n\n_The Blue Mountains_                                               256\n\n_The Tinder-box_                                                   265\n\n_The Witch in the Stone Boat_                                      274\n\n_Thumbelina_                                                       279\n\n_The Nightingale_                                                  291\n\n_Hermod and Hadvor_                                                301\n\n_The Steadfast Tin-soldier_                                        308\n\n_Blockhead-Hans_                                                   313\n\n_A Story about a Darning-needle_                                   319\n\n\n_LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS_\n\n\n_PLATES_\n\n_The Swineherd takes the Ten Kisses_                  _Frontispiece_\n\n_The Six Brothers changed into Swans\n   by their Stepmother_                               _To face page_ 8\n\n_The Witch-maiden sees the Young Man\n   under a Tree_                                          \u201e         12\n\n\u2018_Here you shall remain chained up until you die_\u2019        \u201e         20\n\n_The Prince throws the Apple to the Princess_             \u201e         30\n\n_The Iron Stove_                                          \u201e         32\n\n\u2018_Standing in the doorway a charming maiden at whose\nsight his mind seemed to give way_\u2019                       \u201e         58\n\n_The Seven-headed Serpent_                                \u201e         62\n\n_The Mirror of the Present_                               \u201e         84\n\n_Prince Gnome learns the Name of his Rival at the\n   Golden Fountain_                                       \u201e         88\n\n_The Black Girl stops the Witch with a Bit of the Rock_   \u201e        144\n\n_Militza and her Maidens in the Garden_                   \u201e        168\n\n_Iwanich casts the Fish into the Water_                   \u201e        172\n\n\u2018_In winter, when everything is dead, she must come and\nlive with me in my palace underground_\u2019                   \u201e        196\n\n_Simpleton\u2019s Army appears before the King_                \u201e        204\n\n_The Snow Maiden_                                         \u201e        206\n\n\u2018_Gee-up, my five horses_\u2019                                \u201e        226\n\n_The Swineherd takes the Ten Kisses_                      \u201e        250\n\n_The Irishman arrives at the Blue Mountains_              \u201e        262\n\n_The Witch comes on Board_                                \u201e        274\n\n_Sigurd hews the Chain asunder_                           \u201e        276\n\n_The King finds the Queen of Hetland_                     \u201e        302\n\n\n_WOODCUTS IN TEXT_\n\n                                                                  PAGE\n\n_The Partnership_                                                    1\n\n_At Home in the Church_                                              2\n\n_Protestation_                                                       3\n\n_The Way of the World_                                               3\n\n\u2018_And then her dress_\u2019                                               7\n\n_The Youth secures the Dragon_                                      17\n\n_The Emperor comes to see his New Clothes_                          24\n\n\u2018_Let down, let down thy petticoat\n    that lets thy feet be seen_\u2019                                    27\n\n_The Fisherman brings the Crab on the Golden Cushion_               28\n\n\u2018_Then she reached the three cutting swords, and got on\n    her plough-wheel and rolled over them_\u2019                         35\n\n_The Dragon carries off the Three Soldiers_                         39\n\n_The Fiend defeated_                                                41\n\n_The Maiden obtains the Bird-heart_                                 44\n\n_The Hunter is transformed into a Donkey_                           46\n\n_The Young Man gives the Donkeys to the Miller_                     48\n\n_The Prince looks into the Magic Mirror_                            51\n\n_Prince Saphir Steals the Horse and Harness_                        55\n\n_Ferko healed by Magic Waters_                                      67\n\n_Ferko before the King_                                             68\n\n_Ferko leads the Wolves on_                                         73\n\n_The Herd-boy binds up the Giant\u2019s Foot_                            75\n\n_Rosalie_                                                           82\n\n_In the Labyrinth of Despair_                                       85\n\n_The Evil Spirits drag the Girl to the Cauldron_                    93\n\n_My Enemy is given into my Hands_                                   97\n\n_The Princess and the Eagle in the Flowery Meadow_                 102\n\n_The Wizard King pays a Visit to the Princess_                     105\n\n_The Miller sees the Nixy of the Mill-pond_                        109\n\n_A Wave swept the Spinning-wheel from the Bank_                    112\n\n_The Boy attacked by the Eagle on the Glass Mountain_              116\n\n_The King makes Friends with the Green Monkey_                     121\n\n_The Green Monkey in the Bath_                                     123\n\n_Lagree gives the Two Bottles to Fairer-than-a-Fairy_              127\n\n_Fairer-than-a-Fairy summons the Rainbow_                          130\n\n\u2018_Then the youth swung his mighty sword in the air,\n    and with one blow cut off the serpent\u2019s head_\u2019                 136\n\n\u2018_My brother, my brother, I am becoming a wolf!_\u2019                  139\n\n\u2018_But the waters seized her chariot and sunk it in the\n    lowest depths_\u2019                                                147\n\n_The Indian finds his Wife sitting by the Fire_                    150\n\n_The Witch persuades the Queen to bathe_                           156\n\n_The King catches the White Duck_                                  159\n\n_Iwanich holds fast the Swan_                                      163\n\n_Militza leaves Iwanich in the Tree_                               164\n\n_The Prickly Man with his Attendants_                              168\n\n_Iwanich seizes the Magician by his Beard and dashes\n   him to the Ground_                                              176\n\n_Martin extinguishes the Flames_                                   181\n\n_The Princess summons the twelve Young Men_                        186\n\n_Schurka upsets the Baker_                                         187\n\n_The Mouse steals the Ring from the Princess_                      189\n\n_The Dragons dancing_                                              195\n\n_The Simpleton awakes and sees the Flying Ship_                    199\n\n_The Comrades in the Flying Ship meet the Drinker_                 201\n\n\u2018_Maiden, are you warm?_\u2019                                          211\n\n_The Sun-hero guards the Apples of the Sun_                        214\n\n\u2018_Who\u2019s there?_\u2019                                                   217\n\n_The Comb grows into a Forest_                                     220\n\n_The Black King\u2019s Gift_                                            224\n\n_The Farmer thinks he sees the Devil in the Chest_                 229\n\n_The Shoemakers and Tanners drive Big Klaus out of the Town_       231\n\n\u2018_Open the sack_,\u2019 _said Little Klaus_                             234\n\n_The Woman pushes Prince Ring into the Cask_                       238\n\n_Snati and Prince Ring fight with the Oxen_                        242\n\n_Prince Ring and Snati overthrow the Troll\u2019s Ghost_                246\n\n_A True Princess_                                                  255\n\n_The Princess revives the Irishman_                                258\n\n_The Soldier fills his Knapsack with Money_                        267\n\n_The Dog brings in the Princess_                                   269\n\n\u2018_He was skipping along so merrily_\u2019                               271\n\n\u2018\u201c_Croak, croak, croak!_\u201d _was all he could say_\u2019                  280\n\n_Thumbelina rides on the Water-lily Leaf_                          281\n\n_Thumbelina brings Thistle-down for the Swallow_                   285\n\n_Thumbelina has to spin_                                           287\n\n\u2018_We will call you May blossom_\u2019                                   289\n\n_The Kitchenmaid listens to the Nightingale_                       293\n\n_The Present from the Emperor of Japan_                            295\n\n_The True Nightingale sings to the Emperor_                        299\n\n_Hadvor burns the Lion\u2019s Skin_                                     306\n\n\u2018_Don\u2019t look at things that aren\u2019t intended for\n    the likes of you_\u2019                                             309\n\n_Down the Drain_                                                   310\n\n_And that was the End_                                             312\n\n\u2018_Then they oiled the corners of their mouths_\u2019                    314\n\n_Hans fills his Pocket with the Mud_                               315\n\n\u2018_The reporters giggled,\u2019 &c._                                     317\n\n\n\n\n_THE CAT AND THE MOUSE IN PARTNERSHIP_\n\n\n[Illustration: The Partnership]\n\nA cat had made acquaintance with a mouse, and had spoken so much of\nthe great love and friendship she felt for her, that at last the Mouse\nconsented to live in the same house with her, and to go shares in the\nhousekeeping. \u2018But we must provide for the winter or else we shall\nsuffer hunger,\u2019 said the Cat. \u2018You, little Mouse, cannot venture\neverywhere in case you run at last into a trap.\u2019 This good counsel was\nfollowed, and a little pot of fat was bought. But they did not know\nwhere to put it. At length, after long consultation, the Cat said, \u2018I\nknow of no place where it could be better put than in the church. No\none will trouble to take it away from there. We will hide it in a\ncorner, and we won\u2019t touch it till we are in want.\u2019 So the little pot\nwas placed in safety; but it was not long before the Cat had a great\nlonging for it, and said to the Mouse, \u2018I wanted to tell you, little\nMouse, that my cousin has a little son, white with brown spots, and\nshe wants me to be godmother to it. Let me go out to-day, and do you\ntake care of the house alone.\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes, go certainly,\u2019 replied the Mouse, \u2018and when you eat anything\ngood, think of me; I should very much like a drop of the red\nchristening wine.\u2019\n\nBut it was all untrue. The Cat had no cousin, and had not been asked\nto be godmother. She went straight to the church, slunk to the little\npot of fat, began to lick it, and licked the top off. Then she took a\nwalk on the roofs of the town, looked at the view, stretched herself\nout in the sun, and licked her lips whenever she thought of the little\npot of fat. As soon as it was evening she went home again.\n\n\u2018Ah, here you are again!\u2019 said the Mouse; \u2018you must certainly have had\nan enjoyable day.\u2019\n\n\u2018It went off very well,\u2019 answered the Cat.\n\n\u2018What was the child\u2019s name?\u2019 asked the Mouse.\n\n\u2018Top Off,\u2019 said the Cat drily.\n\n\u2018Topoff!\u2019 echoed the Mouse, \u2018it is indeed a wonderful and curious\nname. Is it in your family?\u2019\n\n\u2018What is there odd about it?\u2019 said the Cat. \u2018It is not worse than\nBreadthief, as your godchild is called.\u2019\n\n[Illustration: AT HOME\u2014IN THE CHURCH]\n\nNot long after this another great longing came over the Cat. She said\nto the Mouse, \u2018You must again be kind enough to look after the house\nalone, for I have been asked a second time to stand godmother, and as\nthis child has a white ring round its neck, I cannot refuse.\u2019\n\nThe kind Mouse agreed, but the Cat slunk under the town wall to the\nchurch, and ate up half of the pot of fat. \u2018Nothing tastes better,\u2019\nsaid she, \u2018than what one eats by oneself,\u2019 and she was very much\npleased with her day\u2019s work. When she came home the Mouse asked, \u2018What\nwas this child called?\u2019\n\n\u2018Half Gone,\u2019 answered the Cat.\n\n\u2018Halfgone! what a name! I have never heard it in my life. I don\u2019t\nbelieve it is in the calendar.\u2019\n\nSoon the Cat\u2019s mouth began to water once more after her licking\nbusiness. \u2018All good things in threes,\u2019 she said to the Mouse; \u2018I have\nagain to stand godmother. The child is quite black, and has very white\npaws, but not a single white hair on its body. This only happens once\nin two years, so you will let me go out?\u2019\n\n\u2018Topoff! Halfgone!\u2019 repeated the Mouse, \u2018they are such curious names;\nthey make me very thoughtful.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, you sit at home in your dark grey coat and your long tail,\u2019 said\nthe Cat, \u2018and you get fanciful. That comes of not going out in the\nday.\u2019\n\nThe Mouse had a good cleaning out while the Cat was gone, and made the\nhouse tidy; but the greedy Cat ate the fat every bit up. \u2018When it is\nall gone one can be at rest,\u2019 she said to herself, and at night she\ncame home sleek and satisfied. The Mouse asked at once after the third\nchild\u2019s name.\n\n\u2018It won\u2019t please you any better,\u2019 said the Cat, \u2018he was called Clean\nGone.\u2019\n\n\u2018Cleangone!\u2019 repeated the Mouse. \u2018I do not believe that name has been\nprinted any more than the others. Cleangone! What can it mean?\u2019 She\nshook her head, curled herself up, and went to sleep.\n\nFrom this time on no one asked the Cat to stand godmother; but when\nthe winter came and there was nothing to be got outside, the Mouse\nremembered their provision and said, \u2018Come, Cat, we will go to our pot\nof fat which we have stored away; it will taste very good.\u2019\n\n[Illustration: Protestation]\n\n[Illustration: The Way of the World]\n\n\u2018Yes, indeed,\u2019 answered the Cat; \u2018it will taste as good to you as if\nyou stretched your thin tongue out of the window.\u2019\n\nThey started off, and when they reached it they found the pot in its\nplace, but quite empty!\n\n\u2018Ah,\u2019 said the Mouse, \u2018now I know what has happened! It has all come\nout! You are a true friend to me! You have eaten it all when you stood\ngodmother; first the top off, then half of it gone, then\u2014\u2014\u2019\n\n\u2018Will you be quiet!\u2019 screamed the Cat. \u2018Another word and I will eat\nyou up.\u2019\n\n\u2018Cleangone\u2019 was already on the poor Mouse\u2019s tongue, and scarcely was\nit out than the Cat made a spring at her, seized and swallowed her.\n\nYou see that is the way of the world.\n\n\n\n\n_THE SIX SWANS_\n\n\nA King was once hunting in a great wood, and he hunted the game so\neagerly that none of his courtiers could follow him. When evening came\non he stood still and looked round him, and he saw that he had quite\nlost himself. He sought a way out, but could find none. Then he saw an\nold woman with a shaking head coming towards him; but she was a witch.\n\n\u2018Good woman,\u2019 he said to her, \u2018can you not show me the way out of the\nwood?\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, certainly, Sir King,\u2019 she replied, \u2018I can quite well do that, but\non one condition, which if you do not fulfil you will never get out of\nthe wood, and will die of hunger.\u2019\n\n\u2018What is the condition?\u2019 asked the King.\n\n\u2018I have a daughter,\u2019 said the old woman, \u2018who is so beautiful that she\nhas not her equal in the world, and is well fitted to be your wife; if\nyou will make her lady-queen I will show you the way out of the wood.\u2019\n\nThe King in his anguish of mind consented, and the old woman led him\nto her little house where her daughter was sitting by the fire. She\nreceived the King as if she were expecting him, and he saw that she\nwas certainly very beautiful; but she did not please him, and he could\nnot look at her without a secret feeling of horror. As soon as he had\nlifted the maiden on to his horse the old woman showed him the way,\nand the King reached his palace, where the wedding was celebrated.\n\nThe King had already been married once, and had by his first wife\nseven children, six boys and one girl, whom he loved more than\nanything in the world. And now, because he was afraid that their\nstep-mother might not treat them well and might do them harm, he put\nthem in a lonely castle that stood in the middle of a wood. It lay so\nhidden, and the way to it was so hard to find, that he himself could\nnot have found it out had not a wise-woman given him a reel of thread\nwhich possessed a marvellous property: when he threw it before him it\nunwound itself and showed him the way. But the King went so often to\nhis dear children that the Queen was offended at his absence. She grew\ncurious, and wanted to know what he had to do quite alone in the wood.\nShe gave his servants a great deal of money, and they betrayed the\nsecret to her, and also told her of the reel which alone could point\nout the way. She had no rest now till she had found out where the King\nguarded the reel, and then she made some little white shirts, and, as\nshe had learnt from her witch-mother, sewed an enchantment in each of\nthem.\n\nAnd when the King had ridden off she took the little shirts and went\ninto the wood, and the reel showed her the way. The children, who saw\nsomeone coming in the distance, thought it was their dear father\ncoming to them, and sprang to meet him very joyfully. Then she threw\nover each one a little shirt, which when it had touched their bodies\nchanged them into swans, and they flew away over the forest. The Queen\nwent home quite satisfied, and thought she had got rid of her\nstep-children; but the girl had not run to meet her with her brothers,\nand she knew nothing of her.\n\nThe next day the King came to visit his children, but he found no one\nbut the girl.\n\n\u2018Where are your brothers?\u2019 asked the King.\n\n\u2018Alas! dear father,\u2019 she answered, \u2018they have gone away and left me\nall alone.\u2019 And she told him that looking out of her little window she\nhad seen her brothers flying over the wood in the shape of swans, and\nshe showed him the feathers which they had let fall in the yard, and\nwhich she had collected. The King mourned, but he did not think that\nthe Queen had done the wicked deed, and as he was afraid the maiden\nwould also be taken from him, he wanted to take her with him. But she\nwas afraid of the step-mother, and begged the King to let her stay\njust one night more in the castle in the wood. The poor maiden\nthought, \u2018My home is no longer here; I will go and seek my brothers.\u2019\nAnd when night came she fled away into the forest. She ran all through\nthe night and the next day, till she could go no farther for\nweariness. Then she saw a little hut, went in, and found a room with\nsix little beds. She was afraid to lie down on one, so she crept under\none of them, lay on the hard floor, and was going to spend the night\nthere. But when the sun had set she heard a noise, and saw six swans\nflying in at the window. They stood on the floor and blew at one\nanother, and blew all their feathers off, and their swan-skin came off\nlike a shirt. Then the maiden recognised her brothers, and overjoyed\nshe crept out from under the bed. Her brothers were not less delighted\nthan she to see their little sister again, but their joy did not last\nlong.\n\n\u2018You cannot stay here,\u2019 they said to her. \u2018This is a den of robbers;\nif they were to come here and find you they would kill you.\u2019\n\n\u2018Could you not protect me?\u2019 asked the little sister.\n\n\u2018No,\u2019 they answered, \u2018for we can only lay aside our swan skins for a\nquarter of an hour every evening. For this time we regain our human\nforms, but then we are changed into swans again.\u2019\n\nThen the little sister cried and said, \u2018Can you not be freed?\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, no,\u2019 they said, \u2018the conditions are too hard. You must not speak\nor laugh for six years, and must make in that time six shirts for us\nout of star-flowers. If a single word comes out of your mouth, all\nyour labour is vain.\u2019 And when the brothers had said this the quarter\nof an hour came to an end, and they flew away out of the window as\nswans.\n\nBut the maiden had determined to free her brothers even if it should\ncost her her life. She left the hut, went into the forest, climbed a\ntree, and spent the night there. The next morning she went out,\ncollected star-flowers, and began to sew. She could speak to no one,\nand she had no wish to laugh, so she sat there, looking only at her\nwork.\n\nWhen she had lived there some time, it happened that the King of the\ncountry was hunting in the forest, and his hunters came to the tree on\nwhich the maiden sat. They called to her and said \u2018Who are you?\u2019\n\nBut she gave no answer.\n\n\u2018Come down to us,\u2019 they said, \u2018we will do you no harm.\u2019\n\nBut she shook her head silently. As they pressed her further with\nquestions, she threw them the golden chain from her neck. But they did\nnot leave off, and she threw them her girdle, and when this was no\nuse, her garters, and then her dress. The hunts-men would not leave\nher alone, but climbed the tree, lifted the maiden down, and led her\nto the King. The King asked, \u2018Who are you? What are you doing up that\ntree?\u2019\n\nBut she answered nothing.\n\n[Illustration: \u2018And then her dress\u2019]\n\nHe asked her in all the languages he knew, but she remained as dumb\nas a fish. Because she was so beautiful, however, the King\u2019s heart was\ntouched, and he was seized with a great love for her. He wrapped her\nup in his cloak, placed her before him on his horse, and brought her\nto his castle. There he had her dressed in rich clothes, and her\nbeauty shone out as bright as day, but not a word could be drawn from\nher. He set her at table by his side, and her modest ways and\nbehaviour pleased him so much that he said, \u2018I will marry this maiden\nand none other in the world,\u2019 and after some days he married her. But\nthe King had a wicked mother who was displeased with the marriage, and\nsaid wicked things of the young Queen. \u2018Who knows who this girl is?\u2019\nshe said; \u2018she cannot speak, and is not worthy of a king.\u2019\n\nAfter a year, when the Queen had her first child, the old mother took\nit away from her. Then she went to the King and said that the Queen\nhad killed it. The King would not believe it, and would not allow any\nharm to be done her. But she sat quietly sewing at the shirts and\ntroubling herself about nothing. The next time she had a child the\nwicked mother did the same thing, but the King could not make up his\nmind to believe her. He said, \u2018She is too sweet and good to do such a\nthing as that. If she were not dumb and could defend herself, her\ninnocence would be proved.\u2019 But when the third child was taken away,\nand the Queen was again accused, and could not utter a word in her own\ndefence, the King was obliged to give her over to the law, which\ndecreed that she must be burnt to death. When the day came on which\nthe sentence was to be executed, it was the last day of the six years\nin which she must not speak or laugh, and now she had freed her dear\nbrothers from the power of the enchantment. The six shirts were done;\nthere was only the left sleeve wanting to the last.\n\nWhen she was led to the stake, she laid the shirts on her arm, and as\nshe stood on the pile and the fire was about to be lighted, she looked\naround her and saw six swans flying through the air. Then she knew\nthat her release was at hand and her heart danced for joy. The swans\nfluttered round her, and hovered low so that she could throw the\nshirts over them. When they had touched them the swan-skins fell off,\nand her brothers stood before her living, well and beautiful. Only the\nyoungest had a swan\u2019s wing instead of his left arm. They embraced and\nkissed each other, and the Queen went to the King, who was standing by\nin great astonishment, and began to speak to him, saying, \u2018Dearest\nhusband, now I can speak and tell you openly that I am innocent and\nhave been falsely accused.\u2019\n\nShe told him of the old woman\u2019s deceit, and how she had taken the\nthree children away and hidden them. Then they were fetched, to the\ngreat joy of the King, and the wicked mother came to no good end.\n\nBut the King and the Queen with their six brothers lived many years in\nhappiness and peace.\n\n[Illustration: The Six Brothers Changed Into Swans by Their Stepmother.]\n\n\n\n\n_THE DRAGON OF THE NORTH_[2]\n\n\nVery long ago, as old people have told me, there lived a terrible\nmonster, who came out of the North, and laid waste whole tracts of\ncountry, devouring both men and beasts; and this monster was so\ndestructive that it was feared that unless help came no living\ncreature would be left on the face of the earth. It had a body like an\nox, and legs like a frog, two short fore-legs, and two long ones\nbehind, and besides that it had a tail like a serpent, ten fathoms in\nlength. When it moved it jumped like a frog, and with every spring it\ncovered half a mile of ground. Fortunately its habit was to remain for\nseveral years in the same place, and not to move on till the whole\nneighbourhood was eaten up. Nothing could hunt it, because its whole\nbody was covered with scales, which were harder than stone or metal;\nits two great eyes shone by night, and even by day, like the brightest\nlamps, and anyone who had the ill luck to look into those eyes became\nas it were bewitched, and was obliged to rush of his own accord into\nthe monster\u2019s jaws. In this way the Dragon was able to feed upon both\nmen and beasts without the least trouble to itself, as it needed not\nto move from the spot where it was lying. All the neighbouring kings\nhad offered rich rewards to anyone who should be able to destroy the\nmonster, either by force or enchantment, and many had tried their\nluck, but all had miserably failed. Once a great forest in which the\nDragon lay had been set on fire; the forest was burnt down, but the\nfire did not do the monster the least harm. However, there was a\ntradition amongst the wise men of the country that the Dragon might be\novercome by one who possessed King Solomon\u2019s signet-ring, upon which a\nsecret writing was engraved. This inscription would enable anyone who\nwas wise enough to interpret it to find out how the Dragon could be\ndestroyed. Only no one knew where the ring was hidden, nor was there\nany sorcerer or learned man to be found who would be able to explain\nthe inscription.\n\n[Footnote 2: \u2018Der Norlands Drache,\u2019 from _Esthnische M\u00e4hrchen_.\nKreutzwald.]\n\nAt last a young man, with a good heart and plenty of courage, set out\nto search for the ring. He took his way towards the sun-rising,\nbecause he knew that all the wisdom of old time comes from the East.\nAfter some years he met with a famous Eastern magician, and asked for\nhis advice in the matter. The magician answered:\n\n\u2018Mortal men have but little wisdom, and can give you no help, but the\nbirds of the air would be better guides to you if you could learn\ntheir language. I can help you to understand it if you will stay with\nme a few days.\u2019\n\nThe youth thankfully accepted the magician\u2019s offer, and said, \u2018I\ncannot now offer you any reward for your kindness, but should my\nundertaking succeed your trouble shall be richly repaid.\u2019\n\nThen the magician brewed a powerful potion out of nine sorts of herbs\nwhich he had gathered himself all alone by moonlight, and he gave the\nyouth nine spoonfuls of it daily for three days, which made him able\nto understand the language of birds.\n\nAt parting the magician said to him, \u2018If you ever find Solomon\u2019s ring\nand get possession of it, then come back to me, that I may explain the\ninscription on the ring to you, for there is no one else in the world\nwho can do this.\u2019\n\nFrom that time the youth never felt lonely as he walked along; he\nalways had company, because he understood the language of birds; and\nin this way he learned many things which mere human knowledge could\nnever have taught him. But time went on, and he heard nothing about\nthe ring. It happened one evening, when he was hot and tired with\nwalking, and had sat down under a tree in a forest to eat his supper,\nthat he saw two gaily-plumaged birds, that were strange to him,\nsitting at the top of the tree talking to one another about him. The\nfirst bird said:\n\n\u2018I know that wandering fool under the tree there, who has come so far\nwithout finding what he seeks. He is trying to find King Solomon\u2019s\nlost ring.\u2019\n\nThe other bird answered, \u2018He will have to seek help from the\n_Witch-maiden_,[3] who will doubtless be able to put him on the right\ntrack. If she has not got the ring herself, she knows well enough who\nhas it.\u2019\n\n[Footnote 3: H\u00f6llenm\u00e4dchen.]\n\n\u2018But where is he to find the Witch-maiden?\u2019 said the first bird. \u2018She\nhas no settled dwelling, but is here to-day and gone to-morrow. He\nmight as well try to catch the wind.\u2019\n\nThe other replied, \u2018I do not know, certainly, where she is at present,\nbut in three nights from now she will come to the spring to wash her\nface, as she does every month when the moon is full, in order that she\nmay never grow old nor wrinkled, but may always keep the bloom of\nyouth.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well,\u2019 said the first bird, \u2018the spring is not far from here. Shall\nwe go and see how it is she does it?\u2019\n\n\u2018Willingly, if you like,\u2019 said the other.\n\nThe youth immediately resolved to follow the birds to the spring, only\ntwo things made him uneasy: first, lest he might be asleep when the\nbirds went, and secondly, lest he might lose sight of them, since he\nhad not wings to carry him along so swiftly. He was too tired to keep\nawake all night, yet his anxiety prevented him from sleeping soundly,\nand when with the earliest dawn he looked up to the tree-top, he was\nglad to see his feathered companions still asleep with their heads\nunder their wings. He ate his breakfast, and waited until the birds\nshould start, but they did not leave the place all day. They hopped\nabout from one tree to another looking for food, all day long until\nthe evening, when they went back to their old perch to sleep. The next\nday the same thing happened, but on the third morning one bird said to\nthe other, \u2018To-day we must go to the spring to see the Witch-maiden\nwash her face.\u2019 They remained on the tree till noon; then they flew\naway and went towards the south. The young man\u2019s heart beat with\nanxiety lest he should lose sight of his guides, but he managed to\nkeep the birds in view until they again perched upon a tree. The young\nman ran after them until he was quite exhausted and out of breath, and\nafter three short rests the birds at length reached a small open space\nin the forest, on the edge of which they placed themselves on the top\nof a high tree. When the youth had overtaken them, he saw that there\nwas a clear spring in the middle of the space. He sat down at the foot\nof the tree upon which the birds were perched, and listened\nattentively to what they were saying to each other.\n\n\u2018The sun is not down yet,\u2019 said the first bird; \u2018we must wait yet\nawhile till the moon rises and the maiden comes to the spring. Do you\nthink she will see that young man sitting under the tree?\u2019\n\n\u2018Nothing is likely to escape her eyes, certainly not a young man,\u2019 said\nthe other bird. \u2018Will the youth have the sense not to let himself be\ncaught in her toils?\u2019\n\n\u2018We will wait,\u2019 said the first bird, \u2018and see how they get on\ntogether.\u2019\n\nThe evening light had quite faded, and the full moon was already\nshining down upon the forest, when the young man heard a slight\nrustling sound. After a few moments there came out of the forest a\nmaiden, gliding over the grass so lightly that her feet seemed\nscarcely to touch the ground, and stood beside the spring. The youth\ncould not turn away his eyes from the maiden, for he had never in his\nlife seen a woman so beautiful. Without seeming to notice anything,\nshe went to the spring, looked up to the full moon, then knelt down\nand bathed her face nine times, then looked up to the moon again and\nwalked nine times round the well, and as she walked she sang this\nsong:\n\n     \u2018Full-faced moon with light unshaded,\n      Let my beauty ne\u2019er be faded.\n      Never let my cheek grow pale!\n      While the moon is waning nightly,\n      May the maiden bloom more brightly,\n      May her freshness never fail!\u2019\n\nThen she dried her face with her long hair, and was about to go away,\nwhen her eye suddenly fell upon the spot where the young man was\nsitting, and she turned towards the tree. The youth rose and stood\nwaiting. Then the maiden said, \u2018You ought to have a heavy punishment\nbecause you have presumed to watch my secret doings in the moonlight.\nBut I will forgive you this time, because you are a stranger and knew\nno better. But you must tell me truly who you are and how you came to\nthis place, where no mortal has ever set foot before.\u2019\n\nThe youth answered humbly: \u2018Forgive me, beautiful maiden, if I have\nunintentionally offended you. I chanced to come here after long\nwandering, and found a good place to sleep under this tree. At your\ncoming I did not know what to do, but stayed where I was, because I\nthought my silent watching could not offend you.\u2019\n\nThe maiden answered kindly, \u2018Come and spend this night with us. You\nwill sleep better on a pillow than on damp moss.\u2019\n\n[Illustration: The Witch-Maiden Sees the Young Man Under a Tree]\n\nThe youth hesitated for a little, but presently he heard the birds\nsaying from the top of the tree, \u2018Go where she calls you, but take\ncare to give no blood, or you will sell your soul.\u2019 So the youth went\nwith her, and soon they reached a beautiful garden, where stood a\nsplendid house, which glittered in the moonlight as if it was all\nbuilt out of gold and silver. When the youth entered he found many\nsplendid chambers, each one finer than the last. Hundreds of tapers\nburnt upon golden candlesticks, and shed a light like the brightest\nday. At length they reached a chamber where a table was spread with\nthe most costly dishes. At the table were placed two chairs, one of\nsilver, the other of gold. The maiden seated herself upon the golden\nchair, and offered the silver one to her companion. They were served\nby maidens dressed in white, whose feet made no sound as they moved\nabout, and not a word was spoken during the meal. Afterwards the youth\nand the Witch-maiden conversed pleasantly together, until a woman,\ndressed in red, came in to remind them that it was bedtime. The youth\nwas now shown into another room, containing a silken bed with down\ncushions, where he slept delightfully, yet he seemed to hear a voice\nnear his bed which repeated to him, \u2018Remember to give no blood!\u2019\n\nThe next morning the maiden asked him whether he would not like to\nstay with her always in this beautiful place, and as he did not answer\nimmediately, she continued: \u2018You see how I always remain young and\nbeautiful, and I am under no one\u2019s orders, but can do just what I\nlike, so that I have never thought of marrying before. But from the\nmoment I saw you I took a fancy to you, so if you agree, we might be\nmarried and might live together like princes, because I have great\nriches.\u2019\n\nThe youth could not but be tempted with the beautiful maiden\u2019s offer,\nbut he remembered how the birds had called her the witch, and their\nwarning always sounded in his ears. Therefore he answered cautiously,\n\u2018Do not be angry, dear maiden, if I do not decide immediately on this\nimportant matter. Give me a few days to consider before we come to an\nunderstanding.\u2019\n\n\u2018Why not?\u2019 answered the maiden. \u2018Take some weeks to consider if you\nlike, and take counsel with your own heart.\u2019 And to make the time pass\npleasantly, she took the youth over every part of her beautiful\ndwelling, and showed him all her splendid treasures. But these\ntreasures were all produced by enchantment, for the maiden could make\nanything she wished appear by the help of King Solomon\u2019s signet ring;\nonly none of these things remained fixed; they passed away like the\nwind without leaving a trace behind. But the youth did not know this;\nhe thought they were all real.\n\nOne day the maiden took him into a secret chamber, where a little gold\nbox was standing on a silver table. Pointing to the box, she said,\n\u2018Here is my greatest treasure, whose like is not to be found in the\nwhole world. It is a precious gold ring. When you marry me, I will\ngive you this ring as a marriage gift, and it will make you the\nhappiest of mortal men. But in order that our love may last for ever,\nyou must give me for the ring three drops of blood from the little\nfinger of your left hand.\u2019\n\nWhen the youth heard these words a cold shudder ran over him, for he\nremembered that his soul was at stake. He was cunning enough, however,\nto conceal his feelings and to make no direct answer, but he only\nasked the maiden, as if carelessly, what was remarkable about the\nring?\n\nShe answered, \u2018No mortal is able entirely to understand the power of\nthis ring, because no one thoroughly understands the secret signs\nengraved upon it. But even with my half-knowledge I can work great\nwonders. If I put the ring upon the little finger of my left hand,\nthen I can fly like a bird through the air wherever I wish to go. If I\nput it on the third finger of my left hand I am invisible, and I can\nsee everything that passes around me, though no one can see me. If I\nput the ring upon the middle finger of my left hand, then neither fire\nnor water nor any sharp weapon can hurt me. If I put it on the\nforefinger of my left hand, then I can with its help produce whatever\nI wish. I can in a single moment build houses or anything I desire.\nFinally, as long as I wear the ring on the thumb of my left hand, that\nhand is so strong that it can break down rocks and walls. Besides\nthese, the ring has other secret signs which, as I said, no one can\nunderstand. No doubt it contains secrets of great importance. The ring\nformerly belonged to King Solomon, the wisest of kings, during whose\nreign the wisest men lived. But it is not known whether this ring was\never made by mortal hands: it is supposed that an angel gave it to the\nwise King.\u2019\n\nWhen the youth heard all this he determined to try and get possession\nof the ring, though he did not quite believe in all its wonderful\ngifts. He wished the maiden would let him have it in his hand, but he\ndid not quite like to ask her to do so, and after a while she put it\nback into the box. A few days after they were again speaking of the\nmagic ring, and the youth said, \u2018I do not think it possible that the\nring can have all the power you say it has.\u2019\n\nThen the maiden opened the box and took the ring out, and it\nglittered as she held it like the clearest sunbeam. She put it on the\nmiddle finger of her left hand, and told the youth to take a knife and\ntry as hard as he could to cut her with it, for he would not be able\nto hurt her. He was unwilling at first, but the maiden insisted. Then\nhe tried, at first only in play, and then seriously, to strike her\nwith the knife, but an invisible wall of iron seemed to be between\nthem, and the maiden stood before him laughing and unhurt. Then she\nput the ring on her third finger, and in an instant she had vanished\nfrom his eyes. Presently she was beside him again laughing, and\nholding the ring between her fingers.\n\n\u2018Do let me try,\u2019 said the youth, \u2018whether I can do these wonderful\nthings.\u2019\n\nThe maiden, suspecting no treachery, gave him the magic ring.\n\nThe youth pretended to have forgotten what to do, and asked what\nfinger he must put the ring on so that no sharp weapon could hurt him?\n\n\u2018Oh, the middle finger of your left hand,\u2019 the maiden answered,\nlaughing.\n\nShe took the knife and tried to strike the youth, and he even tried to\ncut himself with it, but found it impossible. Then he asked the maiden\nto show him how to split stones and rocks with the help of the ring.\nSo she led him into a courtyard where stood a great boulder-stone.\n\u2018Now,\u2019 she said, \u2018put the ring upon the thumb of your left hand, and\nyou will see how strong that hand has become. The youth did so, and\nfound to his astonishment that with a single blow of his fist the\nstone flew into a thousand pieces. Then the youth bethought him that\nhe who does not use his luck when he has it is a fool, and that this\nwas a chance which once lost might never return. So while they stood\nlaughing at the shattered stone he placed the ring, as if in play,\nupon the third finger of his left hand.\n\n\u2018Now,\u2019 said the maiden, \u2018you are invisible to me until you take the\nring off again.\u2019\n\nBut the youth had no mind to do that; on the contrary, he went farther\noff, then put the ring on the little finger of his left hand, and\nsoared into the air like a bird.\n\nWhen the maiden saw him flying away she thought at first that he was\nstill in play, and cried, \u2018Come back, friend, for now you see I have\ntold you the truth.\u2019 But the young man never came back.\n\nThen the maiden saw she was deceived, and bitterly repented that she\nhad ever trusted him with the ring.\n\nThe young man never halted in his flight until he reached the dwelling\nof the wise magician who had taught him the speech of birds. The\nmagician was delighted to find that his search had been successful,\nand at once set to work to interpret the secret signs engraved upon\nthe ring, but it took him seven weeks to make them out clearly. Then\nhe gave the youth the following instructions how to overcome the\nDragon of the North: \u2018You must have an iron horse cast, which must\nhave little wheels under each foot. You must also be armed with a\nspear two fathoms long, which you will be able to wield by means of\nthe magic ring upon your left thumb. The spear must be as thick in the\nmiddle as a large tree, and both its ends must be sharp. In the middle\nof the spear you must have two strong chains ten fathoms in length. As\nsoon as the Dragon has made himself fast to the spear, which you must\nthrust through his jaws, you must spring quickly from the iron horse\nand fasten the ends of the chains firmly to the ground with iron\nstakes, so that he cannot get away from them. After two or three days\nthe monster\u2019s strength will be so far exhausted that you will be able\nto come near him. Then you can put Solomon\u2019s ring upon your left thumb\nand give him the finishing stroke, but keep the ring on your third\nfinger until you have come close to him, so that the monster cannot\nsee you, else he might strike you dead with his long tail. But when\nall is done, take care you do not lose the ring, and that no one takes\nit from you by cunning.\u2019\n\n[Illustration: The youth secures the dragon]\n\nThe young man thanked the magician for his directions, and promised,\nshould they succeed, to reward him. But the magician answered, \u2018I have\nprofited so much by the wisdom the ring has taught me that I desire no\nother reward.\u2019 Then they parted, and the youth quickly flew home\nthrough the air. After remaining in his own home for some weeks, he\nheard people say that the terrible Dragon of the North was not far\noff, and might shortly be expected in the country. The King announced\npublicly that he would give his daughter in marriage, as well as a\nlarge part of his kingdom, to whosoever should free the country from\nthe monster. The youth then went to the King and told him that he had\ngood hopes of subduing the Dragon, if the King would grant him all he\ndesired for the purpose. The King willingly agreed, and the iron\nhorse, the great spear, and the chains were all prepared as the youth\nrequested. When all was ready, it was found that the iron horse was so\nheavy that a hundred men could not move it from the spot, so the youth\nfound there was nothing for it but to move it with his own strength\nby means of the magic ring. The Dragon was now so near that in a\ncouple of springs he would be over the frontier. The youth now began\nto consider how he should act, for if he had to push the iron horse\nfrom behind he could not ride upon it as the sorcerer had said he\nmust. But a raven unexpectedly gave him this advice: \u2018Ride upon the\nhorse, and push the spear against the ground, as if you were pushing\noff a boat from the land.\u2019 The youth did so, and found that in this\nway he could easily move forwards. The Dragon had his monstrous jaws\nwide open, all ready for his expected prey. A few paces nearer, and\nman and horse would have been swallowed up by them! The youth trembled\nwith horror, and his blood ran cold, yet he did not lose his courage;\nbut, holding the iron spear upright in his hand, he brought it down\nwith all his might right through the monster\u2019s lower jaw. Then quick\nas lightning he sprang from his horse before the Dragon had time to\nshut his mouth. A fearful clap like thunder, which could be heard for\nmiles around, now warned him that the Dragon\u2019s jaws had closed upon\nthe spear. When the youth turned round he saw the point of the spear\nsticking up high above the Dragon\u2019s upper jaw, and knew that the other\nend must be fastened firmly to the ground; but the Dragon had got his\nteeth fixed in the iron horse, which was now useless. The youth now\nhastened to fasten down the chains to the ground by means of the\nenormous iron pegs which he had provided. The death struggle of the\nmonster lasted three days and three nights; in his writhing he beat\nhis tail so violently against the ground, that at ten miles\u2019 distance\nthe earth trembled as if with an earthquake. When he at length lost\npower to move his tail, the youth with the help of the ring took up a\nstone which twenty ordinary men could not have moved, and beat the\nDragon so hard about the head with it that very soon the monster lay\nlifeless before him.\n\nYou can fancy how great was the rejoicing when the news was spread\nabroad that the terrible monster was dead. His conqueror was received\ninto the city with as much pomp as if he had been the mightiest of\nkings. The old King did not need to urge his daughter to marry the\nslayer of the Dragon; he found her already willing to bestow her hand\nupon this hero, who had done all alone what whole armies had tried in\nvain to do. In a few days a magnificent wedding was celebrated, at\nwhich the rejoicings lasted four whole weeks, for all the neighbouring\nkings had met together to thank the man who had freed the world from\ntheir common enemy. But everyone forgot amid the general joy that they\nought to have buried the Dragon\u2019s monstrous body, for it began now to\nhave such a bad smell that no one could live in the neighbourhood, and\nbefore long the whole air was poisoned, and a pestilence broke out\nwhich destroyed many hundreds of people. In this distress, the King\u2019s\nson-in-law resolved to seek help once more from the Eastern magician,\nto whom he at once travelled through the air like a bird by the help\nof the ring. But there is a proverb which says that ill-gotten gains\nnever prosper, and the Prince found that the stolen ring brought him\nill-luck after all. The Witch-maiden had never rested night nor day\nuntil she had found out where the ring was. As soon as she had\ndiscovered by means of magical arts that the Prince in the form of a\nbird was on his way to the Eastern magician, she changed herself into\nan eagle and watched in the air until the bird she was waiting for\ncame in sight, for she knew him at once by the ring which was hung\nround his neck by a ribbon. Then the eagle pounced upon the bird, and\nthe moment she seized him in her talons she tore the ring from his\nneck before the man in bird\u2019s shape had time to prevent her. Then the\neagle flew down to the earth with her prey, and the two stood face to\nface once more in human form.\n\n\u2018Now, villain, you are in my power!\u2019 cried the Witch-maiden. \u2018I\nfavoured you with my love, and you repaid me with treachery and theft.\nYou stole my most precious jewel from me, and do you expect to live\nhappily as the King\u2019s son-in-law? Now the tables are turned; you are\nin my power, and I will be revenged on you for your crimes.\u2019\n\n\u2018Forgive me! forgive me!\u2019 cried the Prince; \u2018I know too well how\ndeeply I have wronged you, and most heartily do I repent it.\u2019\n\nThe maiden answered, \u2018Your prayers and your repentance come too late,\nand if I were to spare you everyone would think me a fool. You have\ndoubly wronged me; first you scorned my love, and then you stole my\nring, and you must bear the punishment.\u2019\n\nWith these words she put the ring upon her left thumb, lifted the\nyoung man with one hand, and walked away with him under her arm. This\ntime she did not take him to a splendid palace, but to a deep cave in\na rock, where there were chains hanging from the wall. The maiden now\nchained the young man\u2019s hands and feet so that he could not escape;\nthen she said in an angry voice, \u2018Here you shall remain chained up\nuntil you die. I will bring you every day enough food to prevent you\ndying of hunger, but you need never hope for freedom any more.\u2019 With\nthese words she left him.\n\nThe old King and his daughter waited anxiously for many weeks for the\nPrince\u2019s return, but no news of him arrived. The King\u2019s daughter often\ndreamed that her husband was going through some great suffering; she\ntherefore begged her father to summon all the enchanters and\nmagicians, that they might try to find out where the Prince was and\nhow he could be set free. But the magicians, with all their arts,\ncould find out nothing, except that he was still living and undergoing\ngreat suffering; but none could tell where he was to be found. At last\na celebrated magician from Finland was brought before the King, who\nhad found out that the King\u2019s son-in-law was imprisoned in the East,\nnot by men, but by some more powerful being. The King now sent\nmessengers to the East to look for his son-in-law, and they by good\nluck met with the old magician who had interpreted the signs on King\nSolomon\u2019s ring, and thus was possessed of more wisdom than anyone else\nin the world. The magician soon found out what he wished to know, and\npointed out the place where the Prince was imprisoned, but said: \u2018He\nis kept there by enchantment, and cannot be set free without my help.\nI will therefore go with you myself.\u2019\n\nSo they all set out, guided by birds, and after some days came to the\ncave where the unfortunate Prince had been chained up for nearly seven\nyears. He recognised the magician immediately, but the old man did not\nknow him, he had grown so thin. However, he undid the chains by the\nhelp of magic, and took care of the Prince until he recovered and\nbecame strong enough to travel. When he reached home he found that the\nold King had died that morning, so that he was now raised to the\nthrone. And now after his long suffering came prosperity, which lasted\nto the end of his life; but he never got back the magic ring, nor has\nit ever again been seen by mortal eyes.\n\nNow, if _you_ had been the Prince, would you not rather have stayed\nwith the pretty witch-maiden?\n\n\n[Illustration: \u2018Here You Shall Remain Chained Up Until You Die\u2019]\n\n\n\n\n_STORY OF THE EMPEROR\u2019S NEW CLOTHES_[4]\n\n\nMany years ago there lived an Emperor who was so fond of new clothes\nthat he spent all his money on them in order to be beautifully\ndressed. He did not care about his soldiers, he did not care about the\ntheatre; he only liked to go out walking to show off his new clothes.\nHe had a coat for every hour of the day; and just as they say of a\nking, \u2018He is in the council-chamber,\u2019 they always said here, \u2018The\nEmperor is in the wardrobe.\u2019\n\nIn the great city in which he lived there was always something going\non; every day many strangers came there. One day two impostors arrived\nwho gave themselves out as weavers, and said that they knew how to\nmanufacture the most beautiful cloth imaginable. Not only were the\ntexture and pattern uncommonly beautiful, but the clothes which were\nmade of the stuff possessed this wonderful property that they were\ninvisible to anyone who was not fit for his office, or who was\nunpardonably stupid.\n\n\u2018Those must indeed be splendid clothes,\u2019 thought the Emperor. \u2018If I\nhad them on I could find out which men in my kingdom are unfit for the\noffices they hold; I could distinguish the wise from the stupid! Yes,\nthis cloth must be woven for me at once.\u2019 And he gave both the\nimpostors much money, so that they might begin their work.\n\nThey placed two weaving-looms, and began to do as if they were\nworking, but they had not the least thing on the looms. They also\ndemanded the finest silk and the best gold, which they put in their\npockets, and worked at the empty looms till late into the night.\n\n[Footnote 4: Andersen.]\n\n\u2018I should like very much to know how far they have got on with the\ncloth,\u2019 thought the Emperor. But he remembered when he thought about\nit that whoever was stupid or not fit for his office would not be able\nto see it. Now he certainly believed that he had nothing to fear for\nhimself, but he wanted first to send somebody else in order to see how\nhe stood with regard to his office. Everybody in the whole town knew\nwhat a wonderful power the cloth had, and they were all curious to see\nhow bad or how stupid their neighbour was.\n\n\u2018I will send my old and honoured minister to the weavers,\u2019 thought the\nEmperor. \u2018He can judge best what the cloth is like, for he has\nintellect, and no one understands his office better than he.\u2019\n\nNow the good old minister went into the hall where the two impostors\nsat working at the empty weaving-looms. \u2018Dear me!\u2019 thought the old\nminister, opening his eyes wide, \u2018I can see nothing!\u2019 But he did not\nsay so.\n\nBoth the impostors begged him to be so kind as to step closer, and\nasked him if it were not a beautiful texture and lovely colours. They\npointed to the empty loom, and the poor old minister went forward\nrubbing his eyes; but he could see nothing, for there was nothing\nthere.\n\n\u2018Dear, dear!\u2019 thought he, \u2018can I be stupid? I have never thought that,\nand nobody must know it! Can I be not fit for my office? No, I must\ncertainly not say that I cannot see the cloth!\u2019\n\n\u2018Have you nothing to say about it?\u2019 asked one of the men who was\nweaving.\n\n\u2018Oh, it is lovely, most lovely!\u2019 answered the old minister, looking\nthrough his spectacles. \u2018What a texture! What colours! Yes, I will\ntell the Emperor that it pleases me very much.\u2019\n\n\u2018Now we are delighted at that,\u2019 said both the weavers, and thereupon\nthey named the colours and explained the make of the texture.\n\nThe old minister paid great attention, so that he could tell the same\nto the Emperor when he came back to him, which he did.\n\nThe impostors now wanted more money, more silk, and more gold to use\nin their weaving. They put it all in their own pockets, and there came\nno threads on the loom, but they went on as they had done before,\nworking at the empty loom. The Emperor soon sent another worthy\nstatesman to see how the weaving was getting on, and whether the cloth\nwould soon be finished. It was the same with him as the first one; he\nlooked and looked, but because there was nothing on the empty loom he\ncould see nothing.\n\n\u2018Is it not a beautiful piece of cloth?\u2019 asked the two impostors, and\nthey pointed to and described the splendid material which was not\nthere.\n\n\u2018Stupid I am not!\u2019 thought the man, \u2018so it must be my good office for\nwhich I am not fitted. It is strange, certainly, but no one must be\nallowed to notice it.\u2019 And so he praised the cloth which he did not\nsee, and expressed to them his delight at the beautiful colours and\nthe splendid texture. \u2018Yes, it is quite beautiful,\u2019 he said to the\nEmperor.\n\nEverybody in the town was talking of the magnificent cloth.\n\nNow the Emperor wanted to see it himself while it was still on the\nloom. With a great crowd of select followers, amongst whom were both\nthe worthy statesmen who had already been there before, he went to the\ncunning impostors, who were now weaving with all their might, but\nwithout fibre or thread.\n\n\u2018Is it not splendid!\u2019 said both the old statesmen who had already been\nthere. \u2018See, your Majesty, what a texture! What colours!\u2019 And then\nthey pointed to the empty loom, for they believed that the others\ncould see the cloth quite well.\n\n\u2018What!\u2019 thought the Emperor, \u2018I can see nothing! This is indeed\nhorrible! Am I stupid? Am I not fit to be Emperor? That were the most\ndreadful thing that could happen to me.\u2019 \u2018Oh, it is very beautiful,\u2019 he\nsaid. \u2018It has my gracious approval.\u2019 And then he nodded pleasantly,\nand examined the empty loom, for he would not say that he could see\nnothing.\n\nHis whole Court round him looked and looked, and saw no more than the\nothers; but they said like the Emperor, \u2018Oh! it is beautiful!\u2019 And\nthey advised him to wear these new and magnificent clothes for the\nfirst time at the great procession which was soon to take place.\n\u2018Splendid! Lovely! Most beautiful!\u2019 went from mouth to mouth; everyone\nseemed delighted over them, and the Emperor gave to the impostors the\ntitle of Court weavers to the Emperor.\n\nThroughout the whole of the night before the morning on which the\nprocession was to take place, the impostors were up and were working\nby the light of over sixteen candles. The people could see that they\nwere very busy making the Emperor\u2019s new clothes ready. They pretended\nthey were taking the cloth from the loom, cut with huge scissors in\nthe air, sewed with needles without thread, and then said at last,\n\u2018Now the clothes are finished!\u2019\n\nThe Emperor came himself with his most distinguished knights, and each\nimpostor held up his arm just as if he were holding something, and\nsaid, \u2018See! here are the breeches! Here is the coat! Here the cloak!\u2019\nand so on.\n\n\u2018Spun clothes are so comfortable that one would imagine one had\nnothing on at all; but that is the beauty of it!\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes,\u2019 said all the knights, but they could see nothing, for there was\nnothing there.\n\n[Illustration: The Emperor comes to see his new clothes]\n\n\u2018Will it please your Majesty graciously to take off your clothes,\u2019\nsaid the impostors, \u2018then we will put on the new clothes, here before\nthe mirror.\u2019\n\nThe Emperor took off all his clothes, and the impostors placed\nthemselves before him as if they were putting on each part of his new\nclothes which was ready, and the Emperor turned and bent himself in\nfront of the mirror.\n\n\u2018How beautifully they fit! How well they sit!\u2019 said everybody. \u2018What\nmaterial! What colours! It is a gorgeous suit!\u2019\n\n\u2018They are waiting outside with the canopy which your Majesty is wont\nto have borne over you in the procession,\u2019 announced the Master of the\nCeremonies.\n\n\u2018Look, I am ready,\u2019 said the Emperor. \u2018Doesn\u2019t it sit well!\u2019 And he\nturned himself again to the mirror to see if his finery was on all\nright.\n\nThe chamberlains who were used to carry the train put their hands near\nthe floor as if they were lifting up the train; then they did as if\nthey were holding something in the air. They would not have it noticed\nthat they could see nothing.\n\nSo the Emperor went along in the procession under the splendid canopy,\nand all the people in the streets and at the windows said, \u2018How\nmatchless are the Emperor\u2019s new clothes! That train fastened to his\ndress, how beautifully it hangs!\u2019\n\nNo one wished it to be noticed that he could see nothing, for then he\nwould have been unfit for his office, or else very stupid. None of the\nEmperor\u2019s clothes had met with such approval as these had.\n\n\u2018But he has nothing on!\u2019 said a little child at last.\n\n\u2018Just listen to the innocent child!\u2019 said the father, and each one\nwhispered to his neighbour what the child had said.\n\n\u2018But he has nothing on!\u2019 the whole of the people called out at last.\n\nThis struck the Emperor, for it seemed to him as if they were right;\nbut he thought to himself, \u2018I must go on with the procession now.\u2019 And\nthe chamberlains walked along still more uprightly, holding up the\ntrain which was not there at all.\n\n\n\n\n_THE GOLDEN CRAB_[5]\n\n\nOnce upon a time there was a fisherman who had a wife and three\nchildren. Every morning he used to go out fishing, and whatever fish\nhe caught he sold to the King. One day, among the other fishes, he\ncaught a golden crab. When he came home he put all the fishes together\ninto a great dish, but he kept the Crab separate because it shone so\nbeautifully, and placed it upon a high shelf in the cupboard. Now\nwhile the old woman, his wife, was cleaning the fish, and had tucked\nup her gown so that her feet were visible, she suddenly heard a voice,\nwhich said:\n\n     \u2018Let down, let down thy petticoat\n      That lets thy feet be seen.\u2019\n\nShe turned round in surprise, and then she saw the little creature,\nthe Golden Crab.\n\n\u2018What! You can speak, can you, you ridiculous crab?\u2019 she said, for she\nwas not quite pleased at the Crab\u2019s remarks. Then she took him up and\nplaced him on a dish.\n\nWhen her husband came home and they sat down to dinner, they presently\nheard the Crab\u2019s little voice saying, \u2018Give me some too.\u2019 They were\nall very much surprised, but they gave him something to eat. When the\nold man came to take away the plate which had contained the Crab\u2019s\ndinner, he found it full of gold, and as the same thing happened every\nday he soon became very fond of the Crab.\n\nOne day the Crab said to the fisherman\u2019s wife, \u2018Go to the King and\ntell him I wish to marry his younger daughter.\u2019\n\n[Footnote 5: \u2018Prinz Krebs,\u2019 from _Griechische M\u00e4hrchen_. Schmidt.]\n\nThe old woman went accordingly, and laid the matter before the King,\nwho laughed a little at the notion of his daughter marrying a crab,\nbut did not decline the proposal altogether, because he was a prudent\nmonarch, and knew that the Crab was likely to be a prince in disguise.\nHe said, therefore, to the fisherman\u2019s wife, \u2018Go, old woman, and tell\nthe Crab I will give him my daughter if by to-morrow morning he can\nbuild a wall in front of my castle much higher than my tower, upon\nwhich all the flowers of the world must grow and bloom.\u2019\n\nThe fisherman\u2019s wife went home and gave this message.\n\n[Illustration: Let down Let Down thy Petticoat That Lets thy Feet be\nSeen]\n\nThen the Crab gave her a golden rod, and said, \u2018Go and strike with\nthis rod three times upon the ground on the place which the King\nshowed you, and to-morrow morning the wall will be there.\u2019\n\nThe old woman did so and went away again.\n\nThe next morning, when the King awoke, what do you think he saw? The\nwall stood there before his eyes, exactly as he had bespoken it!\n\nThen the old woman went back to the King and said to him, \u2018Your\nMajesty\u2019s orders have been fulfilled.\u2019\n\n\u2018That is all very well,\u2019 said the King, \u2018but I cannot give away my\ndaughter until there stands in front of my palace a garden in which\nthere are three fountains, of which the first must play gold, the\nsecond diamonds, and the third brilliants.\u2019\n\n[Illustration: The fisherman brings the crab on the golden cushion]\n\nSo the old woman had to strike again three times upon the ground with\nthe rod, and the next morning the garden was there. The King now gave\nhis consent, and the wedding was fixed for the very next day.\n\nThen the Crab said to the old fisherman, \u2018Now take this rod; go and\nknock with it on a certain mountain; then a black man[6] will come out\nand ask you what you wish for. Answer him thus: \u201cYour master, the\nKing, has sent me to tell you that you must send him his golden\ngarment that is like the sun.\u201d Make him give you, besides, the queenly\nrobes of gold and precious stones which are like the flowery meadows,\nand bring them both to me. And bring me also the golden cushion.\u2019\n\n[Footnote 6: Ein Mohr.]\n\nThe old man went and did his errand. When he had brought the precious\nrobes, the Crab put on the golden garment and then crept upon the\ngolden cushion, and in this way the fisherman carried him to the\ncastle, where the Crab presented the other garment to his bride. Now\nthe ceremony took place, and when the married pair were alone together\nthe Crab made himself known to his young wife, and told her how he was\nthe son of the greatest king in the world, and how he was enchanted,\nso that he became a crab by day and was a man only at night; and he\ncould also change himself into an eagle as often as he wished. No\nsooner had he said this than he shook himself, and immediately became\na handsome youth, but the next morning he was forced to creep back\nagain into his crab-shell. And the same thing happened every day. But\nthe Princess\u2019s affection for the Crab, and the polite attention with\nwhich she behaved to him, surprised the royal family very much. They\nsuspected some secret, but though they spied and spied, they could not\ndiscover it. Thus a year passed away, and the Princess had a son, whom\nshe called Benjamin. But her mother still thought the whole matter\nvery strange. At last she said to the King that he ought to ask his\ndaughter whether she would not like to have another husband instead of\nthe Crab? But when the daughter was questioned she only answered:\n\n\u2018I am married to the Crab, and him only will I have.\u2019\n\nThen the King said to her, \u2018I will appoint a tournament in your\nhonour, and I will invite all the princes in the world to it, and if\nany one of them pleases you, you shall marry him.\u2019\n\nIn the evening the Princess told this to the Crab, who said to her,\n\u2018Take this rod, go to the garden gate and knock with it, then a black\nman will come out and say to you, \u201cWhy have you called me, and what do\nyou require of me?\u201d Answer him thus: \u201cYour master the King has sent me\nhither to tell you to send him his golden armour and his steed and the\nsilver apple.\u201d And bring them to me.\u2019\n\nThe Princess did so, and brought him what he desired.\n\nThe following evening the Prince dressed himself for the tournament.\nBefore he went he said to his wife, \u2018Now mind you do not say when you\nsee me that I am the Crab. For if you do this evil will come of it.\nPlace yourself at the window with your sisters; I will ride by and\nthrow you the silver apple. Take it in your hand, but if they ask you\nwho I am, say that you do not know.\u2019 So saying, he kissed her,\nrepeated his warning once more, and went away.\n\nThe Princess went with her sisters to the window and looked on at the\ntournament. Presently her husband rode by and threw the apple up to\nher. She caught it in her hand and went with it to her room, and\nby-and-by her husband came back to her. But her father was much\nsurprised that she did not seem to care about any of the Princes; he\ntherefore appointed a second tournament.\n\nThe Crab then gave his wife the same directions as before, only this\ntime the apple which she received from the black man was of gold. But\nbefore the Prince went to the tournament he said to his wife, \u2018Now I\nknow you will betray me to-day.\u2019\n\nBut she swore to him that she would not tell who he was. He then\nrepeated his warning and went away.\n\nIn the evening, while the Princess, with her mother and sisters, was\nstanding at the window, the Prince suddenly galloped past on his steed\nand threw her the golden apple.\n\nThen her mother flew into a passion, gave her a box on the ear, and\ncried out, \u2018Does not even that prince please you, you fool?\u2019\n\nThe Princess in her fright exclaimed, \u2018That is the Crab himself!\u2019\n\nHer mother was still more angry because she had not been told sooner,\nran into her daughter\u2019s room where the crab-shell was still lying,\ntook it up and threw it into the fire. Then the poor Princess cried\nbitterly, but it was of no use; her husband did not come back.\n\nNow we must leave the Princess and turn to the other persons in the\nstory. One day an old man went to a stream to dip in a crust of bread\nwhich he was going to eat, when a dog came out of the water, snatched\nthe bread from his hand, and ran away. The old man ran after him, but\nthe dog reached a door, pushed it open, and ran in, the old man\nfollowing him. He did not overtake the dog, but found himself above a\nstaircase, which he descended. Then he saw before him a stately\npalace, and, entering, he found in a large hall a table set for twelve\npersons. He hid himself in the hall behind a great picture, that he\nmight see what would happen. At noon he heard a great noise, so that\nhe trembled with fear. When he took courage to look out from behind\nthe picture, he saw twelve eagles flying in. At this sight his fear\nbecame still greater. The eagles flew to the basin of a fountain that\nwas there and bathed themselves, when suddenly they were changed into\ntwelve handsome youths. Now they seated themselves at the table, and\none of them took up a goblet filled with wine, and said, \u2018A health to\nmy father!\u2019 And another said, \u2018A health to my mother!\u2019 and so the\nhealths went round. Then one of them said:\n\n     \u2018A health to my dearest lady,\n        Long may she live and well!\n      But a curse on the cruel mother\n        That burnt my golden shell!\u2019\n\n[Illustration: The Prince Throws the Apple To the Princess]\n\nAnd so saying he wept bitterly. Then the youths rose from the table,\nwent back to the great stone fountain, turned themselves into eagles\nagain, and flew away.\n\nThen the old man went away too, returned to the light of day, and went\nhome. Soon after he heard that the Princess was ill, and that the only\nthing that did her good was having stories told to her. He therefore\nwent to the royal castle, obtained an audience of the Princess, and\ntold her about the strange things he had seen in the underground\npalace. No sooner had he finished than the Princess asked him whether\nhe could find the way to that palace.\n\n\u2018Yes,\u2019 he answered, \u2018certainly.\u2019\n\nAnd now she desired him to guide her thither at once. The old man did\nso, and when they came to the palace he hid her behind the great\npicture and advised her to keep quite still, and he placed himself\nbehind the picture also. Presently the eagles came flying in, and\nchanged themselves into young men, and in a moment the Princess\nrecognised her husband amongst them all, and tried to come out of her\nhiding-place; but the old man held her back. The youths seated\nthemselves at the table; and now the Prince said again, while he took\nup the cup of wine:\n\n     \u2018A health to my dearest lady,\n        Long may she live and well!\n      But a curse on the cruel mother\n        That burnt my golden shell!\u2019\n\nThen the Princess could restrain herself no longer, but ran forward\nand threw her arms round her husband. And immediately he knew her\nagain, and said:\n\n\u2018Do you remember how I told you that day that you would betray me? Now\nyou see that I spoke the truth. But all that bad time is past. Now\nlisten to me: I must still remain enchanted for three months. Will you\nstay here with me till that time is over?\u2019\n\nSo the Princess stayed with him, and said to the old man, \u2018Go back to\nthe castle and tell my parents that I am staying here.\u2019\n\nHer parents were very much vexed when the old man came back and told\nthem this, but as soon as the three months of the Prince\u2019s enchantment\nwere over, he ceased to be an eagle and became once more a man, and\nthey returned home together. And then they lived happily, and we who\nhear the story are happier still.\n\n\n\n\n_THE IRON STOVE_[7]\n\n\nOnce upon a time when wishes came true there was a king\u2019s son who was\nenchanted by an old witch, so that he was obliged to sit in a large\niron stove in a wood. There he lived for many years, and no one could\nfree him. At last a king\u2019s daughter came into the wood; she had lost\nher way, and could not find her father\u2019s kingdom again. She had been\nwandering round and round for nine days, and she came at last to the\niron case. A voice came from within and asked her, \u2018Where do you come\nfrom, and where do you want to go?\u2019 She answered, \u2018I have lost my way\nto my father\u2019s kingdom, and I shall never get home again.\u2019 Then the\nvoice from the iron stove said, \u2018I will help you to find your home\nagain, and that in a very short time, if you will promise to do what I\nask you. I am a greater prince than you are a princess, and I will\nmarry you.\u2019 Then she grew frightened, and thought, \u2018What can a young\nlassie do with an iron stove?\u2019 But as she wanted very much to go home\nto her father, she promised to do what he wished. He said, \u2018You must\ncome again, and bring a knife with you to scrape a hole in the iron.\u2019\n\n[Footnote 7: Grimm.]\n\nThen he gave her someone for a guide, who walked near her and said\nnothing, but he brought her in two hours to her house. There was great\njoy in the castle when the Princess came back, and the old King fell\non her neck and kissed her. But she was very much troubled, and said,\n\u2018Dear father, listen to what has befallen me! I should never have come\nhome again out of the great wild wood if I had not come to an iron\nstove, to whom I have had to promise that I will go back to free him\nand marry him!\u2019 The old King was so frightened that he nearly fainted,\nfor she was his only daughter. So they consulted together, and\ndetermined that the miller\u2019s daughter, who was very beautiful, should\ntake her place. They took her there, gave her a knife, and said she\nmust scrape at the iron stove. She scraped for twenty-four hours, but\ndid not make the least impression. When the day broke, a voice called\nfrom the iron stove, \u2018It seems to me that it is day outside.\u2019 Then she\nanswered, \u2018It seems so to me; I think I hear my father\u2019s mill\nrattling.\u2019\n\n[Illustration: You Are Mine & I Am Thine\u2014The Iron Stove]\n\n\u2018So you are a miller\u2019s daughter! Then go away at once, and tell the\nKing\u2019s daughter to come.\u2019\n\nThen she went away, and told the old King that the thing inside the\niron stove would not have her, but wanted the Princess. The old King\nwas frightened, and his daughter wept. But they had a swineherd\u2019s\ndaughter who was even more beautiful than the miller\u2019s daughter, and\nthey gave her a piece of gold to go to the iron stove instead of the\nPrincess. Then she was taken out, and had to scrape for\nfour-and-twenty hours, but she could make no impression. As soon as\nthe day broke the voice from the stove called out, \u2018It seems to be\ndaylight outside.\u2019 Then she answered, \u2018It seems so to me too; I think\nI hear my father blowing his horn.\u2019 \u2018So you are a swineherd\u2019s\ndaughter! Go away at once, and let the King\u2019s daughter come. And say\nto her that what I foretell shall come to pass, and if she does not\ncome everything in the kingdom shall fall into ruin, and not one stone\nshall be left upon another.\u2019 When the Princess heard this she began to\ncry, but it was no good; she had to keep her word. She took leave of\nher father, put a knife in her belt, and went to the iron stove in the\nwood. As soon as she reached it she began to scrape, and the iron gave\nway and before two hours had passed she had made a little hole. Then\nshe peeped in and saw such a beautiful youth all shining with gold and\nprecious stones that she fell in love with him on the spot. So she\nscraped away harder than ever, and made the hole so large that he\ncould get out. Then he said, \u2018You are mine, and I am thine; you are my\nbride and have set me free!\u2019 He wanted to take her with him to his\nkingdom, but she begged him just to let her go once more to her\nfather; and the Prince let her go, but told her not to say more than\nthree words to her father, then to come back again. So she went home,\nbut alas! she said _more than three words_; and immediately the iron\nstove vanished and went away over a mountain of glass and sharp\nswords. But the Prince was free, and was no longer shut up in it. Then\nshe said good-bye to her father, and took a little money with her, and\nwent again into the great wood to look for the iron stove; but she\ncould not find it. She sought it for nine days, and then her hunger\nbecame so great that she did not know how she could live any longer.\nAnd when it was evening she climbed a little tree and wished that the\nnight would not come, because she was afraid of the wild beasts. When\nmidnight came she saw afar off a little light, and thought, \u2018Ah! if\nonly I could reach that!\u2019 Then she got down from the tree and went\ntowards the light. She came to a little old house with a great deal of\ngrass growing round, and stood in front of a little heap of wood. She\nthought, \u2018Alas! what am I coming to?\u2019 and peeped through the window;\nbut she saw nothing inside except big and little toads, and a table\nbeautifully spread with roast meats and wine, and all the dishes and\ndrinking-cups were of silver. Then she took heart and knocked. Then a\nfat toad called out:\n\n     \u2018Little green toad with leg like crook,\n      Open wide the door, and look\n      Who it was the latch that shook.\u2019\n\nAnd a little toad came forward and let her in. When she entered they\nall bid her welcome, and made her sit down. They asked her how she\ncame there and what she wanted. Then she told everything that had\nhappened to her, and how, because she had exceeded her permission only\nto speak three words, the stove had disappeared with the Prince; and\nhow she had searched a very long time, and must wander over mountain\nand valley till she found him.\n\nThen the old toad said:\n\n     \u2018Little green toad whose leg doth twist,\n      Go to the corner of which you wist,\n      And bring to me the large old kist.\u2019\n\nAnd the little toad went and brought out a great chest. Then they gave\nher food and drink, and led her to a beautifully made bed of silk and\nsamite, on which she lay down and slept soundly. When the day dawned\nshe arose, and the old toad gave her three things out of the huge\nchest to take with her. She would have need of them, for she had to\ncross a high glass mountain, three cutting swords, and a great lake.\nWhen she had passed these she would find her lover again. So she was\ngiven three large needles, a plough-wheel, and three nuts, which she\nwas to take great care of. She set out with these things, and when she\ncame to the glass mountain which was so slippery she stuck the three\nneedles behind her feet and then in front, and so got over it, and\nwhen she was on the other side put them carefully away.\n\nThen she reached the three cutting swords, and got on her plough-wheel\nand rolled over them. At last she came to a great lake, and, when she\nhad crossed that, arrived at a beautiful castle. She went in and gave\nherself out as a servant, a poor maid who would gladly be engaged. But\nshe knew that the Prince whom she had freed from the iron stove in the\ngreat wood was in the castle. So she was taken on as a kitchenmaid for\nvery small wages. Now the Prince was about to marry another princess,\nfor he thought she was dead long ago.\n\n[Illustration: \u2018Then she reached the three cutting swords, and got on\nher plough-wheel and rolled over them\u2019]\n\nIn the evening, when she had washed up and was ready, she felt in her\npocket and found the three nuts which the old toad had given her. She\ncracked one and was going to eat the kernel, when behold! there was a\nbeautiful royal dress inside it! When the bride heard of this, she\ncame and begged for the dress, and wanted to buy it, saying that it\nwas not a dress for a serving-maid. Then she said she would not sell\nit unless she was granted one favour\u2014namely, to sleep by the Prince\u2019s\ndoor. The bride granted her this, because the dress was so beautiful\nand she had so few like it. When it was evening she said to her\nbridegroom, \u2018That stupid maid wants to sleep by your door.\u2019\n\n\u2018If you are contented, I am,\u2019 he said. But she gave him a glass of\nwine in which she had poured a sleeping-draught. Then they both went\nto his room, but he slept so soundly that she could not wake him. The\nmaid wept all night long, and said, \u2018I freed you in the wild wood out\nof the iron stove; I have sought you, and have crossed a glassy\nmountain, three sharp swords, and a great lake before I found you, and\nwill you not hear me now?\u2019 The servants outside heard how she cried\nthe whole night, and they told their master in the morning.\n\nWhen she had washed up the next evening she bit the second nut, and\nthere was a still more beautiful dress inside. When the bride saw it\nshe wanted to buy it also. But the maid did not want money, and asked\nthat she should sleep again by the Prince\u2019s door. The bride, however,\ngave him a sleeping-draught, and he slept so soundly that he heard\nnothing. But the kitchenmaid wept the whole night long, and said, \u2018I\nhave freed you in a wood and from an iron stove; I sought you and have\ncrossed a glassy mountain, three sharp swords, and a great lake to\nfind you, and now you will not hear me!\u2019 The servants outside heard\nhow she cried the whole night, and in the morning they told their\nmaster. And when she had washed up on the third night she bit the\nthird nut, and there was a still more beautiful dress inside that was\nmade of pure gold. When the bride saw it she wanted to have it, but\nthe maid would only give it her on condition that she should sleep for\nthe third time by the Prince\u2019s door. But the Prince took care not to\ndrink the sleeping-draught. When she began to weep and to say,\n\u2018Dearest sweetheart, I freed you in the horrible wild wood, and from\nan iron stove,\u2019 he jumped up and said, \u2018You are right. You are mine,\nand I am thine.\u2019 Though it was still night, he got into a carriage\nwith her, and they took the false bride\u2019s clothes away, so that she\ncould not follow them. When they came to the great lake they rowed\nacross, and when they reached the three sharp swords they sat on the\nplough-wheel, and on the glassy mountain they stuck the three needles\nin. So they arrived at last at the little old house, but when they\nstepped inside it turned into a large castle. The toads were all\nfreed, and were beautiful King\u2019s children, running about for joy.\nThere they were married, and they remained in the castle, which was\nmuch larger than that of the Princess\u2019s father\u2019s. But because the old\nman did not like being left alone, they went and fetched him. So they\nhad two kingdoms and lived in great wealth.\n\n     A mouse has run,\n     My story\u2019s done.\n\n\n\n\n_THE DRAGON AND HIS GRANDMOTHER_\n\n\nThere was once a great war, and the King had a great many soldiers,\nbut he gave them so little pay that they could not live upon it. Then\nthree of them took counsel together and determined to desert.\n\nOne of them said to the others, \u2018If we are caught, we shall be hanged\non the gallows; how shall we set about it?\u2019 The other said, \u2018Do you\nsee that large cornfield there? If we were to hide ourselves in that,\nno one could find us. The army cannot come into it, and to-morrow it\nis to march on.\u2019\n\nThey crept into the corn, but the army did not march on, but remained\nencamped close around them. They sat for two days and two nights in\nthe corn, and grew so hungry that they nearly died; but if they were\nto venture out, it was certain death.\n\nThey said at last, \u2018What use was it our deserting? We must perish here\nmiserably.\u2019\n\nWhilst they were speaking a fiery dragon came flying through the air.\nIt hovered near them, and asked why they were hidden there. They\nanswered, \u2018We are three soldiers, and have deserted because our pay\nwas so small. Now if we remain here we shall die of hunger, and if we\nmove out we shall be strung up on the gallows.\u2019 \u2018If you will serve me\nfor seven years,\u2019 said the dragon, I will lead you through the midst\nof the army so that no one shall catch you.\u2019 \u2018We have no choice, and\nmust take your offer,\u2019 said they. Then the dragon seized them in his\nclaws, took them through the air over the army, and set them down on\nthe earth a long way from it.\n\nHe gave them a little whip, saying, \u2018Whip and slash with this, and as\nmuch money as you want will jump up before you. You can then live as\ngreat lords, keep horses, and drive about in carriages. But after\nseven years you are mine.\u2019 Then he put a book before them, which he\nmade all three of them sign. \u2018I will then give you a riddle,\u2019 he said;\n\u2018if you guess it, you shall be free and out of my power.\u2019 The dragon\nthen flew away, and they journeyed on with their little whip. They had\nas much money as they wanted, wore grand clothes, and made their way\ninto the world. Wherever they went they lived in merrymaking and\nsplendour, drove about with horses and carriages, ate and drank, but\ndid nothing wrong.\n\n[Illustration: The Dragon carries off the three soldiers]\n\nThe time passed quickly away, and when the seven years were nearly\nended two of them grew terribly anxious and frightened, but the third\nmade light of it, saying, \u2018Don\u2019t be afraid, brothers, I wasn\u2019t born\nyesterday; I will guess the riddle.\u2019\n\nThey went into a field, sat down, and the two pulled long faces. An\nold woman passed by, and asked them why they were so sad. \u2018Alas! what\nhave you to do with it? You cannot help us.\u2019 \u2018Who knows?\u2019 she\nanswered. \u2018Only confide your trouble in me.\u2019\n\nThen they told her that they had become the servants of the Dragon for\nseven long years, and how he had given them money as plentifully as\nblackberries; but as they had signed their names they were his, unless\nwhen the seven years had passed they could guess a riddle. The old\nwoman said, \u2018If you would help yourselves, one of you must go into the\nwood, and there he will come upon a tumble-down building of rocks\nwhich looks like a little house. He must go in, and there he will find\nhelp.\u2019\n\nThe two melancholy ones thought, \u2018That won\u2019t save us!\u2019 and they\nremained where they were. But the third and merry one jumped up and\nwent into the wood till he found the rock hut. In the hut sat a very\nold woman, who was the Dragon\u2019s grandmother. She asked him how he\ncame, and what was his business there. He told her all that happened,\nand because she was pleased with him she took compassion on him, and\nsaid she would help him.\n\nShe lifted up a large stone which lay over the cellar, saying, \u2018Hide\nyourself there; you can hear all that is spoken in this room. Only sit\nstill and don\u2019t stir. When the Dragon comes, I will ask him what the\nriddle is, for he tells me everything; then listen carefully what he\nanswers.\u2019\n\nAt midnight the Dragon flew in, and asked for his supper. His\ngrandmother laid the table, and brought out food and drink till he was\nsatisfied, and they ate and drank together. Then in the course of the\nconversation she asked him what he had done in the day, and how many\nsouls he had conquered.\n\n\u2018I haven\u2019t had much luck to-day,\u2019 he said, \u2018but I have a tight hold on\nthree soldiers.\u2019\n\n\u2018Indeed! three soldiers!\u2019 said she. \u2018Who cannot escape you?\u2019\n\n\u2018They are mine,\u2019 answered the Dragon scornfully, \u2018for I shall only\ngive them one riddle which they will never be able to guess.\u2019\n\n\u2018What sort of a riddle is it?\u2019 she asked.\n\n\u2018I will tell you this. In the North Sea lies a dead sea-cat\u2014that\nshall be their roast meat; and the rib of a whale\u2014that shall be their\nsilver spoon; and the hollow foot of a dead horse\u2014that shall be their\nwineglass.\u2019\n\nWhen the Dragon had gone to bed, his old grandmother pulled up the\nstone and let out the soldier.\n\n\u2018Did you pay attention to everything?\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes,\u2019 he replied, \u2018I know enough, and can help myself splendidly.\u2019\n\nThen he went by another way through the window secretly, and in all\nhaste back to his comrades. He told them how the Dragon had been\noutwitted by his grandmother, and how he had heard from his own lips\nthe answer to the riddle.\n\nThen they were all delighted and in high spirits, took out their whip,\nand cracked so much money that it came jumping up from the ground.\nWhen the seven years had quite gone, the Fiend came with his book,\nand, pointing at the signatures, said, \u2018I will take you underground\nwith me; you shall have a meal there. If you can tell me what you will\nget for your roast meat, you shall be free, and shall also keep the\nwhip.\u2019\n\nThen said the first soldier, \u2018In the North Sea lies a dead sea-cat;\nthat shall be the roast meat.\u2019\n\nThe Dragon was much annoyed, and hummed and hawed a good deal, and\nasked the second, \u2018But what shall be your spoon?\u2019\n\n\u2018The rib of a whale shall be our silver spoon.\u2019\n\nThe Dragon made a face, and growled again three times, \u2018Hum, hum,\nhum,\u2019 and said to the third, \u2018Do you know what your wineglass shall\nbe?\u2019\n\n\u2018An old horse\u2019s hoof shall be our wineglass.\u2019\n\nThen the Dragon flew away with a loud shriek, and had no more power\nover them. But the three soldiers took the little whip, whipped as\nmuch money as they wanted, and lived happily to their lives\u2019 end.\n\n[Illustration: The Fiend defeated]\n\n\n\n\n_THE DONKEY CABBAGE_\n\n\nThere was once a young Hunter who went boldly into the forest. He had\na merry and light heart, and as he went whistling along there came an\nugly old woman, who said to him, \u2018Good-day, dear hunter! You are very\nmerry and contented, but I suffer hunger and thirst, so give me a\ntrifle.\u2019 The Hunter was sorry for the poor old woman, and he felt in\nhis pocket and gave her all he could spare. He was going on then, but\nthe old woman stopped him and said, \u2018Listen, dear hunter, to what I\nsay. Because of your kind heart I will make you a present. Go on your\nway, and in a short time you will come to a tree on which sit nine\nbirds who have a cloak in their claws and are quarrelling over it.\nThen take aim with your gun and shoot in the middle of them; they will\nlet the cloak fall, but one of the birds will be hit and will drop\ndown dead. Take the cloak with you; it is a wishing-cloak, and when\nyou throw it on your shoulders you have only to wish yourself at a\ncertain place, and in the twinkling of an eye you are there. Take the\nheart out of the dead bird and swallow it whole, and early every\nmorning when you get up you will find a gold piece under your pillow.\u2019\n\nThe Hunter thanked the wise woman, and thought to himself \u2018These are\nsplendid things she has promised me, if only they come to pass!\u2019 So he\nwalked on about a hundred yards, and then he heard above him in the\nbranches such a screaming and chirping that he looked up, and there he\nsaw a heap of birds tearing a cloth with their beaks and feet,\nshrieking, tugging, and fighting, as if each wanted it for himself.\n\u2018Well,\u2019 said the Hunter, \u2018this is wonderful! It is just as the old\nwoman said\u2019; and he took his gun on his shoulder, pulled the trigger,\nand shot into the midst of them, so that their feathers flew about.\nThen the flock took flight with much screaming, but one fell dead, and\nthe cloak fluttered down. Then the Hunter did as the old woman had\ntold him: he cut open the bird, found its heart, swallowed it, and\ntook the cloak home with him. The next morning when he awoke he\nremembered the promise, and wanted to see if it had come true. But\nwhen he lifted up his pillow, there sparkled the gold piece, and the\nnext morning he found another, and so on every time he got up. He\ncollected a heap of gold, but at last he thought to himself, \u2018What\ngood is all my gold to me if I stay at home? I will travel and look a\nbit about me in the world.\u2019 So he took leave of his parents, slung his\nhunting knapsack and his gun round him, and journeyed into the world.\n\nIt happened that one day he went through a thick wood, and when he\ncame to the end of it there lay in the plain before him a large\ncastle. At one of the windows in it stood an old woman with a most\nbeautiful maiden by her side, looking out. But the old woman was a\nwitch, and she said to the girl, \u2018There comes one out of the wood who\nhas a wonderful treasure in his body which we must manage to possess\nourselves of, darling daughter; we have more right to it than he. He\nhas a bird\u2019s heart in him, and so every morning there lies a gold\npiece under his pillow.\u2019\n\nShe told her how they could get hold of it, and how she was to coax it\nfrom him, and at last threatened her angrily, saying, \u2018And if you do\nnot obey me, you shall repent it!\u2019\n\nWhen the Hunter came nearer he saw the maiden, and said to himself, \u2018I\nhave travelled so far now that I will rest, and turn into this\nbeautiful castle; money I have in plenty.\u2019 But the real reason was\nthat he had caught sight of the lovely face.\n\nHe went into the house, and was kindly received and hospitably\nentertained. It was not long before he was so much in love with the\nwitch-maiden that he thought of nothing else, and only looked in her\neyes, and whatever she wanted, that he gladly did. Then the old witch\nsaid, \u2018Now we must have the bird-heart; he will not feel when it is\ngone.\u2019 She prepared a drink, and when it was ready she poured it in a\ngoblet and gave it to the maiden, who had to hand it to the hunter.\n\n\u2018Drink to me now, my dearest,\u2019 she said. Then he took the goblet, and\nwhen he had swallowed the drink the bird-heart came out of his mouth.\nThe maiden had to get hold of it secretly and then swallow it herself,\nfor the old witch wanted to have it. Thenceforward he found no more\ngold under his pillow, and it lay under the maiden\u2019s; but he was so\nmuch in love and so much bewitched that he thought of nothing except\nspending all his time with the maiden.\n\nThen the old witch said, \u2018We have the bird-heart, but we must also get\nthe wishing-cloak from him.\u2019\n\nThe maiden answered, \u2018We will leave him that; he has already lost his\nwealth!\u2019\n\nThe old witch grew angry, and said, \u2018Such a cloak is a wonderful\nthing, it is seldom to be had in the world, and have it I must and\nwill.\u2019 She beat the maiden, and said that if she did not obey it would\ngo ill with her.\n\n[Illustration: The Maiden Obtains the Bird-Heart]\n\nSo she did her mother\u2019s bidding, and, standing one day by the window,\nshe looked away into the far distance as if she were very sad.\n\n\u2018Why are you standing there looking so sad?\u2019 asked the Hunter.\n\n\u2018Alas, my love,\u2019 she replied, \u2018over there lies the granite mountain\nwhere the costly precious stones grow. I have a great longing to go\nthere, so that when I think of it I am very sad. For who can fetch\nthem? Only the birds who fly; a man, never.\u2019\n\n\u2018If you have no other trouble,\u2019 said the Hunter, \u2018that one I can\neasily remove from your heart.\u2019\n\nSo he wrapped her round in his cloak and wished themselves to the\ngranite mountain, and in an instant there they were, sitting on it!\nThe precious stones sparkled so brightly on all sides that it was a\npleasure to see them, and they collected the most beautiful and costly\ntogether. But now the old witch had through her witchcraft caused the\nHunter\u2019s eyes to become heavy.\n\nHe said to the maiden, \u2018We will sit down for a little while and rest;\nI am so tired that I can hardly stand on my feet.\u2019\n\nSo they sat down, and he laid his head on her lap and fell asleep. As\nsoon as he was sound asleep she unfastened the cloak from his\nshoulders, threw it on her own, left the granite and stones, and\nwished herself home again.\n\nBut when the Hunter had finished his sleep and awoke, he found that\nhis love had betrayed him and left him alone on the wild mountain.\n\u2018Oh,\u2019 said he, \u2018why is faithlessness so great in the world?\u2019 and he\nsat down in sorrow and trouble, not knowing what to do.\n\nBut the mountain belonged to fierce and huge giants, who lived on it\nand traded there, and he had not sat long before he saw three of them\nstriding towards him. So he lay down as if he had fallen into a deep\nsleep.\n\nThe giants came up, and the first pushed him with his foot, and said,\n\u2018What sort of an earthworm is that?\u2019\n\nThe second said, \u2018Crush him dead.\u2019\n\nBut the third said contemptuously, \u2018It is not worth the trouble! Let\nhim live; he cannot remain here, and if he goes higher up the mountain\nthe clouds will take him and carry him off.\u2019\n\nTalking thus they went away. But the Hunter had listened to their\ntalk, and as soon as they had gone he rose and climbed to the summit.\nWhen he had sat there a little while a cloud swept by, and, seizing\nhim, carried him away. It travelled for a time in the sky, and then it\nsank down and hovered over a large vegetable garden surrounded by\nwalls, so that he came safely to the ground amidst cabbages and\nvegetables. The Hunter then looked about him, saying, \u2018If only I had\nsomething to eat! I am so hungry, and it will go badly with me in the\nfuture, for I see here not an apple or pear or fruit of any\nkind\u2014nothing but vegetables everywhere.\u2019 At last he thought, \u2018At a\npinch I can eat a salad; it does not taste particularly nice, but it\nwill refresh me.\u2019 So he looked about for a good head and ate it, but\nno sooner had he swallowed a couple of mouthfuls than he felt very\nstrange, and found himself wonderfully changed. Four legs began to\ngrow on him, a thick head, and two long ears, and he saw with horror\nthat he had changed into a donkey. But as he was still very hungry and\nthis juicy salad tasted very good to his present nature, he went on\neating with a still greater appetite. At last he got hold of another\nkind of cabbage, but scarcely had swallowed it when he felt another\nchange, and he once more regained his human form.\n\n[Illustration: The hunter is transformed into a donkey]\n\nThe Hunter now lay down and slept off his weariness. When he awoke the\nnext morning he broke off a head of the bad and a head of the good\ncabbage, thinking, \u2018This will help me to regain my own, and to punish\nfaithlessness.\u2019 Then he put the heads in his pockets, climbed the\nwall, and started off to seek the castle of his love. When he had\nwandered about for a couple of days he found it quite easily. He then\nbrowned his face quickly, so that his own mother would not have known\nhim, and went into the castle, where he begged for a lodging.\n\n\u2018I am so tired,\u2019 he said, \u2018I can go no farther.\u2019\n\nThe witch asked, \u2018Countryman, who are you, and what is your business?\u2019\n\nHe answered, \u2018I am a messenger of the King, and have been sent to seek\nthe finest salad that grows under the sun. I have been so lucky as to\nfind it, and am bringing it with me; but the heat of the sun is so\ngreat that the tender cabbage threatens to grow soft, and I do not\nknow if I shall be able to bring it any farther.\u2019\n\nWhen the old witch heard of the fine salad she wanted to eat it, and\nsaid, \u2018Dear countryman, just let me taste the wonderful salad.\u2019\n\n\u2018Why not?\u2019 he answered; \u2018I have brought two heads with me, and will\ngive you one.\u2019\n\nSo saying, he opened his sack and gave her the bad one. The witch\nsuspected no evil, and her mouth watered to taste the new dish, so\nthat she went into the kitchen to prepare it herself. When it was\nready she could not wait till it was served at the table, but she\nimmediately took a couple of leaves and put them in her mouth. No\nsooner, however, had she swallowed them than she lost human form, and\nran into the courtyard in the shape of a donkey.\n\nNow the servant came into the kitchen, and when she saw the salad\nstanding there ready cooked she was about to carry it up, but on the\nway, according to her old habit, she tasted it and ate a couple of\nleaves. Immediately the charm worked, and she became a donkey, and ran\nout to join the old witch, and the dish with the salad in it fell to\nthe ground. In the meantime, the messenger was sitting with the lovely\nmaiden, and as no one came with the salad, and she wanted very much to\ntaste it, she said, \u2018I don\u2019t know where the salad is.\u2019\n\nThen thought the Hunter, \u2018The cabbage must have already begun to\nwork.\u2019 And he said, \u2018I will go to the kitchen and fetch it myself.\u2019\n\nWhen he came there he saw the two donkeys running about in the\ncourtyard, but the salad was lying on the ground.\n\n\u2018That\u2019s all right,\u2019 said he; \u2018two have had their share!\u2019 And lifting\nthe remaining leaves up, he laid them on the dish and brought them to\nthe maiden.\n\n\u2018I am bringing you the delicious food my own self,\u2019 he said, \u2018so that\nyou need not wait any longer.\u2019\n\nThen she ate, and, as the others had done, she at once lost her human\nform, and ran as a donkey into the yard.\n\nWhen the Hunter had washed his face, so that the changed ones might\nknow him, he went into the yard, saying, \u2018Now you shall receive a\nreward for your faithlessness.\u2019\n\nHe tied them all three with a rope, and drove them away till he came\nto a mill. He knocked at the window, and the miller put his head out\nand asked what he wanted.\n\n\u2018I have three tiresome animals,\u2019 he answered, \u2018which I don\u2019t want to\nkeep any longer. If you will take them, give them food and stabling,\nand do as I tell you with them, I will pay you as much as you want.\u2019\n\n[Illustration: The Young Man Gives the Donkeys to the Miller]\n\nThe miller replied, \u2018Why not? What shall I do with them?\u2019\n\nThen the Hunter said that to the old donkey, which was the witch,\nthree beatings and one meal; to the younger one, which was the\nservant, one beating and three meals; and to the youngest one, which\nwas the maiden, no beating and three meals; for he could not find it\nin his heart to let the maiden be beaten.\n\nThen he went back into the castle, and he found there all that he\nwanted. After a couple of days the miller came and said that he must\ntell him that the old donkey which was to have three beatings and only\none meal had died. \u2018The two others,\u2019 he added, \u2018are certainly not\ndead, and get their three meals every day, but they are so sad that\nthey cannot last much longer.\u2019\n\nThen the Hunter took pity on them, laid aside his anger, and told the\nmiller to drive them back again. And when they came he gave them some\nof the good cabbage to eat, so that they became human again. Then the\nbeautiful maiden fell on her knees before him, saying, \u2018Oh, my\ndearest, forgive me the ill I have done you! My mother compelled me to\ndo it; it was against my will, for I love you dearly. Your\nwishing-cloak is hanging in a cupboard, and as for the bird-heart I\nwill make a drink and give it back to you.\u2019\n\nBut he changed his mind, and said, \u2018Keep it; it makes no difference,\nfor I will take you to be my own dear true wife.\u2019\n\nAnd the wedding was celebrated, and they lived happy together till\ndeath.\n\n\n\n\n_THE LITTLE GREEN FROG_[8]\n\n\nIn a part of the world whose name I forget lived once upon a time two\nkings, called Peridor and Diamantino. They were cousins as well as\nneighbours, and both were under the protection of the fairies; though\nit is only fair to say that the fairies did not love them half so well\nas their wives did.\n\nNow it often happens that as princes can generally manage to get their\nown way it is harder for them to be good than it is for common people.\nSo it was with Peridor and Diamantino; but of the two, the fairies\ndeclared that Diamantino was much the worst; indeed, he behaved so\nbadly to his wife Aglantino, that the fairies would not allow him to\nlive any longer; and he died, leaving behind him a little daughter. As\nshe was an only child, of course this little girl was the heiress of\nthe kingdom, but, being still only a baby, her mother, the widow of\nDiamantino, was proclaimed regent. The Queen-dowager was wise and\ngood, and tried her best to make her people happy. The only thing she\nhad to vex her was the absence of her daughter; for the fairies, for\nreasons of their own, determined to bring up the little Princess\nSerpentine among themselves.\n\nAs to the other King, he was really fond of his wife, Queen Constance,\nbut he often grieved her by his thoughtless ways, and in order to\npunish him for his carelessness, the fairies caused her to die quite\nsuddenly. When she was gone the King felt how much he had loved her,\nand his grief was so great (though he never neglected his duties) that\nhis subjects called him Peridor the Sorrowful. It seems hardly\npossible that any man should live like Peridor for fifteen years\nplunged in such depth of grief, and most likely he would have died too\nif it had not been for the fairies.\n\n[Footnote 8: Cabinet des F\u00e9es.]\n\nThe one comfort the poor King had was his son, Prince Saphir, who was\nonly three years old at the time of his mother\u2019s death, and great care\nwas given to his education. By the time he was fifteen Saphir had\nlearnt everything that a prince should know, and he was, besides,\ncharming and agreeable.\n\n[Illustration: The prince looks into the magic mirror]\n\nIt was about this time that the fairies suddenly took fright lest his\nlove for his father should interfere with the plans they had made for\nthe young prince. So, to prevent this, they placed in a pretty little\nroom of which Saphir was very fond a little mirror in a black frame,\nsuch as were often brought from Venice. The Prince did not notice for\nsome days that there was anything new in the room, but at last he\nperceived it, and went up to look at it more closely. What was his\nsurprise to see reflected in the mirror, not his own face, but that of\na young girl as lovely as the morning! And, better still, every\nmovement of the girl, just growing out of childhood, was also\nreflected in the wonderful glass.\n\nAs might have been expected, the young Prince lost his heart\ncompletely to the beautiful image, and it was impossible to get him\nout of the room, so busy was he in watching the lovely unknown.\nCertainly it was very delightful to be able to see her whom he loved\nat any moment he chose, but his spirits sometimes sank when he\nwondered what was to be the end of this adventure.\n\nThe magic mirror had been for about a year in the Prince\u2019s possession,\nwhen one day a new subject of disquiet seized upon him. As usual, he\nwas engaged in looking at the girl, when suddenly he thought he saw a\nsecond mirror reflected in the first, exactly like his own, and with\nthe same power. And in this he was perfectly right. The young girl had\nonly possessed it for a short time, and neglected all her duties for\nthe sake of the mirror. Now it was not difficult for Saphir to guess\nthe reason of the change in her, nor why the new mirror was consulted\nso often; but try as he would he could never see the face of the\nperson who was reflected in it, for the young girl\u2019s figure always\ncame between. All he knew was that the face was that of a man, and\nthis was quite enough to make him madly jealous. This was the doing of\nthe fairies, and we must suppose that they had their reasons for\nacting as they did.\n\nWhen these things happened Saphir was about eighteen years old, and\nfifteen years had passed away since the death of his mother. King\nPeridor had grown more and more unhappy as time went on, and at last\nhe fell so ill that it seemed as if his days were numbered. He was so\nmuch beloved by his subjects that this sad news was heard with despair\nby the nation, and more than all by the Prince.\n\nDuring his whole illness the King never spoke of anything but the\nQueen, his sorrow at having grieved her, and his hope of one day\nseeing her again. All the doctors and all the water-cures in the\nkingdom had been tried, and nothing would do him any good. At last he\npersuaded them to let him lie quietly in his room, where no one came\nto trouble him.\n\nPerhaps the worst pain he had to bear was a sort of weight on his\nchest, which made it very hard for him to breathe. So he commanded his\nservants to leave the windows open in order that he might get more\nair. One day, when he had been left alone for a few minutes, a bird\nwith brilliant plumage came and fluttered round the window, and\nfinally rested on the sill. His feathers were sky-blue and gold, his\nfeet and his beak of such glittering rubies that no one could bear to\nlook at them, his eyes made the brightest diamonds look dull, and on\nhis head he wore a crown. I cannot tell you what the crown was made\nof, but I am quite certain that it was still more splendid than all\nthe rest. As to his voice I can say nothing about that, for the bird\nnever sang at all. In fact, he did nothing but gaze steadily at the\nKing, and as he gazed, the King felt his strength come back to him. In\na little while the bird flew into the room, still with his eyes fixed\non the King, and at every glance the strength of the sick man became\ngreater, till he was once more as well as he used to be before the\nQueen died. Filled with joy at his cure, he tried to seize the bird to\nwhom he owed it all, but, swifter than a swallow, it managed to avoid\nhim. In vain he described the bird to his attendants, who rushed at\nhis first call; in vain they sought the wonderful creature both on\nhorse and foot, and summoned the fowlers to their aid: the bird could\nnowhere be found. The love the people bore King Peridor was so strong,\nand the reward he promised was so large, that in the twinkling of an\neye every man, woman, and child had fled into the fields, and the\ntowns were quite empty.\n\nAll this bustle, however, ended in nothing but confusion, and, what\nwas worse, the King soon fell back into the same condition as he was\nin before. Prince Saphir, who loved his father very dearly, was so\nunhappy at this that he persuaded himself that he might succeed where\nthe others had failed, and at once prepared himself for a more distant\nsearch. In spite of the opposition he met with, he rode away, followed\nby his household, trusting to chance to help him. He had formed no\nplan, and there was no reason that he should choose one path more than\nanother. His only idea was to make straight for those spots which were\nthe favourite haunts of birds. But in vain he examined all the hedges\nand all the thickets; in vain he questioned everyone he met along the\nroad. The more he sought the less he found.\n\nAt last he came to one of the largest forests in all the world,\ncomposed entirely of cedars. But in spite of the deep shadows cast by\nthe wide-spreading branches of the trees, the grass underneath was\nsoft and green, and covered with the rarest flowers. It seemed to\nSaphir that this was exactly the place where the birds would choose to\nlive, and he determined not to quit the wood until he had examined it\nfrom end to end. And he did more. He ordered some nets to be prepared\nand painted of the same colours as the bird\u2019s plumage, thinking that\nwe are all easily caught by what is like ourselves. In this he had to\nhelp him not only the fowlers by profession, but also his attendants,\nwho excelled in this art. For a man is not a courtier unless he can do\neverything.\n\nAfter searching as usual for nearly a whole day Prince Saphir began to\nfeel overcome with thirst. He was too tired to go any farther, when\nhappily he discovered a little way off a bubbling fountain of the\nclearest water. Being an experienced traveller, he drew from his\npocket a little cup (without which no one should ever take a journey),\nand was just about to dip it in the water, when a lovely little green\nfrog, much prettier than frogs generally are, jumped into the cup. Far\nfrom admiring its beauty, Saphir shook it impatiently off; but it was\nno good, for quick as lightning the frog jumped back again. Saphir,\nwho was raging with thirst, was just about to shake it off anew, when\nthe little creature fixed upon him the most beautiful eyes in the\nworld, and said, \u2018I am a friend of the bird you are seeking, and when\nyou have quenched your thirst listen to me.\u2019\n\nSo the Prince drank his fill, and then, by the command of the Little\nGreen Frog, he lay down on the grass to rest himself.\n\n\u2018Now,\u2019 she began, \u2018be sure you do exactly in every respect what I tell\nyou. First you must call together your attendants, and order them to\nremain in a little hamlet close by until you want them. Then go, quite\nalone, down a road that you will find on your right hand, looking\nsouthwards. This road is planted all the way with cedars of Lebanon;\nand after going down it a long way you will come at last to a\nmagnificent castle. And now,\u2019 she went on, \u2018attend carefully to what I\nam going to say. Take this tiny grain of sand, and put it into the\nground as close as you can to the gate of the castle. It has the\nvirtue both of opening the gate and also of sending to sleep all the\ninhabitants. Then go at once to the stable, and pay no heed to\nanything except what I tell you. Choose the handsomest of all the\nhorses, leap quickly on its back, and come to me as fast as you can.\nFarewell, Prince; I wish you good luck,\u2019 and with these words the\nLittle Frog plunged into the water and disappeared.\n\nThe Prince, who felt more hopeful than he had done since he left home,\ndid precisely as he had been ordered. He left his attendants in the\nhamlet, found the road the frog had described to him, and followed it\nall alone, and at last he arrived at the gate of the castle, which was\neven more splendid than he had expected, for it was built of crystal,\nand all its ornaments were of massive gold. However, he had no\nthoughts to spare for its beauty, and quickly buried his grain of sand\nin the earth. In one instant the gates flew open, and all the dwellers\ninside fell sound asleep. Saphir flew straight to the stable, and\nalready had his hand on the finest horse it contained, when his eye\nwas caught by a suit of magnificent harness hanging up close by. It\noccurred to him directly that the harness belonged to the horse, and\nwithout ever thinking of harm (for indeed he who steals a horse can\nhardly be blamed for taking his saddle), he hastily placed it on the\nanimal\u2019s back. Suddenly the people in the castle became broad awake,\nand rushed to the stable. They flung themselves on the Prince, seized\nhim, and dragged him before their lord; but, luckily for the Prince,\nwho could only find very lame excuses for his conduct, the lord of the\ncastle took a fancy to his face, and let him depart without further\nquestions.\n\n[Illustration: Prince Saphir steals the horse and harness]\n\nVery sad, and very much ashamed of himself poor Saphir crept back to\nthe fountain, where the Frog was awaiting him with a good scolding.\n\n\u2018Whom do you take me for?\u2019 she exclaimed angrily. \u2018Do you really\nbelieve that it was just for the pleasure of talking that I gave you\nthe advice you have neglected so abominably?\u2019\n\nBut the Prince was so deeply grieved, and apologised so very humbly,\nthat after some time the heart of the good little Frog was softened,\nand she gave him another tiny little grain, but instead of being sand\nit was now a grain of gold. She directed him to do just as he had done\nbefore, with only this difference, that instead of going to the stable\nwhich had been the ruin of his hopes, he was to enter right into the\ncastle itself, and to glide as fast as he could down the passages till\nhe came to a room filled with perfume, where he would find a beautiful\nmaiden asleep on a bed. He was to wake the maiden instantly and carry\nher off, and to be sure not to pay any heed to whatever resistance she\nmight make.\n\nThe Prince obeyed the Frog\u2019s orders one by one, and all went well for\nthis second time also. The gate opened, the inhabitants fell sound\nasleep, and he walked down the passage till he found the girl on her\nbed, exactly as he had been told he would. He woke her, and begged her\nfirmly, but politely, to follow him quickly. After a little persuasion\nthe maiden consented, but only on condition that she was allowed first\nto put on her dress. This sounded so reasonable and natural that it\ndid not enter the Prince\u2019s head to refuse her request.\n\nBut the maiden\u2019s hand had hardly touched the dress when the palace\nsuddenly awoke from its sleep, and the Prince was seized and bound. He\nwas so vexed with his own folly, and so taken aback at the disaster,\nthat he did not attempt to explain his conduct, and things would have\ngone badly with him if his friends the fairies had not softened the\nhearts of his captors, so that they once more allowed him to leave\nquietly. However, what troubled him most was the idea of having to\nmeet the Frog who had been his benefactress. How was he ever to appear\nbefore her with this tale? Still, after a long struggle with himself,\nhe made up his mind that there was nothing else to be done, and that\nhe deserved whatever she might say to him. And she said a great deal,\nfor she had worked herself into a terrible passion; but the Prince\nhumbly implored her pardon, and ventured to point out that it would\nhave been very hard to refuse the young lady\u2019s reasonable request.\n\u2018You must learn to do as you are told,\u2019 was all the Frog would reply.\n\nBut poor Saphir was so unhappy, and begged so hard for forgiveness,\nthat at last the Frog\u2019s anger gave way, and she held up to him a tiny\ndiamond stone. \u2018Go back,\u2019 she said, \u2018to the castle, and bury this\nlittle diamond close to the door. But be careful not to return to the\nstable or to the bedroom; they have proved too fatal to you. Walk\nstraight to the garden and enter through a portico, into a small green\nwood, in the midst of which is a tree with a trunk of gold and leaves\nof emeralds. Perched on this tree you will see the beautiful bird you\nhave been seeking so long. You must cut the branch on which it is\nsitting, and bring it back to me without delay. But I warn you\nsolemnly that if you disobey my directions, as you have done twice\nbefore, you have nothing more to expect either of me or anyone else.\u2019\n\nWith these words she jumped into the water, and the Prince, who had\ntaken her threats much to heart, took his departure, firmly resolved\nnot to deserve them. He found it all just as he had been told: the\nportico, the wood, the magnificent tree, and the beautiful bird, which\nwas sleeping soundly on one of the branches. He speedily lopped off\nthe branch, and though he noticed a splendid golden cage hanging close\nby, which would have been very useful for the bird to travel in, he\nleft it alone, and came back to the fountain, holding his breath and\nwalking on tip-toe all the way, for fear lest he should awake his\nprize. But what was his surprise, when instead of finding the fountain\nin the spot where he had left it, he saw in its place a little rustic\npalace built in the best taste, and standing in the doorway a charming\nmaiden, at whose sight his mind seemed to give way.\n\n\u2018What! Madam!\u2019 he cried, hardly knowing what he said. \u2018What! Is it\nyou?\u2019\n\nThe maiden blushed and answered: \u2018Ah, my lord, it is long since I\nfirst beheld your face, but I did not think you had ever seen mine.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, madam,\u2019 replied he, \u2018you can never guess the days and the hours I\nhave passed lost in admiration of you.\u2019 And after these words they\neach related all the strange things that had happened, and the more\nthey talked the more they felt convinced of the truth of the images\nthey had seen in their mirrors. After some time spent in the most\ntender conversation, the Prince could not restrain himself from asking\nthe lovely unknown by what lucky chance she was wandering in the\nforest; where the fountain had gone; and if she knew anything of the\nFrog to whom he owed all his happiness, and to whom he must give up\nthe bird, which, somehow or other, was still sound asleep.\n\n\u2018Ah, my lord,\u2019 she replied, with rather an awkward air, \u2018as to the\nFrog, she stands before you. Let me tell you my story; it is not a\nlong one. I know neither my country nor my parents, and the only thing\nI can say for certain is that I am called Serpentine. The fairies, who\nhave taken care of me ever since I was born, wished me to be in\nignorance as to my family, but they have looked after my education,\nand have bestowed on me endless kindness. I have always lived in\nseclusion, and for the last two years I have wished for nothing\nbetter. I had a mirror\u2019\u2014here shyness and embarrassment choked her\nwords\u2014but regaining her self-control, she added, \u2018You know that\nfairies insist on being obeyed without questioning. It was they who\nchanged the little house you saw before you into the fountain for\nwhich you are now asking, and, having turned me into a frog, they\nordered me to say to the first person who came to the fountain exactly\nwhat I repeated to you. But, my lord, when you stood before me, it was\nagony to my heart, filled as it was with thoughts of you, to appear to\nyour eyes under so monstrous a form. However, there was no help for\nit, and, painful as it was, I had to submit. I desired your success\nwith all my soul, not only for your own sake, but also for my own,\nbecause I could not get back my proper shape till you had become\nmaster of the beautiful bird, though I am quite ignorant as to your\nreason for seeking it.\u2019\n\nOn this Saphir explained about the state of his father\u2019s health, and\nall that has been told before.\n\nOn hearing this story Serpentine grew very sad, and her lovely eyes\nfilled with tears.\n\n\u2018Ah, my lord,\u2019 she said, \u2018you know nothing of me but what you have\nseen in the mirror; and I, who cannot even name my parents, learn that\nyou are a king\u2019s son.\u2019\n\nIn vain Saphir declared that love made them equal; Serpentine would\nonly reply: \u2018I love you too much to allow you to marry beneath your\nrank. I shall be very unhappy, of course, but I shall never alter my\nmind. If I do not find from the fairies that my birth is worthy of\nyou, then, whatever be my feelings, I will never accept your hand.\u2019\n\nThe conversation was at this point, and bid fair to last some time\nlonger, when one of the fairies appeared in her ivory car, accompanied\nby a beautiful woman past her early youth. At this moment the bird\nsuddenly awakened, and, flying on to Saphir\u2019s shoulder (which it never\nafterwards left), began fondling him as well as a bird can do. The\nfairy told Serpentine that she was quite satisfied with her conduct,\nand made herself very agreeable to Saphir, whom she presented to the\nlady she had brought with her, explaining that the lady was no other\nthan his Aunt Aglantine, widow of Diamantino.\n\n[Illustration: \u2018Standing in the Doorway a Charming Maiden at Whose\nSight His Mind Seemed to Give Way\u2019]\n\nThen they all fell into each other\u2019s arms, till the fairy mounted her\nchariot, placed Aglantine by her side, and Saphir and Serpentine on\nthe front seat. She also sent a message to the Prince\u2019s attendants\nthat they might travel slowly back to the Court of King Peridor, and\nthat the beautiful bird had really been found. This matter being\ncomfortably arranged, she started off her chariot. But in spite of the\nswiftness with which they flew through the air, the time passed even\nquicker for Saphir and Serpentine, who had so much to think about.\n\nThey were still quite confused with the pleasure of seeing each other,\nwhen the chariot arrived at King Peridor\u2019s palace. He had had himself\ncarried to a room on the roof, where his nurses thought that he would\ndie at any moment. Directly the chariot drew within sight of the\ncastle the beautiful bird took flight, and, making straight for the\ndying King, at once cured him of his sickness. Then she resumed her\nnatural shape, and he found that the bird was no other than the Queen\nConstance, whom he had long believed to be dead. Peridor was rejoiced\nto embrace his wife and his son once more, and with the help of the\nfairies began to make preparations for the marriage of Saphir and\nSerpentine, who turned out to be the daughter of Aglantine and\nDiamantino, and as much a princess as he was a prince. The people of\nthe kingdom were delighted, and everybody lived happy and contented to\nthe end of their lives.\n\n\n\n\n_THE SEVEN-HEADED SERPENT_[9]\n\n\nOnce upon a time there was a king who determined to take a long\nvoyage. He assembled his fleet and all the seamen, and set out. They\nwent straight on night and day, until they came to an island which was\ncovered with large trees, and under every tree lay a lion. As soon as\nthe King had landed his men, the lions all rose up together and tried\nto devour them. After a long battle they managed to overcome the wild\nbeasts, but the greater number of the men were killed. Those who\nremained alive now went on through the forest and found on the other\nside of it a beautiful garden, in which all the plants of the world\nflourished together. There were also in the garden three springs: the\nfirst flowed with silver, the second with gold, and the third with\npearls. The men unbuckled their knapsacks and filled them with those\nprecious things. In the middle of the garden they found a large lake,\nand when they reached the edge of it the Lake began to speak, and said\nto them, \u2018What men are you, and what brings you here? Are you come to\nvisit our king?\u2019 But they were too much frightened to answer.\n\nThen the Lake said, \u2018You do well to be afraid, for it is at your peril\nthat you are come hither. Our king, who has seven heads, is now\nasleep, but in a few minutes he will wake up and come to me to take\nhis bath! Woe to anyone who meets him in the garden, for it is\nimpossible to escape from him. This is what you must do if you wish to\nsave your lives. Take off your clothes and spread them on the path\nwhich leads from here to the castle. The King will then glide over\nsomething soft, which he likes very much, and he will be so pleased\nwith that that he will not devour you. He will give you some\npunishment, but then he will let you go.\u2019\n\n[Footnote 9: \u2018Die Siebenk\u00f6pfige Schlange,\u2019 from Schmidt\u2019s _Griechische\nM\u00e4hrchen_.]\n\nThe men did as the Lake advised them, and waited for a time. At noon\nthe earth began to quake, and opened in many places, and out of the\nopenings appeared lions, tigers, and other wild beasts, which\nsurrounded the castle, and thousands and thousands of beasts came out\nof the castle following their king, the Seven-headed Serpent. The\nSerpent glided over the clothes which were spread for him, came to the\nLake, and asked it who had strewed those soft things on the path? The\nLake answered that it had been done by people who had come to do him\nhomage. The King commanded that the men should be brought before him.\nThey came humbly on their knees, and in a few words told him their\nstory. Then he spoke to them with a mighty and terrible voice, and\nsaid, \u2018Because you have dared to come here, I lay upon you the\npunishment. Every year you must bring me from among your people twelve\nyouths and twelve maidens, that I may devour them. If you do not do\nthis, I will destroy your whole nation.\u2019\n\nThen he desired one of his beasts to show the men the way out of the\ngarden, and dismissed them. They then left the island and went back to\ntheir own country, where they related what had happened to them. Soon\nthe time came round when the king of the beasts would expect the\nyouths and maidens to be brought to him. The King therefore issued a\nproclamation inviting twelve youths and twelve maidens to offer\nthemselves up to save their country; and immediately many young\npeople, far more than enough, hastened to do so. A new ship was built,\nand set with black sails, and in it the youths and maidens who were\nappointed for the king of the beasts embarked and set out for his\ncountry. When they arrived there they went at once to the Lake, and\nthis time the lions did not stir, nor did the springs flow, and\nneither did the Lake speak. So they waited then, and it was not long\nbefore the earth quaked even more terribly than the first time. The\nSeven-headed Serpent came without his train of beasts, saw his prey\nwaiting for him, and devoured it at one mouthful. Then the ship\u2019s crew\nreturned home, and the same thing happened yearly until many years had\npassed.\n\nNow the King of this unhappy country was growing old, and so was the\nQueen, and they had no children. One day the Queen was sitting at the\nwindow weeping bitterly because she was childless, and knew that the\ncrown would therefore pass to strangers after the King\u2019s death.\nSuddenly a little old woman appeared before her, holding an apple in\nher hand, and said, \u2018Why do you weep, my Queen, and what makes you so\nunhappy?\u2019\n\n\u2018Alas, good mother,\u2019 answered the Queen, \u2018I am unhappy because I have\nno children.\u2019\n\n\u2018Is that what vexes you?\u2019 said the old woman. \u2018Listen to me. I am a\nnun from the _Spinning Convent_[10] and my mother when she died left\nme this apple. Whoever eats this apple shall have a child.\u2019\n\nThe Queen gave money to the old woman, and bought the apple from her.\nThen she peeled it, ate it, and threw the rind out of the window, and\nit so happened that a mare that was running loose in the court below\nate up the rind. After a time the Queen had a little boy, and the mare\nalso had a male foal. The boy and the foal grew up together and loved\neach other like brothers. In course of time the King died, and so did\nthe Queen, and their son, who was now nineteen years old, was left\nalone. One day, when he and his horse were talking together, the Horse\nsaid to him, \u2018Listen to me, for I love you and wish for your good and\nthat of the country. If you go on every year sending twelve youths and\ntwelve maidens to the King of the Beasts, your country will very soon\nbe ruined. Mount upon my back: I will take you to a woman who can\ndirect you how to kill the Seven-headed Serpent.\u2019\n\nThen the youth mounted his horse, who carried him far away to a\nmountain which was hollow, for in its side was a great underground\ncavern. In the cavern sat an old woman spinning. This was the cloister\nof the nuns, and the old woman was the Abbess. They all spent their\ntime in spinning, and that is why the convent has this name. All round\nthe walls of the cavern there were beds cut out of the solid rock,\nupon which the nuns slept, and in the middle a light was burning. It\nwas the duty of the nuns to watch the light in turns, that it might\nnever go out, and if anyone of them let it go out the others put her\nto death.\n\nAs soon as the King\u2019s son saw the old Abbess spinning he threw himself\nat her feet and entreated her to tell him how he could kill the\nSeven-headed Serpent.\n\n[Footnote 10: Convent Gnothi.]\n\nShe made the youth rise, embraced him, and said, \u2018Know, my son, that\nit is I who sent the nun to your mother and caused you to be born, and\nwith you the horse, with whose help you will be able to free the world\nfrom the monster. I will tell you what you have to do. Load your horse\nwith cotton, and go by a secret passage which I will show you, which\nis hidden from the wild beasts, to the Serpent\u2019s palace. You will find\nthe King asleep upon his bed, which is all hung round with bells, and\nover his bed you will see a sword hanging. With this sword only it is\npossible to kill the Serpent, because even if its blade breaks a new\none will grow again for every head the monster has. Thus you will be\nable to cut off all his seven heads. And this you must also do in\norder to deceive the King: you must slip into his bed-chamber very\nsoftly, and stop up all the bells which are round his bed with cotton.\nThen take down the sword gently, and quickly give the monster a blow\non his tail with it. This will make him waken up, and if he catches\nsight of you he will seize you. But you must quickly cut off his first\nhead, and then wait till the next one comes up. Then strike it off\nalso, and so go on till you have cut off all his seven heads.\u2019\n\n[Illustration: The Seven-headed Serpent]\n\nThe old Abbess then gave the Prince her blessing, and he set out upon\nhis enterprise, arrived at the Serpent\u2019s castle by following the\nsecret passage which she had shown him, and by carefully attending to\nall her directions he happily succeeded in killing the monster. As\nsoon as the wild beasts heard of their king\u2019s death, they all hastened\nto the castle, but the youth had long since mounted his horse and was\nalready far out of their reach. They pursued him as fast as they\ncould, but they found it impossible to overtake him, and he reached\nhome in safety. Thus he freed his country from this terrible\noppression.\n\n\n\n\n_THE GRATEFUL BEASTS_[11]\n\n\nThere was once upon a time a man and woman who had three fine-looking\nsons, but they were so poor that they had hardly enough food for\nthemselves, let alone their children. So the sons determined to set\nout into the world and to try their luck. Before starting their mother\ngave them each a loaf of bread and her blessing, and having taken a\ntender farewell of her and their father the three set forth on their\ntravels.\n\nThe youngest of the three brothers, whose name was Ferko, was a\nbeautiful youth, with a splendid figure, blue eyes, fair hair, and a\ncomplexion like milk and roses. His two brothers were as jealous of\nhim as they could be, for they thought that with his good looks he\nwould be sure to be more fortunate than they would ever be.\n\nOne day all the three were sitting resting under a tree, for the sun\nwas hot and they were tired of walking. Ferko fell fast asleep, but\nthe other two remained awake, and the eldest said to the second\nbrother, \u2018What do you say to doing our brother Ferko some harm? He is\nso beautiful that everyone takes a fancy to him, which is more than\nthey do to us. If we could only get him out of the way we might\nsucceed better.\u2019\n\n\u2018I quite agree with you,\u2019 answered the second brother, \u2018and my advice\nis to eat up his loaf of bread, and then to refuse to give him a bit\nof ours until he has promised to let us put out his eyes or break his\nlegs.\u2019\n\nHis eldest brother was delighted with this proposal, and the two\nwicked wretches seized Ferko\u2019s loaf and ate it all up, while the poor\nboy was still asleep.\n\nWhen he did awake he felt very hungry and turned to eat his bread, but\nhis brothers cried out, \u2018You ate your loaf in your sleep, you glutton,\nand you may starve as long as you like, but you won\u2019t get a scrap of\nours.\u2019\n\n[Footnote 11: From the Hungarian. Kletke.]\n\nFerko was at a loss to understand how he could have eaten in his\nsleep, but he said nothing, and fasted all that day and the next\nnight. But on the following morning he was so hungry that he burst\ninto tears, and implored his brothers to give him a little bit of\ntheir bread. Then the cruel creatures laughed, and repeated what they\nhad said the day before; but when Ferko continued to beg and beseech\nthem, the eldest said at last, \u2018If you will let us put out one of your\neyes and break one of your legs, then we will give you a bit of our\nbread.\u2019\n\nAt these words poor Ferko wept more bitterly than before, and bore the\ntorments of hunger till the sun was high in the heavens; then he could\nstand it no longer, and he consented to allow his left eye to be put\nout and his left leg to be broken. When this was done he stretched out\nhis hand eagerly for the piece of bread, but his brothers gave him\nsuch a tiny scrap that the starving youth finished it in a moment and\nbesought them for a second bit.\n\nBut the more Ferko wept and told his brothers that he was dying of\nhunger, the more they laughed and scolded him for his greed. So he\nendured the pangs of starvation all that day, but when night came his\nendurance gave way, and he let his right eye be put out and his right\nleg broken for a second piece of bread.\n\nAfter his brothers had thus successfully maimed and disfigured him for\nlife, they left him groaning on the ground and continued their journey\nwithout him.\n\nPoor Ferko ate up the scrap of bread they had left him and wept\nbitterly, but no one heard him or came to his help. Night came on, and\nthe poor blind youth had no eyes to close, and could only crawl along\nthe ground, not knowing in the least where he was going. But when the\nsun was once more high in the heavens, Ferko felt the blazing heat\nscorch him, and sought for some cool shady place to rest his aching\nlimbs. He climbed to the top of a hill and lay down in the grass, and\nas he thought under the shadow of a big tree. But it was no tree he\nleant against, but a gallows on which two ravens were seated. The one\nwas saying to the other as the weary youth lay down, \u2018Is there\nanything the least wonderful or remarkable about this neighbourhood?\u2019\n\n\u2018I should just think there was,\u2019 replied the other; \u2018many things that\ndon\u2019t exist anywhere else in the world. There is a lake down there\nbelow us, and anyone who bathes in it, though he were at death\u2019s door,\nbecomes sound and well on the spot, and those who wash their eyes with\nthe dew on this hill become as sharp-sighted as the eagle, even if\nthey have been blind from their youth.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well,\u2019 answered the first raven, \u2018my eyes are in no want of this\nhealing bath, for, Heaven be praised, they are as good as ever they\nwere; but my wing has been very feeble and weak ever since it was shot\nby an arrow many years ago, so let us fly at once to the lake that I\nmay be restored to health and strength again.\u2019 And so they flew away.\n\nTheir words rejoiced Ferko\u2019s heart, and he waited impatiently till\nevening should come and he could rub the precious dew on his sightless\neyes.\n\nAt last it began to grow dusk, and the sun sank behind the mountains;\ngradually it became cooler on the hill, and the grass grew wet with\ndew. Then Ferko buried his face in the ground till his eyes were damp\nwith dew-drops, and in a moment he saw clearer than he had ever done\nin his life before. The moon was shining brightly, and lighted him to\nthe lake where he could bathe his poor broken legs.\n\nThen Ferko crawled to the edge of the lake and dipped his limbs in the\nwater. No sooner had he done so than his legs felt as sound and strong\nas they had been before, and Ferko thanked the kind fate that had led\nhim to the hill where he had overheard the ravens\u2019 conversation. He\nfilled a bottle with the healing water, and then continued his journey\nin the best of spirits.\n\nHe had not gone far before he met a wolf, who was limping\ndisconsolately along on three legs, and who on perceiving Ferko began\nto howl dismally.\n\n\u2018My good friend,\u2019 said the youth, \u2018be of good cheer, for I can soon\nheal your leg,\u2019 and with these words he poured some of the precious\nwater over the wolf\u2019s paw, and in a minute the animal was springing\nabout sound and well on all fours. The grateful creature thanked his\nbenefactor warmly, and promised Ferko to do him a good turn if he\nshould ever need it.\n\nFerko continued his way till he came to a ploughed field. Here he\nnoticed a little mouse creeping wearily along on its hind paws, for\nits front paws had both been broken in a trap.\n\nFerko felt so sorry for the little beast that he spoke to it in the\nmost friendly manner, and washed its small paws with the healing\nwater. In a moment the mouse was sound and whole, and after thanking\nthe kind physician it scampered away over the ploughed furrows.\n\nFerko again proceeded on his journey, but he hadn\u2019t gone far before a\nqueen bee flew against him, trailing one wing behind her, which had\nbeen cruelly torn in two by a big bird. Ferko was no less willing to\nhelp her than he had been to help the wolf and the mouse, so he poured\nsome healing drops over the wounded wing. On the spot the queen bee\nwas cured, and turning to Ferko she said, \u2018I am most grateful for your\nkindness, and shall reward you some day.\u2019 And with these words she\nflew away humming gaily.\n\n[Illustration: Ferko Healed by Magic Waters]\n\nThen Ferko wandered on for many a long day, and at length reached a\nstrange kingdom. Here, he thought to himself, he might as well go\nstraight to the palace and offer his services to the King of the\ncountry, for he had heard that the King\u2019s daughter was as beautiful as\nthe day.\n\nSo he went to the royal palace, and as he entered the door the first\npeople he saw were his two brothers who had so shamefully ill-treated\nhim. They had managed to obtain places in the King\u2019s service, and when\nthey recognised Ferko with his eyes and legs sound and well they were\nfrightened to death, for they feared he would tell the King of their\nconduct, and that they would be hung.\n\n[Illustration: Ferko Before the King]\n\nNo sooner had Ferko entered the palace than all eyes were turned on\nthe handsome youth, and the King\u2019s daughter herself was lost in\nadmiration, for she had never seen anyone so handsome in her life\nbefore. His brothers noticed this, and envy and jealousy were added to\ntheir fear, so much so that they determined once more to destroy him.\nThey went to the King and told him that Ferko was a wicked magician,\nwho had come to the palace with the intention of carrying off the\nPrincess.\n\nThen the King had Ferko brought before him, and said, \u2018You are accused\nof being a magician who wishes to rob me of my daughter, and I condemn\nyou to death; but if you can fulfil three tasks which I shall set you\nto do your life shall be spared, on condition you leave the country;\nbut if you cannot perform what I demand you shall be hung on the\nnearest tree.\u2019\n\nAnd turning to the two wicked brothers he said, \u2018Suggest something for\nhim to do; no matter how difficult, he must succeed in it or die.\u2019\n\nThey did not think long, but replied, \u2018Let him build your Majesty in\none day a more beautiful palace than this, and if he fails in the\nattempt let him be hung.\u2019\n\nThe King was pleased with this proposal, and commanded Ferko to set to\nwork on the following day. The two brothers were delighted, for they\nthought they had now got rid of Ferko for ever. The poor youth himself\nwas heart-broken, and cursed the hour he had crossed the boundary of\nthe King\u2019s domain. As he was wandering disconsolately about the\nmeadows round the palace, wondering how he could escape being put to\ndeath, a little bee flew past, and settling on his shoulder whispered\nin his ear, \u2018What is troubling you, my kind benefactor? Can I be of\nany help to you? I am the bee whose wing you healed, and would like to\nshow my gratitude in some way.\u2019\n\nFerko recognised the queen bee, and said, \u2018Alas! how could you help\nme? for I have been set to do a task which no one in the whole world\ncould do, let him be ever such a genius! To-morrow I must build a\npalace more beautiful than the King\u2019s, and it must be finished before\nevening.\u2019\n\n\u2018Is that all?\u2019 answered the bee, \u2018then you may comfort yourself; for\nbefore the sun goes down to-morrow night a palace shall be built\nunlike any that King has dwelt in before. Just stay here till I come\nagain and tell you that it is finished.\u2019 Having said this she flew\nmerrily away, and Ferko, reassured by her words, lay down on the grass\nand slept peacefully till the next morning.\n\nEarly on the following day the whole town was on its feet, and\neveryone wondered how and where the stranger would build the wonderful\npalace. The Princess alone was silent and sorrowful, and had cried all\nnight till her pillow was wet, so much did she take the fate of the\nbeautiful youth to heart.\n\nFerko spent the whole day in the meadows waiting the return of the\nbee. And when evening was come the queen bee flew by, and perching on\nhis shoulder she said, \u2018The wonderful palace is ready. Be of good\ncheer, and lead the King to the hill just outside the city walls.\u2019 And\nhumming gaily she flew away again.\n\nFerko went at once to the King and told him the palace was finished.\nThe whole court went out to see the wonder, and their astonishment was\ngreat at the sight which met their eyes. A splendid palace reared\nitself on the hill just outside the walls of the city, made of the\nmost exquisite flowers that ever grew in mortal garden. The roof was\nall of crimson roses, the windows of lilies, the walls of white\ncarnations, the floors of glowing auriculas and violets, the doors of\ngorgeous tulips and narcissi with sunflowers for knockers, and all\nround hyacinths and other sweet-smelling flowers bloomed in masses, so\nthat the air was perfumed far and near and enchanted all who were\npresent.\n\nThis splendid palace had been built by the grateful queen bee, who had\nsummoned all the other bees in the kingdom to help her.\n\nThe King\u2019s amazement knew no bounds, and the Princess\u2019s eyes beamed\nwith delight as she turned them from the wonderful building on the\ndelighted Ferko. But the two brothers had grown quite green with envy,\nand only declared the more that Ferko was nothing but a wicked\nmagician.\n\nThe King, although he had been surprised and astonished at the way his\ncommands had been carried out, was very vexed that the stranger should\nescape with his life, and turning to the two brothers he said, \u2018He has\ncertainly accomplished the first task, with the aid no doubt of his\ndiabolical magic; but what shall we give him to do now? Let us make it\nas difficult as possible, and if he fails he shall die.\u2019\n\nThen the eldest brother replied, \u2018The corn has all been cut, but it\nhas not yet been put into barns; let the knave collect all the grain\nin the kingdom into one big heap before to-morrow night, and if as\nmuch as a stalk of corn is left let him be put to death.\u2019\n\nThe Princess grew white with terror when she heard these words; but\nFerko felt much more cheerful than he had done the first time, and\nwandered out into the meadows again, wondering how he was to get out\nof the difficulty. But he could think of no way of escape. The sun\nsank to rest and night came on, when a little mouse started out of the\ngrass at Ferko\u2019s feet, and said to him, \u2018I\u2019m delighted to see you, my\nkind benefactor; but why are you looking so sad? Can I be of any help\nto you, and thus repay your great kindness to me?\u2019\n\nThen Ferko recognised the mouse whose front paws he had healed, and\nreplied, \u2018Alas! how can you help me in a matter that is beyond any\nhuman power! Before to-morrow night all the grain in the kingdom has\nto be gathered into one big heap, and if as much as a stalk of corn is\nwanting I must pay for it with my life.\u2019\n\n\u2018Is that all?\u2019 answered the mouse; \u2018that needn\u2019t distress you much.\nJust trust in me, and before the sun sets again you shall hear that\nyour task is done.\u2019 And with these words the little creature scampered\naway into the fields.\n\nFerko, who never doubted that the mouse would be as good as its word,\nlay down comforted on the soft grass and slept soundly till next\nmorning. The day passed slowly, and with the evening came the little\nmouse and said, \u2018Now there is not a single stalk of corn left in any\nfield; they are all collected in one big heap on the hill out there.\u2019\n\nThen Ferko went joyfully to the King and told him that all he demanded\nhad been done. And the whole Court went out to see the wonder, and\nwere no less astonished than they had been the first time. For in a\nheap higher than the King\u2019s palace lay all the grain of the country,\nand not a single stalk of corn had been left behind in any of the\nfields. And how had all this been done? The little mouse had summoned\nevery other mouse in the land to its help, and together they had\ncollected all the grain in the kingdom.\n\nThe King could not hide his amazement, but at the same time his wrath\nincreased, and he was more ready than ever to believe the two\nbrothers, who kept on repeating that Ferko was nothing more nor less\nthan a wicked magician. Only the beautiful Princess rejoiced over\nFerko\u2019s success, and looked on him with friendly glances, which the\nyouth returned.\n\nThe more the cruel King gazed on the wonder before him, the more angry\nhe became, for he could not, in the face of his promise, put the\nstranger to death. He turned once more to the two brothers and said,\n\u2018His diabolical magic has helped him again, but now what third task\nshall we set him to do? No matter how impossible it is, he must do it\nor die.\u2019\n\nThe eldest answered quickly, \u2018Let him drive all the wolves of the\nkingdom on to this hill before to-morrow night. If he does this he may\ngo free; if not he shall be hung as you have said.\u2019\n\nAt these words the Princess burst into tears, and when the King saw\nthis he ordered her to be shut up in a high tower and carefully\nguarded till the dangerous magician should either have left the\nkingdom or been hung on the nearest tree.\n\nFerko wandered out into the fields again, and sat down on the stump of\na tree wondering what he should do next. Suddenly a big wolf ran up to\nhim, and standing still said, \u2018I\u2019m very glad to see you again, my kind\nbenefactor. What are you thinking about all alone by yourself? If I\ncan help you in any way only say the word, for I would like to give\nyou a proof of my gratitude.\u2019\n\nFerko at once recognised the wolf whose broken leg he had healed, and\ntold him what he had to do the following day if he wished to escape\nwith his life. \u2018But how in the world,\u2019 he added, \u2018am I to collect all\nthe wolves of the kingdom on to that hill over there?\u2019\n\n\u2018If that\u2019s all you want done,\u2019 answered the wolf, \u2018you needn\u2019t worry\nyourself. I\u2019ll undertake the task, and you\u2019ll hear from me again\nbefore sunset to-morrow. Keep your spirits up.\u2019 And with these words\nhe trotted quickly away.\n\nThen the youth rejoiced greatly, for now he felt that his life was\nsafe; but he grew very sad when he thought of the beautiful Princess,\nand that he would never see her again if he left the country. He lay\ndown once more on the grass and soon fell fast asleep.\n\nAll the next day he spent wandering about the fields, and toward\nevening the wolf came running to him in a great hurry and said, \u2018I\nhave collected together all the wolves in the kingdom, and they are\nwaiting for you in the wood. Go quickly to the King, and tell him to\ngo to the hill that he may see the wonder you have done with his own\neyes. Then return at once to me and get on my back, and I will help\nyou to drive all the wolves together.\u2019\n\nThen Ferko went straight to the palace and told the King that he was\nready to perform the third task if he would come to the hill and see\nit done. Ferko himself returned to the fields, and mounting on the\nwolf\u2019s back he rode to the wood close by.\n\nQuick as lightning the wolf flew round the wood, and in a minute many\nhundred wolves rose up before him, increasing in number every moment,\ntill they could be counted by thousands. He drove them all before him\non to the hill, where the King and his whole Court and Ferko\u2019s two\nbrothers were standing. Only the lovely Princess was not present, for\nshe was shut up in her tower weeping bitterly.\n\nThe wicked brothers stamped and foamed with rage when they saw the\nfailure of their wicked designs. But the King was overcome by a sudden\nterror when he saw the enormous pack of wolves approaching nearer and\nnearer, and calling out to Ferko he said, \u2018Enough, enough, we don\u2019t\nwant any more.\u2019\n\n[Illustration: Ferko leads the wolves on.]\n\nBut the wolf on whose back Ferko sat, said to its rider, \u2018Go on! go\non!\u2019 and at the same moment many more wolves ran up the hill, howling\nhorribly and showing their white teeth.\n\nThe King in his terror called out, \u2018Stop a moment; I will give you\nhalf my kingdom if you will drive all the wolves away.\u2019 But Ferko\npretended not to hear, and drove some more thousands before him, so\nthat everyone quaked with horror and fear.\n\nThen the King raised his voice again and called out, \u2018Stop! you shall\nhave my whole kingdom, if you will only drive these wolves back to the\nplaces they came from.\u2019\n\nBut the wolf kept on encouraging Ferko, and said, \u2018Go on! go on!\u2019 So\nhe led the wolves on, till at last they fell on the King and on the\nwicked brothers, and ate them and the whole Court up in a moment.\n\nThen Ferko went straight to the palace and set the Princess free, and\non the same day he married her and was crowned King of the country.\nAnd the wolves all went peacefully back to their own homes, and Ferko\nand his bride lived for many years in peace and happiness together,\nand were much beloved by great and small in the land.\n\n\n\n\n_THE GIANTS AND THE HERD-BOY_[12]\n\n\n[Illustration: The Herd-boy binds up the Giant\u2019s foot.]\n\nThere was once upon a time a poor boy who had neither father nor\nmother. In order to gain a living he looked after the sheep of a great\nLord. Day and night he spent out in the open fields, and only when it\nwas very wet and stormy did he take refuge in a little hut on the edge\nof a big forest. Now one night, when he was sitting on the grass\nbeside his flocks, he heard not very far from him the sound as of some\none crying. He rose up and followed the direction of the noise. To his\ndismay and astonishment he found a Giant lying at the entrance of the\nwood; he was about to run off as fast as his legs could carry him,\nwhen the Giant called out: \u2018Don\u2019t be afraid, I won\u2019t harm you. On the\ncontrary, I will reward you handsomely if you will bind up my foot. I\nhurt it when I was trying to root up an oak-tree.\u2019 The Herd-boy took\noff his shirt, and bound up the Giant\u2019s wounded foot with it. Then the\nGiant rose up and said, \u2018Now come and I will reward you. We are going\nto celebrate a marriage to-day, and I promise you we shall have plenty\nof fun. Come and enjoy yourself, but in order that my brothers mayn\u2019t\nsee you, put this band round your waist and then you\u2019ll be invisible.\u2019\nWith these words he handed the Herd-boy a belt, and walking on in\nfront he led him to a fountain where hundreds of Giants and Giantesses\nwere assembled preparing to hold a wedding. They danced and played\ndifferent games till midnight; then one of the Giants tore up a plant\nby its roots, and all the Giants and Giantesses made themselves so\nthin that they disappeared into the earth through the hole made by the\nuprooting of the plant. The wounded Giant remained behind to the last\nand called out, \u2018Herd-boy, where are you?\u2019 \u2018Here I am, close to you,\u2019\nwas the reply. \u2018Touch me,\u2019 said the Giant, \u2018so that you too may come\nwith us under ground.\u2019 The Herd-boy did as he was told, and before he\ncould have believed it possible he found himself in a big hall, where\neven the walls were made of pure gold. Then to his astonishment he saw\nthat the hall was furnished with the tables and chairs that belonged\nto his master. In a few minutes the company began to eat and drink.\nThe banquet was a very gorgeous one, and the poor youth fell to and\nate and drank lustily. When he had eaten and drunk as much as he could\nhe thought to himself, \u2018Why shouldn\u2019t I put a loaf of bread in my\npocket? I shall be glad of it to-morrow.\u2019 So he seized a loaf when no\none was looking and stowed it away under his tunic. No sooner had he\ndone so than the wounded Giant limped up to him and whispered softly,\n\u2018Herd-boy, where are you?\u2019 \u2018Here I am,\u2019 replied the youth. \u2018Then hold\non to me,\u2019 said the Giant, \u2018so that I may lead you up above again.\u2019 So\nthe Herd-boy held on to the Giant, and in a few moments he found\nhimself on the earth once more, but the Giant had vanished. The\nHerd-boy returned to his sheep, and took off the invisible belt which\nhe hid carefully in his bag.\n\n[Footnote 12: From the _Bukowniaer_. Von Wliolocki.]\n\nThe next morning the lad felt hungry, and thought he would cut off a\npiece of the loaf he had carried away from the Giants\u2019 wedding feast,\nand eat it. But although he tried with all his might, he couldn\u2019t cut\noff the smallest piece. Then in despair he bit the loaf, and what was\nhis astonishment when a piece of gold fell out of his mouth and rolled\nat his feet. He bit the bread a second and third time, and each time a\npiece of gold fell out of his mouth; but the bread remained untouched.\nThe Herd-boy was very much delighted over his stroke of good fortune,\nand, hiding the magic loaf in his bag, he hurried off to the nearest\nvillage to buy himself something to eat, and then returned to his\nsheep.\n\nNow the Lord whose sheep the Herd-boy looked after had a very lovely\ndaughter, who always smiled and nodded to the youth when she walked\nwith her father in his fields. For a long time the Herd-boy had made\nup his mind to prepare a surprise for this beautiful creature on her\nbirthday. So when the day approached he put on his invisible belt,\ntook a sack of gold pieces with him, and slipping into her room in the\nmiddle of the night, he placed the bag of gold beside her bed and\nreturned to his sheep. The girl\u2019s joy was great, and so was her\nparents\u2019 next day when they found the sack full of gold pieces. The\nHerd-boy was so pleased to think what pleasure he had given that the\nnext night he placed another bag of gold beside the girl\u2019s bed. And\nthis he continued to do for seven nights, and the girl and her parents\nmade up their minds that it must be a good Fairy who brought the gold\nevery night. But one night they determined to watch, and see from\ntheir hiding-place who the bringer of the sack of gold really was.\n\nOn the eighth night a fearful storm of wind and rain came on while the\nHerd-boy was on his way to bring the beautiful girl another bag of\ngold. Then for the first time he noticed, just as he reached his\nmaster\u2019s house, that he had forgotten the belt which made him\ninvisible. He didn\u2019t like the idea of going back to his hut in the\nwind and wet, so he just stepped as he was into the girl\u2019s room, laid\nthe sack of gold beside her, and was turning to leave the room, when\nhis master confronted him and said, \u2018You young rogue, so you were\ngoing to steal the gold that a good Fairy brings every night, were\nyou?\u2019 The Herd-boy was so taken aback by his words, that he stood\ntrembling before him, and did not dare to explain his presence. Then\nhis master spoke. \u2018As you have hitherto always behaved well in my\nservice I will not send you to prison; but leave your place instantly\nand never let me see your face again.\u2019 So the Herd-boy went back to\nhis hut, and taking his loaf and belt with him, he went to the nearest\ntown. There he bought himself some fine clothes, and a beautiful coach\nwith four horses, hired two servants, and drove back to his master.\nYou may imagine how astonished he was to see his Herd-boy returning to\nhim in this manner! Then the youth told him of the piece of good luck\nthat had befallen him, and asked him for the hand of his beautiful\ndaughter. This was readily granted, and the two lived in peace and\nhappiness to the end of their lives.\n\n\n\n\n_THE INVISIBLE PRINCE_\n\n\nOnce upon a time there lived a Fairy who had power over the earth, the\nsea, fire, and the air; and this Fairy had four sons. The eldest, who\nwas quick and lively, with a vivid imagination, she made Lord of Fire,\nwhich was in her opinion the noblest of all the elements. To the\nsecond son, whose wisdom and prudence made amends for his being rather\ndull, she gave the government of the earth. The third was wild and\nsavage, and of monstrous stature; and the Fairy, his mother, who was\nashamed of his defects, hoped to hide them by creating him King of the\nSeas. The youngest, who was the slave of his passions and of a very\nuncertain temper, became Prince of the Air.\n\nBeing the youngest, he was naturally his mother\u2019s favourite; but this\ndid not blind her to his weaknesses, and she foresaw that some day he\nwould suffer much pain through falling in love. So she thought the\nbest thing she could do was to bring him up with a horror of women;\nand, to her great delight, she saw this dislike only increased as he\ngrew older. From his earliest childhood he heard nothing but stories\nof princes who had fallen into all sorts of troubles through love; and\nshe drew such terrible pictures of poor little Cupid that the young\nman had no difficulty in believing that he was the root of all evil.\n\nAll the time that this wise mother could spare from filling her son\nwith hatred for all womenkind she passed in giving him a love of the\npleasures of the chase, which henceforth became his chief joy. For his\namusement she had made a new forest, planted with the most splendid\ntrees, and turned loose in it every animal that could be found in any\nof the four quarters of the globe. In the midst of this forest she\nbuilt a palace which had not its equal for beauty in the whole world,\nand then she considered that she had done enough to make any prince\nhappy.\n\nNow it is all very well to abuse the God of Love, but a man cannot\nstruggle against his fate. In his secret heart the Prince got tired of\nhis mother\u2019s constant talk on this subject; and when one day she\nquitted the palace to attend to some business, begging him never to go\nbeyond the grounds, he at once jumped at the chance of disobeying her.\n\nLeft to himself the Prince soon forgot the wise counsels of his\nmother, and feeling very much bored with his own company, he ordered\nsome of the spirits of the air to carry him to the court of a\nneighbouring sovereign. This kingdom was situated in the Island of\nRoses, where the climate is so delicious that the grass is always\ngreen and the flowers always sweet. The waves, instead of beating on\nthe rocks, seemed to die gently on the shore; clusters of golden\nbushes covered the land, and the vines were bent low with grapes.\n\nThe King of this island had a daughter named Rosalie, who was more\nlovely than any girl in the whole world. No sooner had the eyes of the\nPrince of the Air rested on her than he forgot all the terrible woes\nwhich had been prophesied to him ever since he was born, for in one\nsingle moment the plans of years are often upset. He instantly began\nto think how best to make himself happy, and the shortest way that\noccurred to him was to have Rosalie carried off by his attendant\nspirits.\n\nIt is easy to imagine the feelings of the King when he found that his\ndaughter had vanished. He wept her loss night and day, and his only\ncomfort was to talk over it with a young and unknown prince, who had\njust arrived at the Court. Alas! he did not know what a deep interest\nthe stranger had in Rosalie, for he too had seen her, and had fallen a\nvictim to her charms.\n\nOne day the King, more sorrowful than usual, was walking sadly along\nthe seashore, when after a long silence the unknown Prince, who was\nhis only companion, suddenly spoke. \u2018There is no evil without a\nremedy,\u2019 he said to the unhappy father; \u2018and if you will promise me\nyour daughter in marriage, I will undertake to bring her back to you.\u2019\n\n\u2018You are trying to soothe me by vain promises,\u2019 answered the King.\n\u2018Did I not see her caught up into the air, in spite of cries which\nwould have softened the heart of any one but the barbarian who has\nrobbed me of her? The unfortunate girl is pining away in some unknown\nland, where perhaps no foot of man has ever trod, and I shall see her\nno more. But go, generous stranger; bring back Rosalie if you can, and\nlive happy with her ever after in this country, of which I now declare\nyou heir.\u2019\n\nAlthough the stranger\u2019s name and rank were unknown to Rosalie\u2019s\nfather, he was really the son of the King of the Golden Isle, which\nhad for capital a city that extended from one sea to another. The\nwalls, washed by the quiet waters, were covered with gold, which made\none think of the yellow sands. Above them was a rampart of orange and\nlemon trees, and all the streets were paved with gold.\n\nThe King of this beautiful island had one son, for whom a life of\nadventure had been foretold at his birth. This so frightened his\nfather and mother that in order to comfort them a Fairy, who happened\nto be present at the time, produced a little pebble which she told\nthem to keep for the Prince till he grew up, as by putting it in his\nmouth he would become invisible, as long as he did not try to speak,\nfor if he did the stone would lose all its virtue. In this way the\ngood fairy hoped that the Prince would be protected against all\ndangers.\n\nNo sooner did the Prince begin to grow out of boyhood than he longed\nto see if the other countries of the world were as splendid as the one\nin which he lived. So, under pretence of visiting some small islands\nthat belonged to his father, he set out. But a frightful storm drove\nhis ship on to unknown shores, where most of his followers were put to\ndeath by the savages, and the Prince himself only managed to escape by\nmaking use of his magic pebble. By this means he passed through the\nmidst of them unseen, and wandered on till he reached the coast, where\nhe re-embarked on board his ship.\n\nThe first land he sighted was the Island of Roses, and he went at once\nto the court of the King, Rosalie\u2019s father. The moment his eyes beheld\nthe Princess, he fell in love with her like everyone else.\n\nHe had already spent several months in this condition when the Prince\nof the Air whirled her away, to the grief and despair of every man on\nthe island. But sad though everybody was, the Prince of the Golden\nIsle was perfectly inconsolable, and he passed both days and nights in\nbemoaning his loss.\n\n\u2018Alas!\u2019 he cried; \u2018shall I never see my lovely Princess again? Who\nknows where she may be, and what fairy may have her in his keeping? I\nam only a man, but I am strong in my love, and I will seek the whole\nworld through till I find her.\u2019\n\nSo saying, he left the court, and made ready for his journey.\n\nHe travelled many weary days without hearing a single word of the lost\nPrincess, till one morning, as he was walking through a thick forest,\nhe suddenly perceived a magnificent palace standing at the end of a\npine avenue, and his heart bounded to think that he might be gazing on\nRosalie\u2019s prison. He hastened his steps, and quickly arrived at the\ngate of the palace, which was formed of a single agate. The gate swung\nopen to let him through, and he next passed successively three courts,\nsurrounded by deep ditches filled with running water, with birds of\nbrilliant plumage flying about the banks. Everything around was rare\nand beautiful, but the Prince scarcely raised his eyes to all these\nwonders. He thought only of the Princess and where he should find her,\nbut in vain he opened every door and searched in every corner; he\nneither saw Rosalie nor anyone else. At last there was no place left\nfor him to search but a little wood, which contained in the centre a\nsort of hall built entirely of orange-trees, with four small rooms\nopening out of the corners. Three of these were empty except for\nstatues and wonderful things, but in the fourth the Invisible Prince\ncaught sight of Rosalie. His joy at beholding her again was, however,\nsomewhat lessened by seeing that the Prince of the Air was kneeling at\nher feet, and pleading his own cause. But it was in vain that he\nimplored her to listen; she only shook her head. \u2018No,\u2019 was all she\nwould say; \u2018you snatched me from my father whom I loved, and all the\nsplendour in the world can never console me. Go! I can never feel\nanything towards you but hate and contempt.\u2019 With these words she\nturned away and entered her own apartments.\n\nUnknown to herself the Invisible Prince had followed her, but fearing\nto be discovered by the Princess in the presence of others, he made up\nhis mind to wait quietly till dark; and employed the long hours in\nwriting a poem to the Princess, which he laid on the bed beside her.\nThis done, he thought of nothing but how best to deliver Rosalie, and\nhe resolved to take advantage of a visit which the Prince of the Air\npaid every year to his mother and brothers in order to strike the\nblow.\n\nOne day Rosalie was sitting alone in her room thinking of her troubles\nwhen she suddenly saw a pen get up from off the desk and begin to\nwrite all by itself on a sheet of white paper. As she did not know\nthat it was guided by an invisible hand she was very much astonished,\nand the moment that the pen had ceased to move she instantly went over\nto the table, where she found some lovely verses, telling her that\nanother shared her distresses, whatever they might be, and loved her\nwith all his heart; and that he would never rest until he had\ndelivered her from the hands of the man she hated. Thus encouraged,\nshe told him all her story, and of the arrival of a young stranger in\nher father\u2019s palace, whose looks had so charmed her that since that\nday she had thought of no one else. At these words the Prince could\ncontain himself no longer. He took the pebble from his mouth, and\nflung himself at Rosalie\u2019s feet.\n\n[Illustration: The Pen Got Up and Wrote All By Itself\u2014Rosalie]\n\nWhen they had got over the first rapture of meeting they began to make\nplans to escape from the power of the Prince of the Air. But this did\nnot prove easy, for the magic stone would only serve for one person at\na time, and in order to save Rosalie the Prince of the Golden Isle\nwould have to expose himself to the fury of his enemy. But Rosalie\nwould not hear of this.\n\n\u2018No, Prince,\u2019 she said; \u2018since you are here this island no longer\nfeels a prison. Besides, you are under the protection of a Fairy, who\nalways visits your father\u2019s court at this season. Go instantly and\nseek her, and when she is found implore the gift of another stone with\nsimilar powers. Once you have that, there will be no further\ndifficulty in the way of escape.\u2019\n\nThe Prince of the Air returned a few days later from his mother\u2019s\npalace, but the Invisible Prince had already set out. He had, however,\nentirely forgotten the road by which he had come, and lost himself for\nso long in the forest, that when at last he reached home the Fairy had\nalready left, and, in spite of all his grief, there was nothing for it\nbut to wait till the Fairy\u2019s next visit, and allow Rosalie to suffer\nthree months longer. This thought drove him to despair, and he had\nalmost made up his mind to return to the place of her captivity, when\none day, as he was strolling along an alley in the woods, he saw a\nhuge oak open its trunk, and out of it step two Princes in earnest\nconversation. As our hero had the magic stone in his mouth they\nimagined themselves alone, and did not lower their voices.\n\n\u2018What!\u2019 said one, \u2018are you always going to allow yourself to be\ntormented by a passion which can never end happily, and in your whole\nkingdom can you find nothing else to satisfy you?\u2019\n\n\u2018What is the use,\u2019 replied the other, \u2018of being Prince of the Gnomes,\nand having a mother who is queen over all the four elements, if I\ncannot win the love of the Princess Argentine? From the moment that I\nfirst saw her, sitting in the forest surrounded by flowers, I have\nnever ceased to think of her night and day, and, although I love her,\nI am quite convinced that she will never care for me. You know that I\nhave in my palace the cabinets of the years. In the first, great\nmirrors reflect the past; in the second, we contemplate the present;\nin the third, the future can be read. It was here that I fled after I\nhad gazed on the Princess Argentine, but instead of love I only saw\nscorn and contempt. Think how great must be my devotion, when, in\nspite of my fate, I still love on!\u2019\n\nNow the Prince of the Golden Isle was enchanted with this\nconversation, for the Princess Argentine was his sister, and he hoped,\nby means of her influence over the Prince of the Gnomes, to obtain\nfrom his brother the release of Rosalie. So he joyfully returned to\nhis father\u2019s palace, where he found his friend the Fairy, who at once\npresented him with a magic pebble like his own. As may be imagined, he\nlost no time in setting out to deliver Rosalie, and travelled so fast\nthat he soon arrived at the forest, in the midst of which she lay a\ncaptive. But though he found the palace he did not find Rosalie. He\nhunted high and low, but there was no sign of her, and his despair was\nso great that he was ready, a thousand times over, to take his own\nlife. At last he remembered the conversation of the two Princes about\nthe cabinets of the years, and that if he could manage to reach the\noak-tree, he would be certain to discover what had become of Rosalie.\nHappily, he soon found out the secret of the passage and entered the\ncabinet of the present, where he saw reflected in the mirrors the\nunfortunate Rosalie sitting on the floor weeping bitterly, and\nsurrounded with genii, who never left her night or day.\n\n[Illustration: Guarded by the Genii\u2014The Mirror of the Present]\n\nThis sight only increased the misery of the Prince, for he did not\nknow where the castle was, nor how to set about finding it. However,\nhe resolved to seek the whole world through till he came to the right\nplace. He began by setting sail in a favourable wind, but his bad luck\nfollowed him even on the sea. He had scarcely lost sight of the land\nwhen a violent storm arose, and after several hours of beating about,\nthe vessel was driven on to some rocks, on which it dashed itself to\nbits. The Prince was fortunate enough to be able to lay hold of a\nfloating spar, and contrived to keep himself afloat; and, after a long\nstruggle with the winds and waves, he was cast upon a strange island.\nBut what was his surprise, on reaching the shore, to hear sounds of\nthe most heartrending distress, mingled with the sweetest songs which\nhad ever charmed him! His curiosity was instantly roused, and he\nadvanced cautiously till he saw two huge dragons guarding the gate of\na wood. They were terrible indeed to look upon. Their bodies were\ncovered with glittering scales; their curly tails extended far over\nthe land; flames darted from their mouths and noses, and their eyes\nwould have made the bravest shudder; but as the Prince was invisible\nand they did not see him, he slipped past them into the wood. He found\nhimself at once in a labyrinth, and wandered about for a long time\nwithout meeting anyone; in fact, the only sight he saw was a circle of\nhuman hands, sticking out of the ground above the wrist, each with a\nbracelet of gold, on which a name was written. The farther he advanced\nin the labyrinth the more curious he became, till he was stopped by\ntwo corpses lying in the midst of a cypress alley, each with a scarlet\ncord round his neck and a bracelet on his arm on which were engraved\ntheir own names, and those of two Princesses.\n\n[Illustration: In The Labyrinth of Despair]\n\nThe invisible Prince recognised these dead men as Kings of two large\nislands near his own home, but the names of the Princesses were\nunknown to him. He grieved for their unhappy fate, and at once\nproceeded to bury them; but no sooner had he laid them in their\ngraves, than their hands started up through the earth and remained\nsticking up like those of their fellows.\n\nThe Prince went on his way, thinking about this strange adventure,\nwhen suddenly at the turn of the walk he perceived a tall man whose\nface was the picture of misery, holding in his hands a silken cord of\nthe exact colour of those round the necks of the dead men. A few steps\nfurther this man came up with another as miserable to the full as he\nhimself; they silently embraced, and then without a word passed the\ncords round their throats, and fell dead side by side. In vain the\nPrince rushed to their assistance and strove to undo the cord. He\ncould not loosen it; so he buried them like the others and continued\nhis path.\n\nHe felt, however, that great prudence was necessary, or he himself\nmight become the victim of some enchantment; and he was thankful to\nslip past the dragons, and enter a beautiful park, with clear streams\nand sweet flowers, and a crowd of men and maidens. But he could not\nforget the terrible things he had seen, and hoped eagerly for a clue\nto the mystery. Noticing two young people talking together, he drew\nnear thinking that he might get some explanation of what puzzled him.\nAnd so he did.\n\n\u2018You swear,\u2019 said the Prince, \u2018that you will love me till you die, but\nI fear your faithless heart, and I feel that I shall soon have to seek\nthe Fairy Despair, ruler of half this island. She carries off the\nlovers who have been cast away by their mistresses, and wish to have\ndone with life. She places them in a labyrinth where they are\ncondemned to walk for ever, with a bracelet on their arms and a cord\nround their necks, unless they meet another as miserable as\nthemselves. Then the cord is pulled and they lie where they fall, till\nthey are buried by the first passer-by. Terrible as this death would\nbe,\u2019 added the Prince, \u2018it would be sweeter than life if I had lost\nyour love.\u2019\n\nThe sight of all these happy lovers only made the Prince grieve the\nmore, and he wandered along the seashore spending his days; but one\nday he was sitting on a rock bewailing his fate, and the impossibility\nof leaving the island, when all in a moment the sea appeared to raise\nitself nearly to the skies, and the caves echoed with hideous screams.\nAs he looked a woman rose from the depths of the sea, flying madly\nbefore a furious giant. The cries she uttered softened the heart of\nthe Prince; he took the stone from his mouth, and drawing his sword he\nrushed after the giant, so as to give the lady time to escape. But\nhardly had he come within reach of the enemy, than the giant touched\nhim with a ring that he held in his hand, and the Prince remained\nimmovable where he stood. The giant then hastily rejoined his prey,\nand, seizing her in his arms, he plunged her into the sea. Then he\nsent some tritons to bind chains about the Prince of the Golden Isle,\nand he too felt himself borne to the depths of the ocean, and without\nthe hope of ever again seeing the Princess.\n\nNow the giant whom the invisible had so rashly attacked was the Lord\nof the Sea, and the third son of the Queen of the Elements, and he had\ntouched the youth with a magic ring which enabled a mortal to live\nunder water. So the Prince of the Golden Isle found, when bound in\nchains by the tritons, he was carried through the homes of strange\nmonsters and past immense seaweed forests, till he reached a vast\nsandy space, surrounded by huge rocks. On the tallest of the rocks sat\nthe giant as on a throne.\n\n\u2018Rash mortal,\u2019 said he, when the Prince was dragged before him, \u2018you\nhave deserved death, but you shall live only to suffer more cruelly.\nGo, and add to the number of those whom it is my pleasure to torture.\u2019\n\nAt these words the unhappy Prince found himself tied to a rock; but he\nwas not alone in his misfortunes, for all round him were chained\nPrinces and Princesses, whom the giant had led captive. Indeed, it was\nhis chief delight to create a storm, in order to add to the list of\nhis prisoners.\n\nAs his hands were fastened, it was impossible for the Prince of the\nGolden Isle to make use of his magic stone, and he passed his nights\nand days dreaming of Rosalie. But at last the time came when the giant\ntook it into his head to amuse himself by arranging fights between\nsome of his captives. Lots were drawn, and one fell upon our Prince,\nwhose chains were immediately loosened. The moment he was set free, he\nsnatched up his stone, and became invisible.\n\nThe astonishment of the giant at the sudden disappearance of the\nPrince may well be imagined. He ordered all the passages to be\nwatched, but it was too late, for the Prince had already glided\nbetween two rocks. He wandered for a long while through the forests,\nwhere he met nothing but fearful monsters; he climbed rock after rock,\nsteered his way from tree to tree, till at length he arrived at the\nedge of the sea, at the foot of a mountain that he remembered to have\nseen in the cabinet of the present, where Rosalie was held captive.\n\nFilled with joy, he made his way to the top of the mountain which\npierced the clouds, and there he found a palace. He entered, and in\nthe middle of a long gallery he discovered a crystal room, in the\nmidst of which sat Rosalie, guarded night and day by genii. There was\nno door anywhere, nor any window. At this sight the Prince became more\npuzzled than ever, for he did not know how he was to warn Rosalie of\nhis return. Yet it broke his heart to see her weeping from dawn till\ndark.\n\nOne day, as Rosalie was walking up and down her room, she was\nsurprised to see that the crystal which served for a wall had grown\ncloudy, as if some one had breathed on it, and, what was more,\nwherever she moved the brightness of the crystal always became\nclouded. This was enough to cause the Princess to suspect that her\nlover had returned. In order to set the Prince of the Air\u2019s mind at\nrest she began by being very gracious to him, so that when she begged\nthat her captivity might be a little lightened she should not be\nrefused. At first the only favour she asked was to be allowed to walk\nfor one hour every day up and down the long gallery. This was granted,\nand the Invisible Prince speedily took the opportunity of handing her\nthe stone, which she at once slipped into her mouth. No words can\npaint the fury of her captor at her disappearance. He ordered the\nspirits of the air to fly through all space, and to bring back Rosalie\nwherever she might be. They instantly flew off to obey his commands,\nand spread themselves over the whole earth.\n\nMeantime Rosalie and the Invisible Prince had reached, hand in hand, a\ndoor of the gallery which led through a terrace into the gardens. In\nsilence they glided along, and thought themselves already safe, when a\nfurious monster dashed itself by accident against Rosalie and the\nInvisible Prince, and in her fright she let go his hand. No one can\nspeak as long as he is invisible, and besides, they knew that the\nspirits were all around them, and at the slightest sound they would be\nrecognised; so all they could do was to feel about in the hope that\ntheir hands might once more meet.\n\n[Illustration: Prince Gnome Learns the Name of His Rival at the Golden\nFountain]\n\nBut, alas! the joy of liberty lasted but a short time. The Princess,\nhaving wandered in vain up and down the forest, stopped at last on the\nedge of a fountain. As she walked she wrote on the trees: \u2018If ever the\nPrince, my lover, comes this way, let him know that it is here I\ndwell, and that I sit daily on the edge of this fountain, mingling my\ntears with its waters.\u2019\n\nThese words were read by one of the genii, who repeated them to his\nmaster. The Prince of the Air, in his turn making himself invisible,\nwas led to the fountain, and waited for Rosalie. When she drew near he\nheld out his hand, which she grasped eagerly, taking it for that of\nher lover; and, seizing his opportunity, the Prince passed a cord\nround her arms, and throwing off his invisibility cried to his spirits\nto drag her into the lowest pit.\n\nIt was at this moment that the Invisible Prince appeared, and at the\nsight of the Prince of the Genii mounting into the air, holding a\nsilken cord, he guessed instantly that he was carrying off Rosalie.\n\nHe felt so overwhelmed by despair that he thought for an instant of\nputting an end to his life. \u2018Can I survive my misfortunes?\u2019 he cried.\n\u2018I fancied I had come to an end of my troubles, and now they are worse\nthan ever. What will become of me? Never can I discover the place\nwhere this monster will hide Rosalie.\u2019\n\nThe unhappy youth had determined to let himself die, and indeed his\nsorrow alone was enough to kill him, when the thought that by means of\nthe cabinets of the years he might find out where the Princess was\nimprisoned, gave him a little ray of comfort. So he continued to walk\non through the forest, and after some hours he arrived at the gate of\na temple, guarded by two huge lions. Being invisible, he was able to\nenter unharmed. In the middle of the temple was an altar, on which lay\na book, and behind the altar hung a great curtain. The Prince\napproached the altar and opened the book, which contained the names of\nall the lovers in the world; and in it he read that Rosalie had been\ncarried off by the Prince of the Air to an abyss which had no entrance\nexcept the one that lay by way of the Fountain of Gold.\n\nNow, as the Prince had not the smallest idea where this fountain was\nto be found, it might be thought that he was not much nearer Rosalie\nthan before. This was not, however, the view taken by the Prince.\n\n\u2018Though every step that I take may perhaps lead me further from her,\u2019\nhe said to himself, \u2018I am still thankful to know that she is alive\nsomewhere.\u2019\n\nOn leaving the temple the Invisible Prince saw six paths lying before\nhim, each of which led through the wood. He was hesitating which to\nchoose, when he suddenly beheld two people coming towards him, down\nthe track which lay most to his right. They turned out to be the\nPrince Gnome and his friend, and the sudden desire to get some news of\nhis sister, Princess Argentine, caused the Invisible Prince to follow\nthem and to listen to their conversation.\n\n\u2018Do you think,\u2019 the Prince Gnome was saying, \u2018do you think that I\nwould not break my chains if I could? I know that the Princess\nArgentine will never love me, yet each day I feel her dearer still.\nAnd as if this were not enough, I have the horror of feeling that she\nprobably loves another. So I have resolved to put myself out of my\npain by means of the Golden Fountain. A single drop of its water\nfalling on the sand around will trace the name of my rival in her\nheart. I dread the test, and yet this very dread convinces me of my\nmisfortune.\u2019\n\nIt may be imagined that after listening to these words the Invisible\nPrince followed Prince Gnome like his shadow, and after walking some\ntime they arrived at the Golden Fountain. The unhappy lover stooped\ndown with a sigh, and dipping his finger in the water let fall a drop\non the sand. It instantly wrote the name of Prince Flame, his brother.\nThe shock of this discovery was so real, that Prince Gnome sank\nfainting into the arms of his friend.\n\nMeanwhile the Invisible Prince was turning over in his mind how he\ncould best deliver Rosalie. As, since he had been touched by the\nGiant\u2019s ring, he had the power to live in the water as well as on\nland, he at once dived into the fountain. He perceived in one corner a\ndoor leading into the mountain, and at the foot of the mountain was a\nhigh rock on which was fixed an iron ring with a cord attached. The\nPrince promptly guessed that the cord was used to chain the Princess,\nand drew his sword and cut it. In a moment he felt the Princess\u2019s hand\nin his, for she had always kept her magic pebble in her mouth, in\nspite of the prayers and entreaties of the Prince of the Air to make\nherself visible.\n\nSo hand in hand the invisible Prince and Rosalie crossed the mountain;\nbut as the Princess had no power of living under water, she could not\npass the Golden Fountain. Speechless and invisible they clung together\non the brink, trembling at the frightful tempest the Prince of the Air\nhad raised in his fury. The storm had already lasted many days when\ntremendous heat began to make itself felt. The lightning flashed, the\nthunder rattled, fire bolts fell from heaven, burning up the forests\nand even the fields of corn. In one instant the very streams were\ndried up, and the Prince, seizing his opportunity, carried the\nPrincess over the Golden Fountain.\n\nIt took them a long time still to reach the Golden Isle, but at last\nthey got there, and we may be quite sure they never wanted to leave it\nany more.\n\n\n\n\n_THE CROW_[13]\n\n\nOnce upon a time there were three Princesses who were all three young\nand beautiful; but the youngest, although she was not fairer than the\nother two, was the most loveable of them all.\n\nAbout half a mile from the palace in which they lived there stood a\ncastle, which was uninhabited and almost a ruin, but the garden which\nsurrounded it was a mass of blooming flowers, and in this garden the\nyoungest Princess used often to walk.\n\nOne day when she was pacing to and fro under the lime trees, a black\ncrow hopped out of a rose-bush in front of her. The poor beast was all\ntorn and bleeding, and the kind little Princess was quite unhappy\nabout it. When the crow saw this it turned to her and said:\n\n\u2018I am not really a black crow, but an enchanted Prince, who has been\ndoomed to spend his youth in misery. If you only liked, Princess, you\ncould save me. But you would have to say good-bye to all your own\npeople, and come and be my constant companion in this ruined castle.\nThere is one habitable room in it, in which there is a golden bed;\nthere you will have to live all by yourself, and don\u2019t forget that\nwhatever you may see or hear in the night you must not scream out, for\nif you give as much as a single cry my sufferings will be doubled.\u2019\n\nThe good-natured Princess at once left her home and her family and\nhurried to the ruined castle, and took possession of the room with the\ngolden bed.\n\n[Footnote 13: From the Polish. Kletke.]\n\nWhen night approached she lay down, but though she shut her eyes tight\nsleep would not come. At midnight she heard to her great horror some\none coming along the passage, and in a minute her door was flung wide\nopen and a troop of strange beings entered the room. They at once\nproceeded to light a fire in the huge fire-place; then they placed a\ngreat cauldron of boiling water on it. When they had done this, they\napproached the bed on which the trembling girl lay, and, screaming and\nyelling all the time, they dragged her towards the cauldron. She\nnearly died with fright, but she never uttered a sound. Then of a\nsudden the cock crew, and all the evil spirits vanished.\n\nAt the same moment the crow appeared and hopped all round the room\nwith joy. It thanked the Princess most heartily for her goodness, and\nsaid that its sufferings had already been greatly lessened.\n\n[Illustration: The evil spirits drag the girl to the cauldron]\n\nNow one of the Princess\u2019s elder sisters, who was very inquisitive, had\nfound out about everything, and went to pay her youngest sister a\nvisit in the ruined castle. She implored her so urgently to let her\nspend the night with her in the golden bed, that at last the\ngood-natured little Princess consented. But at midnight, when the odd\nfolk appeared, the elder sister screamed with terror, and from this\ntime on the youngest Princess insisted always on keeping watch alone.\n\nSo she lived in solitude all the day-time, and at night she would have\nbeen frightened, had she not been so brave; but every day the crow\ncame and thanked her for her endurance, and assured her that his\nsufferings were far less than they had been.\n\nAnd so two years passed away, when one day the crow came to the\nPrincess and said: \u2018In another year I shall be freed from the spell I\nam under at present, because then the seven years will be over. But\nbefore I can resume my natural form, and take possession of the\nbelongings of my forefathers, you must go out into the world and take\nservice as a maidservant.\u2019\n\nThe young Princess consented at once, and for a whole year she served\nas a maid; but in spite of her youth and beauty she was very badly\ntreated, and suffered many things. One evening, when she was spinning\nflax, and had worked her little white hands weary, she heard a\nrustling beside her and a cry of joy. Then she saw a handsome youth\nstanding beside her; who knelt down at her feet and kissed the little\nweary white hands.\n\n\u2018I am the Prince,\u2019 he said, \u2018who you in your goodness, when I was\nwandering about in the shape of a black crow, freed from the most\nawful torments. Come now to my castle with me, and let us live there\nhappily together.\u2019\n\nSo they went to the castle where they had both endured so much. But\nwhen they reached it, it was difficult to believe that it was the\nsame, for it had all been rebuilt and done up again. And there they\nlived for a hundred years, a hundred years of joy and happiness.\n\n\n\n\n_HOW SIX MEN TRAVELLED THROUGH THE WIDE WORLD_\n\n\nThere was once upon a time a man who understood all sorts of arts; he\nserved in the war, and bore himself bravely and well; but when the war\nwas over, he got his discharge, and set out on his travels with three\nfarthings of his pay in his pocket. \u2018Wait,\u2019 he said; \u2018that does not\nplease me; only let me find the right people, and the King shall yet\ngive me all the treasures of his kingdom.\u2019 He strode angrily into the\nforest, and there he saw a man standing who had uprooted six trees as\nif they were straws. He said to him, \u2018Will you be my servant and\ntravel with me?\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes,\u2019 he answered; \u2018but first of all I will take this little bundle\nof sticks home to my mother,\u2019 and he took one of the trees and wound\nit round the other five, raised the bundle on his shoulders and bore\nit off. Then he came back and went with his master, who said, \u2018We two\nought to be able to travel through the wide world!\u2019 And when they had\ngone a little way they came upon a hunter, who was on his knees, his\ngun on his shoulder, aiming at something. The master said to him,\n\u2018Hunter, what are you aiming at?\u2019\n\nHe answered, \u2018Two miles from this place sits a fly on a branch of an\noak; I want to shoot out its left eye.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, go with me,\u2019 said the man; \u2018if we three are together we shall\neasily travel through the wide world.\u2019\n\nThe hunter agreed and went with him, and they came to seven windmills\nwhose sails were going round quite fast, and yet there was not a\nbreath of wind, nor was a leaf moving. The man said, \u2018I don\u2019t know\nwhat is turning those windmills; there is not the slightest breeze\nblowing.\u2019 So he walked on with his servants, and when they had gone\ntwo miles they saw a man sitting on a tree, holding one of his\nnostrils and blowing out of the other.\n\n\u2018Fellow, what are you puffing at up there?\u2019 asked the man.\n\nHe replied, \u2018Two miles from this place are standing seven windmills;\nsee, I am blowing to drive them round.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, go with me,\u2019 said the man; \u2018if we four are together we shall\neasily travel through the wide world.\u2019\n\nSo the blower got down and went with him, and after a time they saw a\nman who was standing on one leg, and had unstrapped the other and laid\nit near him. Then said the master, \u2018You have made yourself very\ncomfortable to rest!\u2019\n\n\u2018I am a runner,\u2019 answered he; \u2018and so that I shall not go too quickly,\nI have unstrapped one leg; when I run with two legs, I go faster than\na bird flies.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, go with me; if we five are together, we shall easily travel\nthrough the wide world.\u2019 So he went with him, and, not long\nafterwards, they met a man who wore a little hat, but he had it\nslouched over one ear.\n\n\u2018Manners, manners!\u2019 said the master to him; \u2018don\u2019t hang your hat over\none ear; you look like a madman!\u2019\n\n\u2018I dare not,\u2019 said the other, \u2018for if I were to put my hat on\nstraight, there would come such a frost that the very birds in the sky\nwould freeze and fall dead on the earth.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, go with me,\u2019 said the master; \u2018if we six are together, we shall\neasily travel through the wide world.\u2019\n\nNow the Six came to a town in which the King had proclaimed that\nwhoever should run with his daughter in a race, and win, should become\nher husband; but if he lost, he must lose his head. This was reported\nto the man who declared he would compete, \u2018but,\u2019 he said, \u2018I shall let\nmy servant run for me.\u2019\n\nThe King replied, \u2018Then both your heads must be staked, and your head\nand his must be guaranteed for the winner.\u2019\n\nWhen this was agreed upon and settled, the man strapped on the\nrunner\u2019s other leg, saying to him, \u2018Now be nimble, and see that we\nwin!\u2019 It was arranged that whoever should first bring water out of a\nstream a long way off, should be the victor. Then the runner got a\npitcher, and the King\u2019s daughter another, and they began to run at the\nsame time; but in a moment, when the King\u2019s daughter was only just a\nlittle way off, no spectator could see the runner, and it seemed as if\nthe wind had whistled past. In a short time he reached the stream,\nfilled his pitcher with water, and turned round again. But, half way\nhome, a great drowsiness came over him; he put down his pitcher, lay\ndown, and fell asleep. He had, however, put a horse\u2019s skull which was\nlying on the ground, for his pillow, so that he should not be too\ncomfortable and might soon wake up.\n\nIn the meantime the King\u2019s daughter, who could also run well, as well\nas an ordinary man could, reached the stream, and hastened back with\nher pitcher full of water. When she saw the runner lying there asleep,\nshe was delighted, and said, \u2018My enemy is given into my hands!\u2019 She\nemptied his pitcher and ran on.\n\nEverything now would have been lost, if by good luck the hunter had\nnot been standing on the castle tower and had seen everything with his\nsharp eyes.\n\n[Illustration: My Enemy is Given into My Hands]\n\n\u2018Ah,\u2019 said he, \u2018the King\u2019s daughter shall not overreach us;\u2019 and,\nloading his gun, he shot so cleverly, that he shot away the horse\u2019s\nskull from under the runner\u2019s head, without its hurting him. Then the\nrunner awoke, jumped up, and saw that his pitcher was empty and the\nKing\u2019s daughter far ahead. But he did not lose courage, and ran back\nto the stream with his pitcher, filled it once more with water, and\nwas home ten minutes before the King\u2019s daughter arrived.\n\n\u2018Look,\u2019 said he, \u2018I have only just exercised my legs; that was nothing\nof a run.\u2019\n\nBut the King was angry, and his daughter even more so, that she should\nbe carried away by a common, discharged soldier. They consulted\ntogether how they could destroy both him and his companions.\n\n\u2018Then,\u2019 said the King to her, \u2018I have found a way. Don\u2019t be\nfrightened; they shall not come home again.\u2019 He said to them, \u2018You\nmust now make merry together, and eat and drink,\u2019 and he led them into\na room which had a floor of iron; the doors were also of iron, and the\nwindows were barred with iron. In the room was a table spread with\ndelicious food. The King said to them, \u2018Go in and enjoy yourselves,\u2019\nand as soon as they were inside he had the doors shut and bolted. Then\nhe made the cook come, and ordered him to keep up a large fire under\nthe room until the iron was red-hot. The cook did so, and the Six\nsitting round the table felt it grow very warm, and they thought this\nwas because of their good fare; but when the heat became still greater\nand they wanted to go out, but found the doors and windows fastened,\nthen they knew that the King meant them harm and was trying to\nsuffocate them.\n\n\u2018But he shall not succeed,\u2019 cried he of the little hat, \u2018I will make a\nfrost come which shall make the fire ashamed and die out!\u2019 So he put\nhis hat on straight, and at once there came such a frost that all the\nheat disappeared and the food on the dishes began to freeze. When a\ncouple of hours had passed, and the King thought they must be quite\ndead from the heat, he had the doors opened and went in himself to\nsee.\n\nBut when the doors were opened, there stood all Six, alive and well,\nsaying they were glad they could come out to warm themselves, for the\ngreat cold in the room had frozen all the food hard in the dishes.\nThen the King went angrily to the cook, and scolded him, and asked him\nwhy he had not done what he was told.\n\nBut the cook answered, \u2018There is heat enough there; see for yourself.\u2019\nThen the King saw a huge fire burning under the iron room, and\nunderstood that he could do no harm to the Six in this way. The King\nnow began again to think how he could free himself from his unwelcome\nguests. He commanded the master to come before him, and said, \u2018If you\nwill take gold, and give up your right to my daughter, you shall have\nas much as you like.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, yes, your Majesty,\u2019 answered he, \u2018give me as much as my servant\ncan carry, and I will give up your daughter.\u2019\n\nThe King was delighted, and the man said, \u2018I will come and fetch it in\nfourteen days.\u2019\n\n[Illustration]\n\nThen he called all the tailors in the kingdom together, and made them\nsit down for fourteen days sewing at a sack. When it was finished, he\nmade the strong man who had uprooted the trees take the sack on his\nshoulder and go with him to the King. Then the King said, \u2018What a\npowerful fellow that is, carrying that bale of linen as large as a\nhouse on his shoulder!\u2019 and he was much frightened, and thought \u2018What\na lot of gold he will make away with!\u2019 Then he had a ton of gold\nbrought, which sixteen of the strongest men had to carry; but the\nstrong man seized it with one hand, put it in the sack, saying, \u2018Why\ndon\u2019t you bring me more? That scarcely covers the bottom!\u2019 Then the\nKing had to send again and again to fetch his treasures, which the\nstrong man shoved into the sack, and the sack was only half full.\n\n\u2018Bring more,\u2019 he cried, \u2018these crumbs don\u2019t fill it.\u2019 So seven\nthousand waggons of the gold of the whole kingdom were driven up;\nthese the strong man shoved into the sack, oxen and all.\n\n\u2018I will no longer be particular,\u2019 he said, \u2018and will take what comes,\nso that the sack shall be full.\u2019\n\nWhen everything was put in and there was not yet enough, he said, \u2018I\nwill make an end of this; it is easy to fasten a sack when it is not\nfull.\u2019 Then he threw it on his back and went with his companions.\n\nNow, when the King saw how a single man was carrying away the wealth\nof the whole country he was very angry, and made his cavalry mount and\npursue the Six, and bring back the strong man with the sack. Two\nregiments soon overtook them, and called to them, \u2018You are prisoners!\nlay down the sack of gold or you shall be cut down.\u2019\n\n\u2018What do you say?\u2019 said the blower, \u2018we are prisoners? Before that,\nyou shall dance in the air!\u2019 And he held one nostril and blew with the\nother at the two regiments; they were separated and blown away in the\nblue sky over the mountains, one this way, and the other that. A\nsergeant-major cried for mercy, saying he had nine wounds, and was a\nbrave fellow, and did not deserve this disgrace. So the blower let him\noff, and he came down without hurt. Then he said to him, \u2018Now go home\nto the King, and say that if he sends any more cavalry I will blow\nthem all into the air.\u2019\n\nWhen the King received the message, he said, \u2018Let the fellows go; they\nare bewitched.\u2019 Then the Six brought the treasure home, shared it\namong themselves, and lived contentedly till the end of their days.\n\n\n\n\n_THE WIZARD KING_[14]\n\n\nIn very ancient times there lived a King, whose power lay not only in\nthe vast extent of his dominions, but also in the magic secrets of\nwhich he was master. After spending the greater part of his early\nyouth in pleasure, he met a Princess of such remarkable beauty that he\nat once asked her hand in marriage, and, having obtained it,\nconsidered himself the happiest of men.\n\nAfter a year\u2019s time a son was born, worthy in every way of such\ndistinguished parents, and much admired by the whole Court. As soon as\nthe Queen thought him strong enough for a journey she set out with him\nsecretly to visit her Fairy godmother. I said _secretly_, because the\nFairy had warned the Queen that the King was a magician; and as from\ntime immemorial there had been a standing feud between the Fairies and\nthe Wizards, he might not have approved of his wife\u2019s visit.\n\nThe Fairy godmother, who took the deepest interest in all the Queen\u2019s\nconcerns, and who was much pleased with the little Prince, endowed him\nwith the power of pleasing everybody from his cradle, as well as with\na wonderful ease in learning everything which could help to make him a\nperfectly accomplished Prince. Accordingly, to the delight of his\nteachers, he made the most rapid progress in his education, constantly\nsurpassing everyone\u2019s expectations. Before he was many years old,\nhowever, he had the great sorrow of losing his mother, whose last\nwords were to advise him never to undertake anything of importance\nwithout consulting the Fairy under whose protection she had placed\nhim.\n\n[Footnote 14: From _Les F\u00e9es illustres_.]\n\nThe Prince\u2019s grief at the death of his mother was great, but it was\nnothing compared to that of the King, his father, who was quite\ninconsolable for the loss of his dear wife. Neither time nor reason\nseemed to lighten his sorrow, and the sight of all the familiar faces\nand things about him only served to remind him of his loss.\nHe therefore resolved to travel for change, and by means of his magic\nart was able to visit every country he came to see under different\nshapes, returning every few weeks to the place where he had left a few\nfollowers.\n\nHaving travelled from land to land in this fashion without finding\nanything to rivet his attention, it occurred to him to take the form\nof an eagle, and in this shape he flew across many countries and\narrived at length in a new and lovely spot, where the air seemed\nfilled with the scent of jessamine and orange flowers with which the\nground was thickly planted. Attracted by the sweet perfume he flew\nlower, and perceived some large and beautiful gardens filled with the\nrarest flowers, and with fountains throwing up their clear waters into\nthe air in a hundred different shapes. A wide stream flowed through\nthe garden, and on it floated richly ornamented barges and gondolas\nfilled with people dressed in the most elegant manner and covered with\njewels.\n\nIn one of these barges sat the Queen of that country with her only\ndaughter, a maiden more beautiful than the Day Star, and attended by\nthe ladies of the Court. No more exquisitely lovely mortal was ever\nseen than this Princess, and it needed all an eagle\u2019s strength of\nsight to prevent the King being hopelessly dazzled. He perched on the\ntop of a large orange tree, whence he was able to survey the scene and\nto gaze at pleasure on the Princess\u2019s charms.\n\nNow, an eagle with a King\u2019s heart in his breast is apt to be bold, and\naccordingly he instantly made up his mind to carry off the lovely\ndamsel, feeling sure that having once seen her he could not live\nwithout her.\n\nHe waited till he saw her in the act of stepping ashore, when,\nsuddenly swooping down, he carried her off before her equerry in\nattendance had advanced to offer her his hand. The Princess, on\nfinding herself in an eagle\u2019s talons, uttered the most heart-breaking\nshrieks and cries; but her captor, though touched by her distress,\nwould not abandon his lovely prey, and continued to fly through the\nair too fast to allow of his saying anything to comfort her.\n\nAt length, when he thought they had reached a safe distance, he began\nto lower his flight, and gradually descending to earth, deposited his\nburden in a flowery meadow. He then entreated her pardon for his\nviolence, and told her that he was about to carry her to a great\nkingdom over which he ruled, and where he desired she should rule with\nhim, adding many tender and consoling expressions.\n\nFor some time the Princess remained speechless; but recovering herself\na little, she burst into a flood of tears. The King, much moved, said,\n\u2018Adorable Princess, dry your tears. I implore you. My only wish is to\nmake you the happiest person in the world.\u2019\n\n\u2018If you speak truth, my lord,\u2019 replied the Princess, \u2018restore to me\nthe liberty you have deprived me of. Otherwise I can only look on you\nas my worst enemy.\u2019\n\n[Illustration: The Princess and the eagle in the flowery meadow]\n\nThe King retorted that her opposition filled him with despair, but\nthat he hoped to carry her to a place where all around would respect\nher, and where every pleasure would surround her. So saying, he seized\nher once more, and in spite of all her cries he rapidly bore her off\nto the neighbourhood of his capital. Here he gently placed her on a\nlawn, and as he did so she saw a magnificent palace spring up at her\nfeet. The architecture was imposing, and in the interior the rooms\nwere handsome and furnished in the best possible taste.\n\nThe Princess, who expected to be quite alone, was pleased at finding\nherself surrounded by a number of pretty girls, all anxious to wait on\nher, whilst a brilliantly-coloured parrot said the most agreeable\nthings in the world.\n\nOn arriving at this palace the King had resumed his own form, and\nthough no longer young, he might well have pleased any other than this\nPrincess, who had been so prejudiced against him by his violence that\nshe could only regard him with feelings of hatred, which she was at no\npains to conceal. The King hoped, however, that time might not only\nsoften her anger, but accustom her to his sight. He took the\nprecaution of surrounding the palace with a dense cloud, and then\nhastened to his Court, where his prolonged absence was causing much\nanxiety.\n\nThe Prince and all the courtiers were delighted to see their beloved\nKing again, but they had to submit themselves to more frequent\nabsences than ever on his part. He made business a pretext for\nshutting himself up in his study, but it was really in order to spend\nthe time with the Princess, who remained inflexible.\n\nNot being able to imagine what could be the cause of so much obstinacy\nthe King began to fear, lest, in spite of all his precautions, she\nmight have heard of the charms of the Prince his son, whose goodness,\nyouth and beauty, made him adored at Court. This idea made him\nhorribly uneasy, and he resolved to remove the cause of his fears by\nsending the Prince on his travels escorted by a magnificent retinue.\n\nThe Prince, after visiting several Courts, arrived at the one where\nthe lost Princess was still deeply mourned. The King and Queen\nreceived him most graciously, and some festivities were revived to do\nhim honour.\n\nOne day when the Prince was visiting the Queen in her own apartments\nhe was much struck by a most beautiful portrait. He eagerly inquired\nwhose it was, and the Queen, with many tears, told him it was all that\nwas left her of her beloved daughter, who had suddenly been carried\noff, she knew neither where nor how.\n\nThe Prince was deeply moved, and vowed that he would search the world\nfor the Princess, and take no rest till he had found and restored her\nto her mother\u2019s arms. The Queen assured him of her eternal gratitude,\nand promised, should he succeed, to give him her daughter in marriage,\ntogether with all the estates she herself owned.\n\nThe Prince, far more attracted by the thoughts of possessing the\nPrincess than her promised dower, set forth in his quest after taking\nleave of the King and Queen, the latter giving him a miniature of her\ndaughter which she was in the habit of wearing. His first act was to\nseek the Fairy under whose protection he had been placed, and he\nimplored her to give him all the assistance of her art and counsel in\nthis important matter.\n\nAfter listening attentively to the whole adventure, the Fairy asked\nfor time to consult her books. After due consideration she informed\nthe Prince that the object of his search was not far distant, but that\nit was too difficult for him to attempt to enter the enchanted palace\nwhere she was, as the King his father had surrounded it with a thick\ncloud, and that the only expedient she could think of would be to gain\npossession of the Princess\u2019s parrot. This, she added, did not appear\nimpossible, as it often flew about to some distance in the\nneighbourhood.\n\nHaving told the Prince all this, the Fairy went out in hopes of seeing\nthe parrot, and soon returned with the bird in her hand. She promptly\nshut it up in a cage, and, touching the Prince with her wand,\ntransformed him into an exactly similar parrot; after which, she\ninstructed him how to reach the Princess.\n\nThe Prince reached the palace in safety, but was so dazzled at first\nby the Princess\u2019s beauty, which far surpassed his expectations, that\nhe was quite dumb for a time. The Princess was surprised and anxious,\nand fearing the parrot, who was her greatest comfort, had fallen ill,\nshe took him in her hand and caressed him. This soon reassured the\nPrince, and encouraged him to play his part well, and he began to say\na thousand agreeable things which charmed the Princess.\n\nPresently the King appeared, and the parrot noticed with joy how much\nhe was disliked. As soon as the King left, the Princess retired to her\ndressing-room, the parrot flew after her and overheard her\nlamentations at the continued persecutions of the King, who had\npressed her to consent to their marriage. The parrot said so many\nclever and tender things to comfort her that she began to doubt\nwhether this could indeed be her own parrot.\n\nWhen he saw her well-disposed towards him, he exclaimed: \u2018Madam, I\nhave a most important secret to confide to you, and I beg you not to\nbe alarmed by what I am about to say. I am here on behalf of the Queen\nyour mother, with the object of delivering your Highness; to prove\nwhich, behold this portrait which she gave me herself.\u2019 So saying he\ndrew forth the miniature from under his wing. The Princess\u2019s surprise\nwas great, but after what she had seen and heard it was impossible not\nto indulge in hope, for she had recognised the likeness of herself\nwhich her mother always wore.\n\n[Illustration: The Wizard King pays a visit to the princess]\n\nThe parrot, finding she was not much alarmed, told her who he was, all\nthat her mother had promised him and the help he had already received\nfrom a Fairy who had assured him that she would give him means to\ntransport the Princess to her mother\u2019s arms.\n\nWhen he found her listening attentively to him, he implored the\nPrincess to allow him to resume his natural shape. She did not speak,\nso he drew a feather from his wing, and she beheld before her a Prince\nof such surpassing beauty that it was impossible not to hope that she\nmight owe her liberty to so charming a person.\n\nMeantime the Fairy had prepared a chariot, to which she harnessed two\npowerful eagles; then placing the cage, with the parrot in it, she\ncharged the bird to conduct it to the window of the Princess\u2019s\ndressing-room. This was done in a few minutes, and the Princess,\nstepping into the chariot with the Prince, was delighted to find her\nparrot again.\n\nAs they rose through the air the Princess remarked a figure mounted on\nan eagle\u2019s back flying in front of the chariot. She was rather\nalarmed, but the Prince reassured her, telling her it was the good\nFairy to whom she owed so much, and who was now conducting her in\nsafety to her mother.\n\nThat same morning the King woke suddenly from a troubled sleep. He had\ndreamt that the Princess was being carried off from him, and,\ntransforming himself into an eagle, he flew to the palace. When he\nfailed to find her he flew into a terrible rage, and hastened home to\nconsult his books, by which means he discovered that it was his son\nwho had deprived him of this precious treasure. Immediately he took\nthe shape of a harpy, and, filled with rage, was determined to devour\nhis son, and even the Princess too, if only he could overtake them.\n\nHe set out at full speed; but he started too late, and was further\ndelayed by a strong wind which the Fairy raised behind the young\ncouple so as to baffle any pursuit.\n\nYou may imagine the rapture with which the Queen received the daughter\nshe had given up for lost, as well as the amiable Prince who had\nrescued her. The Fairy entered with them, and warned the Queen that\nthe Wizard King would shortly arrive, infuriated by his loss, and that\nnothing could preserve the Prince and Princess from his rage and magic\nunless they were actually married.\n\nThe Queen hastened to inform the King her husband, and the wedding\ntook place on the spot.\n\nAs the ceremony was completed the Wizard King arrived. His despair at\nbeing so late bewildered him so entirely that he appeared in his\nnatural form and attempted to sprinkle some black liquid over the\nbride and bridegroom, which was intended to kill them, but the Fairy\nstretched out her wand and the liquid dropped on the Magician himself.\nHe fell down senseless, and the Princess\u2019s father, deeply offended at\nthe cruel revenge which had been attempted, ordered him to be removed\nand locked up in prison.\n\nNow as magicians lose all their power as soon as they are in prison,\nthe King felt himself much embarrassed at being thus at the mercy of\nthose he had so greatly offended. The Prince implored and obtained his\nfather\u2019s pardon, and the prison doors were opened.\n\nNo sooner was this done than the Wizard King was seen in the air under\nthe form of some unknown bird, exclaiming as he flew off that he would\nnever forgive either his son or the Fairy the cruel wrong they had\ndone him.\n\nEveryone entreated the Fairy to settle in the kingdom where she now\nwas, to which she consented. She built herself a magnificent palace,\nto which she transported her books and fairy secrets, and where she\nenjoyed the sight of the perfect happiness she had helped to bestow on\nthe entire royal family.\n\n\n\n\n_THE NIXY_[15]\n\n\nThere was once upon a time a miller who was very well off, and had as\nmuch money and as many goods as he knew what to do with. But sorrow\ncomes in the night, and the miller all of a sudden became so poor that\nat last he could hardly call the mill in which he sat his own. He\nwandered about all day full of despair and misery, and when he lay\ndown at night he could get no rest, but lay awake all night sunk in\nsorrowful thoughts.\n\nOne morning he rose up before dawn and went outside, for he thought\nhis heart would be lighter in the open air. As he wandered up and down\non the banks of the mill-pond he heard a rustling in the water, and\nwhen he looked near he saw a white woman rising up from the waves.\n\nHe realised at once that this could be none other than the nixy of the\nmill-pond, and in his terror he didn\u2019t know if he should fly away or\nremain where he was. While he hesitated the nixy spoke, called him by\nhis name, and asked him why he was so sad.\n\nWhen the miller heard how friendly her tone was, he plucked up heart\nand told her how rich and prosperous he had been all his life up till\nnow, when he didn\u2019t know what he was to do for want and misery.\n\nThen the nixy spoke comforting words to him, and promised that she\nwould make him richer and more prosperous than he had ever been in his\nlife before, if he would give her in return the youngest thing in his\nhouse.\n\nThe miller thought she must mean one of his puppies or kittens, so\npromised the nixy at once what she asked, and returned to his mill\nfull of hope. On the threshold he was greeted by a servant with the\nnews that his wife had just given birth to a boy.\n\n[Footnote 15: From the German. Kletke.]\n\nThe poor miller was much horrified by these tidings, and went in to\nhis wife with a heavy heart to tell her and his relations of the fatal\nbargain he had just struck with the nixy. \u2018I would gladly give up all\nthe good fortune she promised me,\u2019 he said, \u2018if I could only save my\nchild.\u2019 But no one could think of any advice to give him, beyond\ntaking care that the child never went near the mill-pond.\n\n[Illustration: The miller sees the nixy of the mill-pond]\n\nSo the boy throve and grew big, and in the meantime all prospered with\nthe miller, and in a few years he was richer than he had ever been\nbefore. But all the same he did not enjoy his good fortune, for he\ncould not forget his compact with the nixy, and he knew that sooner or\nlater she would demand his fulfilment of it. But year after year went\nby, and the boy grew up and became a great hunter, and the lord of the\nland took him into his service, for he was as smart and bold a hunter\nas you would wish to see. In a short time he married a pretty young\nwife, and lived with her in great peace and happiness.\n\nOne day when he was out hunting a hare sprang up at his feet, and ran\nfor some way in front of him in the open field. The hunter pursued it\nhotly for some time, and at last shot it dead. Then he proceeded to\nskin it, never noticing that he was close to the mill-pond, which from\nchildhood up he had been taught to avoid. He soon finished the\nskinning, and went to the water to wash the blood off his hands. He\nhad hardly dipped them in the pond when the nixy rose up in the water,\nand seizing him in her wet arms she dragged him down with her under\nthe waves.\n\nWhen the hunter did not come home in the evening his wife grew very\nanxious, and when his game bag was found close to the mill-pond she\nguessed at once what had befallen him. She was nearly beside herself\nwith grief, and roamed round and round the pond calling on her husband\nwithout ceasing. At last, worn out with sorrow and fatigue, she fell\nasleep and dreamt that she was wandering along a flowery meadow, when\nshe came to a hut where she found an old witch, who promised to\nrestore her husband to her.\n\nWhen she awoke next morning she determined to set out and find the\nwitch; so she wandered on for many a day, and at last she reached the\nflowery meadow and found the hut where the old witch lived. The poor\nwife told her all that had happened and how she had been told in a\ndream of the witch\u2019s power to help her.\n\nThe witch counselled her to go to the pond the first time there was a\nfull moon, and to comb her black hair with a golden comb, and then to\nplace the comb on the bank. The hunter\u2019s wife gave the witch a\nhandsome present, thanked her heartily, and returned home.\n\nTime dragged heavily till the time of the full moon, but it passed at\nlast, and as soon as it rose the young wife went to the pond, combed\nher black hair with a golden comb, and when she had finished, placed\nthe comb on the bank; then she watched the water impatiently. Soon she\nheard a rushing sound, and a big wave rose suddenly and swept the comb\noff the bank, and a minute after the head of her husband rose from the\npond and gazed sadly at her. But immediately another wave came, and\nthe head sank back into the water without having said a word. The pond\nlay still and motionless, glittering in the moonshine, and the\nhunter\u2019s wife was not a bit better off than she had been before.\n\nIn despair she wandered about for days and nights, and at last, worn\nout by fatigue, she sank once more into a deep sleep, and dreamt\nexactly the same dream about the old witch. So next morning she went\nagain to the flowery meadow and sought the witch in her hut, and told\nher of her grief. The old woman counselled her to go to the mill-pond\nthe next full moon and play upon a golden flute, and then to lay the\nflute on the bank.\n\nAs soon as the next moon was full the hunter\u2019s wife went to the\nmill-pond, played on a golden flute, and when she had finished placed\nit on the bank. Then a rushing sound was heard, and a wave swept the\nflute off the bank, and soon the head of the hunter appeared and rose\nup higher and higher till he was half out of the water. Then he gazed\nsadly at his wife and stretched out his arms towards her. But another\nrushing wave arose and dragged him under once more. The hunter\u2019s wife,\nwho had stood on the bank full of joy and hope, sank into despair when\nshe saw her husband snatched away again before her eyes.\n\nBut for her comfort she dreamt the same dream a third time, and betook\nherself once more to the old witch\u2019s hut in the flowery meadow. This\ntime the old woman told her to go the next full moon to the mill-pond,\nand to spin there with a golden spinning-wheel, and then to leave the\nspinning-wheel on the bank.\n\nThe hunter\u2019s wife did as she was advised, and the first night the moon\nwas full she sat and spun with a golden spinning-wheel, and then left\nthe wheel on the bank. In a few minutes a rushing sound was heard in\nthe waters, and a wave swept the spinning-wheel from the bank.\nImmediately the head of the hunter rose up from the pond, getting\nhigher and higher each moment, till at length he stepped on to the\nbank and fell on his wife\u2019s neck.\n\nBut the waters of the pond rose up suddenly, overflowed the bank where\nthe couple stood, and dragged them under the flood. In her despair the\nyoung wife called on the old witch to help her, and in a moment the\nhunter was turned into a frog and his wife into a toad. But they were\nnot able to remain together, for the water tore them apart, and when\nthe flood was over they both resumed their own shapes again, but the\nhunter and the hunter\u2019s wife found themselves each in a strange\ncountry, and neither knew what had become of the other.\n\n[Illustration: \u2018A wave swept the spinning-wheel from the bank\u2019]\n\nThe hunter determined to become a shepherd, and his wife too became a\nshepherdess. So they herded their sheep for many years in solitude and\nsadness.\n\nNow it happened once that the shepherd came to the country where the\nshepherdess lived. The neighbourhood pleased him, and he saw that the\npasture was rich and suitable for his flocks. So he brought his sheep\nthere, and herded them as before. The shepherd and shepherdess became\ngreat friends, but they did not recognise each other in the least.\n\nBut one evening when the moon was full they sat together watching\ntheir flocks, and the shepherd played upon his flute. Then the\nshepherdess thought of that evening when she had sat at the full moon\nby the mill-pond and had played on the golden flute; the recollection\nwas too much for her, and she burst into tears. The shepherd asked her\nwhy she was crying, and left her no peace till she told him all her\nstory. Then the scales fell from the shepherd\u2019s eyes, and he\nrecognised his wife, and she him. So they returned joyfully to their\nown home, and lived in peace and happiness ever after.\n\n\n\n\n_THE GLASS MOUNTAIN_[16]\n\n\nOnce upon a time there was a Glass Mountain at the top of which stood\na castle made of pure gold, and in front of the castle there grew an\napple-tree on which there were golden apples.\n\nAnyone who picked an apple gained admittance into the golden castle,\nand there in a silver room sat an enchanted Princess of surpassing\nfairness and beauty. She was as rich too as she was beautiful, for the\ncellars of the castle were full of precious stones, and great chests\nof the finest gold stood round the walls of all the rooms.\n\nMany knights had come from afar to try their luck, but it was in vain\nthey attempted to climb the mountain. In spite of having their horses\nshod with sharp nails, no one managed to get more than half-way up,\nand then they all fell back right down to the bottom of the steep\nslippery hill. Sometimes they broke an arm, sometimes a leg, and many\na brave man had broken his neck even.\n\nThe beautiful Princess sat at her window and watched the bold knights\ntrying to reach her on their splendid horses. The sight of her always\ngave men fresh courage, and they flocked from the four quarters of the\nglobe to attempt the work of rescuing her. But all in vain, and for\nseven years the Princess had sat now and waited for some one to scale\nthe Glass Mountain.\n\nA heap of corpses both of riders and horses lay round the mountain,\nand many dying men lay groaning there unable to go any farther with\ntheir wounded limbs. The whole neighbourhood had the appearance of a\nvast churchyard. In three more days the seven years would be at an\nend, when a knight in golden armour and mounted on a spirited steed\nwas seen making his way towards the fatal hill.\n\n[Footnote 16: From the Polish. Kletke.]\n\nSticking his spurs into his horse he made a rush at the mountain, and\ngot up half-way, then he calmly turned his horse\u2019s head and came down\nagain without a slip or stumble. The following day he started in the\nsame way; the horse trod on the glass as if it had been level earth,\nand sparks of fire flew from its hoofs. All the other knights gazed in\nastonishment, for he had almost gained the summit, and in another\nmoment he would have reached the apple-tree; but of a sudden a huge\neagle rose up and spread its mighty wings, hitting as it did so the\nknight\u2019s horse in the eye. The beast shied, opened its wide nostrils\nand tossed its mane, then rearing high up in the air, its hind feet\nslipped and it fell with its rider down the steep mountain side.\nNothing was left of either of them except their bones, which rattled\nin the battered golden armour like dry peas in a pod.\n\nAnd now there was only one more day before the close of the seven\nyears. Then there arrived on the scene a mere schoolboy\u2014a merry,\nhappy-hearted youth, but at the same time strong and well-grown. He\nsaw how many knights had broken their necks in vain, but undaunted he\napproached the steep mountain on foot and began the ascent.\n\nFor long he had heard his parents speak of the beautiful Princess who\nsat in the golden castle at the top of the Glass Mountain. He listened\nto all he heard, and determined that he too would try his luck. But\nfirst he went to the forest and caught a lynx, and cutting off the\ncreature\u2019s sharp claws, he fastened them on to his own hands and feet.\n\nArmed with these weapons he boldly started up the Glass Mountain. The\nsun was nearly going down, and the youth had not got more than\nhalf-way up. He could hardly draw breath he was so worn out, and his\nmouth was parched by thirst. A huge black cloud passed over his head,\nbut in vain did he beg and beseech her to let a drop of water fall on\nhim. He opened his mouth, but the black cloud sailed past and not as\nmuch as a drop of dew moistened his dry lips.\n\nHis feet were torn and bleeding, and he could only hold on now with\nhis hands. Evening closed in, and he strained his eyes to see if he\ncould behold the top of the mountain. Then he gazed beneath him, and\nwhat a sight met his eyes! A yawning abyss, with certain and terrible\ndeath at the bottom, reeking with half-decayed bodies of horses and\nriders! And this had been the end of all the other brave men who like\nhimself had attempted the ascent.\n\n[Illustration: The boy attacked by the eagle on the Glass Mountain]\n\nIt was almost pitch dark now, and only the stars lit up the Glass\nMountain. The poor boy still clung on as if glued to the glass by his\nblood-stained hands. He made no struggle to get higher, for all his\nstrength had left him, and seeing no hope he calmly awaited death.\nThen all of a sudden he fell into a deep sleep, and forgetful of his\ndangerous position, he slumbered sweetly. But all the same, although\nhe slept, he had stuck his sharp claws so firmly into the glass that\nhe was quite safe not to fall.\n\nNow the golden apple-tree was guarded by the eagle which had\noverthrown the golden knight and his horse. Every night it flew round\nthe Glass Mountain keeping a careful look-out, and no sooner had the\nmoon emerged from the clouds than the bird rose up from the\napple-tree, and circling round in the air, caught sight of the\nsleeping youth.\n\nGreedy for carrion, and sure that this must be a fresh corpse, the\nbird swooped down upon the boy. But he was awake now, and perceiving\nthe eagle, he determined by its help to save himself.\n\nThe eagle dug its sharp claws into the tender flesh of the youth, but\nhe bore the pain without a sound, and seized the bird\u2019s two feet with\nhis hands. The creature in terror lifted him high up into the air and\nbegan to circle round the tower of the castle. The youth held on\nbravely. He saw the glittering palace, which by the pale rays of the\nmoon looked like a dim lamp; and he saw the high windows, and round\none of them a balcony in which the beautiful Princess sat lost in sad\nthoughts. Then the boy saw that he was close to the apple-tree, and\ndrawing a small knife from his belt, he cut off both the eagle\u2019s feet.\nThe bird rose up in the air in its agony and vanished into the clouds,\nand the youth fell on to the broad branches of the apple-tree.\n\nThen he drew out the claws of the eagle\u2019s feet that had remained in\nhis flesh, and put the peel of one of the golden apples on the wound,\nand in one moment it was healed and well again. He pulled several of\nthe beautiful apples and put them in his pocket; then he entered the\ncastle. The door was guarded by a great dragon, but as soon as he\nthrew an apple at it, the beast vanished.\n\nAt the same moment a gate opened, and the youth perceived a courtyard\nfull of flowers and beautiful trees, and on a balcony sat the lovely\nenchanted Princess with her retinue.\n\nAs soon as she saw the youth, she ran towards him and greeted him as\nher husband and master. She gave him all her treasures, and the youth\nbecame a rich and mighty ruler. But he never returned to the earth,\nfor only the mighty eagle, who had been the guardian of the Princess\nand of the castle, could have carried on his wings the enormous\ntreasure down to the world. But as the eagle had lost its feet it\ndied, and its body was found in a wood on the Glass Mountain.\n\n    *    *    *    *    *\n\nOne day when the youth was strolling about in the palace garden with\nthe Princess, his wife, he looked down over the edge of the Glass\nMountain and saw to his astonishment a great number of people gathered\nthere. He blew his silver whistle, and the swallow who acted as\nmessenger in the golden castle flew past.\n\n\u2018Fly down and ask what the matter is,\u2019 he said to the little bird, who\nsped off like lightning and soon returned saying:\n\n\u2018The blood of the eagle has restored all the people below to life. All\nthose who have perished on this mountain are awakening up to-day, as\nit were from a sleep, and are mounting their horses, and the whole\npopulation are gazing on this unheard-of wonder with joy and\namazement.\u2019\n\n\n\n\n_ALPHEGE, OR THE GREEN MONKEY_\n\n\nMany years ago there lived a King, who was twice married. His first\nwife, a good and beautiful woman, died at the birth of her little son,\nand the King her husband was so overwhelmed with grief at her loss\nthat his only comfort was in the sight of his heir.\n\nWhen the time for the young Prince\u2019s christening came the King chose\nas godmother a neighbouring Princess, so celebrated for her wisdom and\ngoodness that she was commonly called \u2018the Good Queen.\u2019 She named the\nbaby Alphege, and from that moment took him to her heart.\n\nTime wipes away the greatest griefs, and after two or three years the\nKing married again. His second wife was a Princess of undeniable\nbeauty, but by no means of so amiable a disposition as the first\nQueen. In due time a second Prince was born, and the Queen was\ndevoured with rage at the thought that Prince Alphege came between her\nson and the throne. She took care however to conceal her jealous\nfeelings from the King.\n\nAt length she could control herself no longer, so she sent a trusty\nservant to her old and faithful friend the Fairy of the Mountain, to\nbeg her to devise some means by which she might get rid of her\nstepson.\n\nThe Fairy replied that, much as she desired to be agreeable to the\nQueen in every way, it was impossible for her to attempt anything\nagainst the young Prince, who was under the protection of some greater\nPower than her own.\n\nThe \u2018Good Queen\u2019 on her side watched carefully over her godson. She\nwas obliged to do so from a distance, her own country being a remote\none, but she was well informed of all that went on and knew all about\nthe Queen\u2019s wicked designs. She therefore sent the Prince a large and\nsplendid ruby, with injunctions to wear it night and day as it would\nprotect him from all attacks, but added that the talisman only\nretained its power as long as the Prince remained within his father\u2019s\ndominions. The Wicked Queen knowing this made every attempt to get the\nPrince out of the country, but her efforts failed, till one day\naccident did what she was unable to accomplish.\n\nThe King had an only sister who was deeply attached to him, and who\nwas married to the sovereign of a distant country. She had always kept\nup a close correspondence with her brother, and the accounts she heard\nof Prince Alphege made her long to become acquainted with so charming\na nephew. She entreated the King to allow the Prince to visit her, and\nafter some hesitation which was overruled by his wife, he finally\nconsented.\n\nPrince Alphege was at this time fourteen years old, and the handsomest\nand most engaging youth imaginable. In his infancy he had been placed\nin the charge of one of the great ladies of the Court, who, according\nto the prevailing custom, acted first as his head nurse and then as\nhis governess. When he outgrew her care her husband was appointed as\nhis tutor and governor, so that he had never been separated from this\nexcellent couple, who loved him as tenderly as they did their only\ndaughter Zayda, and were warmly loved by him in return.\n\nWhen the Prince set forth on his travels it was but natural that this\ndevoted couple should accompany him, and accordingly he started with\nthem and attended by a numerous retinue.\n\nFor some time he travelled through his father\u2019s dominions and all went\nwell; but soon after passing the frontier they had to cross a desert\nplain under a burning sun. They were glad to take shelter under a\ngroup of trees near, and here the Prince complained of burning thirst.\nLuckily a tiny stream ran close by and some water was soon procured,\nbut no sooner had he tasted it than he sprang from his carriage and\ndisappeared in a moment. In vain did his anxious followers seek for\nhim, he was nowhere to be found.\n\nAs they were hunting and shouting through the trees a great black\nmonkey suddenly appeared on a point of rock and said: \u2018Poor sorrowing\npeople, you are seeking your Prince in vain. Return to your own\ncountry and know that he will not be restored to you till you have for\nsome time failed to recognise him.\u2019\n\nWith these words he vanished, leaving the courtiers sadly perplexed;\nbut as all their efforts to find the Prince were useless they had no\nchoice but to go home, bringing with them the sad news, which so\ngreatly distressed the King that he fell ill and died not long after.\n\nThe Queen, whose ambition was boundless, was delighted to see the\ncrown on her son\u2019s head and to have the power in her own hands. Her\nhard rule made her very unpopular, and it was commonly believed that\nshe had made away with Prince Alphege. Indeed, had the King her son\nnot been deservedly beloved a revolution would certainly have arisen.\n\n[Illustration: The King makes friends with the Green Monkey]\n\nMeantime the former governess of the unfortunate Alphege, who had lost\nher husband soon after the King\u2019s death, retired to her own house with\nher daughter, who grew up a lovely and most loveable girl, and both\ncontinued to mourn the loss of their dear Prince.\n\nThe young King was devoted to hunting, and often indulged in his\nfavourite pastime, attended by the noblest youths in his kingdom. One\nday, after a long morning\u2019s chase he stopped to rest near a brook in\nthe shade of a little wood, where a splendid tent had been prepared\nfor him. Whilst at luncheon he suddenly spied a little monkey of the\nbrightest green sitting on a tree and gazing so tenderly at him that\nhe felt quite moved. He forbade his courtiers to frighten it, and the\nmonkey, noticing how much attention was being paid him, sprang from\nbough to bough, and at length gradually approached the King, who\noffered him some food. The monkey took it very daintily and finally\ncame to the table. The King took him on his knees, and, delighted with\nhis capture, brought him home with him. He would trust no one else\nwith its care, and the whole Court soon talked of nothing but the\npretty green monkey.\n\nOne morning, as Prince Alphege\u2019s governess and her daughter were alone\ntogether, the little monkey sprang in through an open window. He had\nescaped from the palace, and his manners were so gentle and caressing\nthat Zayda and her mother soon got over the first fright he had given\nthem. He had spent some time with them and quite won their hearts by\nhis insinuating ways, when the King discovered where he was and sent\nto fetch him back. But the monkey made such piteous cries, and seemed\nso unhappy when anyone attempted to catch him, that the two ladies\nbegged the King to leave him a little longer with them, to which he\nconsented.\n\nOne evening, as they sat by the fountain in the garden, the little\nmonkey kept gazing at Zayda with such sad and loving eyes that she and\nher mother could not think what to make of it, and they were still\nmore surprised when they saw big tears rolling down his cheeks.\n\nNext day both mother and daughter were sitting in a jessamine bower in\nthe garden, and they began to talk of the green monkey and his strange\nways. The mother said, \u2018My dear child, I can no longer hide my\nfeelings from you. I cannot get the thought out of my mind that the\ngreen monkey is no other than our beloved Prince Alphege, transformed\nin this strange fashion. I know the idea sounds wild, but I cannot get\nit out of my heart, and it leaves me no peace.\u2019\n\nAs she spoke she glanced up, and there sat the little monkey, whose\ntears and gestures seemed to confirm her words.\n\nThe following night the elder lady dreamt that she saw the Good Queen,\nwho said, \u2018Do not weep any longer but follow my directions. Go into\nyour garden and lift up the little marble slab at the foot of the\ngreat myrtle tree. You will find beneath it a crystal vase filled with\na bright green liquid. Take it with you and place the thing which is\nat present most in your thoughts into a bath filled with roses and rub\nit well with the green liquid.\u2019\n\nAt these words the sleeper awoke, and lost no time in rising and\nhurrying to the garden, where she found all as the Good Queen had\ndescribed. Then she hastened to rouse her daughter and together they\nprepared the bath, for they would not let their women know what they\nwere about. Zayda gathered quantities of roses, and when all was ready\nthey put the monkey into a large jasper bath, where the mother rubbed\nhim all over with the green liquid.\n\n[Illustration: The Green Monkey in the Bath.]\n\nTheir suspense was not long, for suddenly the monkey skin dropped off,\nand there stood Prince Alphege, the handsomest and most charming of\nmen. The joy of such a meeting was beyond words. After a time the\nladies begged the Prince to relate his adventures, and he told them of\nall his sufferings in the desert when he was first transformed. His\nonly comfort had been in visits from the Good Queen, who had at length\nput him in the way of meeting his brother.\n\nSeveral days were spent in these interesting conversations, but at\nlength Zayda\u2019s mother began to think of the best means for placing the\nPrince on the throne, which was his by right.\n\nThe Queen on her side was feeling very anxious. She had felt sure from\nthe first that her son\u2019s pet monkey was no other than Prince Alphege,\nand she longed to put an end to him. Her suspicions were confirmed by\nthe Fairy of the Mountain, and she hastened in tears to the King, her\nson.\n\n\u2018I am informed,\u2019 she cried, \u2018that some ill-disposed people have raised\nup an impostor in the hopes of dethroning you. You must at once have\nhim put to death.\u2019\n\nThe King, who was very brave, assured the Queen that he would soon\npunish the conspirators. He made careful inquiries into the matter,\nand thought it hardly probable that a quiet widow and a young girl\nwould think of attempting anything of the nature of a revolution.\n\nHe determined to go and see them, and to find out the truth for\nhimself; so one night, without saying anything to the Queen or his\nministers, he set out for the palace where the two ladies lived,\nattended only by a small band of followers.\n\nThe two ladies were at the moment deep in conversation with Prince\nAlphege, and hearing a knocking so late at night begged him to keep\nout of sight for a time. What was their surprise when the door was\nopened to see the King and his suite.\n\n\u2018I know,\u2019 said the King, \u2018that you are plotting against my crown and\nperson, and I have come to have an explanation with you.\u2019\n\nAs she was about to answer Prince Alphege, who had heard all, came\nforward and said, \u2018It is from me you must ask an explanation,\nbrother.\u2019 He spoke with such grace and dignity that everyone gazed at\nhim with mute surprise.\n\nAt length the King, recovering from his astonishment at recognising\nthe brother who had been lost some years before, exclaimed, \u2018Yes, you\nare indeed my brother, and now that I have found you, take the throne\nto which I have no longer a right.\u2019 So saying, he respectfully kissed\nthe Prince\u2019s hand.\n\nAlphege threw himself into his arms, and the brothers hastened to the\nroyal palace, where in the presence of the entire court he received\nthe crown from his brother\u2019s hand. To clear away any possible doubt,\nhe showed the ruby which the Good Queen had given him in his\nchildhood. As they were gazing at it, it suddenly split with a loud\nnoise, and at the same moment the Wicked Queen expired.\n\nKing Alphege lost no time in marrying his dear and lovely Zayda, and\nhis joy was complete when the Good Queen appeared at his wedding. She\nassured him that the Fairy of the Mountain had henceforth lost all\npower over him, and after spending some time with the young couple,\nand bestowing the most costly presents on them, she retired to her own\ncountry.\n\nKing Alphege insisted on his brother sharing his throne, and they all\nlived to a good old age, universally beloved and admired.\n\n\n\n\n_FAIRER-THAN-A-FAIRY_\n\n\nOnce there lived a King who had no children for many years after his\nmarriage. At length heaven granted him a daughter of such remarkable\nbeauty that he could think of no name so appropriate for her as\n\u2018Fairer-than-a-Fairy.\u2019\n\nIt never occurred to the good-natured monarch that such a name was\ncertain to call down the hatred and jealousy of the fairies in a body\non the child, but this was what happened. No sooner had they heard of\nthis presumptuous name than they resolved to gain possession of her\nwho bore it, and either to torment her cruelly, or at least to conceal\nher from the eyes of all men.\n\nThe eldest of their tribe was entrusted to carry out their revenge.\nThis Fairy was named Lagree; she was so old that she only had one eye\nand one tooth left, and even these poor remains she had to keep all\nnight in a strengthening liquid. She was also so spiteful that she\ngladly devoted all her time to carrying out all the mean or\nill-natured tricks of the whole body of fairies.\n\nWith her large experience, added to her native spite, she found but\nlittle difficulty in carrying off Fairer-than-a-Fairy. The poor child,\nwho was only seven years old, nearly died of fear on finding herself\nin the power of this hideous creature. However, when after an hour\u2019s\njourney underground she found herself in a splendid palace with lovely\ngardens, she felt a little reassured, and was further cheered when she\ndiscovered that her pet cat and dog had followed her.\n\nThe old Fairy led her to a pretty room which she said should be hers,\nat the same time giving her the strictest orders never to let out the\nfire which was burning brightly in the grate. She then gave two glass\nbottles into the Princess\u2019s charge, desiring her to take the greatest\ncare of them, and having enforced her orders with the most awful\nthreats in case of disobedience, she vanished, leaving the little girl\nat liberty to explore the palace and grounds and a good deal relieved\nat having only two apparently easy tasks set her.\n\nSeveral years passed, during which time the Princess grew accustomed\nto her lonely life, obeyed the Fairy\u2019s orders, and by degrees forgot\nall about the court of the King her father.\n\n[Illustration: Lagree Gives the 2 Bottles to Fairer-than-a-Fairy.]\n\nOne day, whilst passing near a fountain in the garden, she noticed\nthat the sun\u2019s rays fell on the water in such a manner as to produce a\nbrilliant rainbow. She stood still to admire it, when, to her great\nsurprise, she heard a voice addressing her which seemed to come from\nthe centre of its rays. The voice was that of a young man, and its\nsweetness of tone and the agreeable things it uttered, led one to\ninfer that its owner must be equally charming; but this had to be a\nmere matter of fancy, for no one was visible.\n\nThe beautiful Rainbow informed Fairer-than-a-Fairy that he was young,\nthe son of a powerful king, and that the Fairy, Lagree, who owed his\nparents a grudge, had revenged herself by depriving him of his natural\nshape for some years; that she had imprisoned him in the palace, where\nhe had found his confinement hard to bear for some time, but now, he\nowned, he no longer sighed for freedom since he had seen and learned\nto love Fairer-than-a-Fairy.\n\nHe added many other tender speeches to this declaration, and the\nPrincess, to whom such remarks were a new experience, could not help\nfeeling pleased and touched by his attentions.\n\nThe Prince could only appear or speak under the form of a Rainbow, and\nit was therefore necessary that the sun should shine on water so as to\nenable the rays to form themselves.\n\nFairer-than-a-Fairy lost no moment in which she could meet her lover,\nand they enjoyed many long and interesting interviews. One day,\nhowever, their conversation became so absorbing and time passed so\nquickly that the Princess forgot to attend to the fire, and it went\nout. Lagree, on her return, soon found out the neglect, and seemed\nonly too pleased to have the opportunity of showing her spite to her\nlovely prisoner. She ordered Fairer-than-a-Fairy to start next day at\ndawn to ask Locrinos for fire with which to relight the one she had\nallowed to go out.\n\nNow this Locrinos was a cruel monster who devoured everyone he came\nacross, and especially enjoyed a chance of catching and eating any\nyoung girls. Our heroine obeyed with great sweetness, and without\nhaving been able to take leave of her lover she set off to go to\nLocrinos as to certain death. As she was crossing a wood a bird sang\nto her to pick up a shining pebble which she would find in a fountain\nclose by, and to use it when needed. She took the bird\u2019s advice, and\nin due time arrived at the house of Locrinos. Luckily she only found\nhis wife at home, who was much struck by the Princess\u2019s youth and\nbeauty and sweet gentle manners, and still further impressed by the\npresent of the shining pebble.\n\nShe readily let Fairer-than-a-Fairy have the fire, and in return for\nthe stone she gave her another, which, she said, might prove useful\nsome day. Then she sent her away without doing her any harm.\n\nLagree was as much surprised as displeased at the happy result of this\nexpedition, and Fairer-than-a-Fairy waited anxiously for an\nopportunity of meeting Prince Rainbow and telling him her adventures.\nShe found, however, that he had already been told all about them by a\nFairy who protected him, and to whom he was related.\n\nThe dread of fresh dangers to his beloved Princess made him devise\nsome more convenient way of meeting than by the garden fountain, and\nFairer-than-a-Fairy carried out his plan daily with entire success.\nEvery morning she placed a large basin full of water on her\nwindow-sill, and as soon as the sun\u2019s rays fell on the water the\nRainbow appeared as clearly as it had ever done in the fountain. By\nthis means they were able to meet without losing sight of the fire or\nof the two bottles in which the old Fairy kept her eye and her tooth\nat night, and for some time the lovers enjoyed every hour of sunshine\ntogether.\n\nOne day Prince Rainbow appeared in the depths of woe. He had just\nheard that he was to be banished from this lovely spot, but he had no\nidea where he was to go. The poor young couple were in despair, and\nonly parted with the last ray of sunshine, and in hopes of meeting\nnext morning. Alas! next day was dark and gloomy, and it was only late\nin the afternoon that the sun broke through the clouds for a few\nminutes.\n\nFairer-than-a-Fairy eagerly ran to the window, but in her haste she\nupset the basin, and spilt all the water with which she had carefully\nfilled it overnight. No other water was at hand except that in the two\nbottles. It was the only chance of seeing her lover before they were\nseparated, and she did not hesitate to break the bottle and pour their\ncontents into the basin, when the Rainbow appeared at once. Their\nfarewells were full of tenderness; the Prince made the most ardent and\nsincere protestations, and promised to neglect nothing which might\nhelp to deliver his dear Fairer-than-a-Fairy from her captivity, and\nimplored her to consent to their marriage as soon as they should both\nbe free. The Princess, on her side, vowed to have no other husband,\nand declared herself willing to brave death itself in order to rejoin\nhim.\n\nThey were not allowed much time for their adieus; the Rainbow\nvanished, and the Princess, resolved to run all risks, started off at\nonce, taking nothing with her but her dog, her cat, a sprig of myrtle,\nand the stone which the wife of Locrinos gave her.\n\nWhen Lagree became aware of her prisoner\u2019s flight she was furious, and\nset off at full speed in pursuit. She overtook her just as the poor\ngirl, overcome by fatigue, had lain down to rest in a cave which the\nstone had formed itself into to shelter her. The little dog who was\nwatching her mistress promptly flew at Lagree and bit her so severely\nthat she stumbled against a corner of the cave and broke off her only\ntooth. Before she had recovered from the pain and rage this caused\nher, the Princess had time to escape, and was some way on her road.\nFear gave her strength for some time, but at last she could go no\nfurther, and sank down to rest. As she did so, the sprig of myrtle she\ncarried touched the ground, and immediately a green and shady bower\nsprang up round her, in which she hoped to sleep in peace.\n\n[Illustration: Fairer-than-a-Fairy Summons the Rainbow.]\n\nBut Lagree had not given up her pursuit, and arrived just as\nFairer-than-a-Fairy had fallen fast asleep. This time she made sure of\ncatching her victim, but the cat spied her out, and, springing from\none of the boughs of the arbour she flew at Lagree\u2019s face and tore out\nher only eye, thus delivering the Princess for ever from her\npersecutor.\n\nOne might have thought that all would now be well, but no sooner had\nLagree been put to flight than our heroine was overwhelmed with hunger\nand thirst. She felt as though she should certainly expire, and it was\nwith some difficulty that she dragged herself as far as a pretty\nlittle green and white house, which stood at no great distance. Here\nshe was received by a beautiful lady dressed in green and white to\nmatch the house, which apparently belonged to her, and of which she\nseemed the only inhabitant.\n\nShe greeted the fainting Princess most kindly, gave her an excellent\nsupper, and after a long night\u2019s rest in a delightful bed told her\nthat after many troubles she should finally attain her desire.\n\nAs the green and white lady took leave of the Princess she gave her a\nnut, desiring her only to open it in the most urgent need.\n\nAfter a long and tiring journey Fairer-than-a-Fairy was once more\nreceived in a house, and by a lady exactly like the one she had\nquitted. Here again she received a present with the same injunctions,\nbut instead of a nut this lady gave her a golden pomegranate. The\nmournful Princess had to continue her weary way, and after many\ntroubles and hardships she again found rest and shelter in a third\nhouse exactly similar to the two others.\n\nThese houses belonged to three sisters, all endowed with fairy gifts,\nand all so alike in mind and person that they wished their houses and\ngarments to be equally alike. Their occupation consisted in helping\nthose in misfortune, and they were as gentle and benevolent as Lagree\nhad been cruel and spiteful.\n\nThe third Fairy comforted the poor traveller, begged her not to lose\nheart, and assured her that her troubles should be rewarded. She\naccompanied her advice by the gift of a crystal smelling-bottle,\nwith strict orders only to open it in case of urgent need.\nFairer-than-a-Fairy thanked her warmly, and resumed her way cheered by\npleasant thoughts.\n\nAfter a time her road led through a wood, full of soft airs and sweet\nodours, and before she had gone a hundred yards she saw a wonderful\nsilver Castle suspended by strong silver chains to four of the largest\ntrees. It was so perfectly hung that a gentle breeze rocked it\nsufficiently to send you pleasantly to sleep.\n\nFairer-than-a-Fairy felt a strong desire to enter this Castle, but\nbesides being hung a little above the ground there seemed to be\nneither doors nor windows. She had no doubt (though really I cannot\nthink why) that the moment had come in which to use the nut which had\nbeen given her. She opened it, and out came a diminutive hall porter\nat whose belt hung a tiny chain, at the end of which was a golden key\nhalf as long as the smallest pin you ever saw.\n\nThe Princess climbed up one of the silver chains, holding in her hand\nthe little porter who, in spite of his minute size, opened a secret\ndoor with his golden key and let her in. She entered a magnificent\nroom which appeared to occupy the entire Castle, and which was lighted\nby gold and jewelled stars in the ceiling. In the midst of this room\nstood a couch, draped with curtains of all the colours of the rainbow,\nand suspended by golden cords so that it swayed with the Castle in a\nmanner which rocked its occupant delightfully to sleep.\n\nOn this elegant couch lay Prince Rainbow, looking more beautiful than\never, and sunk in profound slumber, in which he had been held ever\nsince his disappearance.\n\nFairer-than-a-Fairy, who now saw him for the first time in his real\nshape, hardly dared to gaze at him, fearing lest his appearance might\nnot be in keeping with the voice and language which had won her heart.\nAt the same time she could not help feeling rather hurt at the\napparent indifference with which she was received.\n\nShe related all the dangers and difficulties she had gone through, and\nthough she repeated the story twenty times in a loud clear voice, the\nPrince slept on and took no heed. She then had recourse to the golden\npomegranate, and on opening it found that all the seeds were as many\nlittle violins which flew up in the vaulted roof and at once began\nplaying melodiously.\n\nThe Prince was not completely roused, but he opened his eyes a little\nand looked all the handsomer.\n\nImpatient at not being recognised, Fairer-than-a-Fairy now drew out\nher third present, and on opening the crystal scent-bottle a little\nsyren flew out, who silenced the violins and then sang close to the\nPrince\u2019s ear the story of all his lady love had suffered in her search\nfor him. She added some gentle reproaches to her tale, but before she\nhad got far he was wide awake, and transported with joy threw himself\nat the Princess\u2019s feet. At the same moment the walls of the room\nexpanded and opened out, revealing a golden throne covered with\njewels. A magnificent Court now began to assemble, and at the same\ntime several elegant carriages filled with ladies in magnificent\ndresses drove up. In the first and most splendid of these carriages\nsat Prince Rainbow\u2019s mother. She fondly embraced her son, after which\nshe informed him that his father had been dead for some years, that\nthe anger of the Fairies was at length appeased, and that he might\nreturn in peace to reign over his people, who were longing for his\npresence.\n\nThe Court received the new King with joyful acclamations which would\nhave delighted him at any other time, but all his thoughts were full\nof Fairer-than-a-Fairy. He was just about to present her to his mother\nand the Court, feeling sure that her charms would win all hearts, when\nthe three green and white sisters appeared.\n\nThey declared the secret of Fairer-than-a-Fairy\u2019s royal birth, and the\nQueen taking the two lovers in her carriage set off with them for the\ncapital of the kingdom.\n\nHere they were received with tumultuous joy. The wedding was\ncelebrated without delay, and succeeding years diminished neither the\nvirtues, beauty, nor the mutual affection of King Rainbow and his\nQueen, Fairer-than-a-Fairy.\n\n\n\n\n_THE THREE BROTHERS_[17]\n\n\nThere was once upon a time a witch, who in the shape of a hawk used\nevery night to break the windows of a certain village church. In the\nsame village there lived three brothers, who were all determined to\nkill the mischievous hawk. But in vain did the two eldest mount guard\nin the church with their guns; as soon as the bird appeared high above\ntheir heads, sleep overpowered them, and they only awoke to hear the\nwindows crashing in.\n\nThen the youngest brother took his turn of guarding the windows, and\nto prevent his being overcome by sleep he placed a lot of thorns under\nhis chin, so that if he felt drowsy and nodded his head, they would\nprick him and keep him awake.\n\nThe moon was already risen, and it was as light as day, when suddenly\nhe heard a fearful noise, and at the same time a terrible desire to\nsleep overpowered him.\n\nHis eyelids closed, and his head sank on his shoulders, but the thorns\nran into him and were so painful that he awoke at once. He saw the\nhawk swooping down upon the church, and in a moment he had seized his\ngun and shot at the bird. The hawk fell heavily under a big stone,\nseverely wounded in its right wing. The youth ran to look at it, and\nsaw that a huge abyss had opened below the stone. He went at once to\nfetch his brothers, and with their help dragged a lot of pine-wood and\nropes to the spot. They fastened some of the burning pine-wood to the\nend of the rope, and let it slowly down to the bottom of the abyss. At\nfirst it was quite dark, and the flaming torch only lit up dirty grey\nstone walls. But the youngest brother determined to explore the abyss,\nand letting himself down by the rope he soon reached the bottom. Here\nhe found a lovely meadow full of green trees and exquisite flowers.\n\n[Footnote 17: From the Polish. Kletke.]\n\nIn the middle of the meadow stood a huge stone castle, with an iron\ngate leading to it, which was wide open. Everything in the castle\nseemed to be made of copper, and the only inhabitant he could discover\nwas a lovely girl, who was combing her golden hair; and he noticed\nthat whenever one of her hairs fell on the ground it rang out like\npure metal. The youth looked at her more closely, and saw that her\nskin was smooth and fair, her blue eyes bright and sparkling, and her\nhair as golden as the sun. He fell in love with her on the spot, and\nkneeling at her feet, he implored her to become his wife.\n\nThe lovely girl accepted his proposal gladly; but at the same time she\nwarned him that she could never come up to the world above till her\nmother, the old witch, was dead. And she went on to tell him that the\nonly way in which the old creature could be killed was with the sword\nthat hung up in the castle; but the sword was so heavy that no one\ncould lift it.\n\nThen the youth went into a room in the castle where everything was\nmade of silver, and here he found another beautiful girl, the sister\nof his bride. She was combing her silver hair, and every hair that\nfell on the ground rang out like pure metal. The second girl handed\nhim the sword, but though he tried with all his strength he could not\nlift it. At last a third sister came to him and gave him a drop of\nsomething to drink, which she said would give him the needful\nstrength. He drank one drop, but still he could not lift the sword;\nthen he drank a second, and the sword began to move; but only after he\nhad drunk a third drop was he able to swing the sword over his head.\n\nThen he hid himself in the castle and awaited the old witch\u2019s arrival.\nAt last as it was beginning to grow dark she appeared. She swooped\ndown upon a big apple-tree, and after shaking some golden apples from\nit, she pounced down upon the earth. As soon as her feet touched the\nground she became transformed from a hawk into a woman. This was the\nmoment the youth was waiting for, and he swung his mighty sword in the\nair with all his strength and the witch\u2019s head fell off, and her blood\nspurted up on the walls.\n\nWithout fear of any further danger, he packed up all the treasures of\nthe castle into great chests, and gave his brothers a signal to pull\nthem up out of the abyss. First the treasures were attached to the\nrope and then the three lovely girls. And now everything was up above\nand only he himself remained below. But as he was a little suspicious\nof his brothers, he fastened a heavy stone on to the rope and let them\npull it up. At first they heaved with a will, but when the stone was\nhalf way up they let it drop suddenly, and it fell to the bottom\nbroken into a hundred pieces.\n\n\u2018So that\u2019s what would have happened to my bones had I trusted myself\nto them,\u2019 said the youth sadly; and he began to cry bitterly, not\nbecause of the treasures, but because of the lovely girl with her\nswan-like neck and golden hair.\n\n[Illustration: \u2018Then the youth swung his mighty sword in the air, and\nwith one blow cut off the serpent\u2019s head\u2019]\n\nFor a long time he wandered sadly all through the beautiful\nunderworld, and one day he met a magician who asked him the cause of\nhis tears. The youth told him all that had befallen him, and the\nmagician said:\n\n\u2018Do not grieve, young man! If you will guard the children who are\nhidden in the golden apple-tree, I will bring you at once up to the\nearth. Another magician who lives in this land always eats my children\nup. It is in vain that I have hidden them under the earth and locked\nthem into the castle. Now I have hidden them in the apple-tree; hide\nyourself there too, and at midnight you will see my enemy.\u2019\n\nThe youth climbed up the tree, and picked some of the beautiful golden\napples, which he ate for his supper.\n\nAt midnight the wind began to rise, and a rustling sound was heard at\nthe foot of the tree. The youth looked down and beheld a long thick\nserpent beginning to crawl up the tree. It wound itself round the stem\nand gradually got higher and higher. It stretched its huge head, in\nwhich the eyes glittered fiercely, among the branches, searching for\nthe nest in which the little children lay. They trembled with terror\nwhen they saw the hideous creature, and hid themselves beneath the\nleaves.\n\nThen the youth swung his mighty sword in the air, and with one blow\ncut off the serpent\u2019s head. He cut up the rest of the body into little\nbits and strewed them to the four winds.\n\nThe father of the rescued children was so delighted over the death of\nhis enemy that he told the youth to get on his back, and in this way\nhe carried him up to the world above.\n\nWith what joy did he hurry now to his brothers\u2019 house! He burst into a\nroom where they were all assembled, but no one knew who he was. Only\nhis bride, who was serving as cook to her sisters, recognised her\nlover at once.\n\nHis brothers, who had quite believed he was dead, yielded him up his\ntreasures at once, and flew into the woods in terror. But the good\nyouth forgave them all they had done, and divided his treasures with\nthem. Then he built himself a big castle with golden windows, and\nthere he lived happily with his golden-haired wife till the end of\ntheir lives.\n\n\n\n\n_THE BOY AND THE WOLVES, OR THE BROKEN PROMISE_[18]\n\n\nOnce upon a time an Indian hunter built himself a house in the middle\nof a great forest, far away from all his tribe; for his heart was\ngentle and kind, and he was weary of the treachery and cruel deeds of\nthose who had been his friends. So he left them, and took his wife and\nthree children, and they journeyed on until they found a spot near to\na clear stream, where they began to cut down trees, and to make ready\ntheir wigwam. For many years they lived peacefully and happily in this\nsheltered place, never leaving it except to hunt the wild animals,\nwhich served them both for food and clothes. At last, however, the\nstrong man felt sick, and before long he knew he must die.\n\nSo he gathered his family round him, and said his last words to them.\n\u2018You, my wife, the companion of my days, will follow me ere many moons\nhave waned to the island of the blest. But for you, O my children,\nwhose lives are but newly begun, the wickedness, unkindness, and\ningratitude from which I fled are before you. Yet I shall go hence in\npeace, my children, if you will promise always to love each other, and\nnever to forsake your youngest brother.\u2019\n\n\u2018Never!\u2019 they replied, holding out their hands. And the hunter died\ncontent.\n\nScarcely eight moons had passed when, just as he had said, the wife\nwent forth, and followed her husband; but before leaving her children\nshe bade the two elder ones think of their promise never to forsake\nthe younger, for he was a child, and weak. And while the snow lay\nthick upon the ground, they tended him and cherished him; but when the\nearth showed green again, the heart of the young man stirred within\nhim, and he longed to see the wigwams of the village where his\nfather\u2019s youth was spent.\n\n[Footnote 18: A North American Indian Story.]\n\nTherefore he opened all his heart to his sister, who answered: \u2018My\nbrother, I understand your longing for our fellow-men, whom here we\ncannot see. But remember our father\u2019s words. Shall we not seek our own\npleasures, and forget the little one?\u2019\n\nBut he would not listen, and, making no reply, he took his bow and\narrows and left the hut. The snows fell and melted, yet he never\nreturned; and at last the heart of the girl grew cold and hard, and\nher little boy became a burden in her eyes, till one day she spoke\nthus to him: \u2018See, there is food for many days to come. Stay here\nwithin the shelter of the hut. I go to seek our brother, and when I\nhave found him I shall return hither.\u2019\n\n[Illustration: \u2018My brother, my brother, I am becoming a wolf!\u2019]\n\nBut when, after hard journeying, she reached the village where her\nbrother dwelt, and saw that he had a wife and was happy, and when she,\ntoo, was sought by a young brave, then she also forgot the boy alone\nin the forest, and thought only of her husband.\n\nNow as soon as the little boy had eaten all the food which his sister\nhad left him, he went out into the woods, and gathered berries and dug\nup roots, and while the sun shone he was contented and had his fill.\nBut when the snows began and the wind howled, then his stomach felt\nempty and his limbs cold, and he hid in trees all the night, and only\ncrept out to eat what the wolves had left behind. And by-and-by,\nhaving no other friends, he sought their company, and sat by while\nthey devoured their prey, and they grew to know him, and gave him\nfood. And without them he would have died in the snow.\n\nBut at last the snows melted, and the ice upon the great lake, and as\nthe wolves went down to the shore, the boy went after them. And it\nhappened one day that his big brother was fishing in his canoe near\nthe shore, and he heard the voice of a child singing in the Indian\ntone\u2014\n\n     \u2018My brother, my brother!\n      I am becoming a wolf,\n      I am becoming a wolf!\u2019\n\nAnd when he had so sung he howled as wolves howl. Then the heart of\nthe elder sunk, and he hastened towards him, crying, \u2018Brother, little\nbrother, come to me;\u2019 but he, being half a wolf, only continued his\nsong. And the louder the elder called him, \u2018Brother, little brother,\ncome to me,\u2019 the swifter he fled after his brothers the wolves, and\nthe heavier grew his skin, till, with a long howl, he vanished into\nthe depths of the forest.\n\nSo, with shame and anguish in his soul, the elder brother went back to\nhis village, and, with his sister, mourned the little boy and the\nbroken promise till the end of his life.\n\n\n\n\n_THE GLASS AXE_[19]\n\n\nThere was once upon a time a King and Queen who had everything they\ncould possibly wish for in this world except a child. At last, after\ntwelve years, the Queen gave birth to a son; but she did not live long\nto enjoy her happiness, for on the following day she died. But before\nher death she called her husband to her and said, \u2018Never let the child\nput his feet on the ground, for as soon as he does so he will fall\ninto the power of a wicked Fairy, who will do him much harm.\u2019 And\nthese were the last words the poor Queen spoke.\n\nThe boy throve and grew big, and when he was too heavy for his nurse\nto carry, a chair was made for him on little wheels, in which he could\nwander through the palace gardens without help; at other times he was\ncarried about on a litter, and he was always carefully watched and\nguarded for fear he should at any time put his feet to the ground.\n\nBut as this sort of life was bad for his health, the doctors ordered\nhim horse exercise, and he soon became a first-rate rider, and used to\ngo out for long excursions on horseback, accompanied always by his\nfather\u2019s stud-groom and a numerous retinue.\n\nEvery day he rode through the neighbouring fields and woods, and\nalways returned home in the evening safe and well. In this way many\nyears passed, and the Prince grew to manhood, and hardly anyone\nremembered the Queen\u2019s warning, though precautions were still taken,\nmore from use and wont than for any other reason.\n\n[Footnote 19: From the Hungarian. Kletke.]\n\nOne day the Prince and his suite went out for a ride in a wood where\nhis father sometimes held a hunt. Their way led through a stream whose\nbanks were overgrown with thick brushwood. Just as the horsemen were\nabout to ford the river, a hare, startled by the sound of the horses\u2019\nhoofs, started up from the grass and ran towards the thicket. The\nyoung Prince pursued the little creature, and had almost overtaken it,\nwhen the girth of his saddle suddenly broke in two and he fell heavily\nto the ground. No sooner had his foot touched the earth than he\ndisappeared before the eyes of the horrified courtiers.\n\nThey sought for him far and near, but all in vain, and they were\nforced to recognise the power of the evil Fairy, against which the\nQueen had warned them on her death-bed. The old King was much grieved\nwhen they brought him the news of his son\u2019s disappearance, but as he\ncould do nothing to free him from his fate, he gave himself up to an\nold age of grief and loneliness, cherishing at the same time the hope\nthat some lucky chance might one day deliver the youth out of the\nhands of his enemy.\n\nHardly had the Prince touched the ground than he felt himself\nviolently seized by an unseen power, and hurried away he knew not\nwhither. A whole new world stretched out before him, quite unlike the\none he had left. A splendid castle surrounded by a huge lake was the\nabode of the Fairy, and the only approach to it was over a bridge of\nclouds. On the other side of the lake high mountains rose up, and dark\nwoods stretched along the banks; over all hung a thick mist, and deep\nsilence reigned everywhere.\n\nNo sooner had the Fairy reached her own domain than she made herself\nvisible, and turning to the Prince she told him that unless he obeyed\nall her commands down to the minutest detail he would be severely\npunished. Then she gave him an axe made of glass, and bade him cross\nthe bridge of clouds and go into the wood beyond and cut down all the\ntrees there before sunset. At the same time she cautioned him with\nmany angry words against speaking to a black girl he would most likely\nmeet in the wood.\n\nThe Prince listened to her words meekly, and when she had finished\ntook up the glass axe and set out for the forest. At every step he\nseemed to sink into the clouds, but fear gave wings to his feet, and\nhe crossed the lake in safety and set to work at once.\n\nBut no sooner had he struck the first blow with his axe than it broke\ninto a thousand pieces against the tree. The poor youth was so\nterrified he did not know what to do, for he was in mortal dread of\nthe punishment the wicked old Fairy would inflict on him. He wandered\nto and fro in the wood, not knowing where he was going, and at last,\nworn out by fatigue and misery, he sank on the ground and fell fast\nasleep.\n\nHe did not know how long he had slept when a sudden sound awoke him,\nand opening his eyes he saw a black girl standing beside him. Mindful\nof the Fairy\u2019s warning he did not dare to address her, but she on her\npart greeted him in the most friendly manner, and asked him at once if\nhe were under the power of the wicked Fairy. The Prince nodded his\nhead silently in answer.\n\nThen the black girl told him that she too was in the power of the\nFairy, who had doomed her to wander about in her present guise until\nsome youth should take pity on her and bear her in safety to the other\nside of the river which they saw in the distance, and on the other\nside of which the Fairy\u2019s domain and power ended.\n\nThe girl\u2019s words so inspired the Prince with confidence that he told\nher all his tale of woe, and ended up by asking her advice as to how\nhe was to escape the punishment the Fairy would be sure to inflict on\nhim when she discovered that he had not cut down the trees in the wood\nand that he had broken her axe.\n\n\u2018You must know,\u2019 answered the black girl, \u2018that the Fairy in whose\npower we both are is my own mother, but you must not betray this\nsecret, for it would cost me my life. If you will only promise to try\nand free me I will stand by you, and will accomplish for you all the\ntasks which my mother sets you.\u2019\n\nThe Prince promised joyfully all she asked; then having once more\nwarned him not to betray her confidence, she handed him a draught to\ndrink which very soon sunk his senses in a deep slumber.\n\nHis astonishment was great when he awoke to find the glass axe whole\nand unbroken at his side, and all the trees of the wood lying felled\naround him!\n\nHe made all haste across the bridge of clouds, and told the Fairy that\nher commands were obeyed. She was much amazed when she heard that all\nthe wood was cut down, and saw the axe unbroken in his hand, and since\nshe could not believe that he had done all this by himself, she\nquestioned him narrowly if he had seen or spoken to the black girl.\nBut the Prince lied manfully, and swore he had never looked up from\nhis work for a moment. Seeing she could get nothing more out of him,\nshe gave him a little bread and water, and showing him to a small dark\ncupboard she told him he might sleep there.\n\nMorning had hardly dawned when the Fairy awoke the Prince, and giving\nhim the glass axe again she told him to cut up all the wood he had\nfelled the day before, and to put it in bundles ready for firewood; at\nthe same time she warned him once more against approaching or speaking\na word to the black girl if he met her in the wood.\n\nAlthough his task was no easier than that of the day before, the youth\nset out much more cheerfully, because he knew he could count on the\nhelp of the black girl. With quicker and lighter step he crossed the\nbridge of clouds, and hardly had he reached the other side than his\nfriend stood before him and greeted him cheerfully. When she heard\nwhat the Fairy demanded this time, she answered smilingly, \u2018Never\nfear,\u2019 and handed him another draught, which very soon caused the\nPrince to sink into a deep sleep.\n\nWhen he awoke everything was done. All the trees of the wood were cut\nup into firewood and arranged in bundles ready for use.\n\nHe returned to the castle as quickly as he could, and told the Fairy\nthat her commands were obeyed. She was even more amazed than she had\nbeen before, and asked him again if he had either seen or spoken to\nthe black girl; but the Prince knew better than to betray his word,\nand once more lied freely.\n\nOn the following day the Fairy set him a third task to do, even harder\nthan the other two. She told him he must build a castle on the other\nside of the lake, made of nothing but gold, silver, and precious\nstones, and unless he could accomplish this within an hour, the most\nfrightful doom awaited him.\n\nThe Prince heard her words without anxiety, so entirely did he rely on\nthe help of his black friend. Full of hope he hurried across the\nbridge, and recognised at once the spot where the castle was to stand,\nfor spades, hammers, axes, and every other building implement lay\nscattered on the ground ready for the workman\u2019s hand, but of gold,\nsilver, and precious stones there was not a sign. But before the\nPrince had time to feel despondent the black girl beckoned to him in\nthe distance from behind a rock, where she had hidden herself for fear\nher mother should catch sight of her. Full of joy the youth hurried\ntowards her, and begged her aid and counsel in the new piece of work\nhe had been given to do.\n\n[Illustration: The Black Girl Stops the Witch with a Bit of the Rock]\n\nBut this time the Fairy had watched the Prince\u2019s movements from her\nwindow, and she saw him hiding himself behind the rock with her\ndaughter. She uttered a piercing shriek so that the mountains\nre-echoed with the sound of it, and the terrified pair had hardly\ndared to look out from their hiding-place when the enraged woman, with\nher dress and hair flying in the wind, hurried over the bridge of\nclouds. The Prince at once gave himself up for lost, but the girl told\nhim to be of good courage and to follow her as quickly as he could.\nBut before they left their shelter she broke off a little bit of the\nrock, spoke some magic words over it, and threw it in the direction\nher mother was coming from. In a moment a glittering palace arose\nbefore the eyes of the Fairy which blinded her with its dazzling\nsplendour, and with its many doors and passages prevented her for some\ntime from finding her way out of it.\n\nIn the meantime the black girl hurried on with the Prince, hastening\nto reach the river, where once on the other side they would for ever\nbe out of the wicked Fairy\u2019s power. But before they had accomplished\nhalf the way they heard again the rustle of her garments and her\nmuttered curses pursuing them closely.\n\nThe Prince was terrified; he dared not look back, and he felt his\nstrength giving way. But before he had time to despair the girl\nuttered some more magic words, and immediately she herself was changed\ninto a pond, and the Prince into a duck swimming on its surface.\n\nWhen the Fairy saw this her rage knew no bounds, and she used all her\nmagic wits to make the pond disappear; she caused a hill of sand to\narise at her feet, meaning it to dry up the water at once. But the\nsand hill only drove the pond a little farther away, and its waters\nseemed to increase instead of diminishing. When the old woman saw that\nthe powers of her magic were of so little avail, she had recourse to\ncunning. She threw a lot of gold nuts into the pond, hoping in this\nway to catch the duck, but all her efforts were fruitless, for the\nlittle creature refused to let itself be caught.\n\nThen a new idea struck the wicked old woman, and hiding herself behind\nthe rock which had sheltered the fugitives, she waited behind it,\nwatching carefully for the moment when the Prince and her daughter\nshould resume their natural forms and continue their journey.\n\nShe had not to wait long, for as soon as the girl thought her mother\nwas safely out of the way, she changed herself and the Prince once\nmore into their human shape, and set out cheerfully for the river.\n\nBut they had not gone many steps when the wicked Fairy hurried after\nthem, a drawn dagger in her hand, and was close upon them, when\nsuddenly, instead of the Prince and her daughter, she found herself in\nfront of a great stone church, whose entrance was carefully guarded by\na huge monk.\n\nBreathless with rage and passion, she tried to plunge her dagger into\nthe monk\u2019s heart, but it fell shattered in pieces at her feet. In her\ndesperation she determined to pull down the church, and thus to\ndestroy her two victims for ever. She stamped three times on the\nground, and the earth trembled, and both the church and the monk began\nto shake. As soon as the Fairy saw this she retreated to some distance\nfrom the building, so as not to be hurt herself by its fall. But once\nmore her scheme was doomed to failure, for hardly had she gone a yard\nfrom the church than both it and the monk disappeared, and she found\nherself in a wood black as night, and full of wolves and bears and\nwild animals of all sorts and descriptions.\n\nThen her wrath gave place to terror, for she feared every moment to be\ntorn in pieces by the beasts who one and all seemed to defy her power.\nShe thought it wisest to make her way as best she could out of the\nforest, and then to pursue the fugitives once more and accomplish\ntheir destruction either by force or cunning.\n\nIn the meantime the Prince and the black girl had again assumed their\nnatural forms, and were hurrying on as fast as they could to reach the\nriver. But when they got there they found that there was no way in\nwhich they could cross it, and the girl\u2019s magic art seemed no longer\nto have any power. Then turning to the Prince she said, \u2018The hour for\nmy deliverance has not yet come, but as you promised to do all you\ncould to free me, you must do exactly as I bid you now. Take this bow\nand arrow and kill every beast you see with them, and be sure you\nspare no living creature.\u2019\n\nWith these words she disappeared, and hardly had she done so than a\nhuge wild boar started out of the thicket near and made straight for\nthe Prince. But the youth did not lose his presence of mind, and\ndrawing his bow he pierced the beast with his arrow right through the\nskull. The creature fell heavily on the ground, and out of its side\nsprang a little hare, which ran like the wind along the river bank.\nThe Prince drew his bow once more, and the hare lay dead at his feet;\nbut at the same moment a dove rose up in the air, and circled round\nthe Prince\u2019s head in the most confiding manner. But mindful of the\nblack girl\u2019s commands, he dared not spare the little creature\u2019s life,\nand taking another arrow from his quiver he laid it as dead as the\nboar and the hare. But when he went to look at the body of the bird he\nfound instead of the dove a round white egg lying on the ground.\n\nWhile he was gazing on it and wondering what it could mean, he heard\nthe sweeping of wings above him, and looking up he saw a huge vulture\nwith open claws swooping down upon him. In a moment he seized the egg\nand flung it at the bird with all his might, and lo and behold!\ninstead of the ugly monster the most beautiful girl he had ever seen\nstood before the astonished eyes of the Prince.\n\n[Illustration: \u2018But the waters seized her chariot and sunk it in the\nlowest depths\u2019]\n\nBut while all this was going on the wicked old Fairy had managed to\nmake her way out of the wood, and was now using the last resource in\nher power to overtake her daughter and the Prince. As soon as she was\nin the open again she mounted her chariot, which was drawn by a fiery\ndragon, and flew through the air in it. But just as she got to the\nriver she saw the two lovers in each other\u2019s arms swimming through the\nwater as easily as two fishes.\n\nQuick as lightning, and forgetful of every danger, she flew down upon\nthem. But the waters seized her chariot and sunk it in the lowest\ndepths, and the waves bore the wicked old woman down the stream till\nshe was caught in some thorn bushes, where she made a good meal for\nall the little fishes that were swimming about.\n\nAnd so at last the Prince and his lovely Bride were free. They hurried\nas quickly as they could to the old King, who received them with joy\nand gladness. On the following day a most gorgeous wedding feast was\nheld, and as far as we know the Prince and his Bride lived happily for\never afterwards.\n\n\n\n\n_THE DEAD WIFE_[20]\n\n\nOnce upon a time there were a man and his wife who lived in the\nforest, very far from the rest of the tribe. Very often they spent the\nday in hunting together, but after a while the wife found that she had\nso many things to do that she was obliged to stay at home; so he went\nalone, though he found that when his wife was not with him he never\nhad any luck. One day, when he was away hunting, the woman fell ill,\nand in a few days she died. Her husband grieved bitterly, and buried\nher in the house where she had passed her life; but as the time went\non he felt so lonely without her that he made a wooden doll about her\nheight and size for company, and dressed it in her clothes. He seated\nit in front of the fire, and tried to think he had his wife back\nagain. The next day he went out to hunt, and when he came home the\nfirst thing he did was to go up to the doll and brush off some of the\nashes from the fire which had fallen on its face. But he was very busy\nnow, for he had to cook and mend, besides getting food, for there was\nno one to help him. And so a whole year passed away.\n\nAt the end of that time he came back from hunting one night and found\nsome wood by the door and a fire within. The next night there was not\nonly wood and fire, but a piece of meat in the kettle, nearly ready\nfor eating. He searched all about to see who could have done this, but\ncould find no one. The next time he went to hunt he took care not to\ngo far, and came in quite early. And while he was still a long way off\nhe saw a woman going into the house with wood on her shoulders. So he\nmade haste, and opened the door quickly, and instead of the wooden\ndoll, his wife sat in front of the fire.\n\nThen she spoke to him and said, \u2018The Great Spirit felt sorry for you,\nbecause you would not be comforted, so he let me come back to you, but\nyou must not stretch out your hand to touch me till we have seen the\nrest of our people. If you do, I shall die.\u2019\n\n[Footnote 20: From the Iroquois.]\n\nSo the man listened to her words, and the woman dwelt there, and\nbrought the wood and kindled the fire, till one day her husband said\nto her, \u2018It is now two years since you died. Let us now go back to our\ntribe. Then you will be well, and I can touch you.\u2019\n\n[Illustration: The Indian Finds His Wife Sitting by the Fire.]\n\nAnd with that he prepared food for the journey, a string of deer\u2019s\nflesh for her to carry, and one for himself; and so they started. Now\nthe camp of the tribe was distant six days\u2019 journey, and when they\nwere yet one day\u2019s journey off it began to snow, and they felt weary\nand longed for rest. Therefore they made a fire, cooked some food, and\nspread out their skins to sleep.\n\nThen the heart of the man was greatly stirred, and he stretched out\nhis arms to his wife, but she waved her hands and said, \u2018We have seen\nno one yet; it is too soon.\u2019\n\nBut he would not listen to her, and caught her to him, and behold! he\nwas clasping the wooden doll. And when he saw it was the doll he\npushed it from him in his misery and rushed away to the camp, and told\nthem all his story. And some doubted, and they went back with him to\nthe place where he and his wife had stopped to rest, and there lay the\ndoll, and besides, they saw in the snow the steps of two people, and\nthe foot of one was like the foot of the doll. And the man grieved\nsore all the days of his life.\n\n\n\n\n_IN THE LAND OF SOULS_[21]\n\n\nFar away, in North America, where the Red Indians dwell, there lived a\nlong time ago a beautiful maiden, who was lovelier than any other girl\nin the whole tribe. Many of the young braves sought her in marriage,\nbut she would listen to one only\u2014a handsome chief, who had taken her\nfancy some years before. So they were to be married, and great\nrejoicings were made, and the two looked forward to a long life of\nhappiness together, when the very night before the wedding feast a\nsudden illness seized the girl, and, without a word to her friends who\nwere weeping round her, she passed silently away.\n\nThe heart of her lover had been set upon her, and the thought of her\nremained with him night and day. He put aside his bow, and went\nneither to fight nor to hunt, but from sunrise to sunset he sat by the\nplace where she was laid, thinking of his happiness that was buried\nthere. At last, after many days, a light seemed to come to him out of\nthe darkness. He remembered having heard from the old, old people of\nthe tribe, that there was a path that led to the Land of Souls\u2014that\nif you sought carefully you could find it.\n\nSo the next morning he got up early, and put some food in his pouch\nand slung an extra skin over his shoulders, for he knew not how long\nhis journey would take, nor what sort of country he would have to go\nthrough. Only one thing he knew, that if the path was there, he would\nfind it. At first he was puzzled, as there seemed no reason he should\ngo in one direction more than another. Then all at once he thought he\nhad heard one of the old men say that the Land of Souls lay to the\nsouth, and so, filled with new hope and courage, he set his face\nsouthwards. For many, many miles the country looked the same as it did\nround his own home. The forests, the hills, and the rivers all seemed\nexactly like the ones he had left. The only thing that was different\nwas the snow, which had lain thick upon the hills and trees when he\nstarted, but grew less and less the farther he went south, till it\ndisappeared altogether. Soon the trees put forth their buds, and\nflowers sprang up under his feet, and instead of thick clouds there\nwas blue sky over his head, and everywhere the birds were singing.\nThen he knew that he was in the right road.\n\n[Footnote 21: From the Red Indian.]\n\nThe thought that he should soon behold his lost bride made his heart\nbeat for joy, and he sped along lightly and swiftly. Now his way led\nthrough a dark wood, and then over some steep cliffs, and on the top\nof these he found a hut or wigwam. An old man clothed in skins, and\nholding a staff in his hand, stood in the doorway; and he said to the\nyoung chief who was beginning to tell his story, \u2018I was waiting for\nyou, wherefore you have come I know. It is but a short while since she\nwhom you seek was here. Rest in my hut, as she also rested, and I will\ntell you what you ask, and whither you should go.\u2019\n\nOn hearing these words, the young man entered the hut, but his heart\nwas too eager within him to suffer him to rest, and when he arose, the\nold man rose too, and stood with him at the door. \u2018Look,\u2019 he said, \u2018at\nthe water which lies far out yonder, and the plains which stretch\nbeyond. That is the Land of Souls, but no man enters it without\nleaving his body behind him. So, lay down your body here; your bow and\narrows, your skin and your dog. They shall be kept for you safely.\u2019\n\nThen he turned away, and the young chief, light as air, seemed hardly\nto touch the ground; and as he flew along the scents grew sweeter and\nthe flowers more beautiful, while the animals rubbed their noses\nagainst him, instead of hiding as he approached, and birds circled\nround him, and fishes lifted up their heads and looked as he went by.\nVery soon he noticed with wonder, that neither rocks nor trees barred\nhis path. He passed through them without knowing it, for indeed, they\nwere not rocks and trees at all, but only the souls of them; for this\nwas the Land of Shadows.\n\nSo he went on with winged feet till he came to the shores of a great\nlake, with a lovely island in the middle of it; while on the bank of\nthe lake was a canoe of glittering stone, and in the canoe were two\nshining paddles.\n\nThe chief jumped straight into the canoe, and seizing the paddles\npushed off from the shore, when to his joy and wonder he saw following\nhim in another canoe exactly like his own the maiden for whose sake he\nhad made this long journey. But they could not touch each other, for\nbetween them rolled great waves, which looked as if they would sink\nthe boats, yet never did. And the young man and the maiden shrank with\nfear, for down in the depths of the water they saw the bones of those\nwho had died before, and in the waves themselves men and women were\nstruggling, and but few passed over. Only the children had no fear,\nand reached the other side in safety. Still, though the chief and the\nyoung girl quailed in terror at these horrible sights and sounds, no\nharm came to them, for their lives had been free from evil, and the\nMaster of Life had said that no evil should happen unto them. So they\nreached unhurt the shore of the Happy Island, and wandered through the\nflowery fields and by the banks of rushing streams, and they knew not\nhunger nor thirst; neither cold nor heat. The air fed them and the sun\nwarmed them, and they forgot the dead, for they saw no graves, and the\nyoung man\u2019s thoughts turned not to wars, neither to the hunting of\nanimals. And gladly would these two have walked thus for ever, but in\nthe murmur of the wind he heard the Master of Life saying to him,\n\u2018Return whither you came, for I have work for you to do, and your\npeople need you, and for many years you shall rule over them. At the\ngate my messenger awaits you, and you shall take again your body which\nyou left behind, and he will show you what you are to do. Listen to\nhim, and have patience, and in time to come you shall rejoin her whom\nyou must now leave, for she is accepted, and will remain ever young\nand beautiful, as when I called her hence from the Land of Snows.\u2019\n\n\n\n\n_THE WHITE DUCK_\n\n\nOnce upon a time a great and powerful King married a lovely Princess.\nNo couple were ever so happy; but before their honeymoon was over they\nwere forced to part, for the King had to go on a warlike expedition to\na far country, and leave his young wife alone at home. Bitter were the\ntears she shed, while her husband sought in vain to soothe her with\nwords of comfort and counsel, warning her, above all things, never to\nleave the castle, to hold no intercourse with strangers, to beware of\nevil counsellors, and especially to be on her guard against strange\nwomen. And the Queen promised faithfully to obey her royal lord and\nmaster in these four matters.\n\nSo when the King set out on his expedition she shut herself up with\nher ladies in her own apartments, and spent her time in spinning and\nweaving, and in thinking of her royal husband. Often she was very sad\nand lonely, and it happened that one day while she was seated at the\nwindow, letting salt tears drop on her work, an old woman, a kind,\nhomely-looking old body, stepped up to the window, and, leaning upon\nher crutch, addressed the Queen in friendly, flattering tones, saying:\n\n\u2018Why are you sad and cast down, fair Queen? You should not mope all\nday in your rooms, but should come out into the green garden, and hear\nthe birds sing with joy among the trees, and see the butterflies\nfluttering above the flowers, and hear the bees and insects hum, and\nwatch the sunbeams chase the dew-drops through the rose-leaves and in\nthe lily-cups. All the brightness outside would help to drive away\nyour cares, O Queen.\u2019\n\n[Illustration: The Witch persuades the Queen to bathe]\n\nFor long the Queen resisted her coaxing words, remembering the promise\nshe had given the King, her husband; but at last she thought to\nherself: After all, what harm would it do if I were to go into the\ngarden for a short time and enjoy myself among the trees and flowers,\nand the singing birds and fluttering butterflies and humming insects,\nand look at the dew-drops hiding from the sunbeams in the hearts of\nthe roses and lilies, and wander about in the sunshine, instead of\nremaining all day in this room? For she had no idea that the\nkind-looking old woman leaning on her crutch was in reality a wicked\nwitch, who envied the Queen her good fortune, and was determined to\nruin her. And so, in all ignorance, the Queen followed her out into\nthe garden and listened to her smooth, flattering words. Now, in the\nmiddle of the garden there was a pond of water, clear as crystal, and\nthe old woman said to the Queen:\n\n\u2018The day is so warm, and the sun\u2019s rays so scorching, that the water\nin the pond looks very cool and inviting. Would you not like to bathe\nin it, fair Queen?\u2019\n\n\u2018No, I think not,\u2019 answered the Queen; but the next moment she\nregretted her words, and thought to herself: Why shouldn\u2019t I bathe in\nthat cool, fresh water? No harm could come of it. And, so saying, she\nslipped off her robes and stepped into the water. But scarcely had her\ntender feet touched the cool ripples when she felt a great shove on\nher shoulders, and the wicked witch had pushed her into the deep\nwater, exclaiming:\n\n\u2018Swim henceforth, White Duck!\u2019\n\nAnd the witch herself assumed the form of the Queen, and decked\nherself out in the royal robes, and sat among the Court ladies,\nawaiting the King\u2019s return. And suddenly the tramp of horses\u2019 hoofs\nwas heard, and the barking of dogs, and the witch hastened forward to\nmeet the royal carriages, and, throwing her arms round the King\u2019s\nneck, kissed him. And in his great joy the King did not know that the\nwoman he held in his arms was not his own dear wife, but a wicked\nwitch.\n\nIn the meantime, outside the palace walls, the poor White Duck swam up\nand down the pond; and near it laid three eggs, out of which there\ncame one morning two little fluffy ducklings and a little ugly drake.\nAnd the White Duck brought the little creatures up, and they paddled\nafter her in the pond, and caught gold-fish, and hopped upon the bank\nand waddled about, ruffling their feathers and saying \u2018Quack, quack\u2019\nas they strutted about on the green banks of the pond. But their\nmother used to warn them not to stray too far, telling them that a\nwicked witch lived in the castle beyond the garden, adding, \u2018She has\nruined me, and she will do her best to ruin you.\u2019 But the young ones\ndid not listen to their mother, and, playing about the garden one day,\nthey strayed close up to the castle windows. The witch at once\nrecognised them by their smell, and ground her teeth with anger; but\nshe hid her feelings, and, pretending to be very kind, she called them\nto her and joked with them, and led them into a beautiful room, where\nshe gave them food to eat, and showed them a soft cushion on which\nthey might sleep. Then she left them and went down into the palace\nkitchens, where she told the servants to sharpen the knives, and to\nmake a great fire ready, and hang a large kettleful of water over it.\n\nIn the meantime the two little ducklings had fallen asleep, and the\nlittle drake lay between them, covered up by their wings, to be kept\nwarm under their feathers. But the little drake could not go to sleep,\nand as he lay there wide awake in the night he heard the witch come to\nthe door and say:\n\n\u2018Little ones, are you asleep?\u2019\n\nAnd the little drake answered for the other two:\n\n     \u2018We cannot sleep, we wake and weep,\n      Sharp is the knife, to take our life;\n      The fire is hot, now boils the pot,\n      And so we wake, and lie and quake.\u2019\n\n\u2018They are not asleep yet,\u2019 muttered the witch to herself; and she\nwalked up and down in the passage, and then came back to the door, and\nsaid:\n\n\u2018Little ones, are you asleep?\u2019\n\nAnd again the little drake answered for his sisters:\n\n     \u2018We cannot sleep, we wake and weep,\n      Sharp is the knife, to take our life;\n      The fire is hot, now boils the pot,\n      And so we wake, and lie and quake.\u2019\n\n\u2018Just the same answer,\u2019 muttered the witch; \u2018I think I\u2019ll go in and\nsee.\u2019 So she opened the door gently, and seeing the two little\nducklings sound asleep, she there and then killed them.\n\nThe next morning the White Duck wandered round the pond in a\ndistracted manner, looking for her little ones; she called and she\nsearched, but could find no trace of them. And in her heart she had a\nforeboding that evil had befallen them, and she fluttered up out of\nthe water and flew to the palace. And there, laid out on the marble\nfloor of the court, dead and stone cold, were her three children. The\nWhite Duck threw herself upon them, and, covering up their little\nbodies with her wings, she cried:\n\n     \u2018Quack, quack\u2014my little loves!\n      Quack, quack\u2014my turtle-doves!\n      I brought you up with grief and pain,\n      And now before my eyes you\u2019re slain.\n      I gave you always of the best;\n      I kept you warm in my soft nest.\n      I loved and watched you day and night\u2014\n      You were my joy, my one delight.\u2019\n\n[Illustration: The King catches the White Duck]\n\nThe King heard the sad complaint of the White Duck, and called to the\nwitch: \u2018Wife, what a wonder is this? Listen to that White Duck.\u2019\n\nBut the witch answered, \u2018My dear husband, what do you mean? There is\nnothing wonderful in a duck\u2019s quacking. Here, servants! Chase that\nduck out of the courtyard.\u2019 But though the servants chased and\nchevied, they could not get rid of the duck; for she circled round and\nround, and always came back to the spot where her children lay,\ncrying:\n\n     \u2018Quack, quack\u2014my little loves!\n      Quack, quack\u2014my turtle-doves!\n      The wicked witch your lives did take\u2014\n      The wicked witch, the cunning snake.\n      First she stole my King away,\n      Then my children did she slay.\n      Changed me, from a happy wife,\n      To a duck for all my life.\n      Would I were the Queen again;\n      Would that you had ne\u2019er been slain.\u2019\n\nAnd as the King heard her words he began to suspect that he had been\ndeceived, and he called out to the servants, \u2018Catch that duck, and\nbring it here.\u2019 But, though they ran to and fro, the duck always fled\npast them, and would not let herself be caught. So the King himself\nstepped down amongst them, and instantly the duck fluttered down into\nhis hands. And as he stroked her wings she was changed into a\nbeautiful woman, and he recognised his dear wife. And she told him\nthat a bottle would be found in her nest in the garden, containing\nsome drops from the spring of healing. And it was brought to her; and\nthe ducklings and little drake were sprinkled with the water, and from\nthe little dead bodies three lovely children arose. And the King and\nQueen were overjoyed when they saw their children, and they all lived\nhappily together in the beautiful palace. But the wicked witch was\ntaken by the King\u2019s command, and she came to no good end.\n\n\n\n\n_THE WITCH AND HER SERVANTS_[22]\n\n\nA long time ago there lived a King who had three sons; the eldest was\ncalled Szabo, the second Warza, and the youngest Iwanich.\n\nOne beautiful spring morning the King was walking through his gardens\nwith these three sons, gazing with admiration at the various\nfruit-trees, some of which were a mass of blossom, whilst others were\nbowed to the ground laden with rich fruit. During their wanderings\nthey came unperceived on a piece of waste land where three splendid\ntrees grew. The King looked on them for a moment, and then, shaking\nhis head sadly, he passed on in silence.\n\nThe sons, who could not understand why he did this, asked him the\nreason of his dejection, and the King told them as follows:\n\n\u2018These three trees, which I cannot see without sorrow, were planted by\nme on this spot when I was a youth of twenty. A celebrated magician,\nwho had given the seed to my father, promised him that they would grow\ninto the three finest trees the world had ever seen. My father did not\nlive to see his words come true; but on his death-bed he bade me\ntransplant them here, and to look after them with the greatest care,\nwhich I accordingly did. At last, after the lapse of five long years,\nI noticed some blossoms on the branches, and a few days later the most\nexquisite fruit my eyes had ever seen.\n\n\u2018I gave my head-gardener the strictest orders to watch the trees\ncarefully, for the magician had warned my father that if one unripe\nfruit were plucked from the tree, all the rest would become rotten at\nonce. When it was quite ripe the fruit would become a golden yellow.\n\n\u2018Every day I gazed on the lovely fruit, which became gradually more\nand more tempting-looking, and it was all I could do not to break the\nmagician\u2019s commands.\n\n[Footnote 22: From the Russian. Kletke.]\n\n\u2018One night I dreamt that the fruit was perfectly ripe; I ate some of\nit, and it was more delicious than anything I had ever tasted in real\nlife. As soon as I awoke I sent for the gardener and asked him if the\nfruit on the three trees had not ripened in the night to perfection.\n\n\u2018But instead of replying, the gardener threw himself at my feet and\nswore that he was innocent. He said that he had watched by the trees\nall night, but in spite of it, and as if by magic, the beautiful trees\nhad been robbed of all their fruit.\n\n\u2018Grieved as I was over the theft, I did not punish the gardener, of\nwhose fidelity I was well assured, but I determined to pluck off all\nthe fruit in the following year before it was ripe, as I had not much\nbelief in the magician\u2019s warning.\n\n\u2018I carried out my intention, and had all the fruit picked off the\ntree, but when I tasted one of the apples it was bitter and\nunpleasant, and the next morning the rest of the fruit had all rotted\naway.\n\n\u2018After this I had the beautiful fruit of these trees carefully guarded\nby my most faithful servants; but every year, on this very night, the\nfruit was plucked and stolen by an invisible hand, and next morning\nnot a single apple remained on the trees. For some time past I have\ngiven up even having the trees watched.\u2019\n\nWhen the King had finished his story, Szabo, his eldest son, said to\nhim: \u2018Forgive me, father, if I say I think you are mistaken. I am sure\nthere are many men in your kingdom who could protect these trees from\nthe cunning arts of a thieving magician; I myself, who as your eldest\nson claim the first right to do so, will mount guard over the fruit\nthis very night.\u2019\n\nThe King consented, and as soon as evening drew on Szabo climbed up on\nto one of the trees, determined to protect the fruit even if it cost\nhim his life. So he kept watch half the night; but a little after\nmidnight he was overcome by an irresistible drowsiness, and fell fast\nasleep. He did not awake till it was bright daylight, and all the\nfruit on the trees had vanished.\n\nThe following year Warza, the second brother, tried his luck, but with\nthe same result. Then it came to the turn of the third and youngest\nson.\n\nIwanich was not the least discouraged by the failure of his elder\nbrothers, though they were both much older and stronger than he was,\nand when night came climbed up the tree as they had done. The moon had\nrisen, and with her soft light lit up the whole neighbourhood, so that\nthe observant Prince could distinguish the smallest object distinctly.\n\n[Illustration: Iwanich Holds Fast the Swan.]\n\nAt midnight a gentle west wind shook the tree, and at the same moment\na snow-white swan-like bird sank down gently on his breast. The Prince\nhastily seized the bird\u2019s wings in his hands, when, lo! to his\nastonishment he found he was holding in his arms not a bird but the\nmost beautiful girl he had ever seen.\n\n\u2018You need not fear Militza,\u2019 said the beautiful girl, looking at the\nPrince with friendly eyes. \u2018An evil magician has not robbed you of\nyour fruit, but he stole the seed from my mother, and thereby caused\nher death. When she was dying she bade me take the fruit, which you\nhave no right to possess, from the trees every year as soon as it was\nripe. This I would have done to-night too, if you had not seized me\nwith such force, and so broken the spell I was under.\u2019\n\n[Illustration: Militza Leaves Iwanich in the Tree]\n\nIwanich, who had been prepared to meet a terrible magician and not a\nlovely girl, fell desperately in love with her. They spent the rest of\nthe night in pleasant conversation, and when Militza wished to go away\nhe begged her not to leave him.\n\n\u2018I would gladly stay with you longer,\u2019 said Militza, \u2018but a wicked\nwitch once cut off a lock of my hair when I was asleep, which has put\nme in her power, and if morning were still to find me here she would\ndo me some harm, and you, too, perhaps.\u2019\n\nHaving said these words, she drew a sparkling diamond ring from her\nfinger, which she handed to the Prince, saying: \u2018Keep this ring in\nmemory of Militza, and think of her sometimes if you never see her\nagain. But if your love is really true, come and find me in my own\nkingdom. I may not show you the way there, but this ring will guide\nyou.\n\n\u2018If you have love and courage enough to undertake this journey,\nwhenever you come to a cross-road always look at this diamond before\nyou settle which way you are going to take. If it sparkles as brightly\nas ever go straight on, but if its lustre is dimmed choose another\npath.\u2019\n\nThen Militza bent over the Prince and kissed him on his forehead, and\nbefore he had time to say a word she vanished through the branches of\nthe tree in a little white cloud.\n\nMorning broke, and the Prince, still full of the wonderful apparition,\nleft his perch and returned to the palace like one in a dream, without\neven knowing if the fruit had been taken or not; for his whole mind\nwas absorbed by thoughts of Militza and how he was to find her.\n\nAs soon as the head-gardener saw the Prince going towards the palace\nhe ran to the trees, and when he saw them laden with ripe fruit he\nhastened to tell the King the joyful news. The King was beside himself\nfor joy, and hurried at once to the garden and made the gardener pick\nhim some of the fruit. He tasted it, and found the apple quite as\nluscious as it had been in his dream. He went at once to his son\nIwanich, and after embracing him tenderly and heaping praises on him,\nhe asked him how he had succeeded in protecting the costly fruit from\nthe power of the magician.\n\nThis question placed Iwanich in a dilemma. But as he did not want the\nreal story to be known, he said that about midnight a huge wasp had\nflown through the branches, and buzzed incessantly round him. He had\nwarded it off with his sword, and at dawn, when he was becoming quite\nworn out, the wasp had vanished as suddenly as it had appeared.\n\nThe King, who never doubted the truth of this tale, bade his son go to\nrest at once and recover from the fatigues of the night; but he\nhimself went and ordered many feasts to be held in honour of the\npreservation of the wonderful fruit.\n\nThe whole capital was in a stir, and everyone shared in the King\u2019s\njoy; the Prince alone took no part in the festivities.\n\nWhile the King was at a banquet, Iwanich took some purses of gold, and\nmounting the quickest horse in the royal stable, he sped off like the\nwind without a single soul being any the wiser.\n\nIt was only on the next day that they missed him; the King was very\ndistressed at his disappearance, and sent search-parties all over the\nkingdom to look for him, but in vain; and after six months they gave\nhim up as dead, and in another six months they had forgotten all about\nhim. But in the meantime the Prince, with the help of his ring, had\nhad a most successful journey, and no evil had befallen him.\n\nAt the end of three months he came to the entrance of a huge forest,\nwhich looked as if it had never been trodden by human foot before, and\nwhich seemed to stretch out indefinitely. The Prince was about to\nenter the wood by a little path he had discovered, when he heard a\nvoice shouting to him: \u2018Hold, youth! Whither are you going?\u2019\n\nIwanich turned round, and saw a tall, gaunt-looking man, clad in\nmiserable rags, leaning on a crooked staff and seated at the foot of\nan oak tree, which was so much the same colour as himself that it was\nlittle wonder the Prince had ridden past the tree without noticing\nhim.\n\n\u2018Where else should I be going,\u2019 he said, \u2018than through the wood?\u2019\n\n\u2018Through the wood?\u2019 said the old man in amazement. \u2018It\u2019s easily seen\nthat you have heard nothing of this forest, that you rush so blindly\nto meet your doom. Well, listen to me before you ride any further; let\nme tell you that this wood hides in its depths a countless number of\nthe fiercest tigers, hyenas, wolves, bears, and snakes, and all sorts\nof other monsters. If I were to cut you and your horse up into tiny\nmorsels and throw them to the beasts, there wouldn\u2019t be one bit for\neach hundred of them. Take my advice, therefore, and if you wish to\nsave your life follow some other path.\u2019\n\nThe Prince was rather taken aback by the old man\u2019s words, and\nconsidered for a minute what he should do; then looking at his ring,\nand perceiving that it sparkled as brightly as ever, he called out:\n\u2018If this wood held even more terrible things than it does, I cannot\nhelp myself, for I must go through it.\u2019\n\nHere he spurred his horse and rode on; but the old beggar screamed so\nloudly after him that the Prince turned round and rode back to the oak\ntree.\n\n\u2018I am really sorry for you,\u2019 said the beggar, \u2018but if you are quite\ndetermined to brave the dangers of the forest, let me at least give\nyou a piece of advice which will help you against these monsters.\n\n\u2018Take this bagful of bread-crumbs and this live hare. I will make you\na present of them both, as I am anxious to save your life; but you\nmust leave your horse behind you, for it would stumble over the fallen\ntrees or get entangled in the briers and thorns. When you have gone\nabout a hundred yards into the wood the wild beasts will surround you.\nThen you must instantly seize your bag, and scatter the bread-crumbs\namong them. They will rush to eat them up greedily, and when you have\nscattered the last crumb you must lose no time in throwing the hare to\nthem; as soon as the hare feels itself on the ground it will run away\nas quickly as possible, and the wild beasts will turn to pursue it. In\nthis way you will be able to get through the wood unhurt.\u2019\n\nIwanich thanked the old man for his counsel, dismounted from his\nhorse, and, taking the bag and the hare in his arms, he entered the\nforest. He had hardly lost sight of his gaunt grey friend when he\nheard growls and snarls in the thicket close to him, and before he had\ntime to think he found himself surrounded by the most dreadful-looking\ncreatures. On one side he saw the glittering eye of a cruel tiger, on\nthe other the gleaming teeth of a great she-wolf; here a huge bear\ngrowled fiercely, and there a horrible snake coiled itself in the\ngrass at his feet.\n\nBut Iwanich did not forget the old man\u2019s advice, and quickly put his\nhand into the bag and took out as many bread-crumbs as he could hold\nin his hand at a time. He threw them to the beasts, but soon the bag\ngrew lighter and lighter, and the Prince began to feel a little\nfrightened. And now the last crumb was gone, and the hungry beasts\nthronged round him, greedy for fresh prey. Then he seized the hare and\nthrew it to them.\n\nNo sooner did the little creature feel itself on the ground than it\nlay back its ears and flew through the wood like an arrow from a bow,\nclosely pursued by the wild beasts, and the Prince was left alone. He\nlooked at his ring, and when he saw that it sparkled as brightly as\never he went straight on through the forest.\n\nHe hadn\u2019t gone very far when he saw a most extraordinary looking man\ncoming towards him. He was not more than three feet high, his legs\nwere quite crooked, and all his body was covered with prickles like a\nhedgehog. Two lions walked with him, fastened to his side by the two\nends of his long beard.\n\nHe stopped the Prince and asked him in a harsh voice: \u2018Are you the man\nwho has just fed my body-guard?\u2019\n\nIwanich was so startled that he could hardly reply, but the little man\ncontinued: \u2018I am most grateful to you for your kindness; what can I\ngive you as a reward?\u2019\n\n\u2018All I ask,\u2019 replied Iwanich, \u2018is, that I should be allowed to go\nthrough this wood in safety.\u2019\n\n\u2018Most certainly,\u2019 answered the little man; \u2018and for greater security I\nwill give you one of my lions as a protector. But when you leave this\nwood and come near a palace which does not belong to my domain, let\nthe lion go, in order that he may not fall into the hands of an enemy\nand be killed.\u2019\n\n[Illustration: The Prickly Man with His Attendants]\n\nWith these words he loosened the lion from his beard and bade the\nbeast guard the youth carefully.\n\nWith this new protector Iwanich wandered on through the forest, and\nthough he came upon a great many more wolves, hyenas, leopards, and\nother wild beasts, they always kept at a respectful distance when they\nsaw what sort of an escort the Prince had with him.\n\n[Illustration: Militza & her Maidens in the Garden]\n\nIwanich hurried through the wood as quickly as his legs would carry\nhim, but, nevertheless, hour after hour went by and not a trace of a\ngreen field or a human habitation met his eyes. At length, towards\nevening, the mass of trees grew more transparent, and through the\ninterlaced branches a wide plain was visible.\n\nAt the exit of the wood the lion stood still, and the Prince took\nleave of him, having first thanked him warmly for his kind protection.\nIt had become quite dark, and Iwanich was forced to wait for daylight\nbefore continuing his journey.\n\nHe made himself a bed of grass and leaves, lit a fire of dry branches,\nand slept soundly till the next morning.\n\nThen he got up and walked towards a beautiful white palace which he\nsaw gleaming in the distance. In about an hour he reached the\nbuilding, and opening the door he walked in.\n\nAfter wandering through many marble halls, he came to a huge staircase\nmade of porphyry, leading down to a lovely garden.\n\nThe Prince burst into a shout of joy when he suddenly perceived\nMilitza in the centre of a group of girls who were weaving wreaths of\nflowers with which to deck their mistress.\n\nAs soon as Militza saw the Prince she ran up to him and embraced him\ntenderly; and after he had told her all his adventures, they went into\nthe palace, where a sumptuous meal awaited them. Then the Princess\ncalled her court together, and introduced Iwanich to them as her\nfuture husband.\n\nPreparations were at once made for the wedding, which was held soon\nafter with great pomp and magnificence.\n\nThree months of great happiness followed, when Militza received one\nday an invitation to visit her mother\u2019s sister.\n\nAlthough the Princess was very unhappy at leaving her husband, she did\nnot like to refuse the invitation, and, promising to return in seven\ndays at the latest, she took a tender farewell of the Prince, and\nsaid: \u2018Before I go I will hand you over all the keys of the castle. Go\neverywhere and do anything you like; only one thing I beg and beseech\nyou, do not open the little iron door in the north tower, which is\nclosed with seven locks and seven bolts; for if you do, we shall both\nsuffer for it.\u2019\n\nIwanich promised what she asked, and Militza departed, repeating her\npromise to return in seven days.\n\nWhen the Prince found himself alone he began to be tormented by pangs\nof curiosity as to what the room in the tower contained. For two days\nhe resisted the temptation to go and look, but on the third he could\nstand it no longer, and taking a torch in his hand he hurried to the\ntower, and unfastened one lock after the other of the little iron door\nuntil it burst open.\n\nWhat an unexpected sight met his gaze! The Prince perceived a small\nroom black with smoke, lit up feebly by a fire from which issued long\nblue flames. Over the fire hung a huge cauldron full of boiling pitch,\nand fastened into the cauldron by iron chains stood a wretched man\nscreaming with agony.\n\nIwanich was much horrified at the sight before him, and asked the man\nwhat terrible crime he had committed to be punished in this dreadful\nfashion.\n\n\u2018I will tell you everything,\u2019 said the man in the cauldron; \u2018but first\nrelieve my torments a little, I implore you.\u2019\n\n\u2018And how can I do that?\u2019 asked the Prince.\n\n\u2018With a little water,\u2019 replied the man; \u2018only sprinkle a few drops\nover me and I shall feel better.\u2019\n\nThe Prince, moved by pity, without thinking what he was doing, ran to\nthe courtyard of the castle, and filled a jug with water, which he\npoured over the man in the cauldron.\n\nIn a moment a most fearful crash was heard, as if all the pillars of\nthe palace were giving way, and the palace itself, with towers and\ndoors, windows and the cauldron, whirled round the bewildered Prince\u2019s\nhead. This continued for a few minutes, and then everything vanished\ninto thin air, and Iwanich found himself suddenly alone upon a\ndesolate heath covered with rocks and stones.\n\nThe Prince, who now realised what his heedlessness had done, cursed\ntoo late his spirit of curiosity. In his despair he wandered on over\nthe heath, never looking where he put his feet, and full of sorrowful\nthoughts. At last he saw a light in the distance, which came from a\nmiserable-looking little hut.\n\nThe owner of it was none other than the kind-hearted gaunt grey beggar\nwho had given the Prince the bag of bread-crumbs and the hare. Without\nrecognising Iwanich, he opened the door when he knocked and gave him\nshelter for the night.\n\nOn the following morning the Prince asked his host if he could get him\nany work to do, as he was quite unknown in the neighbourhood, and had\nnot enough money to take him home.\n\n\u2018My son,\u2019 replied the old man, \u2018all this country round here is\nuninhabited; I myself have to wander to distant villages for my\nliving, and even then I do not very often find enough to satisfy my\nhunger. But if you would like to take service with the old witch\nCorva, go straight up the little stream which flows below my hut for\nabout three hours, and you will come to a sand-hill on the left-hand\nside; that is where she lives.\u2019\n\nIwanich thanked the gaunt grey beggar for his information, and went on\nhis way.\n\nAfter walking for about three hours the Prince came upon a\ndreary-looking grey stone wall; this was the back of the building and\ndid not attract him; but when he came upon the front of the house he\nfound it even less inviting, for the old witch had surrounded her\ndwelling with a fence of spikes, on every one of which a man\u2019s skull\nwas stuck. In this horrible enclosure stood a small black house, which\nhad only two grated windows, all covered with cobwebs, and a battered\niron door.\n\nThe Prince knocked, and a rasping woman\u2019s voice told him to enter.\n\nIwanich opened the door, and found himself in a smoke-begrimed\nkitchen, in the presence of a hideous old woman who was warming her\nskinny hands at a fire. The Prince offered to become her servant, and\nthe old hag told him she was badly in want of one, and he seemed to be\njust the person to suit her.\n\nWhen Iwanich asked what his work, and how much his wages would be, the\nwitch bade him follow her, and led the way through a narrow damp\npassage into a vault, which served as a stable. Here he perceived two\npitch-black horses in a stall.\n\n\u2018You see before you,\u2019 said the old woman, \u2018a mare and her foal; you\nhave nothing to do but to lead them out to the fields every day, and\nto see that neither of them runs away from you. If you look after them\nboth for a whole year I will give you anything you like to ask; but\nif, on the other hand, you let either of the animals escape you, your\nlast hour is come, and your head shall be stuck on the last spike of\nmy fence. The other spikes, as you see, are already adorned, and the\nskulls are all those of different servants I have had who have failed\nto do what I demanded.\u2019\n\nIwanich, who thought he could not be much worse off than he was\nalready, agreed to the witch\u2019s proposal.\n\nAt daybreak next morning he drove his horses to the field, and brought\nthem back in the evening without their ever having attempted to break\naway from him. The witch stood at her door and received him kindly,\nand set a good meal before him.\n\nSo it continued for some time, and all went well with the Prince.\nEarly every morning he led the horses out to the fields, and brought\nthem home safe and sound in the evening.\n\nOne day, while he was watching the horses, he came to the banks of a\nriver, and saw a big fish, which through some mischance had been cast\non the land, struggling hard to get back into the water.\n\nIwanich, who felt sorry for the poor creature, seized it in his arms\nand flung it into the stream. But no sooner did the fish find itself\nin the water again, than, to the Prince\u2019s amazement, it swam up to the\nbank and said:\n\n\u2018My kind benefactor, how can I reward you for your goodness?\u2019\n\n\u2018I desire nothing,\u2019 answered the Prince. \u2018I am quite content to have\nbeen able to be of some service to you.\u2019\n\n\u2018You must do me the favour,\u2019 replied the fish, \u2018to take a scale from\nmy body, and keep it carefully. If you should ever need my help, throw\nit into the river, and I will come to your aid at once.\u2019\n\nIwanich bowed, loosened a scale from the body of the grateful beast,\nput it carefully away, and returned home.\n\nA short time after this, when he was going early one morning to the\nusual grazing place with his horses, he noticed a flock of birds\nassembled together making a great noise and flying wildly backwards\nand forwards.\n\nFull of curiosity, Iwanich hurried up to the spot, and saw that a\nlarge number of ravens had attacked an eagle, and although the eagle\nwas big and powerful and was making a brave fight, it was overpowered\nat last by numbers, and had to give in.\n\nBut the Prince, who was sorry for the poor bird, seized the branch of\na tree and hit out at the ravens with it; terrified at this unexpected\nonslaught they flew away, leaving many of their number dead or wounded\non the battlefield.\n\nAs soon as the eagle saw itself free from its tormentors it plucked a\nfeather from its wing, and, handing it to the Prince, said: \u2018Here, my\nkind benefactor, take this feather as a proof of my gratitude; should\nyou ever be in need of my help blow this feather into the air, and I\nwill help you as much as is in my power.\u2019\n\nIwanich thanked the bird, and placing the feather beside the scale he\ndrove the horses home.\n\nAnother day he had wandered farther than usual, and came close to a\nfarmyard; the place pleased the Prince, and as there was plenty of\ngood grass for the horses he determined to spend the day there. Just\nas he was sitting down under a tree he heard a cry close to him, and\nsaw a fox which had been caught in a trap placed there by the farmer.\n\n[Illustration: IWANICH CASTS THE FISH INTO THE WATER]\n\nIn vain did the poor beast try to free itself; then the good-natured\nPrince came once more to the rescue, and let the fox out of the trap.\n\nThe fox thanked him heartily, tore two hairs out of his bushy tail,\nand said: \u2018Should you ever stand in need of my help throw these two\nhairs into the fire, and in a moment I shall be at your side ready to\nobey you.\u2019\n\nIwanich put the fox\u2019s hairs with the scale and the feather, and as it\nwas getting dark he hastened home with his horses.\n\nIn the meantime his service was drawing near to an end, and in three\nmore days the year was up, and he would be able to get his reward and\nleave the witch.\n\nOn the first evening of these last three days, when he came home and\nwas eating his supper, he noticed the old woman stealing into the\nstables.\n\nThe Prince followed her secretly to see what she was going to do. He\ncrouched down in the doorway and heard the wicked witch telling the\nhorses to wait next morning till Iwanich was asleep, and then to go\nand hide themselves in the river, and to stay there till she told them\nto return; and if they didn\u2019t do as she told them the old woman\nthreatened to beat them till they bled.\n\nWhen Iwanich heard all this he went back to his room, determined that\nnothing should induce him to fall asleep next day. On the following\nmorning he led the mare and foal to the fields as usual, but bound a\ncord round them both which he kept in his hand.\n\nBut after a few hours, by the magic arts of the old witch, he was\noverpowered by sleep, and the mare and foal escaped and did as they\nhad been told to do. The Prince did not awake till late in the\nevening; and when he did, he found, to his horror, that the horses had\ndisappeared. Filled with despair, he cursed the moment when he had\nentered the service of the cruel witch, and already he saw his head\nsticking up on the sharp spike beside the others.\n\nThen he suddenly remembered the fish\u2019s scale, which, with the eagle\u2019s\nfeather and the fox\u2019s hairs, he always carried about with him. He drew\nthe scale from his pocket, and hurrying to the river he threw it in.\nIn a minute the grateful fish swam towards the bank on which Iwanich\nwas standing, and said: \u2018What do you command, my friend and\nbenefactor?\u2019\n\nThe Prince replied: \u2018I had to look after a mare and foal, and they\nhave run away from me and have hidden themselves in the river; if you\nwish to save my life drive them back to the land.\u2019\n\n\u2018Wait a moment,\u2019 answered the fish, \u2018and I and my friends will soon\ndrive them out of the water.\u2019 With these words the creature\ndisappeared into the depths of the stream.\n\nAlmost immediately a rushing hissing sound was heard in the waters,\nthe waves dashed against the banks, the foam was tossed into the air,\nand the two horses leapt suddenly on to the dry land, trembling and\nshaking with fear.\n\nIwanich sprang at once on to the mare\u2019s back, seized the foal by its\nbridle, and hastened home in the highest spirits.\n\nWhen the witch saw the Prince bringing the horses home she could\nhardly conceal her wrath, and as soon as she had placed Iwanich\u2019s\nsupper before him she stole away again to the stables. The Prince\nfollowed her, and heard her scolding the beasts harshly for not having\nhidden themselves better. She bade them wait next morning till Iwanich\nwas asleep and then to hide themselves in the clouds, and to remain\nthere till she called. If they did not do as she told them she would\nbeat them till they bled.\n\nThe next morning, after Iwanich had led his horses to the fields, he\nfell once more into a magic sleep. The horses at once ran away and hid\nthemselves in the clouds, which hung down from the mountains in soft\nbillowy masses.\n\nWhen the Prince awoke and found that both the mare and the foal had\ndisappeared, he bethought him at once of the eagle, and taking the\nfeather out of his pocket he blew it into the air.\n\nIn a moment the bird swooped down beside him and asked: \u2018What do you\nwish me to do?\u2019\n\n\u2018My mare and foal,\u2019 replied the Prince, \u2018have run away from me, and\nhave hidden themselves in the clouds; if you wish to save my life,\nrestore both animals to me.\u2019\n\n\u2018Wait a minute,\u2019 answered the eagle; \u2018with the help of my friends I\nwill soon drive them back to you.\u2019\n\nWith these words the bird flew up into the air and disappeared among\nthe clouds.\n\nAlmost directly Iwanich saw his two horses being driven towards him by\na host of eagles of all sizes. He caught the mare and foal, and having\nthanked the eagle he drove them cheerfully home again.\n\nThe old witch was more disgusted than ever when she saw him appearing,\nand having set his supper before him she stole into the stables, and\nIwanich heard her abusing the horses for not having hidden themselves\nbetter in the clouds. Then she bade them hide themselves next morning,\nas soon as Iwanich was asleep, in the King\u2019s hen-house, which stood on\na lonely part of the heath, and to remain there till she called. If\nthey failed to do as she told them she would certainly beat them this\ntime till they bled.\n\nOn the following morning the Prince drove his horses as usual to the\nfields. After he had been overpowered by sleep, as on the former days,\nthe mare and foal ran away and hid themselves in the royal hen-house.\n\nWhen the Prince awoke and found the horses gone he determined to\nappeal to the fox; so, lighting a fire, he threw the two hairs into\nit, and in a few moments the fox stood beside him and asked: \u2018In what\nway can I serve you?\u2019\n\n\u2018I wish to know,\u2019 replied Iwanich, \u2018where the King\u2019s hen-house is.\u2019\n\n\u2018Hardly an hour\u2019s walk from here,\u2019 answered the fox, and offered to\nshow the Prince the way to it.\n\nWhile they were walking along the fox asked him what he wanted to do\nat the royal hen-house. The Prince told him of the misfortune that had\nbefallen him, and of the necessity of recovering the mare and foal.\n\n\u2018That is no easy matter,\u2019 replied the fox. \u2018But wait a moment. I have\nan idea. Stand at the door of the hen-house, and wait there for your\nhorses. In the meantime I will slip in among the hens through a hole\nin the wall and give them a good chase, so that the noise they make\nwill arouse the royal henwives, and they will come to see what is the\nmatter. When they see the horses they will at once imagine them to be\nthe cause of the disturbance, and will drive them out. Then you must\nlay hands on the mare and foal and catch them.\n\nAll turned out exactly as the sly fox had foreseen. The Prince swung\nhimself on the mare, seized the foal by its bridle, and hurried home.\n\nWhile he was riding over the heath in the highest of spirits the mare\nsuddenly said to her rider: \u2018You are the first person who has ever\nsucceeded in outwitting the old witch Corva, and now you may ask what\nreward you like for your service. If you promise never to betray me I\nwill give you a piece of advice which you will do well to follow.\u2019\n\nThe Prince promised never to betray her confidence, and the mare\ncontinued: \u2018Ask nothing else as a reward than my foal, for it has not\nits like in the world, and is not to be bought for love or money; for\nit can go from one end of the earth to another in a few minutes. Of\ncourse the cunning Corva will do her best to dissuade you from taking\nthe foal, and will tell you that it is both idle and sickly; but do\nnot believe her, and stick to your point.\u2019\n\n[Illustration: Iwanich seizes the Magician by his beard and dashes him\nto the ground]\n\nIwanich longed to possess such an animal, and promised the mare to\nfollow her advice.\n\nThis time Corva received him in the most friendly manner, and set a\nsumptuous repast before him. As soon as he had finished she asked him\nwhat reward he demanded for his year\u2019s service.\n\n\u2018Nothing more nor less,\u2019 replied the Prince, \u2018than the foal of your\nmare.\u2019\n\nThe witch pretended to be much astonished at his request, and said\nthat he deserved something much better than the foal, for the beast\nwas lazy and nervous, blind in one eye, and, in short, was quite\nworthless.\n\nBut the Prince knew what he wanted, and when the old witch saw that he\nhad made up his mind to have the foal, she said, \u2018I am obliged to keep\nmy promise and to hand you over the foal; and as I know who you are\nand what you want, I will tell you in what way the animal will be\nuseful to you. The man in the cauldron of boiling pitch, whom you set\nfree, is a mighty magician; through your curiosity and thoughtlessness\nMilitza came into his power, and he has transported her and her castle\nand belongings into a distant country.\n\n\u2018You are the only person who can kill him; and in consequence he fears\nyou to such an extent that he has set spies to watch you, and they\nreport your movements to him daily.\n\n\u2018When you have reached him, beware of speaking a single word to him,\nor you will fall into the power of his friends. Seize him at once by\nthe beard and dash him to the ground.\u2019\n\nIwanich thanked the old witch, mounted his foal, put spurs to its\nsides, and they flew like lightning through the air.\n\nAlready it was growing dark, when Iwanich perceived some figures in\nthe distance; they soon came up to them, and then the Prince saw that\nit was the magician and his friends who were driving through the air\nin a carriage drawn by owls.\n\nWhen the magician found himself face to face with Iwanich, without\nhope of escape, he turned to him with false friendliness and said:\n\u2018Thrice my kind benefactor!\u2019\n\nBut the Prince, without saying a word, seized him at once by his beard\nand dashed him to the ground. At the same moment the foal sprang on\nthe top of the magician and kicked and stamped on him with his hoofs\ntill he died.\n\nThen Iwanich found himself once more in the palace of his bride, and\nMilitza herself flew into his arms.\n\nFrom this time forward they lived in undisturbed peace and happiness\ntill the end of their lives.\n\n\n\n\n_THE MAGIC RING_\n\n\nOnce upon a time there lived an old couple who had one son called\nMartin. Now when the old man\u2019s time had come, he stretched himself out\non his bed and died. Though all his life long he had toiled and\nmoiled, he only left his widow and son two hundred florins. The old\nwoman determined to put by the money for a rainy day; but alas! the\nrainy day was close at hand, for their meal was all consumed, and who\nis prepared to face starvation with two hundred florins at their\ndisposal? So the old woman counted out a hundred of her florins, and\ngiving them to Martin, told him to go into the town and lay in a store\nof meal for a year.\n\nSo Martin started off for the town. When he reached the meat-market he\nfound the whole place in turmoil, and a great noise of angry voices\nand barking of dogs. Mixing in the crowd, he noticed a stag-hound\nwhich the butchers had caught and tied to a post, and which was being\nflogged in a merciless manner. Overcome with pity, Martin spoke to the\nbutchers, saying:\n\n\u2018Friends, why are you beating the poor dog so cruelly?\u2019\n\n\u2018We have every right to beat him,\u2019 they replied; \u2018he has just devoured\na newly-killed pig.\u2019\n\n\u2018Leave off beating him,\u2019 said Martin, \u2018and sell him to me instead.\u2019\n\n\u2018If you choose to buy him,\u2019 answered the butchers derisively; \u2018but for\nsuch a treasure we won\u2019t take a penny less than a hundred florins.\u2019\n\n\u2018A hundred!\u2019 exclaimed Martin. \u2018Well, so be it, if you will not take\nless;\u2019 and, taking the money out of his pocket, he handed it over in\nexchange for the dog, whose name was Schurka.\n\nWhen Martin got home, his mother met him with the question:\n\n\u2018Well, what have you bought?\u2019\n\n\u2018Schurka, the dog,\u2019 replied Martin, pointing to his new possession.\nWhereupon his mother became very angry, and abused him roundly. He\nought to be ashamed of himself, when there was scarcely a handful of\nmeal in the house, to have spent the money on a useless brute like\nthat. On the following day she sent him back to the town, saying,\n\u2018Here, take our last hundred florins, and buy provisions with them. I\nhave just emptied the last grains of meal out of the chest, and baked\na bannock; but it won\u2019t last over to-morrow.\u2019\n\nJust as Martin was entering the town he met a rough-looking peasant\nwho was dragging a cat after him by a string which was fastened round\nthe poor beast\u2019s neck.\n\n\u2018Stop,\u2019 cried Martin; \u2018where are you dragging that poor cat?\u2019\n\n\u2018I mean to drown him,\u2019 was the answer.\n\n\u2018What harm has the poor beast done?\u2019 said Martin.\n\n\u2018It has just killed a goose,\u2019 replied the peasant.\n\n\u2018Don\u2019t drown him, sell him to me instead,\u2019 begged Martin.\n\n\u2018Not for a hundred florins,\u2019 was the answer.\n\n\u2018Surely for a hundred florins you\u2019ll sell it?\u2019 said Martin. \u2018See! here\nis the money;\u2019 and, so saying, he handed him the hundred florins,\nwhich the peasant pocketed, and Martin took possession of the cat,\nwhich was called Waska.\n\nWhen he reached his home his mother greeted him with the question:\n\n\u2018Well, what have you brought back?\u2019\n\n\u2018I have brought this cat, Waska,\u2019 answered Martin.\n\n\u2018And what besides?\u2019\n\n\u2018I had no money over to buy anything else with,\u2019 replied Martin.\n\n\u2018You useless ne\u2019er-do-weel!\u2019 exclaimed his mother in a great passion.\n\u2018Leave the house at once, and go and beg your bread among strangers;\u2019\nand as Martin did not dare to contradict her, he called Schurka and\nWaska and started off with them to the nearest village in search of\nwork. On the way he met a rich peasant, who asked him where he was\ngoing.\n\n\u2018I want to get work as a day labourer,\u2019 he answered.\n\n\u2018Come along with me, then. But I must tell you I engage my labourers\nwithout wages. If you serve me faithfully for a year, I promise you it\nshall be for your advantage.\u2019\n\nSo Martin consented, and for a year he worked diligently, and served\nhis master faithfully, not sparing himself in any way. When the day of\nreckoning had come the peasant led him into a barn, and pointing to\ntwo full sacks, said: \u2018Take whichever of these you choose.\u2019\n\nMartin examined the contents of the sacks, and seeing that one was\nfull of silver and the other of sand, he said to himself:\n\n\u2018There must be some trick about this; I had better take the sand.\u2019 And\nthrowing the sack over his shoulders he started out into the world, in\nsearch of fresh work. On and on he walked, and at last he reached a\ngreat gloomy wood. In the middle of the wood he came upon a meadow,\nwhere a fire was burning, and in the midst of the fire, surrounded by\nflames, was a lovely damsel, more beautiful than anything that Martin\nhad ever seen, and when she saw him she called to him:\n\n\u2018Martin, if you would win happiness, save my life. Extinguish the\nflames with the sand that you earned in payment of your faithful\nservice.\u2019\n\n\u2018Truly,\u2019 thought Martin to himself, \u2018it would be more sensible to save\na fellow-being\u2019s life with this sand than to drag it about on one\u2019s\nback, seeing what a weight it is.\u2019 And forthwith he lowered the sack\nfrom his shoulders and emptied its contents on the flames, and\ninstantly the fire was extinguished; but at the same moment lo! and\nbehold the lovely damsel turned into a Serpent, and, darting upon him,\ncoiled itself round his neck, and whispered lovingly in his ear:\n\n\u2018Do not be afraid of me, Martin; I love you, and will go with you\nthrough the world. But first you must follow me boldly into my\nFather\u2019s Kingdom, underneath the earth; and when we get there,\nremember this\u2014he will offer you gold and silver, and dazzling gems,\nbut do not touch them. Ask him, instead, for the ring which he wears\non his little finger, for in that ring lies a magic power; you have\nonly to throw it from one hand to the other, and at once twelve young\nmen will appear, who will do your bidding, no matter how difficult, in\na single night.\u2019\n\nSo they started on their way, and after much wandering they reached a\nspot where a great rock rose straight up in the middle of the road.\nInstantly the Serpent uncoiled itself from his neck, and, as it\ntouched the damp earth, it resumed the shape of the lovely damsel.\nPointing to the rock, she showed him an opening just big enough for a\nman to wriggle through. Passing into it, they entered a long\nunderground passage, which led out on to a wide field, above which\nspread a blue sky. In the middle of the field stood a magnificent\ncastle, built out of porphyry, with a roof of gold and with glittering\nbattlements. And his beautiful guide told him that this was the palace\nin which her father lived and reigned over his kingdom in the\nUnder-world.\n\n[Illustration: Martin extinguishes the flames]\n\nTogether they entered the palace, and were received by the King with\ngreat kindness. Turning to his daughter, he said:\n\n\u2018My child, I had almost given up the hope of ever seeing you again.\nWhere have you been all these years?\u2019\n\n\u2018My father,\u2019 she replied, \u2018I owe my life to this youth, who saved me\nfrom a terrible death.\u2019\n\nUpon which the King turned to Martin with a gracious smile, saying: \u2018I\nwill reward your courage by granting you whatever your heart desires.\nTake as much gold, silver, and precious stones as you choose.\u2019\n\n\u2018I thank you, mighty King, for your gracious offer,\u2019 answered Martin,\n\u2018but I do not covet either gold, silver, or precious stones; yet if\nyou will grant me a favour, give me, I beg, the ring from off the\nlittle finger of your royal hand. Every time my eye falls on it I\nshall think of your gracious Majesty, and when I marry I shall present\nit to my bride.\u2019\n\nSo the King took the ring from his finger and gave it to Martin,\nsaying: \u2018Take it, good youth; but with it I make one condition\u2014you\nare never to confide to anyone that this is a magic ring. If you do,\nyou will straightway bring misfortune on yourself.\u2019\n\nMartin took the ring, and, having thanked the King, he set out on the\nsame road by which he had come down into the Under-world. When he had\nregained the upper air he started for his old home, and having found\nhis mother still living in the old house where he had left her, they\nsettled down together very happily. So uneventful was their life that\nit almost seemed as if it would go on in this way always, without let\nor hindrance. But one day it suddenly came into his mind that he would\nlike to get married, and, moreover, that he would choose a very grand\nwife\u2014a King\u2019s daughter, in short. But as he did not trust himself as\na wooer, he determined to send his old mother on the mission.\n\n\u2018You must go to the King,\u2019 he said to her, \u2018and demand the hand of his\nlovely daughter in marriage for me.\u2019\n\n\u2018What are you thinking of, my son?\u2019 answered the old woman, aghast at\nthe idea. \u2018Why cannot you marry someone in your own rank? That would\nbe far more fitting than to send a poor old woman like me a-wooing to\nthe King\u2019s Court for the hand of a Princess. Why, it is as much as our\nheads are worth. Neither my life nor yours would be worth anything if\nI went on such a fool\u2019s errand.\u2019\n\n\u2018Never fear, little mother,\u2019 answered Martin. \u2018Trust me; all will be\nwell. But see that you do not come back without an answer of some\nkind.\u2019\n\nAnd so, obedient to her son\u2019s behest, the old woman hobbled off to the\npalace, and, without being hindered, reached the courtyard, and began\nto mount the flight of steps leading to the royal presence chamber. At\nthe head of the landing rows of courtiers were collected in\nmagnificent attire, who stared at the queer old figure, and called to\nher, and explained to her, with every kind of sign, that it was\nstrictly forbidden to mount those steps. But their stern words and\nforbidding gestures made no impression whatever on the old woman, and\nshe resolutely continued to climb the stairs, bent on carrying out her\nson\u2019s orders. Upon this some of the courtiers seized her by the arms,\nand held her back by sheer force, at which she set up such a yell that\nthe King himself heard it, and stepped out on to the balcony to see\nwhat was the matter. When he beheld the old woman flinging her arms\nwildly about, and heard her scream that she would not leave the place\ntill she had laid her case before the King, he ordered that she should\nbe brought into his presence. And forthwith she was conducted into the\ngolden presence chamber, where, leaning back amongst cushions of royal\npurple, the King sat, surrounded by his counsellors and courtiers.\nCourtesying low, the old woman stood silent before him. \u2018Well, my good\nold dame, what can I do for you?\u2019 asked the King.\n\n\u2018I have come,\u2019 replied Martin\u2019s mother\u2014\u2018and your Majesty must not be\nangry with me\u2014I have come a-wooing.\u2019\n\n\u2018Is the woman out of her mind?\u2019 said the King, with an angry frown.\n\nBut Martin\u2019s mother answered boldly: \u2018If the King will only listen\npatiently to me, and give me a straightforward answer, he will see\nthat I am not out of my mind. You, O King, have a lovely daughter to\ngive in marriage. I have a son\u2014a wooer\u2014as clever a youth and as good\na son-in-law as you will find in your whole kingdom. There is nothing\nthat he cannot do. Now tell me, O King, plump and plain, will you give\nyour daughter to my son as wife?\u2019 The King listened to the end of the\nold woman\u2019s strange request, but every moment his face grew blacker,\nand his features sterner; till all at once he thought to himself, \u2018Is\nit worth while that I, the King, should be angry with this poor old\nfool?\u2019 And all the courtiers and counsellors were amazed when they saw\nthe hard lines round his mouth and the frown on his brow grow smooth,\nand heard the mild but mocking tones in which he answered the old\nwoman, saying:\n\n\u2018If your son is as wonderfully clever as you say, and if there is\nnothing in the world that he cannot do, let him build a magnificent\ncastle, just opposite my palace windows, in four and twenty hours. The\npalace must be joined together by a bridge of pure crystal. On each\nside of the bridge there must be growing trees, having golden and\nsilver apples, and with birds of Paradise among the branches. At the\nright of the bridge there must be a church, with five golden cupolas;\nin this church your son shall be wedded to my daughter, and we will\nkeep the wedding festivities in the new castle. But if he fails to\nexecute this my royal command, then, as a just but mild monarch, I\nshall give orders that you and he are taken, and first dipped in tar\nand then in feathers, and you shall be executed in the market-place\nfor the entertainment of my courtiers.\u2019\n\nAnd a smile played round the King\u2019s lips as he finished speaking, and\nhis courtiers and counsellors shook with laughter when they thought of\nthe old woman\u2019s folly, and praised the King\u2019s wise device, and said to\neach other, \u2018What a joke it will be when we see the pair of them\ntarred and feathered! The son is just as able to grow a beard on the\npalm of his hand as to execute such a task in twenty-four hours.\u2019\n\nNow the poor old woman was mortally afraid and, in a trembling voice\nshe asked:\n\n\u2018Is that really your royal will, O King? Must I take this order to my\npoor son?\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes, old dame; such is my command. If your son carries out my order,\nhe shall be rewarded with my daughter; but if he fails, away to the\ntar-barrel and the stake with you both!\u2019\n\nOn her way home the poor old woman shed bitter tears, and when she saw\nMartin she told him what the King had said, and sobbed out:\n\n\u2018Didn\u2019t I tell you, my son, that you should marry someone of your own\nrank? It would have been better for us this day if you had. As I told\nyou, my going to Court has been as much as our lives are worth, and\nnow we will both be tarred and feathered, and burnt in the public\nmarket-place. It is terrible!\u2019 and she moaned and cried.\n\n\u2018Never fear, little mother,\u2019 answered Martin; \u2018trust me, and you will\nsee all will be well. You may go to sleep with a quiet mind.\u2019\n\nAnd, stepping to the front of the hut, Martin threw his ring from the\npalm of one hand into the other, upon which twelve youths instantly\nappeared, and demanded what he wanted them to do. Then he told them\nthe King\u2019s commands, and they answered that by next morning all should\nbe accomplished exactly as the King had ordered.\n\nNext morning when the King awoke, and looked out of his window, to his\namazement he beheld a magnificent castle, just opposite his own\npalace, and joined to it a bridge of pure crystal.\n\nAt each side of the bridge trees were growing, from whose branches\nhung golden and silver apples, among which birds of Paradise perched.\nAt the right, gleaming in the sun, were the five golden cupolas of a\nsplendid church, whose bells rang out, as if they would summon people\nfrom all corners of the earth to come and behold the wonder. Now,\nthough the King would much rather have seen his future son-in-law\ntarred, feathered, and burnt at the stake, he remembered his royal\noath, and had to make the best of a bad business. So he took heart of\ngrace, and made Martin a Duke, and gave his daughter a rich dowry, and\nprepared the grandest wedding-feast that had ever been seen, so that\nto this day the old people in the country still talk of it.\n\nAfter the wedding Martin and his royal bride went to dwell in the\nmagnificent new palace, and here Martin lived in the greatest comfort\nand luxury, such luxury as he had never imagined. But though he was as\nhappy as the day was long, and as merry as a grig, the King\u2019s daughter\nfretted all day, thinking of the indignity that had been done her in\nmaking her marry Martin, the poor widow\u2019s son, instead of a rich young\nPrince from a foreign country. So unhappy was she that she spent all\nher time wondering how she should get rid of her undesirable husband.\nAnd first she determined to learn the secret of his power, and, with\nflattering, caressing words, she tried to coax him to tell her how he\nwas so clever that there was nothing in the world that he could not\ndo. At first he would tell her nothing; but once, when he was in a\nyielding mood, she approached him with a winning smile on her lovely\nface, and, speaking flattering words to him, she gave him a potion to\ndrink, with a sweet, strong taste. And when he had drunk it Martin\u2019s\nlips were unsealed, and he told her that all his power lay in the\nmagic ring that he wore on his finger, and he described to her how to\nuse it, and, still speaking, he fell into a deep sleep. And when she\nsaw that the potion had worked, and that he was sound asleep, the\nPrincess took the magic ring from his finger, and, going into the\ncourtyard, she threw it from the palm of one hand into the other. On\nthe instant the twelve youths appeared, and asked her what she\ncommanded them to do. Then she told them that by the next morning they\nwere to do away with the castle, and the bridge, and the church, and\nput in their stead the humble hut in which Martin used to live with\nhis mother, and that while he slept her husband was to be carried to\nhis old lowly room; and that they were to bear her away to the utmost\nends of the earth, where an old King lived who would make her welcome\nin his palace, and surround her with the state that befitted a royal\nPrincess.\n\n[Illustration: The Princess Summons the Twelve Young Men.]\n\n\u2018You shall be obeyed,\u2019 answered the twelve youths at the same moment.\nAnd lo and behold! the following morning, when the King awoke and\nlooked out of his window he beheld to his amazement that the palace,\nbridge, church, and trees had all vanished, and there was nothing in\ntheir place but a bare, miserable-looking hut.\n\nImmediately the King sent for his son-in-law, and commanded him to\nexplain what had happened. But Martin looked at his royal\nfather-in-law, and answered never a word. Then the King was very\nangry, and, calling a council together, he charged Martin with having\nbeen guilty of witchcraft, and of having deceived the King, and having\nmade away with the Princess; and he was condemned to imprisonment in a\nhigh stone tower, with neither meat nor drink, till he should die of\nstarvation.\n\nThen, in the hour of his dire necessity, his old friends Schurka (the\ndog) and Waska (the cat) remembered how Martin had once saved them\nfrom a cruel death; and they took counsel together as to how they\nshould help him. And Schurka growled, and was of opinion that he would\nlike to tear everyone in pieces; but Waska purred meditatively, and\nscratched the back of her ear with a velvet paw, and remained lost in\nthought. At the end of a few minutes she had made up her mind, and,\nturning to Schurka, said: \u2018Let us go together into the town, and the\nmoment we meet a baker you must make a rush between his legs and upset\nthe tray from off his head; I will lay hold of the rolls, and will\ncarry them off to our master.\u2019 No sooner said than done. Together the\ntwo faithful creatures trotted off into the town, and very soon they\nmet a baker bearing a tray on his head, and looking round on all\nsides, while he cried:\n\n     \u2018Fresh rolls, sweet cake,\n        Fancy bread of every kind.\n      Come and buy, come and take,\n        Sure you\u2019ll find it to your mind.\u2019\n\n[Illustration: Schurka upsets the baker]\n\nAt that moment Schurka made a rush between his legs\u2014the baker\nstumbled, the tray was upset, the rolls fell to the ground, and, while\nthe man angrily pursued Schurka, Waska managed to drag the rolls out\nof sight behind a bush. And when a moment later Schurka joined her,\nthey set off at full tilt to the stone tower where Martin was a\nprisoner, taking the rolls with them. Waska, being very agile, climbed\nup by the outside to the grated window, and called in an anxious\nvoice:\n\n\u2018Are you alive, master?\u2019\n\n\u2018Scarcely alive\u2014almost starved to death,\u2019 answered Martin in a weak\nvoice. \u2018I little thought it would come to this, that I should die of\nhunger.\u2019\n\n\u2018Never fear, dear master. Schurka and I will look after you,\u2019 said\nWaska. And in another moment she had climbed down and brought him back\na roll, and then another, and another, till she had brought him the\nwhole tray-load. Upon which she said: \u2018Dear master, Schurka and I are\ngoing off to a distant kingdom at the utmost ends of the earth to\nfetch you back your magic ring. You must be careful that the rolls\nlast till our return.\u2019\n\nAnd Waska took leave of her beloved master, and set off with Schurka\non their journey. On and on they travelled, looking always to right\nand left for traces of the Princess, following up every track, making\ninquiries of every cat and dog they met, listening to the talk of\nevery wayfarer they passed; and at last they heard that the kingdom at\nthe utmost ends of the earth where the twelve youths had borne the\nPrincess was not very far off. And at last one day they reached that\ndistant kingdom, and, going at once to the palace, they began to make\nfriends with all the dogs and cats in the place, and to question them\nabout the Princess and the magic ring; but no one could tell them much\nabout either. Now one day it chanced that Waska had gone down to the\npalace cellar to hunt for mice and rats, and seeing an especially fat,\nwell-fed mouse, she pounced upon it, buried her claws in its soft fur,\nand was just going to gobble it up, when she was stopped by the\npleading tones of the little creature, saying, \u2018If you will only spare\nmy life I may be of great service to you. I will do everything in my\npower for you; for I am the King of the Mice, and if I perish the\nwhole race will die out.\u2019\n\n\u2018So be it,\u2019 said Waska. \u2018I will spare your life; but in return you\nmust do something for me. In this castle there lives a Princess, the\nwicked wife of my dear master. She has stolen away his magic ring. You\nmust get it away from her at whatever cost; do you hear? Till you have\ndone this I won\u2019t take my claws out of your fur.\u2019\n\n[Illustration: The Mouse Steals the Ring from the Princess]\n\n\u2018Good!\u2019 replied the mouse; \u2018I will do what you ask.\u2019 And, so saying,\nhe summoned all the mice in his kingdom together. A countless number\nof mice, small and big, brown and grey, assembled, and formed a circle\nround their king, who was a prisoner under Waska\u2019s claws. Turning to\nthem he said: \u2018Dear and faithful subjects, who ever among you will\nsteal the magic ring from the strange Princess will release me from a\ncruel death; and I shall honour him above all the other mice in the\nkingdom.\u2019\n\nInstantly a tiny mouse stepped forward and said: \u2018I often creep about\nthe Princess\u2019s bedroom at night, and I have noticed that she has a\nring which she treasures as the apple of her eye. All day she wears it\non her finger, and at night she keeps it in her mouth. I will\nundertake, sire, to steal away the ring for you.\u2019\n\nAnd the tiny mouse tripped away into the bedroom of the Princess, and\nwaited for nightfall; then, when the Princess had fallen asleep, it\ncrept up on to her bed, and gnawed a hole in the pillow, through which\nit dragged one by one little down feathers, and threw them under the\nPrincess\u2019s nose. And the fluff flew into the Princess\u2019s nose, and into\nher mouth, and starting up she sneezed and coughed, and the ring fell\nout of her mouth on to the coverlet. In a flash the tiny mouse had\nseized it, and brought it to Waska as a ransom for the King of the\nMice. Thereupon Waska and Schurka started off, and travelled night and\nday till they reached the stone tower where Martin was imprisoned; and\nthe cat climbed up the window, and called out to him:\n\n\u2018Martin, dear master, are you still alive?\u2019\n\n\u2018Ah! Waska, my faithful little cat, is that you?\u2019 replied a weak\nvoice. \u2018I am dying of hunger. For three days I have not tasted food.\u2019\n\n\u2018Be of good heart, dear master,\u2019 replied Waska; \u2018from this day forth\nyou will know nothing but happiness and prosperity. If this were a\nmoment to trouble you with riddles, I would make you guess what\nSchurka and I have brought you back. Only think, we have got you your\nring!\u2019\n\nAt these words Martin\u2019s joy knew no bounds, and he stroked her fondly,\nand she rubbed up against him and purred happily, while below Schurka\nbounded in the air, and barked joyfully. Then Martin took the ring,\nand threw it from one hand into the other, and instantly the twelve\nyouths appeared and asked what they were to do.\n\n\u2018Fetch me first something to eat and drink, as quickly as possible;\nand after that bring musicians hither, and let us have music all day\nlong.\u2019\n\nNow when the people in the town and palace heard music coming from the\ntower they were filled with amazement, and came to the King with the\nnews that witchcraft must be going on in Martin\u2019s Tower, for, instead\nof dying of starvation, he was seemingly making merry to the sound of\nmusic, and to the clatter of plates, and glass, and knives and forks;\nand the music was so enchantingly sweet that all the passers-by stood\nstill to listen to it. On this the King sent at once a messenger to\nthe Starvation Tower, and he was so astonished with what he saw that\nhe remained rooted to the spot. Then the King sent his chief\ncounsellors, and they too were transfixed with wonder. At last the\nKing came himself, and he likewise was spellbound by the beauty of the\nmusic.\n\nThen Martin summoned the twelve youths, spoke to them, saying, \u2018Build\nup my castle again, and join it to the King\u2019s Palace with a crystal\nbridge; do not forget the trees with the golden and silver apples, and\nwith the birds of Paradise in the branches; and put back the church\nwith the five cupolas, and let the bells ring out, summoning the\npeople from the four corners of the kingdom. And one thing more: bring\nback my faithless wife, and lead her into the women\u2019s chamber.\u2019\n\nAnd it was all done as he commanded, and, leaving the Starvation\nTower, he took the King, his father-in-law, by the arm, and led him\ninto the new palace, where the Princess sat in fear and trembling,\nawaiting her death. And Martin spoke to the King, saying, \u2018King and\nroyal father, I have suffered much at the hands of your daughter. What\npunishment shall be dealt to her?\u2019\n\nThen the mild King answered: \u2018Beloved Prince and son-in-law, if you\nlove me, let your anger be turned to grace\u2014forgive my daughter, and\nrestore her to your heart and favour.\u2019\n\nAnd Martin\u2019s heart was softened and he forgave his wife, and they\nlived happily together ever after. And his old mother came and lived\nwith him, and he never parted with Schurka and Waska; and I need\nhardly tell you that he never again let the ring out of his\npossession.\n\n\n\n\n_THE FLOWER QUEEN\u2019S DAUGHTER_[23]\n\n\nA young Prince was riding one day through a meadow that stretched for\nmiles in front of him, when he came to a deep open ditch. He was\nturning aside to avoid it, when he heard the sound of someone crying\nin the ditch. He dismounted from his horse, and stepped along in the\ndirection the sound came from. To his astonishment he found an old\nwoman, who begged him to help her out of the ditch. The Prince bent\ndown and lifted her out of her living grave, asking her at the same\ntime how she had managed to get there.\n\n\u2018My son,\u2019 answered the old woman, \u2018I am a very poor woman, and soon\nafter midnight I set out for the neighbouring town in order to sell my\neggs in the market on the following morning; but I lost my way in the\ndark, and fell into this deep ditch, where I might have remained for\never but for your kindness.\u2019\n\nThen the Prince said to her, \u2018You can hardly walk; I will put you on\nmy horse and lead you home. Where do you live?\u2019\n\n\u2018Over there, at the edge of the forest in the little hut you see in\nthe distance,\u2019 replied the old woman.\n\nThe Prince lifted her on to his horse, and soon they reached the hut,\nwhere the old woman got down, and turning to the Prince said, \u2018Just\nwait a moment, and I will give you something.\u2019 And she disappeared\ninto her hut, but returned very soon and said, \u2018You are a mighty\nPrince, but at the same time you have a kind heart, which deserves to\nbe rewarded. Would you like to have the most beautiful woman in the\nworld for your wife?\u2019\n\n\u2018Most certainly I would,\u2019 replied the Prince.\n\n[Footnote 23: From the _Bukowinaer_. Von Wliolocki.]\n\nSo the old woman continued, \u2018The most beautiful woman in the whole\nworld is the daughter of the Queen of the Flowers, who has been\ncaptured by a dragon. If you wish to marry her, you must first set her\nfree, and this I will help you to do. I will give you this little\nbell: if you ring it once, the King of the Eagles will appear; if you\nring it twice, the King of the Foxes will come to you; and if you ring\nit three times, you will see the King of the Fishes by your side.\nThese will help you if you are in any difficulty. Now farewell, and\nheaven prosper your undertaking.\u2019 She handed him the little bell, and\nthere disappeared hut and all, as though the earth had swallowed her\nup.\n\nThen it dawned on the Prince that he had been speaking to a good\nfairy, and putting the little bell carefully in his pocket, he rode\nhome and told his father that he meant to set the daughter of the\nFlower Queen free, and intended setting out on the following day into\nthe wide world in search of the maid.\n\nSo the next morning the Prince mounted his fine horse and left his\nhome. He had roamed round the world for a whole year, and his horse\nhad died of exhaustion, while he himself had suffered much from want\nand misery, but still he had come on no trace of her he was in search\nof. At last one day he came to a hut, in front of which sat a very old\nman. The Prince asked him, \u2018Do you not know where the Dragon lives who\nkeeps the daughter of the Flower Queen prisoner?\u2019\n\n\u2018No, I do not,\u2019 answered the old man. \u2018But if you go straight along\nthis road for a year, you will reach a hut where my father lives, and\npossibly he may be able to tell you.\u2019\n\nThe Prince thanked him for his information, and continued his journey\nfor a whole year along the same road, and at the end of it came to the\nlittle hut, where he found a very old man. He asked him the same\nquestion, and the old man answered, \u2018No, I do not know where the\nDragon lives. But go straight along this road for another year, and\nyou will come to a hut in which my father lives. I know he can tell\nyou.\u2019\n\nAnd so the Prince wandered on for another year, always on the same\nroad, and at last reached the hut where he found the third old man. He\nput the same question to him as he had put to his son and grandson;\nbut this time the old man answered, \u2018The Dragon lives up there on the\nmountain, and he has just begun his year of sleep. For one whole year\nhe is always awake, and the next he sleeps. But if you wish to see the\nFlower Queen\u2019s daughter go up the second mountain: the Dragon\u2019s old\nmother lives there, and she has a ball every night, to which the\nFlower Queen\u2019s daughter goes regularly.\u2019\n\nSo the Prince went up the second mountain, where he found a castle all\nmade of gold with diamond windows. He opened the big gate leading into\nthe courtyard, and was just going to walk in, when seven dragons\nrushed on him and asked him what he wanted?\n\nThe Prince replied, \u2018I have heard so much of the beauty and kindness\nof the Dragon\u2019s Mother, and would like to enter her service.\u2019\n\nThis flattering speech pleased the dragons, and the eldest of them\nsaid, \u2018Well, you may come with me, and I will take you to the Mother\nDragon.\u2019\n\nThey entered the castle and walked through twelve splendid halls, all\nmade of gold and diamonds. In the twelfth room they found the Mother\nDragon seated on a diamond throne. She was the ugliest woman under the\nsun, and, added to it all, she had three heads. Her appearance was a\ngreat shock to the Prince, and so was her voice, which was like the\ncroaking of many ravens. She asked him, \u2018Why have you come here?\u2019\n\nThe Prince answered at once, \u2018I have heard so much of your beauty and\nkindness, that I would very much like to enter your service.\u2019\n\n\u2018Very well,\u2019 said the Mother Dragon; \u2018but if you wish to enter my\nservice, you must first lead my mare out to the meadow and look after\nher for three days; but if you don\u2019t bring her home safely every\nevening, we will eat you up.\u2019\n\nThe Prince undertook the task and led the mare out to the meadow. But\nno sooner had they reached the grass than she vanished. The Prince\nsought for her in vain, and at last in despair sat down on a big stone\nand contemplated his sad fate. As he sat thus lost in thought, he\nnoticed an eagle flying over his head. Then he suddenly bethought him\nof his little bell, and taking it out of his pocket he rang it once.\nIn a moment he heard a rustling sound in the air beside him, and the\nKing of the Eagles sank at his feet.\n\n\u2018I know what you want of me,\u2019 the bird said. \u2018You are looking for the\nMother Dragon\u2019s mare who is galloping about among the clouds. I will\nsummon all the eagles of the air together, and order them to catch the\nmare and bring her to you.\u2019 And with these words the King of the\nEagles flew away. Towards evening the Prince heard a mighty rushing\nsound in the air, and when he looked up he saw thousands of eagles\ndriving the mare before them. They sank at his feet on to the ground\nand gave the mare over to him. Then the Prince rode home to the old\nMother Dragon, who was full of wonder when she saw him, and said, \u2018You\nhave succeeded to-day in looking after my mare, and as a reward you\nshall come to my ball to-night.\u2019 She gave him at the same time a cloak\nmade of copper, and led him to a big room where several young\nhe-dragons and she-dragons were dancing together. Here, too, was the\nFlower Queen\u2019s beautiful daughter. Her dress was woven out of the most\nlovely flowers in the world, and her complexion was like lilies and\nroses. As the Prince was dancing with her he managed to whisper in her\near, \u2018I have come to set you free!\u2019\n\n[Illustration: The Dragons Dancing.]\n\nThen the beautiful girl said to him, \u2018If you succeed in bringing the\nmare back safely the third day, ask the Mother Dragon to give you a\nfoal of the mare as a reward.\u2019\n\nThe ball came to an end at midnight, and early next morning the Prince\nagain led the Mother Dragon\u2019s mare out into the meadow. But again she\nvanished before his eyes. Then he took out his little bell and rang it\ntwice.\n\nIn a moment the King of the Foxes stood before him and said: \u2018I know\nalready what you want, and will summon all the foxes of the world\ntogether to find the mare who has hidden herself in a hill.\u2019\n\nWith these words the King of the Foxes disappeared, and in the evening\nmany thousand foxes brought the mare to the Prince.\n\nThen he rode home to the Mother Dragon, from whom he received this\ntime a cloak made of silver, and again she led him to the ball-room.\n\nThe Flower Queen\u2019s daughter was delighted to see him safe and sound,\nand when they were dancing together she whispered in his ear: \u2018If you\nsucceed again to-morrow, wait for me with the foal in the meadow.\nAfter the ball we will fly away together.\u2019\n\nOn the third day the Prince led the mare to the meadow again; but once\nmore she vanished before his eyes. Then the Prince took out his little\nbell and rang it three times.\n\nIn a moment the King of the Fishes appeared, and said to him: \u2018I know\nquite well what you want me to do, and I will summon all the fishes of\nthe sea together, and tell them to bring you back the mare, who is\nhiding herself in a river.\u2019\n\nTowards evening the mare was returned to him, and when he led her home\nto the Mother Dragon she said to him:\n\n\u2018You are a brave youth, and I will make you my body-servant. But what\nshall I give you as a reward to begin with?\u2019\n\nThe Prince begged for a foal of the mare, which the Mother Dragon at\nonce gave him, and over and above, a cloak made of gold, for she had\nfallen in love with him because he had praised her beauty.\n\n[Illustration: The Flower Queen\u2019s Daughter.\n\nIn Winter When Everything is Dead She Must Come and Live With Me In My\nPalace Underground.]\n\nSo in the evening he appeared at the ball in his golden cloak; but\nbefore the entertainment was over he slipped away, and went straight\nto the stables, where he mounted his foal and rode out into the meadow\nto wait for the Flower Queen\u2019s daughter. Towards midnight the\nbeautiful girl appeared, and placing her in front of him on his horse,\nthe Prince and she flew like the wind till they reached the Flower\nQueen\u2019s dwelling. But the dragons had noticed their flight, and woke\ntheir brother out of his year\u2019s sleep. He flew into a terrible rage\nwhen he heard what had happened, and determined to lay siege to the\nFlower Queen\u2019s palace; but the Queen caused a forest of flowers as\nhigh as the sky to grow up round her dwelling, through which no one\ncould force a way.\n\nWhen the Flower Queen heard that her daughter wanted to marry the\nPrince, she said to him: \u2018I will give my consent to your marriage\ngladly, but my daughter can only stay with you in summer. In winter,\nwhen everything is dead and the ground covered with snow, she must\ncome and live with me in my palace underground.\u2019 The Prince consented\nto this, and led his beautiful bride home, where the wedding was held\nwith great pomp and magnificence. The young couple lived happily\ntogether till winter came, when the Flower Queen\u2019s daughter departed\nand went home to her mother. In summer she returned to her husband,\nand their life of joy and happiness began again, and lasted till the\napproach of winter, when the Flower Queen\u2019s daughter went back again\nto her mother. This coming and going continued all her life long, and\nin spite of it they always lived happily together.\n\n\n\n\n_THE FLYING SHIP_[24]\n\n\nOnce upon a time there lived an old couple who had three sons; the two\nelder were clever, but the third was a regular dunce. The clever sons\nwere very fond of their mother, gave her good clothes, and always\nspoke pleasantly to her; but the youngest was always getting in her\nway, and she had no patience with him. Now, one day it was announced\nin the village that the King had issued a decree, offering his\ndaughter, the Princess, in marriage to whoever should build a ship\nthat could fly. Immediately the two elder brothers determined to try\ntheir luck, and asked their parents\u2019 blessing. So the old mother\nsmartened up their clothes, and gave them a store of provisions for\ntheir journey, not forgetting to add a bottle of brandy. When they had\ngone the poor Simpleton began to tease his mother to smarten him up\nand let him start off.\n\n\u2018What would become of a dolt like you?\u2019 she answered. \u2018Why, you would\nbe eaten up by wolves.\u2019\n\nBut the foolish youth kept repeating, \u2018I will go, I will go, I will\ngo!\u2019\n\nSeeing that she could do nothing with him, the mother gave him a crust\nof bread and a bottle of water, and took no further heed of him.\n\nSo the Simpleton set off on his way. When he had gone a short distance\nhe met a little old manikin. They greeted one another, and the manikin\nasked him where he was going.\n\n\u2018I am off to the King\u2019s Court,\u2019 he answered. \u2018He has promised to give\nhis daughter to whoever can make a flying ship.\u2019\n\n\u2018And can you make such a ship?\u2019\n\n\u2018Not I.\u2019\n\n\u2018Then why in the world are you going?\u2019\n\n\u2018Can\u2019t tell,\u2019 replied the Simpleton.\n\n[Footnote 24: From the Russian.]\n\n\u2018Well, if that is the case,\u2019 said the manikin, \u2018sit down beside me; we\ncan rest for a little and have something to eat. Give me what you have\ngot in your satchel.\u2019\n\nNow, the poor Simpleton was ashamed to show what was in it. However,\nhe thought it best not to make a fuss, so he opened the satchel, and\ncould scarcely believe his own eyes, for, instead of the hard crust,\nhe saw two beautiful fresh rolls and some cold meat. He shared them\nwith the manikin, who licked his lips and said:\n\n\u2018Now, go into that wood, and stop in front of the first tree, bow\nthree times, and then strike the tree with your axe, fall on your\nknees on the ground, with your face on the earth, and remain there\ntill you are raised up. You will then find a ship at your side, step\ninto it and fly to the King\u2019s Palace. If you meet anyone on the way,\ntake him with you.\u2019\n\n[Illustration: The Simpleton Awakes & Sees the Flying Ship]\n\nThe Simpleton thanked the manikin very kindly, bade him farewell, and\nwent into the road. When he got to the first tree he stopped in front\nof it, did everything just as he had been told, and, kneeling on the\nground with his face to the earth, fell asleep. After a little time he\nwas aroused; he awoke and, rubbing his eyes, saw a ready-made ship at\nhis side, and at once got into it. And the ship rose and rose, and in\nanother minute was flying through the air, when the Simpleton, who was\non the look-out, cast his eyes down to the earth and saw a man beneath\nhim on the road, who was kneeling with his ear upon the damp ground.\n\n\u2018Hallo!\u2019 he called out, \u2018what are you doing down there?\u2019\n\n\u2018I am listening to what is going on in the world,\u2019 replied the man.\n\n\u2018Come with me in my ship,\u2019 said the Simpleton.\n\nSo the man was only too glad, and got in beside him; and the ship\nflew, and flew, and flew through the air, till again from his outlook\nthe Simpleton saw a man on the road below, who was hopping on one leg,\nwhile his other leg was tied up behind his ear. So he hailed him,\ncalling out:\n\n\u2018Hallo! what are you doing, hopping on one leg?\u2019\n\n\u2018I can\u2019t help it,\u2019 replied the man. \u2018I walk so fast that unless I tied\nup one leg I should be at the end of the earth in a bound.\u2019\n\n\u2018Come with us on my ship,\u2019 he answered; and the man made no\nobjections, but joined them; and the ship flew on, and on, and on,\ntill suddenly the Simpleton, looking down on the road below, beheld a\nman aiming with a gun into the distance.\n\n\u2018Hallo!\u2019 he shouted to him, \u2018what are you aiming at? As far as eye can\nsee, there is no bird in sight.\u2019\n\n\u2018What would be the good of my taking a near shot?\u2019 replied the man; \u2018I\ncan hit beast or bird at a hundred miles\u2019 distance. That is the kind\nof shot I enjoy.\u2019\n\n\u2018Come into the ship with us,\u2019 answered the Simpleton; and the man was\nonly too glad to join them, and he got in; and the ship flew on,\nfarther and farther, till again the Simpleton from his outlook saw a\nman on the road below, carrying on his back a basket full of bread.\nAnd he waved to him, calling out:\n\n\u2018Hallo! where are you going?\u2019\n\n\u2018To fetch bread for my breakfast.\u2019\n\n\u2018Bread? Why, you have got a whole basket-load of it on your back.\u2019\n\n\u2018That\u2019s nothing,\u2019 answered the man; \u2018I should finish that in one\nmouthful.\u2019\n\n\u2018Come along with us in my ship, then.\u2019\n\nAnd so the glutton joined the party, and the ship mounted again into\nthe air, and flew up and onward, till the Simpleton from his outlook\nsaw a man walking by the shore of a great lake, and evidently looking\nfor something.\n\n\u2018Hallo!\u2019 he cried to him, \u2018what are you seeking?\u2019\n\n\u2018I want water to drink, I\u2019m so thirsty,\u2019 replied the man.\n\n\u2018Well, there\u2019s a whole lake in front of you; why don\u2019t you drink some\nof that?\u2019\n\n\u2018Do you call that enough?\u2019 answered the other. \u2018Why, I should drink it\nup in one gulp.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, come with us in the ship.\u2019\n\n[Illustration: The comrades in the flying ship meet the drinker]\n\nAnd so the mighty drinker was added to the company; and the ship flew\nfarther, and even farther, till again the Simpleton looked out, and\nthis time he saw a man dragging a bundle of wood, walking through the\nforest beneath them.\n\n\u2018Hallo!\u2019 he shouted to him, \u2018why are you carrying wood through a\nforest?\u2019\n\n\u2018This is not common wood,\u2019 answered the other.\n\n\u2018What sort of wood is it, then?\u2019 said the Simpleton.\n\n\u2018If you throw it upon the ground,\u2019 said the man, \u2018it will be changed\ninto an army of soldiers.\u2019\n\n\u2018Come into the ship with us, then.\u2019\n\nAnd so he too joined them; and away the ship flew on, and on, and on,\nand once more the Simpleton looked out, and this time he saw a man\ncarrying straw upon his back.\n\n\u2018Hallo! Where are you carrying that straw to?\u2019\n\n\u2018To the village,\u2019 said the man.\n\n\u2018Do you mean to say there is no straw in the village?\u2019\n\n\u2018Ah! but this is quite a peculiar straw. If you strew it about even in\nthe hottest summer the air at once becomes cold, and snow falls, and\nthe people freeze.\u2019\n\nThen the Simpleton asked him also to join them.\n\nAt last the ship, with its strange crew, arrived at the King\u2019s Court.\nThe King was having his dinner, but he at once despatched one of his\ncourtiers to find out what the huge, strange new bird could be that\nhad come flying through the air. The courtier peeped into the ship,\nand, seeing what it was, instantly went back to the King and told him\nthat it was a flying ship, and that it was manned by a few peasants.\n\nThen the King remembered his royal oath; but he made up his mind that\nhe would never consent to let the Princess marry a poor peasant. So he\nthought and thought, and then said to himself:\n\n\u2018I will give him some impossible tasks to perform; that will be the\nbest way of getting rid of him.\u2019 And he there and then decided to\ndespatch one of his courtiers to the Simpleton, with the command that\nhe was to fetch the King the healing water from the world\u2019s end before\nhe had finished his dinner.\n\nBut while the King was still instructing the courtier exactly what he\nwas to say, the first man of the ship\u2019s company, the one with the\nmiraculous power of hearing, had overheard the King\u2019s words, and\nhastily reported them to the poor Simpleton.\n\n\u2018Alas, alas!\u2019 he cried; \u2018what am I to do now? It would take me quite a\nyear, possibly my whole life, to find the water.\u2019\n\n\u2018Never fear,\u2019 said his fleet-footed comrade, \u2018I will fetch what the\nKing wants.\u2019\n\nJust then the courtier arrived, bearing the King\u2019s command.\n\n\u2018Tell his Majesty,\u2019 said the Simpleton, \u2018that his orders shall be\nobeyed;\u2019 and forthwith the swift runner unbound the foot that was\nstrung up behind his ear and started off, and in less than no time had\nreached the world\u2019s end and drawn the healing water from the well.\n\n\u2018Dear me,\u2019 he thought to himself, \u2018that\u2019s rather tiring! I\u2019ll just\nrest for a few minutes; it will be some little time yet before the\nKing has got to dessert.\u2019 So he threw himself down on the grass, and,\nas the sun was very dazzling, he closed his eyes, and in a few seconds\nhad fallen sound asleep.\n\nIn the meantime all the ship\u2019s crew were anxiously awaiting him; the\nKing\u2019s dinner would soon be finished, and their comrade had not yet\nreturned. So the man with the marvellous quick hearing lay down, and,\nputting his ear to the ground, listened.\n\n\u2018That\u2019s a nice sort of fellow!\u2019 he suddenly exclaimed. \u2018He\u2019s lying on\nthe ground, snoring hard!\u2019\n\nAt this the marksman seized his gun, took aim, and fired in the\ndirection of the world\u2019s end, in order to awaken the sluggard. And a\nmoment later the swift runner reappeared, and, stepping on board the\nship, handed the healing water to the Simpleton. So while the King was\nstill sitting at table finishing his dinner news was brought to him\nthat his orders had been obeyed to the letter.\n\nWhat was to be done now? The King determined to think of a still more\nimpossible task. So he told another courtier to go to the Simpleton\nwith the command that he and his comrades were instantly to eat up\ntwelve oxen and twelve tons of bread. Once more the sharp-eared\ncomrade overheard the King\u2019s words while he was still talking to the\ncourtier, and reported them to the Simpleton.\n\n\u2018Alas, alas!\u2019 he sighed; \u2018what in the world shall I do? Why, it would\ntake us a year, possibly our whole lives, to eat up twelve oxen and\ntwelve tons of bread.\u2019\n\n\u2018Never fear,\u2019 said the glutton. \u2018It will scarcely be enough for me,\nI\u2019m so hungry.\u2019\n\nSo when the courtier arrived with the royal message he was told to\ntake back word to the King that his orders should be obeyed. Then\ntwelve roasted oxen and twelve tons of bread were brought alongside of\nthe ship, and at one sitting the glutton had devoured it all.\n\n\u2018I call that a small meal,\u2019 he said. \u2018I wish they\u2019d brought me some\nmore.\u2019\n\nNext, the King ordered that forty casks of wine, containing forty\ngallons each, were to be drunk up on the spot by the Simpleton and his\nparty. When these words were overheard by the sharp-eared comrade and\nrepeated to the Simpleton, he was in despair.\n\n\u2018Alas, alas!\u2019 he exclaimed; \u2018what is to be done? It would take us a\nyear, possibly our whole lives, to drink so much.\u2019\n\n\u2018Never fear,\u2019 said his thirsty comrade. \u2018I\u2019ll drink it all up at a\ngulp, see if I don\u2019t.\u2019 And sure enough, when the forty casks of wine\ncontaining forty gallons each were brought alongside of the ship, they\ndisappeared down the thirsty comrade\u2019s throat in no time; and when\nthey were empty he remarked:\n\n\u2018Why, I\u2019m still thirsty. I should have been glad of two more casks.\u2019\n\nThen the King took counsel with himself and sent an order to the\nSimpleton that he was to have a bath, in a bath-room at the royal\npalace, and after that the betrothal should take place. Now the\nbath-room was built of iron, and the King gave orders that it was to\nbe heated to such a pitch that it would suffocate the Simpleton. And\nso when the poor silly youth entered the room, he discovered that the\niron walls were red hot. But, fortunately, his comrade with the straw\non his back had entered behind him, and when the door was shut upon\nthem he scattered the straw about, and suddenly the red-hot walls\ncooled down, and it became so very cold that the Simpleton could\nscarcely bear to take a bath, and all the water in the room froze. So\nthe Simpleton climbed up upon the stove, and, wrapping himself up in\nthe bath blankets, lay there the whole night. And in the morning when\nthey opened the door there he lay sound and safe, singing cheerfully\nto himself.\n\nNow when this strange tale was told to the King he became quite sad,\nnot knowing what he should do to get rid of so undesirable a\nson-in-law, when suddenly a brilliant idea occurred to him.\n\n\u2018Tell the rascal to raise me an army, now at this instant!\u2019 he\nexclaimed to one of his courtiers. \u2018Inform him at once of this, my\nroyal will.\u2019 And to himself he added, \u2018I think I shall do for him this\ntime.\u2019\n\nAs on former occasions, the quick-eared comrade had overheard the\nKing\u2019s command and repeated it to the Simpleton.\n\n\u2018Alas, alas!\u2019 he groaned; \u2018now I am quite done for.\u2019\n\n\u2018Not at all,\u2019 replied one of his comrades (the one who had dragged the\nbundle of wood through the forest). \u2018Have you quite forgotten me?\u2019\n\nIn the meantime the courtier, who had run all the way from the palace,\nreached the ship panting and breathless, and delivered the King\u2019s\nmessage.\n\n[Illustration: Simpleton\u2019s Army Appears Before the King]\n\n\u2018Good!\u2019 remarked the Simpleton. \u2018I will raise an army for the King,\u2019\nand he drew himself up. \u2018But if, after that, the King refuses to\naccept me as his son-in-law, I will wage war against him, and carry\nthe Princess off by force.\u2019\n\nDuring the night the Simpleton and his comrade went together into a\nbig field, not forgetting to take the bundle of wood with them, which\nthe man spread out in all directions\u2014and in a moment a mighty army\nstood upon the spot, regiment on regiment of foot and horse soldiers;\nthe bugles sounded and the drums beat, the chargers neighed, and their\nriders put their lances in rest, and the soldiers presented arms.\n\nIn the morning when the King awoke he was startled by these warlike\nsounds, the bugles and the drums, and the clatter of the horses, and\nthe shouts of the soldiers. And, stepping to the window, he saw the\nlances gleam in the sunlight and the armour and weapons glitter. And\nthe proud monarch said to himself, \u2018I am powerless in comparison with\nthis man.\u2019 So he sent him royal robes and costly jewels, and commanded\nhim to come to the palace to be married to the Princess. And his\nson-in-law put on the royal robes, and he looked so grand and stately\nthat it was impossible to recognise the poor Simpleton, so changed was\nhe; and the Princess fell in love with him as soon as ever she saw\nhim.\n\nNever before had so grand a wedding been seen, and there was so much\nfood and wine that even the glutton and the thirsty comrade had enough\nto eat and drink.\n\n\n\n\n_THE SNOW-DAUGHTER AND THE FIRE-SON_[25]\n\n\nThere was once upon a time a man and his wife, and they had no\nchildren, which was a great grief to them. One winter\u2019s day, when the\nsun was shining brightly, the couple were standing outside their\ncottage, and the woman was looking at all the little icicles which\nhung from the roof. She sighed, and turning to her husband said, \u2018I\nwish I had as many children as there are icicles hanging there.\u2019\n\u2018Nothing would please me more either,\u2019 replied her husband. Then a\ntiny icicle detached itself from the roof, and dropped into the\nwoman\u2019s mouth, who swallowed it with a smile, and said, \u2018Perhaps I\nshall give birth to a snow child now!\u2019 Her husband laughed at his\nwife\u2019s strange idea, and they went back into the house.\n\nBut after a short time the woman gave birth to a little girl, who was\nas white as snow and as cold as ice. If they brought the child\nanywhere near the fire, it screamed loudly till they put it back into\nsome cool place. The little maid throve wonderfully, and in a few\nmonths she could run about and speak. But she was not altogether easy\nto bring up, and gave her parents much trouble and anxiety, for all\nsummer she insisted on spending in the cellar, and in the winter she\nwould sleep outside in the snow, and the colder it was the happier she\nseemed to be. Her father and mother called her simply \u2018Our\nSnow-daughter,\u2019 and this name stuck to her all her life.\n\n[Footnote 25: From the _Bukowinaer Tales and Legends_. Von Wliolocki.]\n\nOne day her parents sat by the fire, talking over the extraordinary\nbehaviour of their daughter, who was disporting herself in the\nsnowstorm that raged outside. The woman sighed deeply and said, \u2018I\nwish I had given birth to a Fire-son!\u2019 As she said these words, a\nspark from the big wood fire flew into the woman\u2019s lap, and she said\nwith a laugh, \u2018Now perhaps I shall give birth to a Fire-son!\u2019 The man\nlaughed at his wife\u2019s words, and thought it was a good joke. But he\nceased to think it a joke when his wife shortly afterwards gave birth\nto a boy, who screamed lustily till he was put quite close to the\nfire, and who nearly yelled himself into a fit if the Snow-daughter\ncame anywhere near him. The Snow-daughter herself avoided him as much\nas she could, and always crept into a corner as far away from him as\npossible. The parents called the boy simply \u2018Our Fire-son,\u2019 a name\nwhich stuck to him all his life. They had a great deal of trouble and\nworry with him too; but he throve and grew very quickly, and before he\nwas a year old he could run about and talk. He was as red as fire, and\nas hot to touch, and he always sat on the hearth quite close to the\nfire, and complained of the cold; if his sister were in the room he\nalmost crept into the flames, while the girl on her part always\ncomplained of the great heat if her brother were anywhere near. In\nsummer the boy always lay out in the sun, while the girl hid herself\nin the cellar: so it happened that the brother and sister came very\nlittle into contact with each other\u2014in fact, they carefully avoided\nit.\n\n[Illustration: The Snow Maiden]\n\nJust as the girl grew up into a beautiful woman, her father and mother\nboth died one after the other. Then the Fire-son, who had grown up in\nthe meantime into a fine, strong young man, said to his sister, \u2018I am\ngoing out into the world, for what is the use of remaining on here?\u2019\n\n\u2018I shall go with you,\u2019 she answered, \u2018for, except you, I have no one\nin the world, and I have a feeling that if we set out together we\nshall be lucky.\u2019\n\nThe Fire-son said, \u2018I love you with all my heart, but at the same time\nI always freeze if you are near me, and you nearly die of heat if I\napproach you! How shall we travel about together without being odious\nthe one to the other?\u2019\n\n\u2018Don\u2019t worry about that,\u2019 replied the girl, \u2018for I\u2019ve thought it all\nover, and have settled on a plan which will make us each able to bear\nwith the other! See, I have had a fur cloak made for each of us, and\nif we put them on I shall not feel the heat so much nor you the cold.\u2019\nSo they put on the fur cloaks, and set out cheerfully on their way,\nand for the first time in their lives quite happy in each other\u2019s\ncompany.\n\nFor a long time the Fire-son and the Snow-daughter wandered through\nthe world, and when at the beginning of winter they came to a big wood\nthey determined to stay there till spring. The Fire-son built himself\na hut where he always kept up a huge fire, while his sister with very\nfew clothes on stayed outside night and day. Now it happened one day\nthat the King of the land held a hunt in this wood, and saw the\nSnow-daughter wandering about in the open air. He wondered very much\nwho the beautiful girl clad in such garments could be, and he stopped\nand spoke to her. He soon learnt that she could not stand heat, and\nthat her brother could not endure cold. The King was so charmed by the\nSnow-daughter, that he asked her to be his wife. The girl consented,\nand the wedding was held with much state. The King had a huge house of\nice made for his wife underground, so that even in summer it did not\nmelt. But for his brother-in-law he had a house built with huge ovens\nall round it, that were kept heated all day and night. The Fire-son\nwas delighted, but the perpetual heat in which he lived made his body\nso hot, that it was dangerous to go too close to him.\n\nOne day the King gave a great feast, and asked his brother-in-law\namong the other guests. The Fire-son did not appear till everyone had\nassembled, and when he did, everyone fled outside to the open air, so\nintense was the heat he gave forth. Then the King was very angry and\nsaid, \u2018If I had known what a lot of trouble you would have been, I\nwould never have taken you into my house.\u2019 Then the Fire-son replied\nwith a laugh, \u2018Don\u2019t be angry, dear brother! I love heat and my sister\nloves cold\u2014come here and let me embrace you, and then I\u2019ll go home at\nonce.\u2019 And before the King had time to reply, the Fire-son seized him\nin a tight embrace. The King screamed aloud in agony, and when his\nwife, the Snow-daughter, who had taken refuge from her brother in the\nnext room, hurried to him, the King lay dead on the ground burnt to a\ncinder. When the Snow-daughter saw this she turned on her brother and\nflew at him. Then a fight began, the like of which had never been seen\non earth. When the people, attracted by the noise, hurried to the\nspot, they saw the Snow-daughter melting into water and the Fire-son\nburn to a cinder. And so ended the unhappy brother and sister.\n\n\n\n\n_THE STORY OF KING FROST_[26]\n\n\nThere was once upon a time a peasant-woman who had a daughter and a\nstep-daughter. The daughter had her own way in everything, and\nwhatever she did was right in her mother\u2019s eyes; but the poor\nstep-daughter had a hard time. Let her do what she would, she was\nalways blamed, and got small thanks for all the trouble she took;\nnothing was right, everything wrong; and yet, if the truth were known,\nthe girl was worth her weight in gold\u2014she was so unselfish and\ngood-hearted. But her step-mother did not like her, and the poor\ngirl\u2019s days were spent in weeping; for it was impossible to live\npeacefully with the woman. The wicked shrew was determined to get rid\nof the girl by fair means or foul, and kept saying to her father:\n\u2018Send her away, old man; send her away\u2014anywhere so that my eyes\nshan\u2019t be plagued any longer by the sight of her, or my ears tormented\nby the sound of her voice. Send her out into the fields, and let the\ncutting frost do for her.\u2019\n\nIn vain did the poor old father weep and implore her pity; she was\nfirm, and he dared not gainsay her. So he placed his daughter in a\nsledge, not even daring to give her a horse-cloth to keep herself warm\nwith, and drove her out on to the bare, open fields, where he kissed\nher and left her, driving home as fast as he could, that he might not\nwitness her miserable death.\n\nDeserted by her father, the poor girl sat down under a fir-tree at the\nedge of the forest and began to weep silently. Suddenly she heard a\nfaint sound: it was King Frost springing from tree to tree, and\ncracking his fingers as he went. At length he reached the fir-tree\nbeneath which she was sitting, and with a crisp crackling sound he\nalighted beside her, and looked at her lovely face.\n\n\u2018Well, maiden,\u2019 he snapped out, \u2018do you know who I am? I am King\nFrost, king of the red-noses.\u2019\n\n[Footnote 26: From the Russian.]\n\n\u2018All hail to you, great King!\u2019 answered the girl, in a gentle,\ntrembling voice. \u2018Have you come to take me?\u2019\n\n\u2018Are you warm, maiden?\u2019 he replied.\n\n\u2018Quite warm, King Frost,\u2019 she answered, though she shivered as she\nspoke.\n\nThen King Frost stooped down, and bent over the girl, and the\ncrackling sound grew louder, and the air seemed to be full of knives\nand darts; and again he asked:\n\n\u2018Maiden, are you warm? Are you warm, you beautiful girl?\u2019\n\nAnd though her breath was almost frozen on her lips, she whispered\ngently, \u2018Quite warm, King Frost.\u2019\n\nThen King Frost gnashed his teeth, and cracked his fingers, and his\neyes sparkled, and the crackling, crisp sound was louder than ever,\nand for the last time he asked her:\n\n\u2018Maiden, are you still warm? Are you still warm, little love?\u2019\n\nAnd the poor girl was so stiff and numb that she could just gasp,\n\u2018Still warm, O King!\u2019\n\nNow her gentle, courteous words and her uncomplaining ways touched\nKing Frost, and he had pity on her, and he wrapped her up in furs, and\ncovered her with blankets, and he fetched a great box, in which were\nbeautiful jewels and a rich robe embroidered in gold and silver. And\nshe put it on, and looked more lovely than ever, and King Frost\nstepped with her into his sledge, with six white horses.\n\nIn the meantime the wicked step-mother was waiting at home for news of\nthe girl\u2019s death, and preparing pancakes for the funeral feast. And\nshe said to her husband: \u2018Old man, you had better go out into the\nfields and find your daughter\u2019s body and bury her.\u2019 Just as the old\nman was leaving the house the little dog under the table began to\nbark, saying:\n\n     \u2018_Your_ daughter shall live to be your delight;\n      _Her_ daughter shall die this very night.\u2019\n\n\u2018Hold your tongue, you foolish beast!\u2019 scolded the woman. \u2018There\u2019s a\npancake for you, but you must say:\n\n     \u201c_Her_ daughter shall have much silver and gold;\n      _His_ daughter is frozen quite stiff and cold.\u201d\u2019\n\nBut the doggie ate up the pancake and barked, saying:\n\n     \u2018His daughter shall wear a crown on her head;\n      Her daughter shall die unwooed, unwed.\u2019\n\nThen the old woman tried to coax the doggie with more pancakes and to\nterrify it with blows, but he barked on, always repeating the same\nwords. And suddenly the door creaked and flew open, and a great heavy\nchest was pushed in, and behind it came the step-daughter, radiant and\nbeautiful, in a dress all glittering with silver and gold. For a\nmoment the step-mother\u2019s eyes were dazzled. Then she called to her\nhusband: \u2018Old man, yoke the horses at once into the sledge, and take\nmy daughter to the same field and leave her on the same spot exactly;\u2019\nand so the old man took the girl and left her beneath the same tree\nwhere he had parted from his daughter. In a few minutes King Frost\ncame past, and, looking at the girl, he said:\n\n[Illustration: \u201cMaiden are you Warm?\u201d]\n\n\u2018Are you warm, maiden?\u2019\n\n\u2018What a blind old fool you must be to ask such a question!\u2019 she\nanswered angrily. \u2018Can\u2019t you see that my hands and feet are nearly\nfrozen?\u2019\n\nThen King Frost sprang to and fro in front of her, questioning her,\nand getting only rude, rough words in reply, till at last he got very\nangry, and cracked his fingers, and gnashed his teeth, and froze her\nto death.\n\nBut in the hut her mother was waiting for her return, and as she grew\nimpatient she said to her husband: \u2018Get out the horses, old man, to go\nand fetch her home; but see that you are careful not to upset the\nsledge and lose the chest.\u2019\n\nBut the doggie beneath the table began to bark, saying:\n\n     \u2018Your daughter is frozen quite stiff and cold,\n      And shall never have a chest full of gold.\u2019\n\n\u2018Don\u2019t tell such wicked lies!\u2019 scolded the woman. \u2018There\u2019s a cake for\nyou; now say:\n\n     \u201c_Her_ daughter shall marry a mighty King.\u201d\u2019\n\nAt that moment the door flew open, and she rushed out to meet her\ndaughter, and as she took her frozen body in her arms she too was\nchilled to death.\n\n\n\n\n_THE DEATH OF THE SUN-HERO_[27]\n\n\nMany, many thousand years ago there lived a mighty King whom heaven\nhad blessed with a clever and beautiful son. When he was only ten\nyears old the boy was cleverer than all the King\u2019s counsellors put\ntogether, and when he was twenty he was the greatest hero in the whole\nkingdom. His father could not make enough of his son, and always had\nhim clothed in golden garments which shone and sparkled like the sun;\nand his mother gave him a white horse, which never slept, and which\nflew like the wind. All the people in the land loved him dearly, and\ncalled him the Sun-Hero, for they did not think his like existed under\nthe sun. Now it happened one night that both his parents had the same\nextraordinary dream. They dreamt that a girl all dressed in red had\ncome to them and said: \u2018If you wish that your son should really become\nthe Sun-Hero in deed and not only in name, let him go out into the\nworld and search for the Tree of the Sun, and when he has found it,\nlet him pluck a golden apple from it and bring it home.\u2019\n\nWhen the King and Queen had each related their dreams to the other,\nthey were much amazed that they should both have dreamt exactly the\nsame about their son, and the King said to his wife, \u2018This is clearly\na sign from heaven that we should send our son out into the world in\norder that he may come home the great Sun-Hero, as the Red Girl said,\nnot only in name but in deed.\u2019\n\nThe Queen consented with many tears, and the King at once bade his son\nset forth in search of the Tree of the Sun, from which he was to pluck\na golden apple. The Prince was delighted at the prospect, and set out\non his travels that very day.\n\n[Footnote 27: From the _Bukowinaer Tales and Legends_. Von Wliolocki.]\n\nFor a long time he wandered all through the world, and it was not till\nthe ninety-ninth day after he started that he found an old man who was\nable to tell him where the Tree of the Sun grew. He followed his\ndirections, and rode on his way, and after another ninety-nine days he\narrived at a golden castle, which stood in the middle of a vast\nwilderness. He knocked at the door, which was opened noiselessly and\nby invisible hands. Finding no one about, the Prince rode on, and came\nto a great meadow, where the Sun-Tree grew. When he reached the tree\nhe put out his hand to pick a golden apple; but all of a sudden the\ntree grew higher, so that he could not reach its fruit. Then he heard\nsome one behind him laughing. Turning round, he saw the girl in red\nwalking towards him, who addressed him in these words:\n\n\u2018Do you really imagine, brave son of the earth, that you can pluck an\napple so easily from the Tree of the Sun? Before you can do that, you\nhave a difficult task before you. You must guard the tree for nine\ndays and nine nights from the ravages of two wild black wolves, who\nwill try to harm it. Do you think you can undertake this?\u2019\n\n[Illustration: The Sun-hero Guards the Apples of the Sun]\n\n\u2018Yes,\u2019 answered the Sun-Hero, \u2018I will guard the Tree of the Sun nine\ndays and nine nights.\u2019\n\nThen the girl continued: \u2018Remember, though, if you do not succeed the\nSun will kill you. Now begin your watch.\u2019\n\nWith these words the Red Girl went back into the golden castle. She\nhad hardly left him when the two black wolves appeared: but the\nSun-Hero beat them off with his sword, and they retired, only,\nhowever, to reappear in a very short time. The Sun-Hero chased them\naway once more, but he had hardly sat down to rest when the two black\nwolves were on the scene again. This went on for seven days and\nnights, when the white horse, who had never done such a thing before,\nturned to the Sun-Hero and said in a human voice: \u2018Listen to what I am\ngoing to say. A Fairy gave me to your mother in order that I might be\nof service to you; so let me tell you, that if you go to sleep and let\nthe wolves harm the tree, the Sun will surely kill you. The Fairy,\nforeseeing this, put everyone in the world under a spell, which\nprevents their obeying the Sun\u2019s command to take your life. But all\nthe same, she has forgotten one person, who will certainly kill you if\nyou fall asleep and let the wolves damage the tree. So watch and keep\nthe wolves away.\u2019\n\nThen the Sun-Hero strove with all his might and kept the black wolves\nat bay, and conquered his desire to sleep; but on the eighth night his\nstrength failed him, and he fell fast asleep. When he awoke a woman in\nblack stood beside him, who said: \u2018You have fulfilled your task very\nbadly, for you have let the two black wolves damage the Tree of the\nSun. I am the mother of the Sun, and I command you to ride away from\nhere at once, and I pronounce sentence of death upon you, for you\nproudly let yourself be called the Sun-Hero without having done\nanything to deserve the name.\u2019\n\nThe youth mounted his horse sadly, and rode home. The people all\nthronged round him on his return, anxious to hear his adventures, but\nhe told them nothing, and only to his mother did he confide what had\nbefallen him. But the old Queen laughed, and said to her son: \u2018Don\u2019t\nworry, my child; you see, the Fairy has protected you so far, and the\nSun has found no one to kill you. So cheer up and be happy.\u2019\n\nAfter a time the Prince forgot all about his adventure, and married a\nbeautiful Princess, with whom he lived very happily for some time. But\none day when he was out hunting he felt very thirsty, and coming to a\nstream he stooped down to drink from it, and this caused his death,\nfor a crab came swimming up, and with its claws tore out his tongue.\nHe was carried home in a dying condition, and as he lay on his\ndeath-bed the black woman appeared and said: \u2018So the Sun has, after\nall, found someone, who was not under the Fairy\u2019s spell, who has\ncaused your death. And a similar fate will overtake everyone under the\nSun who wrongfully assumes a title to which he has no right.\u2019\n\n\n\n\n_THE WITCH_[28]\n\n\nOnce upon a time there was a peasant whose wife died, leaving him with\ntwo children\u2014twins\u2014a boy and a girl. For some years the poor man\nlived on alone with the children, caring for them as best he could;\nbut everything in the house seemed to go wrong without a woman to look\nafter it, and at last he made up his mind to marry again, feeling that\na wife would bring peace and order to his household and take care of\nhis motherless children. So he married, and in the following years\nseveral children were born to him; but peace and order did not come to\nthe household. For the step-mother was very cruel to the twins, and\nbeat them, and half-starved them, and constantly drove them out of the\nhouse; for her one idea was to get them out of the way. All day she\nthought of nothing but how she should get rid of them; and at last an\nevil idea came into her head, and she determined to send them out into\nthe great gloomy wood where a wicked witch lived. And so one morning\nshe spoke to them, saying:\n\n\u2018You have been such good children that I am going to send you to visit\nmy granny, who lives in a dear little hut in the wood. You will have\nto wait upon her and serve her, but you will be well rewarded, for she\nwill give you the best of everything.\u2019\n\nSo the children left the house together; and the little sister, who\nwas very wise for her years, said to the brother:\n\n\u2018We will first go and see our own dear grandmother, and tell her where\nour step-mother is sending us.\u2019\n\n[Footnote 28: From the Russian.]\n\nAnd when the grandmother heard where they were going, she cried and\nsaid:\n\n\u2018You poor motherless children! How I pity you; and yet I can do\nnothing to help you! Your step-mother is not sending you to her\ngranny, but to a wicked witch who lives in that great gloomy wood. Now\nlisten to me, children. You must be civil and kind to everyone, and\nnever say a cross word to anyone, and never touch a crumb belonging to\nanyone else. Who knows if, after all, help may not be sent to you?\u2019\n\nAnd she gave her grandchildren a bottle of milk and a piece of ham and\na loaf of bread, and they set out for the great gloomy wood. When they\nreached it they saw in front of them, in the thickest of the trees, a\nqueer little hut, and when they looked into it, there lay the witch,\nwith her head on the threshold of the door, with one foot in one\ncorner and the other in the other corner, and her knees cocked up,\nalmost touching the ceiling.\n\n\u2018Who\u2019s there?\u2019 she snarled, in an awful voice, when she saw the\nchildren.\n\n[Illustration: Who\u2019s There?]\n\nAnd they answered civilly, though they were so terrified that they hid\nbehind one another, and said:\n\n\u2018Good-morning, granny; our step-mother has sent us to wait upon you,\nand serve you.\u2019\n\n\u2018See that you do it well, then,\u2019 growled the witch. \u2018If I am pleased\nwith you, I\u2019ll reward you; but if I am not, I\u2019ll put you in a pan and\nfry you in the oven\u2014that\u2019s what I\u2019ll do with you, my pretty dears!\nYou have been gently reared, but you\u2019ll find my work hard enough. See\nif you don\u2019t.\u2019\n\nAnd, so saying, she set the girl down to spin yarn, and she gave the\nboy a sieve in which to carry water from the well, and she herself\nwent out into the wood. Now, as the girl was sitting at her distaff,\nweeping bitterly because she could not spin, she heard the sound of\nhundreds of little feet, and from every hole and corner in the hut\nmice came pattering along the floor, squeaking and saying:\n\n     \u2018Little girl, why are your eyes so red?\n      If you want help, then give us some bread.\u2019\n\nAnd the girl gave them the bread that her grandmother had given her.\nThen the mice told her that the witch had a cat, and the cat was very\nfond of ham; if she would give the cat her ham, it would show her the\nway out of the wood, and in the meantime they would spin the yarn for\nher. So the girl set out to look for the cat, and, as she was hunting\nabout, she met her brother, in great trouble because he could not\ncarry water from the well in a sieve, as it came pouring out as fast\nas he put it in. And as she was trying to comfort him they heard a\nrustling of wings, and a flight of wrens alighted on the ground beside\nthem. And the wrens said:\n\n     \u2018Give us some crumbs, then you need not grieve.\n      For you\u2019ll find that water will stay in the sieve.\u2019\n\nThen the twins crumbled their bread on the ground, and the wrens\npecked it, and chirruped and chirped. And when they had eaten the last\ncrumb they told the boy to fill up the holes of the sieve with clay,\nand then to draw water from the well. So he did what they said, and\ncarried the sieve full of water into the hut without spilling a drop.\nWhen they entered the hut the cat was curled up on the floor. So they\nstroked her, and fed her with ham, and said to her:\n\n\u2018Pussy, grey pussy, tell us how we are to get away from the witch?\u2019\n\nThen the cat thanked them for the ham, and gave them a\npocket-handkerchief and a comb, and told them that when the witch\npursued them, as she certainly would, all they had to do was to throw\nthe handkerchief on the ground and run as fast as they could. As soon\nas the handkerchief touched the ground a deep, broad river would\nspring up, which would hinder the witch\u2019s progress. If she managed to\nget across it, they must throw the comb behind them and run for their\nlives, for where the comb fell a dense forest would start up, which\nwould delay the witch so long that they would be able to get safely\naway.\n\nThe cat had scarcely finished speaking when the witch returned to see\nif the children had fulfilled their tasks.\n\n\u2018Well, you have done well enough for to-day,\u2019 she grumbled; \u2018but\nto-morrow you\u2019ll have something more difficult to do, and if you don\u2019t\ndo it well, you pampered brats, straight into the oven you go.\u2019\n\nHalf-dead with fright, and trembling in every limb, the poor children\nlay down to sleep on a heap of straw in the corner of the hut; but\nthey dared not close their eyes, and scarcely ventured to breathe. In\nthe morning the witch gave the girl two pieces of linen to weave\nbefore night, and the boy a pile of wood to cut into chips. Then the\nwitch left them to their tasks, and went out into the wood. As soon as\nshe had gone out of sight the children took the comb and the\nhandkerchief, and, taking one another by the hand, they started and\nran, and ran, and ran. And first they met the watch-dog, who was going\nto leap on them and tear them to pieces; but they threw the remains of\ntheir bread to him, and he ate them and wagged his tail. Then they\nwere hindered by the birch-trees, whose branches almost put their eyes\nout. But the little sister tied the twigs together with a piece of\nribbon, and they got past safely, and, after running through the wood,\ncame out on to the open fields.\n\nIn the meantime in the hut the cat was busy weaving the linen and\ntangling the threads as it wove. And the witch returned to see how the\nchildren were getting on; and she crept up to the window, and\nwhispered:\n\n\u2018Are you weaving, my little dear?\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes, granny, I am weaving,\u2019 answered the cat.\n\nWhen the witch saw that the children had escaped her, she was furious,\nand, hitting the cat with a porringer, she said: \u2018Why did you let the\nchildren leave the hut? Why did you not scratch their eyes out?\u2019\n\nBut the cat curled up its tail and put its back up, and answered: \u2018I\nhave served you all these years and you never even threw me a bone,\nbut the dear children gave me their own piece of ham.\u2019\n\nThen the witch was furious with the watch-dog and with the\nbirch-trees, because they had let the children pass. But the dog\nanswered:\n\n\u2018I have served you all these years and you never gave me so much as a\nhard crust, but the dear children gave me their own loaf of bread.\u2019\n\nAnd the birch rustled its leaves, and said: \u2018I have served you longer\nthan I can say, and you never tied a bit of twine even round my\nbranches; and the dear children bound them up with their brightest\nribbons.\u2019\n\nSo the witch saw there was no help to be got from her old servants,\nand that the best thing she could do was to mount on her broom and set\noff in pursuit of the children. And as the children ran they heard the\nsound of the broom sweeping the ground close behind them, so instantly\nthey threw the handkerchief down over their shoulder, and in a moment\na deep, broad river flowed behind them.\n\n[Illustration: The comb grows into a forest]\n\nWhen the witch came up to it, it took her a long time before she found\na place which she could ford over on her broom-stick; but at last she\ngot across, and continued the chase faster than before. And as the\nchildren ran they heard a sound, and the little sister put her ear to\nthe ground, and heard the broom sweeping the earth close behind them;\nso, quick as thought, she threw the comb down on the ground, and in an\ninstant, as the cat had said, a dense forest sprung up, in which the\nroots and branches were so closely intertwined, that it was impossible\nto force a way through it. So when the witch came up to it on her\nbroom she found that there was nothing for it but to turn round and go\nback to her hut.\n\nBut the twins ran straight on till they reached their own home. Then\nthey told their father all that they had suffered, and he was so angry\nwith their step-mother that he drove her out of the house, and never\nlet her return; but he and the children lived happily together; and he\ntook care of them himself, and never let a stranger come near them.\n\n\n\n\n_THE HAZEL-NUT CHILD_[29]\n\n\nThere was once upon a time a couple who had no children, and they\nprayed Heaven every day to send them a child, though it were no bigger\nthan a hazel-nut. At last Heaven heard their prayer and sent them a\nchild exactly the size of a hazel-nut, and it never grew an inch. The\nparents were very devoted to the little creature, and nursed and\ntended it carefully. Their tiny son too was as clever as he could be,\nand so sharp and sensible that all the neighbours marvelled over the\nwise things he said and did.\n\nWhen the Hazel-nut child was fifteen years old, and was sitting one\nday in an egg-shell on the table beside his mother, she turned to him\nand said, \u2018You are now fifteen years old, and nothing can be done with\nyou. What do you intend to be?\u2019\n\n\u2018A messenger,\u2019 answered the Hazel-nut child.\n\nThen his mother burst out laughing and said, \u2018What an idea! You a\nmessenger! Why, your little feet would take an hour to go the distance\nan ordinary person could do in a minute!\u2019\n\nBut the Hazel-nut child replied, \u2018Nevertheless I mean to be a\nmessenger! Just send me a message and you\u2019ll see that I shall be back\nin next to no time.\u2019\n\n[Footnote 29: From the _Bukowniaer_. Von Wliolocki.]\n\nSo his mother said, \u2018Very well, go to your aunt in the neighbouring\nvillage, and fetch me a comb.\u2019 The Hazel-nut child jumped quickly out\nof the egg-shell and ran out into the street. Here he found a man on\nhorseback who was just setting out for the neighbouring village. He\ncrept up the horse\u2019s leg, sat down under the saddle, and then began to\npinch the horse and to prick it with a pin. The horse plunged and\nreared and then set off at a hard gallop, which it continued in spite\nof its rider\u2019s efforts to stop it. When they reached the village, the\nHazel-nut child left off pricking the horse, and the poor tired\ncreature pursued its way at a snail\u2019s pace. The Hazel-nut child took\nadvantage of this, and crept down the horse\u2019s leg; then he ran to his\naunt and asked her for a comb. On the way home he met another rider,\nand did the return journey in exactly the same way. When he handed his\nmother the comb that his aunt had given him, she was much amazed and\nasked him, \u2018But how did you manage to get back so quickly?\u2019\n\n\u2018Ah! mother,\u2019 he replied, \u2018you see I was quite right when I said I\nknew a messenger was the profession for me.\u2019\n\nHis father too possessed a horse which he often used to take out into\nthe fields to graze. One day he took the Hazel-nut child with him. At\nmidday the father turned to his small son and said, \u2018Stay here and\nlook after the horse. I must go home and give your mother a message,\nbut I shall be back soon.\u2019\n\nWhen his father had gone, a robber passed by and saw the horse grazing\nwithout any one watching it, for of course he could not see the\nHazel-nut child hidden in the grass. So he mounted the horse and rode\naway. But the Hazel-nut child, who was the most active little\ncreature, climbed up the horse\u2019s tail and began to bite it on the\nback, enraging the creature to such an extent that it paid no\nattention to the direction the robber tried to make it go in, but\ngalloped straight home. The father was much astonished when he saw a\nstranger riding his horse, but the Hazel-nut child climbed down\nquickly and told him all that had happened, and his father had the\nrobber arrested at once and put into prison.\n\nOne autumn when the Hazel-nut child was twenty years old he said to\nhis parents: \u2018Farewell, my dear father and mother. I am going to set\nout into the world, and as soon as I have become rich I will return\nhome to you.\u2019\n\nThe parents laughed at the little man\u2019s words, but did not believe him\nfor a moment. In the evening the Hazel-nut child crept on to the roof,\nwhere some storks had built their nest. The storks were fast asleep,\nand he climbed on to the back of the father-stork and bound a silk\ncord round the joint of one of its wings, then he crept among its soft\ndowny feathers and fell asleep.\n\nThe next morning the storks flew towards the south, for winter was\napproaching. The Hazel-nut child flew through the air on the stork\u2019s\nback, and when he wanted to rest he bound his silk cord on to the\njoint of the bird\u2019s other wing, so that it could not fly any farther.\nIn this way he reached the country of the black people, where the\nstorks took up their abode close to the capital. When the people saw\nthe Hazel-nut child they were much astonished, and took him with the\nstork to the King of the country. The King was delighted with the\nlittle creature and kept him always beside him, and he soon grew so\nfond of the little man that he gave him a diamond four times as big as\nhimself. The Hazel-nut child fastened the diamond firmly under the\nstork\u2019s neck with a ribbon, and when he saw that the other storks were\ngetting ready for their northern flight, he untied the silk cord from\nhis stork\u2019s wings, and away they went, getting nearer home every\nminute. At length the Hazel-nut child came to his native village; then\nhe undid the ribbon from the stork\u2019s neck and the diamond fell to the\nground; he covered it first with sand and stones, and then ran to get\nhis parents, so that they might carry the treasure home, for he\nhimself was not able to lift the great diamond.\n\n[Illustration: The Black King\u2019s Gift.]\n\nSo the Hazel-nut child and his parents lived in happiness and\nprosperity after this till they died.\n\n\n\n\n_THE STORY OF BIG KLAUS AND LITTLE KLAUS_\n\n\nIn a certain village there lived two people who had both the same\nname. Both were called Klaus, but one owned four horses and the other\nonly one. In order to distinguish the one from the other, the one who\nhad four horses was called Big Klaus, and the one who had only one\nhorse, Little Klaus. Now you shall hear what befell them both, for\nthis is a true story.\n\nThe whole week through Little Klaus had to plough for Big Klaus, and\nlend him his one horse; then Big Klaus lent him his four horses, but\nonly once a week, and that was on Sunday. Hurrah! how loudly Little\nKlaus cracked his whip over all the five horses! for they were indeed\nas good as his on this one day. The sun shone brightly, and all the\nbells in the church-towers were pealing; the people were dressed in\ntheir best clothes, and were going to church, with their hymn-books\nunder their arms, to hear the minister preach. They saw Little Klaus\nploughing with the five horses; but he was so happy that he kept on\ncracking his whip, and calling out \u2018Gee-up, my five horses!\u2019\n\n\u2018You mustn\u2019t say that,\u2019 said Big Klaus. \u2018Only one horse is yours.\u2019\n\nBut as soon as someone else was going by Little Klaus forgot that he\nmust not say it, and called out \u2018Gee-up, my five horses!\u2019\n\n\u2018Now you had better stop that,\u2019 said Big Klaus, \u2018for if you say it\nonce more I will give your horse such a crack on the head that it will\ndrop down dead on the spot!\u2019\n\n\u2018I really won\u2019t say it again!\u2019 said Little Klaus. But as soon as more\npeople passed by, and nodded him good-morning, he became so happy in\nthinking how well it looked to have five horses ploughing his field\nthat, cracking his whip, he called out \u2018Gee-up, my five horses!\u2019\n\n\u2018I\u2019ll see to your horses!\u2019 said Big Klaus; and, seizing an iron bar,\nhe struck Little Klaus\u2019 one horse such a blow on the head that it fell\ndown and died on the spot.\n\n\u2018Alas! Now I have no horse!\u2019 said Little Klaus, beginning to cry. Then\nhe flayed the skin off his horse, dried it, and put it in a sack,\nwhich he threw over his shoulder, and went into the town to sell it.\nHe had a long way to go, and had to pass through a great dark forest.\nA dreadful storm came on, in which he lost his way, and before he\ncould get on to the right road night came on, and it was impossible to\nreach the town that evening.\n\nRight in front of him was a large farm-house. The window-shutters were\nclosed, but the light came through the chinks. \u2018I should very much\nlike to be allowed to spend the night there,\u2019 thought Little Klaus;\nand he went and knocked at the door. The farmer\u2019s wife opened it, but\nwhen she heard what he wanted she told him to go away; her husband was\nnot at home, and she took in no strangers.\n\n\u2018Well, I must lie down outside,\u2019 said Little Klaus; and the farmer\u2019s\nwife shut the door in his face. Close by stood a large hay-stack, and\nbetween it and the house a little out-house, covered with a flat\nthatched roof.\n\n\u2018I can lie down there,\u2019 thought Little Klaus, looking at the roof; \u2018it\nwill make a splendid bed, if only the stork won\u2019t fly down and bite my\nlegs.\u2019 For a live stork was standing on the roof, where it had its\nnest. So Little Klaus crept up into the out-house, where he lay down,\nand made himself comfortable for the night. The wooden shutters over\nthe windows were not shut at the top, and he could just see into the\nroom.\n\nThere stood a large table, spread with wine and roast meat and a\nbeautiful fish. The farmer\u2019s wife and the sexton sat at the table, but\nthere was no one else. She was filling up his glass, while he stuck\nhis fork into the fish which was his favourite dish.\n\n\u2018If one could only get some of that!\u2019 thought Little Klaus, stretching\nhis head towards the window. Ah, what delicious cakes he saw standing\nthere! It _was_ a feast!\n\nThen he heard someone riding along the road towards the house. It was\nthe farmer coming home. He was a very worthy man; but he had one great\npeculiarity\u2014namely, that he could not bear to see a sexton. If he saw\none he was made quite mad. That was why the sexton had gone to say\ngood-day to the farmer\u2019s wife when he knew that her husband was not at\nhome, and the good woman therefore put in front of him the best food\nshe had. But when they heard the farmer coming they were frightened,\nand the farmer\u2019s wife begged the sexton to creep into a great empty\nchest. He did so, as he knew the poor man could not bear to see a\nsexton. The wife hastily hid all the beautiful food and the wine in\nher oven; for if her husband had seen it, he would have been sure to\nask what it all meant.\n\n[Illustration: \u201cGee-up my Five Horses!\u201d \u201cI\u2019ll See to Your Horses\u201d]\n\n\u2018Oh, dear! oh, dear!\u2019 groaned Little Klaus up in the shed, when he saw\nthe good food disappearing.\n\n\u2018Is anybody up there?\u2019 asked the farmer, catching sight of Little\nKlaus. \u2018Why are you lying there? Come with me into the house.\u2019\n\nThen Little Klaus told him how he had lost his way, and begged to be\nallowed to spend the night there.\n\n\u2018Yes, certainly,\u2019 said the farmer; \u2018but we must first have something\nto eat!\u2019\n\nThe wife received them both very kindly, spread a long table, and gave\nthem a large plate of porridge. The farmer was hungry, and ate with a\ngood appetite; but Little Klaus could not help thinking of the\ndelicious dishes of fish and roast meats and cakes which he knew were\nin the oven. Under the table at his feet he had laid the sack with the\nhorse-skin in it, for, as we know, he was going to the town to sell\nit. The porridge did not taste good to him, so he trod upon his sack,\nand the dry skin in the sack squeaked loudly.\n\n\u2018Hush!\u2019 said Little Klaus to his sack, at the same time treading on it\nagain so that it squeaked even louder than before.\n\n\u2018Hullo! what have you got in your sack?\u2019 asked the farmer.\n\n\u2018Oh, it is a wizard!\u2019 said Little Klaus. \u2018He says we should not eat\nporridge, for he has conjured the whole oven full of roast meats and\nfish and cakes.\u2019\n\n\u2018Goodness me!\u2019 said the farmer; and opening the oven he saw all the\ndelicious, tempting dishes his wife had hidden there, but which he now\nbelieved the wizard in the sack had conjured up for them. The wife\ncould say nothing, but she put the food at once on the table, and they\nate the fish, the roast meat, and the cakes. Little Klaus now trod\nagain on his sack, so that the skin squeaked.\n\n\u2018What does he say now?\u2019 asked the farmer.\n\n\u2018He says,\u2019 replied Little Klaus, \u2018that he has also conjured up for us\nthree bottles of wine; they are standing in the corner by the oven!\u2019\n\nThe wife had to fetch the wine which she had hidden, and the farmer\ndrank and grew very merry. He would very much like to have had such a\nwizard as Little Klaus had in the sack.\n\n\u2018Can he conjure up the Devil?\u2019 asked the farmer. \u2018I should like to see\nhim very much, for I feel just now in very good spirits!\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes,\u2019 said Little Klaus; \u2018my wizard can do everything that I ask.\nIsn\u2019t that true?\u2019 he asked, treading on the sack so that it squeaked.\n\u2018Do you hear? He says \u201cYes;\u201d but that the Devil looks so ugly that we\nshould not like to see him.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh! I\u2019m not at all afraid. What does he look like?\u2019\n\n\u2018He will show himself in the shape of a sexton!\u2019\n\n\u2018I say!\u2019 said the farmer, \u2018he must be ugly! You must know that I can\u2019t\nbear to look at a sexton! But it doesn\u2019t matter. I know that it is the\nDevil, and I sha\u2019n\u2019t mind! I feel up to it now. But he must not come\ntoo near me!\u2019\n\n\u2018I must ask my wizard,\u2019 said Little Klaus, treading on the sack and\nputting his ear to it.\n\n\u2018What does he say?\u2019\n\n\u2018He says you can open the chest in the corner there, and you will see\nthe Devil squatting inside it; but you must hold the lid so that he\nshall not escape.\u2019\n\n\u2018Will you help me to hold him?\u2019 begged the farmer, going towards the\nchest where his wife had hidden the real sexton, who was sitting\ninside in a terrible fright. The farmer opened the lid a little way,\nand saw him inside.\n\n\u2018Ugh!\u2019 he shrieked, springing back. \u2018Yes, now I have seen him; he\nlooked just like our sexton. Oh, it was horrid!\u2019\n\nSo he had to drink again, and they drank till far on into the night.\n\n\u2018You _must_ sell me the wizard,\u2019 said the farmer. \u2018Ask anything you\nlike! I will pay you down a bushelful of money on the spot.\u2019\n\n\u2018No, I really can\u2019t,\u2019 said Little Klaus. \u2018Just think how many things I\ncan get from this wizard!\u2019\n\n\u2018Ah! I should like to have him so much!\u2019 said the farmer, begging very\nhard.\n\n\u2018Well!\u2019 said Little Klaus at last, \u2018as you have been so good as to\ngive me shelter to-night, I will sell him. You shall have the wizard\nfor a bushel of money, but I must have full measure.\u2019\n\n\u2018That you shall,\u2019 said the farmer. \u2018But you must take the chest with\nyou. I won\u2019t keep it another hour in the house. Who knows that _he_\nisn\u2019t in there still?\u2019\n\nLittle Klaus gave the farmer his sack with the dry skin, and got\ninstead a good bushelful of money. The farmer also gave him a\nwheelbarrow to carry away his money and the chest. \u2018Farewell,\u2019 said\nLittle Klaus; and away he went with his money and the big chest,\nwherein sat the sexton.\n\n[Illustration: The Farmer Thinks He Sees the Devil in the Chest]\n\nOn the other side of the wood was a large deep river. The water flowed\nso rapidly that you could scarcely swim against the stream. A great\nnew bridge had been built over it, on the middle of which Little Klaus\nstopped, and said aloud so that the sexton might hear:\n\n\u2018Now, what am I to do with this stupid chest? It is as heavy as if it\nwere filled with stones! I shall only be tired, dragging it along; I\nwill throw it into the river. If it swims home to me, well and good;\nand if it doesn\u2019t, it\u2019s no matter.\u2019\n\nThen he took the chest with one hand and lifted it up a little, as if\nhe were going to throw it into the water.\n\n\u2018No, don\u2019t do that!\u2019 called out the sexton in the chest. \u2018Let me get\nout first!\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, oh!\u2019 said Little Klaus, pretending that he was afraid. \u2018He is\nstill in there! I must throw him quickly into the water to drown him!\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh! no, no!\u2019 cried the sexton. \u2018I will give you a whole bushelful of\nmoney if you will let me go!\u2019\n\n\u2018Ah, that\u2019s quite another thing!\u2019 said Little Klaus, opening the\nchest. The sexton crept out very quickly, pushed the empty chest into\nthe water and went to his house, where he gave Little Klaus a bushel\nof money. One he had had already from the farmer, and now he had his\nwheelbarrow full of money.\n\n\u2018Well, I have got a good price for the horse!\u2019 said he to himself when\nhe shook all his money out in a heap in his room. \u2018This will put Big\nKlaus in a rage when he hears how rich I have become through my one\nhorse; but I won\u2019t tell him just yet!\u2019\n\nSo he sent a boy to Big Klaus to borrow a bushel measure from him.\n\n\u2018Now what can he want with it?\u2019 thought Big Klaus; and he smeared some\ntar at the bottom, so that of whatever was measured a little should\nremain in it. And this is just what happened; for when he got his\nmeasure back, three new silver five-shilling pieces were sticking to\nit.\n\n\u2018What does this mean?\u2019 said Big Klaus, and he ran off at once to\nLittle Klaus.\n\n\u2018Where did you get so much money from?\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, that was from my horse-skin. I sold it yesterday evening.\u2019\n\n\u2018That\u2019s certainly a good price!\u2019 said Big Klaus; and running home in\ngreat haste, he took an axe, knocked all his four horses on the head,\nskinned them, and went into the town.\n\n\u2018Skins! skins! Who will buy skins?\u2019 he cried through the streets.\n\nAll the shoemakers and tanners came running to ask him what he wanted\nfor them. \u2018A bushel of money for each,\u2019 said Big Klaus.\n\n\u2018Are you mad?\u2019 they all exclaimed. \u2018Do you think we have money by the\nbushel?\u2019\n\n\u2018Skins! skins! Who will buy skins?\u2019 he cried again, and to all who\nasked him what they cost, he answered, \u2018A bushel of money.\u2019\n\n\u2018He is making game of us,\u2019 they said; and the shoemakers seized their\nyard measures and the tanners their leather aprons and they gave Big\nKlaus a good beating. \u2018Skins! skins!\u2019 they cried mockingly; yes, we\nwill tan _your_ skin for you! Out of the town with him!\u2019 they shouted;\nand Big Klaus had to hurry off as quickly as he could, if he wanted to\nsave his life.\n\n\u2018Aha!\u2019 said he when he came home, \u2018Little Klaus shall pay dearly for\nthis. I will kill him!\u2019\n\n[Illustration: The shoemakers and tanners drive Big Klaus out of the\ntown]\n\nLittle Klaus\u2019 grandmother had just died. Though she had been very\nunkind to him, he was very much distressed, and he took the dead woman\nand laid her in his warm bed to try if he could not bring her back to\nlife. There she lay the whole night, while he sat in the corner and\nslept on a chair, which he had often done before. And in the night as\nhe sat there the door opened, and Big Klaus came in with his axe. He\nknew quite well where Little Klaus\u2019s bed stood, and going up to it he\nstruck the grandmother on the head just where he thought Little Klaus\nwould be. \u2018There!\u2019 said he. \u2018Now you won\u2019t get the best of me again!\u2019\nAnd he went home.\n\n\u2018What a very wicked man!\u2019 thought Little Klaus. \u2018He was going to kill\nme! It was a good thing for my grandmother that she was dead already,\nor else he would have killed her!\u2019\n\nThen he dressed his grandmother in her Sunday clothes, borrowed a\nhorse from his neighbour, harnessed the cart to it, sat his\ngrandmother on the back seat so that she could not fall out when he\ndrove, and away they went. When the sun rose they were in front of a\nlarge inn. Little Klaus got down, and went in to get something to\ndrink. The host was very rich. He was a very worthy but hot-tempered\nman.\n\n\u2018Good morning!\u2019 said he to Little Klaus. \u2018You are early on the road.\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes,\u2019 said Little Klaus. \u2018I am going to the town with my grandmother.\nShe is sitting outside in the cart; I cannot bring her in. Will you\nnot give her a glass of mead? But you will have to speak loud, for she\nis very hard of hearing.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh yes, certainly I will!\u2019 said the host; and, pouring out a large\nglass of mead, he took it out to the dead grandmother, who was sitting\nupright in the cart.\n\n\u2018Here is a glass of mead from your son,\u2019 said the host. But the dead\nwoman did not answer a word, and sat still. \u2018Don\u2019t you hear?\u2019 cried\nthe host as loud as he could. \u2018Here is a glass of mead from your son!\u2019\n\nThen he shouted the same thing again, and yet again, but she never\nmoved in her place; and at last he grew angry, threw the glass in her\nface, so that she fell back into the cart, for she was not tied in her\nplace.\n\n\u2018Hullo!\u2019 cried Little Klaus, running out of the door, and seizing the\nhost by the throat. \u2018You have killed my grandmother! Look! there is a\ngreat hole in her forehead!\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, what a misfortune!\u2019 cried the host, wringing his hands. \u2018It all\ncomes from my hot temper! Dear Little Klaus! I will give you a bushel\nof money, and will bury your grandmother as if she were my own; only\ndon\u2019t tell about it, or I shall have my head cut off, and that would\nbe very uncomfortable.\u2019\n\nSo Little Klaus got a bushel of money, and the host buried his\ngrandmother as if she had been his own.\n\nNow when Little Klaus again reached home with so much money he sent\nhis boy to Big Klaus to borrow his bushel measure.\n\n\u2018What\u2019s this?\u2019 said Big Klaus. \u2018Didn\u2019t I kill him? I must see to this\nmyself!\u2019\n\nSo he went himself to Little Klaus with the measure.\n\n\u2018Well, now, where did you get all this money?\u2019 asked he, opening his\neyes at the heap.\n\n\u2018You killed my grandmother\u2014not me,\u2019 said Little Klaus. \u2018I sold her,\nand got a bushel of money for her.\u2019\n\n\u2018That is indeed a good price!\u2019 said Big Klaus; and, hurrying home, he\ntook an axe and killed his grandmother, laid her in the cart, and\ndrove off to the apothecary\u2019s, and asked whether he wanted to buy a\ndead body.\n\n\u2018Who is it, and how did you get it?\u2019 asked the apothecary.\n\n\u2018It is my grandmother,\u2019 said Big Klaus. \u2018I killed her in order to get\na bushel of money.\u2019\n\n\u2018You are mad!\u2019 said the apothecary. \u2018Don\u2019t mention such things, or you\nwill lose your head!\u2019 And he began to tell him what a dreadful thing\nhe had done, and what a wicked man he was, and that he ought to be\npunished; till Big Klaus was so frightened that he jumped into the\ncart and drove home as hard as he could. The apothecary and all the\npeople thought he must be mad, so they let him go.\n\n\u2018You shall pay for this!\u2019 said Big Klaus as he drove home. \u2018You shall\npay for this dearly, Little Klaus!\u2019\n\nSo as soon as he got home he took the largest sack he could find, and\nwent to Little Klaus and said: \u2018You have fooled me again! First I\nkilled my horses, then my grandmother! It is all your fault; but you\nsha\u2019n\u2019t do it again!\u2019 And he seized Little Klaus, pushed him in the\nsack, threw it over his shoulder, crying out \u2018Now I am going to drown\nyou!\u2019\n\nHe had to go a long way before he came to the river, and Little Klaus\nwas not very light. The road passed by the church; the organ was\nsounding, and the people were singing most beautifully. Big Klaus put\ndown the sack with Little Klaus in it by the church-door, and thought\nthat he might as well go in and hear a psalm before going on farther.\nLittle Klaus could not get out, and everybody was in church; so he\nwent in.\n\n\u2018Oh, dear! oh, dear!\u2019 groaned Little Klaus in the sack, twisting and\nturning himself. But he could not undo the string.\n\nThere came by an old, old shepherd, with snow-white hair and a long\nstaff in his hand. He was driving a herd of cows and oxen. These\npushed against the sack so that it was overturned.\n\n\u2018Alas!\u2019 moaned Little Klaus, \u2018I am so young and yet I must die!\u2019\n\n\u2018And I, poor man,\u2019 said the cattle-driver, \u2018I am so old and yet I\ncannot die!\u2019\n\n\u2018Open the sack,\u2019 called out Little Klaus; \u2018creep in here instead of\nme, and you will die in a moment!\u2019\n\n\u2018I will gladly do that,\u2019 said the cattle-driver; and he opened the\nsack, and Little Klaus struggled out at once.\n\n[Illustration: \u201cOpen the Sack\u201d Said Little Klaus.]\n\n\u2018You will take care of the cattle, won\u2019t you?\u2019 asked the old man,\ncreeping into the sack, which Little Klaus fastened up and then went\non with the cows and oxen. Soon after Big Klaus came out of the\nchurch, and taking up the sack on his shoulders it seemed to him as if\nit had become lighter; for the old cattle-driver was not half as heavy\nas Little Klaus.\n\n\u2018How easy he is to carry now! That must be because I heard part of the\nservice.\u2019\n\nSo he went to the river, which was deep and broad, threw in the sack\nwith the old driver, and called after it, for he thought Little Klaus\nwas inside:\n\n\u2018Down you go! You won\u2019t mock me any more now!\u2019\n\nThen he went home; but when he came to the cross-roads, there he met\nLittle Klaus, who was driving his cattle.\n\n\u2018What\u2019s this?\u2019 said Big Klaus. \u2018Haven\u2019t I drowned you?\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes,\u2019 replied Little Klaus; \u2018you threw me into the river a good\nhalf-hour ago!\u2019\n\n\u2018But how did you get those splendid cattle?\u2019 asked Big Klaus.\n\n\u2018They are sea-cattle!\u2019 said Little Klaus. \u2018I will tell you the whole\nstory, and I thank you for having drowned me, because now I am on dry\nland and really rich! How frightened I was when I was in the sack! How\nthe wind whistled in my ears as you threw me from the bridge into the\ncold water! I sank at once to the bottom; but I did not hurt myself,\nfor underneath was growing the most beautiful soft grass. I fell on\nthis, and immediately the sack opened; the loveliest maiden in\nsnow-white garments, with a green garland round her wet hair, took me\nby the hand, and said, \u201cAre you Little Klaus? Here are some cattle for\nyou to begin with, and a mile farther down the road there is another\nherd, which I will give you as a present!\u201d Now I saw that the river\nwas a great high-road for the sea-people. Along it they travel\nunderneath from the sea to the land till the river ends. It was so\nbeautiful, full of flowers and fresh grass; the fishes which were\nswimming in the water shot past my ears as the birds do here in the\nair. What lovely people there were, and what fine cattle were grazing\nin the ditches and dykes!\u2019\n\n\u2018But why did you come up to us again?\u2019 asked Big Klaus. \u2018I should not\nhave done so, if it is so beautiful down below!\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh!\u2019 said Little Klaus, \u2018that was just so politic of me. You heard\nwhat I told you, that the sea-maiden said to me a mile farther along\nthe road\u2014and by the road she meant the river, for she can go by no\nother way\u2014there was another herd of cattle waiting for me. But I know\nwhat windings the river makes, now here, now there, so that it is a\nlong way round. Therefore it makes it much shorter if one comes on the\nland and drives across the field to the river. Thus I have spared\nmyself quite half a mile, and have come much quicker to my\nsea-cattle!\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, you\u2019re a lucky fellow!\u2019 said Big Klaus. \u2018Do you think I should\nalso get some cattle if I went to the bottom of the river?\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, yes! I think so,\u2019 said Little Klaus. \u2018But I can\u2019t carry you in a\nsack to the river; you are too heavy for me! If you like to go there\nyourself and then creep into the sack, I will throw you in with the\ngreatest of pleasure.\u2019\n\n\u2018Thank you,\u2019 said Big Klaus; \u2018but if I don\u2019t get any sea-cattle when I\ncome there, you will have a good hiding, mind!\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, no! Don\u2019t be so hard on me!\u2019 Then they went to the river. When\nthe cattle, which were thirsty, caught sight of the water, they ran as\nquickly as they could to drink.\n\n\u2018Look how they are running!\u2019 said Little Klaus. \u2018They want to go to\nthe bottom again!\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes; but help me first,\u2019 said Big Klaus, \u2018or else you shall have a\nbeating!\u2019\n\nAnd so he crept into the large sack, which was lying on the back of\none of the oxen. \u2018Put a stone in, for I am afraid I may not reach the\nbottom,\u2019 said Big Klaus.\n\n\u2018It goes all right!\u2019 said Little Klaus; but still he laid a big stone\nin the sack, fastened it up tight, and then pushed it in. Plump! there\nwas Big Klaus in the water, and he sank like lead to the bottom.\n\n\u2018I doubt if he will find any cattle!\u2019 said Little Klaus as he drove\nhis own home.\n\n\n\n\n_PRINCE RING_[30]\n\n\nOnce upon a time there was a King and his Queen in their kingdom. They\nhad one daughter, who was called Ingiborg, and one son, whose name was\nRing. He was less fond of adventures than men of rank usually were in\nthose days, and was not famous for strength or feats of arms. When he\nwas twelve years old, one fine winter day he rode into the forest\nalong with his men to enjoy himself. They went on a long way, until\nthey caught sight of a hind with a gold ring on its horns. The Prince\nwas eager to catch it, if possible, so they gave chase and rode on\nwithout stopping until all the horses began to founder beneath them.\nAt last the Prince\u2019s horse gave way too, and then there came over them\na darkness so black that they could no longer see the hind. By this\ntime they were far away from any house, and thought it was high time\nto be making their way home again, but they found they had got lost\nnow. At first they all kept together, but soon each began to think\nthat he knew the right way best; so they separated, and all went in\ndifferent directions.\n\n[Footnote 30: From the Icelandic.]\n\nThe Prince, too, had got lost like the rest, and wandered on for a\ntime until he came to a little clearing in the forest not far from the\nsea, where he saw a woman sitting on a chair and a big barrel standing\nbeside her. The Prince went up to her and saluted her politely, and\nshe received him very graciously. He looked down into the barrel then,\nand saw lying at the bottom an unusually beautiful gold ring, which\npleased him so much that he could not take his eyes off it. The woman\nsaw this, and said that he might have it if he would take the trouble\nto get it; for which the Prince thanked her, and said it was at least\nworth trying. So he leaned over into the barrel, which did not seem\nvery deep, and thought he would easily reach the ring; but the more he\nstretched down after it the deeper grew the barrel. As he was thus\nbending down into it the woman suddenly rose up and pushed him in head\nfirst, saying that now he could take up his quarters there. Then she\nfixed the top on the barrel and threw it out into the sea.\n\n[Illustration: The Woman Pushes Prince Ring into the Cask]\n\nThe Prince thought himself in a bad plight now, as he felt the barrel\nfloating out from the land and tossing about on the waves. How many\ndays he spent thus he could not tell, but at last he felt that the\nbarrel was knocking against rocks, at which he was a little cheered,\nthinking it was probably land and not merely a reef in the sea. Being\nsomething of a swimmer, he at last made up his mind to kick the bottom\nout of the barrel, and having done so he was able to get on shore, for\nthe rocks by the sea were smooth and level; but overhead there were\nhigh cliffs. It seemed difficult to get up these, but he went along\nthe foot of them for a little, till at last he tried to climb up,\nwhich at last he did.\n\nHaving got to the top, he looked round about him and saw that he was\non an island, which was covered with forest, with apples growing, and\naltogether pleasant as far as the land was concerned. After he had\nbeen there several days, he one day heard a great noise in the forest,\nwhich made him terribly afraid, so that he ran to hide himself among\nthe trees. Then he saw a Giant approaching, dragging a sledge loaded\nwith wood, and making straight for him, so that he could see nothing\nfor it but to lie down just where he was. When the Giant came across\nhim, he stood still and looked at the Prince for a little; then he\ntook him up in his arms and carried him home to his house, and was\nexceedingly kind to him. He gave him to his wife, saying he had found\nthis child in the wood, and she could have it to help her in the\nhouse. The old woman was greatly pleased, and began to fondle the\nPrince with the utmost delight. He stayed there with them, and was\nvery willing and obedient to them in everything, while they grew\nkinder to him every day.\n\nOne day the Giant took him round and showed him all his rooms except\nthe parlour; this made the Prince curious to have a look into it,\nthinking there must be some very rare treasure there. So one day, when\nthe Giant had gone into the forest, he tried to get into the parlour,\nand managed to get the door open half-way. Then he saw that some\nliving creature moved inside and ran along the floor towards him and\nsaid something, which made him so frightened that he sprang back from\nthe door and shut it again. As soon as the fright began to pass off he\ntried it again, for he thought it would be interesting to hear what it\nsaid; but things went just as before with him. He then got angry with\nhimself, and, summoning up all his courage, tried it a third time, and\nopened the door of the room and stood firm. Then he saw that it was a\nbig Dog, which spoke to him and said:\n\n\u2018Choose me, Prince Ring.\u2019\n\nThe Prince went away rather afraid, thinking with himself that it was\nno great treasure after all; but all the same what it had said to him\nstuck in his mind.\n\nIt is not said how long the Prince stayed with the Giant, but one day\nthe latter came to him and said he would now take him over to the\nmainland out of the island, for he himself had no long time to live.\nHe also thanked him for his good service, and told him to choose some\none of his possessions, for he would get whatever he wanted. Ring\nthanked him heartily, and said there was no need to pay him for his\nservices, they were so little worth; but if he did wish to give him\nanything he would choose what was in the parlour. The Giant was taken\nby surprise, and said:\n\n\u2018There, you chose my old woman\u2019s right hand; but I must not break my\nword.\u2019\n\nUpon this he went to get the Dog, which came running with signs of\ngreat delight; but the Prince was so much afraid of it that it was all\nhe could do to keep from showing his alarm.\n\nAfter this the Giant accompanied him down to the sea, where he saw a\nstone boat which was just big enough to hold the two of them and the\nDog. On reaching the mainland the Giant took a friendly farewell of\nRing, and told him he might take possession of all that was in the\nisland after he and his wife died, which would happen within two weeks\nfrom that time. The Prince thanked him for this and for all his other\nkindnesses, and the Giant returned home, while Ring went up some\ndistance from the sea; but he did not know what land he had come to,\nand was afraid to speak to the Dog. After he had walked on in silence\nfor a time the Dog spoke to him and said:\n\n\u2018You don\u2019t seem to have much curiosity, seeing you never ask my name.\u2019\n\nThe Prince then forced himself to ask, \u2018What is your name?\u2019\n\n\u2018You had best call me Snati-Snati,\u2019 said the Dog. \u2018Now we are coming\nto a King\u2019s seat, and you must ask the King to keep us all winter, and\nto give you a little room for both of us.\u2019\n\nThe Prince now began to be less afraid of the Dog. They came to the\nKing and asked him to keep them all the winter, to which he agreed.\nWhen the King\u2019s men saw the Dog they began to laugh at it, and make as\nif they would tease it; but when the Prince saw this he advised them\nnot to do it, or they might have the worst of it. They replied that\nthey didn\u2019t care a bit what he thought.\n\nAfter Ring had been with the King for some days the latter began to\nthink there was a great deal in him, and esteemed him more than the\nothers. The King, however, had a counsellor called Red, who became\nvery jealous when he saw how much the King esteemed Ring; and one day\nhe talked to him, and said he could not understand why he had so good\nan opinion of this stranger, who had not yet shown himself superior to\nother men in anything. The King replied that it was only a short time\nsince he had come there. Red then asked him to send them both to cut\ndown wood next morning, and see which of them could do most work.\nSnati-Snati heard this and told it to Ring, advising him to ask the\nKing for two axes, so that he might have one in reserve if the first\none got broken. Next morning the King asked Ring and Red to go and cut\ndown trees for him, and both agreed. Ring got the two axes, and each\nwent his own way; but when the Prince had got out into the wood Snati\ntook one of the axes and began to hew along with him. In the evening\nthe King came to look over their day\u2019s work, as Red had proposed, and\nfound that Ring\u2019s wood-heap was more than twice as big.\n\n\u2018I suspected,\u2019 said the King, \u2018that Ring was not quite useless; never\nhave I seen such a day\u2019s work.\u2019\n\nRing was now in far greater esteem with the King than before, and Red\nwas all the more discontented. One day he came to the King and said,\n\u2018If Ring is such a mighty man, I think you might ask him to kill the\nwild oxen in the wood here, and flay them the same day, and bring you\nthe horns and the hides in the evening.\u2019\n\n\u2018Don\u2019t you think that a desperate errand?\u2019 said the King, \u2018seeing they\nare so dangerous, and no one has ever yet ventured to go against\nthem?\u2019\n\nRed answered that he had only one life to lose, and it would be\ninteresting to see how brave he was; besides, the King would have good\nreason to ennoble him if he overcame them. The King at last allowed\nhimself, though rather unwillingly, to be won over by Red\u2019s\npersistency, and one day asked Ring to go and kill the oxen that were\nin the wood for him, and bring their horns and hides to him in the\nevening. Not knowing how dangerous the oxen were, Ring was quite\nready, and went off at once, to the great delight of Red, who was now\nsure of his death.\n\nAs soon as Ring came in sight of the oxen they came bellowing to meet\nhim; one of them was tremendously big, the other rather less. Ring\ngrew terribly afraid.\n\n\u2018How do you like them?\u2019 asked Snati.\n\n\u2018Not well at all,\u2019 said the Prince.\n\n\u2018We can do nothing else,\u2019 said Snati, \u2018than attack them, if it is to\ngo well; you will go against the little one, and I shall take the\nother.\u2019\n\nWith this Snati leapt at the big one, and was not long in bringing him\ndown. Meanwhile the Prince went against the other with fear and\ntrembling, and by the time Snati came to help him the ox had nearly\ngot him under, but Snati was not slow in helping his master to kill\nit.\n\n[Illustration: Snati and Prince Ring Fight With the Oxen]\n\nEach of them then began to flay their own ox, but Ring was only half\nthrough by the time Snati had finished his. In the evening, after they\nhad finished this task, the Prince thought himself unfit to carry all\nthe horns and both the hides, so Snati told him to lay them all on his\nback until they got to the Palace gate. The Prince agreed, and laid\neverything on the Dog except the skin of the smaller ox, which he\nstaggered along with himself. At the Palace gate he left everything\nlying, went before the King, and asked him to come that length with\nhim, and there handed over to him the hides and horns of the oxen. The\nKing was greatly surprised at his valour, and said he knew no one like\nhim, and thanked him heartily for what he had done.\n\nAfter this the King set Ring next to himself, and all esteemed him\nhighly, and held him to be a great hero; nor could Red any longer say\nanything against him, though he grew still more determined to destroy\nhim. One day a good idea came into his head. He came to the King and\nsaid he had something to say to him.\n\n\u2018What is that?\u2019 said the King.\n\nRed said that he had just remembered the gold cloak, gold chess-board,\nand bright gold piece that the King had lost about a year before.\n\n\u2018Don\u2019t remind me of them!\u2019 said the King.\n\nRed, however, went on to say that, since Ring was such a mighty man\nthat he could do everything, it had occurred to him to advise the King\nto ask him to search for these treasures, and come back with them\nbefore Christmas; in return the King should promise him his daughter.\n\nThe King replied that he thought it altogether unbecoming to propose\nsuch a thing to Ring, seeing that he could not tell him where the\nthings were; but Red pretended not to hear the King\u2019s excuses, and\nwent on talking about it until the King gave in to him. One day, a\nmonth or so before Christmas, the King spoke to Ring, saying that he\nwished to ask a great favour of him.\n\n\u2018What is that?\u2019 said Ring.\n\n\u2018It is this,\u2019 said the King: \u2018that you find for me my gold cloak, my\ngold chess-board, and my bright gold piece, that were stolen from me\nabout a year ago. If you can bring them to me before Christmas I will\ngive you my daughter in marriage.\u2019\n\n\u2018Where am I to look for them, then?\u2019 said Ring.\n\n\u2018That you must find out for yourself,\u2019 said the King; \u2018I don\u2019t know.\u2019\n\nRing now left the King, and was very silent, for he saw he was in a\ngreat difficulty: but, on the other hand, he thought it was excellent\nto have such a chance of winning the King\u2019s daughter. Snati noticed\nthat his master was at a loss, and said to him that he should not\ndisregard what the King had asked him to do; but he would have to act\nupon his advice, otherwise he would get into great difficulties. The\nPrince assented to this, and began to prepare for the journey.\n\nAfter he had taken leave of the King, and was setting out on the\nsearch, Snati said to him, \u2018Now you must first of all go about the\nneighbourhood, and gather as much salt as ever you can.\u2019 The Prince\ndid so, and gathered so much salt that he could hardly carry it; but\nSnati said, \u2018Throw it on my back,\u2019 which he accordingly did, and the\nDog then ran on before the Prince, until they came to the foot of a\nsteep cliff.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\u2018We must go up here,\u2019 said Snati.\n\n\u2018I don\u2019t think that will be child\u2019s play,\u2019 said the Prince.\n\n\u2018Hold fast by my tail,\u2019 said Snati; and in this way he pulled Ring up\non the lowest shelf of the rock. The Prince began to get giddy, but up\nwent Snati on to the second shelf. Ring was nearly swooning by this\ntime, but Snati made a third effort and reached the top of the cliff,\nwhere the Prince fell down in a faint. After a little, however, he\nrecovered again, and they went a short distance along a level plain,\nuntil they came to a cave. This was on Christmas Eve. They went up\nabove the cave, and found a window in it, through which they looked,\nand saw four trolls lying asleep beside the fire, over which a large\nporridge-pot was hanging.\n\n\u2018Now you must empty all the salt into the porridge-pot,\u2019 said Snati.\n\nRing did so, and soon the trolls wakened up. The old hag, who was the\nmost frightful of them all, went first to taste the porridge.\n\n\u2018How comes this?\u2019 she said; \u2018the porridge is salt! I got the milk by\nwitchcraft yesterday out of four kingdoms, and now it is salt!\u2019\n\nAll the others then came to taste the porridge, and thought it nice,\nbut after they had finished it the old hag grew so thirsty that she\ncould stand it no longer, and asked her daughter to go out and bring\nher some water from the river that ran near by.\n\n\u2018I won\u2019t go,\u2019 said she, \u2018unless you lend me your bright gold piece.\u2019\n\n\u2018Though I should die you shan\u2019t have that,\u2019 said the hag.\n\n\u2018Die, then,\u2019 said the girl.\n\n\u2018Well, then, take it, you brat,\u2019 said the old hag, \u2018and be off with\nyou, and make haste with the water.\u2019\n\nThe girl took the gold and ran out with it, and it was so bright that\nit shone all over the plain. As soon as she came to the river she lay\ndown to take a drink of the water, but meanwhile the two of them had\ngot down off the roof and thrust her, head first, into the river.\n\nThe old hag began now to long for the water, and said that the girl\nwould be running about with the gold piece all over the plain, so she\nasked her son to go and get her a drop of water.\n\n\u2018I won\u2019t go,\u2019 said he, \u2018unless I get the gold cloak.\u2019\n\n\u2018Though I should die you shan\u2019t have that,\u2019 said the hag.\n\n\u2018Die, then,\u2019 said the son.\n\n\u2018Well, then, take it,\u2019 said the old hag, \u2018and be off with you, but you\nmust make haste with the water.\u2019\n\nHe put on the cloak, and when he came outside it shone so bright that\nhe could see to go with it. On reaching the river he went to take a\ndrink like his sister, but at that moment Ring and Snati sprang upon\nhim, took the cloak from him, and threw him into the river.\n\nThe old hag could stand the thirst no longer, and asked her husband to\ngo for a drink for her; the brats, she said, were of course running\nabout and playing themselves, just as she had expected they would,\nlittle wretches that they were.\n\n\u2018I won\u2019t go,\u2019 said the old troll, \u2018unless you lend me the gold\nchess-board.\u2019\n\n\u2018Though I should die you shan\u2019t have that,\u2019 said the hag.\n\n\u2018I think you may just as well do that,\u2019 said he, \u2018since you won\u2019t\ngrant me such a little favour.\u2019\n\n\u2018Take it, then, you utter disgrace!\u2019 said the old hag, \u2018since you are\njust like these two brats.\u2019\n\n[Illustration: Prince Ring & Snati Overthrow the Troll\u2019s Ghost]\n\nThe old troll now went out with the gold chess-board, and down to the\nriver, and was about to take a drink, when Ring and Snati came upon\nhim, took the chess-board from him, and threw him into the river.\nBefore they had got back again, however, and up on top of the cave,\nthey saw the poor old fellow\u2019s ghost come marching up from the river.\nSnati immediately sprang upon him, and Ring assisted in the attack,\nand after a hard struggle they mastered him a second time. When they\ngot back again to the window, they saw that the old hag was moving\ntowards the door.\n\n\u2018Now we must go in at once,\u2019 said Snati, \u2018and try to master her there,\nfor if she once gets out we shall have no chance with her. She is the\nworst witch that ever lived, and no iron can cut her. One of us must\npour boiling porridge out of the pot on her, and the other punch her\nwith red-hot iron.\u2019\n\nIn they went then, and no sooner did the hag see them than she said,\n\u2018So you have come, Prince Ring; you must have seen to my husband and\nchildren.\u2019\n\nSnati saw that she was about to attack them, and sprang at her with a\nred-hot iron from the fire, while Ring kept pouring boiling porridge\non her without stopping, and in this way they at last got her killed.\nThen they burned the old troll and her to ashes, and explored the\ncave, where they found plenty of gold and treasures. The most valuable\nof these they carried with them as far as the cliff, and left them\nthere. Then they hastened home to the King with his three treasures,\nwhere they arrived late on Christmas night, and Ring handed them over\nto him.\n\nThe King was beside himself with joy, and was astonished at how clever\na man Ring was in all kinds of feats, so that he esteemed him still\nmore highly than before, and betrothed his daughter to him; and the\nfeast for this was to last all through Christmastide. Ring thanked the\nKing courteously for this and all his other kindnesses, and as soon as\nhe had finished eating and drinking in the hall went off to sleep in\nhis own room. Snati, however, asked permission to sleep in the\nPrince\u2019s bed for that night, while the Prince should sleep where the\nDog usually lay. Ring said he was welcome to do so, and that he\ndeserved more from him than that came to. So Snati went up into the\nPrince\u2019s bed, but after a time he came back, and told Ring he could go\nthere himself now, but to take care not to meddle with anything that\nwas in the bed.\n\nNow the story comes back to Red, who came into the hall and showed the\nKing his right arm wanting the hand, and said that now he could see\nwhat kind of a man his intended son-in-law was, for he had done this\nto him without any cause whatever. The King became very angry, and\nsaid he would soon find out the truth about it, and if Ring had cut\noff his hand without good cause he should be hanged; but if it was\notherwise, then Red should die. So the King sent for Ring and asked\nhim for what reason he had done this. Snati, however, had just told\nRing what had happened during the night, and in reply he asked the\nKing to go with him and he would show him something. The King went\nwith him to his sleeping-room, and saw lying on the bed a man\u2019s hand\nholding a sword.\n\n\u2018This hand,\u2019 said Ring, \u2018came over the partition during the night, and\nwas about to run me through in my bed, if I had not defended myself.\u2019\n\nThe King answered that in that case he could not blame him for\nprotecting his own life, and that Red was well worthy of death. So Red\nwas hanged, and Ring married the King\u2019s daughter.\n\nThe first night that they went to bed together Snati asked Ring to\nallow him to lie at their feet, and this Ring allowed him to do.\nDuring the night he heard a howling and outcry beside them, struck a\nlight in a hurry and saw an ugly dog\u2019s skin lying near him, and a\nbeautiful Prince in the bed. Ring instantly took the skin and burned\nit, and then shook the Prince, who was lying unconscious, until he\nwoke up. The bridegroom then asked his name; he replied that he was\ncalled Ring, and was a King\u2019s son. In his youth he had lost his\nmother, and in her place his father had married a witch, who had laid\na spell on him that he should turn into a dog, and never be released\nfrom the spell unless a Prince of the same name as himself allowed him\nto sleep at his feet the first night after his marriage. He added\nfurther, \u2018As soon as she knew that you were my namesake she tried to\nget you destroyed, so that you might not free me from the spell. She\nwas the hind that you and your companions chased; she was the woman\nthat you found in the clearing with the barrel, and the old hag that\nwe just now killed in the cave.\u2019\n\nAfter the feasting was over the two namesakes, along with other men,\nwent to the cliff and brought all the treasure home to the Palace.\nThen they went to the island and removed all that was valuable from\nit. Ring gave to his namesake, whom he had freed from the spell, his\nsister Ingiborg and his father\u2019s kingdom to look after, but he himself\nstayed with his father-in-law the King, and had half the kingdom while\nhe lived and the whole of it after his death.\n\n\n\n\n_THE SWINEHERD_\n\n\nThere was once a poor Prince. He possessed a kingdom which, though\nsmall, was yet large enough for him to marry on, and married he wished\nto be.\n\nNow it was certainly a little audacious of him to venture to say to\nthe Emperor\u2019s daughter, \u2018Will you marry me?\u2019 But he did venture to say\nso, for his name was known far and wide. There were hundreds of\nprincesses who would gladly have said \u2018Yes,\u2019 but would she say the\nsame?\n\nWell, we shall see.\n\nOn the grave of the Prince\u2019s father grew a rose-tree, a very beautiful\nrose-tree. It only bloomed every five years, and then bore but a\nsingle rose, but oh, such a rose! Its scent was so sweet that when you\nsmelt it you forgot all your cares and troubles. And he had also a\nnightingale which could sing as if all the beautiful melodies in the\nworld were shut up in its little throat. This rose and this\nnightingale the Princess was to have, and so they were both put into\nsilver caskets and sent to her.\n\nThe Emperor had them brought to him in the great hall, where the\nPrincess was playing \u2018Here comes a duke a-riding\u2019 with her\nladies-in-waiting. And when she caught sight of the big caskets which\ncontained the presents, she clapped her hands for joy.\n\n\u2018If only it were a little pussy-cat!\u2019 she said. But the rose-tree with\nthe beautiful rose came out.\n\n\u2018But how prettily it is made!\u2019 said all the ladies-in-waiting.\n\n\u2018It is more than pretty,\u2019 said the Emperor, \u2018it is charming!\u2019\n\nBut the Princess felt it, and then she almost began to cry.\n\n\u2018Ugh! Papa,\u2019 she said, \u2018it is not artificial, it is _real!_\u2019\n\n\u2018Ugh!\u2019 said all the ladies-in-waiting, \u2018it is real!\u2019\n\n\u2018Let us see first what is in the other casket before we begin to be\nangry,\u2019 thought the Emperor, and there came out the nightingale. It\nsang so beautifully that one could scarcely utter a cross word against\nit.\n\n\u2018_Superbe! charmant!_\u2019 said the ladies-in-waiting, for they all\nchattered French, each one worse than the other.\n\n\u2018How much the bird reminds me of the musical snuff-box of the late\nEmpress!\u2019 said an old courtier. \u2018Ah, yes, it is the same tone, the\nsame execution!\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes,\u2019 said the Emperor; and then he wept like a little child.\n\n\u2018I hope that this, at least, is not real?\u2019 asked the Princess.\n\n\u2018Yes, it is a real bird,\u2019 said those who had brought it.\n\n\u2018Then let the bird fly away,\u2019 said the Princess; and she would not on\nany account allow the Prince to come.\n\nBut he was nothing daunted. He painted his face brown and black, drew\nhis cap well over his face, and knocked at the door. \u2018Good-day,\nEmperor,\u2019 he said. \u2018Can I get a place here as servant in the castle?\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes,\u2019 said the Emperor, \u2018but there are so many who ask for a place\nthat I don\u2019t know whether there will be one for you; but, still, I\nwill think of you. Stay, it has just occurred to me that I want\nsomeone to look after the swine, for I have so very many of them.\u2019\n\nAnd the Prince got the situation of Imperial Swineherd. He had a\nwretched little room close to the pigsties; here he had to stay, but\nthe whole day he sat working, and when evening was come he had made a\npretty little pot. All round it were little bells, and when the pot\nboiled they jingled most beautifully and played the old tune\u2014\n\n      \u2018Where is Augustus dear?\n       Alas! he\u2019s not here, here, here!\u2019\n\nBut the most wonderful thing was, that when one held one\u2019s finger in\nthe steam of the pot, then at once one could smell what dinner was\nready in any fire-place in the town. That was indeed something quite\ndifferent from the rose.\n\nNow the Princess came walking past with all her ladies-in-waiting, and\nwhen she heard the tune she stood still and her face beamed with joy,\nfor she also could play \u2018Where is Augustus dear?\u2019\n\nIt was the only tune she knew, but that she could play with one\nfinger.\n\n[Illustration: The Swineherd Takes the Ten Kisses]\n\n\u2018Why, that is what I play!\u2019 she said. \u2018He must be a most accomplished\nSwineherd! Listen! Go down and ask him what the instrument costs.\u2019\n\nAnd one of the ladies-in-waiting had to go down; but she put on wooden\nclogs. \u2018What will you take for the pot?\u2019 asked the lady-in-waiting.\n\n\u2018I will have ten kisses from the Princess,\u2019 answered the Swineherd.\n\n\u2018Heaven forbid!\u2019 said the lady-in-waiting.\n\n\u2018Yes, I will sell it for nothing less,\u2019 replied the Swineherd.\n\n\u2018Well, what does he say?\u2019 asked the Princess.\n\n\u2018I really hardly like to tell you,\u2019 answered the lady-in-waiting.\n\n\u2018Oh, then you can whisper it to me.\u2019\n\n\u2018He is disobliging!\u2019 said the Princess, and went away. But she had\nonly gone a few steps when the bells rang out so prettily\u2014\n\n     \u2018Where is Augustus dear?\n      Alas! he\u2019s not here, here, here.\u2019\n\n\u2018Listen!\u2019 said the Princess. \u2018Ask him whether he will take ten kisses\nfrom my ladies-in-waiting.\u2019\n\n\u2018No, thank you,\u2019 said the Swineherd. \u2018Ten kisses from the Princess, or\nelse I keep my pot.\u2019\n\n\u2018That is very tiresome!\u2019 said the Princess. \u2018But you must put\nyourselves in front of me, so that no one can see.\u2019\n\nAnd the ladies-in-waiting placed themselves in front and then spread\nout their dresses; so the Swineherd got his ten kisses, and she got\nthe pot.\n\nWhat happiness that was! The whole night and the whole day the pot was\nmade to boil; there was not a fire-place in the whole town where they\ndid not know what was being cooked, whether it was at the chancellor\u2019s\nor at the shoemaker\u2019s.\n\nThe ladies-in-waiting danced and clapped their hands.\n\n\u2018We know who is going to have soup and pancakes; we know who is going\nto have porridge and sausages\u2014isn\u2019t it interesting?\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes, very interesting!\u2019 said the first lady-in-waiting.\n\n\u2018But don\u2019t say anything about it, for I am the Emperor\u2019s daughter.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, no, of course we won\u2019t!\u2019 said everyone.\n\nThe Swineherd\u2014that is to say, the Prince (though they did not know he\nwas anything but a true Swineherd)\u2014let no day pass without making\nsomething, and one day he made a rattle which, when it was turned\nround, played all the waltzes, galops, and polkas which had ever been\nknown since the world began.\n\n\u2018But that is _superbe!_\u2019 said the Princess as she passed by. \u2018I have\nnever heard a more beautiful composition. Listen! Go down and ask him\nwhat this instrument costs; but I won\u2019t kiss him again.\u2019\n\n\u2018He wants a hundred kisses from the Princess,\u2019 said the\nlady-in-waiting who had gone down to ask him.\n\n\u2018I believe he is mad!\u2019 said the Princess, and then she went on; but\nshe had only gone a few steps when she stopped.\n\n\u2018One ought to encourage art,\u2019 she said. \u2018I am the Emperor\u2019s daughter!\nTell him he shall have, as before, ten kisses; the rest he can take\nfrom my ladies-in-waiting.\u2019\n\n\u2018But we don\u2019t at all like being kissed by him,\u2019 said the\nladies-in-waiting.\n\n\u2018That\u2019s nonsense,\u2019 said the Princess; \u2018and if I can kiss him, you can\ntoo. Besides, remember that I give you board and lodging.\u2019\n\nSo the ladies-in-waiting had to go down to him again.\n\n\u2018A hundred kisses from the Princess,\u2019 said he, \u2018or each keeps his\nown.\u2019\n\n\u2018Put yourselves in front of us,\u2019 she said then; and so all the\nladies-in-waiting put themselves in front, and he began to kiss the\nPrincess.\n\n\u2018What can that commotion be by the pigsties?\u2019 asked the Emperor, who\nwas standing on the balcony. He rubbed his eyes and put on his\nspectacles. \u2018Why those are the ladies-in-waiting playing their games;\nI must go down to them.\u2019\n\nSo he took off his shoes, which were shoes though he had trodden them\ndown into slippers. What a hurry he was in, to be sure!\n\nAs soon as he came into the yard he walked very softly, and the\nladies-in-waiting were so busy counting the kisses and seeing fair\nplay that they never noticed the Emperor. He stood on tip-toe.\n\n\u2018What is that?\u2019 he said, when he saw the kissing; and then he threw\none of his slippers at their heads just as the Swineherd was taking\nhis eighty-sixth kiss.\n\n\u2018Be off with you!\u2019 said the Emperor, for he was very angry. And the\nPrincess and the Swineherd were driven out of the empire.\n\nThen she stood still and wept; the Swineherd was scolding, and the\nrain was streaming down.\n\n\u2018Alas, what an unhappy creature I am!\u2019 sobbed the Princess. \u2018If only I\nhad taken the beautiful Prince! Alas, how unfortunate I am!\u2019\n\nAnd the Swineherd went behind a tree, washed the black and brown off\nhis face, threw away his old clothes, and then stepped forward in his\nsplendid dress, looking so beautiful that the Princess was obliged to\ncourtesy.\n\n\u2018I now come to this. I despise you!\u2019 he said. \u2018You would have nothing\nto do with a noble Prince; you did not understand the rose or the\nnightingale, but you could kiss the Swineherd for the sake of a toy.\nThis is what you get for it!\u2019 And he went into his kingdom and shut\nthe door in her face, and she had to stay outside singing\u2014\n\n     \u2018Where\u2019s my Augustus dear?\n      Alas! he\u2019s not here, here, here!\u2019\n\n\n\n\n_HOW TO TELL A TRUE PRINCESS_\n\n\nThere was once upon a time a Prince who wanted to marry a Princess,\nbut she must be a true Princess. So he travelled through the whole\nworld to find one, but there was always something against each. There\nwere plenty of Princesses, but he could not find out if they were true\nPrincesses. In every case there was some little defect, which showed\nthe genuine article was not yet found. So he came home again in very\nlow spirits, for he had wanted very much to have a true Princess. One\nnight there was a dreadful storm; it thundered and lightened and the\nrain streamed down in torrents. It was fearful! There was a knocking\nheard at the Palace gate, and the old King went to open it.\n\nThere stood a Princess outside the gate; but oh, in what a sad plight\nshe was from the rain and the storm! The water was running down from\nher hair and her dress into the points of her shoes and out at the\nheels again. And yet she said she was a true Princess!\n\n\u2018Well, we shall soon find that!\u2019 thought the old Queen. But she said\nnothing, and went into the sleeping-room, took off all the\nbed-clothes, and laid a pea on the bottom of the bed. Then she put\ntwenty mattresses on top of the pea, and twenty eider-down quilts on\nthe top of the mattresses. And this was the bed in which the Princess\nwas to sleep.\n\nThe next morning she was asked how she had slept.\n\n\u2018Oh, very badly!\u2019 said the Princess. \u2018I scarcely closed my eyes all\nnight! I am sure I don\u2019t know what was in the bed. I laid on something\nso hard that my whole body is black and blue. It is dreadful!\u2019\n\nNow they perceived that she was a true Princess, because she had felt\nthe pea through the twenty mattresses and the twenty eider-down\nquilts.\n\nNo one but a true Princess could be so sensitive.\n\nSo the Prince married her, for now he knew that at last he had got\nhold of a true Princess. And the pea was put into the Royal Museum,\nwhere it is still to be seen if no one has stolen it. Now this is a\ntrue story.\n\n[Illustration: A True Princess]\n\n\n\n\n_THE BLUE MOUNTAINS_\n\n\nThere were once a Scotsman and an Englishman and an Irishman serving\nin the army together, who took it into their heads to run away on the\nfirst opportunity they could get. The chance came and they took it.\nThey went on travelling for two days through a great forest, without\nfood or drink, and without coming across a single house, and every\nnight they had to climb up into the trees through fear of the wild\nbeasts that were in the wood. On the second morning the Scotsman saw\nfrom the top of his tree a great castle far away. He said to himself\nthat he would certainly die if he stayed in the forest without\nanything to eat but the roots of grass, which would not keep him alive\nvery long. As soon, then, as he got down out of the tree he set off\ntowards the castle, without so much as telling his companions that he\nhad seen it at all; perhaps the hunger and want they had suffered had\nchanged their nature so much that the one did not care what became of\nthe other if he could save himself. He travelled on most of the day,\nso that it was quite late when he reached the castle, and to his great\ndisappointment found nothing but closed doors and no smoke rising from\nthe chimneys. He thought there was nothing for it but to die after\nall, and had lain down beside the wall, when he heard a window being\nopened high above him. At this he looked up, and saw the most\nbeautiful woman he had ever set eyes on.\n\n\u2018Oh, it is Fortune that has sent you to me,\u2019 he said.\n\n\u2018It is indeed,\u2019 said she. \u2018What are you in need of, or what has sent\nyou here?\u2019\n\n\u2018Necessity,\u2019 said he. \u2018I am dying for want of food and drink.\u2019\n\n\u2018Come inside, then,\u2019 she said; \u2018there is plenty of both here.\u2019\n\nAccordingly he went in to where she was, and she opened a large room\nfor him, where he saw a number of men lying asleep. She then set food\nbefore him, and after that showed him to the room where the others\nwere. He lay down on one of the beds and fell sound asleep. And now we\nmust go back to the two that he left behind him in the wood.\n\nWhen nightfall and the time of the wild beasts came upon these, the\nEnglishman happened to climb up into the very same tree on which the\nScotsman was when he got a sight of the castle; and as soon as the day\nbegan to dawn and the Englishman looked to the four quarters of\nheaven, what did he see but the castle too! Off he went without saying\na word to the Irishman, and everything happened to him just as it had\ndone to the Scotsman.\n\nThe poor Irishman was now left all alone, and did not know where the\nothers had gone to, so he just stayed where he was, very sad and\nmiserable. When night came he climbed up into the same tree as the\nEnglishman had been on the night before. As soon as day came he also\nsaw the castle, and set out towards it; but when he reached it he\ncould see no signs of fire or living being about it. Before long,\nhowever, he heard the window opened above his head, looked up, and\nbeheld the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He asked if she\nwould give him food and drink, and she answered kindly and heartily\nthat she would, if he would only come inside. This he did very\nwillingly, and she set before him food and drink that he had never\nseen the like of before. In the room there was a bed, with diamond\nrings hanging at every loop of the curtains, and everything that was\nin the room besides astonished him so much that he actually forgot\nthat he was hungry. When she saw that he was not eating at all, she\nasked him what he wanted yet, to which he replied that he would\nneither eat nor drink until he knew who she was, or where she came\nfrom, or who had put her there.\n\n\u2018I shall tell you that,\u2019 said she. \u2018I am an enchanted Princess, and my\nfather has promised that the man who releases me from the spell shall\nhave the third of his kingdom while he is alive, and the whole of it\nafter he is dead, and marry me as well. If ever I saw a man who looked\nlikely to do this, you are the one. I have been here for sixteen years\nnow, and no one who ever came to the castle has asked me who I was,\nexcept yourself. Every other man that has come, so long as I have been\nhere, lies asleep in the big room down there.\u2019\n\n\u2018Tell me, then,\u2019 said the Irishman, \u2018what is the spell that has been\nlaid on you, and how you can be freed from it.\u2019\n\n\u2018There is a little room there,\u2019 said the Princess, \u2018and if I could get\na man to stay in it from ten o\u2019clock till midnight for three nights on\nend I should be freed from the spell.\u2019\n\n\u2018I am the man for you, then,\u2019 said he; \u2018I will take on hand to do it.\u2019\n\nThereupon she brought him a pipe and tobacco, and he went into the\nroom; but before long he heard a hammering and knocking on the outside\nof the door, and was told to open it.\n\n[Illustration: The Princess Revives the Irishman]\n\n\u2018I won\u2019t,\u2019 he said.\n\nThe next moment the door came flying in, and those outside along with\nit. They knocked him down, and kicked him, and knelt on his body till\nit came to midnight; but as soon as the cock crew they all\ndisappeared. The Irishman was little more than alive by this time. As\nsoon as daylight appeared the Princess came, and found him lying full\nlength on the floor, unable to speak a word. She took a bottle, rubbed\nhim from head to foot with something from it, and thereupon he was as\nsound as ever; but after what he had got that night he was very\nunwilling to try it a second time. The Princess, however, entreated\nhim to stay, saying that the next night would not be so bad, and in\nthe end he gave in and stayed.\n\nWhen it was getting near midnight he heard them ordering him to open\nthe door, and there were three of them for every one that there had\nbeen the previous evening. He did not make the slightest movement to\ngo out to them or to open the door, but before long they broke it up,\nand were in on top of him. They laid hold of him, and kept throwing\nhim between them up to the ceiling, or jumping above him, until the\ncock crew, when they all disappeared. When day came the Princess went\nto the room to see if he was still alive, and taking the bottle put it\nto his nostrils, which soon brought him to himself. The first thing he\nsaid then was that he was a fool to go on getting himself killed for\nanyone he ever saw, and was determined to be off and stay there no\nlonger. When the Princess learned his intention she entreated him to\nstay, reminding him that another night would free her from the spell.\n\u2018Besides,\u2019 she said, \u2018if there is a single spark of life in you when\nthe day comes, the stuff that is in this bottle will make you as sound\nas ever you were.\u2019\n\nWith all this the Irishman decided to stay; but that night there were\nthree at him for every one that was there the two nights before, and\nit looked very unlikely that he would be alive in the morning after\nall that he got. When morning dawned, and the Princess came to see if\nhe was still alive, she found him lying on the floor as if dead. She\ntried to see if there was breath in him, but could not quite make it\nout. Then she put her hand on his pulse, and found a faint movement in\nit. Accordingly she poured what was in the bottle on him, and before\nlong he rose up on his feet, and was as well as ever he was. So that\nbusiness was finished, and the Princess was freed from the spell.\n\nThe Princess then told the Irishman that she must go away for the\npresent, but would return for him in a few days in a carriage drawn by\nfour grey horses. He told her to \u2018be aisy,\u2019 and not speak like that to\nhim. \u2018I have paid dear for you for the last three nights,\u2019 he said,\n\u2018if I have to part with you now;\u2019 but in the twinkling of an eye she\nhad disappeared. He did not know what to do with himself when he saw\nthat she was gone, but before she went she had given him a little rod,\nwith which he could, when he pleased, waken the men who had been\nsleeping there, some of them for sixteen years.\n\nAfter being thus left alone, he went in and stretched himself on three\nchairs that were in the room, when what does he see coming in at the\ndoor but a little fair-haired lad.\n\n\u2018Where did you come from, my lad?\u2019 said the Irishman.\n\n\u2018I came to make ready your food for you,\u2019 said he.\n\n\u2018Who told you to do that?\u2019 said the Irishman.\n\n\u2018My mistress,\u2019 answered the lad\u2014\u2018the Princess that was under the\nspell and is now free.\u2019\n\nBy this the Irishman knew that she had sent the lad to wait on him.\nThe lad also told him that his mistress wished him to be ready next\nmorning at nine o\u2019clock, when she would come for him with the\ncarriage, as she had promised. He was greatly pleased at this, and\nnext morning, when the time was drawing near, went out into the\ngarden; but the little fair-haired lad took a big pin out of his\npocket, and stuck it into the back of the Irishman\u2019s coat without his\nnoticing it, whereupon he fell sound asleep.\n\nBefore long the Princess came with the carriage and four horses, and\nasked the lad whether his master was awake. He said that he wasn\u2019t.\n\u2018It is bad for him,\u2019 said she, \u2018when the night is not long enough for\nhim to sleep. Tell him that if he doesn\u2019t meet me at this time\nto-morrow it is not likely that he will ever see me again all his\nlife.\u2019\n\nAs soon as she was gone the fair-haired lad took the pin out of his\nmaster\u2019s coat, who instantly awoke. The first word he said to the lad\nwas, \u2018Have you seen her?\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes,\u2019 said he, \u2018and she bade me tell you that if you don\u2019t meet her\nat nine o\u2019clock to-morrow you will never see her again.\u2019\n\nHe was very sorry when he heard this, and could not understand why the\nsleep should have fallen upon him just when she was coming. He\ndecided, however, to go early to bed that night, in order to rise in\ntime next morning, and so he did. When it was getting near nine\no\u2019clock he went out to the garden to wait till she came, and the\nfair-haired lad along with him; but as soon as the lad got the chance\nhe stuck the pin into his master\u2019s coat again and he fell asleep as\nbefore. Precisely at nine o\u2019clock came the Princess in the carriage\nwith four horses, and asked the lad if his master had got up yet; but\nhe said \u2018No, he was asleep, just as he was the day before.\u2019 \u2018Dear!\ndear!\u2019 said the Princess, \u2018I am sorry for him. Was the sleep he had\nlast night not enough for him? Tell him that he will never see me here\nagain; and here is a sword that you will give him in my name, and my\nblessing along with it.\u2019\n\nWith this she went off, and as soon as she had gone the lad took the\npin out of his master\u2019s coat. He awoke instantly, and the first word\nhe said was, \u2018Have you seen her?\u2019 The lad said that he had, and there\nwas the sword she had left for him. The Irishman was ready to kill the\nlad out of sheer vexation, but when he gave a glance over his shoulder\nnot a trace of the fair-haired lad was left.\n\nBeing thus left all alone, he thought of going into the room where all\nthe men were lying asleep, and there among the rest he found his two\ncomrades who had deserted along with him. Then he remembered what the\nPrincess had told him\u2014that he had only to touch them with the rod she\nhad given him and they would all awake; and the first he touched were\nhis own comrades. They started to their feet at once, and he gave them\nas much silver and gold as they could carry when they went away. There\nwas plenty to do before he got all the others wakened, for the two\ndoors of the castle were crowded with them all the day long.\n\nThe loss of the Princess, however, kept rankling in his mind day and\nnight, till finally he thought he would go about the world to see if\nhe could find anyone to give him news of her. So he took the best\nhorse in the stable and set out. Three years he spent travelling\nthrough forests and wildernesses, but could find no one able to tell\nhim anything of the Princess. At last he fell into so great despair\nthat he thought he would put an end to his own life, and for this\npurpose laid hold of the sword that she had given him by the hands of\nthe fair-haired lad; but on drawing it from its sheath he noticed that\nthere was some writing on one side of the blade. He looked at this,\nand read there, \u2018You will find me in the Blue Mountains.\u2019 This made\nhim take heart again, and he gave up the idea of killing himself,\nthinking that he would go on in hope of meeting some one who could\ntell him where the Blue Mountains were. After he had gone a long way\nwithout thinking where he was going, he saw at last a light far away,\nand made straight for it. On reaching it he found it came from a\nlittle house, and as soon as the man inside heard the noise of the\nhorse\u2019s feet he came out to see who was there. Seeing a stranger on\nhorseback, he asked what brought him there and where he was going.\n\n\u2018I have lived here,\u2019 said he, \u2018for three hundred years, and all that\ntime I have not seen a single human being but yourself.\u2019\n\n\u2018I have been going about for the last three years,\u2019 said the Irishman,\n\u2018to see if I could find anyone who can tell me where the Blue\nMountains are.\u2019\n\n\u2018Come in,\u2019 said the old man, \u2018and stay with me all night. I have a\nbook which contains the history of the world, which I shall go through\nto-night, and if there is such a place as the Blue Mountains in it we\nshall find it out.\u2019\n\nThe Irishman stayed there all night, and as soon as morning came rose\nto go. The old man said he had not gone to sleep all night for going\nthrough the book, but there was not a word about the Blue Mountains in\nit. \u2018But I\u2019ll tell you what,\u2019 he said, \u2018if there is such a place on\nearth at all, I have a brother who lives nine hundred miles from here,\nand he is sure to know where they are, if anyone in this world does.\u2019\nThe Irishman answered that he could never go these nine hundred miles,\nfor his horse was giving in already. \u2018That doesn\u2019t matter,\u2019 said the\nold man; \u2018I can do better than that. I have only to blow my whistle\nand you will be at my brother\u2019s house before nightfall.\u2019\n\nSo he blew the whistle, and the Irishman did not know where on earth\nhe was until he found himself at the other old man\u2019s door, who also\ntold him that it was three hundred years since he had seen anyone, and\nasked him where he was going.\n\n\u2018I am going to see if I can find anyone that can tell me where the\nBlue Mountains are,\u2019 he said.\n\n\u2018If you will stay with me to-night,\u2019 said the old man, \u2018I have a book\nof the history of the world, and I shall know where they are before\ndaylight, if there is such a place in it at all.\u2019\n\nHe stayed there all night, but there was not a word in the book about\nthe Blue Mountains. Seeing that he was rather cast down, the old man\ntold him that he had a brother nine hundred miles away, and that if\ninformation could be got about them from anyone it would be from him;\n\u2018and I will enable you,\u2019 he said, \u2018to reach the place where he lives\nbefore night.\u2019 So he blew his whistle, and the Irishman landed at the\nbrother\u2019s house before nightfall. When the old man saw him he said he\nhad not seen a single man for three hundred years, and was very much\nsurprised to see anyone come to him now.\n\n[Illustration: The Irishman Arrives at the Blue Mountains]\n\n\u2018Where are you going to?\u2019 he said.\n\n\u2018I am going about asking for the Blue Mountains,\u2019 said the Irishman.\n\n\u2018The Blue Mountains?\u2019 said the old man.\n\n\u2018Yes,\u2019 said the Irishman.\n\n\u2018I never heard the name before; but if they do exist I shall find them\nout. I am master of all the birds in the world, and have only to blow\nmy whistle and every one will come to me. I shall then ask each of\nthem to tell where it came from, and if there is any way of finding\nout the Blue Mountains that is it.\u2019\n\nSo he blew his whistle, and when he blew it then all the birds of the\nworld began to gather. The old man questioned each of them as to where\nthey had come from, but there was not one of them that had come from\nthe Blue Mountains. After he had run over them all, however, he missed\na big Eagle that was wanting, and wondered that it had not come. Soon\nafterwards he saw something big coming towards him, darkening the sky.\nIt kept coming nearer and growing bigger, and what was this after all\nbut the Eagle? When she arrived the old man scolded her, and asked\nwhat had kept her so long behind.\n\n\u2018I couldn\u2019t help it,\u2019 she said; \u2018I had more than twenty times further\nto come than any bird that has come here to-day.\u2019\n\n\u2018Where have you come from, then?\u2019 said the old man.\n\n\u2018From the Blue Mountains,\u2019 said she.\n\n\u2018Indeed!\u2019 said the old man; \u2018and what are they doing there?\u2019\n\n\u2018They are making ready this very day,\u2019 said the Eagle, \u2018for the\nmarriage of the daughter of the King of the Blue Mountains. For three\nyears now she has refused to marry anyone whatsoever, until she should\ngive up all hope of the coming of the man who released her from the\nspell. Now she can wait no longer, for three years is the time that\nshe agreed with her father to remain without marrying.\u2019\n\nThe Irishman knew that it was for himself she had been waiting so\nlong, but he was unable to make any better of it, for he had no hope\nof reaching the Blue Mountains all his life. The old man noticed how\nsad he grew, and asked the Eagle what she would take for carrying this\nman on her back to the Blue Mountains.\n\n\u2018I must have threescore cattle killed,\u2019 said she, \u2018and cut up into\nquarters, and every time I look over my shoulder he must throw one of\nthem into my mouth.\u2019\n\nAs soon as the Irishman and the old man heard her demand they went out\nhunting, and before evening they had killed threescore cattle. They\nmade quarters of them, as the Eagle told them, and then the old man\nasked her to lie down, till they would get it all heaped up on her\nback. First of all, though, they had to get a ladder of fourteen\nsteps, to enable them to get on to the Eagle\u2019s back, and there they\npiled up the meat as well as they could. Then the old man told the\nIrishman to mount, and to remember to throw a quarter of beef to her\nevery time she looked round. He went up, and the old man gave the\nEagle the word to be off, which she instantly obeyed; and every time\nshe turned her head the Irishman threw a quarter of beef into her\nmouth.\n\nAs they came near the borders of the kingdom of the Blue Mountains,\nhowever, the beef was done, and, when the Eagle looked over her\nshoulder, what was the Irishman at but throwing the stone between her\ntail and her neck! At this she turned a complete somersault, and threw\nthe Irishman off into the sea, where he fell into the bay that was\nright in front of the King\u2019s Palace. Fortunately the points of his\ntoes just touched the bottom, and he managed to get ashore.\n\nWhen he went up into the town all the streets were gleaming with\nlight, and the wedding of the Princess was just about to begin. He\nwent into the first house he came to, and this happened to be the\nhouse of the King\u2019s hen-wife. He asked the old woman what was causing\nall the noise and light in the town.\n\n\u2018The Princess,\u2019 said she, \u2018is going to be married to-night against her\nwill, for she has been expecting every day that the man who freed her\nfrom the spell would come.\u2019\n\n\u2018There is a guinea for you,\u2019 said he; \u2018go and bring her here.\u2019\n\nThe old woman went, and soon returned along with the Princess. She and\nthe Irishman recognised each other, and were married, and had a great\nwedding that lasted for a year and a day.\n\n\n\n\n_THE TINDER-BOX_\n\n\nA Soldier came marching along the high road\u2014left, right! left, right!\nHe had his knapsack on his back and a sword by his side, for he had\nbeen to the wars and was now returning home.\n\nAn old Witch met him on the road. She was very ugly to look at: her\nunder-lip hung down to her breast.\n\n\u2018Good evening, Soldier!\u2019 she said. \u2018What a fine sword and knapsack you\nhave! You are something like a soldier! You ought to have as much\nmoney as you would like to carry!\u2019\n\n\u2018Thank you, old Witch,\u2019 said the Soldier.\n\n\u2018Do you see that great tree there?\u2019 said the Witch, pointing to a tree\nbeside them. \u2018It is hollow within. You must climb up to the top, and\nthen you will see a hole through which you can let yourself down into\nthe tree. I will tie a rope round your waist, so that I may be able to\npull you up again when you call.\u2019\n\n\u2018What shall I do down there?\u2019 asked the Soldier.\n\n\u2018Get money!\u2019 answered the Witch. \u2018Listen! When you reach the bottom of\nthe tree you will find yourself in a large hall; it is light there,\nfor there are more than three hundred lamps burning. Then you will see\nthree doors, which you can open\u2014the keys are in the locks. If you go\ninto the first room, you will see a great chest in the middle of the\nfloor with a dog sitting upon it; he has eyes as large as saucers, but\nyou needn\u2019t trouble about him. I will give you my blue-check apron,\nwhich you must spread out on the floor, and then go back quickly and\nfetch the dog and set him upon it; open the chest and take as much\nmoney as you like. It is copper there. If you would rather have\nsilver, you must go into the next room, where there is a dog with eyes\nas large as mill-wheels. But don\u2019t take any notice of him; just set\nhim upon my apron, and help yourself to the money. If you prefer gold,\nyou can get that too, if you go into the third room, and as much as\nyou like to carry. But the dog that guards the chest there has eyes as\nlarge as the Round Tower at Copenhagen! He is a savage dog, I can tell\nyou; but you needn\u2019t be afraid of him either. Only, put him on my\napron and he won\u2019t touch you, and you can take out of the chest as\nmuch gold as you like!\u2019\n\n\u2018Come, this is not bad!\u2019 said the Soldier. \u2018But what am I to give you,\nold Witch; for surely you are not going to do this for nothing?\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes, I am!\u2019 replied the Witch. \u2018Not a single farthing will I take!\nFor me you shall bring nothing but an old tinder-box which my\ngrandmother forgot last time she was down there.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, tie the rope round my waist!\u2019 said the Soldier.\n\n\u2018Here it is,\u2019 said the Witch, \u2018and here is my blue-check apron.\u2019\n\nThen the Soldier climbed up the tree, let himself down through the\nhole, and found himself standing, as the Witch had said, underground\nin the large hall, where the three hundred lamps were burning.\n\nWell, he opened the first door. Ugh! there sat the dog with eyes as\nbig as saucers glaring at him.\n\n\u2018You are a fine fellow!\u2019 said the Soldier, and put him on the Witch\u2019s\napron, took as much copper as his pockets could hold; then he shut the\nchest, put the dog on it again, and went into the second room. Sure\nenough there sat the dog with eyes as large as mill-wheels.\n\n\u2018You had better not look at me so hard!\u2019 said the Soldier. \u2018Your eyes\nwill come out of their sockets!\u2019\n\nAnd then he set the dog on the apron. When he saw all the silver in\nthe chest, he threw away the copper he had taken, and filled his\npockets and knapsack with nothing but silver.\n\nThen he went into the third room. Horrors! the dog there had two eyes,\neach as large as the Round Tower at Copenhagen, spinning round in his\nhead like wheels.\n\n\u2018Good evening!\u2019 said the Soldier and saluted, for he had never seen a\ndog like this before. But when he had examined him more closely, he\nthought to himself: \u2018Now then, I\u2019ve had enough of this!\u2019 and put him\ndown on the floor, and opened the chest. Heavens! what a heap of gold\nthere was! With all that he could buy up the whole town, and all the\nsugar pigs, all the tin soldiers, whips and rocking-horses in the\nwhole world. Now he threw away all the silver with which he had filled\nhis pockets and knapsack, and filled them with gold instead\u2014yes, all\nhis pockets, his knapsack, cap and boots even, so that he could hardly\nwalk. Now he was rich indeed. He put the dog back upon the chest, shut\nthe door, and then called up through the tree:\n\n\u2018Now pull me up again, old Witch!\u2019\n\n\u2018Have you got the tinder-box also?\u2019 asked the Witch.\n\n\u2018Botheration!\u2019 said the Soldier, \u2018I had clean forgotten it!\u2019 And then\nhe went back and fetched it.\n\nThe Witch pulled him up, and there he stood again on the high road,\nwith pockets, knapsack, cap and boots filled with gold.\n\n[Illustration: The Soldier Fills his Knapsack with Money]\n\n\u2018What do you want to do with the tinder-box?\u2019 asked the Soldier.\n\n\u2018That doesn\u2019t matter to you,\u2019 replied the Witch. \u2018You have got your\nmoney, give me my tinder-box.\u2019\n\n\u2018We\u2019ll see!\u2019 said the Soldier. \u2018Tell me at once what you want to do\nwith it, or I will draw my sword, and cut off your head!\u2019\n\n\u2018No!\u2019 screamed the Witch.\n\nThe Soldier immediately cut off her head. That was the end of her! But\nhe tied up all his gold in her apron, slung it like a bundle over his\nshoulder, put the tinder-box in his pocket, and set out towards the\ntown.\n\nIt was a splendid town! He turned into the finest inn, ordered the\nbest chamber and his favourite dinner; for now that he had so much\nmoney he was really rich.\n\nIt certainly occurred to the servant who had to clean his boots that\nthey were astonishingly old boots for such a rich lord. But that was\nbecause he had not yet bought new ones; next day he appeared in\nrespectable boots and fine clothes. Now, instead of a common soldier\nhe had become a noble lord, and the people told him about all the\ngrand doings of the town and the King, and what a beautiful Princess\nhis daughter was.\n\n\u2018How can one get to see her?\u2019 asked the Soldier.\n\n\u2018She is never to be seen at all!\u2019 they told him; \u2018she lives in a great\ncopper castle, surrounded by many walls and towers! No one except the\nKing may go in or out, for it is prophesied that she will marry a\ncommon soldier, and the King cannot submit to that.\u2019\n\n\u2018I should very much like to see her,\u2019 thought the Soldier; but he\ncould not get permission.\n\nNow he lived very gaily, went to the theatre, drove in the King\u2019s\ngarden, and gave the poor a great deal of money, which was very nice\nof him; he had experienced in former times how hard it is not to have\na farthing in the world. Now he was rich, wore fine clothes, and made\nmany friends, who all said that he was an excellent man, a real\nnobleman. And the Soldier liked that. But as he was always spending\nmoney, and never made any more, at last the day came when he had\nnothing left but two shillings, and he had to leave the beautiful\nrooms in which he had been living, and go into a little attic under\nthe roof, and clean his own boots, and mend them with a\ndarning-needle. None of his friends came to visit him there, for there\nwere too many stairs to climb.\n\nIt was a dark evening, and he could not even buy a light. But all at\nonce it flashed across him that there was a little end of tinder in\nthe tinder-box, which he had taken from the hollow tree into which the\nWitch had helped him down. He found the box with the tinder in it; but\njust as he was kindling a light, and had struck a spark out of the\ntinder-box, the door burst open, and the dog with eyes as large as\nsaucers, which he had seen down in the tree, stood before him and\nsaid:\n\n\u2018What does my lord command?\u2019\n\n\u2018What\u2019s the meaning of this?\u2019 exclaimed the Soldier. \u2018This is a pretty\nkind of tinder-box, if I can get whatever I want like this. Get me\nmoney!\u2019 he cried to the dog, and hey, presto! he was off and back\nagain, holding a great purse full of money in his mouth.\n\nNow the Soldier knew what a capital tinder-box this was. If he rubbed\nonce, the dog that sat on the chest of copper appeared; if he rubbed\ntwice, there came the dog that watched over the silver chest; and if\nhe rubbed three times, the one that guarded the gold appeared. Now,\nthe Soldier went down again to his beautiful rooms, and appeared once\nmore in splendid clothes. All his friends immediately recognised him\nagain, and paid him great court.\n\nOne day he thought to himself: \u2018It is very strange that no one can get\nto see the Princess. They all say she is very pretty, but what\u2019s the\nuse of that if she has to sit for ever in the great copper castle with\nall the towers? Can I not manage to see her somehow? Where is my\ntinder-box?\u2019 and so he struck a spark, and, presto! there came the dog\nwith eyes as large as saucers.\n\n[Illustration: The Dog Brings in The Princess]\n\n\u2018It is the middle of the night, I know,\u2019 said the Soldier; \u2018but I\nshould very much like to see the Princess for a moment.\u2019\n\nThe dog was already outside the door, and before the Soldier could\nlook round, in he came with the Princess. She was lying asleep on the\ndog\u2019s back, and was so beautiful that anyone could see she was a real\nPrincess. The Soldier really could not refrain from kissing her\u2014he\nwas such a thorough Soldier. Then the dog ran back with the Princess.\nBut when it was morning, and the King and Queen were drinking tea, the\nPrincess said that the night before she had had such a strange dream\nabout a dog and a Soldier: she had ridden on the dog\u2019s back, and the\nSoldier had kissed her.\n\n\u2018That is certainly a fine story,\u2019 said the Queen. But the next night\none of the ladies-in-waiting was to watch at the Princess\u2019s bed, to\nsee if it was only a dream, or if it had actually happened.\n\nThe Soldier had an overpowering longing to see the Princess again, and\nso the dog came in the middle of the night and fetched her, running as\nfast as he could. But the lady-in-waiting slipped on indiarubber shoes\nand followed them. When she saw them disappear into a large house, she\nthought to herself: \u2018Now I know where it is;\u2019 and made a great cross\non the door with a piece of chalk. Then she went home and lay down,\nand the dog came back also, with the Princess. But when he saw that a\ncross had been made on the door of the house where the Soldier lived,\nhe took a piece of chalk also, and made crosses on all the doors in\nthe town; and that was very clever, for now the lady-in-waiting could\nnot find the right house, as there were crosses on all the doors.\n\nEarly next morning the King, Queen, ladies-in-waiting, and officers\ncame out to see where the Princess had been.\n\n\u2018There it is!\u2019 said the King, when he saw the first door with a cross\non it.\n\n\u2018No, there it is, my dear!\u2019 said the Queen, when she likewise saw a\ndoor with a cross.\n\n\u2018But here is one, and there is another!\u2019 they all exclaimed; wherever\nthey looked there was a cross on the door. Then they realised that the\nsign would not help them at all.\n\nBut the Queen was an extremely clever woman, who could do a great deal\nmore than just drive in a coach. She took her great golden scissors,\ncut up a piece of silk, and made a pretty little bag of it. This she\nfilled with the finest buckwheat grains, and tied it round the\nPrincess\u2019 neck; this done, she cut a little hole in the bag, so that\nthe grains would strew the whole road wherever the Princess went.\n\nIn the night the dog came again, took the Princess on his back and ran\naway with her to the Soldier, who was very much in love with her, and\nwould have liked to have been a Prince, so that he might have had her\nfor his wife.\n\nThe dog did not notice how the grains were strewn right from the\ncastle to the Soldier\u2019s window, where he ran up the wall with the\nPrincess.\n\nIn the morning the King and the Queen saw plainly where their daughter\nhad been, and they took the Soldier and put him into prison.\n\n[Illustration: \u2018He was skipping along so merrily\u2019]\n\nThere he sat. Oh, how dark and dull it was there! And they told him:\n\u2018To-morrow you are to be hanged.\u2019 Hearing that did not exactly cheer\nhim, and he had left his tinder-box in the inn.\n\nNext morning he could see through the iron grating in front of his\nlittle window how the people were hurrying out of the town to see him\nhanged. He heard the drums and saw the soldiers marching; all the\npeople were running to and fro. Just below his window was a\nshoemaker\u2019s apprentice, with leather apron and shoes; he was skipping\nalong so merrily that one of his shoes flew off and fell against the\nwall, just where the Soldier was sitting peeping through the iron\ngrating.\n\n\u2018Oh, shoemaker\u2019s boy, you needn\u2019t be in such a hurry!\u2019 said the\nSoldier to him. \u2018There\u2019s nothing going on till I arrive. But if you\nwill run back to the house where I lived, and fetch me my tinder-box,\nI will give you four shillings. But you must put your best foot\nforemost.\u2019\n\nThe shoemaker\u2019s boy was very willing to earn four shillings, and\nfetched the tinder-box, gave it to the Soldier, and\u2014yes\u2014now you\nshall hear.\n\nOutside the town a great scaffold had been erected, and all round were\nstanding the soldiers, and hundreds of thousands of people. The King\nand Queen were sitting on a magnificent throne opposite the judges and\nthe whole council.\n\nThe Soldier was already standing on the top of the ladder; but when\nthey wanted to put the rope round his neck, he said that the\nfulfilment of one innocent request was always granted to a poor\ncriminal before he underwent his punishment. He would so much like to\nsmoke a small pipe of tobacco; it would be his last pipe in this\nworld.\n\nThe King could not refuse him this, and so he took out his tinder-box,\nand rubbed it once, twice, three times. And lo, and behold! there\nstood all three dogs\u2014the one with eyes as large as saucers, the\nsecond with eyes as large as mill-wheels, and the third with eyes each\nas large as the Round Tower of Copenhagen.\n\n\u2018Help me now, so that I may not be hanged!\u2019 cried the Soldier. And\nthereupon the dogs fell upon the judges and the whole council, seized\nsome by the legs, others by the nose, and threw them so high into the\nair that they fell and were smashed into pieces.\n\n\u2018I won\u2019t stand this!\u2019 said the King; but the largest dog seized him\ntoo, and the Queen as well, and threw them up after the others. This\nfrightened the soldiers, and all the people cried: \u2018Good Soldier, you\nshall be our King, and marry the beautiful Princess!\u2019\n\nThen they put the Soldier into the King\u2019s coach, and the three dogs\ndanced in front, crying \u2018Hurrah!\u2019 And the boys whistled and the\nsoldiers presented arms.\n\nThe Princess came out of the copper castle, and became Queen; and that\npleased her very much.\n\nThe wedding festivities lasted for eight days, and the dogs sat at\ntable and made eyes at everyone.\n\n\n\n\n_THE WITCH IN THE STONE BOAT_[31]\n\n\nThere were once a King and a Queen, and they had a son called Sigurd,\nwho was very strong and active, and good-looking. When the King came\nto be bowed down with the weight of years he spoke to his son, and\nsaid that now it was time for him to look out for a fitting match for\nhimself, for he did not know how long he might last now, and he would\nlike to see him married before he died.\n\nSigurd was not averse to this, and asked his father where he thought\nit best to look for a wife. The King answered that in a certain\ncountry there was a King who had a beautiful daughter, and he thought\nit would be most desirable if Sigurd could get her. So the two parted,\nand Sigurd prepared for the journey, and went to where his father had\ndirected him.\n\nHe came to the King and asked his daughter\u2019s hand, which he readily\ngranted him, but only on the condition that he should remain there as\nlong as he could, for the King himself was not strong and not very\nable to govern his kingdom. Sigurd accepted this condition, but added\nthat he would have to get leave to go home again to his own country\nwhen he heard news of his father\u2019s death. After that Sigurd married\nthe Princess, and helped his father-in-law to govern the kingdom. He\nand the Princess loved each other dearly, and after a year a son came\nto them, who was two years old when word came to Sigurd that his\nfather was dead. Sigurd now prepared to return home with his wife and\nchild, and went on board ship to go by sea.\n\n[Footnote 31: From the Icelandic.]\n\n[Illustration: The Witch Comes on Board]\n\nThey had sailed for several days, when the breeze suddenly fell, and\nthere came a dead calm, at a time when they needed only one day\u2019s\nvoyage to reach home. Sigurd and his Queen were one day on deck, when\nmost of the others on the ship had fallen asleep. There they sat and\ntalked for a while, and had their little son along with them. After a\ntime Sigurd became so heavy with sleep that he could no longer keep\nawake, so he went below and lay down, leaving the Queen alone on the\ndeck, playing with her son.\n\nA good while after Sigurd had gone below the Queen saw something black\non the sea, which seemed to be coming nearer. As it approached she\ncould make out that it was a boat, and could see the figure of someone\nsitting in it and rowing it. At last the boat came alongside the ship,\nand now the Queen saw that it was a stone boat, out of which there\ncame up on board the ship a fearfully ugly Witch. The Queen was more\nfrightened than words can describe, and could neither speak a word nor\nmove from the place so as to awaken the King or the sailors. The Witch\ncame right up to the Queen, took the child from her and laid it on the\ndeck; then she took the Queen, and stripped her of all her fine\nclothes, which she proceeded to put on herself, and looked then like a\nhuman being. Last of all she took the Queen, put her into the boat,\nand said\u2014\n\n\u2018This spell I lay upon you, that you slacken not your course until you\ncome to my brother in the Under-world.\u2019\n\nThe Queen sat stunned and motionless, but the boat at once shot away\nfrom the ship with her, and before long she was out of sight.\n\nWhen the boat could no longer be seen the child began to cry, and\nthough the Witch tried to quiet it she could not manage it; so she\nwent below to where the King was sleeping with the child on her arm,\nand awakened him, scolding him for leaving them alone on deck, while\nhe and all the crew were asleep. It was great carelessness of him, she\nsaid, to leave no one to watch the ship with her.\n\nSigurd was greatly surprised to hear his Queen scold him so much, for\nshe had never said an angry word to him before; but he thought it was\nquite excusable in this case, and tried to quiet the child along with\nher, but it was no use. Then he went and wakened the sailors, and bade\nthem hoist the sails, for a breeze had sprung up and was blowing\nstraight towards the harbour.\n\nThey soon reached the land which Sigurd was to rule over, and found\nall the people sorrowful for the old King\u2019s death, but they became\nglad when they got Sigurd back to the Court, and made him King over\nthem.\n\nThe King\u2019s son, however, hardly ever stopped crying from the time he\nhad been taken from his mother on the deck of the ship, although he\nhad always been such a good child before, so that at last the King had\nto get a nurse for him\u2014one of the maids of the Court. As soon as the\nchild got into her charge he stopped crying, and behaved well as\nbefore.\n\nAfter the sea-voyage it seemed to the King that the Queen had altered\nvery much in many ways, and not for the better. He thought her much\nmore haughty and stubborn and difficult to deal with than she used to\nbe. Before long others began to notice this as well as the King. In\nthe Court there were two young fellows, one of eighteen years old, the\nother of nineteen, who were very fond of playing chess, and often sat\nlong inside playing at it. Their room was next the Queen\u2019s, and often\nduring the day they heard the Queen talking.\n\nOne day they paid more attention than usual when they heard her talk,\nand put their ears close to a crack in the wall between the rooms, and\nheard the Queen say quite plainly, \u2018When I yawn a little, then I am a\nnice little maiden; when I yawn half-way, then I am half a troll; and\nwhen I yawn fully, then I am a troll altogether.\u2019\n\nAs she said this she yawned tremendously, and in a moment had put on\nthe appearance of a fearfully ugly troll. Then there came up through\nthe floor of the room a three-headed Giant with a trough full of meat,\nwho saluted her as his sister and set down the trough before her. She\nbegan to eat out of it, and never stopped till she had finished it.\nThe young fellows saw all this going on, but did not hear the two of\nthem say anything to each other. They were astonished though at how\ngreedily the Queen devoured the meat, and how much she ate of it, and\nwere no longer surprised that she took so little when she sat at table\nwith the King. As soon as she had finished it the Giant disappeared\nwith the trough by the same way as he had come, and the Queen returned\nto her human shape.\n\nNow we must go back to the King\u2019s son after he had been put in charge\nof the nurse. One evening, after she had lit a candle and was holding\nthe child, several planks sprang up in the floor of the room, and out\nat the opening came a beautiful woman dressed in white, with an iron\nbelt round her waist, to which was fastened an iron chain that went\ndown into the ground. The woman came up to the nurse, took the child\nfrom her, and pressed it to her breast; then she gave it back to the\nnurse and returned by the same way as she had come, and the floor\nclosed over her again. Although the woman had not spoken a single word\nto her, the nurse was very much frightened, but told no one about it.\n\n[Illustration: Sigurd Hews the Chain Asunder.]\n\nNext evening the same thing happened again, just as before, but as the\nwoman was going away she said in a sad tone, \u2018Two are gone, and one\nonly is left,\u2019 and then disappeared as before. The nurse was still\nmore frightened when she heard the woman say this, and thought that\nperhaps some danger was hanging over the child, though she had no\nill-opinion of the unknown woman, who, indeed, had behaved towards the\nchild as if it were her own. The most mysterious thing was the woman\nsaying \u2018and only one is left;\u2019 but the nurse guessed that this must\nmean that only one day was left, since she had come for two days\nalready.\n\nAt last the nurse made up her mind to go to the King, and told him the\nwhole story, and asked him to be present in person next day about the\ntime when the woman usually came. The King promised to do so, and came\nto the nurse\u2019s room a little before the time, and sat down on a chair\nwith his drawn sword in his hand. Soon after the planks in the floor\nsprang up as before, and the woman came up, dressed in white, with the\niron belt and chain. The King saw at once that it was his own Queen,\nand immediately hewed asunder the iron chain that was fastened to the\nbelt. This was followed by such noises and crashings down in the earth\nthat all the King\u2019s Palace shook, so that no one expected anything\nelse than to see every bit of it shaken to pieces. At last, however,\nthe noises and shaking stopped, and they began to come to themselves\nagain.\n\nThe King and Queen embraced each other, and she told him the whole\nstory\u2014how the Witch came to the ship when they were all asleep and\nsent her off in the boat. After she had gone so far that she could not\nsee the ship, she sailed on through darkness until she landed beside a\nthree-headed Giant. The Giant wished her to marry him, but she\nrefused; whereupon he shut her up by herself, and told her she would\nnever get free until she consented. After a time she began to plan how\nto get her freedom, and at last told him that she would consent if he\nwould allow her to visit her son on earth three days on end. This he\nagreed to, but put on her this iron belt and chain, the other end of\nwhich he fastened round his own waist, and the great noises that were\nheard when the King cut the chain must have been caused by the Giant\u2019s\nfalling down the underground passage when the chain gave way so\nsuddenly. The Giant\u2019s dwelling, indeed, was right under the Palace,\nand the terrible shakings must have been caused by him in his\ndeath-throes.\n\nThe King now understood how the Queen he had had for some time past\nhad been so ill-tempered. He at once had a sack drawn over her head\nand made her be stoned to death, and after that torn in pieces by\nuntamed horses. The two young fellows also told now what they had\nheard and seen in the Queen\u2019s room, for before this they had been\nafraid to say anything about it, on account of the Queen\u2019s power.\n\nThe real Queen was now restored to all her dignity, and was beloved by\nall. The nurse was married to a nobleman, and the King and Queen gave\nher splendid presents.\n\n\n\n\n_THUMBELINA_\n\n\nThere was once a woman who wanted to have quite a tiny, little child,\nbut she did not know where to get one from. So one day she went to an\nold Witch and said to her: \u2018I should so much like to have a tiny,\nlittle child; can you tell me where I can get one?\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, we have just got one ready!\u2019 said the Witch. \u2018Here is a\nbarley-corn for you, but it\u2019s not the kind the farmer sows in his\nfield, or feeds the cocks and hens with, I can tell you. Put it in a\nflower-pot, and then you will see something happen.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, thank you!\u2019 said the woman, and gave the Witch a shilling, for\nthat was what it cost. Then she went home and planted the barley-corn;\nimmediately there grew out of it a large and beautiful flower, which\nlooked like a tulip, but the petals were tightly closed as if it were\nstill only a bud.\n\n\u2018What a beautiful flower!\u2019 exclaimed the woman, and she kissed the red\nand yellow petals; but as she kissed them the flower burst open. It\nwas a real tulip, such as one can see any day; but in the middle of\nthe blossom, on the green velvety petals, sat a little girl, quite\ntiny, trim, and pretty. She was scarcely half a thumb in height; so\nthey called her Thumbelina. An elegant polished walnut-shell served\nThumbelina as a cradle, the blue petals of a violet were her mattress,\nand a rose-leaf her coverlid. There she lay at night, but in the\nday-time she used to play about on the table; here the woman had put a\nbowl, surrounded by a ring of flowers, with their stalks in water, in\nthe middle of which floated a great tulip petal, and on this\nThumbelina sat, and sailed from one side of the bowl to the other,\nrowing herself with two white horse-hairs for oars. It was such a\npretty sight! She could sing, too, with a voice more soft and sweet\nthan had ever been heard before.\n\nOne night, when she was lying in her pretty little bed, an old toad\ncrept in through a broken pane in the window. She was very ugly,\nclumsy, and clammy; she hopped on to the table where Thumbelina lay\nasleep under the red rose-leaf.\n\n\u2018This would make a beautiful wife for my son,\u2019 said the toad, taking\nup the walnut-shell, with Thumbelina inside, and hopping with it\nthrough the window into the garden.\n\nThere flowed a great wide stream, with slippery and marshy banks; here\nthe toad lived with her son. Ugh! how ugly and clammy he was, just\nlike his mother! \u2018Croak, croak, croak!\u2019 was all he could say when he\nsaw the pretty little girl in the walnut-shell.\n\n[Illustration: CROAK CROAK CROAK Was All He Could Say.]\n\n\u2018Don\u2019t talk so loud, or you\u2019ll wake her,\u2019 said the old toad. \u2018She\nmight escape us even now; she is as light as a feather. We will put\nher at once on a broad water-lily leaf in the stream. That will be\nquite an island for her; she is so small and light. She can\u2019t run away\nfrom us there, whilst we are preparing the guest-chamber under the\nmarsh where she shall live.\u2019\n\nOutside in the brook grew many water-lilies, with broad green leaves,\nwhich looked as if they were swimming about on the water. The leaf\nfarthest away was the largest, and to this the old toad swam with\nThumbelina in her walnut-shell.\n\nThe tiny Thumbelina woke up very early in the morning, and when she\nsaw where she was she began to cry bitterly; for on every side of the\ngreat green leaf was water, and she could not get to the land.\n\nThe old toad was down under the marsh, decorating her room with rushes\nand yellow marigold leaves, to make it very grand for her new\ndaughter-in-law; then she swam out with her ugly son to the leaf where\nThumbelina lay. She wanted to fetch the pretty cradle to put it into\nher room before Thumbelina herself came there. The old toad bowed low\nin the water before her, and said: \u2018Here is my son; you shall marry\nhim, and live in great magnificence down under the marsh.\u2019\n\n[Illustration: Thumbelina Rides on the Waterlily-leaf]\n\n\u2018Croak, croak, croak!\u2019 was all that the son could say. Then they took\nthe neat little cradle and swam away with it; but Thumbelina sat alone\non the great green leaf and wept, for she did not want to live with\nthe clammy toad, or marry her ugly son. The little fishes swimming\nabout under the water had seen the toad quite plainly, and heard what\nshe had said; so they put up their heads to see the little girl. When\nthey saw her, they thought her so pretty that they were very sorry she\nshould go down with the ugly toad to live. No; that must not happen.\nThey assembled in the water round the green stalk which supported the\nleaf on which she was sitting and nibbled the stem in two. Away\nfloated the leaf down the stream, bearing Thumbelina far beyond the\nreach of the toad.\n\nOn she sailed past several towns, and the little birds sitting in the\nbushes saw her, and sang, \u2018What a pretty little girl!\u2019 The leaf\nfloated farther and farther away; thus Thumbelina left her native\nland.\n\nA beautiful little white butterfly fluttered above her, and at last\nsettled on the leaf. Thumbelina pleased him, and she, too, was\ndelighted, for now the toads could not reach her, and it was so\nbeautiful where she was travelling; the sun shone on the water and\nmade it sparkle like the brightest silver. She took off her sash, and\ntied one end round the butterfly; the other end she fastened to the\nleaf, so that now it glided along with her faster than ever.\n\nA great cockchafer came flying past; he caught sight of Thumbelina,\nand in a moment had put his arms round her slender waist, and had\nflown off with her to a tree. The green leaf floated away down the\nstream, and the butterfly with it, for he was fastened to the leaf and\ncould not get loose from it. Oh, dear! how terrified poor little\nThumbelina was when the cockchafer flew off with her to the tree! But\nshe was especially distressed on the beautiful white butterfly\u2019s\naccount, as she had tied him fast, so that if he could not get away he\nmust starve to death. But the cockchafer did not trouble himself about\nthat; he sat down with her on a large green leaf, gave her the honey\nout of the flowers to eat, and told her that she was very pretty,\nalthough she wasn\u2019t in the least like a cockchafer. Later on, all the\nother cockchafers who lived in the same tree came to pay calls; they\nexamined Thumbelina closely, and remarked, \u2018Why, she has only two\nlegs! How very miserable!\u2019\n\n\u2018She has no feelers!\u2019 cried another.\n\n\u2018How ugly she is!\u2019 said all the lady chafers\u2014and yet Thumbelina was\nreally very pretty.\n\nThe cockchafer who had stolen her knew this very well; but when he\nheard all the ladies saying she was ugly, he began to think so too,\nand would not keep her; she might go wherever she liked. So he flew\ndown from the tree with her and put her on a daisy. There she sat and\nwept, because she was so ugly that the cockchafer would have nothing\nto do with her; and yet she was the most beautiful creature\nimaginable, so soft and delicate, like the loveliest rose-leaf.\n\nThe whole summer poor little Thumbelina lived alone in the great wood.\nShe plaited a bed for herself of blades of grass, and hung it up under\na clover-leaf, so that she was protected from the rain; she gathered\nhoney from the flowers for food, and drank the dew on the leaves every\nmorning. Thus the summer and autumn passed, but then came winter\u2014the\nlong, cold winter. All the birds who had sung so sweetly about her had\nflown away; the trees shed their leaves, the flowers died; the great\nclover-leaf under which she had lived curled up, and nothing remained\nof it but the withered stalk. She was terribly cold, for her clothes\nwere ragged, and she herself was so small and thin. Poor little\nThumbelina! she would surely be frozen to death. It began to snow, and\nevery snow-flake that fell on her was to her as a whole shovelful\nthrown on one of us, for we are so big, and she was only an inch high.\nShe wrapt herself round in a dead leaf, but it was torn in the middle\nand gave her no warmth; she was trembling with cold.\n\nJust outside the wood where she was now living lay a great cornfield.\nBut the corn had been gone a long time; only the dry, bare stubble was\nleft standing in the frozen ground. This made a forest for her to\nwander about in. All at once she came across the door of a\nfield-mouse, who had a little hole under a corn-stalk. There the mouse\nlived warm and snug, with a store-room full of corn, a splendid\nkitchen and dining-room. Poor little Thumbelina went up to the door\nand begged for a little piece of barley, for she had not had anything\nto eat for the last two days.\n\n\u2018Poor little creature!\u2019 said the field-mouse, for she was a\nkind-hearted old thing at the bottom. \u2018Come into my warm room and have\nsome dinner with me.\u2019\n\nAs Thumbelina pleased her, she said: \u2018As far as I am concerned you may\nspend the winter with me; but you must keep my room clean and tidy,\nand tell me stories, for I like that very much.\u2019\n\nAnd Thumbelina did all that the kind old field-mouse asked, and did it\nremarkably well too.\n\n\u2018Now I am expecting a visitor,\u2019 said the field-mouse; \u2018my neighbour\ncomes to call on me once a week. He is in better circumstances than I\nam, has great, big rooms, and wears a fine black-velvet coat. If you\ncould only marry him, you would be well provided for. But he is blind.\nYou must tell him all the prettiest stories you know.\u2019\n\nBut Thumbelina did not trouble her head about him, for he was only a\nmole. He came and paid them a visit in his black-velvet coat.\n\n\u2018He is so rich and so accomplished,\u2019 the field-mouse told her. \u2018His\nhouse is twenty times larger than mine; he possesses great knowledge,\nbut he cannot bear the sun and the beautiful flowers, and speaks\nslightingly of them, for he has never seen them.\u2019\n\nThumbelina had to sing to him, so she sang \u2018Lady-bird, lady-bird, fly\naway home!\u2019 and other songs so prettily that the mole fell in love\nwith her; but he did not say anything, he was a very cautious man. A\nshort time before he had dug a long passage through the ground from\nhis own house to that of his neighbour; in this he gave the\nfield-mouse and Thumbelina permission to walk as often as they liked.\nBut he begged them not to be afraid of the dead bird that lay in the\npassage: it was a real bird with beak and feathers, and must have died\na little time ago, and now laid buried just where he had made his\ntunnel. The mole took a piece of rotten wood in his mouth, for that\nglows like fire in the dark, and went in front, lighting them through\nthe long dark passage. When they came to the place where the dead bird\nlay, the mole put his broad nose against the ceiling and pushed a hole\nthrough, so that the daylight could shine down. In the middle of the\npath lay a dead swallow, his pretty wings pressed close to his sides,\nhis claws and head drawn under his feathers; the poor bird had\nevidently died of cold. Thumbelina was very sorry, for she was very\nfond of all little birds; they had sung and twittered so beautifully\nto her all through the summer. But the mole kicked him with his bandy\nlegs and said:\n\n\u2018Now he can\u2019t sing any more! It must be very miserable to be a little\nbird! I\u2019m thankful that none of my little children are; birds always\nstarve in winter.\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes, you speak like a sensible man,\u2019 said the field-mouse. \u2018What has\na bird, in spite of all his singing, in the winter-time? He must\nstarve and freeze, and that must be very pleasant for him, I must\nsay!\u2019\n\nThumbelina did not say anything; but when the other two had passed on\nshe bent down to the bird, brushed aside the feathers from his head,\nand kissed his closed eyes gently. \u2018Perhaps it was he that sang to me\nso prettily in the summer,\u2019 she thought. \u2018How much pleasure he did\ngive me, dear little bird!\u2019\n\nThe mole closed up the hole again which let in the light, and then\nescorted the ladies home. But Thumbelina could not sleep that night;\nso she got out of bed, and plaited a great big blanket of straw, and\ncarried it off, and spread it over the dead bird, and piled upon it\nthistle-down as soft as cotton-wool, which she had found in the\nfield-mouse\u2019s room, so that the poor little thing should lie warmly\nburied.\n\n\u2018Farewell, pretty little bird!\u2019 she said. \u2018Farewell, and thank you for\nyour beautiful songs in the summer, when the trees were green, and the\nsun shone down warmly on us!\u2019 Then she laid her head against the\nbird\u2019s heart. But the bird was not dead: he had been frozen, but now\nthat she had warmed him, he was coming to life again.\n\nIn autumn the swallows fly away to foreign lands; but there are some\nwho are late in starting, and then they get so cold that they drop\ndown as if dead, and the snow comes and covers them over.\n\n[Illustration: Thumbelina Brings Thistle-down for the Swallow]\n\nThumbelina trembled, she was so frightened; for the bird was very\nlarge in comparison with herself\u2014only an inch high. But she took\ncourage, piled up the down more closely over the poor swallow, fetched\nher own coverlid and laid it over his head.\n\nNext night she crept out again to him. There he was alive, but very\nweak; he could only open his eyes for a moment and look at Thumbelina,\nwho was standing in front of him with a piece of rotten wood in her\nhand, for she had no other lantern.\n\n\u2018Thank you, pretty little child!\u2019 said the swallow to her. \u2018I am so\nbeautifully warm! Soon I shall regain my strength, and then I shall be\nable to fly out again into the warm sunshine.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh!\u2019 she said, \u2018it is very cold outside; it is snowing and freezing!\nstay in your warm bed; I will take care of you!\u2019\n\nThen she brought him water in a petal, which he drank, after which he\nrelated to her how he had torn one of his wings on a bramble, so that\nhe could not fly as fast as the other swallows, who had flown far away\nto warmer lands. So at last he had dropped down exhausted, and then he\ncould remember no more. The whole winter he remained down there, and\nThumbelina looked after him and nursed him tenderly. Neither the mole\nnor the field-mouse learnt anything of this, for they could not bear\nthe poor swallow.\n\nWhen the spring came, and the sun warmed the earth again, the swallow\nsaid farewell to Thumbelina, who opened the hole in the roof for him\nwhich the mole had made. The sun shone brightly down upon her, and the\nswallow asked her if she would go with him; she could sit upon his\nback. Thumbelina wanted very much to fly far away into the green wood,\nbut she knew that the old field-mouse would be sad if she ran away.\n\u2018No, I mustn\u2019t come!\u2019 she said.\n\n\u2018Farewell, dear good little girl!\u2019 said the swallow, and flew off into\nthe sunshine. Thumbelina gazed after him with the tears standing in\nher eyes, for she was very fond of the swallow.\n\n\u2018Tweet, tweet!\u2019 sang the bird, and flew into the green wood.\nThumbelina was very unhappy. She was not allowed to go out into the\nwarm sunshine. The corn which had been sowed in the field over the\nfield-mouse\u2019s home grew up high into the air, and made a thick forest\nfor the poor little girl, who was only an inch high.\n\n\u2018Now you are to be a bride, Thumbelina!\u2019 said the field-mouse, \u2018for\nour neighbour has proposed for you! What a piece of fortune for a poor\nchild like you! Now you must set to work at your linen for your dowry,\nfor nothing must be lacking if you are to become the wife of our\nneighbour, the mole!\u2019\n\nThumbelina had to spin all day long, and every evening the mole\nvisited her, and told her that when the summer was over the sun would\nnot shine so hot; now it was burning the earth as hard as a stone.\nYes, when the summer had passed, they would keep the wedding.\n\nBut she was not at all pleased about it, for she did not like the\nstupid mole. Every morning when the sun was rising, and every evening\nwhen it was setting, she would steal out of the house-door, and when\nthe breeze parted the ears of corn so that she could see the blue sky\nthrough them, she thought how bright and beautiful it must be outside,\nand longed to see her dear swallow again. But he never came; no doubt\nhe had flown away far into the great green wood.\n\nBy the autumn Thumbelina had finished the dowry.\n\n\u2018In four weeks you will be married!\u2019 said the field-mouse; \u2018don\u2019t be\nobstinate, or I shall bite you with my sharp white teeth! You will get\na fine husband! The King himself has not such a velvet coat. His\nstore-room and cellar are full, and you should be thankful for that.\u2019\n\n[Illustration: Thumbelina Has to Spin]\n\nWell, the wedding-day arrived. The mole had come to fetch Thumbelina\nto live with him deep down under the ground, never to come out into\nthe warm sun again, for that was what he didn\u2019t like. The poor little\ngirl was very sad; for now she must say good-bye to the beautiful sun.\n\n\u2018Farewell, bright sun!\u2019 she cried, stretching out her arms towards it,\nand taking another step outside the house; for now the corn had been\nreaped, and only the dry stubble was left standing. \u2018Farewell,\nfarewell!\u2019 she said, and put her arms round a little red flower that\ngrew there. \u2018Give my love to the dear swallow when you see him!\u2019\n\n\u2018Tweet, tweet!\u2019 sounded in her ear all at once. She looked up. There\nwas the swallow flying past! As soon as he saw Thumbelina, he was very\nglad. She told him how unwilling she was to marry the ugly mole, as\nthen she had to live underground where the sun never shone, and she\ncould not help bursting into tears.\n\n\u2018The cold winter is coming now,\u2019 said the swallow. \u2018I must fly away to\nwarmer lands: will you come with me? You can sit on my back, and we\nwill fly far away from the ugly mole and his dark house, over the\nmountains, to the warm countries where the sun shines more brightly\nthan here, where it is always summer, and there are always beautiful\nflowers. Do come with me, dear little Thumbelina, who saved my life\nwhen I lay frozen in the dark tunnel!\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes, I will go with you,\u2019 said Thumbelina, and got on the swallow\u2019s\nback, with her feet on one of his outstretched wings. Up he flew into\nthe air, over woods and seas, over the great mountains where the snow\nis always lying. And if she was cold she crept under his warm\nfeathers, only keeping her little head out to admire all the beautiful\nthings in the world beneath. At last they came to warm lands; there\nthe sun was brighter, the sky seemed twice as high, and in the hedges\nhung the finest green and purple grapes; in the woods grew oranges and\nlemons: the air was scented with myrtle and mint, and on the roads\nwere pretty little children running about and playing with great\ngorgeous butterflies. But the swallow flew on farther, and it became\nmore and more beautiful. Under the most splendid green trees beside a\nblue lake stood a glittering white marble castle. Vines hung about the\nhigh pillars; there were many swallows\u2019 nests, and in one of these\nlived the swallow who was carrying Thumbelina.\n\n\u2018Here is my house!\u2019 said he. \u2018But it won\u2019t do for you to live with me;\nI am not tidy enough to please you. Find a home for yourself in one of\nthe lovely flowers that grow down there; now I will set you down, and\nyou can do whatever you like.\u2019\n\n\u2018That will be splendid!\u2019 said she, clapping her little hands.\n\nThere lay a great white marble column which had fallen to the ground\nand broken into three pieces, but between these grew the most\nbeautiful white flowers. The swallow flew down with Thumbelina, and\nset her upon one of the broad leaves. But there, to her astonishment,\nshe found a tiny little man sitting in the middle of the flower, as\nwhite and transparent as if he were made of glass; he had the\nprettiest golden crown on his head, and the most beautiful wings on\nhis shoulders; he himself was no bigger than Thumbelina. He was the\nspirit of the flower. In each blossom there dwelt a tiny man or woman;\nbut this one was the King over the others.\n\n\u2018How handsome he is!\u2019 whispered Thumbelina to the swallow.\n\n[Illustration: We Will Call You May Blossom]\n\nThe little Prince was very much frightened at the swallow, for in\ncomparison with one so tiny as himself he seemed a giant. But when he\nsaw Thumbelina, he was delighted, for she was the most beautiful girl\nhe had ever seen. So he took his golden crown from off his head and\nput it on hers, asking her her name, and if she would be his wife, and\nthen she would be Queen of all the flowers. Yes! he was a different\nkind of husband to the son of the toad and the mole with the\nblack-velvet coat. So she said \u2018Yes\u2019 to the noble Prince. And out of\neach flower came a lady and gentleman, each so tiny and pretty that it\nwas a pleasure to see them. Each brought Thumbelina a present, but the\nbest of all was a beautiful pair of wings which were fastened on to\nher back, and now she too could fly from flower to flower. They all\nwished her joy, and the swallow sat above in his nest and sang the\nwedding march, and that he did as well as he could; but he was sad,\nbecause he was very fond of Thumbelina and did not want to be\nseparated from her.\n\n\u2018You shall not be called Thumbelina!\u2019 said the spirit of the flower to\nher; \u2018that is an ugly name, and you are much too pretty for that. We\nwill call you May Blossom.\u2019\n\n\u2018Farewell, farewell!\u2019 said the little swallow with a heavy heart, and\nflew away to farther lands, far, far away, right back to Denmark.\nThere he had a little nest above a window, where his wife lived, who\ncan tell fairy-stories. \u2018Tweet, tweet!\u2019 he sang to her. And that is\nthe way we learnt the whole story.\n\n\n\n\n_THE NIGHTINGALE_\n\n\nIn China, as I daresay you know, the Emperor is a Chinaman, and all\nhis courtiers are also Chinamen. The story I am going to tell you\nhappened many years ago, but it is worth while for you to listen to\nit, before it is forgotten.\n\nThe Emperor\u2019s Palace was the most splendid in the world, all made of\npriceless porcelain, but so brittle and delicate that you had to take\ngreat care how you touched it. In the garden were the most beautiful\nflowers, and on the loveliest of them were tied silver bells which\ntinkled, so that if you passed you could not help looking at the\nflowers. Everything in the Emperor\u2019s garden was admirably arranged\nwith a view to effect; and the garden was so large that even the\ngardener himself did not know where it ended. If you ever got beyond\nit, you came to a stately forest with great trees and deep lakes in\nit. The forest sloped down to the sea, which was a clear blue. Large\nships could sail under the boughs of the trees, and in these trees\nthere lived a Nightingale. She sang so beautifully that even the poor\nfisherman who had so much to do stood and listened when he came at\nnight to cast his nets. \u2018How beautiful it is!\u2019 he said; but he had to\nattend to his work, and forgot about the bird. But when she sang the\nnext night and the fisherman came there again, he said the same thing,\n\u2018How beautiful it is!\u2019\n\nFrom all the countries round came travellers to the Emperor\u2019s town,\nwho were astonished at the Palace and the garden. But when they heard\nthe Nightingale they all said, \u2018This is the finest thing after all!\u2019\n\nThe travellers told all about it when they went home, and learned\nscholars wrote many books upon the town, the Palace, and the garden.\nBut they did not forget the Nightingale; she was praised the most, and\nall the poets composed splendid verses on the Nightingale in the\nforest by the deep sea.\n\nThe books were circulated throughout the world, and some of them\nreached the Emperor. He sat in his golden chair, and read and read. He\nnodded his head every moment, for he liked reading the brilliant\naccounts of the town, the Palace, and the garden. \u2018But the Nightingale\nis better than all,\u2019 he saw written.\n\n\u2018What is that?\u2019 said the Emperor. \u2018I don\u2019t know anything about the\nNightingale! Is there such a bird in my empire, and so near as in my\ngarden? I have never heard it! Fancy reading for the first time about\nit in a book!\u2019\n\nAnd he called his First Lord to him. He was so proud that if anyone of\nlower rank than his own ventured to speak to him or ask him anything,\nhe would say nothing but \u2018P!\u2019 and that does not mean anything.\n\n\u2018Here is a most remarkable bird which is called a Nightingale!\u2019 said\nthe Emperor. \u2018They say it is the most glorious thing in my kingdom.\nWhy has no one ever said anything to me about it?\u2019\n\n\u2018I have never before heard it mentioned!\u2019 said the First Lord. \u2018I will\nlook for it and find it!\u2019\n\nBut where was it to be found? The First Lord ran up and down stairs,\nthrough the halls and corridors; but none of those he met had ever\nheard of the Nightingale. And the First Lord ran again to the Emperor,\nand told him that it must be an invention on the part of those who had\nwritten the books.\n\n\u2018Your Imperial Majesty cannot really believe all that is written!\nThere are some inventions called the Black Art!\u2019\n\n\u2018But the book in which I read this,\u2019 said the Emperor, \u2018is sent me by\nHis Great Majesty the Emperor of Japan; so it cannot be untrue, and I\nwill hear the Nightingale! She must be here this evening! She has my\ngracious permission to appear, and if she does not, the whole Court\nshall be trampled under foot after supper!\u2019\n\n\u2018Tsing pe!\u2019 said the First Lord; and he ran up and down stairs,\nthrough the halls and corridors, and half the Court ran with him, for\nthey did not want to be trampled under foot. Everyone was asking after\nthe wonderful Nightingale which all the world knew of, except those at\nCourt.\n\nAt last they met a poor little girl in the kitchen, who said, \u2018Oh! I\nknow the Nightingale well. How she sings! I have permission to carry\nthe scraps over from the Court meals to my poor sick mother, and when\nI am going home at night, tired and weary, and rest for a little in\nthe wood, then I hear the Nightingale singing! It brings tears to my\neyes, and I feel as if my mother were kissing me!\u2019\n\n[Illustration: The Kitchenmaid Listens to the Nightingale]\n\n\u2018Little kitchenmaid!\u2019 said the First Lord, \u2018I will give you a place in\nthe kitchen, and you shall have leave to see the Emperor at dinner, if\nyou can lead us to the Nightingale, for she is invited to come to\nCourt this evening.\u2019\n\nAnd so they all went into the wood where the Nightingale was wont to\nsing, and half the Court went too.\n\nWhen they were on the way there they heard a cow mooing.\n\n\u2018Oh!\u2019 said the Courtiers, \u2018now we have found her! What a wonderful\npower for such a small beast to have! I am sure we have heard her\nbefore!\u2019\n\n\u2018No; that is a cow mooing!\u2019 said the little kitchenmaid. \u2018We are still\na long way off!\u2019\n\nThen the frogs began to croak in the marsh. \u2018Splendid!\u2019 said the\nChinese chaplain. \u2018Now we hear her; it sounds like a little\nchurch-bell!\u2019\n\n\u2018No, no; those are frogs!\u2019 said the little kitchenmaid. \u2018But I think\nwe shall soon hear her now!\u2019\n\nThen the Nightingale began to sing.\n\n\u2018There she is!\u2019 cried the little girl. \u2018Listen! She is sitting there!\u2019\nAnd she pointed to a little dark-grey bird up in the branches.\n\n\u2018Is it possible!\u2019 said the First Lord. \u2018I should never have thought\nit! How ordinary she looks! She must surely have lost her feathers\nbecause she sees so many distinguished men round her!\u2019\n\n\u2018Little Nightingale,\u2019 called out the little kitchenmaid, \u2018our Gracious\nEmperor wants you to sing before him!\u2019\n\n\u2018With the greatest of pleasure!\u2019 said the Nightingale; and she sang so\ngloriously that it was a pleasure to listen.\n\n\u2018It sounds like glass bells!\u2019 said the First Lord. \u2018And look how her\nlittle throat works! It is wonderful that we have never heard her\nbefore! She will be a great success at Court.\u2019\n\n\u2018Shall I sing once more for the Emperor?\u2019 asked the Nightingale,\nthinking that the Emperor was there.\n\n\u2018My esteemed little Nightingale,\u2019 said the First Lord, \u2018I have the\ngreat pleasure to invite you to Court this evening, where His Gracious\nImperial Highness will be enchanted with your charming song!\u2019\n\n\u2018It sounds best in the green wood,\u2019 said the Nightingale; but still,\nshe came gladly when she heard that the Emperor wished it. At the\nPalace everything was splendidly prepared. The porcelain walls and\nfloors glittered in the light of many thousand gold lamps; the most\ngorgeous flowers which tinkled out well were placed in the corridors.\nThere was such a hurrying and draught that all the bells jingled so\nmuch that one could not hear oneself speak. In the centre of the great\nhall where the Emperor sat was a golden perch, on which the\nNightingale sat. The whole Court was there, and the little kitchenmaid\nwas allowed to stand behind the door, now that she was a Court-cook.\nEveryone was dressed in his best, and everyone was looking towards the\nlittle grey bird to whom the Emperor nodded.\n\n[Illustration: The Present from the Emperor of Japan]\n\nThe Nightingale sang so gloriously that the tears came into the\nEmperor\u2019s eyes and ran down his cheeks. Then the Nightingale sang even\nmore beautifully; it went straight to all hearts. The Emperor was so\ndelighted that he said she should wear his gold slipper round her\nneck. But the Nightingale thanked him, and said she had had enough\nreward already. \u2018I have seen tears in the Emperor\u2019s eyes\u2014that is a\ngreat reward. An Emperor\u2019s tears have such power!\u2019 Then she sang again\nwith her gloriously sweet voice.\n\n\u2018That is the most charming coquetry I have ever seen!\u2019 said all the\nladies round. And they all took to holding water in their mouths that\nthey might gurgle whenever anyone spoke to them. Then they thought\nthemselves nightingales. Yes, the lackeys and chambermaids announced\nthat they were pleased; which means a great deal, for they are the\nmost difficult people of all to satisfy. In short, the Nightingale was\na real success.\n\nShe had to stay at Court now; she had her own cage, and permission to\nwalk out twice in the day and once at night.\n\nShe was given twelve servants, who each held a silken string which was\nfastened round her leg. There was little pleasure in flying about like\nthis.\n\nThe whole town was talking about the wonderful bird, and when two\npeople met each other one would say \u2018Nightin,\u2019 and the other \u2018Gale,\u2019\nand then they would both sigh and understand one another. Yes, and\neleven grocer\u2019s children were called after her, but not one of them\ncould sing a note.\n\nOne day the Emperor received a large parcel on which was written \u2018The\nNightingale.\u2019\n\n\u2018Here is another new book about our famous bird!\u2019 said the Emperor.\n\nBut it was not a book, but a little mechanical toy, which lay in a\nbox\u2014an artificial nightingale which was like the real one, only that\nit was set all over with diamonds, rubies, and sapphires. When it was\nwound up, it could sing the piece the real bird sang, and moved its\ntail up and down, and glittered with silver and gold. Round its neck\nwas a little collar on which was written, \u2018The Nightingale of the\nEmperor of Japan is nothing compared to that of the Emperor of China.\u2019\n\n\u2018This is magnificent!\u2019 they all said, and the man who had brought the\nclockwork bird received on the spot the title of \u2018Bringer of the\nImperial First Nightingale.\u2019\n\n\u2018Now they must sing together; what a duet we shall have!\u2019\n\nAnd so they sang together, but their voices did not blend, for the\nreal Nightingale sang in her way and the clockwork bird sang waltzes.\n\n\u2018It is not its fault!\u2019 said the bandmaster; \u2018it keeps very good time\nand is quite after my style!\u2019\n\nThen the artificial bird had to sing alone. It gave just as much\npleasure as the real one, and then it was so much prettier to look at;\nit sparkled like bracelets and necklaces. Three-and-thirty times it\nsang the same piece without being tired. People would like to have\nheard it again, but the Emperor thought that the living Nightingale\nshould sing now\u2014but where was she? No one had noticed that she had\nflown out of the open window away to her green woods.\n\n\u2018What _shall_ we do!\u2019 said the Emperor.\n\nAnd all the Court scolded, and said that the Nightingale was very\nungrateful. \u2018But we have still the best bird!\u2019 they said and the\nartificial bird had to sing again, and that was the thirty-fourth time\nthey had heard the same piece. But they did not yet know it by heart;\nit was much too difficult. And the bandmaster praised the bird\ntremendously; yes, he assured them it was better than a real\nnightingale, not only because of its beautiful plumage and diamonds,\nbut inside as well. \u2018For see, my Lords and Ladies and your Imperial\nMajesty, with the real Nightingale one can never tell what will come\nout, but all is known about the artificial bird! You can explain it,\nyou can open it and show people where the waltzes lie, how they go,\nand how one follows the other!\u2019\n\n\u2018That\u2019s just what we think!\u2019 said everyone; and the bandmaster\nreceived permission to show the bird to the people the next Sunday.\nThey should hear it sing, commanded the Emperor. And they heard it,\nand they were as pleased as if they had been intoxicated with tea,\nafter the Chinese fashion, and they all said \u2018Oh!\u2019 and held up their\nforefingers and nodded time. But the poor fishermen who had heard the\nreal Nightingale said: \u2018This one sings well enough, the tunes glide\nout; but there is something wanting\u2014I don\u2019t know what!\u2019\n\nThe real Nightingale was banished from the kingdom.\n\nThe artificial bird was put on silken cushions by the Emperor\u2019s bed,\nall the presents which it received, gold and precious stones, lay\nround it, and it was given the title of Imperial Night-singer, First\nfrom the left. For the Emperor counted that side as the more\ndistinguished, being the side on which the heart is; the Emperor\u2019s\nheart is also on the left.\n\nAnd the bandmaster wrote a work of twenty-five volumes about the\nartificial bird. It was so learned, long, and so full of the hardest\nChinese words that everyone said they had read it and understood it;\nfor once they had been very stupid about a book, and had been trampled\nunder foot in consequence. So a whole year passed. The Emperor, the\nCourt, and all the Chinese knew every note of the artificial bird\u2019s\nsong by heart. But they liked it all the better for this; they could\neven sing with it, and they did. The street boys sang \u2018Tra-la-la-la-la,\u2019\nand the Emperor sang too sometimes. It was indeed delightful.\n\nBut one evening, when the artificial bird was singing its best, and\nthe Emperor lay in bed listening to it, something in the bird went\ncrack. Something snapped! Whir-r-r! all the wheels ran down and then\nthe music ceased. The Emperor sprang up, and had his physician\nsummoned, but what could _he_ do! Then the clockmaker came, and, after\na great deal of talking and examining, he put the bird somewhat in\norder, but he said that it must be very seldom used as the works were\nnearly worn out, and it was impossible to put in new ones. Here was a\ncalamity! Only once a year was the artificial bird allowed to sing,\nand even that was almost too much for it. But then the bandmaster made\na little speech full of hard words, saying that it was just as good as\nbefore. And so, of course, it _was_ just as good as before. So five\nyears passed, and then a great sorrow came to the nation. The Chinese\nlook upon their Emperor as everything, and now he was ill, and not\nlikely to live it was said.\n\nAlready a new Emperor had been chosen, and the people stood outside in\nthe street and asked the First Lord how the old Emperor was. \u2018P!\u2019 said\nhe, and shook his head.\n\nCold and pale lay the Emperor in his splendid great bed; the whole\nCourt believed him dead, and one after the other left him to pay their\nrespects to the new Emperor. Everywhere in the halls and corridors\ncloth was laid down so that no footstep could be heard, and everything\nwas still\u2014very, very still. And nothing came to break the silence.\n\nThe Emperor longed for something to come and relieve the monotony of\nthis deathlike stillness. If only someone would speak to him! If only\nsomeone would sing to him. Music would carry his thoughts away, and\nwould break the spell lying on him. The moon was streaming in at the\nopen window; but that, too, was silent, quite silent.\n\n\u2018Music! music!\u2019 cried the Emperor. \u2018You little bright golden bird,\nsing! do sing! I gave you gold and jewels; I have hung my gold slipper\nround your neck with my own hand\u2014sing! do sing!\u2019 But the bird was\nsilent. There was no one to wind it up, and so it could not sing. And\nall was silent, so terribly silent!\n\nAll at once there came in at the window the most glorious burst of\nsong. It was the little living Nightingale, who, sitting outside on a\nbough, had heard the need of her Emperor and had come to sing to him\nof comfort and hope. And as she sang the blood flowed quicker and\nquicker in the Emperor\u2019s weak limbs, and life began to return.\n\n\u2018Thank you, thank you!\u2019 said the Emperor. \u2018You divine little bird! I\nknow you. I chased you from my kingdom, and you have given me life\nagain! How can I reward you?\u2019\n\n\u2018You have done that already!\u2019 said the Nightingale. \u2018I brought tears\nto your eyes the first time I sang. I shall never forget that. They\nare jewels that rejoice a singer\u2019s heart. But now sleep and get strong\nagain; I will sing you a lullaby.\u2019 And the Emperor fell into a deep,\ncalm sleep as she sang.\n\n[Illustration: The true Nightingale sings to the Emperor]\n\nThe sun was shining through the window when he awoke, strong and well.\nNone of his servants had come back yet, for they thought he was dead.\nBut the Nightingale sat and sang to him.\n\n\u2018You must always stay with me!\u2019 said the Emperor. \u2018You shall sing\nwhenever you like, and I will break the artificial bird into a\nthousand pieces.\u2019\n\n\u2018Don\u2019t do that!\u2019 said the Nightingale. \u2018He did his work as long as he\ncould. Keep him as you have done! I cannot build my nest in the Palace\nand live here; but let me come whenever I like. I will sit in the\nevening on the bough outside the window, and I will sing you something\nthat will make you feel happy and grateful. I will sing of joy, and of\nsorrow; I will sing of the evil and the good which lies hidden from\nyou. The little singing-bird flies all around, to the poor fisherman\u2019s\nhut, to the farmer\u2019s cottage, to all those who are far away from you\nand your Court. I love your heart more than your crown, though that\nhas about it a brightness as of something holy. Now I will sing to you\nagain; but you must promise me one thing\u2014\u2014\u2019\n\n\u2018Anything!\u2019 said the Emperor, standing up in his Imperial robes, which\nhe had himself put on, and fastening on his sword richly embossed with\ngold.\n\n\u2018One thing I beg of you! Don\u2019t tell anyone that you have a little bird\nwho tells you everything. It will be much better not to!\u2019 Then the\nNightingale flew away.\n\nThe servants came in to look at their dead Emperor.\n\nThe Emperor said, \u2018Good-morning!\u2019\n\n\n\n\n_HERMOD AND HADVOR_[32]\n\n\nOnce upon a time there were a King and a Queen who had an only\ndaughter, called Hadvor, who was fair and beautiful, and being an only\nchild, was heir to the kingdom. The King and Queen had also a foster\nson, named Hermod, who was just about the same age as Hadvor, and was\ngood-looking, as well as clever at most things. Hermod and Hadvor\noften played together while they were children, and liked each other\nso much that while they were still young they secretly plighted their\ntroth to each other.\n\nAs time went on the Queen fell sick, and suspecting that it was her\nlast illness, sent for the King to come to her. When he came she told\nhim that she had no long time to live, and therefore wished to ask one\nthing of him, which was, that if he married another wife he should\npromise to take no other one than the Queen of Hetland the Good. The\nKing gave the promise, and thereafter the Queen died.\n\nTime went past, and the King, growing tired of living alone, fitted\nout his ship and sailed out to sea. As he sailed there came upon him\nso thick a mist that he altogether lost his bearings, but after long\ntrouble he found land. There he laid his ship to, and went on shore\nall alone. After walking for some time he came to a forest, into which\nhe went a little way and stopped. Then he heard sweet music from a\nharp, and went in the direction of the sound until he came to a\nclearing, and there he saw three women, one of whom sat on a golden\nchair, and was beautifully and grandly dressed; she held a harp in her\nhands, and was very sorrowful. The second was also finely dressed, but\nyounger in appearance, and also sat on a chair, but it was not so\ngrand as the first one\u2019s. The third stood beside them, and was very\npretty to look at; she had a green cloak over her other clothes, and\nit was easy to see that she was maid to the other two.\n\n[Footnote 32: From the Icelandic.]\n\nAfter the King had looked at them for a little he went forward and\nsaluted them. The one that sat on the golden chair asked him who he\nwas and where he was going; and he told her all the story\u2014how he was\na king, and had lost his queen, and was now on his way to Hetland the\nGood, to ask the Queen of that country in marriage. She answered that\nfortune had contrived this wonderfully, for pirates had plundered\nHetland and killed the King, and she had fled from the land in terror,\nand had come hither after great trouble, and she was the very person\nhe was looking for, and the others were her daughter and maid. The\nKing immediately asked her hand; she gladly received his proposal and\naccepted him at once. Thereafter they all set out, and made their way\nto the ship; and after that nothing is told of their voyage until the\nKing reached his own country. There he made a great feast, and\ncelebrated his marriage with this woman; and after that things are\nquiet for a time.\n\nHermod and Hadvor took but little notice of the Queen and her\ndaughter, but, on the other hand, Hadvor and the Queen\u2019s maid, whose\nname was Olof, were very friendly, and Olof came often to visit Hadvor\nin her castle. Before long the King went out to war, and no sooner was\nhe away than the Queen came to talk with Hermod, and said that she\nwanted him to marry her daughter. Hermod told her straight and plain\nthat he would not do so, at which the Queen grew terribly angry, and\nsaid that in that case neither should he have Hadvor, for she would\nnow lay this spell on him, that he should go to a desert island and\nthere be a lion by day and a man by night. He should also think always\nof Hadvor, which would cause him all the more sorrow, and from this\nspell he should never be freed until Hadvor burned the lion\u2019s skin,\nand that would not happen very soon.\n\nAs soon as the Queen had finished her speech Hermod replied that he\nalso laid a spell on her, and that was, that as soon as he was freed\nfrom her enchantments she should become a rat and her daughter a\nmouse, and fight with each other in the hall until he killed them with\nhis sword.\n\nAfter this Hermod disappeared, and no one knew what had become of him;\nthe Queen caused search to be made for him, but he could nowhere be\nfound. One time, when Olof was in the castle beside Hadvor, she asked\nthe Princess if she knew where Hermod had gone to. At this Hadvor\nbecame very sad, and said that she did not.\n\n\u2018I shall tell you then,\u2019 said Olof, \u2018for I know all about it.\n\n[Illustration: The King Finds the Queen of Hetland]\n\nHermod has disappeared through the wicked devices of the Queen, for\nshe is a witch, and so is her daughter, though they have put on these\nbeautiful forms. Because Hermod would not fall in with the Queen\u2019s\nplans, and marry her daughter, she has laid a spell on him, to go on\nan island and be a lion by day and a man by night, and never be freed\nfrom this until you burn the lion\u2019s skin. Besides,\u2019 said Olof, \u2018she\nhas looked out a match for you; she has a brother in the Under-world,\na three-headed Giant, whom she means to turn into a beautiful prince\nand get him married to you. This is no new thing for the Queen; she\ntook me away from my parents\u2019 house and compelled me to serve her; but\nshe has never done me any harm, for the green cloak I wear protects me\nagainst all mischief.\u2019\n\nHadvor now became still sadder than before at the thought of the\nmarriage destined for her, and entreated Olof to think of some plan to\nsave her.\n\n\u2018I think,\u2019 said Olof, \u2018that your wooer will come up through the floor\nof the castle to you, and so you must be prepared when you hear the\nnoise of his coming and the floor begins to open, and have at hand\nblazing pitch, and pour plenty of it into the opening. That will prove\ntoo much for him.\u2019\n\nAbout this time the King came home from his expedition, and thought it\na great blow that no one knew what had become of Hermod; but the Queen\nconsoled him as best she could, and after a time the King thought less\nabout his disappearance.\n\nHadvor remained in her castle, and had made preparations to receive\nher wooer when he came. One night, not long after, a loud noise and\nrumbling was heard under the castle. Hadvor at once guessed what it\nwas, and told her maids to be ready to help her. The noise and\nthundering grew louder and louder, until the floor began to open,\nwhereupon Hadvor made them take the cauldron of pitch and pour plenty\nof it into the opening. With that the noises grew fainter and fainter,\ntill at last they ceased altogether.\n\nNext morning the Queen rose early, and went out to the Palace gate,\nand there she found her brother the Giant lying dead. She went up to\nhim and said, \u2018I pronounce this spell, that you become a beautiful\nprince, and that Hadvor shall be unable to say anything against the\ncharges that I shall bring against her.\u2019\n\nThe body of the dead Giant now became that of a beautiful prince, and\nthe Queen went in again.\n\n\u2018I don\u2019t think,\u2019 said she to the King, \u2018that your daughter is as good\nas she is said to be. My brother came and asked her hand, and she has\nhad him put to death. I have just found his dead body lying at the\nPalace gate.\u2019\n\nThe King went along with the Queen to see the body, and thought it all\nvery strange; so beautiful a youth, he said, would have been a worthy\nmatch for Hadvor, and he would readily have agreed to their marriage.\nThe Queen asked leave to decide what Hadvor\u2019s punishment should be,\nwhich the King was very willing to allow, so as to escape from\npunishing his own daughter. The Queen\u2019s decision was that the King\nshould make a big grave-mound for her brother, and put Hadvor into it\nbeside him.\n\nOlof knew all the plans of the Queen, and went to tell the Princess\nwhat had been done, whereupon Hadvor earnestly entreated her to tell\nher what to do.\n\n\u2018First and foremost,\u2019 said Olof, \u2018you must get a wide cloak to wear\nover your other clothes, when you are put into the mound. The Giant\u2019s\nghost will walk after you are both left together in there, and he will\nhave two dogs along with him. He will ask you to cut pieces out of his\nlegs to give to the dogs, but that you must not promise to do unless\nhe tells you where Hermod has gone to, and tells you how to find him.\nHe will then let you stand on his shoulders, so as to get out of the\nmound; but he means to cheat you all the same, and will catch you by\nthe cloak to pull you back again; but you must take care to have the\ncloak loose on your shoulders, so that he will only get hold of that.\u2019\n\nThe mound was all ready now, and the Giant laid in it, and into it\nHadvor also had to go without being allowed to make any defence. After\nthey were both left there everything happened just as Olof had said.\nThe prince became a Giant again, and asked Hadvor to cut the pieces\nout of his legs for the dogs; but she refused until he told her that\nHermod was in a desert island, which she could not reach unless she\ntook the skin off the soles of his feet and made shoes out of that;\nwith these shoes she could travel both on land and sea. This Hadvor\nnow did, and the Giant then let her get up on his shoulders to get out\nof the mound. As she sprang out he caught hold of her cloak; but she\nhad taken care to let it lie loose on her shoulders, and so escaped.\n\nShe now made her way down to the sea, to where she knew there was the\nshortest distance over to the island in which Hermod was. This strait\nshe easily crossed, for the shoes kept her up. On reaching the island\nshe found a sandy beach all along by the sea, and high cliffs above.\nNor could she see any way to get up these, and so, being both sad at\nheart and tired with the long journey, she lay down and fell asleep.\nAs she slept she dreamed that a tall woman came to her and said, \u2018I\nknow that you are Princess Hadvor, and are searching for Hermod. He is\non this island; but it will be hard for you to get to him if you have\nno one to help you, for you cannot climb the cliffs by your own\nstrength. I have therefore let down a rope, by which you will be able\nto climb up; and as the island is so large that you might not find\nHermod\u2019s dwelling-place so easily, I lay down this clew beside you.\nYou need only hold the end of the thread, and the clew will run on\nbefore and show you the way. I also lay this belt beside you, to put\non when you awaken; it will keep you from growing faint with hunger.\u2019\n\nThe woman now disappeared, and Hadvor woke, and saw that all her dream\nhad been true. The rope hung down from the cliff, and the clew and\nbelt lay beside her. The belt she put on, the rope enabled her to\nclimb up the cliff, and the clew led her on till she came to the mouth\nof a cave, which was not very big. She went into the cave, and saw\nthere a low couch, under which she crept and lay down.\n\nWhen evening came she heard the noise of footsteps outside, and became\naware that the lion had come to the mouth of the cave, and shook\nitself there, after which she heard a man coming towards the couch.\nShe was sure this was Hermod, because she heard him speaking to\nhimself about his own condition, and calling to mind Hadvor and other\nthings in the old days. Hadvor made no sign, but waited till he had\nfallen asleep, and then crept out and burned the lion\u2019s skin, which he\nhad left outside. Then she went back into the cave and wakened Hermod,\nand they had a most joyful meeting.\n\nIn the morning they talked over their plans, and were most at a loss\nto know how to get out of the island. Hadvor told Hermod her dream,\nand said she suspected there was some one in the island who would be\nable to help them. Hermod said he knew of a Witch there, who was very\nready to help anyone, and that the only plan was to go to her. So they\nwent to the Witch\u2019s cave, and found her there with her fifteen young\nsons, and asked her to help them to get to the mainland.\n\n\u2018There are other things easier than that,\u2019 said she, \u2018for the Giant\nthat was buried will be waiting for you, and will attack you on the\nway, as he has turned himself into a big whale. I shall lend you a\nboat, however, and if you meet the whale and think your lives are in\ndanger, then you can name me by name.\u2019\n\n[Illustration: Hadvor Burns the Lion\u2019s Skin.]\n\nThey thanked her greatly for her help and advice, and set out from the\nisland, but on the way they saw a huge fish coming towards them, with\ngreat splashing and dashing of waves. They were sure of what it was,\nand thought they had as good reason as ever they would have to call on\nthe Witch, and so they did. The next minute they saw coming after them\nanother huge whale, followed by fifteen smaller ones. All of these\nswam past the boat and went on to meet the whale. There was a fierce\nbattle then, and the sea became so stormy that it was not very easy to\nkeep the boat from being filled by the waves. After this fight had\ngone on for some time, they saw that the sea was dyed with blood; the\nbig whale and the fifteen smaller ones disappeared, and they got to\nland safe and sound.\n\nNow the story goes back to the King\u2019s hall, where strange things had\nhappened in the meantime. The Queen and her daughter had disappeared,\nbut a rat and a mouse were always fighting with each other there. Ever\nso many people had tried to drive them away, but no one could manage\nit. Thus some time went on, while the King was almost beside himself\nwith sorrow and care for the loss of his Queen, and because these\nmonsters destroyed all mirth in the hall.\n\nOne evening, however, while they all sat dull and down-hearted, in\ncame Hermod with a sword by his side, and saluted the King, who\nreceived him with the greatest joy, as if he had come back from the\ndead. Before Hermod sat down, however, he went to where the rat and\nthe mouse were fighting, and cut them in two with his sword. All were\nastonished then by seeing two witches lying dead on the floor of the\nhall.\n\nHermod now told the whole story to the King, who was very glad to be\nrid of such vile creatures. Next he asked for the hand of Hadvor,\nwhich the King readily gave him, and being now an old man, gave the\nkingdom to him as well; and so Hermod became King.\n\nOlof married a good-looking nobleman, and that is the end of the\nstory.\n\n\n\n\n_THE STEADFAST TIN-SOLDIER_\n\n\nThere were once upon a time five-and-twenty tin-soldiers\u2014all\nbrothers, as they were made out of the same old tin spoon. Their\nuniform was red and blue, and they shouldered their guns and looked\nstraight in front of them. The first words that they heard in this\nworld, when the lid of the box in which they lay was taken off, were:\n\u2018Hurrah, tin-soldiers!\u2019 This was exclaimed by a little boy, clapping\nhis hands; they had been given to him because it was his birthday, and\nnow he began setting them out on the table. Each soldier was exactly\nlike the other in shape, except just one, who had been made last when\nthe tin had run short; but there he stood as firmly on his one leg as\nthe others did on two, and he is the one that became famous.\n\nThere were many other playthings on the table on which they were being\nset out, but the nicest of all was a pretty little castle made of\ncardboard, with windows through which you could see into the rooms. In\nfront of the castle stood some little trees surrounding a tiny mirror\nwhich looked like a lake. Wax swans were floating about and reflecting\nthemselves in it. That was all very pretty; but the most beautiful\nthing was a little lady, who stood in the open doorway. She was cut\nout of paper, but she had on a dress of the finest muslin, with a\nscarf of narrow blue ribbon round her shoulders, fastened in the\nmiddle with a glittering rose made of gold paper, which was as large\nas her head. The little lady was stretching out both her arms, for she\nwas a Dancer, and was lifting up one leg so high in the air that the\nTin-soldier couldn\u2019t find it anywhere, and thought that she, too, had\nonly one leg.\n\n\u2018That\u2019s the wife for me!\u2019 he thought; \u2018but she is so grand, and lives\nin a castle, whilst I have only a box with four-and-twenty others.\nThis is no place for her! But I must make her acquaintance.\u2019 Then he\nstretched himself out behind a snuff-box that lay on the table; from\nthence he could watch the dainty little lady, who continued to stand\non one leg without losing her balance.\n\nWhen the night came all the other tin-soldiers went into their box,\nand the people of the house went to bed. Then the toys began to play\nat visiting, dancing, and fighting. The tin-soldiers rattled in their\nbox, for they wanted to be out too, but they could not raise the lid.\nThe nut-crackers played at leap-frog, and the slate-pencil ran about\nthe slate; there was such a noise that the canary woke up and began to\ntalk to them, in poetry too! The only two who did not stir from their\nplaces were the Tin-soldier and the little Dancer. She remained on\ntip-toe, with both arms outstretched; he stood steadfastly on his one\nleg, never moving his eyes from her face.\n\n[Illustration: Don\u2019t Look at Things That Aren\u2019t Intended for the Likes\nof You!]\n\nThe clock struck twelve, and crack! off flew the lid of the snuff-box;\nbut there was no snuff inside, only a little black imp\u2014that was the\nbeauty of it.\n\n\u2018Hullo, Tin-soldier!\u2019 said the imp. \u2018Don\u2019t look at things that aren\u2019t\nintended for the likes of you!\u2019\n\nBut the Tin-soldier took no notice, and seemed not to hear.\n\n\u2018Very well, wait till to-morrow!\u2019 said the imp.\n\nWhen it was morning, and the children had got up, the Tin-soldier was\nput in the window; and whether it was the wind or the little black\nimp, I don\u2019t know, but all at once the window flew open and out fell\nthe little Tin-soldier, head over heels, from the third-storey window!\nThat was a terrible fall, I can tell you! He landed on his head with\nhis leg in the air, his gun being wedged between two paving-stones.\n\nThe nursery-maid and the little boy came down at once to look for him,\nbut, though they were so near him that they almost trod on him, they\ndid not notice him. If the Tin-soldier had only called out \u2018Here I\nam!\u2019 they must have found him; but he did not think it fitting for him\nto cry out, because he had on his uniform.\n\nSoon it began to drizzle; then the drops came faster, and there was a\nregular down-pour. When it was over, two little street boys came\nalong.\n\n\u2018Just look!\u2019 cried one. \u2018Here is a Tin-soldier! He shall sail up and\ndown in a boat!\u2019\n\n[Illustration: Down the Drain]\n\nSo they made a little boat out of newspaper, put the Tin-soldier in\nit, and made him sail up and down the gutter; both the boys ran along\nbeside him, clapping their hands. What great waves there were in the\ngutter, and what a swift current! The paper-boat tossed up and down,\nand in the middle of the stream it went so quick that the Tin-soldier\ntrembled; but he remained steadfast, showed no emotion, looked\nstraight in front of him, shouldering his gun. All at once the boat\npassed under a long tunnel that was as dark as his box had been.\n\n\u2018Where can I be coming now?\u2019 he wondered. \u2018Oh, dear! This is the black\nimp\u2019s fault! Ah, if only the little lady were sitting beside me in the\nboat, it might be twice as dark for all I should care!\u2019\n\nSuddenly there came along a great water-rat that lived in the tunnel.\n\n\u2018Have you a passport?\u2019 asked the rat. \u2018Out with your passport!\u2019\n\nBut the Tin-soldier was silent, and grasped his gun more firmly.\n\nThe boat sped on, and the rat behind it. Ugh! how he showed his teeth,\nas he cried to the chips of wood and straw: \u2018Hold him, hold him! he\nhas not paid the toll! He has not shown his passport!\u2019\n\nBut the current became swifter and stronger. The Tin-soldier could\nalready see daylight where the tunnel ended; but in his ears there\nsounded a roaring enough to frighten any brave man. Only think! at the\nend of the tunnel the gutter discharged itself into a great canal;\nthat would be just as dangerous for him as it would be for us to go\ndown a waterfall.\n\nNow he was so near to it that he could not hold on any longer. On went\nthe boat, the poor Tin-soldier keeping himself as stiff as he could:\nno one should say of him afterwards that he had flinched. The boat\nwhirled three, four times round, and became filled to the brim with\nwater: it began to sink! The Tin-soldier was standing up to his neck\nin water, and deeper and deeper sank the boat, and softer and softer\ngrew the paper; now the water was over his head. He was thinking of\nthe pretty little Dancer, whose face he should never see again, and\nthere sounded in his ears, over and over again:\n\n     \u2018Forward, forward, soldier bold!\n      Death\u2019s before thee, grim and cold!\u2019\n\nThe paper came in two, and the soldier fell\u2014but at that moment he was\nswallowed by a great fish.\n\nOh! how dark it was inside, even darker than in the tunnel, and it was\nreally very close quarters! But there the steadfast little Tin-soldier\nlay full length, shouldering his gun.\n\nUp and down swam the fish, then he made the most dreadful contortions,\nand became suddenly quite still. Then it was as if a flash of\nlightning had passed through him; the daylight streamed in, and a\nvoice exclaimed, \u2018Why, here is the little Tin-soldier!\u2019 The fish had\nbeen caught, taken to market, sold, and brought into the kitchen,\nwhere the cook had cut it open with a great knife. She took up the\nsoldier between her finger and thumb, and carried him into the room,\nwhere everyone wanted to see the hero who had been found inside a\nfish; but the Tin-soldier was not at all proud. They put him on the\ntable, and\u2014no, but what strange things do happen in this world!\u2014the\nTin-soldier was in the same room in which he had been before! He saw\nthe same children, and the same toys on the table; and there was the\nsame grand castle with the pretty little Dancer. She was still\nstanding on one leg with the other high in the air; she too was\nsteadfast. That touched the Tin-soldier, he was nearly going to shed\ntin-tears; but that would not have been fitting for a soldier. He\nlooked at her, but she said nothing.\n\nAll at once one of the little boys took up the Tin-soldier, and threw\nhim into the stove, giving no reasons; but doubtless the little black\nimp in the snuff-box was at the bottom of this too.\n\nThere the Tin-soldier lay, and felt a heat that was truly terrible;\nbut whether he was suffering from actual fire, or from the ardour of\nhis passion, he did not know. All his colour had disappeared; whether\nthis had happened on his travels or whether it was the result of\ntrouble, who can say? He looked at the little lady, she looked at him,\nand he felt that he was melting; but he remained steadfast, with his\ngun at his shoulder. Suddenly a door opened, the draught caught up the\nlittle Dancer, and off she flew like a sylph to the Tin-soldier in the\nstove, burst into flames\u2014and that was the end of her! Then the\nTin-soldier melted down into a little lump, and when next morning the\nmaid was taking out the ashes, she found him in the shape of a heart.\nThere was nothing left of the little Dancer but her gilt rose, burnt\nas black as a cinder.\n\n[Illustration: And That Was the End]\n\n\n\n\n_BLOCKHEAD-HANS_\n\n\nFar away in the country lay an old manor-house where lived an old\nsquire who had two sons. They thought themselves so clever, that if\nthey had known only half of what they did know, it would have been\nquite enough. They both wanted to marry the King\u2019s daughter, for she\nhad proclaimed that she would have for her husband the man who knew\nbest how to choose his words.\n\nBoth prepared for the wooing a whole week, which was the longest time\nallowed them; but, after all, it was quite long enough, for they both\nhad preparatory knowledge, and everyone knows how useful that is. One\nknew the whole Latin dictionary and also three years\u2019 issue of the\ndaily paper of the town off by heart, so that he could repeat it all\nbackwards or forwards as you pleased. The other had worked at the laws\nof corporation, and knew by heart what every member of the corporation\nought to know, so that he thought he could quite well speak on State\nmatters and give his opinion. He understood, besides this, how to\nembroider braces with roses and other flowers, and scrolls, for he was\nvery ready with his fingers.\n\n\u2018I shall win the king\u2019s daughter!\u2019 they both cried.\n\nTheir old father gave each of them a fine horse; the one who knew the\ndictionary and the daily paper by heart had a black horse, while the\nother who was so clever at corporation law had a milk-white one. Then\nthey oiled the corners of their mouths so that they might be able to\nspeak more fluently. All the servants stood in the courtyard and saw\nthem mount their steeds, and here by chance came the third brother;\nfor the squire had three sons, but nobody counted him with his\nbrothers, for he was not so learned as they were, and he was generally\ncalled \u2018Blockhead-Hans.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, oh!\u2019 said Blockhead-Hans. \u2018Where are you off to? You are in your\nSunday-best clothes!\u2019\n\n\u2018We are going to Court, to woo the Princess! Don\u2019t you know what is\nknown throughout all the country side?\u2019 And they told him all about\nit.\n\n\u2018Hurrah! I\u2019ll go too!\u2019 cried Blockhead-Hans; and the brothers laughed\nat him and rode off.\n\n\u2018Dear father!\u2019 cried Blockhead-Hans, \u2018I must have a horse too. What a\ndesire for marriage has seized me! If she will have me, she _will_\nhave me, and if she won\u2019t have me, I will have her.\u2019\n\n\u2018Stop that nonsense!\u2019 said the old man. \u2018I will not give you a horse.\n_You_ can\u2019t speak; _you_ don\u2019t know how to choose your words. Your\nbrothers! Ah! they are very different lads!\u2019\n\n[Illustration: Then They Oiled the Corners of Their Mouths]\n\n\u2018Well,\u2019 said Blockhead-Hans, \u2018if I can\u2019t have a horse, I will take the\ngoat which is mine; he can carry me!\u2019\n\nAnd he did so. He sat astride on the goat, struck his heels into its\nside, and went rattling down the high-road like a hurricane.\n\nHoppetty hop! what a ride! \u2018Here I come!\u2019 shouted Blockhead-Hans,\nsinging so that the echoes were roused far and near. But his brothers\nwere riding slowly in front. They were not speaking, but they were\nthinking over all the good things they were going to say, for\neverything had to be thought out.\n\n\u2018Hullo!\u2019 bawled Blockhead-Hans, \u2018here I am! Just look what I found on\nthe road!\u2019\u2014and he showed them a dead crow which he had picked up.\n\n\u2018Blockhead!\u2019 said his brothers, \u2018what are you going to do with it?\u2019\n\n\u2018With the crow? I shall give it to the Princess!\u2019\n\n\u2018Do so, certainly!\u2019 they said, laughing loudly and riding on.\n\n\u2018Slap! bang! here I am again! Look what I have just found! You don\u2019t\nfind such things every day on the road!\u2019\n\n[Illustration: Hans Fills his Pocket with the Mud]\n\nAnd the brothers turned round to see what in the world he could have\nfound.\n\n\u2018Blockhead!\u2019 said they, \u2018that is an old wooden shoe without the top!\nAre you going to send that, too, to the Princess?\u2019\n\n\u2018Of course I shall!\u2019 returned Blockhead-Hans; and the brothers laughed\nand rode on a good way.\n\n\u2018Slap! bang! here I am!\u2019 cried Blockhead-Hans; \u2018better and better\u2014it\nis really famous!\u2019\n\n\u2018What have you found now?\u2019 asked the brothers.\n\n\u2018Oh,\u2019 said Blockhead-Hans, \u2018it is really too good! How pleased the\nPrincess will be!\u2019\n\n\u2018Why!\u2019 said the brothers, \u2018this is pure mud, straight from the ditch.\u2019\n\n\u2018Of course it is!\u2019 said Blockhead-Hans, \u2018and it is the best kind! Look\nhow it runs through one\u2019s fingers!\u2019 and, so saying, he filled his\npocket with the mud.\n\nBut the brothers rode on so fast that dust and sparks flew all around,\nand they reached the gate of the town a good hour before\nBlockhead-Hans. Here came the suitors numbered according to their\narrival, and they were ranged in rows, six in each row, and they were\nso tightly packed that they could not move their arms. This was a very\ngood thing, for otherwise they would have torn each other in pieces,\nmerely because the one was in front of the other.\n\nAll the country people were standing round the King\u2019s throne, and were\ncrowded together in thick masses almost out of the windows to see the\nPrincess receive the suitors; and as each one came into the room all\nhis fine phrases went out like a candle!\n\n\u2018It doesn\u2019t matter!\u2019 said the Princess. \u2018Away! out with him!\u2019\n\nAt last she came to the row in which the brother who knew the\ndictionary by heart was, but he did not know it any longer; he had\nquite forgotten it in the rank and file. And the floor creaked, and\nthe ceiling was all made of glass mirrors, so that he saw himself\nstanding on his head, and by each window were standing three reporters\nand an editor; and each of them was writing down what was said, to\npublish it in the paper that came out and was sold at the street\ncorners for a penny. It was fearful, and they had made up the fire so\nhot that it was grilling.\n\n\u2018It is hot in here, isn\u2019t it!\u2019 said the suitor.\n\n\u2018Of course it is! My father is roasting young chickens to-day!\u2019 said\nthe Princess.\n\n\u2018Ahem!\u2019 There he stood like an idiot. He was not prepared for such a\nspeech; he did not know what to say, although he wanted to say\nsomething witty. \u2018Ahem!\u2019\n\n\u2018It doesn\u2019t matter!\u2019 said the Princess. \u2018Take him out!\u2019 and out he had\nto go.\n\nNow the other brother entered.\n\n\u2018How hot it is!\u2019 he said.\n\n\u2018Of course! We are roasting young chickens to-day!\u2019 remarked the\nPrincess.\n\n\u2018How do you\u2014um!\u2019 he said, and the reporters wrote down. \u2018How do\nyou\u2014um.\u2019\n\n\u2018It doesn\u2019t matter!\u2019 said the Princess. \u2018Take him out!\u2019\n\nNow Blockhead-Hans came in; he rode his goat right into the hall.\n\n\u2018I say! How roasting hot it is here!\u2019 said he.\n\n\u2018Of course! I am roasting young chickens to-day!\u2019 said the Princess.\n\n\u2018That\u2019s good!\u2019 replied Blockhead-Hans; \u2018then can I roast a crow with\nthem?\u2019\n\n\u2018With the greatest of pleasure!\u2019 said the Princess; \u2018but have you\nanything you can roast them in? for I have neither pot nor saucepan.\u2019\n\n[Illustration: The Reporters giggled & each\ndropped a blot of ink on the floor\n\nThen I will give the Editor the best! said Blockhead-Hans\n\nThat was neatly done! said the Princess]\n\n\u2018Oh, rather!\u2019 said Blockhead-Hans. \u2018Here is a cooking implement with\ntin rings,\u2019 and he drew out the old wooden shoe, and laid the crow in\nit.\n\n\u2018That is quite a meal!\u2019 said the Princess; \u2018but where shall we get the\nsoup from?\u2019\n\n\u2018I\u2019ve got that in my pocket!\u2019 said Blockhead-Hans. \u2018I have so much\nthat I can quite well throw some away!\u2019 and he poured some mud out of\nhis pocket.\n\n\u2018I like you!\u2019 said the Princess. \u2018You can answer, and you can speak,\nand I will marry you; but do you know that every word which we are\nsaying and have said has been taken down and will be in the paper\nto-morrow? By each window do you see there are standing three\nreporters and an old editor, and this old editor is the worst, for he\ndoesn\u2019t understand anything!\u2019 but she only said this to tease\nBlockhead-Hans. And the reporters giggled, and each dropped a blot of\nink on the floor.\n\n\u2018Ah! are those the great people?\u2019 said Blockhead-Hans. \u2018Then I will\ngive the editor the best!\u2019 So saying, he turned his pockets inside\nout, and threw the mud right in his face.\n\n\u2018That was neatly done!\u2019 said the Princess. \u2018I couldn\u2019t have done it;\nbut I will soon learn how to!\u2019\n\nBlockhead-Hans became King, got a wife and a crown, and sat on the\nthrone; and this we have still damp from the newspaper of the editor\nand the reporters\u2014and they are not to be believed for a moment.\n\n\n\n\n_A STORY ABOUT A DARNING-NEEDLE_\n\n\nThere was once a Darning-needle who thought herself so fine that she\nbelieved she was an embroidery-needle. \u2018Take great care to hold me\ntight!\u2019 said the Darning-needle to the Fingers who were holding her.\n\u2018Don\u2019t let me fall! If I once fall on the ground I shall never be\nfound again, I am so fine!\u2019\n\n\u2018It is all right!\u2019 said the Fingers, seizing her round the waist.\n\n\u2018Look, I am coming with my train!\u2019 said the Darning-needle as she drew\na long thread after her; but there was no knot at the end of the\nthread.\n\nThe Fingers were using the needle on the cook\u2019s shoe. The upper\nleather was unstitched and had to be sewn together.\n\n\u2018This is common work!\u2019 said the Darning-needle. \u2018I shall never get\nthrough it. I am breaking! I am breaking!\u2019 And in fact she did break.\n\u2018Didn\u2019t I tell you so!\u2019 said the Darning-needle. \u2018I am too fine!\u2019\n\n\u2018Now she is good for nothing!\u2019 said the Fingers; but they had to hold\nher tight while the cook dropped some sealing-wax on the needle and\nstuck it in the front of her dress.\n\n\u2018Now I am a breast-pin!\u2019 said the Darning-needle. \u2018I always knew I\nshould be promoted. When one is something, one will become something!\u2019\nAnd she laughed to herself; you can never see when a Darning-needle is\nlaughing. Then she sat up as proudly as if she were in a State coach,\nand looked all round her.\n\n\u2018May I be allowed to ask if you are gold?\u2019 she said to her neighbour,\nthe Pin. \u2018You have a very nice appearance, and a peculiar head; but it\nis too small! You must take pains to make it grow, for it is not\neveryone who has a head of sealing-wax.\u2019 And so saying the\nDarning-needle raised herself up so proudly that she fell out of the\ndress, right into the sink which the cook was rinsing out.\n\n\u2018Now I am off on my travels!\u2019 said the Darning-needle. \u2018I do hope I\nsha\u2019n\u2019t get lost!\u2019 She did indeed get lost.\n\n\u2018I am too fine for this world!\u2019 said she as she lay in the gutter;\n\u2018but I know who I am, and that is always a little satisfaction!\u2019\n\nAnd the Darning-needle kept her proud bearing and did not lose her\ngood-temper.\n\nAll kinds of things swam over her\u2014shavings, bits of straw, and scraps\nof old newspapers.\n\n\u2018Just look how they sail along!\u2019 said the Darning-needle. \u2018They don\u2019t\nknow what is underneath them! Here I am sticking fast! There goes a\nshaving thinking of nothing in the world but of itself, a mere chip!\nThere goes a straw\u2014well, how it does twist and twirl, to be sure!\nDon\u2019t think so much about yourself, or you will be knocked against a\nstone. There floats a bit of newspaper. What is written on it is long\nago forgotten, and yet how proud it is! I am sitting patient and\nquiet. I know who I am, and that is enough for me!\u2019\n\nOne day something thick lay near her which glittered so brightly that\nthe Darning-needle thought it must be a diamond. But it was a bit of\nbottle-glass, and because it sparkled the Darning-needle spoke to it,\nand gave herself out as a breast-pin.\n\n\u2018No doubt you are a diamond?\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes, something of that kind!\u2019 And each believed that the other was\nsomething very costly; and they both said how very proud the world\nmust be of them.\n\n\u2018I have come from a lady\u2019s work-box,\u2019 said Darning-needle, \u2018and this\nlady was a cook; she had five fingers on each hand; anything so proud\nas these fingers I have never seen! And yet they were only there to\ntake me out of the work-box and to put me back again!\u2019\n\n\u2018Were they of noble birth, then?\u2019 asked the bit of bottle-glass.\n\n\u2018Of noble birth!\u2019 said the Darning-needle; \u2018no indeed, but proud! They\nwere five brothers, all called \u201cFingers.\u201d They held themselves proudly\none against the other, although they were of different sizes. The\noutside one, the Thumb, was short and fat; he was outside the rank,\nand had only one bend in his back, and could only make one bow; but he\nsaid that if he were cut off from a man that he was no longer any use\nas a soldier. Dip-into-everything, the second finger, dipped into\nsweet things as well as sour things, pointed to the sun and the moon,\nand guided the pen when they wrote. Longman, the third, looked at the\nothers over his shoulder. Goldband, the fourth, had a gold sash round\nhis waist; and little Playman did nothing at all, and was the more\nproud. There was too much ostentation, and so I came away.\u2019\n\n\u2018And now we are sitting and shining here!\u2019 said the bit of\nbottle-glass.\n\nAt that moment more water came into the gutter; it streamed over the\nedges and washed the bit of bottle-glass away.\n\n\u2018Ah! now he has been promoted!\u2019 said the Darning-needle. \u2018I remain\nhere; I am too fine. But that is my pride, which is a sign of\nrespectability!\u2019 And she sat there very proudly, thinking lofty\nthoughts.\n\n\u2018I really believe I must have been born a sunbeam, I am so fine! It\nseems to me as if the sunbeams were always looking under the water for\nme. Ah, I am so fine that my own mother cannot find me! If I had my\nold eye which broke off, I believe I could weep; but I can\u2019t\u2014it is\nnot fine to weep!\u2019\n\nOne day two street-urchins were playing and wading in the gutter,\npicking up old nails, pennies, and such things. It was rather dirty\nwork, but it was a great delight to them.\n\n\u2018Oh, oh!\u2019 cried out one, as he pricked himself with the\nDarning-needle; \u2018he is a fine fellow though!\u2019\n\n\u2018I am not a fellow; I am a young lady!\u2019 said the Darning-needle; but\nno one heard. The sealing-wax had gone, and she had become quite\nblack; but black makes one look very slim, and so she thought she was\neven finer than before.\n\n\u2018Here comes an egg-shell sailing along!\u2019 said the boys, and they stuck\nthe Darning-needle into the egg-shell.\n\n\u2018The walls white and I black\u2014what a pretty contrast it makes!\u2019 said\nthe Darning-needle. \u2018Now I can be seen to advantage! If only I am not\nsea-sick! I should give myself up for lost!\u2019\n\nBut she was not sea-sick, and did not give herself up.\n\n\u2018It is a good thing to be steeled against sea-sickness; here one has\nindeed an advantage over man! Now my qualms are over. The finer one is\nthe more one can bear.\u2019\n\n\u2018Crack!\u2019 said the egg-shell as a wagon-wheel went over it.\n\n\u2018Oh! how it presses!\u2019 said the Darning-needle. \u2018I shall indeed be\nsea-sick now. I am breaking!\u2019 But she did not break, although the\nwagon-wheel went over her; she lay there at full length, and there she\nmay lie.\n\n\n_Spottiswoode & Co. Printers, New-street Square, London_\n\n\n\n\nTranscriber\u2019s Notes:\n\n\nCertain spelling and grammar of the period has been left unchanged for\nauthenticity. Errors in punctuation have been corrected without\ncomment.\n\n1. page 132\u2014corrected typo \u2018Fairy-than-a-Fairy\u2019 to \u2018Fairer-than-a-Fairy\u2019\n\n2. page 133\u2014same typo\n\n3. page 279\u2014corrected typo \u2018pedal\u2019 to \u2018petal\u2019\n\n4. page 288\u2014corrected typo \u2018besides\u2019 to \u2018beside\u2019\n\n5. page 314\u2014corrected typo \u2018to\u2019 to \u2018too\u2019","title":"The Yellow Fairy Book","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":113374}