{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_38571/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_38571","id":"gutenberg_38571","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/38571","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Category: Poetry","Folklore -- Serbia","Legends -- Serbia","Tales -- Serbia"],"text":"Produced by Jeroen Hellingman and the Online Distributed\nProofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net/ for Project\nGutenberg (This file was produced from images generously\nmade available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n                 HERO TALES AND LEGENDS OF THE SERBIANS\n\n                                   By\n\n                         WOISLAV M. PETROVITCH\n\n  Late attache to the Serbian Royal Legation to the Court of St. James\n\n                           With a preface by\n                            CHEDO MIYATOVICH\n          Formerly Serbian Minister to the Court of St. James\n\n                      And thirty-two illustrations\n                              In colour by\n                     WILLIAM SEWELL & GILBERT JAMES\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n                      To that most Eminent Serbian\n                         Patriot and Statesman\n\n                             His Excellency\n                          Nicholas P. Pashitch\n\n                              This book is\n                         respectfully inscribed\n                             by the author\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE\n\n\nSerbians attach the utmost value and importance to the sympathies of\nsuch a highly cultured, great, and therefore legitimately influential\npeople as is the British nation. Since the beginning of the twentieth\ncentury there have been two critical occasions [1]--the annexation of\nBosnia and Herzegovina by Austria and the war against the Turks--when\nwe have had opportunities to note how British sympathies, even when\napparently only platonic, can be of great practical importance for\nour nation. It is quite natural that we should desire to retain and\nif possible deepen and increase those sympathies. We are proud of our\narmy, but we flatter ourselves that our nation may win sympathy and\nrespect by other than military features of its national character. We\nwish that our British friends should know our nation such as it is. We\nwish them to be acquainted with our national psychology. And nothing\ncould give a better insight into the very soul of the Serbian nation\nthan this book.\n\nThe Serbians belong ethnologically to the great family of the\nSlavonic nations. They are first cousins to the Russians, Poles,\nCzechs, Slovaks, and Bulgars, and they are brothers to the Croats\nand Slovenes. Since the Church has ceased to be the discordant and\ndisuniting element in the life of the nations, the Orthodox Serbians\nand the Roman Catholic Croats are practically one and the same\npeople. But of all Slavonic nations the Serbians can legitimately\nclaim to be the most poetical one. Their language is the richest and\nthe most musical among all the Slavonic languages. The late Professor\nMorfill, a man who was something of a Panslavist, repeatedly said to\nme: \"I wish you Serbians, as well as all other Slavonic nations, to\njoin Russia in a political union, but I do not wish you to surrender\nyour beautiful and well-developed language to be exchanged for the\nRussian!\" On one occasion he went even so far as to suggest that the\nfuture United States of the Slavs should adopt as their literary and\nofficial language the Serbian, as by far the finest and most musical\nof all the Slavonic tongues.\n\nWhen our ancestors occupied the western part of the Balkan\nPeninsula, they found there numerous Latin colonies and Greek towns\nand settlements. In the course of twelve centuries we have through\nintermarriage absorbed much Greek and Latin blood. That influence, and\nthe influence of the commercial and political intercourse with Italy,\nhas softened our language and our manners and intensified our original\nSlavonic love of what is beautiful, poetical, and noble. We are a\nspecial Slavonic type, modified by Latin and Greek influences. The\nBulgars are a Slavonic nation of a quite different type, created by\nthe circulation of Tartar blood in Slavonian veins. This simple fact\nthrows much light on the conflicts between the Serbians and Bulgarians\nduring the Middle Ages, and even in our own days.\n\nNow what are the Serbian national songs? They are not songs made by\ncultured or highly educated poets--songs which, becoming popular,\nare sung by common people. They are songs made by the common people\nthemselves. Up to the middle of the nineteenth century the Serbian\npeasantry lived mostly in agricultural and family associations called\nZadrooga. As M. Petrovitch has stated, the sons of a peasant did\nnot leave their father's house when they got married, but built a\nwooden cottage on the land surrounding the father's house. Very often\na large settlement arose around the original home, with often more\nthan a hundred persons, men and women, working together, considering\nthe land and houses as their common property, enjoying the fruits of\ntheir work as the common property too. All the members of the Zadrooga\nconsidered the oldest member of such family association as their chief,\nand it was the usual custom to gather round him every evening in the\noriginal house. After questions of farming or other business had been\ndisposed of, the family gathering would be enlivened by the chieftain\nor some other male member reciting an epic song, or several such songs,\ndescribing historic events or events which had lately happened. At\nthe public gatherings around the churches and monasteries groups of\nmen and women would similarly gather about the reciters of songs on\nold kings and heroes or on some great and important event.\n\nIn Hungarian Serbia (Syrmia, Banat, Bachka) poor blind men often make\nit a lucrative profession to sing old or new songs, mostly on old\nheroes and historical events or on contemporary events. But in other\nparts of Serbia (Shumadiya, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Montenegro, Dalmatia)\nvery often well-to-do peasants recite the hero songs to crowds of\nlisteners of both sexes. It is a curious fact noticed already by Vouk\nS. Karadgitch that the reciters of the heroic songs are hardly ever\nyoung men, but generally men of middle age, and still more frequently\nold men. It is as if old men considered it their duty to acquaint the\nyoung generation with the principal events of the nation's history\nand their principal heroes. You may find still many an illiterate\nperson in Serbia, but you will not find one who would not be able to\ntell you something about Stephan Nemanya, the first king of mediaeval\nSerbia, about his son St. Sava, Tsar Doushan, his young son Ourosh,\nKing Voukashin, the Royal Prince Kralyevitch Marko, Tsar Lazar, and\nthe heroes who fell in the famous battle at Kossovo (1389). It can\nbe said that the Serbian peasants wrote their own national history\nby composing and reciting it from one generation to another in the\nrhythmical ten-syllabic blank verse. The gooslari and the monks kept\nthe national political consciousness and the national Church fully\nalive through the five centuries in which they were only Turkish Rayah,\na mass of common people doomed to be nothing better than slaves to\ntheir master, the Turk. We would to-day not have known anything about\nthe persistent guerilla war, which the best and boldest men of the\nnation were relentlessly carrying on against the nation's oppressor\nsince the beginning of the sixteenth century until the first rising\nof Shumadia under Karageorge in 1804, if we had not the so-called\nHaidoochke Pesme (the Songs on Haidooks). Long before the history of\nThe Resurrection of the Serbian National State had been written by\nStoyan Novakovich, the learned President of the Serbian Academy, the\nbard Vishnyich described that resurrection in songs of great beauty\nand power. And the victories of the Serbian army over the Turks and\nBulgars in the war of 1912-13 are already sung by the improvized\nbards in the inns and at the great gatherings of the people at the\nvillage fairs and around the churches on great church festivals. Of\ncourse, a Serbian who has heard on hundreds of occasions national\nsongs recited learns to recite them himself, although he may not be\nable to accompany his recitation on the goussle. Nor does he find\nit difficult, by using many stereotyped lines of old and well-known\nsongs, to tell the story of a recent event. When in 1873, as Minister\nof Finance, I was defeated in the Budget debate at the Skoupshtina,\nmy defeat was recited to the people in blank verse the same evening,\nand the next day.\n\nBesides the songs which relate, more or less accurately, actual events,\nmany a national song relates a legend or a tradition. They have been\ncreated, no doubt, under the influence of the priests and monks,\nand are appropriate recitations to the crowds who come to the church\nfestivals. I am glad to see that M. Petrovitch has included in his\ncollection the song which is probably the oldest among all Serbian\nsongs. It is called \"The Saints partition [or divide] the Treasures,\"\nand it gives expression to an evidently very old tradition, which\nremembers a sort of catastrophe which befell India, and which probably\nwas the cause of the ancient ancestors of the Slavs leaving India. It\nis most remarkable to find an echo of an Indian catastrophe in the\nnational songs of the Serbians.\n\nThat the Serbians had national songs in which they described the\nexploits of their national heroes was noted in the fourteenth\ncentury. Nicephoras Gregoras, sent by the Byzantine Emperor on a\ndiplomatic mission to Serbia, relates having heard the Serbians sing\ntheir national songs on their heroes. The records of several diplomatic\nmissions, going from Vienna or Buda to Constantinople during the\nsixteenth century, relate that the members heard people sing heroic\nsongs. In that century we have the first attempt to reproduce in\nprint some of those national songs, as, for instance, by the Ragusan\npoet Hectorovich. In the eighteenth century fuller efforts were made\nby the Franciscan monk Kachich-Mioshich and by Abbe Fortis. But it\nis to the self-taught founder of modern Serbian literature, Vouk\nStephanovitch Karadgitch, that the greatest honour is due, as has\nbeen shown by M. Petrovitch in his Introduction and elsewhere.\n\nM. Petrovitch must have experienced what the French call embarras\nde richesses. It was not so easy to select the songs for an English\ntranslation. But he has given us some of the finest Serbian epic\nsongs as samples of what the Serbian national poetry is capable of\ncreating. I regret only that he has not included a few samples of\nwhat the Serbian village women and girls are able to produce in the\nway of lyrical poetry. Perhaps on some other occasion he will make\nan amende honorable to our countrywomen.\n\nI wish to add yet a few words to what M. Petrovitch has said about our\ngreatest national hero, the Royal Prince (Kralyevitch) Marko. As he\nhas pointed out, Marko is a historical personality. But what history\nhas to say about him is not much, and certainly not of the nature to\nexplain how he became the favourite hero of the Serbian people. He\nwas a loyal and faithful vassal of the Sultan, a fact hardly likely to\nwin him the respect and admiration of the Serbians. Yet the Serbians\nthroughout the last five centuries have respected, admired, loved\ntheir Royal Prince Marko, and were and are now and will ever be proud\nof him. This psychological puzzle has stirred up the best Serbian\nand some other historical students and authors to investigate the\nmatter. It is evident to all that most of the songs on Marko must have\nbeen composed under the mighty influence of his personality upon his\ncontemporary countrymen. Dr. Yagich, Dr. Maretich, Professor Stoykovich\nand St. Novakovich all believe that his athletic strength and personal\nappearance were responsible for much of the impression he made. All\nagree that his conduct in everyday life and on all occasions was that\nof a true knight, a cavaliere servente, a chevalier sans peur et sans\nreproche. Even his attachment and unfailing readiness to serve the\nSultan was counted in his favour, as proof of his absolute loyalty of\ncharacter. Probably that very loyalty was appreciated by the Sultan\nand enabled Marko not rarely to appeal to the Sultan in favour of his\npeople, especially when some prisoners or slaves were to be liberated\nand saved. He was certainly the protector of poor and suffering men\nand women, and went to their rescue at all and every personal risk\nand cost. He must have given real proofs of his devotion to the cause\nof justice; that is what endeared him to his generation as well as\nto the generations which followed. He must have been known during\nhis life for his fear of God and his respect and tender love for\nhis mother. The Serbians painted him from the model which his own\npersonality and his actual deeds offered to the nation. One of the\nmost beautiful features of his knightly character as described by\nthe national bards is his love of and pity for suffering animals. I\nregret that my friend Petrovitch did not give a sample of the songs\nwhich glorify that feature of our national hero, as, for instance,\nthe song \"Marko and the Falcon\" (Vouk. ii. 53), or \"Marko and the\nEagle\" (Vouk. ii. 54), in each of which it is described how when once\nMarko fell ill on a field, an intense thirst tormenting him and the\nscorching sun-rays burning his face, those birds out of gratitude for\nthe kindness Marko showed them once, brought to him water in their\nbeaks and spread their wings to shade his face against the sun.\n\nBy far the best study on the Serbian national hero has been written\nby the Russian professor M. Halanski, who explains the puzzle by the\nnatural sympathy of the people for a 'tragic hero.' The historical\nMarko was certainly a 'tragic hero.' Nothing proves that better than\nhis last words before the battle of Rovina began (1399), and which\nM. Petrovitch quotes in the text.\n\nI ought to add that there is also a theory that the Serbian nation,\nso to say, projected itself in the Royal Prince Marko, depicting its\nown tragic fate, its own virtues and weaknesses, in the popular yet\ntragic personality of Marko. No doubt Marko must have been in some\nway the representative type of a noble Serbian, otherwise he could\nnot have found the way to the soul and heart of his people. Yet that\ntheory is hardly modest, for my taste.\n\nIt may interest our British friends to know that a relation of the\ndynasty of which Marko was the last representative, a certain Prince\nJohn Mussachi, in a historical memoir stated that Marko's father, King\nVoukashin, was the descendant of a certain nobleman named Britanius\nor Britanicus! [2] We should be proud if it could be proved that\nthe ancestors of our national hero were in some way connected with\nthe Britons.\n\n\nChedo Miyatovich\nMember of the Royal Serbian Academy of Sciences\n\nBelgrade\nJune 28, 1914\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\n    CHAPTER                                                       PAGE\n\n         Introduction                                             xvii\n    I    Historical Retrospect                                       1\n    II   Superstitious Beliefs and National Customs                 13\n    III  Serbian National Epic Poetry                               54\n    IV   Kralyevitch Marko; or, the Royal Prince Marko              59\n    V    Banovitch Strahinya                                       119\n    VI   The Tsarina Militza and the Zmay of Yastrebatz            129\n    VII  The Marriage of Maximus Tzrnoyevitch                      134\n    VIII The Marriage of Tsar Doushan the Mighty                   150\n    IX   Tsar Lazarus and the Tsarina Militza                      170\n    X    The Captivity and Marriage of Stephan Yakshitch           177\n    XI   The Marriage of King Voukashin                            186\n    XII  The Saints Divide the Treasures                           195\n    XIII Three Serbian Ballads\n\n         1. The Building of Skadar                                 198\n         2. The Stepsisters                                        206\n         3. The Abduction of the Beautiful Iconia                  210\n\n    XIV  Folk Lore\n\n         1. The Ram with the Golden Fleece                         213\n         2. A Pavilion neither in the Sky nor on the Earth         220\n         3. Pepelyouga                                             224\n         4. Animals' Language                                      230\n         5. The Stepmother and her Stepdaughter                    235\n         6. Justice and Injustice                                  240\n         7. He who Asks Little Receives Much                       243\n         8. Bash Tchelik or Real Steel                             247\n         9. The Golden Apple-tree and the Nine Pea-hens            267\n        10. The Bird Maiden                                        280\n        11. Lying for a Wager                                      283\n        12. The Maiden Wiser than the Tsar                         287\n        13. Good Deeds Never Perish                                291\n        14. He whom God Helps no one can Harm                      300\n        15. Animals as Friends and as Enemies                      305\n        16. The Three Suitors                                      316\n        17. The Dream of the King's Son                            322\n        18. The Biter Bit                                          328\n        19. The Trade that no one Knows                            340\n        20. The Golden-haired Twins                                353\n\n    XV   Some Serbian Popular Anecdotes                            362\n         Glossary and Index                                        371\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTION\n\n\nMore than once in the following pages I have lamented my inability\nto translate into English verse the spirited ballads of our national\nbards; never until now have I realized the error involved in the\ndictum of my teachers of literature--true as it may be from one point\nof view--that beautiful thoughts are to be more freely expressed in\nprose than in a poetic form, which is necessarily hampered by rules\nof prosody and metre. Undoubtedly, good prose is worth more than\nmediocre verse, but how if the author be a master poet?\n\nSerbian epic poetry undoubtedly deserves the attention of the English\nliterary world, and I venture to express the hope that some day another\nEnglish poet will be attracted as was Sir John Bowring by the charm\nof our ballads, and like him will endeavour to communicate to readers\nof English the alluring rhythmic qualities of the originals.\n\nIn the first half of the nineteenth century various German poets\ntransversified some of our national ballads, and I cannot but boast\nthat among the number was even Goethe himself. Alas! he was compelled\nto use Italian versions, for he was ignorant of the Serbian language,\nunlike his worthy countryman Jacob Grimm, who, after having learnt\nour musical tongue that he might acquaint himself with the treasures\nwritten in it, wrote: \"The Serbian national poetry deserves indeed a\ngeneral attention.... On account of these ballads I think the Serbian\nwill now be universally studied.\"\n\nA Tcheque [3] writer, Lyoodevit Schtur, speaking of the Slav poetry,\nwrote: \"The Indo-European peoples express each in their own manner what\nthey contain in themselves and what elevates their souls. The Indian\nmanifests this in his huge temples; the Persian in his holy books; the\nEgyptian in pyramids, obelisks and immeasurable, mysterious labyrinths;\nthe Hellene in his magnificent statues; the Roman in his enchanting\npictures; the German in his beautiful music--the Slavs have poured\nout their soul and their intimate thoughts in ballads and tales.\"\n\nI think that it is not too much to claim that of all the Slavs,\nSerbians have most profusely poured out their souls in their poetry,\nwhich is thoroughly and essentially national. So much could not safely\nbe said about their tales and legends, which, to my mind, seem less\ncharacteristic. Indeed, by their striking analogy with the folk lore\nof other nations they help to demonstrate the prehistoric oneness\nof the entire Aryan race. For example, it would be ridiculous for\nany nation to lay exclusive claim, as 'national property,' to such\nlegends as \"Cinderella\" [4] and certain others, which are found more\nor less alike in many languages, as is well known to those who have\nany considerable acquaintance with European folk lore.\n\nFrom time immemorial the Serbian has possessed an exceptional natural\ngift for composing heroic ballads. That gift was brought from his\nancient abode in the North; and the beautiful scenery of his new\nsurroundings, and contact with the civilized Byzantine, influenced\nit very considerably and provided food for its development, so that\nit came to resemble the Homeric epic rather than any product of the\ngenius of the Northern Slav. The treasure of his mental productions was\ncontinually augmented by new impressions, and the national poetry thus\ngrew opulent in its form and more beautiful in its composition. The\nglorious forests of the Balkans, instinct with legend and romance, to\nwhich truly no other forests in Europe can compare; the ever-smiling\nsky of Southern Macedonia; the gigantic Black Rocks of Montenegro\nand Herzegovina, are well calculated to inspire even a less talented\npeople than the Serbian inhabitants of those romantic regions for\nthe last thirteen centuries.\n\nThe untiring Serbian muse pursued her mission alike upon the\nbattlefield or in the forest, in pleasant pastures amid the flocks,\nor beneath the frowning walls of princely castles and sacred\nmonasteries. The entire nation participated in her gracious gifts;\nand whenever a poet chanted of the exploits of some favourite\nnational hero, or of the pious deeds of monk or saint, or, indeed,\nof any subject which appeals closely to the people, there were never\nlacking other bards who could make such poetic creations their own and\npass them on with the modifications which must always accompany oral\ntransmission, and which serve to bring them ever more intimately near\nto the heart of the nation. This characteristic of oral transmission\nexplains the existence of varying versions of some of the most\npopular songs.\n\nThrough many centuries, and more especially during the blighting\ndomination of the Turk, Serbian national literature was limited to\na merely oral form, save that the untiring monks, inviolable within\nthe sacred walls of their monasteries, spent their leisure, not\nin inscribing the popular ballads and lyric songs of their nation,\nbut in recording the biographies of other monks or of this or that\nprincely patron.\n\nThose Serbians who could not endure the oppressive rule of the\nOttoman, and who in the seventeenth century emigrated with their\nPatriarch Arsen Tcharnoyevitch to the level fields of Southern\nHungary--there to adopt in the course of the two subsequent centuries\nthe pseudo-classicism of the West--considered it infra dignitatem to\nwrite about such vulgar subjects as popular poetry and tradition. The\ngifted descendants of those lamentable slaves of the cunning Austrian\nand Pan-Russian influences wasted their talents in vain and empty\nimitation of pseudo-classic productions from Italy and France, and,\nby conjugating zealously the Serbian and Old-Slavonic verbs in the\nRussian fashion they created a monstrous literary jargon which they\ntermed Slavyano-Serbski (i.e. Slavo-Serbian). And if any Serbian\nauthor should have presumed to write in the melodious and genuine\nSerbian as universally spoken throughout his fatherland, he would have\nbeen anathematized by those misguided Slavo-Serbian 'classicists' who\nfondly believed that by writing in a language hardly comprehensible\neven to themselves, because of its utter inconsequence and arbitrary\nchanges, they would surely become distinguished in the history of\ntheir nation's literature.\n\nThe 'classicists' received their deserts in the first half of the\nnineteenth century, when they were overwhelmed by the irresistible\ntorrent of the popular movement headed by the self-taught Serbian\npeasant, Vouk Stephanovitch-Karadgitch, whose name will remain for\never great in the history of Serbian literature. Karadgitch has been\ncalled justly \"the father of Serbian modern literature.\" His numberless\nopponents, who began by heaping upon him every opprobrious epithet\nwhich their pens or tongues could command, ended, after more than\nfifty years of fruitless resistance, by opening wide their arms to him.\n\nKaradgitch framed a grammar of the popular Serbian language, banishing\nall unnecessary graphic signs and adapting his thirty-lettered\nalphabet to the thirty sounds (five vowels and twenty-five consonants)\nof his mother tongue--thus giving it an ideal phonetic orthography,\nand establishing the golden rule, \"Spell as you speak and speak as you\nspell.\" [5] He also travelled from one village to another throughout\nSerbia, zealously collecting and inscribing the epic and lyric poems,\nlegends, and traditions as he heard them from the lips of bards and\nstory-tellers, professional and amateur.\n\nIn his endeavours he was powerfully seconded by the Serbian ruling\nprinces, and he had the good fortune to acquire the intimate\nfriendship of those distinguished philologers and scientists of the\nlast century, Bartholemy Kopitar, Schaffarik, and Grimm. Helped by\nKopitar, Karadgitch succeeded in compiling an academic dictionary of\nthe Serbian language interpreted by Latin and German equivalents. This\nremains to this day the only reliable Serbian dictionary approaching\nto the Western standard of such books. His first collection of Serbian\npopular poems was published in Vienna in 1814. It contained 200 lyric\nsongs, which he called zenske pyesme (i.e. 'women-songs'), and 23\nheroic ballads, and the book created a stir in literary circles in\nAustria, Serbia, Germany, Russia, and other countries. Seven years\nlater Karadgitch published at Leipzig a second edition in three\nbooks. This contained 406 lyric songs and 117 heroic poems. From this\nedition Sir John Bowring made his metrical translation of certain\nof the lyric and epic poems, which he published in 1827 under the\ntitle Servian Popular Poetry. He dedicated the book to Karadgitch,\nwho was his intimate friend and teacher of Serbian.\n\nI have reproduced three of Bowring's ballads in this book that\nEnglish readers may have a better idea than they can obtain from a\nmere prose rendering of the original verse. As to the poetic merits of\nthese metrical translations I will not presume to offer an opinion,\nbut I may be permitted to say that I have not seen a more faithful\ntranslation of our national ballads and lyric songs in English or in\nany other language. Considering the difficulties to the Anglo-Saxon\nstudent of any Slavonic language (more especially Serbian) it is\nsurprising that there should be so few defects in Bowring's work. Sir\nJohn must have possessed an uncommon gift for acquiring languages,\nas he has also translated from each of the other Slavonic tongues\nwith--so I am informed--similar accuracy and precision.\n\nThe third edition of Karadgitch's work appeared in Vienna at intervals\nbetween the years 1841 and 1866. It had now grown to five volumes and\ncontained 1112 lyric songs and 313 heroic ballads. It is from this\nedition that I have selected the hero-tales in this book; and if I\nshould succeed in interesting a new generation of English readers in\nthe literature of my country it will be my further ambition to attempt\nthe immeasurably harder task of introducing them in a subsequent\nvolume to our popular lyric poetry.\n\nIt remains only to tender my most grateful acknowledgment to my\nesteemed friend M. Chedo Miyatovich for his invaluable advice and\nencouragement, and for his generous willingness to contribute the\npreface which adorns my book.\n\n\nW. M. P.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I: HISTORICAL RETROSPECT\n\n\nThe Coming of the Serb\n\nPrior to their incursion into the Balkan Peninsula during the\nseventh century, the Serbians [6] lived as a patriarchal people\nin the country now known as Galicia. Ptolemy, the ancient Greek\ngeographer, describes them as living on the banks of the River Don,\nto the north-east of the sea of Azov. They settled mostly in those\nBalkan territories which they inhabit at the present day, namely,\nthe present kingdom of Serbia, Old Serbia, Macedonia, Bosnia and\nHerzegovina, Montenegro, Dalmatia, Batchka, Banat, Croatia, Sirmia\nand Istria. The ancient inhabitants of those regions, Latins,\nIllyrians, Thracians, Greeks and Albanians, were easily driven by\nthe newcomers toward the Adriatic coast. Their Emperor, Heraclius\n(A.D. 610-641), unable to oppose an effective resistance, ceded to\nthe Serbians all the provinces which they had occupied, and peace\nwas thus purchased. The pagan and uncultured Serbian tribes now came\ninto constant intercourse with the civilized Byzantines, and soon\nwere converted to Christianity; for it is an almost invariable fact\nthat when one people conquers or subjects another people, the more\ncivilized of the two, whether the vanquished or the victorious, must\nnecessarily impose its civilization and customs on the more barbarous.\nBut the Serbians only embraced Christianity to any large extent with\nthe beginning of the ninth century, when the two brothers Cyrillos and\nMethodius--the so-called Slavonic apostles--translated and preached\nthe teaching of Christ in the ancient Slav language, then in common\nuse among all southern Slavs of that time.\n\n\n\n\nEarly Struggles\n\nAs the Serbians, during the seventh and eighth centuries, were divided\ninto tribes, they became an easy prey to the attacks of the Byzantines,\nthe Bulgars and the Francs, although they never were subjugated by\nany of those neighbours. The Serbians, however, were forced to realize\nthat only by concentration of their power could they offer resistance\nas a nation, and a serious effort was made to found a State on the\nbanks of the River Morava, with Horea Margi (now called Tyoupriya)\nas its capital, in the early part of the ninth century. Owing to\nBulgarian hostility, however, this proved abortive.\n\nA fresh attempt to form an independent State was made by the Djoupan\n(Count) Vlastimir, who had succeeded in emancipating himself from\nByzantine suzerainty. This province was called Rashka and extended\naround the Rivers Piva, Tara, and Lim, touching the basin of the\nRiver Ibar in the east and that of Vrbas in the west. But in the\nvery beginning of its civil life there were dissensions amongst the\nleaders which facilitated the interference of the Bulgarian Tsar\nSimeon. Tchaslav, the djoupan of another Serbian tribe, though he\npossessed no rights to it, claimed the throne, and was supported\nby Simeon, who successfully invaded Rashka. The Bulgarians retained\npossession of the country for seven years (924-931), when Tchaslav\nsucceeded in wresting from them a new state which comprised,\ntogether with Rashka, the territories of Zetta, Trebinye, Neretva\nand Houm. After his death, great disorder reigned in this principality.\n\nIn the course of the next century the Byzantine Empire, having\nagain brought the now enfeebled Bulgaria within its rule, also\noverpowered Rashka, whose Grand Djoupan fled. The ruler of Zetta,\nStephen Voislav (1034-1051), son of Dragomir, djoupan of Trebinye,\ntook the opportunity of declaring himself independent of his suzerain\nthe Grand Djoupan of Rashka, and appropriated Zahoumlye (Herzegovina)\nand some other regions. His son Michaylo (1053-1081) succeeded further\nin bringing Rashka under his authority, and obtained the title of\nking (rex Sclavorum) from Pope Gregory VII in the year 1077. Under\nthe rule of King Bodin, the son of Michaylo, the Serbia of Tchaslav\nwas restored; furthermore Bosnia was added to his state. But after\nBodin's death new disorder ensued, caused mainly by the struggles\namongst the several pretenders to the throne.\n\n\n\n\nInternecine Strife\n\nInternecine strife is an unfortunate feature to be noticed throughout\nSerbian history, and constantly we see energy wasted in futile\ndissensions among various members of ruling families, who criminally\nand fatally neglected national interests, in pursuit by legitimate\nor illegitimate means of their personal ambitions. This has at all\ntimes hindered the Serbian nation from becoming a powerful political\nunit, although efforts were made by many of the rulers to realize\nthis policy.\n\nIn 1169 a dynasty destined to rule Serbia for more than two centuries\n(1169-1372) within ever-changing political boundaries, was founded\nby the celebrated Grand Djoupan Stephan Nemanya (1169-1196) who was\ncreated Duke (grand djoupan) of Serbia by the Byzantine Emperor after\nhe had instigated a revolution, the result of which was favourable\nto his pretensions. By his bravery and wisdom he succeeded not only\nin uniting under his rule the provinces held by his predecessors,\nbut also in adding those which never had been Serbian before, and he\nplaced Ban Koulin, an ally, upon the throne of Bosnia. Furthermore he\nstrengthened the orthodox religion in his state by building numerous\nchurches and monasteries, and by banishing the heretic Bogoumils. [7]\nFeeling the weakness of advanced age, and wishing to give fresh proof\nof his religious faith to his people, the aged Nemanya abdicated in\n1196, in favour of his able second son Stevan, and withdrew into a\nmonastery. On his accession in the year 1217 Stevan assumed the title\nof King of Serbia.\n\nWhen the crusaders vanquished Constantinople, Sava, Stevan's youngest\nbrother, obtained from the Greek patriarch the autonomy of the Serbian\nChurch (1219), and became the first Serbian archbishop.\n\nStevan was succeeded by his son Radoslav (1223-1233), who was dethroned\nby his brother Vladislav (1233-1242), who was removed from the throne\nby his third brother Ourosh the Great (1242-1276). Ourosh increased his\nterritory and established the reputation of Serbia abroad. In his turn,\nhe was dethroned by his son Dragoutin (1276-1281), who, owing to the\nfailure of a campaign against the Greeks, retired from the throne in\nfavour of a younger brother Miloutin (1281-1321), reserving, however,\nfor himself a province in the north of the State. Soon afterward\nDragoutin received from his mother-in-law, the queen of Hungary,\nthe lands between the Rivers Danube Sava and Drina, and assumed the\ntitle of King of Sirmia. Dragoutin, while still alive, yielded his\nthrone and a part of his lands to Miloutin, and another part remained\nunder the suzerainty of the King of Hungary. Miloutin is considered\none of the most remarkable descendants of Nemanya. After his death the\nusual discord obtained concerning the succession to the throne. Order\nwas re-established by Miloutin's son, Stevan Detchanski (1321-1331),\nwho defeated the Bulgarians in the famous battle of Velbouzd, and\nbrought the whole of Bulgaria under his sway. Bulgaria remained a\nprovince of Serbia until the Ottoman hordes overpowered both.\n\n\n\n\nDoushan the Powerful\n\nStevan Detchanski was dethroned by his son Doushan the Powerful\n(1331-1355), the most notable and most glorious of all Serbian\nsovereigns. He aimed to establish his rule over the entire Balkan\nPeninsula, and having succeeded in overpowering nearly the whole of\nthe Byzantine Empire, except Constantinople, he proclaimed himself,\nin agreement with the Vlastela (Assembly of Nobles), Tsar of\nSerbia. He elevated the Serbian archbishopric to the dignity of the\npatriarchate. He subdued the whole of Albania and a part of Greece,\nwhile Bulgaria obeyed him almost as a vassal state. His premature death\n(some historians assert that he was poisoned by his own ministers)\ndid not permit him to realize the whole of his great plan for Serbia,\nand under the rule of his younger son Ourosh (1355-1371) nearly all\nhis magnificent work was undone owing to the incessant and insatiable\ngreed of the powerful nobles, who thus paved the way for the Ottoman\ninvasion.\n\nAmong those who rebelled against the new Tsar was King\nVoukashin. Together with his brother and other lords, he held almost\nindependently the whole territory adjoining Prizrend to the south of\nthe mountain Shar. [8]\n\nKing Voukashin and his brother were defeated in a battle with the\nTurks on the banks of the River Maritza (1371), and all Serbian lands\nto the south of Skoplye (Ueskueb) were occupied by the Turks.\n\n\n\n\nThe Royal Prince Marko\n\nThe same year Tsar Ourosh died, and Marko, the eldest son of King\nVoukashin, the national hero of whom we shall hear much in this book,\nproclaimed himself King of the Serbians, but the Vlastela and the\nclergy did not recognize his accession. They elected (A.D. 1371) Knez\n[9] (later Tsar) Lazar, a relative of Tsar Doushan the Powerful, to be\nthe ruler of Serbia, and Marko, from his principality of Prilip, as a\nvassal of the Sultan, aided the Turks in their campaigns against the\nChristians. In the year 1399 he met his death in the battle of Rovina,\nin Roumania, and he is said to have pronounced these memorable words:\n\"May God grant the victory to the Christians, even if I have to perish\namongst the first!\" The Serbian people, as we shall see, believe that\nhe did not die, but lives even to-day.\n\nKnez Lazar ruled from 1371 to 1389, and during his reign he made\nan alliance with Ban [10] Tvrtko of Bosnia against the Turks. Ban\nTvrtko proclaimed himself King of Bosnia, and endeavoured to extend\nhis power in Hungary, whilst Knez Lazar, with the help of a number\nof Serbian princes, prepared for a great war against the Turks. But\nSultan Amourath, informed of Lazar's intentions, suddenly attacked\nthe Serbians on June 15 1389, on the field of Kossovo. The battle\nwas furious on both sides, and at noon the position of the Serbians\npromised ultimate success to their arms.\n\n\n\n\nThe Treachery of Brankovitch.\n\nThere was, however, treachery in the Serbian camp. Vook (Wolf)\nBrankovitch, one of the great lords, to whom was entrusted one wing\nof the Serbian army, had long been jealous of his sovereign. Some\nhistorians state that he had arranged with Sultan Amourath to betray\nhis master, in return for the promise of the imperial crown of\nSerbia, subject to the Sultan's overlordship. At a critical moment\nin the battle, the traitor turned his horse and fled from the field,\nfollowed by 12,000 of his troops, who believed this to be a stratagem\nintended to deceive the Turks. This was a great blow to the Serbians,\nand when, later in the day the Turks were reinforced by fresh\ntroops under the command of the Sultan's son, Bajazet, the Turkish\nvictory was complete. Knez Lazar was taken prisoner and beheaded,\nand the Sultan himself perished by the hand of a Serbian voivode,\n[11] Milosh Obilitch.\n\nNotwithstanding the disaster, in which Brankovitch also perished, the\nSerbian state did not succumb to the Turks, thanks to the wisdom and\nbravery of Lazar's son, Stevan Lazarevitch (1389-1427). His nephew,\nDyourady Brankovitch (1427-1456), also fought heroically, but was\ncompelled, inch by inch, to cede his state to the Turks.\n\n\n\n\nThe Final Success of the Turks\n\nAfter the death of Dyourady the Serbian nobles could not agree\nconcerning his successor, and in the disorder that ensued the Turks\nwere able to complete their conquest of Serbia, which they finally\nachieved by 1459. Their statesmen now set themselves the task of\ninducing the Serbian peasantry in Bosnia, by promises of future\nprosperity, to take the oath of allegiance to the Sultan, and in\nthis they were successful during the reign of the King of Bosnia,\nStevan Tomashevitch, who endeavoured in vain to secure help from the\nPope. The subjugation of Bosnia was an accomplished fact by 1463, and\nHerzegovina followed by 1482. An Albanian chief of Serbian origin,\nGeorge Kastriotovitch-Skander-Beg (1443-1468), successfully fought,\nwith great heroism, for the liberty of Albania. Eventually, however,\nthe Turks made themselves master of the country as well as of all\nSerbian lands, with the exception of Montenegro, which they never\ncould subdue, owing partly to the incomparable heroism of the bravest\nSerbians--who objected to live under Turkish rule--and partly to the\nmountainous nature of the country. Many noble Serbian families found\na safe refuge in that land of the free; many more went to Ragusa as\nwell as to the Christian Princes of Valahia and Moldavia. The cruel\nand tyrannous nature of Turkish rule forced thousands of families to\nemigrate to Hungary, and the descendants of these people may be found\nto-day in Batchka, Banat, Sirmia and Croatia. Those who remained\nin Serbia were either forced to embrace Islam or to live as raya\n(slaves), for the Turkish spahis (land-lords) not only oppressed the\nChristian population, but confiscated the land hitherto belonging to\nthe natives of the soil.\n\n\n\n\nThe Miseries of Turkish Rule\n\nWe should be lengthening this retrospect unduly if we were to describe\nin full the miserable position of the vanquished Christians, and so\nwe must conclude by giving merely an outline of the modern period.\n\nWhen it happens that a certain thing, or state of things, becomes\ntoo sharp, or acute, a change of some sort must necessarily take\nplace. As the Turkish atrocities reached their culmination at the\nend of the XVIIth century, the Serbians, following the example of\ntheir brothers in Hungary and Montenegro, gathered around a leader\nwho was sent apparently by Providence to save them from the shameful\noppression of their Asiatic lords. That leader, a gifted Serbian,\nGeorge Petrovitch--designated by the Turks Karageorge ('Black\nGeorge')--gathered around him other Serbian notables, and a general\ninsurrection occurred in 1804. The Serbians fought successfully,\nand established the independence of that part of Serbia comprised\nin the pashalik of Belgrade and some neighbouring territory. This\nwas accomplished only by dint of great sacrifices and through the\ncharacteristic courage of Serbian warriors, and it was fated to endure\nfor less than ten years.\n\n\n\n\nSerbia again Subjugated\n\nWhen Europe (and more particularly Russia) was engaged in the war\nagainst Napoleon, the Turks found in the pre-occupation of the Great\nPowers the opportunity to retrieve their losses and Serbia was again\nsubjugated in 1813. George Petrovitch and other Serbian leaders left\nthe country to seek aid, first in Austria, and later in Russia. In\ntheir absence, Milosh Obrenovitch, one of Karageorge Petrovitch's\nlieutenants, made a fresh attempt to liberate the Serbian people\nfrom the Turkish yoke, and in 1815 was successful in re-establishing\nthe autonomy of the Belgrade pashalik. During the progress of his\noperations, George Petrovitch returned to Serbia and was cruelly\nassassinated by order of Milosh who then proclaimed himself hereditary\nprince and was approved as such by the Sublime Porte in October\n1815. Milosh was a great opponent of Russian policy and he incurred the\nhostility of that power and was forced to abdicate in 1839 in favour of\nhis son Michel (Serbian 'Mihaylo'). Michel was an excellent diplomat,\nand had previously incorporated within the independent state of Serbia\nseveral districts without shedding blood. He was succeeded by Alexandre\nKarageorgevitch (1842-1860) son of Karageorge Petrovitch. Under the\nprudent rule of that prince, Serbia obtained some of the features\nof a modern constitution and a foundation was laid for further and\nrapid development. But an unfortunate foreign policy, the corruption\nexisting among the high dignitaries of the state and especially the\ntreachery of Milosh's apparent friends, who hoped to supplant him,\nforced that enlightened prince to abandon the throne and to leave his\ncountry. The Skoupshtina (National Assembly) restored Milosh but the\nsame year the prince died and was succeeded once again by his son\nMichel (1860-1868). At the assassination of this prince his young\ncousin, Milan (1868-1889), ruled with the aid, during his minority,\nof three regents, in conformity of a Constitution voted in 1869.\n\nThe principal events during the rule of Milan were: the war against\nTurkey (1876-1878) and the annexation of four new districts; the\nacknowledgment of Serbian independence by the famous Treaty of Berlin;\nthe proclamation of Serbia as a kingdom in 1882; the unfortunate war\nagainst Bulgaria, which was instigated by Austria, and the promulgation\nof a new Constitution, which, slightly modified, is still in force.\n\nAfter the abdication of King Milan, his unworthy son, Alexander,\nascended the throne. Despite the vigorous advices of his friends and\nthe severe admonishments of his personal friend M. Chedo Miyatovich,\nhe married his former mistress, Draga Mashin, under whose influence\nhe entered upon a period of tyranny almost Neronian in type. He went\nso far as to endeavour to abolish the Constitution, thus completely\nalienating his people and playing into the hands of his personal\nenemies, who finally murdered him (1903).\n\n\n\n\nKing Peter I\n\nThe Skoupshtina now elected the son of Alexander Karageorgevitch,\nthe present King Peter I Karageorgevitch, whose glorious rule will\nbe marked with golden letters in modern Serbian history, for it is to\nhim that Christendom owes the formation of the league whereby the Turk\nwas all but driven from Europe in 1913. But, alas! the Serbians have\nonly about one-half of their lands free, the rest of their brethren\nbeing still under the foreign yoke.\n\n\n\nBrief as is this retrospect it will suffice to show the circumstances\nand conditions from which sprung the Serbian national poetry with\nwhich we shall be largely concerned in the following pages. The\nlegends have their roots in disasters due as much to the self-seeking\nof Serbian leaders as to foreign oppressors; but national calamities\nhave not repressed the passionate striving of a high-souled people\nfor freedom, and these dearly loved hero tales of the Balkans express\nthe ideals which have inspired the Serbian race in its long agony, and\nwhich will continue to sustain the common people in whatever further\ndisappointments they may be fated to suffer ere they gain the place\namong the great nations which their persistence and suffering must\nsurely win in the end.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II: SUPERSTITIOUS BELIEFS & NATIONAL CUSTOMS\n\n\nGeneral Characteristics\n\nThe Serbians inhabiting the present kingdom of Serbia, having been\nmixed with the ancient indigenous population of the Balkan Peninsula,\nhave not conserved their true national type. They have mostly brown\nvisages and dark hair; very rarely are blonde or other complexions\nto be seen. Boshnyaks (Serbians inhabiting Bosnia) are considered\nto be the most typical Serbians, they having most strongly retained\nthe national characteristics of the pure Southern-Slavonic race. The\naverage Serbian has a rather lively temperament; he is highly sensitive\nand very emotional. His enthusiasm is quickly roused, but most emotions\nwith him are, as a rule, of short duration. However, he is extremely\nactive and sometimes persistent. Truly patriotic, he is always ready\nto sacrifice his life and property for national interests, which he\nunderstands particularly well, thanks to his intimate knowledge of the\nancient history of his people, transmitted to him from generation to\ngeneration through the pleasing medium of popular epic poetry composed\nin very simple decasyllabic blank verse--entirely Serbian in its\norigin. He is extremely courageous and always ready for war. Although\npatriarchal and conservative in everything national, he is ready\nand willing to accept new ideas. But he has remained behind other\ncountries in agricultural and industrial pursuits. Very submissive in\nhis Zadrooga [12] and obedient to his superiors, he is often despotic\nwhen elevated to power. The history of all the Southern Slavs pictures\na series of violations, depositions, political upheavals, achieved\nsometimes by the most cruel means and acts of treachery; all mainly\ndue to the innate and hitherto inexpugnable faults characteristic of\nthe race, such as jealousy and an inordinate desire for power. These\nfaults, of course, have been most apparent in the nobles, hence the\ndecay of the ancient aristocracy throughout the Balkans.\n\n\n\n\nPaganism and Religion\n\nThere is available but slender material concerning the pre-Christian\nhistory of the Southern-Slavonic races, and their worship of Nature has\nnot been adequately studied. Immediately after the Slavonic immigration\ninto the Balkan Peninsula during the seventh and eighth centuries,\nChristianity, which was already deeply rooted in the Byzantines, easily\ndestroyed the ancient faith. The last survivors of paganism lived\nin the western part of the peninsula, in the regions round the river\nNeretva, and these were converted to Christianity during the reign of\nBasil I. A number of Croatians had been converted to Christianity as\nearly even as the seventh century, and had established an episcopate\nat Agram (Zagreb). In the course of some thousand years Graeco-Oriental\nmyths and legends, ancient Illyrian and Roman propaganda and Christian\nlegends and apocryphal writings exercised so great an influence upon\nthe ancient religions of the Southern-Slavonic peoples that it is\nimpossible to unravel from the tangled skein of such evidence as is\navailable a purely Southern-Slavonic mythology.\n\n\n\n\nThe God Peroon\n\nOf Peroon, the Russian God of Thunder, by whom the Russian pagans\nused to swear in their treaties and conventions concluded with the\nByzantines during the tenth century, only a few insignificant traces\nremain. There is a village named 'Peroon' near Spalato; a small number\nof persons in Montenegro bear the name; [13] and it is preserved\nalso in the name of a plant, 'Peroonika' (iris), which is dedicated\nto the god. There is hardly a cottage-garden in the Serbian villages\nwhere one does not see the iris growing by the side of the house-leek\n(Tchuvar-Koutchye). The Serbians say that the god lives still in the\nperson of St. Elias (Elijah), and Serbian peasants believe that this\nsaint possesses the power of controlling lightning and thunder. They\nalso believe that St. Elias has a sister 'Ognyena Maria' (Mary the\nFiery One), who frequently acts as his counsellor.\n\n\n\n\nThe God Volos\n\nFrom the Russian God of Cattle, 'Volos,' the city 'Veless' has obtained\nits name; also a village in the western part of Serbia, and there\nis a small village on the lower Danube called 'Velessnitza.' But\nthe closest derivative appears in the Serbian word 'Vo,' or 'Voll'\n(in the singular) 'Volovi' (in the plural) which means 'Ox.'\n\n\n\n\nThe Sun God\n\nOther phenomena of Nature were also personified and venerated as gods.\nThe Sun god, 'Daybog' (in Russian 'Daszbog,' meaning literally 'Give,\nO God!'), whose idols are found in the group of idols in Kief, and\nwhose name reappears as a proper name of persons in Russia, Moldavia\nand Poland, is to the Serbians the personification of sunshine,\nlife, prosperity and, indeed, of everything good. But there have\nbeen found no remains of idols representing the god 'Daybog' among\nthe Southern-Slavonic nations, as with the Russians, who made figures\nof him in wood, with head of silver and moustache of gold.\n\n\n\n\nThe Veele\n\nThe Serbian legends preserve to this day interesting traces of the\nworship of those pagan gods and of minor deities--which still occupy\na considerable place in the national superstition. The \"nymphai\"\nand \"potami\" mentioned by the Greek historian Procope, as inferior\nfemale divinities inhabiting groves, forests, fountains, springs\nor lakes, seem to have been retained in the Serbian popular Veela\n(or Vila--in the singular; Veele or Vile--in the plural). There\nare several fountains called \"Vilin Izvor\" in Montenegro (e.g. on\nMount Kom), as also in the district of Rudnik in Serbia. During\nthe Renaissance the Serbian poets of Ragusa and other cities of\nDalmatia made frequent reference to the nymphs, dryads, and oreads\nbeloved by them as \"veele.\" The Serbian bards or troubadours from\nthe early fourteenth century to our day have ever glorified and sung\nof the veele, describing them as very beautiful and eternally young,\nrobed in the whitest and finest gauze, with shimmering golden hair\nflowing down over snow-white bosoms. Veele were said to have the most\nsweet voices and were sometimes armed with bows and arrows. Their\nmelodious songs were often heard on the borders of the lakes or in\nthe meadows hidden deep in the forests, or on high mountain-peaks\nbeyond the clouds. They also loved to dance, and their rings are\ncalled 'Vrzino (or Vilino) Kollo.' In Mount Kom in Montenegro,\nthere is one of these rings which measures about twenty metres\nacross and is called 'Vilino Kollo.' The Treaty of Berlin mentions\nanother situated between Vranya and Kuestandil, through which ran\nthe Serbo-Bulgarian frontier. When veele were dancing nobody dare\ndisturb them, for they could be very hostile to men. Like the Greek\nnymphs, veele could also be amicably disposed; and on occasions they\nassisted the heroes. They could become the sisters of men and of women,\nand could even marry and have off-springs. But they were not by any\nmeans invulnerable. Prince Marko, the favourite hero of the Serbians,\nwas endowed with superhuman strength by a veela who also presented\nhim with a most wonderful courser, 'Sharatz,' which was, indeed,\nalmost human. A veela also became his possestrima (Spiritual sister,\nor 'sister-in-God') and when Marko was in urgent need of help, she\nwould descend from the clouds and assist him. But she refused to aid\nhim if he fought in duels on Sundays. On one occasion [14] Marko all\nbut slew the Veela Raviyoyla who wounded his pobratim (brother-in-God)\nVoivode Milosh. The veele were wise in the use of herbs, and knew\nthe properties of every flower and berry, therefore Raviyoyla could\nheal the wounds of Milosh, and his pierced heart was \"sounder than\never before.\" They believed in God and St. John, and abhorred the\nTurk. The veele also possessed the power of clairvoyance, and Prince\nMarko's 'sister-in-God' prophesied his death and that of Sharatz. [15]\nVeele had power to control tempests and other phenomena of nature; they\ncould change themselves into snakes or swans. When they were offended\nthey could be very cruel; they could kill or take away the senses of\nany who threatened them with violence; they would lead men into deep\nwaters or raze in a night magnificent buildings and fortresses. [16]\n\nTo veele was attributed also the power of deciding the destiny of\nnewly born children. On the seventh night after the birth of a child\nthe Serbian peasant woman watches carefully for the Oossood, a veela\nwho will pronounce the destiny of her infant, and it is the mother\nonly who can hear the voice of the fairy.\n\n\n\n\nPredestination and Immortality\n\nThe Serbians believe firmly in predestination, and they say that\n\"there is no death without the appointed day\" (Nema smrti bez soodyena\ndana). They believe universally in the immortality of the soul,\nof which even otherwise inanimate objects, such as forests, lakes,\nmountains, sometimes partake. After the death of a man, the soul delays\nits departure to the higher or lower spheres until the expiration of\na certain period (usually forty days), during which time it floats in\nthe air, and can perhaps enter into the body of some animal or insect.\n\n\n\n\nGood and Evil Spirits\n\nSpirits are usually good; in Montenegro the people believe that each\nhouse has its Guardian-Spirit, whom they call syen or syenovik. Such\nsyens can enter into the body of a man, a dog, a snake, or even a\nhen. In the like manner every forest, lake, and mountain has each\nits syen, which is called by a Turkish word djin. So, for example,\nthe djin of the mountain Riyetchki Kom, near the northern side of\nthe lake of Scutari, does not allow passers-by to touch a branch or a\nleaf in the perpetually green woods on the mountain side, and if any\ntraveller should gather as much as a flower or a leaf he is instantly\npursued by a dense fog and perceives miraculous and terrifying visions\nin the air. The Albanians dread similar spirits of the woods in the\nregion round Lurya, where they do not dare touch even the dry branches\nof fallen firs and larches. This recalls the worship of sacred bushes\ncommon among the ancient Lithuanians.\n\nBesides the good spirits there appear evil spirits (byess), demons,\nand devils (dyavo), whom the Christians considered as pagan gods,\nand other evil spirits (zli doossi) too, who exist in the bodies of\ndead or of living men. These last are called vookodlaks or Vlkodlaks\n(i.e. vook, meaning 'wolf,' and dlaka, meaning 'hair'), and, according\nto the popular belief, they cause solar and lunar eclipses. This\nrecalls the old Norse belief that the sun and moon were continually\npursued by hungry wolves, a similar attempt to explain the same natural\nphenomena. Even to-day Serbian peasants believe that eclipses of the\nsun and moon are caused by their becoming the prey of a hungry dragon,\nwho tries to swallow them. In other parts of Serbia it is generally\nbelieved that such dragons are female beings. These mischievous\nand very powerful creatures are credited with the destruction of\ncornfields and vineyards, for they are responsible for the havoc\nwrought by the hail-carrying clouds. When the peasants observe a\npartial eclipse of the moon or the sun, believing that a hailstorm is\nimminent, they gather in the village streets, and all--men, women,\nand children--beat pots and pans together, fire pistols, and ring\nbells in order to frighten away the threatening monster.\n\nIn Montenegro, Herzegovina, and Bocca Cattaro the people believe that\nthe soul of a sleeping man is wafted by the winds to the summit of a\nmountain, and, when a number of such has assembled, they become fierce\ngiants who uproot trees to use as clubs and hurl rocks and stones at\none another. Their hissing and groans are heard especially during the\nnights in spring and autumn. Those struggling crowds are not composed\nmerely of human souls, but include the spirits of many animals, such as\noxen, dogs, and even cocks, but oxen especially join in the struggles.\n\n\n\n\nWitches\n\nFemale evil spirits are generally called veshtitze (singular,\nveshtitza, derived obviously from the ancient Bohemian word ved, which\nmeans 'to know'), and are supposed to be old women possessed by an evil\nspirit, irreconcilably hostile to men, to other women, and most of all\nto children. They correspond more or less to the English conception of\n'witches.' When an old woman goes to sleep, her soul leaves her body\nand wanders about till it enters the body of a hen or, more frequently,\nthat of a black moth. Flying about, it enters those houses where there\nare a number of children, for its favourite food is the heart of an\ninfant. From time to time veshtitze meet to take their supper together\nin the branches of some tree. An old woman having the attributes of\na witch may join such meetings after having complied with the rules\nprescribed by the experienced veshtitze, and this is usually done by\npronouncing certain stereotyped phrases. The peasants endeavour to\ndiscover such creatures, and, if they succeed in finding out a witch,\na jury is hastily formed and is given full power to sentence her to\ndeath. One of the most certain methods used to discover whether the\nobject of suspicion is really a witch or not, is to throw the victim\ninto the water, for if she floats she is surely a witch. In this case\nshe is usually burnt to death. This test was not unknown in England.\n\n\n\n\nVampires\n\nThe belief in the existence of vampires is universal throughout the\nBalkans, and indeed it is not uncommon in certain parts of western\nEurope. Some assert that this superstition must be connected with\nthe belief generally held in the Orthodox Church that the bodies of\nthose who have died while under excommunication by the Church are\nincorruptible, and such bodies, being taken possession of by evil\nspirits, appear before men in lonely places and murder them. In\nMontenegro vampires are called lampirs or tenatz, and it is thought\nthat they suck the blood of sleeping men, and also of cattle and other\nanimals, returning to their graves after their nocturnal excursions\nchanged into mice. In order to discover the grave where the vampire\nis, the Montenegrins take out a black horse, without blemish, and\nlead it to the cemetery. The suspected corpse is dug up, pierced\nwith stakes and burnt. The authorities, of course, are opposed to\nsuch superstitious practices, but some communities have threatened\nto abandon their dwellings, and thus leave whole villages deserted,\nunless allowed to ensure their safety in their own way. The code of\nthe Emperor Doushan the Powerful provides that a village in which\nbodies of dead persons have been exhumed and burnt shall be punished\nas severely as if a murder had been committed; and that a resnik, that\nis, the priest who officiates at a ceremony of that kind, shall be\nanathematized. Militchevitch, a famous Serbian ethnographist, relates\nan incident where a resnik, as late as the beginning of the nineteenth\ncentury, read prayers out of the apocrypha of Peroon when an exorcism\nwas required. The revolting custom has been completely suppressed in\nSerbia. In Montenegro the Archbishop Peter II. endeavoured to uproot\nit, but without entire success. In Bosnia, Istria and Bulgaria it\nis also sometimes heard of. The belief in vampires is a superstition\nwidely spread throughout Roumania, Albania and Greece. [17]\n\n\n\n\nNature Worship\n\nEven in our own day there are traces of sun and moon worship, and\nmany Serbian and Bulgarian poems celebrate the marriage of the sun\nand the moon, and sing Danitza (the morning star) and Sedmoro Bratye\n('The Seven Brothers'--evidently The Pleiades). [18] Every man has\nhis own star, which appears in the firmament at the moment of his\nbirth and is extinguished when he dies. Fire and lightning are also\nworshipped. It is common belief that the earth rests on water, that\nthe water reposes on a fire and that that fire again is upon another\nfire, which is called Zmayevska Vatra ('Fire of the Dragons').\n\nSimilarly the worship of animals has been preserved to our times. The\nSerbians consider the bear to be no less than a man who has been\npunished and turned into an animal. This they believe because the\nbear can walk upright as a man does. The Montenegrins consider the\njackal (canis aureus) a semi-human being, because its howls at night\nsound like the wails of a child. The roedeer (capreolus caprea) is\nsupposed to be guarded by veele, and therefore she so often escapes\nthe hunter. In some parts of Serbia and throughout Montenegro it is\na sin to kill a fox, or a bee.\n\nThe worship of certain snakes is common throughout the Balkans. In\nMontenegro the people believe that a black snake lives in a hole\nunder every house, and if anybody should kill it, the head of the\nhouse is sure to die. Certain water-snakes with fiery heads were also\nconsidered of the same importance as the evil dragons (or hydra) who,\nat one time, threatened ships sailing on the Lake of Scutari. One\nof these hydras is still supposed to live in the Lake of Rikavatz,\nin the deserted mountains of Eastern Montenegro, from the bottom of\nwhich the hidden monster rises out of the water from time to time, and\nreturns heralded by great peals of thunder and flashes of lightning.\n\nBut the Southern Slavs do not represent the dragon as the Hellenes\ndid, that is to say as a monster in the form of a huge lizard or\nserpent, with crested head, wings and great strong claws, for they\nknow this outward form is merely used as a misleading mask. In his\ntrue character a dragon is a handsome youth, possessing superhuman\nstrength and courage, and he is usually represented as in love with\nsome beautiful princess or empress. [19]\n\n\n\n\nEnchanters\n\nAmong celebrants of the various pagan rites, there is mention of\ntcharobnitzi (enchanters), who are known to have lived also in\nRussia, where, during the eleventh century, they sapped the new\nChristianity. The Slavonic translation of the Gospel recognized\nby the Church in the ninth century applies the name 'tcharobnitzi'\nto the three Holy Kings.\n\nTo this same category belong the resnitzi who, as is apparent in\nthe Emperor Doushan's Code referred to previously, used to burn the\nbodies of the dead. Resnik, which appears as a proper name in Serbia,\nBosnia and Croatia, means, according to all evidence, \"the one who\nis searching for truth.\"\n\n\n\n\nSacrificial Rites\n\nFrom translations of the Greek legends of the saints, the exact\nterminology of the sacrificial ceremonies and the places where they\nhad been made is well known. Procopius mentions oxen as the animals\ngenerally offered for sacrifice, but we find that calves, goats,\nand sheep, in addition to oxen, were used by the Polapic Slavs and\nLithuanians, and that, according to Byzantine authorities, the Russians\nused even birds as well. In Montenegro, on the occasion of raising a\nnew building, a ram or a cock is usually slaughtered in order that a\ncorner-stone may be besprinkled with its blood, and, at the ceremony of\ninaugurating a new fountain, a goat is killed. Tradition tells of how\nPrince Ivan Tzrnoyevitch once shot in front of a cavern an uncommonly\nbig wild goat that, being quite wet, shook water from its coat so that\ninstantly a river began to flow thence. This stream is called even\nnow the River of Tzrnoyevitch. The story reminds one of the goats'\nhorns and bodies of goats which are seen on the altar dedicated to\nthe Illyrian god, Bind, near a fountain in the province of Yapod.\n\nIt is a fact that Russians and Polapic Slavs used to offer human\nsacrifices. Mention of such sacrifices among the Southern Slavs\nis found only in the cycle of myths relating to certain buildings,\nwhich, it was superstitiously believed, could be completed only if a\nliving human being were buried or immured. Such legends exist among\nthe Serbians and Montenegrins concerning the building of the fortress\nSkadar (Scutari) and the bridge near Vishegrad; with the Bulgarians\nin reference to building the fort Lidga-Hyssar, near Plovdiv, and the\nKadi-Koepri (Turkish for 'the bridge of the judge') on the river Struma;\nand again among modern Greeks in their history of the bridge on the\nriver Arta, and the Roumanians of the church 'Curtea de Ardyesh.' It\nseems very likely that certain enigmatic bas-reliefs, representing\noval human faces with just the eyes, nose and mouth, which are found\nconcealed under the cemented surface of the walls of old buildings\nhave some connexion with the sacrificial practice referred to. There\nare three such heads in the fortress of Prince Dyouragy Brankovitch\nat Smederevo (Semendria), not far from Belgrade, on the inner side of\nthe middle donjon fronting the Danube, and two others in the monastery\nRila on the exterior wall close to the Doupitchka Kapiya.\n\n\n\n\nFuneral Customs\n\nDuring the siege of Constantinople in the year 626, the Southern Slavs\nburnt the bodies of their dead. The Russians did the same during the\nbattles near Silistria, 971, and subsequently commemorative services\nwere held in all parts of Russia, and the remains of the dead were\nburied.\n\nThe Slavs of north Russia used to keep the ashes of the dead in a\nsmall vessel, which they would place on a pillar by the side of a\npublic road; that custom persisted with the Vyatitchs of southern\nRussia as late as 1100.\n\nThese funeral customs have been retained longest by the Lithuanians;\nthe last recorded instance of a pagan burial was when Keystut,\nbrother of the Grand Duke Olgerd, was interred in the year 1382,\nthat is to say, he was burnt together with his horses and arms,\nfalcons and hounds.\n\nThere are in existence upright stones, mostly heavy slabs of stone,\nmany of them broken, or square blocks and even columns, which\nwere called in the Middle Ages kami, or bileg, and now stetyak or\nmramor. Such stones are to be found in large numbers close together;\nfor example, there are over 6000 in the province of Vlassenitza,\nand some 22,000 in the whole of Herzegovina; some can be seen also in\nDalmatia, for instance, in Kanovli, and in Montenegro, at Nikshitch;\nin Serbia, however, they are found only in Podrigne. These stones\nare usually decorated with figures, which appear to be primitive\nimitations of the work of Roman sculptors: arcades on columns, plant\ndesigns, trees, swords and shields, figures of warriors carrying\ntheir bows, horsemen, deer, bears, wild-boars, and falcons; there\nare also oblong representations of male and female figures dancing\ntogether and playing games.\n\nThe symbol of the Cross indicates the presence of\nChristianity. Inscriptions appear only after the eleventh century. But\nmany tombstones plainly had their origin in the Middle Ages. Some\ntombs, situated far from villages, are described by man's personal\nname in the chronicles relating to the demarcations of territories,\nfor example, Bolestino Groblye (the cemetery of Bolestino) near Ipek;\nDruzetin Grob (the tomb of Druzet). In Konavla, near Ragusa, there\nwas in the year 1420 a certain point where important cross-roads met,\nknown as 'Obugonov Grob.' Even in our day there is a tombstone here\nwithout inscription, called 'Obugagn Greb.' It is the grave of the\nGovernor Obuganitch, a descendant of the family of Lyoubibratitch,\nfamous in the fourteenth century.\n\n\n\n\nClassic and Mediaeval Influence\n\nWhen paganism had disappeared, the Southern-Slavonic legends received\nmany elements from the Greeks and Romans. There are references to the\nEmperors Trajan and Diocletian as well as to mythical personages. In\nthe Balkans, Trajan is often confused with the Greek king Midas. In\nthe year 1433 Chevalier Bertrandon de la Broquiere heard from the\nGreeks at Trajanople that this city had been built by the Emperor\nTrajan, who had goat's ears. The historian Tzetzes also mentions\nthat emperor's goat's ears otia tragou. In Serbian legends the\nEmperor Trajan seems also to be confused with Daedalus, for he is\ngiven war-wings in addition to the ears.\n\nTo the cycle of mediaeval myths we owe also the djins (giants) who dwelt\nin caverns, and who are known by the Turkish name div--originally\nPersian. Notable of the divs were those having only one eye--who\nmay be called a variety of cyclops--mentioned also in Bulgarian,\nCroatian and Slovenian mythology. On the shores of the river Moratcha,\nin Montenegro, there is a meadow called 'Psoglavlya Livada' with a\ncavern in which such creatures are said to have lived at one time.\n\n\n\n\nThe Spread of Christianity\n\nWhen the pagan Slavs occupied the Roman provinces, the Christian\nregion was limited to parts of the Byzantine provinces. In Dalmatia\nafter the fall of Salona, the archbishopric of Salona was transferred\nto Spalato (Splyet), but in the papal bulls of the ninth century it\ncontinued always to be styled Salonitana ecclesia, and it claimed\njurisdiction over the entire lands as far as the Danube.\n\nAccording to Constantine Porphyrogenete, the Serbians adopted the\nChristian faith at two different periods, first during the reign of\nthe Emperor Heraclius, who had requested the Pope to send a number of\npriests to convert those peoples to the Christian faith. It is well\nknown, however, that the Slavs in Dalmatia even during the reign of\nPope John IV (640-642) remained pagans. No doubt Christianity spread\ngradually from the Roman cities of Dalmatia to the various Slav\nprovinces. The Croatians already belonged to the Roman Church at the\ntime when its priests were converting the Serbians to Christianity\nbetween the years 642 and 731, i.e., after the death of Pope John IV\nand before Leon of Isauria had broken off his relations with Rome.\n\nThe second conversion of those of the Southern Slavs who had remained\npagans was effected, about 879, by the Emperor Basil I.\n\nAt first the Christian faith spread amongst the Southern Slavs only\nsuperficially, because the people could not understand Latin prayers\nand ecclesiastical books. It took root much more firmly and rapidly\nwhen the ancient Slavonic language was used in the church services.\n\nOwing to the differences arising over icons and the form their worship\nshould take, enthusiasm for the conversion of the pagans by the Latin\nChurch considerably lessened. In the Byzantine provinces, however,\nthere was no need for a special effort to be made to the people,\nfor the Slavs came in constant contact with the Greek Christians,\nwhose beliefs they adopted spontaneously.\n\nFrom the Slavonic appellations of places appearing in certain official\nlists, one can see that new episcopates were established exclusively\nfor the Slavs by the Greek Church. The bishops conducted their\nservices in Greek, but the priests and monks, who were born Slavs,\npreached and instructed the people in their own languages. Thus they\nprepared the ground for the great Slav apostles.\n\nThe Slav apostles of Salonica, Cyrillos and his elder brother\nMethodius, were very learned men and philosophers. The principal of\nthe two, Cyrillos, was a priest and the librarian of the Patriarchate;\nin addition he was a professor of philosophy in the University of\nthe Imperial Palace at Constantinople, and he was much esteemed on\naccount of his ecclesiastical erudition. Their great work began in 862\nwith the mission to the Emperor Michel III., with which the Moravian\nPrinces Rastislav and Svetopluk entrusted them.\n\nThe Moravians were already converted to Christianity, but they wished\nto have teachers among them acquainted with the Slav language. Before\nthe brothers started on their journey, Cyrillos composed the Slav\nalphabet and translated the Gospel.\n\nThus the Serbians obtained these Holy Books written in a language\nfamiliar to them, and the doctrines of the great Master gradually,\nbut steadily, ousted the old, primitive religion which had taken\nthe form of pure Naturalism. But the worship of Nature could not\ncompletely disappear, and has not, even to our day, vanished from the\npopular creed of the Balkans. The folk-lore of those nations embodies\nan abundance of religious and superstitious sentiment and rites handed\ndown from pre-Christian times, for after many years' struggle paganism\nwas only partially abolished by the ritual of the Latin and afterwards\nof the Greek Christian Church, to which all Serbians, including the\nnatives of Montenegro, Macedonia and parts of Bosnia, belong.\n\n\n\n\nSuperstition\n\nThe foundations of the Christian faith were never laid properly in\nthe Balkans owing to the lack of cultured priests, and this reason,\nand the fact that the people love to cling to their old traditions,\nprobably accounts for religion having never taken a very deep hold on\nthem. Even to this day superstition is often stronger than religion,\nor sometimes replaces it altogether. The whole daily life of the\nSouthern Slav is interwoven with all kinds of superstition. He is\nsuperstitious about the manner in which he rises in the morning and\nas to what he sees first; for instance, if he sees a monk, he is sure\nto have an unfortunate day; when he builds a house, a 'lucky spot'\nmust be found for its foundation. At night he is superstitious about\nthe way he lies down; he listens to hear if the cocks crow in time,\nand if the dogs bark much, and how they are barking. He pays great\nattention to the moment when thunder is first heard, what kind of\nrain falls, how the stars shine--whether or not they shine at all,\nand looks anxiously to see if the moon has a halo, and if the sun\nshines through a cloud. All these things are portents and omens to\nhis superstitious mind, and they play a considerable part in all his\nactions. When he intends to join a hunting expedition, for example,\nhe decides from them whether there will be game or not; he believes\nthat he is sure to shoot something if his wife, or sister (or any\nother good-natured person) jumps over his gun before he calls up his\ndogs. Especially there are numberless superstitions connected with\nhusbandry, for some of which fairly plausible explanations could be\ngiven;  for others, however, explanations are hopelessly unavailing,\nand the reasons for their origin are totally forgotten. Nevertheless,\nall superstitions are zealously observed because, the people say,\n\"it is well to do so,\" or \"our ancestors always did so and were happy,\nwhy should we not do the same?\"\n\nThe planting of fruit-trees and the growing of fruit must be aided by\ncharms, and numerous feasts are organized to secure a fruitful year,\nor to prevent floods, hail, drought, frost, and other disasters. But\nundoubtedly the greatest number of superstitions exist regarding the\ndaily customs, most of which refer to birth, marriage and death. Charms\nare used to discover a future bridegroom or bride; to make a young man\nfall in love with a maid or vice versa; also, if it seems desirable,\nto make them hate each other. Sorcery is resorted to to ensure the\nfulfilment of the bride's wishes with regard to children; their\nnumber and sex are decided upon, their health is ensured in advance,\nfavourable conditions are arranged for their appearance. Death can\ncome, it is believed, only when the Archangel Michael removes a soul\nfrom its body, and that can only happen on the appointed day.\n\nThe chief national customs of the Southern Slavs are involved in a\nmass of superstition. As the Serbians are the most representative of\nthe Balkan Slavs, we shall consider a few of their customs in order\nto show how little of the true spirit of religion is to be found in\nsome of their religious observances.\n\n\n\n\nMarriage\n\nWhen a child is born in a Serbian family, the friends congratulate\nthe parents and wish for them: \"that they may live to see the green\nwreaths,\" which means living to see their child married. Marriages\nare most frequent in autumn, especially towards Christmas, and more\nrare in summer. When parents intend to find a bridegroom for their\ndaughter or a bride for their son, they generally consider the question\nthoroughly for a whole year beforehand. They take their daughter or\nson to various social gatherings, in order that they may meet one\nsuited to become the husband of their daughter or the wife of their\nson. When a daughter is informed of her parents' decision she must\nhasten her preparations: she must see that the bochtchaluks [20]\n(wedding presents) which she has to distribute among the wedding\nguests (svati or svatovi) be finished soon. These presents are\narticles mostly made by her own hands, such as socks, stockings,\nshirts, towels, and rugs. Usually the house is put into good order and\nperhaps enlarged before the marriage, and when all the preparations\nare ready the rumour of her approaching marriage is allowed to spread\nthrough the village. As marriages are usually settled by the parents,\nlove-matches, unfortunately, are rare, and elopements are regarded\nas phenomenal. There are, however, cases where young people are not\ndocile to the will of their parents with regard to marriage. If a\ngirl has fallen in love with a young man, she may have recourse,\nbesides usual ways and methods, to professional enchantresses. Among\nthe devices recommended by these friends of lovers are the following:\nThe maiden looks through the muzzle of a roast sucking-pig (which has\nbeen killed for the Christmas festivities) at her beloved, whereupon\nhe is sure to grow madly in love with her; her lover is bound to\ndie of love for her if she sees him through a hole made in a cherry\nor certain other fruit; she is equally sure to gain his affection\nif she can succeed in finding the trace of his right foot-print and\nturns the earth under it. These and many other kinds of sorcery are\nusually practised on or about St. George's Day (23rd of April, O.S.).\n\nYoung men, too, have recourse on occasion to witchcraft when they\ndesire the love of some obdurate maiden. For instance, if at midnight\non a certain Friday the young man goes to the courtyard of the dwelling\nof the lady of his heart and there shakes a tree three times, uttering\nas many times her Christian name, she is absolutely certain to answer\nhis call and to reciprocate his love. Another equally infallible\nmethod is for him to catch a certain fish and to let it die near\nhis heart; then to roast its flesh until it is burnt to a cinder,\nthen to pound this, and to place the powder secretly in water or some\nother beverage. If the girl can be induced to taste of it, she is as\na matter of course constrained to love him. These expedients recall\nthe famous exploit of the French troubadour Pierre Vidal undertaken\nto win the love of his beautiful patroness Donna Azalais de Baux. A\nmagical recipe for success in love, taken from an Arabic monument,\nwas given to the poet by Hugues de Baux, a mischievous young knight\nand brother-in-law of the fair Donna Azalais; the credulous Vidal\nwas induced to ride on a pig one moonlight night three times round\nthe castle of his lady-love, all unconscious that his waggish friend\nhad brought all the inmates to a terrace to witness his ridiculous\nexhibition.\n\n\n\n\nMarriage Negotiations\n\nWhen parents have chosen their son's bride they send to her parents a\nfully qualified delegate (navodagjya) to inquire whether or not they\nwould consent to give their daughter to the young man. As marriages are\nrarely concluded without the aid of these delegates there are numerous\npersons who make it their regular profession to negotiate marriages,\nand they receive a sum of money when their offices are successful. In\naddition to this fee the navodagjya receives from the future bride at\nleast one pair of socks. If the father of the girl is not agreeable\nto the proposal, he generally does not give a decisive reply, but\nfinds some pretext, stating, for example, that his daughter is still\ntoo young, or that she is not quite ready with her preparations for\nmarriage; but if the young man appears to be eligible and the father is\nwilling to give his consent, he generally answers that he would like\nto see his daughter married to such an excellent man, provided the\ncouple be fond of each other. Then a meeting is arranged, although\nin fact this is merely a matter of form, since the final decision\nmust come from the parents themselves, irrespective of the mutual\nfeelings of the prospective husband and wife. The parents ask the\nyoung people if they like one another; usually an affirmative answer\nis given, whereupon all present embrace each other, and presents are\nexchanged, both between the parents and between the future husband and\nbride. This event is often celebrated by the firing of pistols and\nguns, in order to make it known all over the village that marriage\nfestivities are soon to follow. Soon after the ceremony, which may\nbe called a preliminary betrothal, the parents of the bridegroom,\ntogether with the young man and a few most intimate friends, pay an\nofficial visit to the house of the bride. The visit usually takes place\nin the evening, and, after the bridegroom has given the bride a ring,\nfestivities begin and last until the next morning. A few days later the\nbride and the bridegroom go to church, accompanied by a few friends,\nand the priest asks them some stereotyped questions, such as: \"Do you\nwish to marry of your own free will?\" to which they are, so to speak,\ncompelled to answer \"Yes.\"\n\n\n\n\nThe Wedding Procession\n\nA week before the wedding-day both families prepare their houses for\nnumerous guests, whom they will entertain most hospitably for several\ndays. Until very recent times, if the bride lived in some distant\nvillage the wedding procession had to travel for several days to fetch\nher, and, in the absence of good roads for carriages, the entire party\nhad to ride on horseback. The wedding party includes the dever [21]\n(that is, leader of the bride), who remains in constant attendance\nupon the bride throughout the ceremonies, being, in a sense, her\nguardian; the koom (principal witness, who in due course becomes a\nsort of sponsor or godfather to the children); and the stari-svat,\nwho is the second witness of the wedding ceremony. Throughout the\nwedding ceremonies the koom has to stand behind the bridegroom and\nthe stari-svat behind the bride. The stari-svat is also a kind of\nmaster of the ceremonies on the wedding-day; he keeps order among\nthe guests and presides at the nuptial banquets. With the dever come\nalso his parents, and the koom and stari-svat must bring one servant\neach, to attend them during the ceremony. These two witnesses must\nprovide themselves with two large wax candles, generally adorned\nwith transparent silk lace and flowers, which they must present to\nthe bride in addition to many other gifts.\n\nBefore the procession sets out, the young people fire pistols, sing,\nand dance, whilst the elders sit and take refreshment. The appearance\nof the bridegroom in his bridal garments, and wearing flowers in his\nhat, is the signal for the traditional nuptial songs from a chorus of\ngirls. When the carriages are ready to start they sing the following:\n\n\n    \"A falcon flew from the castle\n    Bearing a letter under its wing,\n    Drops the letter on the father's knee\n    See! Father! The letter tells you\n    That thy son will travel far,\n    Beyond many running rivers,\n    Through many verdant forests,\n    Till he brings you a daughter[-in-law].\"\n\n\nThe Tzigan (Gipsy) band begins its joyful melodies; the bridegroom,\nthe standard-bearer, and other young people mount their horses, all\ngaily bedecked with flowers, and the procession starts for the bride's\nhouse, the equestrians riding, generally, two and two, firing pistols\nand singing. The procession is always led by a frolicsome youth who\ncarries a tchoutoura (a flat wooden vessel) containing red wine. It is\nhis duty to offer this to every person the wedding party may meet on\nthe road, and he is privileged to make, during the wedding festival,\njokes and witticisms at the expense of everybody. He enjoys the licence\nof a court jester for that day, and nobody must resent his witticisms,\nwhich are, at times, indelicate and coarse.\n\nA few steps behind the tchoutoura-bearer ride the voivode (general,\nor leader), whose office it is to support the former in his sallies,\nand the standard-bearer, who carries the national flag; after\nthem, in one of the carriages profusely decorated with flowers,\nride the bridesmaids, who are selected from among the relatives of\nthe bridegroom. With other presents the maidens carry the wedding\ndress and flowers which the bridegroom's father has bought for his\nfuture daughter-in-law. Immediately following the bridesmaids rides\nthe bridegroom between the koom and the stari-svat. Then come other\nrelatives and guests, two and two in procession. At times these\nwedding processions offer a very impressive sight.\n\n\n\n\nThe Arrival\n\nWhen the wedding procession approaches the house of the bride, its\narrival is announced by firing off pistols and guns, whereupon a\nnumber of girls appear and sing various songs expressive of sorrow\nat the bride's departure from her old home. In some parts of Serbia\nthere still survives a strange old custom; the bride's father requires\nthat certain conditions should be fulfilled before the gates of the\ncourtyard are opened for the procession. For example, he sends a good\nwrestler to challenge any or every man of the bridegroom's party,\nand one of the wedding guests must overpower the challenger before\nthe gates are opened. Of course, the wrestling bout is not serious,\nas a rule. Another condition, obtaining in ether parts, is that the\nnewcomers are not be to admitted before one of them, by firing his\npistol, has destroyed a pot or other terra-cotta vessel fastened at\nthe top of the chimney.\n\nWhen such, or other, conditions have been successfully negotiated,\nthe wedding party is admitted to the house and led to tables loaded\nwith roast lamb or pork, cakes, fruit, wine and brandy. The bride's\nfather places the father of the bridegroom in the seat of honour,\nand immediately next to him the stari-svat, then the koom and then the\nbridegroom. When the guests are seated, a large flat cake (pogatcha)\nis placed before the bridegroom's father, and he lays upon it some gold\ncoins; it may be a whole chain made of golden ducats, which the bride\nis to wear later round her neck. His example is followed immediately\nby the stari-svat, the koom, and all the other guests. Finally the\nbride's father brings the dowry which he has determined to give to\nhis daughter and lays it on the cake. All the money thus collected is\nhanded over to the stari-svat, who will give it in due course to the\nbride. Next the bridesmaids take the wedding dress to the bride's\napartment, where they adorn her with great care and ceremony. Her\ntoilet finished, one of her brothers, or, in the absence of a brother,\none of her nearest male relatives, takes her by the hand and leads\nher to the assembled family and friends. The moment she appears, the\nwedding guests greet her with a lively fire from their pistols, and\nthe bridesmaids conduct her to the bridegroom, to whom she presents\na wreath of flowers. She is then led to the stari-svat and the koom,\nwhose hands she kisses. That ordeal concluded, she goes into the\nhouse, where, in front of the hearth, sit her parents on low wooden\nchairs. There she prostrates herself, kissing the floor in front of\nthe fire. This is obviously a relic of fire-worship; now, however,\nsymbolical of the veneration of the centre of family life. When\nshe rises, the maiden kisses the hands of her father and mother,\nwho, embracing her, give her their blessing. Now her brother, or\nrelative--as the case may be--escorts her back to the bridegroom's\nparty and there delivers her formally to the dever, who from that\nmoment takes charge of her, in the first place presenting to her the\ngifts he has brought.\n\n\n\n\nThe Return from Church\n\nAfter they have feasted the guests mount their horses and, firing\ntirelessly their pistols, set out with the bride for the nearest\nchurch. When the religious ceremony is over the wedding party returns\nto the bridegroom's home, and the bride has to alight from her horse\n(or carriage) upon a sack of oats. While the others enter the courtyard\nthrough the principal gate, the bride usually selects some other\nentrance, for she fears lest she may be bewitched. Immediately she\nenters, the members of the bridegroom's family bring to her a vessel\nfilled with various kinds of corn, which she pours out on the ground\n\"in order that the year may be fruitful.\" Next they bring her a male\nchild whom she kisses and raises aloft three times. She then passes\ninto the house holding under her arms loaves of bread, and in her\nhands bottles of red wine--emblems of wealth and prosperity.\n\nAlthough the wedding guests have been well feasted at the bride's\nhouse, the journey has renewed their appetites, therefore they seat\nthemselves at tables in the same order as we have already seen, and\nare regaled with a grand banquet. Throughout the meal, as at the\nprevious one, the voivodes and the tchoutoura-bearer poke fun and\nsatire at the expense of everybody. These mirthful effusions are,\nas we have already said, not generally in very good taste, but no one\ntakes offence, and everybody laughs heartily, provided there be wit\nin the jokes. After this feast, during which the young people perform\nthe national dances (kollo) and sing the traditional wedding songs,\nthe dever brings the bride to the threshold of her apartment (vayat)\nand delivers her to the koom, who, in his turn, leads her in, places\nher hand in that of the bridegroom and leaves them alone. The guests,\nhowever, often remain in the house, until dawn, drinking and singing.\n\n\n\n\nSlava (or Krsno Ime)\n\nThis custom is considered to be a survival of the times when the\nSerbians were first converted to Christianity. Every Serbian family\nhas one day in the year, known as slava, generally some saint's day,\nwhen there are performed certain ceremonies partly of a religious and\npartly of a social character. The saint whom the head of the family\ncelebrates as his patron, or tutelary saint, is also celebrated by\nhis children and their descendants.\n\nA few days before the celebration the priest comes to the house of\nevery svetchar--the man who as the chief of the family celebrates the\nsaint--in order to bless the water which has been prepared beforehand\nfor that purpose in a special vessel; after this he besprinkles the\nheads of all the members of the family with the holy water, into\nwhich he has dipped a small sprig of basil. Then he proceeds from\nroom to room performing the same ceremony in each.\n\nIn order to please their tutelary saint, all the members of the family\nfast for at least a week before the feast. On the eve of the saint's\nday a taper is lit before the saint's image, and remains burning for\ntwo days. One or two days before the festival the women prepare a\nkolatch (a special cake made of wheat-flour) which measures about\nfifteen inches in diameter, and is about three inches thick. Its\nsurface is divided into quarters by being marked with a cross,\neach quarter bearing a shield with the letters I.N.R.I. In the\ncentre there is a circle in which is a poskurnik (monogram of these\ninitials). Besides the kolatch, another cake of white wheat well\nboiled and mixed with powdered sugar, chopped nuts, and almonds,\nis made. This is called kolyivo (literally \"something which has\nbeen killed with the knife\"). This is obviously a relic of the pagan\ntimes when kolyivo was the name given to animals sacrificed on the\naltar. When the Serbians were converted to the Christian faith, they\nwere told that the Christian God and His saints did not call for\nanimal, and still less for human sacrifice, and that boiled wheat\nmight serve as a substitute. And it is interesting to find that\nkolyivo is prepared only for those saints whom the people believe\nto be dead, and not for those who are believed to be still living,\nsuch as St. Elias (Elijah), the patron Saint of Thunder, or the\n\"Thunderer,\" the Archangel Michael and certain others, for it is\nemphatically a symbolic offering for the dead.\n\n\n\n\nThe Slava Eve Reception\n\nOn the eve of the Slava day enough food is prepared to last for the two\nfollowing days, and toward sunset, all the tables are well loaded with\nrefreshments in readiness for the arrival of numerous guests. Friends\nand relations are invited to come by a messenger especially sent out\nfrom the house. There are several stereotyped forms of this invitation,\none of which is the following: \"My father (or my uncle, as the case may\nbe) has sent me to bring you his greetings and to invite you to our\nhouse this evening to drink a glass of brandy. We wish to share with\nyou the blessings bestowed upon us by God, and our patron-saint. We\nentreat you to come!\" At these words the messenger hands to the invited\nguest a tchoutoura filled with red wine and decorated with flowers,\nout of which the guest is obliged to take a little. He then makes\nthe sign of the Cross, and says: \"I thank you, and may your Slava be\na happy and prosperous one!\" After tasting the wine, he continues:\n\"We will do our best to come. It is simple to comply with your wish,\nsince we are invited to share such an honour.\" He invariably pronounces\nthese words whether he really intends to accept the invitation or not.\n\nIn the meantime, while the messenger was away inviting guests, the\nwomen of the household have been making all the preparations necessary\nfor their reception. Each guest, as he reaches the threshold exclaims:\n\"O master of the house, art thou willing to receive guests?\" Hearing\nthis the Svetchar rushes to meet the guest and greets him in these\nwords: \"Certainly I am, and may there be many more good guests such\nas thou art!\" Then the guest enters, embraces the Svetchar and says:\n\"I wish thee a most pleasant evening and a happy Slava!\" And then as\na matter of course the host answers: \"I thank thee, and welcome thee\nto my house!\" In the same manner the other guests are greeted. When\nthey have all arrived, the host invites them to wash their hands--for\nno Serbian peasant would ever sit down to take food without first\ndoing so. Then the host shows to each one his place at the table,\nalways strictly observing precedence due to seniority.\n\nThe girls of the house first pass round brandy to the assembled\nguests and this, at least in the winter, has generally been warmed,\nand honey or sugar has been added. While that is being served all\nthe guests stand, and in silence wait reverently for the ceremonies\nof the Slava to begin.\n\nThe host places in the middle of the table a large wax candle,\nwhich he does not light until he has made the sign of the Cross\nthree times. Next he takes an earthen vessel containing a few embers,\nplaces in it a few small pieces of incense and then lets the fragrance\nascend to the icon, which is, according to custom, occupying the\nplace of honour in the room, then still holding the censer he stops\nfor a few moments before each guest. That ceremony being ended, and\nif there be no priest present, the host himself invites his guests\nto say their prayers to themselves. A great many Serbian peasants\nare gifted with the power of offering extempore prayers and they are\nalways in request at these ceremonies. The host passes the censer\nto his wife, whose duty it is to see that the fumes of the incense\nreach into every part of the house. Next the host breaks silence with\nthe following prayer: \"Let us pray, O brethren, most reverently to\nthe Almighty Lord, our God, and to the Holy Trinity! O Lord, Thou\nomnipotent and gracious Creator of Heaven and Earth, deliver us,\nwe pray Thee, from all unforeseen evil! O, St. George! (here he\nadds the name of the saint whose festival they are celebrating),\nour holy patron-saint, protect us and plead for us with the Lord,\nour God, we here gathered together do pray Thee. Ye Holy Apostles,\nye, the four Evangelists and pillars upon whom rest the Heavens and\nthe Earth, we, being sinners, do conjure ye to intercede for us,\"\nand so on. When his prayer is finished, the guests make the sign of\nthe Cross several times and then supper begins.\n\n\n\n\nSlava Toasts\n\nDuring the first two or three courses, the guests continue to drink\nbrandy, and wine is not served until they have partaken of meat. At\nthe drinking of the first glass of wine the oldest guest or whoever\nenjoys the highest dignity of position (generally it is the village\npriest or the mayor) proposes the first toast, of which--as well\nas of all the subsequent ones--it may be said that tradition has\nordered the exact programme to be followed in all these proceedings,\nand even prescribed the very words to be used. In some parts of Serbia\nthe host himself proposes the first toast to the most distinguished\nof his guests, addressing him with: \"I beg to thank you, as well as\nall your brethren, for the honour which you graciously show me in\ncoming to my Slava! Let us drink the first glass to the glory of\nthe gracious God! Where wine is drunk in His name, may prosperity\nalways be!\" The principal guest accepts the toast, makes the sign of\nthe Cross and answers in such words as the following: \"I thank you,\nmost kind and hospitable host! May your Slava bring you prosperity,\nlet us drink this second glass 'for the better hour.'\" The third\ntoast is generally \"To the glory of the Holy Trinity!\" (In Serbian:\nTretya-sretya, sve u slavu Svete Troyitze!)\n\nIn some parts of Serbia there are commonly seven or even more toasts to\nbe drunk, but this custom shows, fortunately, a tendency to disappear.\n\n\n\n\nThe Ceremony at Church\n\nNext morning all the members of the family rise very early in\norder to restore order in the house, and the Svetchar goes to the\nnearest church, taking with him the kolyivo, the kolatch, some wine,\nincense and a wax candle. All these things he places in front of the\naltar where they must remain during the morning service, after which\nthe officiating priest cuts the Slava cake from underneath so that\nhis cuts correspond with the lines of the cross shown on the upper\nsurface. Then he breaks the cake and turns it in a circle with the help\nof the Svetchar, while they pronounce certain prayers together. This\nceremony ended, the host takes one half of the cake home and leaves the\nother half to the priest. If it happens that the church is far away,\nand time does not allow the host to absent himself long from home,\nthe Slava cake may be cut in halves by him in his own house with\nthe help of his male guests, chanting all the while certain formal\nprayers: and standing in a circle they hold the cake so that a thumb\nof each guest should be placed on the top of the cake, whilst they\neach support it with four fingers.\n\n\n\n\nThe Slava Feast\n\nToward noon, a few minutes before the sun reaches his zenith, a part\nof the Slava cake is placed upon the table together with a lighted\nwax candle. To this midday meal many more guests are usually invited\nthan had attended the supper on the previous evening; furthermore,\non this day even a stranger--whatever his religion may be--has the\nright to enter the house and to claim hospitality. For instance,\nthe Royal Prince Marko had many friends amongst the Turks, and they\nwould invariably come to him as guests on his Slava day. All the\nguests rise together, cross themselves with great reverence, and, in\nperfect silence, with glasses filled, they await the address to be made\nby the Svetchar. Again three, or perhaps more, toasts are proposed\nand accepted, and, of course, as many times are the glasses again\nemptied and re-filled before the 'midday' meal is even begun. Eating\nand drinking, in all cases, \"to the glory of God, the Holy Trinity,\nto the Holy Slava\" and so forth continue till late at night, when the\nguests remember that it is time to go home. Many, however, remain in\nthe house all night and for the next day. Some devotees of good wine\nused actually to remain, on occasions, for three whole consecutive\ndays and nights. This very extreme devotion to the saints has been\npractised more especially at Nish, and in that neighbourhood, and\nhas furnished the celebrated Serbian novelist Stefan Strematz with\nabundant material for one of the finest, as it is undoubtedly one of\nthe wittiest, novels that have been written in Serbian.\n\n\n\n\nChristmas Eve\n\nAnother festival, which the Serbians, like other nations, conduct\nwith many rites and customs of unmistakably pagan origin and which\nfills the hearts of all with joy, is Christmas. It is a saying of\nthe Serbian people that \"there is no day without light--neither is\nthere any real joy without Christmas.\"\n\nThe Serbian peasant is, as a general rule, an early riser, but on\nChristmas Eve (Badgni dan) everybody is up earlier than usual,\nfor it is a day when each member of the household has his hands\nfull of work to be done. Two or more of the young men are sent out\nfrom every house to the nearest forest [22] to cut, and bring home,\na young oak tree, which is called Badgnak. (The etymology of this word\nis obscure, but it is probably the name, or derived from the name, of\na pagan god.) When the young man who is to cut the tree has selected\nit, he kneels down, and murmuring words of greeting and uttering a\nspecial prayer, he throws at it a handful of wheat or corn; then he\nmakes the sign of the Cross three times and begins carefully to cut\nin such a direction that the tree must necessarily fall toward the\nEast, and at just about the moment when the sun first shows himself\nabove the horizon. He has also to see that the tree does not touch,\nin falling to earth, the branches of any tree near it, otherwise\nthe prosperity of his house would most surely be disturbed during\nthe ensuing year. The trunk of the tree is now cut into three logs,\none of which is rather longer than the others.\n\nToward evening, when everything is ready and all the members of the\nfamily are assembled in the kitchen, the chief room in the dwelling,\na large fire is lit, and the head of the family solemnly carries in\nthe Badgnak, and, placing it on the fire, so that the thicker end is\nleft about twelve inches beyond the hearth, he pronounces in a loud\nvoice his good wishes for the prosperity of the house and all within\nit. In the same way he brings in the other parts of the Badgnak,\nand, when all are in a blaze, the young shepherds embrace across the\nlargest log, for they believe that by doing so they will ensure the\nattachment of the sheep to their lambs, of the cows to their calves,\nand of all other animals to their young.\n\nAt this point of the proceedings the oldest member of the family\nbrings in a bundle of straw and hands it over to the housewife, to\nwhom he wishes at the same time \"a good evening and a happy Badgni\ndan.\" She then throws a handful of corn at him, thanks him for the\nstraw and starts walking about the kitchen and the adjoining rooms,\nscattering straw on the floor and imitating the clucking of hens,\nwhile the children gleefully follow her and imitate the sounds made\nby young chicks.\n\nThis finished, the mother has next to bring a yellow wax candle and an\nearthen vessel filled with burning coal. The father again reverently\nmakes the sign of the Cross, lights the candle and places some incense\non the embers. Meanwhile the rest of the family have already formed\nthemselves into a semi-circle, with the men standing on the right and\nthe women on the left. The father now proceeds to say prayers aloud,\nwalking from one end of the semi-circle to the other and stopping\nin front of each person for a short space of time that the fumes of\nsmoking incense, in the censer, held in his right hand, should rise\nto the face of every one in turn. The prayers which they utter on\nthese occasions last for about fifteen or twenty minutes, and vary\nin nearly every district.\n\nAfter the prayers they all sit down to supper, which is laid, not\nupon a table, but on the floor, for it is considered a good orthodox\ncustom to lay sacks over the stone or clay of which the floor is\nformed, and to use cushions instead of chairs, on Christmas Eve.\nDuring supper, at which no meat is served, the father of the family\nenthusiastically toasts the Badgnak, expressing at the same time his\nwishes for their common prosperity for the new year, and pours a glass\nof wine over the protruding end of the log.  In many parts of Serbia\nall the peasants--men, women, and even small children--fast for the\nforty-five days immediately before Christmas. They abstain from meat,\neggs, and milk-food, and eat simply vegetables and fruit.\n\nWhen the supper is over the whole family retires to bed, except one\nof the young men, who remains near the fire to see that the Badgnak\ndoes not burn off completely, and that the fire is not extinguished.\n\n\n\n\nChristmas Day\n\nIt is generally believed that the rites and customs concerning this\nChurch festival, which we Serbians call in our own language Bojitch,\nmeaning 'the little God,' is nothing but the modified worship of the\npagan god Dabog (or Daybog), to whom we have already referred, or\nperhaps represents several forms of that worship. Our pagan ancestors\nused to sacrifice a pig to their Sun-god, and in our day there is\nnot a single house throughout Serbia in which \"roast pork\" is not\nserved on Christmas Day as a matter of course. The men and boys of\neach household rise very early in the morning that day to make a big\nfire in the courtyard, and to roast a sucking-pig on a spit, for which\nall preparations are made on Badgni dan. The moment each little pig\nis placed at the fire there is a vigorous firing of pistols or rifles\nto greet it, showing by the sound of shot after shot that the whole\nvillage is astir. As nearly all the houses in a village practise the\nsame custom most zealously, and as naturally every youth considers\nit a part of his duty to fire a pistol, the neighbouring hills echo\nagain and again as if persistent skirmishing were going on.\n\nStill early in the morning one of the maidens goes to the public\nwell to fetch some drinking water, and when she reaches the well she\ngreets it, wishing it a happy Christmas, throwing at the same time\ninto it a handful of corn and a bunch, or perhaps merely a sprig,\nof basil. She throws the corn in the hope that the crops may be as\nabundant as water, and the basil is to keep the water always limpid\nand pure. The first cupful of the water she draws is used to make a\ncake (Thesnitza) to be broken at the midday meal into as many pieces\nas there are members of the household. A silver coin has been put\ninto the dough, and the person who finds it in his piece of cake is\nconsidered as the favourite of fortune for the year to come.\n\nDuring the morning every house expects a visitor (polaznik), who is\nusually a young boy from a neighbouring house. When the polaznik\nenters the house he breaks off a small branch of the Badgnak's\nsmouldering end, and while he is greeting the head of the house with\n'Christ is born!' and all the others are answering him with a cry\nof 'In truth He is born!' the mother throws at him a handful of\nwheat. He then approaches the hearth, and strikes the Badgnak with\nhis own piece of tree repeatedly, so that thousands of sparks fly up\ninto the chimney, and he pronounces his good wishes: \"May the holy\nChristmas bring to this house as many sheep, as many horses, as many\ncows, as many beehives, [and so forth,] as there are sparks in this\nfire!\" Then he places on the Badgnak either a silver or a gold coin,\nwhich the head of the family keeps to give to the blacksmith to smelt\nin with the steel when making his new plough--for, as he believes,\nthis cannot fail to make the ground more fertile and all go well. The\npolaznik is, of course, made to stay and share the meal with them,\nand afterwards he is presented with a special cake also containing\na coin, sometimes a gold one, sometimes silver.\n\nAfter the repast all the youths go out of doors for sports, especially\nfor sleighing, while the older people gather together around a gooslar\n(a national bard), and take much, even endless, delight in listening\nto his recitals of their ancient ballads.\n\n\n\n\nThe Dodola Rite\n\nThe disasters which Serbian peasants most fear are of two\nkinds--drought and very violent storms. In pagan times there was a\ngoddess who, it is believed, ruled the waters and the rain. When\nthe Serbians were first converted to Christianity, the power of\ncontrolling the ocean, rivers, and storms, and the sailing of ships\nat sea, was attributed to St. Nicholas, and the Dalmatians, sea-going\nmen, still pray only to him; whereas in the heart of Serbia, where\nthe peasants have no conception of what large navigable rivers are,\nstill less of what seas and lakes are like, recourse is taken to the\nfavourite goddess Doda or Dodola whenever there is an unduly long\nspell of dry weather.\n\nThe Dodola rite is a peculiar one. A maiden, generally a Gipsy, is\ndivested of her usual garments and then thickly wrapped round with\ngrass and flowers so that she is almost concealed beneath them. She\nwears a wide wreath of willow branches interwoven with wild flowers\naround her waist and hips, and in such fantastic attire she has to\ngo from house to house in the village dancing, while each housewife\npours over her a pailful of water, and her companions chant a prayer\nhaving the refrain, Oy Dodo, oy Dodole, after every single line:\n\n\n    Fall, O rain! and gentlest dew!\n      Oy, Dodo! Oy, Dodole!\n    Refresh our pasture-lands and fields!\n      Oy, Dodo! Oy, Dodole!\n\n\nIn each verse that follows mention is made of a cereal or other plant,\nimploring Doda that rain may soon be shed upon it. Then the cottage\nwomen give them presents, either food or money, and the maidens sing\nother songs for them, always in the same rhythm, give their thanks,\noffer good wishes, and are gone.\n\n\n\n\nWhitsuntide\n\nDuring the Whitsuntide festivities, about fifteen young girls, mostly\nChristian Gipsies, one of whom personates the Standard-bearer, another\nthe King, and another the Queen (kralyitza), veiled and attended by a\nnumber of Maids of Honour, pass from door to door through the village,\nsinging and dancing. Their songs relate to such subjects as marriage,\nthe choice of a husband or wife, the happiness of wedded life, the\nblessing of having children. After each verse of their songs follows\na refrain, Lado, oy, Lado-leh! which is probably the name of the\nancient Slavonic Deity of Love.\n\n\n\n\nPalm Sunday\n\n\"In winter, just before Lent, the great festival in honour of the Dead\nis celebrated, at which every one solemnizes the memory of departed\nrelations and friends, and no sooner does Palm Sunday arrive than\nthe people join in commemorating the renovation of life.\n\n\"On the preceding Saturday the maidens assemble on a hill, and recite\npoems on the resurrection of Lazarus; and on Sunday, before sunrise,\nthey meet at the place where they draw water and dance their country\ndance (kolllo), chanting a song, which relates how the water becomes\ndull by the antlers of a stag, and bright by his eye.\" [23]\n\n\n\n\nSt. George's Day\n\nOn St. George's Day, April 23rd (Dyourdyev Dan), long before dawn,\nall the members of a Serbian family rise and take a bath in the\nwater, in which a number of herbs and flowers--each possessing its\nown peculiar signification--have been cast before sunset the preceding\nday. He who fails to get up in good time, and whom the sun surprises\nin bed, is said to have fallen in disgrace with St. George, and he\nwill consequently have little or no luck in any of his undertakings\nfor the next twelve months. This rite is taken as a sign that the\nSerbian peasants yield to the many influences of newly awakened nature.\n\nIt will be seen by anyone who studies the matter that each season\nin turn prompts the Serbians, as it must prompt any simple primitive\npeople, to observe rites pointing to the mysterious relation in which\nman finds that he stands to nature.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III: SERBIAN NATIONAL EPIC POETRY\n\n\nThe Importance of the Ballads\n\nThat the Serbian people--as a distinct Slav and Christian\nnationality--did not succumb altogether to the Ottoman oppressor; that\nthrough nearly five centuries of subjection to the Turk the Southern\nSlavs retained a deep consciousness of their national ideals, is due\nin a very large measure to the Serbian national poetry, which has kept\nalive in the hearts of the Balkan Christians deep hatred of the Turk,\nand has given birth, among the oppressed Slavs, to the sentiment\nof a common misfortune and led to the possibility of a collective\neffort which issued in the defeat of the Turk on the battlefields of\nKoumanovo, Monastir, Prilip, Prizrend, Kirk-Kilisse, and Scutari.\n\nWho has written those poems? We might as well ask, who is the author\nof the Iliad and the Odyssey? If Homer be the collective pseudonym\nof an entire cycle of Hellenic national bards, 'The Serbian people'\nis that of the national bards who chanted those Serbian epic poems\nduring the centuries, and to whom it was nothing that their names\nshould be attached to them. The task of the learned Diascevastes\nof Pisistrate's epoch, which they performed with such ability in\nthe old Hellade, has been done in Serbia by a self-taught peasant,\nthe famous Vouk Stephanovitch-Karadgitch, in the beginning of the\nnineteenth century. Vouk's first collection of Serbian national poems,\nwhich he wrote down as he heard them from the lips of the gousslari\n(i.e. Serbian national bards), was published for the first time at\nVienna in 1814, and was not only eagerly read throughout Serbia and\nin the literary circles of Austria and Germany, but also in other\nparts of Europe. Goethe himself translated one of the ballads, and\nhis example was quickly followed by others.\n\nThose poems--as may be seen from the examples given in this\nvolume--dwell upon the glory of the Serbian mediaeval empire, lost\non the fatal field of Kossovo (1389). When the Turks conquered the\nSerbian lands and drove away the flower of the Serbian aristocracy,\nthese men took refuge in the monasteries and villages, where the\nTurkish horsemen never came. There they remained through centuries\nundisturbed, inspired by the eloquence of the Serbian monks, who\nconsidered it their sacred duty to preserve for the nation behind\ntheir old walls the memory of ancient kings and tzars and of the\nglorious past in which they flourished.\n\nProfessional bards went from one village to another, chanting\nin an easy decasyllabic verse the exploits of Serbian heroes and\nHaidooks (knight-brigands), who were the only check upon the Turkish\natrocities. The bards carried news of political and other interesting\nevents, often correct, sometimes more or less distorted, and the\ngifted Serbians--for gifted they were and still are--did not find\nit difficult to remember, and to repeat to others, the stories thus\nbrought to them in poetic form. As the rhythm of the poems is easy,\nand as the national ballads have become interwoven with the spirit of\nevery true Serbian, it is not rare that a peasant who has heard a poem\nbut once can not only repeat it as he heard it, but also improvise\npassages; nay, he can at times even compose entire original ballads\non the spur of inspirational moments.\n\nIn Serbian Hungary there are schools in which the blind learn these\nnational ballads, and go from one fair to another to recite them before\nthe peasants who come from all Serbian lands. But this is not the true\nmethod. In the mountains of Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina\nthere is no occasion to learn them mechanically: they are familiar to\nall from infancy. When, in the winter evening, the members of a Serbian\nfamily assemble around the fire, and the women are engaged with their\nspinning, poems are recited by those who happen to know them best.\n\n\n\n\nThe Goussle\n\nThe ballads are recited invariably to the accompaniment of a primitive\ninstrument with a single string, called a goussle, which is to be met\nwith in almost every house. The popular Serbian poet, Peter Petrovitch,\nin his masterpiece, Gorsky Viyenatz ('The Mountain Wreath') uttered\nthe following lines, which have become proverbial:\n\n\n    Dye se goussle u kutyi ne tchuyu\n    Tu su mrtva i kutya i lyoudi.\n\n    (The house in which the goussle is not heard\n    Is dead, as well as the people in it.)\n\n\nThe old men, with grown-up sons, who are excused from hard labour,\nrecite to their grandchildren, who yield themselves with delight to the\nrhythmic verse through which they receive their first knowledge of the\npast. Even the abbots of the monasteries do not deem it derogatory to\nrecite those ballads and to accompany their voices by the monotonous\nnotes of the goussle. But the performance has more of the character\nof a recitation than of singing: the string is struck only at the\nend of each verse. In some parts of Serbia, however, each syllable\nis accentuated by a stroke of the bow, and the final syllable is\nsomewhat prolonged.\n\nThe heroic decasyllabic lines have invariably five trochees, with\nthe fixed caesura after the second foot; and almost every line is in\nitself a complete sentence.\n\nThere is hardly a tavern or inn in any Serbian village where one could\nsee an assembly of peasants without a gousslar, around whom all are\ngathered, listening with delight to his recitals. At the festivals\nnear the cloisters, where the peasants meet together in great numbers,\nprofessional gousslars recite the heroic songs and emphasize the\npathetic passages in such an expressive manner that there is hardly a\nlistener whose cheeks are not bedewed with copious tears. The music\nis extremely simple, but its simplicity is a powerful and majestic\ncontrast to the exuberance of romance manifested in the exploits and\ndeeds of some favourite hero--as, for example, the Royal Prince Marko.\n\nThere are many bold hyperboles in those national songs, and little\nwonder if they are discredited by Western critics, especially in the\nballads concerning the exploits of the beloved Marko--who \"throws his\nheavy mace aloft as high as the clouds and catches it again in his\nright hand, without dismounting from his trusty courser Sharatz.\" Now\nand then an English reader may find passages which may seem somewhat\ncoarse, but he must bear in mind that the ballads have usually been\ncomposed and transmitted from generation to generation by simple\nand illiterate peasants. Most of those concerning the Royal Prince\nMarko date from the early fourteenth century, when the customs,\neven in Western Europe, were different from those prevailing\nnow. My translations have, however, been carefully revised by\nMrs. C. H. Farnam, who has taken a great interest in this book, and\nhas endeavoured to do no injustice to the rugged originals. Having\npassed some time in Serbia--as many noble English ladies have\ndone--nursing the wounded heroes of the Balkan War, of 1912-13,\nand softening their pain with unspeakable tenderness and devotion,\nshe was attracted by the natural, innate sense of honesty and the\nbravery which her cultivated mind discovered in those simple Serbians\nand her interest has since extended to their history and literature.\n\nIt is worthy of consideration that the history of the Serbian and\nother Southern Slavonic nations, developed by its poetry--if not\neven replaced by it altogether--has through it been converted into a\nnational property, and is thus preserved in the memory of the entire\npeople so vividly that a Western traveller must be surprised when he\nhears even the most ignorant Serbian peasant relate to him something at\nleast of the old kings and tsars of the glorious dynasty of Nemagnitch,\nand of the feats and deeds of national heroes of all epochs.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV: KRALYEVITCH MARKO; OR, THE ROYAL PRINCE MARKO\n\n\nThe Marko Legends\n\nMarko was, as we have already seen, the son of King Voukashin; and\nhis mother was Queen Helen, whom the Serbian troubadours called by\nthe pleasing and poetic name Yevrossima (Euphrosyne) in their songs\nand poems.\n\nAccording to the popular tradition, the Prince was born in the castle\nof Skadar (Scutari), and his mother, being the sister of that most\nglorious and adventurous knight Momchilo, fortunately transmitted\nmuch of the heroism, and many of the other virtues, characteristic\nof her own family, to her son.\n\nBut there is also another tradition, equally popular, which\nmaintains that Marko was the child of a veela (fairy-queen) and a zmay\n(dragon). The fact that his father was a dragon is believed, by those\nwho accept this tradition, to explain and in every way to account for,\nMarko's tremendous strength and his astonishing powers of endurance.\n\nTruly Prince Marko possessed a striking and extraordinarily attractive\npersonality: he so vividly impressed the minds of the Serbian people,\npeople of all ranks and localities, that he has always been, remains to\nthis day, and promises ever to remain, our most beloved hero. Indeed\nthere is no Serbian to be found, even in the most remote districts,\nwho has not a great love for Kralyevitch Marko, and who cannot tell\nhis story.\n\nThis Prince's brave deeds and all his exploits have luckily been\nimmortalized by the national bards, who are never weary of describing\nhim in their ballads and legends as a lover of justice, the hater\nof all oppression, and the avenger of every wrong. He is always\nrepresented as the possessor of great physical strength: his principal\nweapon was his heavy war-club (it weighed one hundred pounds--sixty\npounds of steel, thirty pounds of silver, and the remainder was pure\ngold) and it must be borne in mind that the swords and clubs wielded\nby the merely human hands of his antagonists can never kill him; they\nnever injure him, for they scarcely ever even touch this hero. Marko\nis always thought to have had much of the supernatural in him.\n\nMarko, who was often rough and ready in his behaviour, and more\nespecially so to the Turks, whose very Sultan, indeed, he mightily\nterrified with the tales he told of his many bloodthirsty and warlike\ndeeds, was invariably a most dutiful, loving and tender-hearted son to\nhis mother: and there were occasions when he willingly consulted her,\nand followed the advice she gave him.\n\nPrince Marko was fearless: It was said that \"he feared no one but God\";\nand it was his rule to be courteous to all women. In Serbia it was\nthe usual custom to drink a great deal of wine, the red wine of which\nwe so often hear, and this custom was one which Marko upheld: but it\nis always said, and universally believed, that he was never drunk.\n\nThe ballads also sing of King Voukashin. Voukashin had been the\nCouncillor of State during the reign of Doushan the Powerful. The\ncapital of the Empire was Prizrend, and Marko was brought up then\nat the Court, by his father Voukashin. According to the generally\naccepted belief it was Marko who, a little later on, attended the\nEmperor as secretary and councillor of State, and was entrusted by\nDoushan, on the approach of death, with his young son Ourosh.\n\n\n\n\nThe Bad Faith of Voukashin\n\nOne ballad relates that the Emperor Doushan had bequeathed the crown to\nVoukashin and stipulated in his will that that monarch should reign for\nseven years, and at the end of that time he should give up the rule to\nthe Tsarevitch Ourosh. King Voukashin not only prolonged his haughty\nrule to sixteen years, but absolutely refused to yield the sceptre\neven then, and moreover proclaimed himself sovereign Tsar. The ballad\nfurther depicts the incessant struggles which were in the end to cause\nthe downfall of the Serbian mediaeval State. And so tradition, earnestly\nsympathizing with the just anger felt by the people against the rebels,\nand their lamentation over the lost tsardom, charges Voukashin with all\nthe blame and responsibility--curses him as a usurper and a traitor,\nand execrates him for his cunning and inconsistency: whilst on the\nother hand tradition ever extols and glorifies his son Marko as the\nfaithful defender of Prince Ourosh, as the great avenger of national\nwrongs, and praises him at all times for his good heart, his generous\nforesight in politics and private affairs, his humanity, and above\nall his readiness to perish in the cause of justice.\n\n\n\n\nThe Horse Sharatz\n\nThe story of Marko cannot be told without some account of Sharatz,\nhis much-loved piebald steed, from whom he was never parted.\n\nSharatz was undoubtedly unique. There are several versions of the story\nas to how Marko became possessed of him: Some of the bards assert\nthat Sharatz was given to Marko by the same veela who had from the\nfirst endowed him with his marvellous strength; but there are others\nwho affirm that Marko once bought a foal suffering from leprosy, and\nthat the Prince tended him himself and completely cured him, taught\nhim to drink wine, and finally made him the fine horse that he became.\n\nAnd there are others again who say that at one time, in his youth,\nMarko served a master for three years, and that for his sole reward\nhe asked permission to choose a horse from among those then grazing\nin the meadow. His master gladly consented, and Marko, according to\nhis custom, tested each horse in turn, by taking it by the tail and\nwhirling it round and round.\n\nAt last, when he came to a certain piebald foal he seized it by the\ntail: but this animal did not stir, and Marko, with all his vast\nstrength, could not make it move one step. Marko chose that foal,\nand it became his beloved Sharatz. The Serbians of Veles still call a\ngreat plain near Demir-Kapi 'Markova Livada' (Marko's meadow). Sharatz\nmeans 'piebald,' and it is said that the skin of Marko's horse was\nmore like the hide of an ox in appearance than like the skin of an\nordinary horse. The Prince called him by various endearing names,\nsuch as Sharin or Sharo, and was devoted to him for the hundred and\nsixty years they were together.\n\nThis wonderful beast was the strongest and swiftest horse ever known,\nand he often overtook the flying veela. He was so well trained\nthat he knew the very moment when to kneel down to save his master\nfrom an adversary's lance; he knew just how to rear and strike the\nadversary's charger with his fore-feet. When his spirit was thoroughly\nroused Sharatz would spring up to the height of three lengths of a\nlance and to the distance of four lance-lengths forward; beneath his\nhoofs glittering sparks shone forth, and the very earth he trod would\ncrack and stones and fragments fly in all directions; and his nostrils\nexhaled a quivering blue flame, terrifying to all beholders. He often\nbit off the ears of enemies' horses and crushed and trampled to death\nnumbers of Turkish soldiers. Marko might peacefully doze, and sometimes\neven go to sleep, when riding through the mountains; and all the time\nhe was safe, for Sharatz would keep careful guard. Therefore the Prince\nwould feed his steed, with bread and wine, from the vessels that he\nused himself and loved him more than he loved his own brother; and\nSharatz shared, as he deserved to share, the glory of many a victory\nwith his master. Marko never rode upon another horse, and together\nthey were described as \"a dragon mounted upon a dragon.\"\n\nThere are in existence about thirty-eight poems and perhaps\ntwice as many prose-legends containing detailed descriptions of\nMarko's thrilling exploits, and there is hardly a Serb or a Bulgar\nanywhere to be found who cannot recite at least a few of them. In\nthe Balkans-Turkish War, 1912-13, a gouslar, when not fighting,\nwould take his goussle [24] and recite to his comrades heroic poems\nof which the greater number related to Marko. The intense veneration\nfelt by Serbians for this beloved Prince proves an unfailing bond\nbetween them in their own country and in all parts of the world.\n\nThere are, naturally enough, various accounts of the death of\nMarko. The story that has most appealed to his countrymen and taken\na specially firm hold of their poets' imaginations is that he never\ndied. It is believed that he withdrew to a cave, near his castle at\nPrilip, which is still standing, to rest, and that he is there, now,\nasleep. From time to time he awakes and looks to see if his sword\nhas yet come out of a rock into which he had thrust it to the very\nhilt. When the sword is out of the rock Marko will know that the\ntime has come for him to appear among the Serbians once more, to\nre-establish the mediaeval empire, lost at the battle of Kossovo. [25]\n\nAs for Sharatz, he is still feeding, but he has now nearly finished\nhis portion of hay.\n\n\n\n\nPRINCE MARKO TELLS WHOSE THE EMPIRE SHALL BE\n\nFour tabors [26] met together on the beautiful field of Kossovo\nnear the white church Samodrezja: [27] One tabor was headed by King\nVoukashin; the second by Despot Ouglesha; [28] the third by Voivode\nGoyko, and the fourth by Tsarevitch Ourosh.\n\nThe first three of these were disputing over the inheritance of the\nEmpire and were ready to stab one another, so eager were they all to\nreign. They did not know who had been appointed the Tsar's successor\nand who was the rightful heir to the throne. King Voukashin announced:\n\"The Empire was left to me!\" Voivode Goyko cried out: \"Not so! The\nEmpire is mine!\" and Despot Ouglesha interposed angrily, \"You are\nboth wrong, for know that the Empire is mine.\"\n\nThe youthful Tsarevitch remained silent, for he was not bold enough\nto proffer a single word in the presence of his haughty elders.\n\nKing Voukashin prepared a message and sent it by a faithful servant\nto the Archdeacon Nedelyko, at Prizrend, summoning him to come at\nonce to the field of Kossovo and state without delay to whom the\nEmpire had been left--for he must surely know, having received the\nlast confession of the illustrious Tsar Doushan the Mighty and been\nin attendance upon him up to his death. Besides, it was known that\nthe Archdeacon had the archives under his care, and could at least\nproduce the Emperor's will. Despot Ouglesha also sent a missive to the\nArchdeacon by his swiftest messenger; a third was written by Voivode\nGoyko, who dispatched it by his special courier, and a fourth was\ninscribed and sent off by Ourosh.\n\nThe messages were all dispatched secretly, but the couriers reached\nPrizrend and met at the gates of Nedelyko's dwelling. But Nedelyko\nhad gone, as Court Chaplain, to officiate at the morning service in\nthe Cathedral. The men were enraged at the delay, and without even\nalighting from their horses, they rushed infuriated, into the sacred\nedifice, raised their whips and brutally struck the good Archdeacon,\ncommanding him: \"Behold, O Archdeacon Nedelyko! Hasten now, this very\nhour, to the plain of Kossovo. Thou must state to whom the Empire\nbelongs, for thou hast received the confession from the illustrious\nTsar and administered the last sacrament to him, and it is thou who\nhast the state records in thy care. Hasten, hasten, lest we, in our\nfierce impatience, do sever thy head from thy body!\"\n\nArchdeacon Nedelyko wept with grief and mortification and thus replied:\n\"Begone, ye servants of the most mighty princes! Begone from the\nHouse of God! Suffer first that we end God's service, then will I\nmake known into whose hands the Empire is to fall!\"\n\nThe couriers then went out and awaited the coming of the\nArchdeacon. Presently the Archdeacon came to them and spake in this\nwise: \"O my children, messengers from the King himself, and from the\nPrinces! I received the last confession of our glorious Tsar, and\ngave him the sacrament; but about the Empire and affairs of state he\nspoke never a word, for we were concerned only with the sins that\nhe had committed. Ye must go to the city of Prilip, for there is\nthe castle of the Royal Prince Marko. Marko, as ye may remember,\nlearned from me how to read and write; later he was secretary to\nthe Emperor and he was then entrusted with the care of the records,\nand he will surely know to whom the empire was entrusted. Call Marko\nto the field of Kossovo to say who is now the Tsar. Marko will tell\nthe truth, for he fears none but God!\"\n\n\n\n\nMarko is Summoned\n\nThe messenger set out at once, and, arriving at Prilip, they smote\non the portals of the castle. The knocking was heard by Yevrossima,\nand she spoke thus to her son: \"O Marko, my dearest son! who are they\nwho knock at the gates below? They may be messengers from thy father!\"\n\nMarko commanded that the gates should be opened, and when the\nmessengers entered they bowed with profoundest respect, and said:\n\"May God always help thee, O noble Lord Marko!\"\n\nThe Prince laid his hand upon their heads with kindness and said:\n\"Be welcome, ye my dear children! Are the Serbian knights in good\nhealth? And is all well with the glorious Tsar and King!\"\n\nThe couriers again made humble obeisance, saying: \"O noble Lord,\nthou most Royal Prince Marko! All are well, though not, we fear, upon\nfriendly terms together! The King, thy father, and other princes are\nseriously contending for the Empire upon Kossovo, that vast field\nwhich is near the church Samodrezja; they are ready to stab each\nother at any moment with their blades, for they know not to whom the\nEmpire rightly belongs. Thou art now called upon, O noble Prince,\nto proclaim the heir to the Imperial crown.\"\n\nThe bard goes on to narrate how Marko went to Yevrossima and asked\nher advice, and although it was well known that Marko himself loved\nthe truth, his good mother implored him with the following words:\n\"O Marko, thy mother's only son! May the food on which thou wert\nnourished be not cursed! Speak not falsely either to please thy father,\nor to satisfy the ambitions of thine uncles, but tell, I beg of thee,\nthe truth before God lest thou shouldest lose thy soul. It were better\nthat thou shouldst perish than sin against thy soul!\"\n\nMarko took the ancient documents, mounted Sharatz and rode forthwith to\nthe plain of Kossovo. As he approached his father's tent King Voukashin\nsaw him and exclaimed: \"Oh, how fortunate am I! Here is my son Marko;\nhe will say that the Empire was left to me, for of course he knows\nthat it will pass from father to son!\"\n\nMarko heard this, but said not one single word, neither would he turn\nhis head towards the King's tent.\n\nWhen Despot Ouglesha saw Marko, he spoke in this wise: \"Oh, what a\nlucky thing for me! here is my nephew Marko; he is certain to say\nthe Empire is mine! Say, O Marko, the Empire is mine! We would reign\ntogether, you and I, like brothers!\" Marko still kept silent and did\nnot even turn his head in the direction of his uncle's tent.\n\nAs Voivode Goyko perceived his coming, he exclaimed: \"Oh, here is a\nstroke of good fortune for me! here is my dear nephew Marko: he is\nsure to say that the Empire was left to me. When Marko was a little\nchild I used to caress him fondly, for he was dear to me as a golden\napple, and always most precious. Whenever I rode out on horseback I\nalways used to take Marko with me. O Marko! dear Marko, thou must say\nthat the Empire is mine! It will be virtually thou who shalt reign as\nTsar, and I shall be at thy right hand, at all times ready, as thy\ncounsellor!\" Marko, still without a word, and completely ignoring\nVoivode Goyko, went straight on to the tent where Tsarevitch Ourosh\nwas, and there he alighted from his Sharatz.\n\nWhen the young Ourosh saw him, he sprang from his silken couch,\nand exclaimed: \"Hurrah! Behold my godfather Marko! Now he is going\nto tell us who the true Tsar is!\" They embraced each other, inquired\nafter each other's health, and seated themselves upon the couch from\nwhich Ourosh had just risen.\n\n\n\n\nMarko tells the Truth\n\nSome time elapsed and the sun had set, the night passed, morning\ndawned, and church bells called all to morning prayers, and after\nthe service the King, the Princes and great Lords went out into the\nchurchyard, where they took their places at tables, and ate sweet-meats\nand drank brandy. Marko at last opened the ancient documents, and said\naloud: \"O my father, thou King Voukashin! Art thou not content with\nthy Kingdom? May it be turned into a desert if thou art not. Oh! that\nthou shouldst wish to seize another's Empire! And thou, my uncle,\nDespot Ouglesha! Art thou not satisfied within thine own territory? Is\nit indeed too small for thee that thou must struggle for the Empire\nthat belongs to another? May it also turn into a desert! And thou,\nmy uncle, thou Voivode Goyko! Is thy Dukedom not vast enough for\nthee? May it likewise become a desert if it is not! Oh that thou\ntoo shouldst strive for another's Tsardom? Do ye not all see and\nunderstand? If ye fail to see may God not see ye! It is clearly stated\nin the records that the Empire was left to Ourosh. From father shall\nit pass to son. To this youth now belongs the Imperial Crown of his\nancestors. It was Ourosh whom our late Tsar, on his dying day, named\nas his successor!\" When King Voukashin heard this, he sprang to his\nfeet, drew out his golden yatagan and would have pierced his son with\nit. The Prince, pursued by his father, fled, for, indeed, it would have\nbeen unseemly for Marko to fight with and perhaps mortally strike his\nown father. Marko ran round the church Samodrezja, his father closely\nfollowing, till they had run round the building three times, and then,\nwhen Voukashin was on the point of getting within reach of his son,\nall at once a mysterious voice from within the church uttered these\nwords: \"Run into the church, O, thou Royal Prince Marko! Seest thou\nnot that otherwise thou shalt perish by thy father's hand, because\nthou hast spoken the truth so dear to God?\" The doors suddenly\nopened of themselves and Marko passed inside; then they closed and\ninterposed themselves between the two men. King Voukashin began to\nstrike violently upon the doors with his short hanging sword until\nhe noticed that there were drops of blood trickling down the beam,\nwhereupon he was seized with remorse and sighed in lowly penance,\nsaying: \"Alas! Unfortunate man that I am! O, thou infinite and divine\nGod! Hear me! I have killed my son Marko!\" But the mysterious voice\nfrom the church answered: \"Behold! Voukashin thou most mighty King! Lo,\nthou hast not even wounded thy son Marko, but thou hast injured the\nangel of the true God!\"\n\nAt these words the King grew again enraged with Marko and cursed him\nin these words: \"O Marko, my only son, may God kill thee! Mayest thou\nnever be entombed! Mayest thou have no son to come after thee! May\nthy family end with thee! And, worse than all, may thy soul depart\nnot from thy body before thou hast served as vassal to the Turk!\" In\nthese bitter words the King cursed Marko, but the new Tsar, Ourosh,\nblessed him, saying: \"O my beloved god-father, Marko! May God ever\nsupport thee! May thy word be always respected and accepted by all\njust men for ever in the divan! [29] May thy bright sabre prosper\nin all battles and combats! May there never be a hero to overpower\nthee! May it please God that thy name shall at all times be remembered\nwith honour, for so long as the sun and the moon continue to shine.\"\n\n\n\n\nPRINCE MARKO AND A MOORISH CHIEFTAIN\n\nA great and powerful Moorish chieftain had built for himself a\nmagnificent castle, rising to the height of twenty storeys. The place\nhe had chosen for the castle was by the sea, and when it was quite\ncompleted he had panes of the most beautiful glass put in for windows;\nhe hung all the rooms and halls with the richest silks and velvets and\nthen soliloquized thus: \"O my koula, [30] why have I erected thee? for\nthere is no one but I who is there to tread, with gentle footsteps,\nupon these fine rugs, and behold from these windows the blue and\nshining sea. I have no mother, no sister, and I have not yet found a\nwife. But I will assuredly go at once and seek the Sultan's daughter\nin marriage. The Sultan must either give me his daughter or meet me\nin single combat.\" As soon as the Moor, gazing at his castle, had\nuttered these words, he wrote a most emphatic letter to the Sultan at\nIstamboul, [31] the contents of which ran thus: \"O Sire, I have built\na beautiful castle near the shore of the azure sea, but as yet it has\nno mistress, for I have no wife. I ask thee, therefore, to bestow upon\nme thy beloved daughter! In truth, I demand this; for if thou dost\nnot give thy daughter to me, then prepare thyself at once to meet me\nface to face with thy sword. To this fight I now challenge thee!\"\n\nThe letter reached the Sultan and he read it through. Immediately he\nsought for one who would accept the challenge in his stead, promising\nuntold gold to the knight who would show himself willing to meet the\nMoor. Many a bold man went forth to fight the Moor, but not one ever\nreturned to Istamboul.\n\nAlas! the Sultan soon found himself in a most embarrassing position\nfor all his best fighters had lost their lives at the hand of the\nhaughty Moor. But even this misfortune was not the worst. The Moor\nprepared himself in all his splendour, not omitting his finest sabre;\nthen he proceeded to saddle his steed Bedevia, securely fastening the\nseven belts and put on her a golden curb. On one side of the saddle\nhe fastened his tent, and this he balanced on the other side with\nhis heaviest club. He sprang like lightning on to his charger, and\nholding before him, defiantly, his sharpest lance, he rode straight\nto Istamboul.\n\nThe instant he reached the walls of the fort, he spread his tent,\nstruck his lance well into the earth, bound his Bedevia to the lance\nand forthwith imposed on the inhabitants a daily tax, consisting of:\none sheep, one batch of white loaves, one keg of pure brandy, two\nbarrels of red wine, and a beautiful maiden. Each maiden, after being\nhis slave and attending on him for twenty-four hours, he would sell\nin Talia for large sums of money. This imposition went on for three\nmonths, for none could stop it. But even yet there was a greater evil\nto be met.\n\n\n\n\nThe Entrance of the Moor\n\nThe inhabitants of Istamboul were terrorized one day when the haughty\nMoor mounted upon his dashing steed entered the city. He went to the\nPalace, and cried loudly: \"Lo! Sultan, wilt thou now, once and for\never, give me thy daughter?\" As he received no answer he struck the\nwalls of the Palace with his club so violently that the shattered\nglass poured down from the windows like rain. When the Sultan saw\nthat the Moor might easily destroy the Palace and even the whole\ncity in this way, he was greatly alarmed, for he knew that there was\nno alternative open to him in this horrible predicament but to give\nup his only daughter. Although overwhelmed with shame, therefore,\nhe promised to do this. Pleased with his success, the Moor asked for\nfifteen days' delay before his marriage took place that he might go\nback to his castle and make the necessary preparations.\n\nWhen the Sultan's daughter heard of her father's desperate resolution,\nshe shrieked and exclaimed bitterly: \"Alas! Behold my sorrow, O\nalmighty Allah! For whom have I been taught to prize my beauty? For a\nMoor? Can it be true that a Moor shall imprint a kiss upon my visage?\"\n\n\n\n\nThe Sultana's Dream\n\nThat night the Sultana had a strange dream, in which the figure of\na man appeared before her, saying: \"There is within the Empire of\nSerbia a vast plain Kossovo; in that plain there is a city Prilip;\nand in that city dwells the Royal Prince Marko who is known among\nall men as a truly great hero.\"\n\nAnd the man went on to advise the Sultana to send, without delay, a\nmessage to Prince Marko and beg him to become her son-in-God, and at\nthe same time to offer him immense fortune, for he was without doubt\nthe only one living likely to vanquish the terrible Moor and save\nher daughter from a shameful fate. The next morning she sped to the\nSultan's apartments and told him of her dream. The Sultan immediately\nwrote a firman [32] and sent it to Prince Marko at Prilip, beseeching\nhim to journey with all speed to Istamboul and accept the challenge of\nthe Moor, and if he should succeed in saving the Princess the Sultan\nwould give him three tovars [33] of pure golden ducats.\n\nWhen Marko read the firman, he said to the Sultan's young courier,\na native of Tartary: \"In the name of God go back, thou Sultan's\nmessenger, and greet thy master--my father-in-God--tell him that I dare\nnot face the Moor. Do we not, all of us, know that he is invincible? If\nhe should cleave my head asunder, of what avail would three tovars,\nor three thousand tovars, of gold be to me?\"\n\nThe young Tartar brought back Marko's answer which caused the\nSultana so much grief, that she determined to send a letter to him\nherself, once more beseeching him to accept the challenge and this\ntime increasing the reward to five tovars of pure gold. But Marko,\nthough generally so chivalrous and courteous to all women, remained\ninexorable, replying that he would not meet the Moor in combat even\nif he were to be presented with all the treasure the Sultan possessed;\nfor he did not dare.\n\n\n\n\nThe Princess appeals to Marko\n\nWhen the broken-hearted bride heard that this answer had come from\nMarko she sprang to her feet, took a pen and some paper, struck her\nrosy cheek with the pen and with her own blood traced the following:\n\"Hail, my dear brother-in-God, O, thou Royal Prince Marko! Be a true\nbrother to me! May God and Saint John be our witnesses! I implore thee,\ndo not suffer me to become the wife of the Moor! I promise thee seven\ntovars of pure gold, seven boshtchaluks, which have been neither woven\nnor spun, but are embroidered with pure gold. Moreover, I shall give\nthee a golden plate decorated with a golden snake, whose raised head\nis holding in its mouth a priceless gem, from which is shed a light\nof such brilliance, that by it alone you can see at the darkest hour\nof midnight as well as you can at noon. In addition to these I shall\npresent thee with a finely tempered sabre; this sabre has three hilts,\nall of pure gold, and in each of them is set a precious stone. The\nsabre alone is worth three cities. I shall affix to this weapon the\nSultan's seal so that the Grand Vizir may never put thee to death\nwithout first receiving his Majesty's special command.\"\n\nWhen he had read this missive, Marko reflected thus: \"Alas! O my dear\nsister-in-God! It would be but to my great misfortune if I came to\nserve thee, and to my still greater misfortune if I stayed away. For,\nalthough I fear neither the Sultan nor the Sultana, I do in all truth\nfear God and Saint John, by whom thou hast adjured me! Therefore I\nnow resolve to come and, if necessary, to face certain death!\"\n\n\n\n\nMarko prepares to succour the Princess\n\nHaving sent away the Princess' messenger without telling him what he\nhad resolved to do, Marko entered his castle and put on his cloak and\na cap, made of wolves' skins; next he girded on his sabre, selected\nhis most piercing lance, and went to the stables. For greater safety\nhe fastened the seven belts under the saddle of his Sharatz with his\nown hands; he then attached a leathern bottle filled with red wine on\none side of his saddle and his weightiest war-club on the other. Now\nhe was ready and threw himself upon Sharatz and rode off to Istamboul.\n\nUpon reaching his destination he did not go to pay his respects either\nto the Sultan or to the Grand Vizir, but quietly took up his abode in\na new inn. That same evening, soon after sun-set, he led his horse to\na lake near by to be refreshed: but to his master's surprise Sharatz\nwould not even taste the water, but kept turning his head first to\nthe right, then to the left, till Marko noticed the approach of a\nTurkish maiden covered with a long gold-embroidered veil. When she\nreached the edge of the water she bowed profoundly toward the lake\nand said aloud: \"God bless thee, O beauteous green lake! God bless\nthee, for thou art to be my home for ever more! Within thy bosom am I\nhenceforth to dwell; I am now to die, O beauteous lake; rather would\nI choose such a fate than become the bride of the cruel Moor!\"\n\n\n\n\nMarko greets the Princess\n\nMarko went nearer to the maiden and spoke thus: \"O, thou unhappy\nTurkish maiden! What is thy trouble? What is it that has made thee\nwish to drown thyself?\"\n\nShe answered: \"Leave me in peace, thou ugly dervish, [34] why dost\nthou ask me, when there is nought that thou canst do to help me?\"\n\nThen the maiden related the story of her coming marriage with the\nMoorish chieftain, of the messages sent to Marko, and finally she\nbitterly cursed that Prince for the hardness of his heart.\n\nThereupon Marko said: \"O, curse me not, dear sister-in-God! Marko is\nhere and is now speaking to thee himself!\"\n\nHearing these words the maiden turned toward the famous knight,\nembraced him and earnestly pleaded: \"For God's sake, O my brother\nMarko! Suffer not the Moor to wed me!\"\n\nMarko was greatly affected, and declared: \"O dear sister-in-God! I\nswear that so long as my head remains upon my shoulders, I shall never\nlet the Moor have thee! Do not tell others that thou hast seen me\nhere, but request the Sultan and thy mother to have supper prepared\nand sent to the inn for me, and, above all things, beg them to send\nme plenty of wine. Meanwhile I shall await the Moor's coming at the\ninn. When the Moor arrives at the Palace, thy parents should welcome\nhim graciously, and they should go so far as to yield thee to him in\norder to avoid a quarrel. And I know exactly the spot where I shall\nbe able to rescue thee, if it may so please the true God, and if my\ncustomary good luck, and my strength, do not desert me.\"\n\nThe Prince returned to the inn, and the maiden hastened back to\nthe Palace.\n\nWhen the Sultan and the Sultana knew that Marko had come to their aid,\nthey were much comforted, and immediately ordered a sumptuous repast\nto be sent to him, especially good red wine in abundance.\n\nNow all the shops in Istamboul were closed, and there was silence\neverywhere as Marko sat drinking the delicious wine in peace. The\nlandlord of the inn came presently to close his doors and windows,\nand, questioned by Marko as to why the citizens were all shutting\nup their dwellings so early that day, he answered: \"By my faith,\nyou are indeed a stranger here! The Moorish chieftain has asked\nfor our Sultan's daughter in marriage, and as, to our shame, she is\nto be yielded to him, he is coming to the Palace to fetch her this\nday. Therefore, owing to our terror of the Moor, we are forced to close\nour shops.\" But Marko did not allow the man to close the door of the\ninn, for he wished to see the Moor and his gorgeous train pass by.\n\n\n\n\nThe Moor in Istamboul\n\nAt that very moment, as they were speaking, Marko could hear from\nthe city the clangour caused by the Moorish chieftain and his black\nfollowers, numbering at least five hundred, and all in glittering\narmour. The Moor had roused his Bedevia, and she trotted in such\na lively manner that the stones, which she threw up with her hoofs,\nwhizzed through the air in all directions, and broke windows and doors\nin all the shops she passed! When the cavalcade came up to the inn,\nthe Moor thought: \"Allah! I am struck with wonder and astonishment! The\nwindows and doors of all the shops and houses throughout the entire\ncity of Istamboul are closed from the great fear the people have of\nme, except, I see, the doors of this inn. There must either be nobody\nwithin, or if there is anybody inside, he is assuredly a great fool;\nor perhaps he is a stranger, and has not yet been told how terrible\nI am.\" The Moor and his retinue passed that night in tents before\nthe Palace.\n\nNext morning the Sultan himself presented his daughter to the Moorish\nchieftain, together with all the wedding gifts, which were known to\nweigh twelve tovars. As the wedding procession passed the inn where\nMarko waited, the Moor again noticed the open door, but this time he\nurged Bedevia right up to it to see who might be there.\n\n\n\n\nSharatz and Bedevia\n\nMarko was seated at his ease in the most comfortable room the inn\ncould boast, leisurely drinking his favourite red wine; he was not\ndrinking from an ordinary goblet, but from a bowl which held twelve\nlitres; and each time he filled the bowl he would drink only one\nhalf of its contents, giving, according to his habit, the other half\nto his Sharatz. The Moor was on the point of attacking Marko, when\nSharatz barred his way and kicked viciously at Bedevia. The Moor,\nmeeting such unexpected resistance, promptly turned to rejoin the\nprocession. Then Marko rose to his feet, and, turning his cloak\nand cap inside out, so that to the first glance of those who saw\nhim he presented the terrifying appearance of a wolf, inspected his\nweapons and Sharatz's belts carefully, and dashed on his charger after\nthe procession. He felled horsemen right and left, till he reached\nthe dever and the second witness, and killed them both. The Moorish\nchieftain was immediately told of the stranger who had forced his way\ninto the midst of the procession, and of those whom he had killed, also\nthat he did not look like other knights, being clad in wolves' skins.\n\n\n\n\nMarko and the Moor\n\nThe Moor astride his Bedevia, wheeled round and addressed Marko thus:\n\"Ill fortune is indeed overtaking thee to-day, O stranger! Thou must\nhave been driven here by Satan to disturb my guests and even kill my\ndever and second witness; thou must be either a fool, knowing nothing\nof to-day's events, or thou must be extremely fierce and hast gone\nmad; but maybe thou art merely tired of life? By my faith, I shall\ndraw in the reins of my Bedevia, and shall spring over thy body seven\ntimes; then shall I strike off thy head!\" Thereupon Marko answered:\n\"Cease these lies, O Moor! If God, and my usual luck, do but attend me\nnow, thou shalt not even spring near to me; still less can I imagine\nthee carrying out thy intention of springing over my body!\" But,\nbehold! The Moor drew in his Bedevia, spurred her violently forward\nand indeed he would have sprung over Marko, had not Sharatz been\nthe well-trained fighter that he was, and in a trice he reared so\nas to receive the adversary against his forefeet and swiftly bit\noff Bedevia's right ear, from which blood gushed forth profusely\nand streamed down over her neck and chest. In this way Marko and\nthe Moor struggled for four hours. Neither would give way, and when\nfinally the Moor saw that Marko was overpowering him, he wheeled\nhis steed Bedevia round and fled along the main street of Istamboul,\nMarko after him. But the Moor's Bedevia was swift as a veela of the\nforest, and would certainly have escaped from Sharatz if Marko had\nnot suddenly recollected his club, and flung it after his adversary,\nstriking him between his shoulders. The Moor fell from his horse and\nthe Prince severed his head from his body. Next he captured Bedevia,\nreturned to the street where he had left the bride, and found, to his\nastonishment, that she with her twelve tovars of presents, was alone,\nawaiting him, for all the wedding-guests and the retinue of the Moorish\nchieftain had fled at full gallop. Marko escorted the Princess back\nto the Sultan, and cast the head of the Moorish chieftain at his feet.\n\nThe hero now took his leave and started at once on his journey back\nto Prilip, and the following morning he received the seven tovars of\ngold which had been promised to him, the many precious gifts which\nthe Princess had described, and last of all a message thanking him\nfor the marvellous deeds he had done, and telling him that the vast\nstores of gold belonging to his father-in-God, the Sultan, would for\never be at his disposal.\n\n\n\n\nPRINCE MARKO ABOLISHES THE WEDDING TAX\n\nEarly one morning the Royal Prince Marko rode across the plain of\nKossovo. When he reached the river a maiden from Kossovo met him,\nand Marko greeted her in the usual Serbian custom: \"May God aid thee,\nO maiden of Kossovo!\"\n\nThe maiden bowed very profoundly, and answered: \"Hail! thou unknown\nhero!\"\n\nMarko, after having looked for a while at her, said: \"Dear sister,\nthou maiden of Kossovo, thou art beauteous, though thou mightest well\nbe a little younger! Thou art tall, strong and graceful; thy cheeks\nlook healthful and thou hast a pleasing and dignified appearance. But,\nalas! dear sister, thy hair is grey and becomes thee not. Who caused\nthy sorrow? Tell me, is it thyself, thy mother or thy aged father.\"\n\nThe maiden shed many bitter tears, and amidst her sobs answered Marko\nthus: \"O dear brother, thou unknown knight! I am not the cause of mine\nown misfortune, and it is neither my mother nor yet my father who has\nbrought great trouble upon me; but I have lost all happiness through\nthe evil-doing of a Moor who dwells beyond the sea. He has taken\npossession of the whole field of Kossovo and has imposed, among other\nextortions, a terrible tax of thirty ducats to be paid by all brides,\nand thirty-four ducats by all bridegrooms. My brothers are poor and\nhave not the money necessary to pay my tax, therefore I am unable\nto wed my sweetheart and have thus lost all happiness. Merciful God,\nshould I not go and take my life?\"\n\nThereupon Prince Marko said: \"Dear sister, thou maiden of Kossovo! Do\nnot trifle with thy life; abandon every such idea, else thou shalt\nbring sin upon thy soul! Tell me, where is the castle where the\nMoorish Lord may be found? I think I have something to say to him!\"\n\nTo this the maiden answered: \"O my brother, thou unknown knight! Why\ndost thou inquire about his castle? How I wish it could be razed to\nthe ground! Thou hast, perhaps, found a maiden according to thy heart\nand thou goest now to pay the wedding tax, or art thou the only son\nof thy dear mother? I fear for thee, O brother, for thou mayest perish\nthere, and what then would thy sorrowful and lonely mother do?\"\n\nMarko plunged his hand into his pocket, took out a purse and handed it\nto the maiden saying: \"O sister! take these thirty ducats, go home and\nawait in peace for what may befall thee; [35] only kindly point out to\nme the castle of the Moor, for I am going to pay him thy wedding tax!\"\n\nThereupon the maiden, glowing with unexpected happiness spoke thus:\n\"It is not a castle, but tents (and may they be cursed!). Seest thou\nnot upon the plain where flutters that silken flag? There is the\nMoor's own pavilion; around it grows a pleasant garden which he has\ndared to decorate with the heads of seventy-seven Christian heroes,\nand he has forty servants, who are, day and night, on guard near by.\"\n\n\n\n\nMarko visits the Moor\n\nUpon hearing these words Marko took leave of the maiden and rode\ntoward the tents. He urged his steed so violently that under his\nhoofs living fire shone, and from his nostrils appeared a bright\nblue flame. Mad with anger Marko rode fiercely across the camp and,\nwith tears streaming from his eyes which were fixed upon the plain of\nKossovo he exclaimed: \"Alas, O plain of Kossovo! Oh! to think that\nthou shouldst have remained to see this day! And, after the reign\nof our great Emperor, [36] that thou shouldst be here to witness the\ntyranny of a Moor! Can I endure such shame and sorrow: Oh! that the\nMoors should be allowed to ravage thee! Now shall I either avenge thee,\nor perish!\"\n\nThe sentinels observed Marko's arrival and went to inform their Lord:\n\"O Master, thou Moor! A strange and fierce hero, riding a piebald\nsteed, is approaching; and it is plain that he intends to attack us.\"\n\nBut the Moor answered indifferently: \"O my children, ye forty true\nservants of mine! That hero will not attack us. He is undoubtedly\nbringing his wedding tax and, because he regrets the amount of money\nhe has to give up, he is impatiently urging on his charger. You\nhad better go forth and welcome him; take his steed and his weapons\nfrom him and show him to my tent. I do not care for his treasure,\nbut I am quite willing to cleave his head and seize his courser,\nwhich would suit me well!\"\n\nThe servants went forth to obey, but when they saw Marko near, they\nwere so terrified that they did not dare face him, but fled to hide\nthemselves behind their chieftain, concealing their yataghans under\ntheir cloaks at the sight of Marko.\n\nAs the fierce Prince came up, he alighted in front of the opening of\nthe tent and spoke aside to his trusty courser: \"Walk about alone,\nmy Sharo,\" said he, \"for I am going into this tent to see the Moor;\ngo not too far from this spot, as should evil happen I may have need\nof thee!\" Then Marko entered the pavilion.\n\nThe Moorish chieftain sat enjoying cool wine which was poured out for\nhim by a Christian woman and a maiden. The princely Marko saluted the\nMoor: \"May God help thee, my Lord!\" The Moorish chieftain answered:\n\"Hail, thou unknown knight! Be seated, that we may drink wine together\nere thou dost tell me why thou hast come hither!\"\n\nPrince Marko answered: \"I have no time to drink with thee; but I have\ncome with the intention of seeing thee. I have found a maiden after my\nown heart, my guests and their horses await me a little way down the\nroad, while I came to pay thee my wedding tax. I shall at once give\nthee the gold so that nothing may hinder my happiness. Tell me now,\nwhat must I pay?\"\n\nThe Moor answered in a very friendly manner: \"Well, thou oughtest\nto have known that long ago: it was thirty ducats for brides\nand thirty-four for bridegrooms; but as thou appearest to be a\ndistinguished knight, it would not hurt either of us if thou gavest\nme a round hundred ducats!\"\n\nPrince Marko took out of his pocket three ducats and laid them before\nthe haughty Moor, saying: \"Believe me I have no more money; I should\nbe grateful if thou wouldest wait till I reach my bride's house,\nfor there we shall certainly receive many rich presents. I shall give\nthee all the presents and will retain the bride only for myself!\"\n\n\n\n\nMarko pays for All\n\nThereupon the mighty Moor shouted out, bitterly enraged: \"I allow\nno credit, thou wretch! Thou art bold enough to laugh at me!\" Then\nhe sprang to his feet, raised his club and struck Marko's shoulders\nthree or four times.\n\nMarko smiling, said: \"Heroic Moor, dost thou strike in earnest or\ndost thou merely strike in jest?\"\n\nThe Moor, continuing the assault, hissed: \"I beat thee in earnest!\"\n\nMarko smiled again, and remarked: \"Oh, then, I pity thee! Since\nthou art striking with serious intent, know then that I too have a\nclub. Now I shall smite thee as many times as thou hast struck me,\nno more than that! Let us make it a fair fight!\" With this, Marko\nraised his mace and smote the Moor with such force that his head fell\nfrom his shoulders!\n\nAt this Marko burst into laughter: \"Merciful God, mayest thou be\nthanked! How quickly the Moorish hero's head was cleft asunder! It\nnow lies just as if it had never been upon his shoulders!\"\n\nHe now unsheathed his sword, and caught the Moor's bodyguard, cleaving\nalso their heads one after the other, except four of their number, whom\nhe left to tell the tale to all who wished to hear the truth. Then he\ntook down the heads of the Christian heroes and carefully buried them,\nthat wolves and vultures might not devour them. He next instructed\nthe four remaining servants to run across the field of Kossovo,\nnorth, east, south, and west, and to proclaim to all that maids and\nyouths were henceforth free to marry without paying the hated tax,\nfor had not the Royal Prince Marko come and paid once for all?\n\nWhen the oppressed Christians learned the news, they all, young and\nold, joined in the joyful cry: \"May God grant Royal Prince Marko long\nlife! For Marko has freed our land of a monster! We pray to God that\nhis soul may be purified of all sin.\"\n\n\n\n\nPRINCE MARKO AND BOGDAN THE BULLY\n\nEarly one morning three Serbian knights rode out from Kossovo;\none was Prince Marko of Prilip; the second was Relya of Bazar, and\nthe third was Milosh of Potzerye. They were bound for the seashore,\nand their way lay through the vineyards of Bogdan the Bully. Relya\nof Bazar was a joyous young knight, and he encouraged his steed to\nprance gaily through the vineyard, whereby he broke some of the tall\nvines loaded with sweet grapes.\n\nMarko admonished his friend thus: \"Thou hadst better leave these\nvineyards alone, O my Relya! If thou only knewest whose they are\nthou wouldst keep thy courser under careful control: for they belong\nto Bogdan the Bully. Once I, myself, was riding through these very\nvineyards, and as I was young then, I also made my Sharatz prance\nalong, as thou art doing. But, alas! I was seen by Bogdan riding on\nhis slender mare Bedevia. I knew that I was at fault and, as the true\nGod does not support guilty men, I dared not face him, but fled up the\nrocky coast. He pursued me, and if I had not had my trusty Sharatz\nhe would indeed have caught me. But thanks to Sharatz I at last got\nfarther and farther from him. When Bogdan saw that at the rate I was\nfleeting he could never reach me, he swiftly threw his club after\nme and just touched my back with its handle, so that I fell forward\nover on the ears of my Sharatz and regained my seat only by a great\neffort. However, I did escape him. This happened some seven years ago,\nsince when I have not come this way until to-day.\"\n\nAs Marko said this, the three knights noticed in the distance a\ncloud of dust, in the midst of which they recognized Bogdan with\ntwelve attendants on horseback. Marko exclaimed: \"Hark ye, my two\nbrothers-in-God! Here he is! and he will surely kill all three of us\nif we do not make our escape.\"\n\nTo this Milosh of Potzerye answered: \"O my brother-in-God, thou Royal\nPrince Marko! The whole people believe that there are no greater\nheroes living than we three Serbian knights; it would be far better\nfor us all to perish than shamefully to flee!\"\n\nWhen Marko heard this, he said: \"Listen to me, my\nbrothers-in-God! Since that is so, let us divide the enemy. Will ye\nface Bogdan alone or his twelve knights?\"\n\nMilosh and Relya chose to fight Bogdan alone, leaving Marko to meet\nthe twelve followers. This division was quite agreeable to Marko,\nand it was hardly arranged than Bogdan came up at the head of his\ntroop. He was immediately engaged by Milosh and Relya, while Marko\nturned his attention to the twelve attendants. Swinging his heavy\nmace he urged Sharatz against his foes, and in a very short time\nall were hurled to the ground. Marko then alighted from his horse,\nbound their hands behind them, and drove them through the vineyards.\n\nHe had gone but a little distance when he saw Bogdan driving toward\nhim his two friends, their arms bound in the same manner as those of\nBogdan's followers. At this Marko was seized with fear and looked\naround for a means of escape. The next moment he remembered that\nthe three brothers-in-God had sworn faithfulness one to another,\nand that they were pledged at all times to help one another. So\ntightening Sharatz's reins he drew his helmet over his forehead,\nfuriously unsheathed his trusty sabre, and cast one fierce, dark\nglance at Bogdan.\n\n\n\n\nThe Bully fears to meet Marko\n\nWhen the Bully saw the terrific fury and determination in Marko's eyes\nhis legs shook beneath him, and he turned his mare away, not daring\nto meet Marko face to face. He could not, however, hope to escape the\nvengeance of the Prince, and so after a short silence he called out:\n\"Come, O Marko, let us be reconciled. Wilt thou release my twelve\nattendants? If thou art willing to do that I shall in turn set free\nthy brothers-in-God.\"\n\nMarko agreed to this, and alighting from Sharatz, he unhooked from his\nsaddle a skin of wine, and they all sat down to refresh themselves\nwith the cool wine and to partake of freshly gathered grapes. When\nthey had rested, the three friends mounted their horses and prepared\nto depart. As they were about to ride off Marko thus addressed Bogdan:\n\"Mayest thou prosper with God's help, O Bogdan! And may we meet again\nsome day in good health and once more drink together!\"\n\nTo this Bogdan replied: \"Farewell! and may God ever help thee, O thou\nRoyal Prince Marko! But may my eyes never again behold thee! Seeing\nhow thou hast terrified me this day, I do not think that I shall wish\never to meet thee again!\"\n\n\n\n\nPRINCE MARKO AND GENERAL VOUTCHA\n\n\nHark! Is it thunder or is it an earthquake? Neither, but guns are\nroaring from fort Varadin: General Voutcha is feasting in triumph, for\nhe has captured three Serbian heroes; the first is Milosh of Potzerye,\nthe second is Milan of Toplitza, and the third is Ivan Kosantchitch.\nThe General has thrown them into the deepest dungeons of his castle,\nnoisome holes where stagnant water lies knee-deep and the bones of\nwarriors lie piled as high as the shoulders of a hero.\n\nMilosh of Potzerye is of noble lineage, unaccustomed to privation and\nsuffering, and he bitterly laments and deplores his fate, as he peers\nanxiously through the grating of the massive door into the dark passage\nby which alone succour might come. And, indeed, after three days he\nsaw a messenger, to whom he called: \"O, my brother-in-God! Bring me\nthat whereon I may inscribe a missive!\"\n\nThe man was pleased to be called a brother-in-God of such a famous hero\nand swiftly brought a roll to Milosh, who inscribed on it the following\nwords: \"To the Royal Prince Marko of Prilip: O brother-in-God, thou\nprincely Marko! Either thou dost not want to hear more of me or thou\nhast ceased to care for me! Fate has been hard, and I have fallen,\nO brother, into the hands of a foe. The Magyar Voutcha has captured\nme and my two brothers-in-arms. We have been immured in this vile\ndungeon for three whole days, and it is impossible that we should\nremain for another three days and live. Therefore, if thou wouldst\nsee us again, rescue us, O brother, either by heroic deeds or by\nransom!\" Milosh scratched his cheek and sealed the missive with his\nblood; he then handed it to the man, together with twelve ducats,\nand implored him to hasten with it to Prilip. The messenger rode with\nall speed, arriving at the city of Prilip on a Sunday morning. Prince\nMarko was coming out of church when the courier dashed up to him with\nthe missive. As the Prince read of the terrible straits in which his\nfriends found themselves tears ran down his cheeks, and he swore that\nhe would save his noble brothers-in-God.\n\nThe bard here describes Marko's preparations in much the same manner as\nin the ballad, \"Prince Marko and the Moorish Chieftain.\" Next he tells\nof the journey from Prilip to Varadin, but not without exaggerating\nas a matter of course, the wonderful alertness of Sharatz, who,\non this occasion, swam across the Danube.\n\n\n\n\nThe Arrival of Marko\n\nArrived on the plain before the castle of Varadin, Marko spread his\ntent, unhooked his skin of wine, the contents of which he drank\nfrom a bowl 'containing twelve okas' (about forty-eight pints),\nnever forgetting to have half the quantity of wine each time he\nfilled the bowl, for his beloved Sharatz. This action was observed\nby a fair Magyar lady, the wife of General Voutcha's son Velimir,\nand being alarmed at seeing such a strange hero, she was suddenly\nseized with a fever ('which will torture her for three years') and\nhastened to tell the General what she had seen, and described to him\nevery detail of Marko's attire.\n\nBut General Voutcha, feigning indifference, comforted his beloved\ndaughter-in-law, promising that he would capture him as easily as he\nhad captured the three knights already lying in his dungeons. Voutcha\ncalled his son, whom he ordered to take three hundred horsemen,\nand seize the haughty stranger immediately.\n\nMarko sitting and enjoying his wine, did not see the approach of\nVelimir, but the faithful Sharatz began striking the earth with his\nright forefoot, thus warning his unobservant master. Marko understood,\nturned his head, and saw that a whole squadron was surrounding him;\nso he drank one more bowl of wine, threw the vessel on the grass,\nsprang on to his horse and fiercely attacked the army, 'as a falcon\nattacks the timid pigeons.' One portion he cut to pieces, the second\nhe ran down with his Sharatz, and the third he drowned in the Danube.\n\nBut Velimir nearly escaped him, thanks to his own speedy charger. When\nMarko saw that Sharatz, tired out, could not possibly come up with\nVelimir's horse, he remembered his mace, which he now hurled so\nskilfully that the heavy handle only touched the youth with sufficient\nforce to fling him to the earth. Marko was by his side immediately\nand he had Velimir securely bound, whereupon he threw him down on to\nthe soft, green grass, and went on drinking more of his wine.\n\nVelimir's wife had witnessed the whole of the proceedings, and she\nnow ran swiftly to the General, who was furious at the intelligence\nand ordered all the siege-guns to be fired. Then he collected three\nthousand warriors and mounting his mare he led this host against Marko.\n\nThe Magyars completely surrounded the hero, but Marko saw nothing of\nit as he went on sipping his wine. Sharatz, however, was watchful and\ncame to the side of his master, who, realizing his critical position,\nsprang to the saddle and, more furious than before, rushed fiercely at\nthe Magyars, with his sabre in his right hand, his lance in his left,\nand Sharatz's reins held firmly in his teeth. Those whom he struck\nwith his sabre, he cut in two; those he touched with his lance,\nwere thrown over his head.\n\n\n\n\nMarko captures General Voutcha\n\nAfter three or four encounters Marko had killed so many Magyars that\nthose who were left, filled with horror, fled in disorder. Marko next\ncaptured General Voutcha in the same manner as he had his son, and\nafter tying his hands, bound him to his Sharatz's saddle and carried\nhim off to where Velimir lay groaning. Making the two of them fast\nto the General's mare, he proceeded to Prilip and cast them prisoners\ninto a dungeon.\n\nA few days later he received a letter from Voutcha's wife, beseeching\nhim not to destroy Velimir and his father, and offering him vast sums\nof gold as ransom. And Marko sent the following answer: \"Behold! thou\nfaithful consort of General Voutcha! If thou desireth that I should\nrelease my prisoners, thou hast but to release my old friends Milan of\nToplitza and Ivan Kosantchitch and give to each three tovars of gold\nto compensate for the time he has wasted in prison; and thou must also\ngive me a like sum, for I have had to overwork my good Sharatz. And\nthere is still my friend Milosh of Potzerye within your castle,\nbut I authorize him to settle his own affairs with you in person,\nfor I agree to whatsoever he may arrange.\"\n\nThe wife of the General lost no time in sending the required quantity\nof gold. Then she took the keys of the dungeons, and released the\nheroes; sent for a number of barbers to shave their beards, and to\nattend to their hair and nails. She next ordered a large quantity\nof the finest wines and most costly dishes to be served to the noble\nSerbians, and after the feast, she narrated to them Marko's wonderful\ndeeds, beseeching Milosh of Potzerye to use all his influence and\npersuade the princely Marko to have mercy on her husband and her\nson. Thereupon Milosh promised that her wish should be gratified,\nand that she had no need to fear. Only he requested her to give him:\nfirst, the best horse from General Voutcha's stables, the one that\nVoutcha rode once a year to go in state to the church at Tekiye;\nsecondly, the gilded coach, harnessed with twelve Arabian coursers\nused by General Voutcha when travelling to Vienna on his visits to\nthe Emperor, for in that carriage Milosh wished to drive home the\naged hero, Milan of Toplitza. And finally he asked that his friend\nToplitza might be allowed to wear the fine attire which the General\nwore on Easter day. To all this Voutcha's wife agreed and, moreover,\nshe gave each of the friends one thousand ducats in order that they\nmight not be short of wine on their journey to Prilip.\n\nMarko greeted the knights in a warm brotherly manner, and then\nreleased General Voutcha and his son Velimir, ordering a powerful\nconvoy to escort them to Varadin. When the noble Serbian voivodes had\nenjoyed Marko's hospitality for several days (consuming during that\ntime a formidable quantity of his red wine) they embraced and kissed\neach other on the cheek; the friends, in addition, kissing Marko's\nuncovered hand. Then each proceeded in peace to his own domains.\n\n\n\n\nPRINCE MARKO'S WEDDING PROCESSION\n\nOne evening as Prince Marko sat at meat with his aged mother, she\nrequested him to seek a maiden of his heart, that she might enjoy\nthe companionship and support of a daughter-in-law. Thereupon Marko\nanswered: \"May God be my witness, O mother dear! I have journeyed\nthrough nine kingdoms and through the whole Turkish empire, and\nwhenever I found the maiden I wished to make my bride, I never found\nthat thou wert of the same mind with me. Sometimes it was that thou\ndidst not feel friendly toward her family; and when I chanced to find a\nfamily to thy liking there was never the maiden thou didst desire for\nme! Howbeit, when I was wandering through Bulgaria I once reined my\nSharatz near a well, and lo! there I saw a maiden so fair and gentle,\nthat all at once it seemed to me as if the grass near where we stood\nwere turning round us again and again. Later I learned that this maiden\nwas the daughter of King Shishman of Bulgaria: assuredly this would\nbe the very maiden for me and a family which would please thee! If\nthou approvest, therefore, I will at once go and ask her in marriage.\"\n\nMarko's mother, delighted with this choice of her son, hastened to\nprepare the usual presents that very night, for she feared her son\nmight change his mind before the morrow. Next morning, however, Marko\nordered Sharatz to be saddled, and slinging the necessary skin of\nwine on one side of the saddle and his war-club on the other, he took\nleave of his mother and rode straight to the castle of King Shishman.\n\nThe Bulgarian sovereign saw Marko while he was still a long way\noff, and walked forth to greet him. When he was quite close, Marko\nalighted from Sharatz, stretched out his arms and the two embraced,\neach inquiring after the state of the other's health. The King then\nled Marko into the castle while Sharatz was taken by the grooms to\nthe royal stables.\n\nA little later, in the course of the gorgeous banquet which had been\nimmediately arranged in honour of the princely guest, Marko sprang to\nhis feet, bowed deeply before the King and asked his daughter's hand\nin marriage. The King was so pleased to have such a noble and valiant\nson-in-law that he consented without hesitation. Marko expended\nthree tovars of gold on the ring to be worn by his future bride,\nfor her wedding-robe and other presents. Next he asked if he might\nreturn to Prilip to gather his wedding guests and friends, and as he\nwas on the point of leaving the Palace, the Queen specially advised\nthe Prince not to select as the bride's leader one whom he could not\ntrust implicitly, but rather to choose his own brother or at least\na cousin, for, said she, a stranger might possibly prove a rival,\nso charming and beauteous was her daughter.\n\nWhen Marko came near to Prilip, his mother walked forth to greet him,\nand, after embracing him warmly on both cheeks and giving him her\nfair hands to kiss, she inquired if he had had a prosperous journey\nand had become betrothed to the Princess. Marko narrated all that had\nhappened, and did not forget to repeat the Queen's words at parting,\ncomplaining of his great misfortune in that his brothers were dead,\nneither had he a cousin. His mother, filled with joy, advised Marko not\nto lament because of that, but to send at once a message to the Doge\nof Venice, inviting him to come with a company of five hundred and to\nact as koom; also to send to Styepan Zemlyitch, asking him to join the\nwedding party with five hundred followers and to be the bride's leader.\n\nMarko thought the counsel good and dispatched couriers forthwith,\nas his mother advised. The Doge soon appeared with his five hundred\nhorsemen and Styepan Zemlyitch likewise. Marko welcomed them cordially\nand hospitably, and there was no lack of good red wine.\n\nThe company now proceeded to the court of the Bulgarian King, who\nreceived them most heartily and feasted them for three days. On the\nfourth day the wedding party prepared to return for it was evident\nthat if the guests were to remain for another three days the King\nwould have no wine left. Shishman presented all with royal gifts: to\nsome he gave silks, to others costly shirts, to others again golden\ndishes and plates; to the bride's leader was presented a special shirt\nembroidered in gold. When the bride was mounted, her royal father\npresented her to the bride's leader with these words: \"Here are now,\nin thy keeping, the bride and her horse till thou arrivest at Marko's\ncastle; once there thou shalt give Marko the bride, but her courser\nthou mayst retain for thyself!\"\n\n\n\n\nThe Wedding Procession\n\nThe procession rode on through the Bulgarian woodland and meadows, and\nas there is no happiness without some misfortune, a gust of wind blew\naside for a moment the bride's veil. The Doge of Venice, riding close\nby her side, beheld the maiden's fair face and was so fascinated by\nher wondrous beauty that he fell violently in love with her. When the\nwhole party of wedding guests halted for the night, he went unperceived\nto the tent of Styepan Zemlyitch, addressing him thus: \"O thou bride's\nleader! Wilt thou yield to me thy charge that we may flee together: I\nwill give thee a bootful of golden ducats!\" Styepan Zemlyitch answered\nindignantly: \"Keep silent, thou Doge of Venice! Mayest thou be turned\nto stone! Hast thou made up thy mind to perish!\"\n\nWhen they reached the halting-place on the second day, the Doge again\nwent secretly to the tent of Styepan Zemlyitch and once more asked for\nthe bride, but this time he offered two bootfuls of ducats. Again the\nbride's leader refused, saying: \"Begone, O Doge! Lest thou shouldst\nhave thy head cleft asunder! Has anybody ever heard of a koom taking\nhis kooma from her bridegroom?\"\n\n\n\n\nThe Unfaithful Koom\n\nWhen the third night came, the Doge offered to the bride's leader three\nbootfuls of pure golden ducats. This enormous sum of money was too\ngreat a temptation for the bride's leader, and he gave up the bride to\nthe Doge, who conducted her to his own tent. Then he declared his love\nto the maiden, and in impassioned tones implored her to fly with him\nto Venice, where he could offer her all that heart could desire. But\nthe Bulgarian maiden turned from him with loathing. \"For pity's sake,\nO thou Doge of Venice!\" said she, \"the earth under us would surely\ncrack to swallow us and the skies above us would burst asunder if a\nkooma should thus be false to her bridegroom.\"\n\nBut the Doge persisted: \"Oh do not be so foolish, my sweet kooma! I\nhave kissed and caressed many koomas, but never once did the earth open\nunder us, or the heavens burst asunder. Come, let us embrace!\" The\nmaiden thought it well to dissemble, and she replied: \"O my koom,\nthou Doge of Venice! My aged mother told me that I should have her\ncurse if I ever kissed a bearded hero; and I swore to her that I\nshould love only a shaven knight such as is the Royal Prince Marko.\"\n\nUpon this the Doge called two barbers: one to shave his beard and the\nother to wash his face clean. As they were thus engaged the maiden\nstooped and gathered up, unnoticed, the Doge's beard and wrapped it\nin the folds of her silken robe.\n\nThe Doge now dismissed the barbers and endeavoured afresh to make\nlove to the bride, who feigned coyness and said that she feared that\nthey both would surely perish when Marko learned of what had taken\nplace. But the Doge protested: \"Oh do not be so foolish. I have five\nhundred followers with me! Marko's tent stands far away. Dost thou\nnot see it in the distance? On its top is fixed a golden apple. In\nthe apple are placed two large diamonds which shed a light so far\nand wide that the neighbouring tents need no candles at night.\"\n\n\n\n\nThe Escape of the Maiden\n\nThe maiden pretended that she wished to have a clear view of this\nwonder, and the Doge gallantly raised the hanging at the door that\nshe might see more clearly. The next moment she was running swiftly\nas a deer toward Prince Marko's pavilion.\n\nMarko was sleeping, and was greatly astonished when suddenly he\nwas awakened by the entrance of his unexpected visitor. When he\nrecognized in the maiden his future wife he addressed her angrily:\n\"Thou maiden of low birth! Is it seemly that thou shouldst visit me\ncontrary to all our Christian customs?\"\n\nThe maiden bowed low and replied: \"O my Lord, thou Royal Prince\nMarko! I am not a girl of low birth, but of most noble lineage. Thou\nhast brought with thee guests of most evil dispositions. Know then,\nthat my leader Styepan Zemlyitch sold me, thy bride, to the Doge of\nVenice for three bootfuls of gold! If thou canst not believe this,\nlook! Here is the Doge's beard!\" and she unfastened her robe and took\nout the Doge's beard and showed it to him.\n\nMarko's wrath was now directed against his perfidious friends, and\nat break of day, wrapping himself in his wolf-skin cloak, and taking\nhis heavy mace, he went straight to the bride's leader and to the\nkoom, saying: \"Good morning to ye, O bride's leader and koom! Thou\nleader, where is thy sister-in-law? And thou, O koom, where is thy\nkooma?\" Styepan Zemlyitch kept as silent as a stone, but the Doge said:\n\"O thou Royal Prince Marko! There are such strange people about that\none cannot even make a joke without being misunderstood!\"\n\nBut Marko answered: \"Ill is thy joke, O thou Doge of Venice! Where\nis thy beard? It is a very strange joke to shave one's beard!\" The\nDoge would have answered, but before he could do so Prince Marko had\nunsheathed his sabre and cleft his head in twain.\n\nStyepan Zemlyitch attempted to escape, but Marko rushed after him\nand struck him so neatly with his keen sabre that he fell to earth\nin two pieces.\n\nThis done, Marko returned to his tent, ordered the procession to\nadvance, and arrived without mishap at Prilip.\n\n\n\n\nPRINCE MARKO AND THE MOORISH PRINCESS\n\nOne day the mother of Prince Marko spoke thus to her son: \"O,\nmy darling son, thou Royal Prince Marko! Why dost thou erect\nso many churches and shrines? Either thou hast sinned gravely\nbefore God and thou art in lowly penance, or thou must have piled\nsomewhere superabundant wealth?\" Then Marko of Prilip answered her:\n\"My beloved, aged mother! I will tell thee the truth. Once while I\ntravelled through the Moorish country I rose early one morning in\norder to go and refresh my Sharatz at the well. When I arrived there\nI found twelve Moors who had come for the same purpose, and, as I,\nin my pride, would not await my turn, the twelve Moors opposed me\nbecause they had come first. At once we began to quarrel. I lifted my\nheavy club and felled one of the Moors, to the earth; his companions\nattacked me and I struck another to the ground; ten assailed me and I\nkilled a third; nine engaged me and a fourth bit the dust; the other\neight rushed on me and I knocked down the fifth; seven strove with\nme and I sent to eternity the sixth; but I had to face the remaining\nsix, who overpowered me; they bound my arms to my back and carried\nme to their Sultan, who flung me in prison. There I dwelt for eight\nyears knowing nothing of the seasons, save that in winter girls would\nplay with snow-balls and sometimes fling them through my prison bars,\nwherefore I knew that it was winter; or maidens flung me bunches of\nbasil, and thus I knew when it was early summer.\"\n\n\n\n\nThe Moorish Princess\n\n\"When the eighth year broke upon me, it was not my dungeon that\ndistressed me so much as a Moorish maiden, the beloved daughter\nof the Sultan. She annoyed me by coming every morning and every\nevening and calling to me through my dungeon-window: 'Why shouldst\nthou perish in this prison, O Marko? Give me thy word that thou art\nwilling to marry me and I will release thee, and thy Sharatz too,\nI would take with me, also, heaps of golden ducats; as much, O Mark,\nas thou canst ever wish to have.'\n\n\"At that time I was in very great misery and despair, O my mother, and\nso taking off my cap and placing it upon my knee I addressed it thus:\n'By my firm faith! I shall never abandon thee; neither shall I ever\nforget thee, upon my soul! The sun itself has often changed, shining\nnot in winter as in summer, but my promise shall be unbroken for ever!'\n\n\"The maiden believed, in pleasant delusion, that I had sworn\nfaithfulness to her, and so at dusk one evening she opened the doors\nof my prison, led me along to my spirited Sharatz, having got ready\nfor herself a fine noble charger. Both steeds bore on their backs\nbags filled with ducats. The Moorish maiden brought in addition my\nbest tempered sabre and we sped swiftly through the Moorish lands.\n\n\"When darkness came upon us and I flung myself on the ground to\nslumber, the Moorish princess did likewise, and lo! she threw her arms\naround me. And I looked at her, O my mother, and I saw how black her\nface was and how white were her teeth! I shuddered with horror and\nhardly knowing what I did, I sprang to my feet, mounted my Sharatz,\nand galloped away madly, leaving her alone. The maiden called after\nme in anguish: 'O my brother-in-God, thou Royal Prince Marko! Leave\nme not thus!' But I would not stay my flight.\n\n\"Then and there, O my mother, I sinned before God! Then it was that\nI obtained gold in profusion, and therefore is it that I have built\nnumberless churches and shrines to expiate my sin!\"\n\n\n\n\nPRINCE MARKO AND THE VEELA\n\nPrince Marko and Milosh of Potzerye rode early one morning across\nthe beauteous mountain Mirotch, carrying their lances and trotting\ntheir steeds. They loved each other so dearly that they would now\nand then embrace. Suddenly Marko began to doze on his Sharatz, and\ntried to persuade his companion to sing something in order to keep\nhim awake. Thereupon Milosh answered: \"O dear brother-in-God, thou\nRoyal Prince Marko! I would gladly sing a song for thee, but last\nnight when I was with veela Raviyoyla, I drank far too much wine,\nand she threatened, in truth she promised, to pierce both my heart\nand my throat with arrows if she ever heard me sing again.\"\n\nBut Marko insisted: \"Oh do sing, brother dear! Fear not the veela as\nlong as I, Prince Marko, live; and as long as I have Sharatz and my\nsix-edged club!\"\n\nSo Milosh to please his pobratim, began to sing a beautiful song\ntelling of their valiant and virtuous ancestors; how they had held\nkingdoms and ruled in succession over the much-honoured land of\nMacedonia; and how every one of those good sovereigns had erected a\nshrine or a church.\n\nThe song pleased Marko so much that, lulled by Milosh's melodious\nvoice, he fell asleep. But it happened that the veela also heard\nthe song, and began to sing in turn with Milosh, doing all the time\nher very best to show him that she sang better than he did. Milosh\nreally sang better, for he possessed a magnificent voice, and this\nfact much irritated the veela; she took two slim arrows, twanged her\nbow, and transfixed first Milosh's throat and then his heart.\n\nMilosh uttered a piercing cry: \"Alas, O my mother! Alas, Marko,\nmy brother-in-God! The veela has shot me with her arrows! Did I not\ntell thee, O pobratim, that I must not sing on the mountain Mirotch?\"\n\n\n\n\nThe Pursuit of the Veela\n\nThis lamentation awoke Marko at once. He leaped lightly from the\nsaddle, tightly fastened his Sharatz's girths, embraced him, and thus\nwhispered in his ear: \"Lo, Sharo, thou on whom I depend for speed! Oh,\nthou must overtake, now, the veela Raviyoyla; and I shall shoe thy\nhoofs with pure silver and gild them with the finest gold; I shall\ncover thee with a silken cloak reaching to thy knees, and on it I\nshall fasten fine silk tassels to hang from thy knees to thy hoofs;\nthy mane shall I intertwine with threads of gold and adorn it with\nrare pearls. But, woe to thee if thou reachest not the veela! Both\nthy eyes shall I tear out; thy four legs shall I break; and I shall\nabandon thee here and thou shalt for ever creep from one fir-tree to\nanother, exactly as I should do if I lost my dear brother Milosh!\"\n\nThen Marko sprang upon Sharatz, and rode swiftly after the\nveela. Raviyoyla was already flying over the mountain top, and when\nSharatz caught sight of her he bounded fiercely forward, leaping to\nthe height of three lances in the air, and covering the length of\nfour lances at each bound. In a few moments Sharatz came up with the\nveela, who, greatly affrighted, flew upward to the clouds. But Marko\npitilessly hurled his far-reaching club and struck her between the\nwhite shoulders, and she fell instantly to the earth. Marko struck\nher several times as she lay on the earth, exclaiming: \"O Veela! May\nGod requite thee! Why didst thou pierce my dear pobratim's throat and\nheart? Thou hadst better give him healing herbs, else thou shalt not\ncarry thy head much longer upon thy shoulders!\"\n\nThe veela implored Marko to forgive her, and to become her\nbrother-in-God. \"For God's sake, O my brother Marko, and by the memory\nof St. John,\" she cried, \"spare my life, and I will go through the\nmountain and gather herbs to heal thy pobratim's wounds!\"\n\nMarko was very easily moved by the mention of the divine's name,\nand he released the veela, who went at once, but never out of hearing\nand answering to Marko's frequent calls.\n\nWhen the veela had collected herbs she brought them to Milosh and\nhealed his wounds; his voice was not only quite restored, but it was\nfiner than before and his heart was sounder. Then the brothers-in-God\nrode straight to the district of Poretch, where they crossed the\nRiver Timok, and soon arrived at the town of Bregovo, whence, after\ntarrying awhile, they departed to the district of Vidin. When the veela\nrejoined her sisters she admonished them, saying: \"Hark, ye veelas,\nmy sisters! Do not shoot any heroes in the mountains with your bows\nand arrows, so long as the Royal Prince Marko and his Sharatz are\nalive. Oh, what I, much to be pitied, have suffered at his hands\nto-day! I marvel, indeed, that I still live!\"\n\n\n\n\nPRINCE MARKO AND THE TURKISH HUNTSMEN\n\nAmouradh, the grand Vizir once arranged a hunting party of twelve\nTurkish warriors to which he also invited Prince Marko. They hunted\nfor three days and found nothing in the mountain-forest. But,\nbehold! they suddenly discovered a green-bosomed lake upon which a\nteam of wild ducks was swimming! The Vizir let loose his falcon and\nbade him pounce upon a gold-winged duck, but the duck did not even\nallow the falcon to see it, so swiftly it flew toward the clouds;\nas for the falcon it fell on the branches of a fir-tree.\n\nThen Prince Marko spoke thus to the Vizir: \"Am I permitted, O Vizir\nAmouradh, to release my falcon and try to secure the gold-winged\nduck?\" \"Surely you may, Prince Marko,\" answered the Vizir. Then the\nprincely Marko let loose his falcon, and the bird ascended to the\nclouds, sprang upon the gold-winged prey, and bore it down to the\nfoot of the green fir-tree.\n\nWhen Amouradh's falcon saw this it became greatly excited and,\naccording to its natural habit of seizing others' spoil, it turned\nviolently upon its rival and tried to pluck the duck from its claws.\n\nBut Marko's falcon was exceedingly valiant, worthy of its master, and\nwould yield its well-earned trophy to none but its master. So it turned\nsharply on Amouradh's falcon and vehemently tore at its proud feathers.\n\nWhen the Vizir saw this, he too became excited and in great rage\nrushed to the combatants and flung Prince Marko's falcon fiercely\nagainst a fir-tree so that its right wing was broken. He then took\nhorse with his followers and fled from the scene of his violence.\n\nThe noble falcon, as it lay upon the ground, wailed in its pain and\nPrince Marko ran quickly and caught it to his breast, for he loved\nit very dearly. Then very tenderly he bound its wounded pinion and\naddressed the bird with emotion: \"Woe to me and to thee, my falcon,\nthat ever we went hunting with the Turk without our dear Serbians,\nfor the Turk must ever violate the rights of others!\"\n\nAfter having bound his falcon's wing, Marko sprang upon Sharatz and\nsped through the forest swift as a veela. Soon he left the mountain\nbehind and he observed the fleeing Turks in front of him. The Vizir\nturned in his saddle and saw Marko in the distance, wherefore he\nspoke thus to his twelve valiant companions: \"Ye, my children,\nye twelve valiant heroes! See ye yonder mountain-mist approaching,\nand in it the Royal Prince Marko? Hark! how fiercely he enrages his\nSharatz! God alone knows, what will befall us!\"\n\n\n\n\nThe Vengeance of Marko\n\nHe had barely uttered these words when Prince Marko came up flourishing\nhis bright sabre. Instantly the twelve Turks dispersed like a flock\nof sparrows startled by a vulture. Marko made for the Vizir and with\none thrust of his sabre cleft his head asunder. Next he pursued the\ntwelve Turkish warriors, each of whom he cut in two, striking them\nthrough their Turkish sashes. Then he stood for a while in doubt:\n\"Oh, what am I to do now? Ought I to go to the Sultan at Yedrenet or\nhad I perhaps better return to my white castle at Prilip?\" After long\nthought he decided that it would be far better to go to the Sultan\nand give an account of what had happened than to give an opportunity\nto his foes to calumniate him to the Padishah.\n\nWhen Prince Marko arrived at Yedrenet he was at once received in\ndivan by the Sultan.\n\nA poet describes Marko's eyes as being as bright and fierce as those of\na hungry wolf; and the Sultan was terrified by the lightning flashing\nfrom his eyes. He deemed it well to temporize and so spoke gently to\nthe hero: \"O my dear son Marko, why art thou so enraged to-day? Art\nthou, perchance, short of gold?\"\n\nPrince Marko narrated to the Sultan what had happened to his Vizir\nAmouradh, not omitting to mention one single incident. When he had\nheard the tale, the Sultan, convulsed with laughter, comforted Prince\nMarko: \"May Blessings fall upon thee, my dearest son Marko!\" said\nhe. \"If thou hadst not behaved thus, I would no longer call thee\na son of mine; any Turk may become Vizir, but there is no hero to\nequal Marko!\" With these words the Sultan plunged his hand in his\nsilk-lined pocket, drew out a purse containing one thousand ducats and\nproffered it to Prince Marko, exclaiming: \"Accept this as a gift from\nme, O my dearest son Marko, take some wine and go in peace!\" Marko,\nnothing loth, accepted the purse and left the divan.\n\nThe Sultan, however, was not moved to this seeming generosity by\nfriendliness to Marko; on the contrary he feared him exceedingly and\nwas anxious only for his speedy departure.\n\n\n\n\nPRINCE MARKO AND MOUSSA KESSEDJIYA [37]\n\n\"Moussa Arbanass [38] was one day drinking wine in a white tavern in\nIstamboul. Presently, when he had drunk a good deal he began to talk\nthus: 'It is just about nine years since I entered the service of\nthe Sultan at Istamboul, yet he has never given me a horse, or arms,\nor even a velvet cloak! By my faith, I shall rebel! I shall go down\nto the coast, seize the harbours and all the roads leading to them:\nand then build myself a koula, around which I shall erect gibbets\nwith iron hooks and hang his hodjas (priests) and hadjis (pilgrims)\nupon them.'\"\n\nThe threats the Albanian made in his drunkenness he actually carried\nout when he became possessed of his senses. He turned rebel, seized the\nsea-ports and the main roads, captured and robbed the rich merchants,\nand hanged the Sultan's hodjas and hadjis. When the Sultan heard of\nall these misdeeds, he sent the Grand Vizir Tyouprilitch with three\nthousand men to undertake a campaign against Moussa. But, alas! no\nsooner had the Turkish army reached the sea-coast than Moussa dispersed\nit and took the Grand Vizir prisoner. Next he bound the Vizir hand and\nfoot and sent him back thus ignominiously to his master at Istamboul.\n\nNow the Sultan, in despair, published a proclamation all over his vast\nempire, promising untold riches to any knight who would vanquish the\nrebel. And many a brave knight went to fight the rebel, but, alas! not\none ever returned to Istamboul to claim the promised gold! This\nhumiliation threw the Sultan into unspeakable distress and anxiety.\n\nAt length the Grand Vizir Tyouprilitch came to him and said: \"Sire,\nthou Glorious Sultan! If only we had now with us the Royal Prince\nMarko! He would surely overcome Moussa the Bully!\"\n\nThe Sultan cast at his Vizir a reproachful glance, and, with tears in\nhis eyes, said: \"Oh, torture not my soul, by speaking of the princely\nknight Marko! His very bones must have rotted long before this day,\nfor at least three years have flown since I threw him into my darkest\ndungeon, the door of which has remained fast bolted.\" Thereupon the\nVizir asked: \"Gracious master, what wouldst thou give to the man who\ncould bring Marko into thy presence alive?\" And the mighty Sultan\nanswered: \"I would give him the vizirate of Bosnia, with power there\nto remain for nine years without recall, and I would not demand from\nhim even a dinar of the revenues and taxes which he might collect.\"\n\n\n\n\nMarko is Sent for\n\nHearing this, the cunning Vizir hastened to the prison, opened the\ndoor of the dungeon, brought out the Royal Prince Marko and led him\nbefore the Sultan. Marko's hair had grown to the ground, one-half\nof it he had used to sleep upon, and with the other part he covered\nhimself at night; his nails were so long that he could plough with\nthem; the dampness and dirt in the dungeon had changed him so that\nhe was as black as a black stone.\n\nWhen the Sultan saw him, he exclaimed: \"Dost thou still live,\nMarko?\" \"Yea, I am still alive, but hardly can I move my limbs,\"\nthe hero answered.\n\nAnd the Sultan went on to tell Marko about the evil doings of Moussa,\nand asked him: \"Couldst thou undertake, O Marko, to go to the sea-coast\nand kill Moussa Kessedjiya? If thou wouldst do this, I would gladly\ngive thee as much gold as thou canst desire.\"\n\nThereupon Prince Marko answered: \"Alas, O Sire! The dampness of the\nstone dungeon has ruined my bones and much hurt my eyes. How could I\nventure to fight a duel with Moussa? But, if thou wishest me to try\nthat feat, place me in a good inn somewhere, supply me with plenty of\nwine and brandy, fat mutton and good white bread, that I may perhaps\nregain my strength. I shall then tell thee as soon as I feel myself\nable to fight a duel.\"\n\nHearing this, the Sultan summoned attendants to wash Marko, to cut his\nhair, to shave him and to trim his nails. Then he had him conducted\nwith honour to the New Inn, where there was abundance of everything\nto satisfy his needs.\n\nMarko remained in the inn for three months, zealously eating and\ndrinking, and he had thus considerably restored his strength, when\nthe Sultan asked him: \"Dost thou yet feel thyself able to go and\novercome Moussa, for my poor subjects are incessantly sending me\ncomplaints against that accursed brigand?\" And Marko answered the\nSultan thus: \"Let a piece of perfectly dry wood of a medlar-tree,\nwhich has been cut off nine years be brought to me, that I may test\nmy strength!\" When the piece of wood was brought, Marko took it in\nhis right hand and squeezed it so hard that it broke in three. \"By\nmy faith, Sire, it is not yet time for me to venture a duel with such\na dangerous adversary as Moussa!\"\n\nSo Marko remained in the New Inn for another month, eating, drinking,\nand resting, till he felt a little stronger. Then he asked again for\na dry stick from a medlar-tree. When the wood was brought to him,\nhe squeezed it with his right hand till it broke in pieces, and this\ntime two drops of water came from it. Then Marko said to the Sultan:\n\"Sire, now I am ready to fight the duel.\"\n\n\n\n\nMarko orders a Sword\n\nFrom the palace Marko went straight to Novak, the famous maker of\nswords. \"Make me a finer sword than any thou hast ever made before, O\nNovak!\" said Marko, and he gave the smith thirty ducats and went back\nto the inn. There he stayed to drink red wine for the next few days,\nand then went again to the smith's. \"Hast thou finished my sword,\nO Novak?\" And the swordsmith brought forth the blade and gave it to\nMarko, who asked: \"Is it good?\" \"There is the sword and here is the\nanvil; thou canst try on it the quality of thy sword!\" answered Novak\ntimidly. Thereupon Marko lifted his sword and struck the anvil with\nit so hard that he cut right through it. \"O Novak, the swordsmith,\ntell me now, truthfully--and may God help thee--hast thou ever made a\nbetter sword?\" And Novak answered: \"Since thou didst call upon the name\nof the true God, I must tell thee truthfully that I did once make a\nbetter sword; yea, and it was for a better warrior. When Moussa turned\nrebel and went to the sea-coast, he ordered me to make him a sword,\nwith which he cut right through the anvil as thou hast done, and\nthrough the trunk of an oak-tree upon which it was standing, as well.\"\n\nThis enraged Marko. \"Hold out thy hand, Novak, that I may pay thee\nfor my sword!\" No sooner had the man stretched forth his right arm,\nthan Marko by a swift stroke cut it off from the shoulder. \"Now, O\nNovak, from this day thou shalt not make either a better or a worse\nsword than mine! And take these hundred ducats as thy reward!\"\n\n\n\n\nMarko meets Moussa\n\nThen Marko mounted his Sharatz and rode off to the sea, seeking and\ninquiring all the way for Moussa. One morning early he rode up the\ndefile Katchanik, when suddenly he saw Moussa Kessedjiya, calmly seated\non his black steed with his legs crossed, throwing his mace to the\nclouds and catching it again in his right hand. When the two knights\nmet, Marko said to Moussa: \"Knightly Moussa, move aside and leave\nthe path free for my Sharatz to pass! Move aside or bow before me!\"\n\nTo this Moussa answered: \"Pass on quietly, Marko, do not start\na quarrel. Better still, let us dismount and take refreshment\ntogether. I shall never move aside to make way for thee. I know well\nthat thou wert born of a queen in a palace, and wert laid upon silken\ncushions. Doubtless thy mother wrapped thee in pure silk, and fastened\nthe silk with golden thread, and gave thee honey and sugar; my mother\nwas a poor, wild Albanian, and I was born on the cold rocks near the\nsheep she was tending, and she wrapped me in a rough, black cloth,\ntying it on to me with bramble twigs; she fed me on oatmeal--but\nabove all things she always made me swear that I should never move\naside for anybody.\"\n\nHearing this, Marko of Prilip aimed his lance at Moussa's breast, but\nthe fierce Albanian received it on his warrior-mace, and it glanced\noff, whizzing high above his head. Then Moussa threw his own lance,\naiming at Marko's breast, but the princely hero received it on his\nclub and it broke in three. They next unsheathed their swords and\nattacked each other at close quarters. Marko gave a great stroke,\nbut Moussa interposed his mace and the sword was shattered. Instantly\nMoussa raised his own sword to strike his adversary, but Marko, in\nthe like manner, received it upon his club and the weapon snapped in\ntwo near its hilt. Then they began labouring each other with their\nmaces until these broke too. They next dismounted and seized each\nother fiercely. The famous heroes were equally matched for once,\nthe knightly Moussa against the princely Marko. Moussa could neither\nthrow Marko down, nor could Marko overcome Moussa. For a whole summer's\nmorning did they wrestle together. At about noon, white foam rose on\nMoussa's lips, and Marko's lips were covered with blood and foam. Then\nMoussa exclaimed: \"Do throw me down, O Marko! or, if you cannot do\nit, let me throw you down!\" Marko did all he could, but his attempts\nwere vain. Seeing this, Moussa exerted his last remnants of strength\nand, lifting Marko from the ground, he threw him on to the grass and\npressed his knees on his breast.\n\nMarko, in great danger, exclaimed: \"Where art thou now, my\nsister-in-God, thou Veela? Where art thou to-day, mayst thou live no\nlonger! Now I see thine oath was false when thou didst sware to me\nthat whenever I should be in distress, thou wouldst help me!\"\n\nThe veela appeared from behind the clouds, saying: \"O my brother,\nRoyal Prince Marko! Hast thou forgotten my words: That thou shouldst\nnever fight on Sunday? I cannot help thee, for it would not be fair\nthat two should fight against one. Where are thy secret poniards?\"\n\nMoussa cast a glance to the clouds to see where the voice came from,\nand this was his undoing, for Marko seized the moment, drew out a\nsecret blade, and with a sudden fierce stroke cut Moussa so that his\nbody was opened from his waist to his neck.\n\nMarko disengaged himself with difficulty from the embraces of\nthe horrible Moussa, and as the body lay upon its back the Prince\ndiscovered through the gaping wound that his adversary had three rows\nof ribs and three hearts. One of the hearts had collapsed; another\nwas still beating excitedly; on the third a serpent was just awaking,\nand as it saw Marko it hissed: \"Praise God, O Royal Prince Marko,\nthat I still slept while Moussa was alive--for a three hundred fold\nmisfortune would surely otherwise have befallen thee!\"\n\nWhen Marko heard this, tears poured down his cheeks and he lamented:\n\"Alas! Gracious God forgive me, I have killed a better knight than\nI am!\"\n\nThen he struck off Moussa's head with his sword, put it into Sharatz's\nnose-bag and returned triumphantly to Istamboul. When he flung the\nhead of Moussa before the Sultan the monarch was so horrified that\nhe sprang to his feet. \"Do not fear the dead, O gracious Sultan! If\nthou art frightened by the sight of Moussa's head, what wouldst thou\nhave done if thou hadst met him alive?\"\n\nThe Sultan gave three tovars of gold to Marko, who returned to his\ncastle at Prilip.\n\nAs for Moussa the Bully, he remained on the top of Katchanik Mountain.\n\n\n\n\nTHE DEATH OF PRINCE MARKO\n\nIn the early dawn of a Sabbath morning Prince Marko paced the\nsea-shore. Soon he came to a bridle path that led up the slopes of\nthe Ourvinian mountain, and as he got near to the mountain top, his\nfaithful Sharatz suddenly stumbled and began to shed tears. His moans\nfell sadly upon Marko's heart and he addressed his favourite thus:\n\"Alas! dear Sharo, my most precious treasure! Lo! we have dwelt happily\ntogether these many summers as beloved companions; till now thou hast\nnever stumbled, and to-day for the first time thine eyes do weep:\nGod alone knows what fate awaits us, but I can see that my life or\nthine is in great peril and that one of us is surely doomed to die.\"\n\nWhen Marko had spoken to his Sharatz thus, the veela from the Ourvinian\nmountain called to him: \"My dear brother-in-God! O Royal Prince\nMarko! Knowest thou not, brother, why thy horse is stumbling? Thy\nSharatz is grieving for thee, his master. Know that ere long ye must\nbe divided!\"\n\nMarko answered: \"O thou white veela! May thy throat cause thee pain\nfor speaking thus: How in this world could I ever part from Sharatz,\nwho through many a land and many a city hath borne me from dawn till\nsunset; better steed never trod our earth than Sharatz, and Marko\nnever better hero. While my head is on my shoulders, never will I be\nsevered from my beloved steed!\"\n\nAnd the veela called again: \"O my brother, Royal Prince Marko, there is\nno force which can tear thy Sharatz from thee; thou canst not die from\nany hero's shining sabre, or battle-club, or lance of warrior; thou\nfearest no hero on earth--but, alas! thou must die, O Marko! Death, the\nancient slayer, will smite thee. If thou wilt not believe me, hasten\nto the summit of the mountain, look to the right and to the left, and\nthou wilt presently see two tall fir-trees covered with fresh green\nleaves and towering high above the other trees of the forest. Between\nthose fir-trees there is a spring; there alight, and bind thy Sharatz\nto one of the fir-trees; then bend thee down and the water will mirror\nthy face. Look and thou shalt see when death awaits thee!\"\n\n\n\n\nMarko learns his Fate\n\nMarko followed the veela's instruction, and when he arrived upon\nthe mountain top, he looked to the right and to the left, and truly,\nhe saw the two tall straight fir-trees just as she described them,\nand he did everything she had counselled him to do. When he looked\ninto the spring he saw his face reflected in the water, and lo! his\nfate was written on its surface!...\n\nThen he shed many bitter tears, and spoke in this wise: \"O thou\ntreacherous world, once my fairy flower! Thou wert lovely--but I\nsojourned for too short a time with thee: yea for about three hundred\nyears! The hour has come for me to depart!\" Then he drew his sabre\nand hastened to Sharatz; with one stroke he smote off his head. Never\nshould he be mounted by the Turk; never should a Turkish burden be\nplaced upon his proud shoulders; never should he carry the dyugoom\n[39] from the well for the hated Moslem!\n\nMarko now dug a grave for his faithful Sharatz and interred him with\nmore honour than he had buried Andreas, his own brother. Then he\nbroke his sabre in four that it might not fall into the hands of a\nMoslem, and that the Turk might not brandish it with something of his\nown power, lest the curse of Christendom should fall upon him. Marko\nnext broke his lance in seven pieces throwing the fragments into the\nbranches of the fir-tree. Then he took his terrible club in his right\nhand, and swiftly flung it from the Ourvinian mountain far into the\ndark sapphire sea, with the words: \"When my club returns from the\ndepths of the ocean, then shall come a hero as great as Marko!\" When\nhe had scattered thus all his weapons, he drew from his belt a golden\ntablet upon which he inscribed this message: \"To him who passes over\nthis mountain, and to him who seeks the spring by the fir-trees and\nfinds Marko's body: know that Marko is dead. There are here three\npurses filled with golden ducats. One shall be Marko's gift to him\nwho digs his grave: the second shall be used to adorn churches; the\ngold in the third shall be distributed among the blind and maimed,\nthat they may wander in peace through the land and with hymns laud\nMarko's deeds and feats of glory!\"\n\nWhen Marko had thus written he bound the tablet to a branch that it\nmight be seen by the passers-by. He spread his cloak on the grass\nbeneath the fir-trees, made the sign of the holy cross, drew over\nhis eyes his fur cap and laid himself down....\n\n\n\n\nThe Finding of Marko\n\nThe body of Marko lay beside the spring day after day till a whole\nweek had passed. Meanwhile many a traveller passed over the broad\npath and saw the knightly Marko, but one and all believed him to be\nslumbering and kept a safe distance, fearing to disturb or awake the\nsleeping hero. Fortune is the leader of misfortune, as misfortune\noften leads to fortune: and it befell that Vasso the igouman (abbot)\nof Mount Athos, rode that way from the white church Vilindar attended\nby the youthful Issaya his deacon. When the igouman noticed Marko,\nhe beckoned to Issaya. \"O my son,\" he said, \"be cautious, lest thou\nwake the hero, for Marko is furious when disturbed and may destroy us\nboth.\" Then he looked anxiously round and saw the inscription which\nMarko had fixed above his head. He drew near cautiously and read the\nmessage. Then he dismounted hastily from his horse and seized Marko's\nhand--but the hero moved not! Tears rushed from the eyes of Vasso, and\nhe lamented loudly the fate of Marko. After a time he took the three\npurses from the hero's girdle and hid them beneath his belt. Long he\npondered as to where he should entomb Marko; at length he placed the\nhero's body on his horse and brought it to the shore. In due course\nhe arrived safely with it at the white church Vilindar, and having\nsung the customary hymns and performed those rites which are fitting\nhe interred Marko's body beneath the centre of the church.\n\nThere the aged igouman buried Marko but he raised no monument over\nthe tomb, lest foes should learn the whereabouts of the hero's grave\nand take vengeance on the dead.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V: BANOVITCH STRAHINYA\n\n\nHistorical Data\n\nThe ballad relating to Banovitch Strahinya is one of the finest and\nmost famous which the anonymous Serbian bards composed during the\nMiddle Ages. The author was probably a dependent of the descendants of\nBanovitch, and utilized a few historical and biographical data, which\nhe must have found among the manuscripts and other records belonging\nto his lord or in the other castles he visited from time to time.\n\nPrince Ourosh (of the Nemanya dynasty) married Helen, a French princess\nof the house de Courtenay, and through her he kept up friendly\nrelations with the French Court of Charles of Anjou in Naples, and\nhe endeavoured to negotiate an alliance between Serbs and French for\nthe overthrow and partition of the Byzantine Empire.\n\nSome Serbian historians believe that Banovitch Strahinya was really\nthe glorious Strashimir Balshitch-Nemanyitch (who reigned conjointly\nwith his two brothers from 1360-1370 in Skadar, the capital of Northern\nAlbania) and a descendant of the old Provencal family of des Baux.\n\nIn early local records the name Baux is latinized Balcius, and members\nof the family who attended the Court at Naples changed the name, in\nItalian fashion, into Balza. And it is supposed that these Italianized\nSeigneurs des Baux, who were permitted to marry into the Royal House\nof Nemanyitch, and who settled in Serbian lands, then further changed\ntheir patronymic to Balsha or Balshitch--itch, or ich, or ic being\nthe characteristic termination of most Serbian family names.\n\nIt may here be stated that Skadar was at that time still the capital\nof Zeta (the Montenegro of modern times). The valiant Nicholas I\nPetrovitch, the present King of Montenegro, and an indirect descendant\nout of Balshitch, was obliged by the Great Powers to evacuate the town\nafter he had obtained possession of it by the heroism of his troops,\nand Serbian bards throughout the kingdom are now improvising ballads,\nin which they may transmit to future generations the story of the\nsad events of the present time, just as their ancestors recorded the\nexploits of Strahinya. But let us turn to the story of Banovitch as\nit was given in the old ballad.\n\n\n\n\nThe Falcon Banovitch\n\nIn the opening verses the bard describes the hero and eulogizes him as\n\"a falcon without equal.\" He tells of the orders given by Banovitch\nto his servants and pages relative to the preparations to be made\nfor himself, Dyogo his faithful steed, and the greyhound Caraman,\nhis inseparable companion. He is not going to the hunt, however; he\nintends to visit the aged Youg Bogdan, and is clad in pure silk and\nvelvet embroidered with fine gold. Bogdan, his beloved father-in-law,\nresides at his sumptuous castle in Kroushevatz. The old man rejoiced\nto see him, and his nine sons and their wives, as well as Bogdan's\nsons-in-law, of whom one was a direct descendant of King Nemanya,\ngreeted him warmly.\n\nAs they were feasting, a letter was brought from Banovitch's mother,\ntelling him that innumerable hordes of Turks had encamped on the field\nof Kossovo. Strahinya seized the letter and read in horror his mother's\nmalediction: \"Woe to thee and thy feasting in the accursed castle of\nthy wife's father!\" The letter went on to say that a certain chieftain\nnamed Vlah-Ali, proud, haughty, and independent not only of Mehmed, the\nGrand Vizir, but of Sultan Amourath himself, had attacked, conquered,\nand pillaged his castle, captured his servants, and taken his wife\naway to his tent on a mountain near the field of Kossovo, where she was\nseemingly quite content to remain. Youg Bogdan, observing Strahinya's\ngrief, asked him in alarm what was amiss, if he lacked anything in\nhis castle, or if any one of his family had offended him. Banovitch\nthanked his father-in-law, and assured him that other misfortunes were\ntroubling him, and he read the letter aloud. Banovitch then begged Youg\nBogdan to allow his sons to accompany him to the field of Kossovo,\nas he had resolved to rescue his wife from the hands of the foe. But\nYoug Bogdan, thinking that it would be foolish for so few to go and\nface the many thousands of bloodthirsty Turks, disapproved altogether\nof this, and strongly advised Banovitch to abandon the idea. He even\npromised to find him a bride fairer and more worthy of him than his own\nfaithless daughter. But Strahinya remained unshaken in his resolution,\nand convinced of his father-in-law's lack of chivalry, ran hurriedly\nto the stables, refusing in scorn the help of Bogdan's servants,\nsaddled Dyogo, and indignant and sorrowful mounted forthwith. As he\nwas riding out of the courtyard he suddenly remembered Caraman, so\nhe whistled, and instantly Caraman ran to his master and comforted him.\n\n\n\n\nBanovitch seeks the Turk\n\nSo over fields and over mountains, straight to Kossovo, Banovitch\nrode forth with courage and gladness, for his dog was even dearer to\nhim than his steed. At Kossovo he saw the plain crowded with tents\nand soldiers, and as he looked he felt something like dread within\nhim; nevertheless, he called on the name of the true God and taking\nthe precaution of disguising himself as a Turk, he rode over the\nplain. For several days he sought, but alas! in vain, the tent of\nVlah-Ali. At last from the banks of Sitnitza, he beheld a spacious\ngreen tent upon the pole of which a golden apple shone; before the\nentrance stood an Arab steed stamping sharply with his forefeet upon\nthe ground. Strahinya thought that this must surely be the tent of\nVlah-Ali, and he fiercely spurred on his Dyogo. Reaching the tent\nin a moment, spear in hand, he boldly drew aside the silken curtain\nwhich veiled the entrance. To his disappointment he saw that the only\noccupant of the pavilion was an old dervish with a white beard reaching\nto his knees. The old man was drinking wine, a thing forbidden to him\nby the laws of his order, and he returned the greeting of Strahinya,\nwho spoke good Turkish, with a profound salaam. Then, to Strahinya's\nastonishment, the dervish said: \"Hail! O Banovitch Strahinya, Lord\nof Little Banyska near Kossovo!\" Banovitch was taken aback, but he\ntried to put a good face upon it and asked in apparent surprise: \"Who\nis the man thou hast called Banovitch Strahinya?\" The half-drunken\ndervish laughed aloud. \"Thou canst not deceive me,\" said he, \"I\nwould instantly recognize thee, yea, even wert thou on the top of\nthe mountain Goletch.\" Then he told Banovitch how that he had been a\ncaptive in his castle a few years previously, and had been treated most\nhumanely, even receiving a daily measure of wine. Finally Banovitch\nhad let him go to his estates to collect his ransom. Upon reaching\nhis home he discovered that his estates had been appropriated by the\nSultan, and his house and other possessions had been given to Pashas'\ndaughters as dowries. All was dreariness and desolation; he had lost\nhis fortune--and, he added bitterly, consequently all his friends--so\nhe was reduced to ride to Yedrenet [40] to offer his services to the\nSultan. The Vizir, he continued, told the Sultan that he looked as\nif he might quite likely be of use as a soldier, whereupon the Sultan\nhad given him good clothes and better weapons and the Vizir added his\nname to the roll of warriors sworn to fight for the Sultan. \"Now,\"\nhe concluded, \"I do not possess so much as even a dinar, give me,\nI pray thee, time for my fortunes to improve.\"\n\nStrahinya was deeply touched by the dervish's misfortunes and,\nalighting from his steed, he embraced him and spoke to him in the\nfollowing friendly manner: \"Thou art my brother-in-God! I forgive\nthee gladly thy ransom, neither shall I ever ask even a dinar\nfrom thee, but thou canst repay me! I am now seeking the haughty\nVlah-Ali, who demolished my castle and robbed me of my wife. Tell\nme, O aged dervish! Where shall I find my foe? I beseech thee as my\nbrother-in-God, not to let the Turks know of my presence here, and not\nto suffer them to take me by guile.\" The dervish was glad to become\nbrother-in-God of such a valiant hero as Strahinya, and he pledged\nhis unalterable faith that, even if Strahinya should destroy half of\nthe Sultan's army, he would never betray him; but at the same time,\nhe tried to persuade Banovitch to give up all intention of attacking\nsuch an unconquerable and terrible foe, whose mere name was enough\nto strike terror into the heart of the best and bravest. He went\non to describe the warlike character of the invincible rebel of the\nPadishah, and finished by assuring Banovitch that neither his sharp\nsword, nor his poisoned spear, nor his steed would avail to protect\nhim, for the terrible Vlah-Ali would surely seize him alive in his\niron grasp, break his limbs to pieces and pluck out his eyes.\n\nStrahinya laughed aloud when he heard all this; \"O my brother,\" said\nhe, \"thou aged dervish!  Thou needest not warn me against one warrior,\nonly do not bring upon me the Sultan's whole army! Since thou goest\nto water thy horses every evening and every morning at the River\nSitnitza, thou must know where the fords are, and thou couldst save\nme from riding my steed into muddy depths!\"\n\nAt this the dervish repeated his oath, and exclaimed:\n\n\n    Strahni-Bane, ti sokole Srpski!\n    Tvome Dyogu i tvome junashtvu\n    Svud su brodi, dyegody dodyesh vodi! [41]\n\n\nBanovitch crossed the river, and rode without haste to mount\nGoletch. He was still at the foot of the mountain when the morning\nsun shone out upon the field of Kossovo, making the tents and the\nsoldiers' armour gleam.\n\n\n\n\nThe Faithless Wife\n\nWhat was the mighty Vlah-Ali doing when dawn came? The Turk's custom\nwas to seek slumber only at sunrise. \"How very dear to him was his\nnew slave, Strahinya's wife,\" recites the bard, \"may be understood\nwhen I tell that he had closed his eyes with his head on her ivory\nshoulder.\" The faithless woman was not sleeping; through the door of\nthe tent she gazed over the sleeping camp. Suddenly she roused her\nnew lord and pointed in terror to the figure of an advancing horseman\nin whom she had recognized her true husband.\n\nAt first the Turk laughed at her fears and said that it was only\nan ambassador from the Sultan. \"Verily,\" said he, composing himself\nagain to rest, \"Strahinya will not dare to come near the tent!\"\n\nPresently his companion again roused Vlah-Ali and told him that\nthe horseman was no messenger from Amouradh, but her own husband,\nBanovitch Strahinya himself, and she warned Vlah-Ali that he was in\nperil of his life.\n\nUpon this, the mighty Vlah-Ali leapt to his feet, girded on a long\nsilken sash, fastened in it a sharp gleaming yataghan, quickly belted\non his shining sabre, and was soon firmly seated in his saddle.\n\n\n\n\nThe Combat\n\nA moment later Banovitch came up, and a fearful contest began between\nthe two champions--heroes of almost equal renown, though not equal\nin strength. Strahinya addressed his opponent with reproachful and\ntaunting words, and Vlah-Ali replied in equally offensive terms. But\nthey did not fight only with words. Banovitch spurred Dyogo and\nfuriously cast his spear, which the mighty Turk, stretching out\nhis hands, caught and broke into pieces. \"O Strahinya,\" he shouted\nderisively, \"thou callest me a poltroon, indeed! Dost thou know to whom\nthou didst speak? Here is no woman of thy Serbian land whom thy threats\nmight alarm; thou hast here to deal with the mighty Vlah-Ali who fears\nneither the Sultan nor his Grand Vizir, yea, not even the countless\nhorde which they command! One and all, they are to me but a swarm of\nants!\" Speaking thus, he alertly reined in his sturdy horse and sent\nhis spear whistling through the air. So straight it went to Strahinya's\nbreast that he surely would have been stricken had the just God not\nhelped him. Dyogo, accustomed to duels, knelt swiftly in the nick of\ntime, so that the Turk's weapon flew over Banovitch's head and struck\nagainst a rock behind him, breaking into three pieces. Their spears\nbeing thus destroyed, the fierce warriors next grasped their heavy\nclubs, and rushed to close quarters. Their blows fell thick and fast\nuntil Vlah-Ali struck Strahinya so violently that he was stunned and\nfell forward upon Dyogo's neck. Again the true God stood by Strahinya;\nhis beloved grey steed, trained for such a struggle, moved his head\nand his neck so cleverly that he threw his master back into the\nsaddle. Strahinya, in his turn, now struck his adversary's shoulder\nwith great force, but the mighty Turk sat unshaken, although by this\ntime his horse's legs were sunk in the black earth up to the knees.\n\nAnd so the battle went on until the combatants broke each other's\nclubs, when they took to their sharp sabres, hoping to decide the\ncombat very soon. But lo! Banovitch's sabre was not a common one;\ntwo strong smiths had spent a week in shaping it and in smelting the\nfinest of fine steel for its blade. The Turk made a swift slash at\nhis foe, but Strahinya caught the gleaming steel on his own blade,\nand the sabre was instantly severed above the hilt. This pleased\nBanovitch greatly, and, fiercely pressing the Turk, he now tried to\nhack off his adversary's arms. But the heroes were well matched;\nVlah-Ali guarded his head most deftly with the remaining stump of\nhis sabre, and, bit by bit, he broke away his adversary's weapon,\nuntil once more the two were on equal terms. They now dismounted,\nand grasping each other firmly, they heaved and wrestled with all\ntheir strength.\n\nFinally Strahinya, feeling that he was almost spent, called upon his\nwife to take the other part of the Turk's sabre and to settle the\ncontest by striking either his head or that of Vlah-Ali. Thereupon\nVlah-Ali called out: \"My darling! O thou wife of Strahinya! Strike me\nnot, but rather strike Banovitch as thou canst never again be dear\nto him; he will blame and scorn thee for ever and ever. But thou\nshalt be always most dear to me. I will escort thee to Yedrenet,\nthirty maids shall there be to wait upon thee: to carry thy robes\nand wide sleeves. With sweet-meats will I feed thee and will cover\nthee with golden ducats from head to foot!\"\n\nWomen may easily be misled by fair words: and so the wife of Strahinya\nsprang forward and picked up a piece of the sharp blade, wrapping it\ncarefully in fine silk, for she feared it might wound her hand. Then\nshe ran swiftly to the fighting heroes, and taking all care not to\nhurt Ali, she violently struck the head of Banovitch, and cut through\nthe golden crest and the white helmet. The blade but slightly gashed\nStrahinya's head, but down rushed the blood over his face fast and\nthick and all but blinded him.\n\nAt this bitter moment, Strahinya thought of his faithful Caraman and\ncalled to him twice. The dog rushed furiously at the faithless woman\nand held her fast, [42] whereupon she was much terrified and screaming\nloudly, she threw the blade afar and seized the dog by its ears. The\nTurk, alarmed and distracted, turned round to see what had happened. So\nencouraged was Strahinya at this new proof of his dog's intelligence\nand faithfulness, that new strength came to him and seizing the\nopportunity he threw his adversary on the ground and slew him with\nhis teeth \"as wolves slaughter lambs.\" Then he carried away his wife\n(whom the intelligent Caraman had left unhurt) to her father's castle.\n\n\n\n\nThe return of the Falcon\n\nWhen Youg Bogdan and his sons saw Strahinya covered with blood, they\nwere greatly astonished that there should be a Turk valiant enough\nto wound a hero such as Strahinya. But Strahinya narrated to them\nthe shameful conduct of his wife, and the story made Youg Bogdan so\nincensed that he commanded his sons to pierce their sister with their\nswords. But the ever chivalrous Strahinya protested, exclaiming:\n\"O my brothers-in-law, ye nine Yougovitch! Why, O brothers would\nye cover yourselves with shame to-day? On whom would ye draw your\nblades? Since ye are, O brothers, so blood-thirsty and so courageous,\nwhere were all your knives and your bright sabres when I went to the\nfield of Kossovo? Why did ye not accompany me then, and exhibit your\nbravery before the fierce Turks? Why did ye not then prove yourselves\nto be my friends? I will not let ye kill your sister; without your\nhelp I could have slain her myself. She is but a frail and easily\nmisguided woman! But I shall not kill her: on the contrary she will\nhenceforth be dear to me as ever.\"\n\nThe bard ends his poem:\n\n\n    Pomalo ye takiyeh younaka,\n    Ka' shto beshe Strahinyityou Bane!\n\n\n(\"Few are the heroes fit to be compared with Banovitch Strahinya!\")\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI: THE TSARINA MILITZA AND THE ZMAY [43] OF YASTREBATZ\n\n\nMilitza tells the Tsar\n\n\"O thou one and indivisible God! Mayest thou be glorified!\".... Tsar\nLazar sat at supper, and with him sat the Tsarina Militza, sorrowful\nand depressed. This unusual aspect of his beloved consort alarmed\nthe Tsar, and he asked her tenderly: \"O Militza, thou my Tsarina! If\nI put a question to thee, wouldst thou answer me with the truth? Why\nart thou so gloomy, so sorrowful and pale to-night? Is anything thou\ndesirest lacking in our castle?\" The Tsarina replied: \"O Tsar Lazar,\nthou Serbian golden crown! Verily whensoever thou speakest to me I\nanswer but the truth. Nothing is lacking in our palace; but truly\na great misfortune has befallen me, for the Zmay of Yastrebatz is\naccustomed, ever since last year to come to my tower each night to\nembrace me.\" Tsar Lazar, astounded, said: \"Listen to me, O Tsarina\nMilitza! When thou hast retired to thine apartment in the white\ntower to-night and thy magic lover hath come, ask him if there be\nany besides God whom he fears, and if there is to be found on this\nearth a hero whom he deems superior to himself!\"\n\nSoon after supper the Tsar went to his narrow and many-storied\ntchardack, [44] and the Tsarina retired to her tower. And it was\nseen how the mountain Yastrebatz glowed suddenly as if on fire, and\nhow out of the flames flew the Zmay straight over the level plain of\nKroushevo to the Tsarina's tower.\n\nWhen he entered the Tsarina's apartment he took off his fairy garment\nand looked tenderly upon the fair woman. The Tsarina affected to\nwelcome her lover, and after a time she said: \"I pray thee, O Zmay\nof Yastrebatz, since thou comest so daringly to my tower, tell me is\nthere any besides God whom thou dreadest? and lives there in the whole\nworld any hero whom thou deemest superior to thyself?\" Thereupon the\nZmay answered in surprise: \"Keep silent, O Militza! (or mayest thou\nremain speechless for ever!) Surely thou askest me this question\nbecause thou hast been instructed by Lazar!\"\n\nBut Militza swore to him, saying: \"No, not so! May I perish if\nI speak not the truth! I ask thee because I see thou art such an\nexcellent hero.\"\n\nWhen the Zmay heard this he trusted to the false oath (less dangerous\nit would have been for him if a viper had bitten him!) and spoke in\nthis wise: \"O Militza, dearest Tsarina! Since thou askest me truly,\ntruly shall I answer thee. On the whole of this earth I dread none\nbut God; neither is there hero whom I fear, save only that on a\nplain called Sirmia there is a village known as Koopinovo, and in\nthat village lives a Zmay-Despot Vook; him I fear, for I have known\nhim ever since our foolish childhood. We often used to play together\non the summit of the high mountain Yastrebatz, and Vook would always\nget the better of me in our contests. It is Vook only whom I dread,\nfor he is the champion Zmay on this earth.\"\n\nAs the Zmay pronounced the last of these words, Danitza--the morning\nstar--appeared on the horizon and the Zmay instantly took flight to\nhis castle.\n\nThe Tsarina hastened to Lazar's tchardack and informed him of what\nshe had learnt from the Zmay. Hearing the story the Tsar decided to\nwrite in 'slender characters' a message to Zmay-Despot Vook telling\nwhat he had learned beseeching him to come to Kroushevatz and kill\nhis detested enemy the Zmay of Yastrebatz. For rendering that service\nVook should receive three tovars of ducats and the kingdom of Sirmia\nto be his for life.\n\n\n\n\nVook as Champion\n\nThe message duly reached the hands of Zmay-Despot Vook, and, having\nperused it he considered for a while as to what he should do. He loved\nthe friend of his childhood, but he could not condone his shameful\nconduct. Finally he decided to battle with the Zmay of Yastrebatz,\nso he saddled his black steed, presented to him by the veela, and\nthat very night he reached the plain of Kroushevo; there he alighted;\nspread his tent in the wheat-fields of Lazar and drank cool wine.\n\nMeantime the sun rose and as the Tsar slowly paced his balcony,\nhe suddenly noticed a tent in his fields, and a strange and very\nwonderful knight within it. He immediately called the Tsarina and\npointed out to her what he saw. Militza exclaimed that this must be\nnone other than Zmay-Despot Vook, for he much resembled her magic\nlover the Zmay of Yastrebatz.\n\nThe Tsar immediately sent a messenger to the stranger bidding him come\nat once to the palace, where a noble feast awaited him. But Vook sent\nword that he desired to remain in his tent and he requested that the\nTsarina should not close fast the doors of her apartments that night\nbut should quietly await the coming of the Zmay of Yastrebatz and\nleave the issue to her new protector.\n\nUpon receiving Vook's reply the Tsar ordered a fine repast to be\nprepared and taken to his tent, not omitting a large quantity of\nred wine.\n\nThe day passed uneventfully, and when night came the fair Militza\nretired. As usual Mount Yastrebatz burst into its customary light,\nand its lord flew from the flames straight to the Tsarina's tower and\nstole into her chamber, where he doffed his magic garment. Suddenly he\nheard the voice of Zmay-Despot Vook saying: \"Thou who hath presumed\nto embrace the Serbian Tsarina, come forth this instant from the\nwhite tower!\"\n\nGreatly alarmed, the Zmay of Yastrebatz cursed the Tsarina thus:\n\"Lo, Militza, may God destroy thee! Thou hast betrayed me to Lazar!\"\n\nSaying this he donned his magic garment and made haste to\ndepart. Instead of as usual, directing his flight to his castle on\nYastrebatz, he ascended straight into the clouds. Vook pursued him\nvery closely and coming up with him at an extreme height, he struck\nhim violently with his heavy club and broke both his wings. Down\nfell the Zmay of Yastrebatz, swift as a stone to the earth, where\nhe lay writhing like a snake and moaning piteously--\"May a similar\nmisfortune befall every hero who entrusts his mistress with his\nsecrets!\" He had not a long time in which to indulge his bitter\nreflections for Vook was following and the instant he alighted he\nstruck off the head of the Zmay. Then he went to Lazar and threw\nthe head upon the ground before him. The Tsar was so terrified at\nthe mere sight of the ghastly object that he was seized suddenly by\na severe fever. But he gave the promised gold to Vook as well as an\nimperial decree empowering him to rule independently over Sirmia for\nthe remainder of his life. Moreover, he promised that should Vook ever\nbe without gold, he need but apply to the Tsar, and he should have his\nneeds supplied. The bard ends: \"And they long lived happily, always\nhelping each other, as fellow-countrymen should do; and the glory of\nthe hero became a tradition; we now remember the anniversary of the\nslaying of the Zmay of Yastrebatz as the happiest day in the year!\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII: THE MARRIAGE OF MAXIMUS TZRNOYEVITCH\n\n\nThe Ballad\n\nThis ballad from which the King of Montenegro--Nicholas\nPetrovitch--drew inspiration for his drama The Empress of the Balkans\nis undoubtedly the finest Serbian national poem ever composed and\nchanted in Montenegro. To render it satisfactorily in its poetic\nform into another language, compact as it is of intensely national\ncharacteristics, metaphors and other figures of speech, religious\nconceptions, customs and superstitions, would be impossible for even\nthe greatest of our poets.\n\nA French proverb says quand on n'a pas ce que l'on aime, ou aime ce\nque l'on a, and the hope may here be expressed that the philosophic\nEnglish reader will make the best of the following prose version,\nsuch as it is, of a most interesting national poem.\n\n\n\n\nThe Story\n\nIvan Tzrnoyevitch [45] sailed across the Adriatic to Venice, in order\nto pay a visit to the doge and to ask his daughter in marriage for\nhis son Maximus. He remained there three years, during which he spent\nthree tovars of gold and upon his departure at the end of this period\nhe arranged to return the following year with his son and with one\nthousand, or more, guests for the marriage festivities. The doge and\nhis two sons, as well as a hundred of the doge's high dignitaries,\naccompanied Ivan to his galley and the Montenegrin prince repeated\nhis promise to come again the next year with his guests and with his\nson, than whom, he averred, no finer hero or handsomer youth could be\nfound in any gathering of one thousand Montenegrins or one thousand\nVenetians. The doge, exceedingly pleased to have for his son-in-law\nsuch a fine hero, embraced Ivan, saying: \"I thank thee, my friend,\nfor such words! How happy I am to have gained such a dear son-in-law,\nwhose equal should in vain be sought among thousands! I shall love\nhim more than the sight of my eyes; and shall prepare precious gifts\nfor him: horses and falcons, helmets with golden crests and round him\ncloaks to wrap such as he may be proud to wear. But if he be not as\nhandsome as thou hast said; woe to thee!\"\n\nAfter this Ivan sailed for Zablak. As he neared his castle he felt\nvery happy and urged on his steed Zdral the sooner to reach home. His\nfaithful consort perceived him from afar, and at once gave orders to\nthe servants to make the necessary preparations for the arrival of\ntheir lord. She judged from the gay appearance of her husband that\nhe must have succeeded in his mission.\n\nWhen Ivan arrived in the courtyard of his castle, some of his servants\nhelped him to alight from his steed, others took off his armour\nand arms, and his son Maximus brought him a silver settle that he\nmight be seated and rest. Ivan turned to thank his son, but behold! A\nmisfortune had befallen him! During his father's absence Maximus had\nbeen stricken with small-pox--that terrible scourge!--and his once\nhandsome face was so pitted and seamed that it was now horrible to\nlook upon. The bard assures us that it was hardly possible to find\nan uglier fellow than Maximus had become.\n\nThe prince immediately recollected his boast to the doge, that there\ncould not be found amongst thousands a handsomer youth than his son,\nand he felt very sad; his long moustache drooped down on to his\nshoulders, [46] and, with eyes fixed on the ground he sat silent and\ngloomy. His consort saw with concern her husband's despondency and\nshe endeavoured to raise his spirits. Gathering up the folds of her\nflowing robe and the ends of her long sleeves, she came close and,\nbending, kissed his hand. \"Pray, my lord,\" she said, \"why art thou\nso sad? Hast thou, perhaps, not been successful in thy mission? Hast\nthou not betrothed the doge's daughter to our son? Is she perhaps\nnot fair enough to become thy daughter-in-law? Dost thou regret the\nthree tovars of gold which thou hast spent?\"\n\nThereupon Ivan roused himself and replied that it was quite another\nmisfortune which was troubling him. He told how he had successfully\nbetrothed the doge's daughter, and that she was so beautiful that\neven the veele could not be compared with her; that it was not the\nthought of the gold he had spent that tormented him--for his castle\nwas heaped up with treasure, and the abstraction of three tovars of\nducats had hardly affected the size of the store. No, the real cause\nof his misfortune was that he had promised the doge to give him for\nhis son-in-law a youth who was the handsomest to be found amongst\nthousands, and that if he were to present his son Maximus as he now\nwas, the doge would surely be angry and a war would ensue.\n\nWhen the princess heard this, she reproached Ivan with having gone so\nfar away for a bride, when he could have found in Montenegro itself\na much finer maiden whose family would be worthy of an alliance\nwith his own. Prince Ivan was persuaded that he had acted unwisely,\nand he decided to abandon the betrothal, and forbade his friends to\ncongratulate him.\n\n\n\n\nThe Message from the Doge\n\nNine years elapsed, and it seemed that the betrothal had been forgotten\nby all, and that the doge's daughter, having heard nothing from Ivan,\nhad surely wedded another prince. But one day a message from the doge\narrived, in which he reproached the Montenegrin prince with having\nallowed nine years to pass without sending a word to his daughter--who,\n\"from only a bud, had developed into a beauteous rose.\" He further\nrequested Ivan to write to his still patient daughter, and to tell\nher plainly what he had decided with regard to the proposed marriage;\nfor if he did not now deem his son worthy of such a precious maiden,\nhe must at once tell her so, that a prince deserving of her might\nbe found.\n\nThe prince was seized with great grief as he read the doge's\nmessage. What could he say or do? After pondering long he sought his\nprincely consort and addressed her in this wise: \"O my sweet-eyed\ndarling! I pray you counsel me now what to do! Shall I despatch a\nmessage to the maiden and tell her that she is at liberty to seek\nanother in marriage, or how otherwise shall I write?\"\n\nThe princess was a wise woman, and she advised her husband prudently:\n[47] \"O my lord, thou Tzrnoyevitch Ivo! Has ever any man been\ncounselled by a wife? This has never been and never shall be. For we\nwomen have long hair, but little brains. But as thou hast asked for my\nopinion, I will venture to say that it would be a sin before God, and\nbefore the world a shame, to deprive a maiden of happiness by releasing\nher from a suitably arranged betrothal. Listen to me, dear lord! What\nan insignificant reason alarms thee! If the small-pox has damaged\nthy son's visage, thy distant friends should make allowance for such\nmisfortune resulting from illness--for who is exempt? Furthermore,\nif thou dreadest a conflict when thou comest to Venice, I would\nremind thee that thou hast dungeons full of pure golden ducats; in thy\ncellars there is old wine in abundance; thy granaries are overfilled\nwith wheat and other grain; consequently thou art well able to gather\na great number of svats. Thou hast promised the doge to go thither\nwith one thousand svats, but why shouldest thou not take two thousand\nchosen heroes and equerries with thee? When the Venetians see with\nhow great a force thou journeyest, they will not dare to attack thee,\neven if thy son were blind. Therefore, gather the svats, and hasten\nto bring the bride. O my lord, lose no more time in vain musing.\" At\nthese bold words, the prince expressed his great satisfaction in a\nburst of laughter. He immediately inscribed a missive and despatched\nit by a speedy courier. Its contents ran thus: \"O my friend, thou Doge\nof Venice! Thou could'st hear, if thou didst but listen, the roaring\nof my thirty cannons, which I am about to fire from my fortress! O\nfriend, do not lose a single moment, but send at once galleys to meet\nme, my son and all our svats. Farewell!\" Ivan then sent to Milosh\nObrenbegovitch, inviting him to be the stari-svat and to attend with\nas many chosen heroes as he could possibly find within the provinces\nof Antivari and Dulzigno. He wrote also to his cousin, Captain Yovan,\ninviting him to come to the wedding with as many of his friends as\npossible. Couriers were sent to other friends, who received Ivan's\ninvitation gladly, and before long the plain of Zablak was studded\nwith their innumerable tents. One morning Ivan noticed Captain Yovan,\nthe bride's leader, pacing sadly the ramparts of the castle, and\ncasting frequent glances at the spearmen, equerries and standards\nin the encampment below. Prince Ivan would not suffer anybody to\nbe unhappy in the midst of his festive preparations, and so asked\nCaptain Yovan the cause of his gloom. Yovan said, that if he might\nspeak of what was lying upon his heart, he would counsel the prince\nto prepare a great feast for those numberless Montenegrins encamped\nbefore his castle, after which couriers should be sent throughout\nthe camp telling all to return home that their fields should not be\nruined by neglect. Thus the land would not be deprived of defenders\nagainst their persistent foe, the Turk, who might attack the country at\nany moment while they were away. Then Yovan went on to relate to the\nprince how the previous night he had seen in a dream the sky suddenly\ncovered with dark clouds; from those clouds a thunderbolt had fallen\nupon his princely castle and razed every single stone of it to the\nground; a fire had then broken out and consumed the beautiful capital\nZablak. When the castle fell a tower had struck Maximus but without\ndoing him serious hurt. \"Nevertheless,\" continued Yovan, \"if there\nbe any truth in dreams, Maximus would either perish or be severely\nwounded in Venice, and if I should be offended by a Venetian, all my\nfollowers, five hundred men of Podgoritza, would die in my defence.\"\n\nPrince Ivan laughed heartily when Yovan had ended, and said that his\ngood friend owed his bad dreams to the fact that his pillows were\neither too high or too low. Then saying, \"dreams are false, but God\nis true,\" he turned away to give orders to fire thirty guns from the\nfortress as the signal for departure.\n\nWhen the cannon roared, especially the two famous guns Krgno and\nZelenko, the whole valley quaked, the black mountains resounded and\nthe water of Zetina was stirred to its depths. Some equerries were\nshaken from their steeds and those standing fell on their knees on\nthe grass, for it is no light matter when siege-guns roar!\n\n\n\n\nThe Wedding Procession sets out\n\nThe svats started on the journey in the best of spirits; some urged\nand raced their coursers, others were drinking and singing gay wedding\nsongs as they marched. In their midst rode Prince Ivan on his courser\nZdral, with two proud falcons on his shoulders; on his right rode\nMaximus, and on his left Milosh Obrenbegovitch. Prince Ivan glanced\noften at his companions, and involuntarily drew a comparison between\nthe two. All at once he ordered a halt and spake aloud, saying:\n\"Listen, O my brothers, ye glorious svats! I have a plan to propose,\nand hope that you will think it good. We are on the point of embarking,\nO brothers, and will soon arrive in Venice. But look upon my son\nMaximus, how much spoilt is his appearance by horrible disease; he\nis unquestionably the ugliest of us all! Alas! when I was in Venice\nnine years ago I praised him as the handsomest youth to be found\namongst one thousand Montenegrins; yea, even amongst one thousand\nVenetians. Therefore, O brothers, I am very sad this morning, and\nhave no pleasure in the thought of meeting the doge. Hear that the\nVenetians may attack us, so great will be their disappointment. But\nbehold! O ye my valiant svats! We have here with us a hero whose equal\nin manly beauty must be vainly sought amongst us, as also amongst the\nproud Venetians. I speak of Voivode Milosh Obrenbegovitch. Let us,\nthen, take off the plumed helmet from the head of my son and place\nit upon Milosh's head, and thus make him the bridegroom for the time\nbeing, until we have peacefully gained possession of the maiden!\"\n\nThe svats were greatly impressed by Ivan's scheme, but they\nhesitated to speak, fearing to hurt the feelings of Maximus, who was a\nspirited youth and might resent the proposal. But Voivode Milosh said\ngraciously: \"O Ivan, our lord! Why dost thou make vain appeal to the\nsvats? Rather give me thy hand as a sign of firm faith that the plan\ndoes not in any way offend thy noble son. Swear to me by the true God\nthat thou hast suggested this after an understanding with thy son,\nand I will in return pledge my honour that I shall obtain the bride\nfor Maximus without a fight. You shall consent, however, to cede to\nme as my reward for playing a false part all the presents that may be\ngiven to me as the bridegroom, and I shall not be expected to divide\nthem with anybody, but shall retain them all for myself!\"\n\nIvan burst into laughter, and exclaimed: \"O Milosh, thou Serbian\nVoivode! As to the presents thou namest, I give thee my faith, firmer\nand harder than stone itself, that nobody shall seek to have a share in\nthem with thee! Only secure the bride and honourably escort her till\nwe reach our city of Zablak, and I promise to give thee two bootfuls\nof golden ducats, a golden cup to hold nine litres of wine, a mare\n'Bedevia,' the mother of studs like my Zdral, and I shall girdle on\nthee a sabre worth thirty purses of golden ducats.\"\n\nSo they all agreed, and having placed the distinctive hat and ornaments\nof the bridegroom on the head of Voivode Milosh they resumed their\njourney, and after some tossing upon the waters of the Adriatic they\nreached Venice without misadventure.\n\nThere came large numbers of people curious to see the Montenegrins\nand especially to discover for themselves if Maximus was really the\nfine and handsome prince that they had heard he was.\n\nWhen the Venetian princes heard from their servants that their future\nbrother-in-law was really as handsome as his father had described\nhim nine years earlier, they came eagerly with outstretched arms\nto embrace and welcome him. They showed him the apartments in their\npalace which had been prepared for the princely guests, and all were\nlodged in comfort.\n\nThe wedding festivities lasted for three days and then came the\nhour of departure. At the sound of cannon the svats assembled in the\ngreat courtyard awaiting the commands of Prince Ivan, and his noble\nson. They felt uneasy when they saw the gate of the palace closed,\nand on each side of it two Moorish and two Venetian soldiers standing\nwith drawn swords the blades of which, and even their own arms, were\ncovered with blood. Their uneasiness became alarm when after some time\nthey saw no sign of their prince and the bride and bridegroom. They\nwere beginning to murmur loudly when suddenly they heard the sound\nof horses' hoofs on the marble pavement and they saw Voivode Milosh\ntrying to curb his destrier with his bit as he spurred him gently in\norder to make him bound and prance.\n\n\n\n\nThe Wedding Gifts\n\nBehind Milosh rode his two brothers-in-law bringing gifts. The elder\nof them led a black steed without a single blemish, bearing a silver\nsaddle adorned with heavy gold, upon which sat the fair bride holding\na grey falcon. \"Accept, O my dear and noble Maximus,\" said the prince,\n\"this fair maiden, together with her black steed and her grey falcon as\na token of our love, for thou art in truth the pride of thy brothers!\"\n\nMilosh bowed deeply over his horse's neck as he thanked the prince\nfor his gracious words and accepted the bride with the gifts which\nshe brought. The second brother now bestowed upon the bridegroom a\nsabre in a golden scabbard, saying: \"Wear this, O brother, and be\nproud of it!\" Next came the father of the bride. What a beautiful\npresent he placed in his hands! A helmet in the crest of which shone\na precious stone dazzling like the sun so that one could not look at\nit long. But the gift which was given to him by the mother of the\nbride was more magnificent than all! This gift was a shirt of pure\ngold, which was neither woven nor twined, but had been made entirely\nwith fingers; in its collar, representing a viper ('and a viper will\nfinally bite him') there was fixed a brilliant diamond shedding forth\nsuch a blaze of light that he would never need a candle when he went\nto visit his bride in her bed-chamber. All the svats were astonished\nat the magnificence of the present.\n\nNow came the aged brother of the doge, Yesdimir, with his beard\nreaching to his waist, walking slowly and supporting himself with a\ngolden staff. Bitter tears streamed from his eyes. He wept, it is true,\nwith good reason. Seven wives he had had in turn during his long life,\nbut no sons or daughters had been born to him. Therefore he bestowed\nall his affections upon his niece, whom he looked upon as a daughter,\nand who took in his heart the place of the children he had once hoped\nto be blessed with, and now that the beloved maiden was to depart to\na far-away land he was greatly grieved. He had some 'wonder' folded\nunder his arm, and as he approached the svats, he called the bridegroom\nby name. The latter appeared at once and the venerable lord laid upon\nthe young man's shoulders a magnificent cloak which reached from his\nshoulders down to the grass. Indeed when Milosh remounted his horse,\nthe cloak concealed not only himself, but also his steed down to its\nvery hoofs. How precious it was! and oh! that it might never be the\ncause of anything but happiness to the hero! It was said that thirty\npurses of gold had been spent on its lining alone, and what a sum\nof money the cloth itself must have cost! Prince Maximus watched and\nsaw with envious eyes how Voivode Milosh received the presents which\nwere intended for him, the real bridegroom. When the large gateways\nof the courtyard were opened, the svats, passing out in procession,\nreceived from the doge's servants each a piece of precious silk and a\nbox containing various presents, and then they sailed away in galleys.\n\nSoon they arrived on the field of Zablak, where they had met\non starting out for their journey, and where they were now to\nseparate. Prince Maximus had ridden a little ahead with his ten\nbrothers-in-arms in order to hasten and communicate the joyful news\nto his mother and Voivode Milosh, being aware that Prince Maximus\nwas out of sight, spurred forward his courser and coming up with the\nbride and the dever, he boldly took the hand of the noble maiden. The\nbride, thinking in her innocence that he was Prince Maximus, removed\nher veil and stretched out her hands to the pretended bridegroom.\n\n\n\n\nThe Princess learns of the Deception\n\nThose who were near feigned not to have noticed the incident, but\nPrince Ivan himself happened to see what had occurred and it troubled\nhim, and he rode up and addressed the bride thus: \"Touch him not with\nthy hands, O my dear daughter-in-law! or may they be struck with\na palsy! Veil thine eyes! or may thy sight for ever fail thee! How\ncanst thou act so in the presence of all the svats? Dost thou see\nthat hero riding his black steed, and holding his lance? Dost thou\nsee his shining shield and his face disfigured by small-pox? That\nis my son Maximus, whom I praised to thy father--when I asked your\nhand for him--saying that there was no handsomer youth than he to\nbe found amongst thousands. But I was afraid to present my son with\nhis ugly face to you and to your father, and so we had recourse to a\nstratagem and made Voivode your groom temporarily in order to succeed\nin bringing thee away in peace. For acting so Milosh is entitled to\nall the presents which were assigned to the bridegroom!\"\n\nTo the noble maiden her father-in-law's words came as a\nthunderbolt. She halted her horse and refused to go any farther,\nsaying: \"O my dear father-in-law, thou Prince Ivan! Thou hast\ncaused thine own son's misfortune by having made Milosh the\nalleged bridegroom. Why hast thou done so? May the true God\ngive thee thy deserts for that! What matters it if his face is\npitted? All are subject to disease, and might have to suffer even worse\nconsequences. If his face is damaged, his eyes are certainly bright and\nhis heart is as sound as ever. If thou hadst considered thy son to be\nstill too young to be my husband, thou shouldest have told me so, and\nI would have waited in my father's palace for another nine years--but\neven then I would certainly never have caused you to blush with shame\nbefore your own nobles in Zablak. Now thou hadst better give up the\npresents to their rightful owner, thy son Maximus, else I shall not\ngo a step further, even if thou shouldest threaten to put out my eyes.\"\n\nHearing this firm speech, Prince Ivan was greatly disturbed, and\nhe called friends and Voivodes to counsel him as to what he should\ndo. But none of them dared say one word, for they well remembered\nthe arrangement made before sailing across the sea.\n\n\n\n\nMilosh's Offer\n\nVoivode Milosh saw that no one would speak, and he spurred his steed\nand addressed Prince Ivan in this wise: \"O Ivan, thou our lord! Where\nis thy firm faith? If it fails now, may you yourself live to be\nbetrayed! Hast thou not given me thy word that the wedding gifts should\nbe mine intact? But now you frame a plan to break thy faith! Since\nthou art so little to be depended on, I agree--for the sake of peace\namong our brothers and svats--to give up the first two presents:\nI return to your son the fair bride and her steed with all its gold\nand silver trappings. In justice, and according to impartial judgment,\nI should be fully entitled even to marry the fair maiden--for she was\npresented to me by all, her parents and her brothers--but I shall\nsay no more about that, and simply cede to you these two presents,\ntogether with the grey falcon. Here! I return to your son even the\ngolden scabbard and the bright sabre, but I shall never consent to\nyield the helmet, the cloak, and the golden shirt; for I am determined\nto carry them to my own land, and show them to my friends and brothers,\nwho, I am certain, will be proud of them. I swear by my faith in the\ntrue God that I shall not give up these three presents.\"\n\nAll the svats, moved by Milosh's fairness, agreed to the offer,\nand thanked him for his noble sacrifice for the sake of peace, but\nthey were strongly opposed by the bride, who could not reconcile\nherself to the loss of the precious gifts, and especially the golden\nshirt. So she called aloud for Prince Maximus. This alarmed Prince\nIvan very much, and he tried to quieten the maiden in these words:\n\"O my sweet daughter-in-law, thou Venetian maiden! Do not call my son,\nfor we have done him great injustice. Prince Maximus has a high sense\nof honour and is a brave man. I dread a fight above everything, and\nour festivities may so easily turn into mourning. I possess in Zablak\na dungeon full of golden treasure, which I shall present to thee,\nand thou canst do with it whatever pleases thee!\"\n\nBut the maiden was not easy to persuade, and she once more called\nPrince Maximus, who came with all speed to the scene. \"O Maximus,\nthou only son of thy mother!\" began his bride, \"may she lose thee! May\nthe warriors make a handbier of thy lance and with thy shield may they\ncover thy tomb! May thy visage blush with shame on the day of judgment,\nas it does to-day at the contest with Voivode Milosh! Why didst thou\nagree to yield to another the presents which rightly belong to the\nbridegroom? I care nothing for all the other presents, let Milosh take\nthem away, and may a torrent take him away with them! but I cannot\nsuffer the loss of the golden shirt, which I made for thee myself,\nand which took me three years to make, with three maidens assisting\nme. I nearly lost my sight before I finished working at this shirt,\nand all the time I was thinking of thee. Thou hadst better recover the\nshirt from Voivode Milosh at once, for I swear by the name of the true\nGod that otherwise I will not take a step forward; but I shall rein\nback my steed, and, when I reach the sea-coast, I shall pluck a leaf\nof aloe and shall scratch my face with its thorns till blood flows;\nthen I shall write and send a message by my falcon to my aged father,\nbeseeching him to call to arms all his force, to come and conquer\nand pillage thy Zablak and repay thee thus with mourning for thy\nshameful conduct!\"\n\n\n\n\nThe Violence of Maximus\n\nThe moment Prince Maximus heard this, he reined back his black courser,\nspurred it so vehemently that the skin of his courser's stifle-joint\nburst and blood besprinkled its hoofs. The frantic animal sprang\nthe height of three lances in the air and the length of four lances\nforward, so that he sped like lightning. Milosh burst into laughter,\nsaying: \"God be praised! What was suddenly the matter with that\nboy!\" But his mirth was short-lived, for Prince Maximus now turned\nhis horse straight toward Milosh furiously throwing his lance at his\nhead. [48] He struck Milosh so vigorously that both his eyes burst and\nhe fell from his steed. Maximus rushed in and cleft his head asunder;\nthen he took his bride from her leader and sped into the castle. [49]\n\nWhen Voivode Milosh's warriors saw their chief fall, they fiercely\nattacked the followers of Prince Maximus, and a fight ensued from\nwhich but very few returned home.\n\n\n\n\nMaximus becomes a Turk\n\nPrince Maximus, it is said, was so disgusted with what had occurred\nthat he wrote to the doge, inviting him to invade Zablak with a large\nforce and to conquer Montenegro; as for him, he would go to Istamboul\nand embrace Islamism. This he did.\n\nNow a brother of Milosh, namely, Yovan Obrenbegovitch, suspecting that\nMaximus's intention was to obtain from the Sultan a great force with\nwhich to conquer Montenegro, decided to go to the Sultan for the same\npurpose. But it was his intention, should he also succeed in obtaining\nan army from the Sultan, to use it, not against his fatherland,\nMontenegro, but against Prince Maximus. On their way to Istamboul the\ntwo men met and they appeared together before the Sultan, who, knowing\nwell who they were and deeming that they could be usefully employed\nin his service against the Christians, like many other malcontents\nfrom Christian courts, received them most kindly. They adopted the\nMohammedan religion and were given Turkish names: Voivode Yovan was\ncalled Mehmed-Bey Obrenbegovitch, and Prince Maximus, Scander-beg\nIvanbegovitch. Having served as faithful Turks for nine years, the\nSultan, pleased with their conduct, granted them both vizirates: to\nMehmed-bey Obrenbegovitch he gave as fief the plain of Ducadyin, and\nScander-beg (Prince Ivan's son) he granted Scutari on the River Boyana.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII: THE MARRIAGE OF TSAR DOUSHAN THE MIGHTY\n\n\nDoushan sends Theodor to Ledyen\n\nKing Michael of Ledyen had a beautiful daughter, Roksanda, and\nwhen Tsar Doushan asked her hand in marriage the king immediately\nconsented. The betrothal was arranged by means of couriers, and\nDoushan had not seen the princess; he therefore summoned Theodor,\nhis counsellor of State: \"Listen to me, my trusty Theodor!\" said he,\n\"thou shalt go to the white city Ledyen to King Michael, and thou shalt\nask him to fix the date for the wedding festivities. Thou shalt also\nsettle with him other customary preliminaries and satisfy thyself\nthat the peerless Roksanda is a fitting tsarina for our Serbian\nlands.\" Theodor promised to fulfil his mission faithfully and,\nhaving made the necessary preparations, he set out for the Venetian\nprovince. When he arrived at the white city Ledyen the king welcomed\nhim courteously and lavished hospitality upon him for a full week.\n\nThen Theodor spoke to the king in this wise: \"O my master's friend,\nthou gallant King Michael! My tsar has not sent me here only that I\nshould drink thy wine; he desires that I should arrange his marriage;\ntell me, when shall my master come? what time of the year will suit\nyou best to receive him? how many svats shall he bring with him when\nhe comes to take from thee the beautiful maiden Roksanda? My master\nalso instructed me that I should desire of thee to be permitted the\nhappiness of seeing the fair princess.\"\n\nTo this the king answered: \"O my friend, Theodor! take my greetings\nto the tsar and tell him that he is at liberty to bring with him\nas many svats as he may please; also tell him that he may come for\nthe maiden whenever he may choose; but request him in my name that\nunder no circumstances shall he bring with him his nephews the two\nVoinovitchs, Voukashin and Petrashin, for indeed I have heard that\nthey are very quarrelsome when in their cups, and I fear that they\nmay disturb the harmony of our festivities. As to the princess, she\nshall come to thee at due time and receive at thy hands the ring of\nthy master, as is the well-established custom.\"\n\n\n\n\nThe Princess Roksanda\n\nAt nightfall Theodor was conducted into an unlighted room and while\nhe wondered when the candles would be brought, lo! the princess stood\nbefore him, shrouded in the thick gloom. Theodor was grieved at the\ntrick played upon him, but he did not despair. He had with him the\nmagnificent ring of his august master; it was so richly studded with\nprecious stones that as he produced it the whole room was lighted\nup and the rays shone upon the maiden, who seemed to the ambassador\nmore beautiful than the white veela herself. Theodor presented the\nbetrothal ring and gave the princess also one thousand ducats; her\nbrothers then conducted her back to her apartments.\n\nNext morning Theodor took leave of the king and set out upon his\nhomeward journey; when he arrived at Prisrend the tsar asked eagerly:\n\"O my trusty Theodor! Didst thou see the maiden Roksanda and didst thou\ngive her my ring? What greetings dost thou bring me from King Michael?\"\n\nAnd Theodor answered: \"Yea, my Lord, I saw thy bride and presented her\nwith thy ring; but words fail me to describe the enchanting beauty\nof the Princess Roksanda! Vain would it be to search for her equal\nthroughout Serbia! And fair and well spoke King Michael: Thou canst\ngo for the maiden whensoever thou choosest, and thou mayest take as\nmany svats as thou pleasest. But the king prays this one thing of\nthee: that thou shouldest under no circumstances take with thee, the\nVoinovitchs, thy two nephews, for they are lovers of the wine-cup and\nare quick to take offence; they may enter into drunken quarrels, and\nit may be difficult to settle their disputes in a peaceable manner.\"\n\nWhen he heard this the tsar struck his knee with his right hand,\nand exclaimed: \"Alas! May God help me! Has the ill fame of my nephews\nspread as far as that! By my unshakable faith, I shall, immediately\nafter the wedding festivities, have them both hung on the gates of\ntheir castle Voutchitrn that they may not any longer bring shame to\nmy name throughout the world.\"\n\n\n\n\nThe Procession Starts\n\nSoon afterward the tsar proceeded to call his svats together and\nwhen they had all assembled they presented a brilliant spectacle. The\nwedding procession rode on its way through the field of Kossovo and\nas it passed by the walls of the castle Voutchitrn, the two youthful\nVoinovitchs looked upon the cavalcade and spoke sadly to each other\nthus: \"Our uncle must be angry with us, otherwise he would surely\nhave invited us also to join his wedding party? Some churl must have\nuttered ill words against us. May a hundred evils befall him who has\ndone so! Our tsar is going to the Venetian land and has not a single\nhero in his train, neither has he any close relative who might be\ndepended upon in case of dire misfortune. The Venetians are known from\nancient times to be very cunning and sly and they may kill our glorious\ntsar! And yet to accompany him uninvited is more than we dare do.\"\n\nThereupon their aged mother spoke thus: \"O my children, ye two\nVoinovitchs! Ye have a brother in the mountains, Milosh-the-shepherd;\nthough the youngest, he is the greatest hero of ye all and will find\nsome way to uphold the honour of our name. The tsar has never heard\nabout him. I counsel you to send him a message and bid him come to\nthe castle Voutchitrn, mention not the true reason but tell him that\nhis mother, being aged, may die at any moment and that she wishes to\ngive him her blessings. Tell him to make haste if he would find his\nmother alive!\"\n\nThis advice seemed good to the two brothers. They wrote a missive and\ndispatched it with haste to the mountain Shar where Milosh-the-shepherd\ntarried with his flocks.\n\nAs Milosh read the message his countenance changed and he shed bitter\ntears. His grief was observed by thirty shepherds who were around him:\n\"O Milosh, our valiant chieftain!\" they exclaimed, \"Many messages\nhave reached thee, but never yet have we seen thee shed tears when\nthou didst read them. Whence came this letter and what evil tidings\ndoes it bring? Tell us quickly, we beseech thee!\"\n\nMilosh sprang to his feet and addressed his shepherds in this wise:\n\"Hearken, O shepherds, my dearest brethren! This message comes from\nthe castle: my mother is on her death-bed and she summons me that\nshe may give me her blessing, that damnation should not fall upon\nmy soul. I must hasten to her side and while I am absent from the\nmountain I charge ye to watch well the sheep.\"\n\nWhen Milosh came near to his white castle, his brothers saw him\nfrom a tower and sallied out to meet him; their aged mother also\nfollowed. Milosh was astonished to see her and said reproachfully:\n\"Why, O brothers dear, do ye make misfortune when there is no\nreason, and when all is well with ye! May the Almighty forgive your\ndeception!\" And his brothers answered: \"Come within, dear brother,\nthere is nevertheless great misfortune!\"\n\nThe young men embraced each other and Milosh kissed his mother's\nhand. Then his brothers related the story of their uncle's betrothal\nand how he was proceeding to the Venetian land without having invited\nhis two nephews to ride in the wedding procession, and they besought\nhim in this wise: \"O, our dear brother Milosh! Go thou with the tsar,\nyea, although thou art not invited. Misfortune may befall, and haply\nthou shalt succour your uncle. Thou canst go and come back again\nwithout making thyself known to anyone!\"\n\nMilosh was no less eager than his brothers, and he answered gladly: \"I\nwill go, O my brothers! Indeed how could I do otherwise? If I were not\nwilling to help our dear uncle, whom else should I be willing to aid?\"\n\nThereupon his brothers began to make all the necessary\npreparations. Peter went to the stables to saddle his steed Koulash,\nwhile Vankashin remained to see that Milosh was fittingly attired. He\nfirst put on him a fine shirt which was embroidered with gold from\nthe neck to the waist; downward from the waist it was woven of white\nsilk. Over the shirt he placed three thin, elegant ribbons; then a\nwaistcoat adorned with thirty golden buttons; then a golden cuirasse\nweighing some fifteen pounds. And in all details he attired him with\ngarments worthy of a prince. Finally he hung upon his broad shoulders\na coarse Bulgar shepherd's cloak, which entirely enveloped him, and\nplaced on his head a Bulgarian fur-cap with high point, thus making\nhim look so like a black Bulgar that his own mother would not have\nrecognized him. The brothers now fetched a warrior's lance and mace\nand the trusty sword of their old father Voin. Then Peter brought\nforward Koulash, upon whom he had fastened a bear's skin in order\nthat the tsar might not recognize the well-known steed.\n\n\n\n\nMilosh Joins the Procession\n\nMilosh was now ready to set out, and as he took leave of his brothers\nthey counselled him thus: \"When thou comest up with the wedding-guests\nthey will ask thee who thou art and whence thou comest. Thou shalt\nanswer that thou art coming from the Karavallahian land, where thou\nhast been serving a Turkish lord, Radoul-bey, who would not pay thee\nthy wages, wherefore thou art looking for a more generous master.  Say,\nmoreover, that having received chance tidings of the tsar's wedding,\nthou has ridden to join thyself to the servants of the party, not\nfor any wages, for thou wilt gladly serve for a piece of bread and a\nglass of red wine. Thou must, meantime, hold firmly the reins of thy\nsteed, for Koulash is accustomed to go in the line with the tsar's\nown chargers, and he may betray thee!\"\n\nWhen the brothers had made an end of their counsel Milosh took leave\nof them and of his mother and turned his steed in the direction of the\nwedding party, and he came up with them in the mountain Zagorye. Upon\nseeing the stranger the svats hailed him: \"Whence are thou coming,\nlittle young Bulgar?\" And Milosh answered from afar as his brothers\nhad counselled. Then the svats welcomed him readily, saying: \"Mayest\nthou be happy with us, little young Bulgar! We are always glad to\nhave one more in our company!\"\n\nThe princely company, all aglow with the brilliant colours of the\nresplendent uniforms, their lances and cuirasses gleaming in the sun,\nrode on until they came to a valley. Now Milosh had a bad habit,\nacquired in the mountain Shar while watching his sheep, to slumber\ntoward mid-day, and as his Koulash stepped proudly on he fell into a\ndeep sleep and his hand suddenly relaxed on the rein. No sooner did\nKoulash feel the curb loosen than he arched his neck and flew like an\narrow from a bow through the ranks of the cavalcade, overturning horses\nand riders, till he reached the horses of the tsar, when he ranged\nhimself in line with them and fell into the same slow, measured pace.\n\nBy this time the whole procession had fallen into disorder, and a\ncrowd of Lale [50] would have fallen upon the innocent cause of the\ncommotion, had not Doushan intervened to protect him, saying, \"Do not\nstrike this youthful Bulgarian, he is a shepherd, and shepherds have\na habit of dozing toward noon while watching their sheep; do not be\nviolent, but awaken him gently.\" Thereupon the svats awakened Milosh,\nshouting: \"Rise, O foolish young Bulgarian! May the Almighty spare\nthy old mother who could not give thee a better understanding but\nthou must needs venture to join the company of the tsar!\"\n\n\n\n\nThe Leap of Koulash\n\nMilosh awoke with a start, and saw the tsar looking upon him with\nhis deep black eyes, and lo! his Koulash was in the royal line! Not\na moment did he pause, but, gathering the reins firmly in his hand,\nhe spurred his steed sharply. Koulash for one brief instant quivered\nfrom head to heel, then with a frantic bound he sprang into the air the\nheight of three lances; for the length of four lances sideways did he\nspring, and as for the number of lengths covered by his leap onward,\nno one could number them! Fire issued from his mouth and tongues of\nblue flame came out from his nostrils! Twelve thousand svats beheld\nwith awe and admiration the wonderful leap of the Bulgar's steed, and\nexclaimed as one man: \"Father of Mercies, what a mighty wonder!\" Then\nsome said to others: \"O that so good a horse should be possessed by\nsuch a fellow! We have never before seen such a marvel.\" Others said:\n\"There was, indeed, one charger like this in the stables of our\ntsar's son-in-law and now is possessed by his nephews the brothers\nVoinovitchs.\"\n\nAmong the heroes who admired the steed were Voutche of Dyakovitza,\nYanko of Nestopolye and a youth from Priepolye; these spake one to\nanother thus: \"What a beautiful steed that Bulgar has! There is not\nits equal to be found in this wedding cavalcade, not even our own\ntsar has one like it. Let us fall behind and seek an opportunity to\ndeprive him of it.\"\n\nAs they reached Klissoura the three horsemen were far behind the\nother svats, and Milosh was also riding alone in that place. Then\nthe heroes came near to him and addressed him in seeming courtesy:\n\"Listen to us, thou youthful Bulgar! Wilt thou exchange thy horse\nfor a better one? We shall give thee also one hundred ducats as a\nbargain-gift, and moreover we shall give thee a plough and a pair\nof oxen that thou mayest plough thy fields and feed thyself in peace\nfor the rest of thy days!\"\n\nBut Milosh answered: \"Leave me alone, O ye three mighty horsemen! I do\nnot wish for a better horse than the one I have already; for did ye not\nsee that I cannot keep even this one quiet? As to your bargain-gift,\nwhat should I do with so many ducats? I do not know how to weigh them,\nneither am I able to count as high as one hundred. What should I do\nwith your plough and your oxen? My father has never used a plough on\nhis fields and yet his children have never known hunger!\"\n\n\n\n\nThe Fight for Koulash\n\nAt this answer the three horsemen said angrily: \"Thou hadst better\nconsider our proposal, O haughty Bulgar, lest we take thy horse by\nforce!\" To this menace Milosh answered: \"Truly, by force men take\nlands and cities, and much more easily can three men by force take\nfrom me my steed! Therefore I prefer to exchange it, for I am unable\nto travel on foot.\" Saying this, Milosh made a pretence to give up\nhis Koulash peaceably, and inserted his right hand under his coarse\ncloak. They thought he intended to take off his spurs, but they were\ngreatly mistaken, for in a flash out came his six-angled club, and\nbefore they had gathered their wits Milosh gave Voutche a gentle tap\nthat tumbled him over and over three times in succession. Milosh then\naddressed him ironically: \"May thy vineyards in thy peaceful estate\nof Dyakovitza be as fertile as thou art brave!\"\n\nSeeing what had befallen his companion, Yanko was in full flight,\nbut it took scarce a moment for Koulash to reach the flying steed,\nand Milosh let fall upon the shoulders of his rider such a blow\nthat he, too, was hurled to the ground, where he turned over four\ntimes ere finding anchorage. \"Hold on! O Yanko!\" scoffed Milosh,\n\"May the apple-trees in thy peaceful estate bear as abundant fruit\nas thou art brave to-day!\"\n\nThere now only remained the young man from Priepolye who by now had\nfled to some distance. But his horse's speed could not avail against\nthe swiftness of Koulash, and Milosh soon reached him and with his\nwarrior club gave him a tap that tumbled him over and over no less\nthan seven times. Whether he could hear or not Milosh called aloud:\n\"Hold fast, O young man from Priepolye! And when thou goest back to\nthy Priepolye, I give thee leave to boast before the fair maidens\nthere of how thou hast to-day taken away by force a Bulgar's steed!\"\n\nThis done, Milosh turned his charger and soon reached the wedding\ncavalcade. In due course the procession arrived at the white city\nof Ledyen, and the Serbians put up their white tents beneath its\nwalls. The equerries gave the horses barley, but none did they give\nto Koulash. When Milosh saw this he took in his left hand a nose-bag\nand went from horse to horse, taking with his right hand from each\na handful until he had filled the bag of his trusty Koulash. Next he\nwent to the principal wine-keeper and prayed that he would give him a\nglass of wine. But the keeper of the wine refused, saying: \"Go away,\nthou black Bulgar! If thou hadst brought thy rough Bulgarian wooden\ncup, I might perhaps have poured in it a draught; but these golden\ncups are not for thee!\" Milosh turned on the churlish wine-keeper\na dark look and followed it with a tender blow on his cheek that\nsent three sound teeth into his throat. Then the man, thoroughly\ncowed, besought Milosh thus: \"Stay thy hand, O mighty Bulgar! There\nis wine in abundance for thee, even if our tsar should thereby go\nshort.\" But Milosh paid no attention to the fellow, and proceeded to\nhelp himself. Then, as his spirits mounted with the generous wine,\nday dawned and the sun began to shine.\n\n\n\n\nThe First Test\n\nAs Milosh stood drinking in the fresh beauty of the early morning a\npage of King Michael called loudly from a tower of the royal castle:\n\"Listen, O Serbian Tsar Doushan! Behold, in the valley beneath the\nwalls of the city is the champion of our king! Thou must fight a\nduel with him, either thyself or by a substitute. If thou dost not\novercome him thou shalt not go from this place safely, neither shalt\nthou take back with thee so much as one of thy wedding-guests! Still\nless shalt thou take with thee the princess Roksanda!\"\n\nDoushan heard the haughty message and sent a strong-voiced crier among\nthe wedding-guests. Here and there he stood shouting loudly the tsar's\nmessage: \"Has any mother given birth to a fearless hero who will take\nup the challenge in our tsar's stead? To him who is brave enough to\nfight the champion the tsar will grant nobility.\" But alas! when the\ncrier had gone through the camp no hero had come forward to claim\nthe honour of doing battle for the tsar.\n\nWhen Doushan heard this, he struck his knee with his right hand,\nexclaiming: \"Woe is me! O mighty Creator! If I had now my darling\nnephews, the two Voinovitchs, I should not lack a champion.\" The\ntsar had hardly ended his lamentation when Milosh, leading his steed,\nappeared before the tsar's tent. \"O my Lord, thou mighty tsar!\" said\nhe, \"have I thy leave to fight this duel?\"\n\nThe tsar answered: \"Thou art welcome, O youthful Bulgar! But, alas,\nthere is slender likelihood that thou canst overpower the haughty\nhector of the king. If, however, thou dost succeed, verily I will\nennoble thee!\"\n\nMilosh leaped to his saddle, and as he turned his fiery Koulash\nfrom the tsar's tent, he carelessly threw his lance on his shoulder\nwith its point turned backward. Seeing this, Doushan called to him:\n\"Do not carry, O my son, thy lance so! Turn the point forward, lest\nthe proud Venetians laugh at thee!\" But Milosh answered: \"Attend,\nO my tsar, unto thine own dignity, and be not anxious concerning\nmine! If need arise I shall easily turn my lance correctly; if not,\nI may just as well bring it back in this wrong wise!\"\n\nAs Milosh rode on through the field of Ledyen, the ladies and maidens\nof Ledyen looked upon him, and, laughing, they exclaimed: \"Saints in\nheaven! a marvel! What a substitute for a Serbian emperor! The young\nman has even no decent clothes upon him! Be merry, thou hector of\nthe king, for hardly shalt thou need to unsheath thy sword!\"\n\nMeantime Milosh reached the tent in which sat the champion of the\nVenetian king. Before the entrance he had stuck his lance deep into the\nground, and to this he had tethered his grey steed. Milosh addressed\nthe hector thus: \"Rise up! thou little white Venetian gentleman, we\nwill fight together for the honour of our masters!\" But the hector\nanswered angrily: \"Away with thee, thou ugly black Bulgar! My sword\nis not for such as thee! I would not soil my steel on such a ragged\nfellow!\"\n\nThis remark made Milosh very angry, and he exclaimed: \"Rise up, haughty\nVenetian! Thou hast indeed richer attire; I shall take it from thee,\nand then who will have the finer feathers?\"\n\nAt this the hector sprang to his feet and mounted his grey charger,\nwhich he caused to prance and curvet across the field. Milosh stood\nquietly looking on until suddenly the Venetian fiercely hurled his\nlance straight to the breast of Milosh. The wary Serbian received\nit on his golden-headed club and jerked the weapon over his head,\nbreaking it into three pieces as he did so. This sleight-of-hand\nalarmed the hector and he exclaimed: \"Wait a minute, thou ugly black\nBulgar! My lance was faulty, wait till I get a better one!\" With this\nhe put spurs to his steed, but Milosh shouted after him: \"Stop, thou\nwhite Venetian! Thou shalt not escape me!\" And with this he spurred\nhis Koulash after the cowardly hector and pursued close to the gates of\nLedyen. Alas for the fugitive, the gates were closed! For a moment the\nhector paused irresolute and this moment was his last. Milosh let loose\nhis unerring lance; it whistled though the morning air and the hector\nwas transfixed to the gate. Then Milosh alighted from his steed, struck\noff the Venetian's head and threw it in Koulash's nose-bag. Next he\ncaught the grey steed and rode with him to the tsar. \"Here, O mighty\ntsar,\" said he, \"is the head of the king's hector!\"\n\nDoushan was overjoyed at his prowess and gave him much gold. \"Go,\nmy son,\" said he, kindly, \"drink some good wine, and presently I\nshall make thee noble!\"\n\n\n\n\nThe Second Test\n\nMilosh had hardly seated himself at his wine when a page again called\nloudly from the royal castle: \"Behold, O Serbian tsar! In the meadow\nbelow thou mayest see three fiery horses saddled, on the back of\neach there is fastened a flaming sword with point upward.  If thou\nwouldst go in peace from here taking with thee the king's daughter,\nthou must thyself or by deputy leap over these flaming swords.\"\n\nAgain the tsar sent a crier throughout his camp. \"O Serbians,\" he\ncried, \"has not any mother given birth to a hero who will venture\nto leap over the three horses and the flaming swords fixed on their\nbacks?\"\n\nAgain he traversed the entire camp, taking care that his words should\ncome to the ear of every svat, but again no hero came forward to offer\nhimself. Then as the tsar was anxiously meditating on the problem\nhe looked up and, lo! Milosh again stood before him. \"O glorious\ntsar!\" said he, \"Have I thy permission to essay this feat?\" And the\ntsar readily answered: \"Thou mayest surely go, my dear son! But first\ntake off this clumsy Bulgarian cloak! (may God punish the stupid tailor\nwho made it so!)\" But Milosh said: \"Sit in peace, O mighty tsar, and\ndrink thy cool wine! Do not be anxious concerning my coarse cloak. If\nthere be a heart in the hero his cloak will not be in his way: if a\nsheep finds her wool too heavy for her there is no sheep in her nor\nany wool!\"\n\nSo saying he rode down to the meadow of Ledyen where stood the three\nsteeds tethered side by side fiercely pawing the ground. The young man\ndismounted from his Koulash and stationed him several paces from the\nthird steed, by his side, then patting Koulash gently on his proud\nneck, he said: \"Thou shalt stay here quietly until I come again to\nthe saddle!\" He passed over to the first steed and went on a little\ndistance, then turned, and dancing first on one foot then on the\nother, he ran like a swift deer and, leaping high, jumped over the\nthree steeds, over the flaming swords, and alighted safely on the\nsaddle of his own Koulash. This done he gathered the reins of the\nthree chargers and rode with them in triumph to the Serbian tsar.\n\n\n\n\nThe Third Test\n\nVery soon the page of the Venetian king came again to the tower of the\nroyal castle and proclaimed: \"Hearken, thou tsar of the Serbs! Under\nthe topmost tower of this castle is a slender lance whereon a golden\napple is stuck; twelve paces distant is set a ring: thou must shoot\nan arrow through the ring and transfix the apple--thou or thy deputy!\"\n\nThis time Milosh would not wait for the crier to do his errand, but\nstraightway went to the tsar and obtained his permission to essay the\ntask. Then, taking his golden bow and arrow, he went to the place\nindicated, fixed his arrow on the bow string, and the shaft sped\nstraight through the ring to the heart of the apple which he caught\nin his hand as it fell. Again the tsar bestowed upon him golden ducats\nbeyond number.\n\n\n\n\nThe Fourth Test\n\nNo sooner was this wonderful exploit completed than the royal page\nagain proclaimed from the castle turret: \"Behold, O tsar of the\nSerbs! The two royal princes have brought out in front of the king's\npalace three beautiful maidens, all exactly alike and attired in\nsimilar robes. The king bids thee guess which of the three is the\nprincess Roksanda. Woe to thee if thou touchest other maiden but\nRoksanda! Thou shalt not have the princess for thy bride; neither\nshalt thou go out with thy head upon thy shoulders; still less shall\nthy guests leave this place!\"\n\nWhen Doushan heard the message he summoned immediately his councillor\nTheodor and commanded: \"Go, Theodor, and tell which is Roksanda!\" But\nTheodor declared that he had seen her but for so brief a time that it\nwould be impossible that he should be able to choose between three\nmaidens all exactly like the one he had seen by the light from his\nmaster's ring.\n\nHearing this the tsar, in despair, struck his knee with his hand,\nexclaiming: \"Alas! alas! After performing many wonderful exploits,\nmust we return without the bride and be the shame of our people?\" Just\nthen Milosh, who had become aware of the tsar's difficulty, entered\ninto the imperial presence and spake thus: \"Have I thy leave, O tsar,\nto try to guess which of the maidens is the princess Roksanda?\" And the\ntsar answered joyfully: \"Indeed thou hast, O darling son of mine! But\nslender is the hope that thou shalt guess rightly, since thou hast\nnever seen the princess before!\"\n\nThereupon Milosh answered: \"Be not fearful, my glorious Lord! When I\nwas a shepherd in the mountain Shar watching twelve thousand sheep,\nthere have been born in a night three hundred lambs and I have been\nable to recognize and tell which sheep was dam to each lamb. How\nmuch easier will it be to choose Roksanda by her resemblance to\nher brothers!\"\n\n\"Go, go then, my darling son! May God help thee to guess rightly! If\nthou art successful I shall grant thee the whole land of Skender that\nthou be its lord for thy lifetime!\"\n\nMilosh went forth through the wide field until he came to the place\nwhere the three maidens stood waiting. With a swift and sudden\nmotion he swept the coarse fur-cap from his head and threw from off\nhis shoulder his heavy cloak, revealing the scarlet velvet and the\ngolden cuirasse which had been hidden underneath. Truly he shone in the\nverdant field like the setting sun behind a forest! Milosh now spread\nhis cloak on the grass and cast upon it rings, pearls, and precious\nstones. Then he unsheathed his finely-tempered sword and addressed\nthe three fair maidens thus: \"Let her who is the princess Roksanda\ngather her train and sleeves together and collect these rings, pearls,\nand precious stones! If any but Roksanda should dare to touch these\nbeautiful things, I swear by my firm faith that I shall instantly\ncut off her two hands, yea, even as far as her elbows!\"\n\nThe three beautiful maidens were terrified, and two of them looked\nmeaningly at their companion who stood in the middle. This was the\nprincess, and after a moment's hesitation Roksanda gathered her silky\ntrain and sleeves and began to collect the rings, pearls, and precious\nstones. The two other maidens were about to flee, but Milosh took\nthem gently by their hands and escorted all three to the presence of\nthe tsar, to whom he presented princess Roksanda together with one\nof her companions who might be her lady-in-waiting; the third maiden,\nhowever, he retained for himself. The tsar kissed Milosh between his\nfiery eyes, still not knowing who he was or whence he came.\n\n\n\n\nThe Departure of the Serbians\n\nThe masters of the ceremonies now called aloud: \"Get ready, all ye\nsvats! It is high time we should hurry homeward!\" And the svats made\nready for the journey, and soon they set out, taking with them the\nbeautiful princess Roksanda.\n\nAs they departed from the gates of the city, Milosh approached the tsar\nand said: \"O my lord, thou Serbian Tsar Doushan, listen to me! There\nis in the city of Ledyen a terrible hero named Balatchko the Voivode;\nI know him and he knows me. Balatchko has three heads: from one of\nthem issues a blue flame, from another rushes a freezing wind. Woe\nto him against whom these are directed! But if a hero withstands\nthem it is not difficult to slay Balatchko when his wind and flame\nhave left him. The Venetian king has been training him these seven\nyears, for it has been his intention to make use of him to annihilate\nthe royal wedding-party and to rescue princess Roksanda, supposing\nthat thou shouldst succeed in obtaining possession of her. Now it\nis certain that he will send him to pursue us. Go thou thy way and\nI will remain behind with three hundred well-chosen heroes, to stop\nthe monster from pursuing thee.\" Therefore, while the svats went on\nwith the beautiful Princess Roksanda, Milosh, with his three hundred\ncomrades, remained in the verdant forest.\n\nThe svats had hardly struck their tents when King Michael summoned\nVoivode Balatchko. \"O Balatchko, my trusty servant,\" said he, \"canst\nthou rely upon thy valour and go out against the tsar's svats to\nbring back my daughter Roksanda?\"\n\nAnd Balatchko replied: \"My lord, thou King of Ledyen! First tell me,\nwho was that valorous hero who achieved the great feats to which thou\ndidst challenge the Serbian tsar?\" The king of Ledyen answered him:\n\"O Balatchko, our trusty servant! He is no hero; he is only a youthful\nblack Bulgarian.\" And Balatchko replied: \"Nay, thou art mistaken; no\nblack Bulgar is he. I know him well; he is the Prince Milosh Voinovitch\nhimself, whom not even the Serbian tsar was able to recognize through\nhis shepherd's disguise. Truly he is no ordinary hero, and not to be\nlightly esteemed by any warrior, however fearless.\" Nevertheless the\nking insisted: \"Go thou against the svats, O Voivode Balatchko! If\nthou dost regain the princess, I will give her to thee for wife!\"\n\n\n\n\nThe Contest with Balatchko\n\nHearing this promise, Balatchko saddled his mare Bedevia and went in\npursuit of the svats, accompanied by six hundred Venetian cuirassiers.\nWhen they reached the forest they saw Koulash standing in the\nmiddle of the main road and Milosh on foot behind him. Balatchko\naddressed the prince, saying: \"O Milosh, evidently thou hast waited\nfor me!\" With this he loosed his blue flame, which, however, only\nsinged Milosh's furs; whereupon, seeing that he had not greatly\nharmed the hero, he breathed his freezing wind upon him. Koulash\ntumbled over and over in the dust three times, but the wind did not\naffect his master. Exclaiming: \"There is something thou didst not\nexpect!\" Milosh hurled his six-cornered mace and it gave Balatchko\na gentle knock that tumbled him out of his saddle. Then Milosh threw\nhis lance and transfixed the fellow to the ground, after which he cut\noff all three of his heads and threw them in Koulash's bag. This done,\nhe mounted his steed and led his three hundred Serbians against the\nVenetian cuirassiers and cleft three hundred heads, the survivors\nbeing put to flight. He then hurried on and soon came up with the\ntsar, at whose feet he cast the three grim heads of Balatchko. The\ntsar rejoiced to hear of his victory and gave him one thousand ducats;\nthen the procession resumed its march to Prisrend. In the middle of\nthe plain Kossovo, Milosh's way to the fortress of Voutchitrn lay\nto the right, and he came to the tsar to take leave of him. \"May\nGod be with thee, my dear uncle!\" said he. Only then did the tsar\ncome to know that the seeming Bulgarian was none else than his\nnephew Prince Milosh Voinovitch! Overwhelmed with joy he exclaimed:\n\"Is it thou, my dear Milosh? Is it thou, my dearest nephew? Happy\nis the mother who gave thee birth and happy the uncle who has such\na valiant nephew! Why didst thou not reveal thyself before? verily\nI should not have excluded thee from my company.\"\n\nWoe to him who overlooks his own relatives!\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX: TSAR LAZARUS AND THE TSARINA MILITZA\n\n\nThe Tsarina's Forebodings\n\nAs they sat at supper together one evening the Tsarina Militza spoke\nthus unto Tsar Lazarus: \"O Lazarus, thou Serbian Golden Crown! Thou art\nto go to-morrow to the battlefield of Kossovo together with thy dukes\nand servants, but, alas! thou wilt leave in the palace none who can\ncarry to thee my missives and bring thine from Kossovo to me. Thou\ntakest also with thee my nine brothers Yougovitchs; I pray thee,\nleave me at least one of my brothers that I may swear [51] by him!\"\n\nAnd the tsar returned answer: \"O my lady, thou Tsarina\nMilitza! Which one of thy brothers wouldst thou best like me to\nleave at home.\" Thereupon the tsaritza said: \"Leave me, I pray,\nBoshko Yougovitch!\"\n\nTo this the tsar assented: \"O my lady, Tsarina Militza! When the\nmorrow dawns and the sun begins to rise and the gates of the fortress\nare opened, thou mayest walk out to the main gate whence the whole\narmy will defile with the ensigns--all cavaliers with warrior-lances,\nheaded by Boshko Yougovitch, who will be carrying the flag adorned\nwith a golden cross. Greet him in my name and tell him that I give\nhim leave to remain with thee at our white castle and to yield his\nflag to whomsoever he may choose!\"\n\nAccordingly, when the morrow dawned and the sun shone, the\nfortress-gates opened and Tsarina Militza appeared at the main gate\nof the city, and lo! the mighty army was preparing to defile with, in\nthe van, the glorious cavaliers headed by Boshko Yougovitch. Boshko\nwas in the act of mounting his brown horse, a splendid creature,\ncaparisoned with golden trappings; the dropping folds of the flag fell\nupon his shoulders and over his steed's back. Upon the flag pole was\nfixed a golden apple and from the great cross hung golden thustles\nwhich were knocking gently against Boshko's shoulders.\n\nTsarina Militza approached her brother and flinging her tender arms\naround his neck addressed him in her sweet voice thus: \"O my darling\nbrother, our tsar has presented thee to me, and desires that thou\nshalt not go to Kossovo in the war. His charge to thee is: that thou\nshalt give thy flag to whom thou choosest and remain at Kroushevatz\nthat I may have a brother to swear by!\"\n\nBut Boshko Yougovitch answered: \"Go back, O sister dear, to thy white\ncastle! I would not return, neither would I give up from my hands\nthis flag for the price of Kroushevatz. [52] How could I suffer my\ncomrades to say: 'Look at the coward Boshko Yougovitch! He dares\nnot go to Kossovo, to shed his blood in the cause of the Holy Cross\nand his orthodox faith!'\" Saying this he disengaged himself from his\nsister's embraces and leapt into his saddle.\n\nLo! there now comes the aged Youg-Bogdan at the head of a line of his\nseven other sons! The tsarina endeavoured to stop each one in turn,\nbut in vain. Voin Yougovitch, the eighth brother, was last in the line;\nhe like the rest of his brothers would not listen, and as he passed on,\nthe poor tsarina fell down at the feet of the horses and swooned. The\nglorious Lazarus saw his loving consort fall, and understanding the\ncause of her grief, he shed tears. Glancing quickly right and left he\nbeheld Golouban, his trusty servant, and called to him: \"O Golouban,\nmy faithful servant! Dismount from thy charger, and take the tsarina\ngently in thy heroic arms to her slender tower. God and I will hold\nthee excused from service in the war, do thou remain at our white\ncastle near the tsarina!\"\n\nHearing this Golouban turned pale, and tears poured down his cheeks\nas he dismounted from his Laboud. [53] He took the tsarina in his arms\nand carried her into her slender high tower as the tsar had commanded;\nbut this done he could not resist the desire of his heart to go to\nKossovo, so he hurried back to his charger and spurred him swiftly\non after his comrades.\n\n\n\n\nNews of Battle\n\nNext day, when morning dawned, lo! two ill-omened ravens from the\nbattlefield of Kossovo alighted upon the white tower of the glorious\nTsar Lazarus. One spake to the other: \"Is this the home of the famed\nprince, Lazarus? Is there no living soul in the castle?\"\n\nOne only within the castle heard this. Tsarina Militza walked out\nupon the balcony of her tower and besought the two black ravens thus:\n\"For the sake of all that ye hold dear, O ye two dark ravens! Whence\ndo ye come? Do ye not fly from the field of Kossovo? Saw ye there\ntwo mighty armies? O tell me! Have they met together? Which of them\nis victorious?\"\n\nThereupon the two ravens answered: \"Evil overtake us if we do not speak\ntruth to thee, O fair empress Militza! We fly indeed from the level\nplain of Kossovo! Yea! There we did see two mighty armies; there did\nwe see two tsars perish! [54] Of the Turkish horde but few remain in\nlife; of the Serbs, those who live are covered with wounds and blood!\"\n\n\n\n\nThe Trusty Miloutin\n\nThe ravens had hardly spoken when the tsarina perceived a horseman\napproaching whom she recognized. His left arm hung helpless; he was\ncovered with seventeen wounds; blood ran over his steed. The tsarina\ncalled to him in accents of terror: \"Alas, alas! Is it thou, my trusty\nMiloutin? Hast thou then betrayed thy tsar on Kossovo the level field?\"\n\nBut Miloutin answered slowly and with pain: \"Help me, O my lady,\nto alight from my brave steed! Bathe my face with cooling water and\nrefresh me with rosy wine, for heavy wounds have overwhelmed me!\"\n\nAnd the tsarina went to him and helped him to dismount from his\nbloody steed, bathed his face with some cooling water and brought\nwine unto his dried lips. When she had thus restored him somewhat,\nshe spake again: \"What dreadful thing has happened, O thou trusty\nservant, in Kossovo that level field? Where perished the glorious\nPrince Lazarus? Where perished the aged Youg Bogdan? Where perished\nthe nine Yougovitchs? Where perished Voivode Milosh? Where perished\nVouk Brankovitch? Where perished Ban Strahinya?\"\n\nThereat the warrior groaned heavily: \"All remain on Kossovo, O my\nlady! Where the glorious Prince Lazarus perished, there were broken\nmany, many lances, both Turkish and Serbian, but more Serbian than\nTurkish: defending, O my lady, their beloved lord, their lord the\nglorious Prince Lazarus. And thy father, O lady, perished in the\nfirst onset. Thy nine brothers perished too--faithful did they abide\nto one another. Till all perished, there mightest thou have seen\nthe valiant Boshko, his flag fluttering in the breeze as he rushed\nhither and thither, scattering the Turks like a falcon amongst timid\ndoves. There, by the streamlet Sitnitza, where blood was running\nabove a hero's knees, perished Ban Strahinya.\n\n\"But our heroes did not die alone! Twelve thousand Turks lie prone\nupon the plain. Sultan Mourat [55] was slain by Voivode Milosh. May\nGod forgive all his sins! The hero has bequeathed to the Serbian race a\nmemory of noble deeds that shall be recounted by the bards as long as\nmen live and Kossovo stays. As for the traitor Vouk, accursed be she\nwho gave him birth! He betrayed our tsar on Kossovo, leading astray,\nO my lady! twelve thousand fierce cuirassiers of our people! Accursed\nfor ever be his progeny!\"\n\n\n\n\nHistorical Note\n\nThe bards invariably throw all responsibility for the great calamity\nto the Serbian arms, inflicted upon them in that celebrated battle\non Kossovo, upon Vouk Brankovitch, who was one of the sons-in-law of\nTsar Lazarus. Some of our historians are convinced that there is a\ngreat deal of truth in this licencia poetica, and they point to the\nfact that the mediaeval history of Serbia contains many instances of\nsuch malcontents as Vouk Brankovitch who, seduced by fair promises\nfrom cunning Turkish statesmen, went to Stamboul to become useful\ntools in the hands of Ottoman generals, who were thereby aided in\ntheir conquests of the Slavs of the Balkans. But the truth is that\nour calamity was due mainly to the disobedience of the Serbian Lords\nwho ruled almost independently over Bosnia and Herzegovina. These\nlords failed to comply with Tsar Lazarus' mobilisation proclamation,\nand it was due to this that the Serbian army was considerably smaller\nthan the Turkish.\n\nBe this as it may, the defeat which the Serbians sustained in that\nmemorable battle left a very deep impression upon the nation,\nand Serbians have believed ever since that it was solely due to\nthis disaster that the Serbian empire was crushed by the Turk. This\nfeeling persisted in the hearts of the oppressed Serbians through four\ncenturies and was manifested in repeated insurrections against their\noppressors in the beginning of the last century under the leadership\nof two Serbian princes, George Petrovitch, grandfather of the present\nKing Peter I Karageorgevitch, in the year 1804, and Milosh Obrenovitch\nin 1815. But another century had to pass ere the opportunity came\nfor a decisive battle by which satisfaction could be obtained for\nthe battle on Kossovo. This opportunity offered on the famous field\nof Koumanovo in 1913, where perished more Turks than did Serbians\nfive centuries ago. Only then was Serbia happy! The present writer\nwent through the Balkan Campaigns of 1912-1913, and was a witness of\nglorious deeds and feats of arms by his countrymen which, relatively\nspeaking, by no means yield to those of their mediaeval ancestors led\nby Milosh Obilitch, Marko Kralyevitch, Ban Strahinya, and others. It\nwas an imposing sight when the victorious Serbian army returned to\nBelgrade at the conclusion of the war. The soldiers entered through\nnumberless triumphal gates, over some of which were huge inscriptions:\n\"For Kossovo: Koumanovo\" and \"For Slivnitza: Bregalnitza.\"\n\nThe untiring Serbian bards have now turned their attention to the\nexploits of modern heroes at Monastir, Koumanovo, Perlep (Prilip),\nScutari (Skadar), &c., and they will thus immortalize for the delight\nof future generations the final triumph of the Serb over the oppressor\nof his race, from whom he has wrested the empire of his valiant\nancestors--if not in its entirety as under the rule of Tsar Doushan\nthe Powerful, yet as it was in extent in the time of Tsar Lazarus.\n\nWhat Tsar Lazarus lost, therefore, has now been virtually regained\nby his brave countrymen under the wise leadership of our present King\nPeter I.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X: THE CAPTIVITY AND MARRIAGE OF STEPHAN YAKSHITCH [56]\n\n\nThe Veela's Warning\n\nDawn had not appeared, neither had Danitza [57] yet shown her face\nwhen from the heights of the mountain Avala by Belgrade a veela\ncalled aloud upon Demitrius and Stephan, the two brothers Yakshitchs:\n\"O ye brothers Yakshitchs! Ill fate hath this morn brought to ye! See\nye not that the mighty Turk has made ready to assail the glorious\ntown Belgrade from three sides? Hearken! I will tell ye the pashas\nby name. The Vizier of Tyoopria is come with forty thousand troops;\nthe Pasha of Vidin leads an army of thirty thousand; and the Pasha of\nNovi Bazar has brought with him twenty thousand fierce Yanissaries! If\nye will not believe, climb ye to the top of your towers and look over\nupon the broad field of Belgrade!\"\n\nHearing this adjuration Demitrius looked out, and saw, indeed,\nall that the veela had said. If rain had fallen from the skies, no\ndrop would have fallen on the ground, so thick was the multitude of\nTurks and their horses! He was seized with terror at the sight, and,\nwithout pausing a moment, he ran to his stable, saddled his steed, and,\nunlocking the main gates of the fortress, rushed out, leaving the keys\nin the gate. He did not slacken rein until he reached a great forest,\nand by this time the sun was already high in the heavens. Dismounting\nfrom the saddle he seated himself on the banks of the cooling\nriver Yahorika, and soliloquized thus: \"Alas, Demitrius, mayst thou\nperish! To whose care hast thou left thy only brother Stephan?\"\n\nOvercome with remorse for his cowardice he would have returned\nto Belgrade, but it was too late. The Turks had already entered\nthe city through the open gates. There was none to oppose them,\nand after indulging in outrage and pillage they had carried away\nmany captives, among whom was Stephan Yakshitch. Him they did not\nbehead because of his unusual beauty, and because they were well\nacquainted with his heroism, the fame of which was known far and\nnear. They brought Stephan to the presence of the Vizier of Tyoopria,\nwho was so pleased to see him that he ordered his hands to be freed,\nand gave him back his horse and arms. He also held a great feast and\naccompanied it with the firing of innumerable cannon. After this the\nVizier of Tyoopria returned with the whole army in triumph to Stamboul,\nwhere he brought his distinguished prisoner into the sultan's presence.\n\n\n\n\nStephan and the Sultan\n\nThe mighty Padishah was seated on his sidjade, [58] and after\npresenting Stephan the vizier took a seat near by. Stephan made\na profound obeisance and kissed the slipper and the knee of the\nsultan. The sultan then invited him to a seat near to him and spake\nthus: \"O heroic Stephan Yakshitch! If thou wilt become a Turk! (may\nAllah favour thee!) I will make thee my Grand Vizier of Bosnia in\nthe City of Travnik! Thou shalt have seven other viziers to obey thy\norders; I will give thee in marriage my only daughter, and will care\nfor thee as for my own son!\"\n\nTo this Stephan answered firmly: \"O Great Padishah! Thou mighty ruler\nof the world! I shall never turn Turk and renounce the Holy Cross. Yea,\neven if thou offered me thy own throne! I am ready to give my life\nfor the holy Christian faith!\"\n\nAt these bold words the sultan was very angry, and gave orders that\nStephan should be executed. But Stephan had a good friend in the Vizier\nof Tyoopria, who at this juncture prayed the sultan not to give way\nto his wrath. \"Do not, in the name of Allah, O my Padishah,\" said he,\n\"have so valorous a young man beheaded! I have given him my word of\nhonour that thou, O Sultan, will not take his life! Deliver him to\nme for ransom! I will give thee as many golden ducats as he weighs on\nthy balance, and will keep him safely in my castle at Tyoopria where,\nI give thee my firm faith, I will make him love the creed of Mohammed.\"\n\nThe sultan graciously acceded to his vizier's request and Stephan\ndeparted with the Turk to his province.\n\n\n\n\nStephan at Tyoopria\n\nWhen the vizier came to Tyoopria he invited Stephan to participate\nin all the luxury of his castle, and during one whole year he\nendeavoured by courtesy and kindness to convert the Serbian prince\nto the Mussulman faith. Then, as all his efforts had failed, he\ncalled together his hodjas [59] and kadis, [60] as well as all\nthe noblemen of his district, and these men spoke to Stephan thus:\n\"O Stephan, the vizier has ordered us to convert thee unto the true\nfaith; if thou wilt submit to us in this thing he will give thee\nin marriage his only daughter--she is more beautiful than the white\nveela herself--and he will have thee to be appointed the Grand Vizier\nof Novi Bazar. But if thou refused to become a Turk, his djelat [61]\nwill cleave thy head asunder.\"\n\nThereupon Stephan answered: \"I thank ye, venerable hodgas and\nkadis! But I would rather lose my life for the sake of our holy faith\nand the law of our Lord Jhesu, than live to become a Turk!\"\n\nThe vizier turned sadly away and ordered his djelat to behead Prince\nStephan. But again Stephan's good fortune befriended him. The Grand\nVizier of Novi Bazar came to the Vizier of Tyoopria and implored\nhim not to behead the young man. \"Dost thou not remember,\" said he,\n\"that thou didst promise that his life should not be taken from\nhim? 'Twere better to deliver him to me on ransom: I will give twice\nhis weight in golden ducats, and I declare solemnly that when I have\nhim in my province of Novi Bazar, I shall not fail to induce him to\nembrace Islam!\"\n\nThe Vizier of Tyoopria agreed to his friend's offer and Stephan was\nthus a second time delivered from death.\n\n\n\n\nStephan at Novi Bazar\n\nArriving at Novi Bazar the vizier summoned his servant\nHoossein. \"Listen, Hoossein, my trusty servant!\" said he. \"Take thou\nthis dearly bought prisoner, and conduct him through the donjons, until\nthou comest to the twelfth; there leave him and shut the twelve doors\nbehind thee carefully, so that he shall see neither the sun nor the\nmoon. Methinks he will soon be willing to adopt our Mussulman faith!\"\n\nHoossein did as he was commanded, and Stephan remained a prisoner for\nhalf a year, when the vizier took pity on him. Summoning his only\ndaughter Haykoona, he said to her: \"My darling daughter, my pure\ngold! Hearken to thy father's words! Go back to thy tower, open thy\ngolden cupboards, and adorn thyself with thy richest apparel. Put\non thy prettiest dress of rosy silk adorned with velvet ribbons\nand golden threads, and cover all with thy gold-woven cloak. In thy\nright hand take a golden apple and under thy arm take this bottle;\nin it is a beverage prepared from forest plants and flowerets. It\nis called 'water of oblivion'; I have been told that he who washes\nhis face with it and drinks of it must hate his relatives and his\nreligion. Take ye these to the lowest serais and open the twelve doors,\nclosing carefully each of them in turn after thee. When thou comest to\nPrince Stephan give him this wonderful bottle. He will surely bathe\nhis face with its contents and drink: then he will forget his faith,\nembrace Islam and marry thee!\"\n\nThe Turkish maiden could have wished for no greater good fortune,\nfor ever since she first saw the handsome Serbian prince she had\nfelt strange pains. In her dreams she saw nobody but him, and in the\ndaytime she was consumed with fevers.\n\n\n\n\nStephan and the Vizier's Daughter\n\nTherefore she complied with her father's wish with alacrity, and\nwhen she reached Stephan she greeted him tenderly: \"Hail, O Serbian\nHero! May God be with thee!\" And the chivalrous prince returned the\ngreeting: \"May God help thee, O peerless Haykoona!\"\n\nThe beautiful maiden then said: \"O Prince Stephan, I value thee\nmore than my black eyes! I sorrow to see thy face thus darkened and\nthy life so miserable in the prison-donjons of my father. Take this\nbottle of cooling water; bathe thy heroic visage with the liquid and\ndrink a little of it!\"\n\nThe hero took the bottle from those beauteous hands; but he was\nwise! Without hesitation he shattered it against the stony wall,\ntaking great care that not a drop of the liquid should besprinkle\nhim. The Turkish maiden flushed with anger, but a moment later she\ncomposed herself, and casting upon the prince a tender glance, she\nsaid to him sweetly: \"Do, I pray thee, become a Turk and marry me! I\nlove thee more than my black eyes.\"\n\nBut Stephan answered: \"I beseech thee, in thy Allah's name, speak\nnot so, O Princess Haykoona. I shall never turn Turk and forget my\nChristian faith! Yea, I am ready always to give my life for it!\"\n\nThe beauteous lady turned aside impatiently, but her anger soon passed,\nand again looking tenderly at the young prince, she exclaimed with\nsudden passion, \"Kiss me, O my beloved!\"\n\nBut Stephan was proof against temptation, and he answered sternly:\n\"O Turkish lady, may misfortune attend thee! Thou knowest that my\nfaith forbids that a Christian should kiss a Turk! The skies above\nwould burst asunder and stones would fall upon our heads!\"\n\nThe vizier's daughter really loved the prince, and although it was not\neasy for her haughty spirit to brook such a refusal of her advances,\nshe presently spake again in this wise: \"O Prince Stephan, truly I\nlove thee more than my own eyes! I would not for the entire wealth of\nthis world be baptized, but if thou wilt promise me thy love and wilt\nmarry me I will even embrace the Christian faith! Let us take much gold\nfrom my father's treasury and flee together to thy glorious Belgrade.\"\n\nHearing this, the young prince sprang joyfully to his feet and opened\nhis arms to the beauteous maiden. He was by no means insensible to her\ncharms, and he exclaimed with fervour: \"Thou hast my princely promise\nthat I shall love thee and be faithful to thee--as it is the duty of\na true knight so to be. May the Lord Jhesu in Heaven be my witness!\"\n\nThen the vizier's daughter opened the twelve doors one after the other\nand the young couple soon stood in the glorious fresh air under the\nsky, which was bespangled with silver stars, and radiant with the\nlight of the moon.\n\nFrom the vizier's treasury they took three tovars of gold, and from\nhis stables his two best horses. And the maiden gave Stephan a sabre\nstudded with large diamonds--it was worth half of Novi Bazar--saying:\n\"Take this sword, my darling lord: that thou mayest not be compelled\nto give way to inferior heroes, if we should be molested on our way!\"\n\nThen they mounted the horses and urged them swiftly away: in one\nnight they put a distance between them and the vizier's castle\nwhich a caravan could not cover in less than three days and three\nnights. At dawn of the next day they reached Belgrade, and Prince\nStephan immediately summoned twelve monks, who baptized the fair\nTurkish maiden, after which the young couple were happily united.\n\n\n\n\nThe Ending of the Ballad\n\nThe bard finishes his ballad with the following stereotyped ending\nvery usual with Montenegrins:\n\n\"This happened once upon a time; let us, O brethren, pray of God\nto grant our holy Vladika [62] good health! Amen, O God, to whom we\nalways pray!\"\n\nSerbian bards did not as a rule end in this manner, but contented\nthemselves with wishing good health to their audiences.\n\n\n\n\nHistorical Note\n\nDuring the long course of the imposition of Ottoman dominion upon\nthe suffering Christian races of the Balkans there were always at the\ncourts of the Christian princes malcontents whom the cunning Turkish\nstatesmen easily seduced from their allegiance to their rightful\nlords, and to whom they extended hospitality in Constantinople, often\noverwhelming them with riches and honours. In return they have rendered\nmost important services to the sultans in their many campaigns, being,\nof course, well acquainted with the strategic dispositions of their\ncountrymen, and often with important state secrets. Sometimes such\ntraitorous men have served the Turk in their own country by sowing the\nseed of dissatisfaction with their rulers among the peasantry, assuring\nthem that they would be better off under Ottoman rule. The influence of\nsuch renegades prevailed upon the peasantry in Bosnia and Herzegovina,\nat the time of the Battle of Kossovo (1389), to rise against their\nrulers, and they did not participate in that memorable battle.\n\nVery few instances of such treachery, however, occurred in Montenegro,\nwhich has been from the earliest times the home of the noblest of\nSerbian aristocrats and heroes, and where the adoption of the faith of\nIslam, no matter for what reason, or from what motive, was considered\nas the greatest cowardice of which a Christian could be guilty.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XI: THE MARRIAGE OF KING VOUKASHIN\n\n\nThe Message to Vidossava\n\nKing Voukashin [63] of Skadar on Boyana [64] wrote a book [65] and\ndispatched it to Herzegovina, to the white city of Pirlitor [66]\nopposite the mountain Dourmitor. He wrote it secretly, and secretly\nhe dispatched it to the hands of beauteous Vidossava, the lonely\nconsort of Voivode Momtchilo. These were the words in the book:\n\n\"Hail Vidossava, Momtchilo's consort! Why dost thou dwell in the midst\nof ice and snow? When thou lookest up from thy castle walls thou seest\nMount Dourmitor adorned with ice and snow, yea, even in summer as in\nmid-winter; when thou lookest down, lo! thither rushes thy turbulent\nRiver Tarra carrying on its waves wood and stones. There are no fords,\nneither are there bridges to span it; around it are only pine-trees and\nfragments of rock. Why shouldst thou not give poison to thy husband\nor betray him unto me? Then mightest thou fly to me on this level\nsea-coast in my white city on Boyana. I will gladly espouse thee and\nthou shalt become my queen. Thou shalt spin silk upon a golden spindle,\nsit upon silk cushions and wear velvet embroidered with gold. And how\nglorious is this city of Skadar on Boyana! When thou lookest upon the\nfertile slopes above the walls thou wilt see innumerable fig-trees and\nolive-trees, and vineyards full of grapes; when thou lookest beneath,\nbehold! the plain will be white with nodding wheat, and green with\nthe verdure of the meadows. Through the meadows green-limpid Boyana\nis flowing; in its stream are all kinds of fish which thou wilt have\nserved fresh at table when thou dost so desire.\"\n\n\n\n\nVidossava's Treachery\n\nWhen Vidossava had read the book she wrote a reply in fine characters:\n\"My Lord, thou King Voukashin! It is not an easy task to betray Voivode\nMomtchilo, still less is it easy to poison him. Momtchilo has a sister,\nby name Yevrossima, who prepares his dishes and partakes of each before\nhim. He has nine brothers and twelve first cousins who pour wine into\nhis golden cup; they always drink before him of each draught. Also,\nO king! Voivode Momtchilo possesses a steed named Yaboutchilo;\nit has wings and can fly any distance its master wishes. Nor is\nthis all! My spouse has a sword adorned with diamonds as big as a\nmaiden's eyes; with this, he fears no one but God. But attend to me,\nO King Voukashin! Gather a numberless army together; bring thy heroes\nto the lake, and hide there in the woods. It is Momtchilo's custom to\nhunt each Sunday morning; he rides out with his nine brothers and his\ntwelve cousins, and attended by forty guards from his castle. On the\neve of next Sunday I will burn off Yaboutchilo's wings; the jewelled\nsword I will dip in salted blood that Momtchilo may not be able to\nunsheath it: thus thou shalt be able to vanquish him.\"\n\nWhen this book reached King Voukashin's hands, his heart rejoiced and\nhe assembled a large force and marched to Herzegovina. He marched to\nthe lake by Momtchilo's castle, where he hid in the neighbouring woods.\n\nOn the eve of Sunday, Momtchilo retired to his bed-chamber to rest upon\nthe silken cushions, when lo! his consort came to him. She did not lay\non the cushions, but stood by her spouse and her tears fell upon his\nhead. Feeling the warm tears upon his knightly cheeks, the Voivode\nlooked up and said: \"O Vidossava, my faithful consort! What great\ntrouble afflicts thee, that thou shouldst shed tears upon my head?\"\n\nAnd Vidossava answered: \"My Lord, thou Voivode Momtchilo! I have no\ntrouble but for thee! I have heard tell of a marvel which I have not\nseen with my own eyes. It is said that thou hast a wondrous winged\nsteed but I cannot believe the story. It is some evil portent, and\nI fear thou wilt perish!\"\n\n\n\n\nThe Winged Horse\n\nMomtchilo was usually cautious, but this time he fell into the\ntrap. \"Vidossava, my dear consort,\" said he, tenderly, \"if that be\nall thy trouble I will easily console thee. Thou shalt see the wings\nof my steed Tchile: [67] when the first cocks crow go down to the\nnew stables, Tchile will then unfold his wings, as thou wilt see.\"\n\nSaying this, he composed himself once more to slumber. But not so\nVidossava. She watched to hear the first rooster's crow, and at\nthe sound she sprang to her feet, lit a lantern and a candle, took\nsome fat of mutton and some tar, and hurried to the stables. And\nbehold! she saw Yaboutchilo unfold a pair of wings which reached\ndown to his hoofs. Vidossava anointed the pinions with the fat and\ntar and set fire to them with the flame of her candle. What did not\nburn she bound tightly under the belt of the steed. This done, she,\nthe youthful one, went to the armoury and dipped Momtchilo's favourite\nsword into salted blood. Then she returned to her consort's chamber.\n\n\n\n\nMomtchilo's Dream\n\nAt daybreak Momtchilo awoke and spake thus to Vidossava: \"Vidossava,\nmy beloved spouse! I have had this night a strange dream: there\nappeared suddenly a cloud of fog from the accursed land of Vassoye\nand wrapped itself round Dourmitor. I rode through the cloud with my\nnine darling brothers and twelve first-cousins, together with my forty\nguards. In that fog, O my darling Vidossava! we lost sight of each\nother, never to meet again! God alone knows what this dream means,\nbut I have a presentiment that some evil will befall us soon!\"\n\nVidossava endeavoured to reassure her lord. \"Do not fear, my darling\nlord!\" she said; \"dreams are false, God is true!\"\n\n\n\n\nThe Ambuscade\n\nMomtchilo attired himself for hunting and walked out from his white\ntower to the courtyard, where his nine brothers, twelve cousins,\nand forty guards awaited him. His spouse led to him his Yaboutchilo;\nhe sprang to the saddle, and without more ado rode with his followers\nto the hunt. All unsuspecting, they reached the lake, when suddenly\na great force surrounded them. Momtchilo grasped his sword, but,\nalas! he was unable to unsheathe it. Then he exclaimed bitterly:\n\"Hark, my beloved brethren! My consort Vidossava has betrayed me;\ngive me a sword!\"\n\nSpeedily his brothers obeyed; they gave him the best sword they\nhad. Then Momtchilo said again: \"Listen, my beloved brothers: ye\nshall attack the wings of the army and I will storm it in the centre.\"\n\nGod adored, what a mighty wonder! 'Would that some from among ye,\nbrethren, [68] could have been there to see: how Voivode Momtchilo\nwielded his sword and cleared his way through the press of his\nfoes!' Howbeit, more were crushed by Yaboutchilo than by the hero's\nsword! But, alas! a sad misfortune had befallen him: when he had gained\nclear of the foe his brothers' nine black steeds followed after him;\nbut their saddles were empty!\n\nWhen Momtchilo saw this his heroic heart burst from great sorrow for\nthe loss of his nine beloved brothers: his sword-arm dropped limp\nat his side, and knowing that he could fight no more, he spurred\nYaboutchilo, intending that he should unfold his wings and fly to\nhis castle.\n\nBut, alas! for the first time his charger did not respond to the\nspur. Then Momtchilo spake reproachfully thus: \"O Yaboutchilo, may\nwolves devour thee! Many times hast thou flown from here merely in\npastime, and now when I am in sore straits thou wilt not fly!\"\n\nAnd the steed answered, neighing: \"My Lord, mighty Voivode\nMomtchilo! Do not curse me, nor try to force me further. To-day I\ncannot fly! May God punish thy Vidossava! Last night she burnt the\npinions of my two wings. What did not burn she tied tightly under my\nbelt. O my beloved master! thou hadst better escape as thou mayest. I\ncannot help thee!\"\n\nWhen Momtchilo heard this, tears fell down his heroic visage. He\nalighted heavily from his well-loved Yaboutchilo; after a last caress\nhe gathered himself together, and in three leaps he found himself\nbefore the portals of his castle. And lo! the massive gates were\nclosed and locked.\n\n\n\n\nBrother and Sister\n\nSeeing this, Momtchilo called aloud upon his sister: \"O Yevrossima,\nmy darling sister! Stretch down to me a roll of linen that I may\nclimb the castle wall and escape ere my pursuers come up with me!\"\n\nYevrossima heard the appeal and answered through copious tears:\n\"Alas, my darling brother, thou Voivode Momtchilo! How can I drop\ndown to thee a length of white linen, seeing that my sister-in-law,\nthine own faithless Vidossava, hath bound my hair to a beam?\"\n\nBut sisters have soft hearts for their brothers, [69] and Yevrossima,\nfor the sake of her only brother, jerked her head with such force that\nshe left her hair on the beam; then she seized a length of linen,\nmade one end fast, and threw the other end over the wall from the\nrampart. Momtchilo seized the linen and quickly climbed almost to the\ntop of the rampart. He was on the point of springing into the fortress\nwhen his faithless spouse ran thither swiftly and, with a sharp sword,\ncut the linen above Momtchilo's hands.\n\nBy this time the forces of Voukashin had come up, and Momtchilo was\nprecipitated upon their swords and lances. Seeing the hero fall, the\nking hastened to the spot, and with a fierce thrust ran him through the\nheart. So fiercely did he lunge that the end of the sword penetrated\nthe wall.\n\n\n\n\nThe Death of Momtchilo\n\nVoivode Momtchilo was a rare hero, and he was able to speak these last\nwords to King Voukashin: \"My last request to thee, O King Voukashin,\nis that thou shouldst not marry my faithless Vidossava, for she will\nbetray thee also. To-day she hath betrayed me to thee; to-morrow she\nwill deal with thee in like manner! Far better would it be to marry\nmy dear sister Yevrossima, the loveliest of maidens. She will always\nbe faithful to thee and will bear thee a hero like unto myself.\"\n\nThis spake Voivode Momtchilo, struggling with pale death: this he\nsaid and his soul flew heavenward.\n\nThe gates of the castle were now opened, and the faithless Vidossava\ncame out to welcome King Voukashin. After she had greeted him she led\nthe way to her white tower and gave him a seat at her golden table. She\noffered him fine wines and many lordly dishes. Then she went to the\narmoury and brought Momtchilo's armour and weapons. But, marvellous\nto relate! Momtchilo's helmet, which fitted him closely, fell down\nto King Voukashin's shoulders. One of Momtchilo's top-boots was big\nenough for King Voukashin's two feet. Momtchilo's golden rings were too\nlarge for three of King Voukashin's fingers together. Momtchilo's sabre\nwas one whole yard too long when King Voukashin tried it on his belt!\n\n\n\n\nThe Punishment of Vidossava\n\nSeeing all this, King Voukashin exclaimed: \"Alas! Woe is me! May God\nforgive me! What a faithless monster this youthful Vidossava must be\nto betray such a hero, whose equal would be vainly sought throughout\nthe whole world! How could I, the wretched one, expect such a woman\nto be faithful to me?\"\n\nSo saying, he called loudly to his servants, who took Vidossava and\nbound her fair limbs to the tails of four horses and drove them from\nthe castle Pirlitor. Thus, dreadful fate! she was torn to pieces alive.\n\nThen the king pillaged Voivode Momtchilo's castle and led away\nYevrossima to his palace at Skadar on Boyana. Later, he deserved her\nlove and married her, and she bore unto him Marko and Andrias. Truly\nMarko inherited the heroism of Voivode Momtchilo, and thus his uncle's\nprediction was fulfilled.\n\n\n\n\nHistorical Note\n\nPrimitive as may be the customs illustrated in this ballad of\nthe fourteenth century, it is undoubtedly worthy of a place in my\ncollection. It was taken down by Vouk St. Karadgitch from the lips\nof the Serbian bard, and I cannot sufficiently express my regret for\nmy inability to convey in English the beautiful and audacious similes\nand the eloquent figures of speech which adorn the original.\n\nThe French mediaeval troubadour rarely chose as his theme the\nfaithlessness of women; probably because incidents like the one\ndescribed in our ballad were either unknown or too common to be\nconsidered interesting. But if the Serbian bards did not, excepting\nin this rare instance, sing of the fickleness and treachery of the\nweaker sex, it was that Serbian public opinion could not suffer\nthe contemplation of faithlessness on the part of either husband or\nwife. No doubt the bard, wandering from one monastery to another,\nfound in some chronicle a few facts concerning the marriage of King\nVoukashin which he elaborated much as did the French troubadour who\ndealt similarly with the slender historic fact relative to the battle\nat Ronceval. The public opinion of the epoch is reflected in the\nbarbarous punishment which the bard, moved by his austerity, inflicts\nupon Vidossava. It is interesting to note that in my researches I\nhave not found one ballad in which faithlessness on the part of a\nhusband occurs.\n\nIn the ballads concerning the royal Prince Marko we see that he was\nalways chivalrous toward women, especially toward widows and oppressed\nmaidens, irrespective of their social position or their religion. He is\nwilling to succour Turkish maidens, for whom he is ready to jeopardize\nhis life. In the ballad entitled \"The Captivity and Marriage of Stephan\nYakshitch\" the bard tells of advances made to Stephan by a passionate\nTurkish maiden, which he repels with indignation at the mere idea of\nan alliance between a Christian and a Mussulman woman. King Voukashin\nmight have corresponded with Voivode Momtchilo's wife previous to her\nmarriage, but if so it must have been rather a political attachment\nthan an affair of the heart.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XII: THE SAINTS DIVIDE THE TREASURES [70]\n\n\nThe Bard begins!\n\nMerciful Creator! Does it thunder, or is the earth quaking? Or can\nit be the tempestuous ocean hurling its waves against the shore? [71]\n\nNay! It is not thunder, neither is the earth quaking, nor is the\nstormy ocean beating upon the shore!\n\nLo! the saints are dividing among themselves the treasures of Heaven,\nof Earth and of Sea: Saint Peter and St. Nicholas, St. John and\nSt. Elias; with them, too, is St. Panthelias.\n\nSuddenly there comes Beata Maria, tears streaming down her white face.\n\n\"Dear sister ours,\" spake St. Elias, \"thou Beata Maria! What great\nmisfortune hath befallen thee that thou shouldst shed tears down\nthy cheeks?\"\n\nThereupon, amid her sobs, Beata Maria said: \"O my dear brother, thou\nThunderer Elias! How could I refrain from shedding tears, since I\nam just come from India--from India, that accursed country? In that\ndegraded land there is utter lawlessness: the common people do not\nrespect their superiors; children do not obey their parents; parents\ncrush their own children under their feet (may their cheeks blush\nat the divan [72] before the very God of truth!) A koom prosecutes\na brother koom before the judge and bears false witness against\nhim--thus losing his own soul, and damaging one who has acted as a\nwitness at his wedding or baptism; brother challenges brother to duels;\na bride is not to be entrusted with safety to the care of a dever,\nand, alas! even more dreadful things have I seen!\"\n\nThe Thunderer Elias returned answer: \"O sister dear, thou Beata\nMaria! Wipe those tears from thy tender face! When we have divided\nthese treasures we will go to the divan unto our Almighty creator. Him\nwe will pray, the Truthful One, that He may, in His Infinite Grace,\ngrant us the Keys of the Seven Heavens, with which we may lock them. I\nwill seal the clouds that no drop of rain may fall therefrom, neither\nabundant rain nor soft dew. Also, the silvery moonbeams shall not shine\nat night. Thus for three full years there shall be a heavy drought,\nand neither wheat nor wine shall grow, yea, not as much as is needful\nfor the Holy Mass.\"\n\nBeata Maria was comforted, and wiped away the tears from her milk-white\nface. And the saints turned again to the division of the treasures:\nPeter chose wine and wheat and the Keys of the Heavenly Empire; Elias\nchose the lightning and thunder; Panthelias, great heats; John chose\nbrotherhood and koomhood as well as the Holy Cross; Nicholas chose\nthe seas with the galleys upon them.\n\n\n\n\nThe Wrath of God\n\nThen one and all went to divan with the Almighty, to Whom for three\nwhite days and three obscure nights they prayed incessantly. They\nprayed and, indeed, their prayers were heard: God gave them the Keys\nof the Heavens.\n\nThey locked the Seven Heavens; they affixed seals upon the clouds\nand lo, for full three years, there fell no drop of rain, neither\nrain nor silent dew! Neither shone the silvery moonlight, nor did\nwine grow or wheat spring up from the parched ground,--not even as\nmuch as is requisite for the needs of Holy Church.\n\nBehold! The black earth cracked; the living dropped in it. God sent an\nawful plague which smote both old and young, severing those who were\ndear to each other. The small remnant who remained alive bitterly\nrepented and turned to the Lord God in whom they truly believed,\nand who now blessed them.\n\nAnd God's benediction which He gave to those people yet remains:\nthere should be winter and summer once in each year!\n\nAs it was long ago, so it is nowadays.\n\n\n    \"God Adored, may our thanks reach Thee!\n    What has been, may it never happen again!\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIII: THREE SERBIAN BALLADS\n\n\nI. THE BUILDING OF SKADAR (SCUTARI) [73]\n\nThe following poems are reprinted here from Sir John Bowring's Servian\nPopular Poetry, London, 1827. These translations will serve to give\nto English readers some idea of the form of the national decasyllabic\nverse from which the matter of the greater part of this book is taken.\n\n\n    Brothers three combined to build a fortress,\n    Brothers three, the brothers Mrnyavtchevitch,\n    Kraly Vukashin [74] was the eldest brother;\n    And the second was Uglesha-Voivode;\n    And the third, the youngest brother Goiko.\n    Full three years they labour'd at the fortress,\n    Skadra's fortress on Boyana's river;\n    Full three years three hundred workmen labour'd.\n    Vain th' attempt to fix the wall's foundation.\n    Vainer still to elevate the fortress:\n    Whatsoe'er at eve had raised the workmen\n    Did the veela raze ere dawn of morning.\n    When the fourth year had begun its labours,\n    Lo! the veela from the forest-mountain\n    Call'd--\"Thou King Vukashin! vain thine efforts!\n    Vain thine efforts--all thy treasures wasting!\n    Never, never, wilt thou build the fortress,\n    If thou find not two same-titled beings,\n    If thou find not Stoyan and Stoyana:\n    And these two--these two young twins so loving,\n    They must be immured in the foundation.\n    Thus alone will the foundations serve thee:\n    Thus alone can ye erect your fortress.\"\n    When Vukashin heard the veela's language,\n    Soon he call'd to Dessimir, his servant:\n    \"Listen, Dessimir, my trusty servant!\n    Thou hast been my trusty servant ever;\n    Thou shalt be my son from this day onward.\n    Fasten thou my coursers to my chariot:\n    Load it with six lasts of golden treasures:\n    Travel through the whole wide world, and bring me,\n    Bring me back those two same-titled beings:\n    Bring me back that pair of twins so loving:\n    Bring me hither Stoyan and Stoyana:\n    Steal them, if with gold thou canst not buy them.\n    Bring them here to Skadar on Boyana [75]\n    We'll inter them in the wall's foundation:\n    So the wall's foundations will be strengthened:\n    So we shall build up our Skadra's fortress.\"\n\n    Dessimir obey'd his master's mandate;\n    Fasten'd, straight, the horses to the chariot;\n    Fill'd it with six lasts of golden treasures;\n    Through the whole wide world the trusty servant\n    Wander'd--asking for these same-named beings--\n    For the twins--for Stoyan and Stoyana;\n    Full three years he sought them,--sought them vainly:\n    Nowhere could he find these same-named beings:\n    Nowhere found he Stoyan and Stoyana.\n    Then he hasten'd homeward to his master;\n    Gave the king his horses and his chariot;\n    Gave him his six lasts of golden treasures:\n    \"Here, my sov'reign, are thy steeds and chariot:\n    Here thou hast thy lasts of golden treasures:\n    Nowhere could I find those same-named beings:\n    Nowhere found I Stoyan and Stoyana.\"\n\n    When Vukashin had dismiss'd his servant,\n    Straight he call'd his builder master Rado.\n    Rado call'd on his three hundred workmen;\n    And they built up Skadar on Boyana;\n    But, at even did the veela raze it:\n    Vainly did they raise the wall's foundation;\n    Vainly seek to build up Skadra's fortress.\n    And the veela, from the mountain-forest,\n    Cried, \"Vukashin, listen! listen to me!\n    Thou dost spill thy wealth, and waste thy labour:\n    Vainly seek'st to fix the wall's foundations;\n    Vainly seek'st to elevate the fortress.\n    Listen now to me! Ye are three brothers:\n    Each a faithful wife at home possesses:--\n    Her who comes to-morrow to Boyana,\n    Her who brings the rations to the workmen--\n    Her immure deep, down, in the wall's foundations:--\n    So shall the foundations fix them firmly:\n    So shall thou erect Boyana's fortress.\"\n\n    When the king Vukashin heard the veela,\n    Both his brothers speedily he summon'd:\n    \"Hear my words, now hear my words, my brothers!\n    From the forest-hill the veela told me,\n    That we should no longer waste our treasures\n    In the vain attempt to raise the fortress\n    On a shifting, insecure foundation.\n    Said the veela of the forest-mountain,\n    Each of you a faithful wife possesses;\n    Each a faithful bride that keeps your dwellings:\n    Her who to the fortress comes to-morrow,\n    Her who brings their rations to the workmen--\n    Her immure within the wall's foundations;\n    So will the foundations bear the fortress:\n    So Boyana's fortress be erected.\n    Now then, brothers! in God's holy presence\n    Let each swear to keep the awful secret;\n    Leave to chance whose fate 'twill be to-morrow\n    First to wend her way to Skadar's river.\"\n    And each brother swore, in God's high presence.\n    From his wife to keep the awful secret.\n\n    When the night had on the earth descended,\n    Each one hastened to his own white dwelling;\n    Each one shared the sweet repast of evening;\n    Each one sought his bed of quiet slumber.\n\n    Lo! there happen'd then a wond'rous marvel!\n    First, Vukashin on his oath he trampled,\n    Whisp'ring to his wife the awful secret:\n    \"Shelter thee! my faithful wife! be shelter'd!\n    Go not thou to-morrow to Boyana!\n    Bring not to the workmen food to-morrow!\n    Else, my fair! thy early life 'twill cost thee:\n    And beneath the walls they will immure thee!\"\n\n    On his oath, too, did Uglesha trample!\n    And he gave his wife this early warning:\n    \"Be not thou betray'd, sweet love! to danger!\n    Go not thou to-morrow to Boyana!\n    Carry not their rations to the workmen!\n    Else in earliest youth thy friend might lose thee!\n    Thou might be immured in the foundation!\"\n\n    Faithful to his oath, young Goiko whisper'd\n    Not a breath to warn his lovely consort.\n\n    When the morning dawn'd upon the morrow,\n    All the brothers roused them at the day-break,\n    And each sped, as wont, to the Boyana.\n    Now, behold! two young and noble women;\n    They--half-sisters--they, the eldest sisters--\n    One is bringing up her snow-bleach'd linen,\n    Yet once more in summer sun to bleach it.\n    See! she comes on to the bleaching meadows;\n    There she stops--she comes not one step further.\n    Lo! the second, with a red-clay pitcher;\n    Lo! she comes--she fills it at the streamlet;\n    There she talks with other women--lingers--\n    Yes! she lingers--comes not one step farther.\n\n    Goiko's youthful wife at home is tarrying,\n    For she has an infant in the cradle\n    Not a full moon old; the little nursling:\n    But the moment of repast approaches;\n    And her aged mother then bestirs her;\n    Fain would call the serving-maid, and bid her\n    Take the noon-tide meal to the Boyana.\n    \"Nay, not so!\" said the young wife of Goiko;\n    \"Stay, sit down in peace, I pray thee, mother!\n    Rock the little infant in his cradle:\n    I myself will bear the food to Skadra.\n    In the sight of God it were a scandal,\n    An affront and shame among all people,\n    If, of three, no one were found to bear it.\"\n\n    So she staid at home, the aged mother,\n    And she rock'd the nursling in the cradle.\n    Then arose the youthful wife of Goiko;\n    Gave them the repast, and bade them forward.\n    Call'd around her all the serving maidens;\n    When they reach'd Boyana's flowing river,\n    They were seen by Mrnyavtchevitch Goiko,\n    On his youthful wife, heart-rent, he threw him;\n    Flung his strong right arm around her body;\n    Kiss'd a thousand times her snowy forehead:\n    Burning tears stream'd swiftly from his eyelids,\n    And he spoke in melancholy language:\n\n    \"O my wife, my own! my full heart's-sorrow!\n    Didst thou never dream that thou must perish?\n    Why hast thou our little one abandoned?\n    Who will bathe our little one, thou absent?\n    Who will bare the breast to feed the nursling?\"\n    More, and more, and more, he fain would utter;\n    But the king allow'd it not. Vukashin,\n    By her white hand seizes her, and summons\n    Master Rado,--he the master-builder;\n    And he summons his three hundred workmen.\n\n    But the young espoused one smiles, and dreams it\n    All a laughing jest,--no fear o'ercame her.\n    Gathering round her, the three hundred workmen\n    Pile the stones and pile the beams about her.\n    They have now immured her to the girdle.\n    Higher rose the walls and beams, and higher;\n    Then the wretch first saw the fate prepared her,\n    And she shriek'd aloud in her despair;\n    In her woe implored her husband's brothers:\n    \"Can ye think of God?--have ye no pity?\n    Can ye thus immure me, young and healthful?\"\n    But in vain, in vain were her entreaties;\n    And her brothers left her thus imploring.\n\n    Shame and fear succeeded then to censure,\n    And she piteously invoked her husband:\n    \"Can it, can it be, my lord and husband,\n    That so young, thou, reckless, would'st immure me?\n    Let us go and seek my aged mother:\n    Let us go--my mother she is wealthy:\n    She will buy a slave,--a man or woman,\n    To be buried in the wall's foundations.\"\n\n    When the mother-wife--the wife and mother,\n    Found her earnest plaints and prayers neglected,\n    She address'd herself to Neimar Rado: [76]\n    \"In God's name, my brother, Neimar Rado,\n    Leave a window for this snowy bosom,\n    Let this snowy bosom heave it freely;\n    When my voiceless Yovo shall come near me,\n    When he comes, O let him drain my bosom!\"\n    Rado bade the workmen all obey her,\n    Leave a window for that snowy bosom,\n    Let that snowy bosom heave it freely\n    When her voiceless Yovo shall come near her,\n    When he comes, he'll drink from out her bosom.\n\n    Once again she cried to Neimar Rado,\n    \"Neimar Rado! In God's name, my brother!\n    Leave for these mine eyes a little window,\n    That these eyes may see our own white dwelling,\n    When my Yovo shall be brought toward me,\n    When my Yovo shall be carried homeward.\"\n    Rado bade the workmen all obey her,\n    Leave for those bright eyes a little window,\n    That her eyes may see her own white dwelling,\n    When they bring her infant Yovo to her,\n    When they take the infant Yovo homeward.\n\n    So they built the heavy wall about her,\n    And then brought the infant in his cradle,\n    Which a long, long while his mother suckled.\n    Then her voice grew feeble--then was silent:\n    Still the stream flow'd forth and nursed the infant:\n    Full a year he hung upon her bosom;\n    Still the stream flow'd forth--and still it floweth. [77]\n    Women, when the life-stream dries within them,\n    Thither come--the place retains its virtue--\n    Thither come, to still their crying infants!\n\n\n\n\nII. THE STEPSISTERS\n\n    Near each other grew two verdant larches,\n    And, between, a high and slender fir-tree:\n    Not two larches were they--not two larches,\n    Not a high and slender fir between them--\n    They were brothers, children of one mother.\n    One was Paul; the other brother, Radool,\n    And, between them, Yelitza, their sister.\n    Cordial was the love her brothers bore her;\n    Many a token of affection gave her,\n    Many a splendid gift and many a trifle,\n    And at last a knife, in silver hafted,\n    And adorn'd with gold, they gave their sister.\n\n    When the youthful wife of Paul had heard it,\n    Jealousy swell'd up within her bosom:\n    And she call'd, enraged, to Radool's lady:\n    \"Sister mine! thou in the Lord my sister,\n    Dost thou know some plant of demon-virtue,\n    Which may bring our sister to perdition?\"\n    Radool's wife her sister swiftly answered:\n    \"In the name of God, what mean'st thou, sister?\n    Of such cursed weeds I know not.--Did I,\n    Never would I tell thee of them, never;\n    For my brothers love me; yes! they love me--\n    To their love full many a gift bears witness.\"\n\n    When Paul's youthful wife had heard her sister,\n    To the steed she hastened in the meadow,\n    Gave the steed a mortal wound, and hurried\n    To her husband, whom she thus accosted:--\n    \"Evil is the love thou bear'st thy sister,\n    And thy gifts are worse than wasted to her;\n    She has stabb'd thy courser in the meadow.\"\n    Paul inquired of Yelitza, his sister,\n    \"Why this deed, as God shall recompense thee?\"\n    High and loudly, then the maid protested:\n    \"By my life, it was not I, my brother;\n    By my life and by thy life, I swear it!\"\n    And the brother doubted not his sister.\n    Which when Paul's young wife perceived, at even\n    To the garden secretly she hasten'd,\n    Wrung the neck of Paul's grey noble falcon,--\n    To her husband sped she then and told him:\n    \"Evil is the love thou bear'st thy sister,\n    And thy gifts to her are worse than wasted;\n    Lo! she has destroy'd thy favourite falcon.\"\n\n    Paul inquired of Yelitza, his sister,\n    \"Tell me why, and so may God reward thee!\"\n\n    But his sister swore both high and loudly:\n    \"'Twas not I, upon my life, my brother;\n    On my life and thine, I did not do it!\"\n    And the brother still believed his sister.\n    When the youthful bride of Paul discover'd\n    This, she slunk at evening,--evening's meal-time,\n    Stole the golden knife, and with it murder'd,\n    Murder'd her poor infant in the cradle!\n    And when morning's dawning brought the morning,\n    She aroused her husband by her screaming\n    Shrieking woe; she tore her cheeks, exclaiming:\n    \"Evil is the love thou bear'st thy sister,\n    And thy gifts to her are worst than wasted;\n    She has stabb'd our infant in the cradle!\n    Will thine incredulity now doubt me?\n    Lo! the knife is in thy sister's girdle.\"\n\n    Up sprang Paul, like one possess'd by madness:\n    To the upper floor he hastened wildly;\n    There his sister on her mats was sleeping,\n    And the golden knife beneath her pillow\n    Swift he seized the golden knife,--and drew it--\n    Drew it, panting, from its silver scabbard;--\n    It was damp with blood--'twas red and gory!\n    When the noble Paul saw this, he seized her,--\n    Seized her by her own bright hand and cursed her:\n    \"Let the curse of God be on thee, sister!\n    Thou didst murder, too, my favourite courser;\n    Thou didst murder, too, my noble falcon;\n    But thou should'st have spared the helpless baby.\"\n\n    Higher yet his sister swore, and louder--\n    \"'Twas not I, upon my life, my brother;\n    On my life and on thy life, I swear it!\n    But if thou wilt disregard my swearing,\n    Take me to the open fields--the desert;\n    Bind thy sister to the tails of horses;\n    Let four horses tear my limbs asunder.\"\n    But the brother trusted not his sister:\n    Furiously he seized her white hand--bore her\n    To the distant fields--the open desert:\n    To the tails of four fierce steeds he bound her,\n    And he drove them forth across the desert;--\n    But, where'er a drop of blood fell from her,\n    There a flower sprang up,--a fragrant flow'ret;\n    Where her body fell when dead and mangled,\n    There a church arose from out the desert.\n\n    Little time was spent, ere fatal sickness\n    Fell upon Paul's youthful wife;--the sickness\n    Nine long years lay on her,--heavy sickness!\n    'Midst her bones the matted dog-grass sprouted,\n    And amidst it nestled angry serpents,\n    Which, though hidden, drank her eyelight's brightness.\n    Then she mourn'd her misery--mourn'd despairing;\n    Thus she spoke unto her lord and husband:\n    \"O convey me, Paul, my lord and husband!\n    To thy sister's church convey me swiftly;\n    For that church, perchance, may heal and save me.\"\n\n    So, when Paul had heard his wife's petition,\n    To his sister's church he swiftly bore her.\n    Hardly had they reach'd the church's portal,\n    When a most mysterious voice address'd them:\n    \"Come not here, young woman! come not hither!\n    For this church can neither heal nor save thee.\"\n    Bitter was her anguish when she heard it;\n    And her lord the woman thus entreated:\n    \"In the name of God! my lord! my husband!\n    Never, never bear me to our dwelling.\n    Bind me to the wild steeds' tails, and drive them;\n    Drive them in the immeasurable desert;\n    Let them tear my wretched limbs asunder.\"\n\n    Paul then listened to his wife's entreaties:\n    To the tails of four wild steeds he bound her;\n    Drove them forth across the mighty desert.\n    Wheresoe'er a drop of blood fell from her,\n    There sprang up the rankest thorns and nettles.\n    Where her body fell, when dead, the waters\n    Rush'd and formed a lake both still and stagnant.\n    O'er the lake there swam a small black courser:\n    By his side a golden cradle floated:\n    On the cradle sat a young grey falcon:\n    In the cradle, slumbering, lay an infant:\n    On its throat the white hand of its mother:\n    And that hand a golden knife was holding.\n\n\n\n\nIII. THE ABDUCTION OF THE BEAUTIFUL ICONIA\n\n    Golden wine drinks Theodore of Stalatch [78]\n    In his Castle Stalatch, on Morava;\n    Pours him out the wine his aged mother.\n    While the wine-fumes to his head were rising,\n    Thus his mother spoke unto the hero:\n\n    \"Son of mine! thou Theodore of Stalatch!\n    Tell me, wherefore hast thou not espoused thee?\n    Thou art in thy youthful days of beauty:\n    In thy dwelling now thine aged mother\n    Fain would see thy children play around her.\"\n    And he answer'd--Theodore of Stalatch--\n    \"God is witness, O my aged mother!\n    I have roamed through many a land and city,\n    But I never found the sought-for maiden;\n    Or, when found the maiden, found I never\n    Friendly feelings in thy mind towards her;\n    And where thou hast shown thy friendly feeling,\n    There I found the maiden false and faithless.\n    But, as yesterday, at hour of sunset,\n    I was wandering near Ressava's river,\n    Lo! I glanced on thirty lovely maidens\n    On its banks their yarn and linen bleaching:\n    'Midst them was the beauteous Iconia,\n    Fairest daughter of the Prince Miloutin,\n    He the princely sovereign of Resseva.\n    She, indeed, would be a bride to cherish;\n    She, indeed, were worthy of thy friendship:\n    But that maiden is betrothed already;\n    She is promised unto George Irene--\n    To Irene, for Sredoi, his kinsman.\n    But I'll win that maiden--I will win her,\n    Or will perish in the deed, my mother!\"\n    But his mother counsell'd him and warn'd him--\n    \"Say not so, my son! the maid is promised;\n    'Tis no jest! she is of monarchs' kindred.\"\n\n    But the hero cared not for his mother:\n    Loud he called to Dobrivoy, his servant--\n    \"Dobrivoy! come hither, trusty servant!\n    Bring my brown steed forth, and make him ready--\n    Make him ready with the silver saddle;\n    Rein him with the gold-embroider'd bridle.\"\n    When the steed was ready, forth he hasten'd,\n    Flung him on his back, and spurr'd him onward\n    To the gentle river of Morava,\n    Flowing through Ressava's quiet levels.\n\n    And he reach'd Ressava's gentle river:\n    There again he saw the thirty maidens--\n    There he saw the beauteous Iconia.\n    Then the hero feign'd a sudden sickness;\n    Ask'd for help; and sped her courteous greeting--\n    \"God above be with thee, lovely maiden!\"\n    And the loveliest to his words made answer,\n    \"And with thee be bliss, thou stranger-warrior!\"\n\n    \"Lovely maiden! for the love of heaven,\n    Wilt thou give me one cup of cooling water?\n    For a fiery fever glows within me;\n    From my steed I dare not rise, fair maiden!\n    For my steed, he hath a trick of evil--\n    Twice he will not let his rider mount him.\"\n\n    Warm and earnest was the maiden's pity,\n    And, with gentle voice, she thus addressed him:\n    \"Nay! not so--not so, thou unknown warrior!\n    Harsh and heavy is Ressava's water;\n    Harsh and heavy e'en for healthful warriors;\n    How much worse for fever-sickening tired ones!\n    Wait, and I a cup of wine will bring thee.\"\n\n    Swiftly tripp'd the maiden to her dwelling;\n    With a golden cup of wine return'd she,\n    Which she reach'd to Theodore of Stalatch.\n    Out he stretch'd his hand; but not the wine cup,\n    But the maiden's hand, he seized, and flung her,\n    Flung her on his chestnut steed behind him:\n    Thrice he girt her with his leathern girdle,\n    And the fourth time with his sword-belt bound her;\n    And he bore her to his own white dwelling.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIV: FOLK LORE\n\n\nI. THE RAM WITH THE GOLDEN FLEECE\n\nOnce upon a time when a certain hunter went to the mountains to hunt,\nthere came toward him a ram with golden fleece. The hunter took his\nrifle to shoot it, but the ram rushed at him and, before he could\nfire, pierced him with its horns and he fell dead. A few days later\nsome of his friends found his body; they knew not who had killed him\nand they took the body home and interred it. The hunter's wife hung\nup the rifle on the wall in her cottage, and when her son grew up he\nbegged his mother to let him take it and go hunting. She, however,\nwould not consent, saying: \"You must never ask me again to give you\nthat rifle! It did not save your father's life, and do you wish that\nit should be the cause of your death?\"\n\nOne day, however, the youth took the rifle secretly and went out into\nthe forest to hunt. Very soon the same ram rushed out of a thicket\nand said: \"I killed your father; now it is your turn!\" This frightened\nthe youth, and ejaculating: \"God help me!\" he pressed the trigger of\nhis rifle and, lo! the ram fell dead.\n\nThe youth was exceedingly glad to have killed the golden-fleeced ram,\nfor there was not another like it throughout the land. He took off its\nskin and carried the fleece home, feeling very proud of his prowess. By\nand by the news spread over the country till it reached the Court,\nand the king ordered the young hunter to bring him the ram's skin,\nso that he might see what kind of beasts were to be found in his\nforests. When the youth brought the skin to the king, the latter said\nto him: \"Ask whatever you like for this skin, and I will give you what\nyou ask!\" But the youth answered: \"I would not sell it for anything.\"\n\nIt happened that the prime minister was an uncle of the young hunter,\nbut he was not his friend; on the contrary, he was his greatest\nenemy. So he said to the king: \"As he does not wish to sell you the\nskin, set him something to do which is surely impossible!\" The king\ncalled the youth back and ordered him to plant a vineyard and to bring\nhim, in seven days' time, some new wine from it. The youth began to\nweep and implored that he might be excused from such an impossible\ntask; but the king insisted, saying: \"If you do not obey me within\nseven days, your head shall be cut off!\"\n\n\n\n\nThe Youth finds a Friend\n\nStill weeping, the youth went home and told his mother all about\nhis audience with the king, and she answered: \"Did I not tell you,\nmy son, that that rifle would cost you your life?\" In deep sorrow\nand bewilderment the youth went out of the village and walked a long\nway into the wood. Suddenly a girl appeared before him and asked:\n\"Why do you weep, my brother?\" And he answered, somewhat angrily:\n\"Go your way! You cannot help me!\" He then went on, but the maiden\nfollowed him, and again begged him to tell her the reason of his tears,\n\"for perhaps,\" she added, \"I may, after all, be able to help you.\" Then\nhe stopped and said: \"I will tell you, but I know that God alone can\nhelp me.\" And then he told her all that had happened to him, and about\nthe task he had been set to do. When she heard the story, she said:\n\"Do not fear, my brother, but go and ask the king to say exactly where\nhe would like the vineyard planted, and then have it dug in perfectly\nstraight lines. Next you must go and take a bag with a sprig of basil\nin it, and lie down to sleep in the place where the vineyard is to be,\nand in seven days you will see that there are ripe grapes.\"\n\nHe returned home and told his mother how he had met a maiden who had\ntold him to do a ridiculous thing. His mother, however, said earnestly:\n\"Go, go, my son, do as the maiden bade; you cannot be in a worse\ncase anyhow.\" So he went to the king as the girl had directed him,\nand the king gratified his wish. However, he was still very sad when\nhe went to lie down in the indicated place with his sprig of basil.\n\nWhen he awoke next morning he saw that the vines were already\nplanted; on the second morning they were clothed with leaves; and,\nby the seventh day, they bore ripe grapes. Notwithstanding the girl's\npromise the youth was surprised to find ripe grapes at a time of year\nwhen they were nowhere to be found; but he gathered them, made wine,\nand taking a basketful of the ripe fruit with him, went to the king.\n\n\n\n\nThe Second Task\n\nWhen he reached the palace, the king and the whole court were\namazed. The prime minister said: \"We must order him to do something\nabsolutely impossible!\" and advised the king to command the youth to\nbuild a castle of elephants' tusks.\n\nUpon hearing this cruel order the youth went home weeping and told\nhis mother what had transpired, adding: \"This, my mother, is utterly\nimpossible!\" But the mother again advised him, and said: \"Go, my son,\nbeyond the village; may be you will again meet that maiden!\"\n\nThe youth obeyed, and, indeed, as soon as he came to the place where\nhe had found the girl before, she appeared before him and said: \"You\nare again sad and tearful, my brother!\" And he began to complain of the\nsecond impossible task which the king had set him to perform. Hearing\nthis, the girl said: \"This will also be easy; but first go to the\nking and ask him to give you a ship with three hundred barrels of\nwine and as many kegs of brandy, and also twenty carpenters. Then,\nwhen you arrive at such and such a place, which you will find between\ntwo mountains, dam the water there, and pour into it all the wine\nand brandy. Elephants will come down to that spot to drink water, and\nwill get drunk and fall on the ground. Then your carpenters must at\nonce cut off their tusks, and carry them to the place where the king\nwishes his castle to be built. There you may all lie down to sleep,\nand within seven days the castle will be ready.\"\n\nWhen the youth heard this, he hurried home, and told his mother all\nabout the plan of the maiden. The mother was quite confident, and\ncounselled her son to do everything as directed by the maiden. So\nhe went to the king and asked him for the ship, the three hundred\nbarrels of wine and brandy, as well as the twenty carpenters; and the\nking gave him all he wanted. Next he went where the girl had told him,\nand did everything she had advised. Indeed, the elephants came as was\nexpected, drank, and then duly fell down intoxicated. The carpenters\ncut off the innumerable tusks, took them to the chosen place, and\nbegan building, and in seven days the castle was ready. When the\nking saw this, he was again amazed, and said to his prime minister:\n\"Now what shall I do with him? He is not an ordinary youth! God alone\nknows who he is!\" Thereupon the officer answered: \"Give him one more\norder, and if he executes it successfully, he will prove that he is\na supernatural being.\"\n\n\n\n\nThe Third Task\n\nThus he again advised the king, who called the youth and said to him:\n\"I command you to go and bring me the princess of a certain kingdom,\nwho is living in such and such a castle. If you do not bring her to\nme, you will surely lose your life!\" When the youth heard this, he\nwent straight to his mother and told her of this new task; whereupon\nthe mother advised him to seek his girl friend once more. He hurried\nto where beyond the village he had met the girl before, and as he\ncame to the spot she reappeared. She listened intently to the youth's\naccount of his last visit to the court, and then said: \"Go and ask the\nking to give you a galley; in the galley there must be made twenty\nshops with different merchandise in each; in each shop there must,\nalso, be a handsome youth to sell the wares. On your voyage you will\nmeet a man who carries an eagle; you must buy his eagle and pay for\nit whatever price he may ask. Then you will meet a second man, in a\nboat carrying in his net a carp with golden scales; you must buy the\ncarp at any cost. The third man whom you will meet, will be carrying\na dove, which you must also buy. Then you must take a feather from\nthe eagle's tail, a scale from the carp, and a feather from the left\nwing of the dove, and give the creatures their freedom. When you reach\nthat distant kingdom and are near the castle in which the princess\nresides, you must open all shops and order each youth to stand at his\ndoor. And the girls who come down to the shore to fetch water are\nsure to say that no one ever saw a ship loaded with such wonderful\nand beautiful things in their town before; and then they will go and\nspread the news all over the place. The news will reach the ears of\nthe princess, who will at once ask her father's permission to go and\nvisit the galley. When she comes on board with her ladies-in-waiting,\nyou must lead the party from one shop to another, and bring out and\nexhibit before her all the finest merchandise you have; thus divert\nher and keep her on board your galley until evening, then you must\nsuddenly set sail; for by that time it will be so dark that your\ndeparture will be unnoticed. The princess will have a favourite bird\non her shoulder, and, when she perceives that the galley is sailing\noff, she will turn the bird loose and it will fly to the palace with\na message to her father of what has befallen her. When you see that\nthe bird has flown you must burn the eagle's feather; the eagle will\nappear, and, when you command it to catch the bird, it will instantly\ndo so. Next, the princess will throw a pebble into the sea, and the\ngalley will immediately be still. Upon this you must burn the scale of\nthe carp at once; the carp will come to you and you must instruct it\nto find the pebble and swallow it. As soon as this is done, the galley\nwill sail on again. Then you will proceed in peace for a while; but,\nwhen you reach a certain spot between two mountains, your galley will\nbe suddenly petrified and you will be greatly alarmed. The princess\nwill then order you to bring her some water of life, whereupon you\nmust burn the feather of the dove, and when the bird appears you\nmust give it a small flask in which it will bring you the elixir,\nafter which your galley will sail on again and you will arrive home\nwith the princess without further adventure.\"\n\nThe youth returned to his mother and she advised him to do as the\ngirl counselled him. So he went to the king and asked for all that\nwas necessary for his undertaking, and the king again gave him all\nhe asked for.\n\nOn his voyage everything was accomplished as the girl had foretold, and\nhe succeeded in bringing home the princess in triumph. The king and his\nprime minister from the balcony of the palace saw the galley returning,\nand the prime minister said: \"Now you really must have him killed as\nsoon as he lands; otherwise you will never be able to get rid of him!\"\n\nWhen the galley reached the port, the princess first came ashore\nwith her ladies-in-waiting; then the handsome young men who had sold\nthe wares, and finally the youth himself. The king had ordered an\nexecutioner to be in readiness, and as soon as the youth stepped\non shore he was seized by the king's servants and his head was\nchopped off.\n\nIt was the king's intention to espouse the beautiful princess,\nand, as soon as he saw her, he approached her with compliments and\nflattery. But the princess would not listen to his honeyed words;\nshe turned away and asked: \"Where is my captor, who did so much for\nme?\" And, when she saw that his head had been cut off, she immediately\ntook the small flask and poured some of its contents over the body and,\nlo! the youth arose in perfect health. When the king and his minister\nsaw this marvellous thing, the latter said: \"This young man must now\nbe wiser than ever, for was he not dead, and has he not returned\nto life?\" Whereupon the king, desirous of knowing if it were true\nthat one who has been dead knows all things when he returns to life,\nordered the executioner to chop off his head, that the princess might\nbring him to life again by the power of her wonderful water of life.\n\nBut, when the king's head was off, the princess would not hear of\nrestoring him to life, but immediately wrote to her father, telling\nhim of her love for the youth and declaring her wish to marry him,\nand described to her father all that had happened. Her father replied,\nsaying that he approved of his daughter's choice, and he issued a\nproclamation which stated that, unless the people would elect the youth\nto be their ruler, he would declare war against them. The men of that\ncountry immediately recognized that this would be only just, and so the\nyouth became king, wedded the fair princess, and gave large estates and\ntitles to all the handsome youths who had helped him on his expedition.\n\n\n\n\nII. A PAVILION NEITHER IN THE SKY NOR ON THE EARTH [79]\n\nOnce upon a time there lived a tsar, who had three sons and one\ndaughter. The latter was kept in a cage by her father, for he loved\nher as he loved his own eyes. When the girl grew up she begged her\nfather's permission to go out one evening with her brothers, and\nthe tsar granted her wish. No sooner had she left the palace than\na dragon flew down, seized the princess and, despite her brothers,\ndisappeared with her into the clouds. The princes hastened to tell\ntheir father what had happened, and they implored him to let them go\nin search of their sister.\n\nThereupon their unhappy father gave each of them a horse and other\nnecessary equipment for a long journey, and they started out upon\ntheir quest. After journeying a long way, they sighted in the distance\na pavilion, which was neither in the sky nor on the earth, but was\nhanging midway between. When they came underneath this, it occurred\nto them that their sister might be hidden in it, and they began to\nconsider how best they might reach it. Finally they decided that one\nof them must kill his horse, cut its hide into strips, make a thong,\nand, fastening one end to an arrow, shoot it from the bow so strongly\nthat it should strike deeply into the framework of the pavilion,\nthus making a way up which they could climb.\n\nThe two younger brothers proposed to the eldest that he should kill\nhis horse, but he refused. Neither would the second brother consent to\ndo so; then the youngest brother, seeing that it could not be helped,\nkilled his horse, made its hide into a lengthy thong, fixed one end\nto his arrow, and shot straight up to the pavilion, where the arrow\nstuck firmly.\n\nNext they had to discuss who should climb up the thong; again the two\nelder brothers refused, so it fell to the youngest to perform this\nexploit. Being very agile, he soon reached the pavilion; wandering\nfrom one room to another, he finally came to an apartment where, to his\ngreat joy, he saw his sister sitting with the sleeping dragon's head on\nher knee. When the princess beheld her brother, she feared exceedingly\nfor his life, and implored him to escape before the dragon awoke.\n\n\n\n\nThe Prince slays the Dragon\n\nThe courageous youth, however, would not obey his sister, but seized\nhis mace and struck the dragon on the head. The monster pointed with\none of his claws to the place where he had been struck and said to the\nmaiden: \"Something bit me here!\" Again the prince raised his mace and\ndelivered a blow upon the monster's head; but the dragon apparently\ndid not mind, for he pointed again indifferently to the place, saying:\n\"Again something has bitten me!\"\n\nThe young prince was on the point of striking the third time, when\nhis sister pointed to a spot where only the dragon might receive\na mortal wound, and directing his blow upon the place indicated,\nthe dragon instantly succumbed. The princess at once freed herself\nof the dragon's head, ran swiftly to kiss her brother, and then was\neager to show him the different rooms.\n\nFirst, she took him into a room in which stood a black steed fastened\nto a stall and decked with a saddle and harness adorned with pure\nsilver. Next she led him into a second room, where they found a white\nhorse, also ready to be mounted, but its harness was of pure gold. Then\nshe took him into a third room, where was a beautiful Arab steed\nwhose saddle, stirrups and bridle were studded with precious stones.\n\nThe princess next conducted her brother to a chamber in which a maiden\nwas sitting at a golden tambourette engaged in embroidering with golden\nthreads. From thence she led him into a second apartment where a girl\nwas spinning gold threads. At last they entered a third room in which\na maiden sat threading pearls, and before her, upon a golden plate,\nwas a golden hen with its chickens, sorting the pearls.\n\nHaving satisfied his curiosity, the prince returned to the room where\nhe had left the dead dragon, and threw the carcass down to earth; and\nat the mere sight of the dragon's body the two brothers were terrified\nout of their wits. Next the prince slowly let down his sister, and,\nafter her, the three maidens, together with their work. While he was\nthus engaged he shouted to his brothers and made gestures indicating\nto whom each of the girls should belong. He reserved for himself the\none who had been threading pearls, not forgetting the golden hen and\nthe chickens.\n\n\n\n\nThe Perfidy of the Brothers\n\nHis brothers, envying the heroism of the young prince and jealous of\nhis successful exploits, were now guilty of a dastardly trick; they\ncut the thong in order that he might not be able to reach the earth,\nand taking their sister with all the booty they hurriedly decamped.\n\nOn the way home the princes met a shepherd watching his sheep, and\nthey prevailed upon him to disguise himself and to impersonate their\nyoungest brother, ordering their sister and the three maidens to keep\nstrictly their secret.\n\nSome time elapsed, and one day the youngest prince had tidings\nthat his brothers and the disguised shepherd were on the point of\nmarrying the three maidens. This information seems to have been\nsingularly complete, for on the day of his eldest brother's wedding,\nmounted on the black steed, he flew down and alighted in front of the\nchurch. There he awaited the moment for the procession to come out,\nand, as his brother was preparing to mount his horse, he approached\nhim swiftly, raised his club and struck him a heavy blow so that he\nfell instantly. The young prince then remounted the black horse and\nwas instantly transported to the mysterious pavilion.\n\nOn the wedding-day of his second brother the feat, this time on the\nwhite horse, was repeated, none guessing who the strange aggressor was.\n\nNext came the turn of the shepherd. On the day of his wedding with\nthe third maiden, the young prince, mounted on the Arab, alighted\nin the churchyard just at the moment when the wedding procession\nstarted to return. This time he struck the bridegroom on the head so\nheavily that he fell dead. The guests hurriedly alighted from their\nhorses and surrounded the prince, who made no attempt to escape, but\nrevealed himself as the third son of their tsar. He told them that the\npretended prince, whom he had just sent to the other world, was but a\ncommon shepherd, and that his brothers, out of envy, had caused him\nto remain in the magic pavilion where he had discovered his sister\nand killed the dragon. All that he said was immediately confirmed\nby his sister and the three maidens. When the tsar heard this he was\nvery angry with his two elder sons, and drove them for ever from his\npalace. But as for his valiant youngest son, he united him to the\nthird maiden and left him the crown and all he possessed when he died.\n\n\n\n\nIII. PEPELYOUGA\n\nOn a high pasture land, near by an immense precipice, some maidens\nwere occupied in spinning and attending to their grazing cattle, when\nan old strange-looking man with a white beard reaching down to his\ngirdle approached, and said: \"O fair maidens, beware of the abyss,\nfor if one of you should drop her spindle down the cliff, her mother\nwould be turned into a cow that very moment!\"\n\nSo saying the aged man disappeared, and the girls, bewildered by\nhis words, and discussing the strange incident, approached near\nto the ravine which had suddenly become interesting to them. They\npeered curiously over the edge, as though expecting to see some\nunaccustomed sight, when suddenly the most beautiful of the maidens\nlet her spindle drop from her hand, and ere she could recover it,\nit was bounding from rock to rock into the depths beneath. When she\nreturned home that evening she found her worst fears realized, for\nher mother stood before the door transformed into a cow.\n\nA short time later her father married again. His new wife was a widow,\nand brought a daughter of her own into her new home. This girl was not\nparticularly well-favoured, and her mother immediately began to hate\nher stepdaughter because of the latter's good looks. She forebade her\nhenceforth to wash her face, to comb her hair or to change her clothes,\nand in every way she could think of she sought to make her miserable.\n\nOne morning she gave her a bag filled with hemp, saying: \"If you do\nnot spin this and make a fine top of it by to-night, you need not\nreturn home, for I intend to kill you.\"\n\nThe poor girl, deeply dejected, walked behind the cattle, industriously\nspinning as she went, but by noon when the cattle lay down in the\nshade to rest, she observed that she had made but little progress\nand she began to weep bitterly.\n\nNow, her mother was driven daily to pasture with the other cows,\nand seeing her daughter's tears she drew near and asked why she wept,\nwhereupon the maiden told her all. Then the cow comforted her daughter,\nsaying: \"My darling child, be consoled! Let me take the hemp into my\nmouth and chew it; through my ear a thread will come out. You must\ntake the end of this and wind it into a top.\" So this was done; the\nhemp was soon spun, and when the girl gave it to her stepmother that\nevening, she was greatly surprised.\n\nNext morning the woman roughly ordered the maiden to spin a still\nlarger bag of hemp, and as the girl, thanks to her mother, spun and\nwound it all her stepmother, on the following day, gave her twice the\nquantity to spin. Nevertheless, the girl brought home at night even\nthat unusually large quantity well spun, and her stepmother concluded\nthat the poor girl was not spinning alone, but that other maidens, her\nfriends, were giving her help. Therefore she, next morning, sent her\nown daughter to spy upon the poor girl and to report what she saw. The\ngirl soon noticed that the cow helped the poor orphan by chewing the\nhemp, while she drew the thread and wound it on a top, and she ran\nback home and informed her mother of what she had seen. Upon this,\nthe stepmother insisted that her husband should order that particular\ncow to be slaughtered. Her husband at first hesitated, but as his\nwife urged him more and more, he finally decided to do as she wished.\n\n\n\n\nThe Promise\n\nOn learning what had been decided, the stepdaughter wept more than\never, and when her mother asked what was the matter, she told her\ntearfully all that had been arranged. Thereupon the cow said to her\ndaughter: \"Wipe away your tears, and do not cry any more. When they\nslaughter me, you must take great care not to eat any of the meat,\nbut after the repast, carefully collect my bones and inter them behind\nthe house under a certain stone; then, should you ever be in need of\nhelp, come to my grave and there you will find it.\"\n\nThe cow was killed, and when the meat was served the poor girl\ndeclined to eat of it, pretending that she had no appetite; after\nthe meal she gathered with great care all the bones and buried them\non the spot indicated by her mother.\n\nNow, the name of the maiden was 'Marra,' but, as she had to do\nthe roughest work of the house, such as carrying water, washing and\nsweeping, she was called by her stepmother and stepsister 'Pepelyouga'\n(Cinderella). One Sunday, when the stepmother and her daughter had\ndressed themselves for church, the woman spread about the house the\ncontents of a basketful of millet, and said: \"Listen, Pepelyouga;\nif you do not gather up all this millet and have dinner ready by the\ntime we return from church, I will kill you!\"\n\nWhen they had gone, the poor girl began to weep, reflecting, \"As to\nthe dinner I can easily prepare it, but how can I possibly gather\nup all this millet?\" But that very moment she recalled the words of\nthe cow, that, if she ever should be struck by misfortune, she need\nbut walk to the grave behind the house, when she would find instant\nhelp there. Immediately she ran out, and, when she approached the\ngrave, lo! a chest was lying on the grave wide open, and inside were\nbeautiful dresses and everything necessary for a lady's toilet. Two\ndoves were sitting on the lid of the chest, and as the girl drew near,\nthey said to her: \"Marra, take from the chest the dress you like the\nbest, clothe yourself and go to church; as to the millet and other\nwork, we ourselves will attend to that and see that everything is in\ngood order!\"\n\n\n\n\nMarra goes to Church\n\nMarra needed no second invitation; she took the first silk dress\nshe touched, made her toilet and went to church, where her entrance\ncreated quite a sensation. Everybody, men and women, greatly admired\nher beauty and her costly attire, but they were puzzled as to who\nshe was, and whence she came. A prince happened to be in the church\non that day, and he, too, admired the beautiful maiden.\n\nJust before the service ended, the girl stole from the church, went\nhurriedly home, took off her beautiful clothes and placed them back in\nthe chest, which instantly shut and became invisible. She then rushed\nto the kitchen, where she discovered that the dinner was quite ready,\nand that the millet was gathered into the basket. Soon the stepmother\ncame back with her daughter and they were astounded to find the millet\ngathered up, dinner prepared, and everything else in order. A desire\nto learn the secret now began to torment the stepmother mightily.\n\nNext Sunday everything happened as before, except that the girl\nfound in the chest a silver dress, and that the prince felt a greater\nadmiration for her, so much so that he was unable, even for a moment,\nto take his eyes from her.\n\nOn the third Sunday, the mother and daughter again prepared to go to\nchurch, and, having scattered the millet as before, she repeated her\nprevious threats. As soon as they disappeared, the girl ran straight\nto her mother's grave, where she found, as on the previous occasions,\nthe open chest and the same two doves. This time she found a dress made\nof gold lace, and she hastily clad herself in it and went to church,\nwhere she was admired by all, even more than before. As for the tsar's\nson, he had come with the intention not to let her this time out of\nhis sight, but to follow and see whither she went. Accordingly, as\nthe service drew near to its close, and the maiden withdrew quietly\nas before, the enamoured prince followed after her. Marra hurried\nalong, for she had none too much time, and, as she went, one of her\ngolden slippers came off, and she was too agitated to stop and pick\nit up. The prince, however, who had lost sight of the maiden, saw\nthe slipper and put it in his pocket. Reaching home, Marra took off\nher golden dress, laid it in the chest, and rushed back to the house.\n\n\n\n\nThe Prince's Quest\n\nThe prince now resolved to go from house to house throughout his\nfather's realm in search of the owner of the slipper, inviting all\nfair maidens to try on the golden slipper. But, alas! his efforts\nseemed to be doomed to failure; for some girls the slipper was too\nlong, for others too short, for others, again, too narrow. There was\nno one whom it would fit.\n\nWandering from door to door, the sad prince at length came to the\nhouse of Marra's father. The stepmother was expecting him, and she had\nhidden her stepdaughter under a large trough in the courtyard. When the\nprince asked whether she had any daughters, the stepmother answered\nthat she had but one, and she presented the girl to him. The prince\nrequested the girl to try on the slipper, but, squeeze as she would,\nthere was not room in it even for her toes! Thereupon the prince\nasked whether it was true that there were no other girls in the house,\nand the stepmother replied that indeed it was quite true.\n\nThat very moment a cock flew on to the trough and crowed out lustily:\n\"Kook-oo-ryeh-koooo! Here she is under this very trough!\"\n\nThe stepmother, enraged, exclaimed: \"Sh----! Go away! May an eagle\nseize you and fly off with you!\" The curiosity of the prince was\naroused; he approached the trough, lifted it up, and, to his great\nsurprise, there was the maiden whom he had seen thrice in church,\nclad in the very same golden dress she had last worn, and having only\none golden slipper.\n\nWhen the prince recognized the maiden he was overcome with joy. Quickly\nhe tried the slipper on her dainty foot; it not only fitted her\nadmirably, but it exactly matched the one she already wore on her left\nfoot. He lifted her up tenderly and escorted her to his palace. Later\nhe won her love, and they were happily married.\n\n\n\n\nIV. ANIMALS' LANGUAGE\n\nThe universality of folk-lore is curiously illustrated in the\nfollowing tale which is strikingly like a story native to the negroes\nof Western Africa. In this the hero is granted, as a boon by the\nKing of the Animals, the gift of understanding animal language; he\nis warned that if he divulges to any that he possesses this gift he\nwill die on the instant; he is made rich by the possession of it;\nhe laughs at a conversation between animals which he overhears;\nhis wife demands to know the cause of his laughter. To this point\nthe two stories are identical, but in the West African tale the man\ndivulges the secret and pays the penalty with his life, whereas the\nSerbian conclusion is very much less tame, as will be seen.\n\nA wealthy peasant had a shepherd, who served him for a great number\nof years most honestly and faithfully. One day, as he drove his\nsheep through a forest to the pasture, he heard a hissing sound,\nand wondered what it could be. Listening carefully he went nearer\nand nearer to the spot whence the sound came, and he saw that the\nforest was on fire and that the hissing proceeded from a snake that\nwas surrounded by flames. The shepherd watched to see what the poor\ncreature would do in its trouble: and when the snake saw the shepherd,\nit exclaimed from the midst of the flames: \"O shepherd, I pray of you,\nsave me from this fire!\" Then the shepherd reached out his crook and\nthe snake entwined itself swiftly round the stick, round his arm,\non to his shoulders and round his neck.\n\nWhen the shepherd realized what was happening he was seized with\nhorror, and cried out: \"What are you about to do, ungrateful\ncreature! Did I save your life only to lose my own?\" And the snake\nanswered him: \"Have no fear, my saviour! But take me to my father's\nhouse! My father is the king of the snake-world.\"\n\nThe shepherd endeavoured to move the snake to pity and prayed it to\nexcuse him, for he could not leave his sheep. Thereupon the snake said\nto him: \"Be comforted, my friend! Do not trouble about your sheep;\nnothing amiss will happen to them, but now do hasten to my father's\nhouse!\" So the shepherd went with the snake round his neck through\nthe forest, till he came at length to a doorway constructed entirely\nof serpents. When they came near the gate, the shepherd's guide\nhissed to its servants, whereupon all the snakes instantly untwined\nthemselves, leaving a way open for the shepherd, who passed through\nunmolested. Then the snake said to its preserver: \"When we come before\nmy father he will surely give you, as reward for your kindness to me,\nwhatever you may wish: gold, silver and precious stones; but you should\nnot accept anything of that kind. I would advise you to ask for the\nlanguage of animals. He will undoubtedly be opposed to your wish,\nbut finally he will yield.\"\n\nThey now entered the apartments of the king, who, with evident relief,\ninquired: \"My son, where have you been all this time?\" The reptile\nthen told all about the fire in the forest and of the kindness\nof the shepherd, who had saved his life. At this the snake-king\nturned with emotion to the shepherd: \"What reward can I give you for\nhaving saved the life of my son?\" he said. The shepherd answered:\n\"I desire nothing but the power of understanding and speaking the\nlanguage of animals.\" But the monarch said: \"That is not for you,\nfor if I give you that power, and you should impart the secret\nto another, you will instantly die. Therefore choose some other\ngift.\" But the shepherd insisted: \"If you wish to reward me, give\nme the language of animals: if you do not care to gratify my wish,\nno more need be said; I bid you farewell!\" And indeed he turned to\ngo, but the king, seeing his determination, stopped him, exclaiming:\n\"Come here, my friend! Since you so strongly desire the language\nof animals, the gift shall not be withheld; open your mouth!\" The\nshepherd obeyed, and the snake-king blew into his mouth, and said:\n\"Now, blow into my mouth!\" The shepherd did as he was told, and the\nsnake-king blew a second time in the shepherd's mouth, and then said:\n\"Now you have the language of animals. Go in peace; but be sure not\nto impart your secret to another, else you will die that very moment!\"\n\nThe shepherd took leave of his friends and as he returned through\nthe woods he heard and understood everything the birds, plants and\nother living creatures were saying to each other. When he reached\nhis flock and found all his sheep safe as had been promised, he lay\non the grass to rest.\n\n\n\n\nThe Buried Treasure\n\nHardly had he settled himself, than two ravens alighted on a tree\nnear by and began to converse: \"If this shepherd knew what is under\nthe spot where that black lamb is lying, he would surely dig in the\nearth; he would discover a cave full of silver and gold.\"\n\nThe shepherd at once went to his master and told him of the buried\ntreasure. The latter drove a cart to the place indicated, dug deeply\nin the earth and lo! he found a cave full of silver and gold, the\ncontents of which he placed in his cart and carried home. This master\nwas an honest and generous man, and he gave the entire treasure to\nhis shepherd, saying: \"Take this, my son; it was to you that God gave\nit! I would advise you to build a house, to marry and start some good\nbusiness with this gold.\"\n\nThe shepherd did as his kindly master advised him, and, little by\nlittle he multiplied his wealth and became the richest man, not\nonly in his village, but in the whole district. He now hired his own\nshepherds, cattle-drivers and swineherds to keep his great property\nin good order. One day, just before Christmas, he said to his wife:\n\"Prepare wine and food, for to-morrow we will go to our farms and\nfeast our servants.\" His wife did as he bade, and the next morning\nthey went to their farms, and the master said to his men: \"Now come\none and all, eat and drink together; as for the sheep I will myself\nwatch them to-night.\"\n\nSo the kind man went to guard his sheep. About midnight, wolves began\nto howl and his dogs barked a defiance. Said the wolves in their own\nlanguage to the dogs: \"Can we come and kill the sheep? There will be\nenough for you also.\" Thereupon the dogs answered in their own tongue:\n\"O come by all means, we also would like to have a feast!\" But amongst\nthe dogs there was a very old one who had only two teeth left. That\nfaithful animal barked furiously at the wolves: \"To the devil with\nyou all! So long as I have these two teeth, you shall not touch my\nmaster's sheep!\" And the master heard and understood every word they\nuttered. Next morning he ordered his servants to kill all his dogs,\nexcept the old one. The servants began to implore their master, saying:\n\"Dear master, it is a pity to kill them!\" But the master would not\nsuffer any remonstrance, and sternly ordered: \"Do as I bid you!\" Then\nhe and his wife mounted their horses and started for home, he on a\nhorse and she on a mare. As they journeyed, the horse left the mare\na little behind and he neighed, saying: \"Hurry up, why do you dawdle\nbehind?\" And the mare answered: \"Eh, it is not hard for you--you are\ncarrying only your master, and I am carrying a despotic woman whose\nrules are a burden to the whole household.\"\n\n\n\n\nThe Importunate Wife\n\nHearing this, the master turned his head and burst into laughter. His\nwife noticing his sudden mirth, spurred on her mare, and when she\nreached her husband she asked him why he had laughed. He answered:\n\"There is no reason, I just laughed.\" But the woman was not satisfied\nwith this reply and would not give her husband any peace. He\nendeavoured in vain to excuse himself, saying: \"Don't keep on asking\nme; if I tell you the true reason why I laughed, I shall instantly\ndie!\" But she did not believe her husband, and the more he refused\nto tell her, the more she insisted that he should do so, until at\nlast the poor man was worn out by her persistence.\n\nDirectly they arrived home, therefore, the man ordered a coffin to\nbe made, and, when it was ready and he had it placed in front of the\nhouse-door, he said to his wife: \"I shall lie down in this coffin,\nfor the moment I tell you why I laughed, I shall die.\" So he laid\nhimself in the coffin, and as he took a last look around, he saw his\nfaithful old dog, coming from the fields. The poor animal approached\nhis master's coffin and sat near his head howling with grief. When\nthe master saw this, he requested his wife to give it food. The\nwoman brought bread and gave it to the dog, who would not even look\nat it, still less eat it. The piece of bread attracted a cock, which\ncame forward and began to peck at it; the dog reproached him saying:\n\"You insatiable creature! You think of nothing but food, and you fail\nto see that our dear master is about to die!\"\n\nTo this reprimand the cock retorted: \"Let him die, since he is such\na foolish man! I have a hundred wives, and I gather them all round a\ngrain of corn, which I happen to find; and then, when they have all\nassembled, I swallow it myself! If any of them should protest, I just\npeck at them; but he, the fool, is not able to rule a single wife.\"\n\nAt this the man jumped out of the coffin, took a stick and called\nto his wife: \"Come in the house, wife, and I shall tell you why\nI laughed!\"\n\nSeeing the obvious intention of her husband, the woman begged him to\ndesist, and promised that nevermore would she be curious, or try to\npry into his affairs.\n\n\n\n\nV. THE STEPMOTHER AND HER STEPDAUGHTER\n\nOnce upon a time there was a girl who lived with her stepmother. The\nwoman hated her stepdaughter exceedingly, because she was more\nbeautiful than her own daughter, whom she had brought with her to the\nhouse. She did her utmost to turn the poor girl's own father against\nher, and with such success that he soon began to scold and even to\nhate his own child.\n\nOne day the woman said to her husband: \"We must send your daughter\naway. She must go into the world to seek her fortune!\" And he answered:\n\"How can we send the poor girl away? Where could she go alone?\" But\nthe wicked stepmother replied: \"To-morrow you must take her far into\nthe woods, leave her there and hurry home, or I will no longer live\nwith you.\"\n\nThe unfortunate father at length gave way, and said: \"At least\nprepare the girl something for her journey, that she may not die\nof hunger.\" The stepmother therefore made a cake, and gave it to\nthe girl next morning as she was leaving the house. The man and his\ndaughter trudged on until they were right in the depth of the woods,\nand then the father stole away and returned home.\n\nThe girl, alone in the woods, wandered all the rest of that day in\nsearch of a path, but could not find one. Meanwhile it grew darker\nand darker, and at length she climbed a tree, fearing lest some\nwild beast should devour her if she remained through the night on\nthe ground. And indeed, all night long the wolves howled under the\ntree so ravenously that the poor girl, in her nervous terror, could\nhardly keep from falling.\n\nNext morning she descended the tree and wandered on again in search\nof some way out, but the more she walked the denser grew the forest,\nand there seemed to be no end to it. When it grew dark again, she\nlooked about for another suitable tree in the branches of which\nshe might safely pass the night, but suddenly she noticed something\nshining through the darkness. She thought it might, perhaps, be a\ndwelling, and she went toward it. And indeed, she came soon to a large\nfine house, the doors of which were open. She entered, and saw many\nelegant rooms, in one of which was a large table with lights burning\non it. She thought this must be the dwelling of brigands, but she had\nno fear at all, for she reasoned with herself: \"Only rich people need\nfear robbers; I, a poor simple girl, have nothing to be afraid of;\nI shall tell them that I am ready to work for them gladly if they\nwill give me something to eat.\"\n\n\n\n\nA Strange Dwelling\n\nThen she took the cake from her bag, made the sign of the cross\n[80] and began her meal. No sooner had she begun to eat than a cock\nappeared and flew near her as if begging for a share. The good girl\ncrumbled a piece of her cake and fed him. Shortly afterward a little\ndog came and began in his own way to express friendly feeling toward\nher. The girl broke another piece of her cake, gently took the little\ndog in her lap, and began feeding and caressing it. After that a cat\ncame in too, and she did the same with her.\n\nSuddenly she heard a loud growling, and she was terrified to see\na lion coming toward her. The great beast waved his tail in such a\nfriendly manner, and looked so very kind, however, that her courage\nrevived, and she gave him a piece of her cake, which the lion ate;\nand then he began to lick her hand. This proof of gratitude reassured\nthe girl completely, and she stroked the lion gently, and gave him\nmore of the cake.\n\nAll at once the girl heard a great clashing of weapons, and nearly\nswooned as a creature in a bear-skin entered the room. The cock, the\ndog, the cat and the lion all ran to meet it, and frisked about it\naffectionately, showing many signs of pleasure and rejoicing. She,\npoor creature, did not think this strange being could be anything\nbut cruel, and expected it would spring upon her and devour her. But\nthe seeming monster threw the bear-skin from its head and shoulders,\nand at once the whole room gleamed with the magnificence of its\ngolden garments. The girl almost lost her senses when she saw before\nher a handsome man of noble appearance. He approached her and said:\n\"Do not fear! I am not a lawless man, I am the tsar's son; and when\nI wish to hunt, I usually come here, disguised in this bear-skin,\nlest the people should recognize me. Save you, no one knows that I\nam a man; people think I am an apparition, and flee from me. No one\ndares to pass near this house, still less to enter it, for it is known\nthat I dwell in it. You are the first who has ventured to come in;\nprobably you knew that I was not a ghost?\"\n\nThereupon the girl told the prince all about her wicked stepmother,\nand declared that she knew nothing of this dwelling or who lived in\nit. When the young prince heard her story, moved with indignation and\npity, he said: \"Your stepmother hated you, but God loved you. I love\nyou very much, too, and if you feel you could return my love, I would\nlike to marry you--will you be my wife?\" \"Yes,\" replied the maiden.\n\nNext morning the prince took the girl to his father's palace and they\nwere married. After some time the prince's bride begged to be allowed\nto go and pay a visit to her father. The prince gladly allowed her\nto do as she wished, and donning a fine robe embroidered with gold\nshe went to her old home. Her father happened to be absent, and her\nstepmother, seeing her coming, feared that she had come to revenge\nherself; therefore she hurried out to meet her, saying: \"You see now\nthat I sent you on the road of happiness?\" The stepdaughter embraced\nthe woman and kissed her; she also embraced her stepsister. Then she\nsat down to await her father's return, but at length, as he did not\ncome, she was compelled reluctantly to leave without seeing him. On\ngoing away she gave much money to her stepmother, nevertheless when\nshe had got some distance from the house, the ungrateful woman\nsteathily shook her fist at her, muttering: \"Wait a little, you\naccursed creature, you shall certainly not be the only one so elegantly\ndressed; to-morrow I shall send my own daughter the same way!\"\n\n\n\n\nThe Envy of the Stepmother\n\nThe husband did not return until late in the evening, when his wife\nmet him, saying: \"Listen, husband! I propose that my own daughter\nshould be sent out into the world that she may also seek her fortune;\nfor your girl came back to visit us to-day and lo! she was glittering\nin gold.\" The man sighed and agreed.\n\nNext morning the woman prepared for her daughter several cakes and\nsome roast meat and sent her with the father into the forest. The\nunfortunate man guided her as he had led his own daughter, into the\nheart of the forest, and then stole off leaving her alone. When the\ngirl saw that her father had disappeared she walked on slowly through\nthe woods, till she came to the gates of the same house in which\nher stepsister had found happiness. She entered, closed the door\nand resolved not to open it for anybody. Then she took a cake out\nof her bag and began her meal. Meanwhile the cock, the dog and the\ncat came in, and began to frisk about her playfully expecting that\nshe would give them something to eat, but she exclaimed angrily:\n\"Get away, you ugly creatures! I have hardly enough for myself;\nI will not give you any!\" Then she began to beat them; whereat the\ndog howled, and the lion, hearing his friend's lamentation, rushed\nin furiously and killed the unkind girl.\n\nNext morning the prince rode out with his wife to hunt. They came to\nthe house, and saw what had happened, and when the princess recognized\nher stepsister's dress, she gathered up the torn garment and carried it\nto her father's house. This time she found her father at home, and he\nwas indeed very happy to learn that his dear daughter was married to a\nhandsome prince. When, however, he heard what had befallen his wife's\ndaughter he was sad indeed, and exclaimed: \"Her mother has deserved\nthis punishment from the hand of God, because she hated you without\nreason. She is at the well, I will go and tell her the sad news.\"\n\nWhen his wife heard what had happened, she said: \"O husband! I cannot\nbear the sight of your daughter; let us kill both her and the tsar's\nson! Do this thing or I will jump at once into the well.\" The man\nindignantly answered: \"Well then, jump! I shall not murder my own\nchild!\"\n\nAnd the wicked woman said: \"If you cannot kill her, I cannot bear to\nlook at her!\" Thereupon she jumped into the well and was killed.\n\n\n\n\nVI. JUSTICE AND INJUSTICE\n\nThere was a king who had two sons, one of whom was cunning and\nunjust, and the other good and just. In due time the king died,\nand the unjust son said to his brother: \"As you are younger than I,\nyou cannot expect me to share the throne with you, so you had better\ngo away from the palace. Take these three hundred tzechins [81] and\na horse to ride: this is to be your share of the inheritance.\" The\nyounger brother took the gold and his horse, and reflecting he said:\n\"God be praised! How much of the entire kingdom has fallen to me!\"\n\nSome time later the two brothers met by chance on a road, and the\nyounger saluted the elder thus: \"God help you, brother!\" And the elder\nanswered: \"May God send you a misfortune! Why do you for ever mention\nthe name of God to me? Injustice is better than justice.\" Thereupon the\ngood brother said: \"I wager that injustice is not better than justice!\"\n\nSo they laid as a wager one hundred tzechins and agreed to accept the\ndecision of the first passer-by whom they should happen to meet. Riding\non a little farther they met Satan, who had disguised himself as a\nmonk, and they requested him to decide their contest. Satan immediately\nanswered that injustice is better than justice; so the just brother\nlost one hundred tzechins. Then they made another wager in the same\nsum, and again a third; and each time the Devil--differently disguised\non each occasion--pronounced for injustice. Finally the good brother\nlost even his horse; but he was quite unconvinced and he reflected:\n\"Ah, well! I have lost all my tzechins, it is true, but I have still my\neyes, and I shall wager my eyes this time.\" So they made the bet once\nmore, but the unjust brother did not even wait anybody's arbitration,\nhe took out his poniard and pierced his brother's eyes, saying:\n\"Now, let justice help you, when you have no eyes!\"\n\nThe poor youth said to his cruel brother: \"I have lost my eyes for the\nsake of God's justice, but I pray you, my brother, give me a little\nwater in a vessel that I may wash my wounds and take me under the\npine-tree, near the spring!\" The unjust brother did as he was asked\nand then departed.\n\n\n\n\nThe Healing Water\n\nThe unfortunate youth sat without moving until late in the night,\nwhen some veele came to the spring to bathe, and he heard one of them\nsay to her sisters: \"Do you know, O sisters, that the royal princess\nsuffers from leprosy, and the king, her father, has consulted all\nthe famous physicians, but no one can cure her? But if the king knew\nthe healing qualities of this water, he would surely take a little and\nbathe his daughter with it, and she would recover perfect health.\" When\nthe cocks began to crow, the veele disappeared and the prince crept\nto the spring to test its wonderful properties. He bathed his eyes,\nand lo! his sight was instantly restored; then he filled his vessel\nwith the water, and hurried to the king, whose daughter was suffering\nfrom leprosy. Arriving at the palace he told the officers on guard\nthat he could cure the princess in a day and a night. The officers\ninformed the king, who at once allowed him to try his method and the\nsuffering princess was restored. This pleased the king so much that he\ngave the young prince half of his kingdom, as well as his daughter\nfor his wife. So the just brother became the king's son-in-law,\nand a Councillor of State.\n\nThe tidings of this great event spread all over the kingdom, and\nfinally came to the ears of the unjust prince. He thought that\nhis brother must have found his good fortune under the pine-tree,\nso he went there himself to try his luck. Arrived there, he pierced\nhis own eyes. Late in the night, the veele came to bathe, and the\nprince heard them discuss with astonishment the recovery of the\nroyal princess. \"Some one must have spied upon us,\" said one of them,\n\"when we discussed about the qualities which this water possesses;\nperhaps somebody is watching us even now. Let us look around us!\" When\nthey came under the pine-tree, they found there the young man who\nhad come seeking good fortune, and they immediately tore him into four.\n\nAnd thus was the wicked prince recompensed for his injustice.\n\n\n\n\nVII. HE WHO ASKS LITTLE RECEIVES MUCH\n\nOnce upon a time there lived three brothers, who instead of much\nproperty had only a pear-tree. Each would watch that tree in turn,\nwhilst the other two went away from home to work for hire. One night\nGod sent His angel to see how the brothers lived, and, should they\nbe in misery, to improve their position. The angel came disguised as\na beggar, and when he found one of the brothers watching the tree,\nhe went forward and asked him for a pear. The youth plucked some of\nthe fruit from his own part of the tree, handed them to the beggar,\nand said: \"Accept these pears from my share of the tree, but I cannot\ngive you those belonging to my brothers.\" The angel took the fruit,\nthanked the youth, and disappeared.\n\nThe next day it was the turn of the second brother to watch the fruit,\nand the angel, again in the semblance of a beggar, came and asked for a\npear. This brother likewise gave from his own part of the tree, saying:\n\"Take these, they are my own; but of those belonging to my brothers I\ndare not offer you.\" The angel took the fruit gratefully and departed.\n\nThe third brother had a similar experience.\n\nWhen the fourth day came, the angel disguised himself as a monk,\nand came very early so that he could find all three brothers at home,\nand he said to the youths: \"Come with me, I shall improve your state\nof life,\" whereupon they obeyed without question.\n\nSoon they arrived at a river where the water was flowing in torrents,\nand the angel asked the eldest brother: \"What would you like to\nhave?\" He answered: \"I should like all this water to be changed into\nwine and to belong to me.\" The angel made the sign of the cross with\nhis stick, and lo! wine was flowing instead of water, and that very\nmoment there appeared on the banks of the streamlet many barrels,\nand men filling them with wine; in one word, there was a whole\nvillage. Then the angel turned again to the young man and said:\n\"Here is what you wished; farewell!\" and he continued his journey\nwith the others.\n\nThe three went on till they came to a field where they saw numbers of\ndoves, and the angel asked the second brother: \"Now, what is it that\nyou would like?\" And he answered: \"I should like all these doves\nto be changed into sheep, and to be mine!\" The angel again made\nthe sign of the cross in the air, and lo! sheep instead of doves\ncovered the field. Suddenly there appeared many dairies; maidens\nwere busy milking the sheep, others pouring out the milk, others\nagain making cream. There was also a slaughter-house, and men busy,\nsome cutting the meat into joints, others weighing it, others again\nselling the meat and receiving the money for it. Then the angel said:\n\"Here is all you wished for; farewell!\"\n\nThe angel now proceeded with the youngest brother, and having\ncrossed the field he asked him what he would like to have. The\nyoung man answered: \"I should consider myself the happiest of men\nif God were graciously pleased to grant me a wife of pure Christian\nblood!\" Thereupon the angel replied: \"Oh, that is rather difficult to\nfind; in the whole world there are but three such women, two of whom\nare married. The youngest is a maid, it is true, but she is already\nsought in marriage by two wooers.\"\n\nJourneying on, they came to a city where a mighty tsar dwelt with his\ndaughter. She, indeed, was of pure Christian blood. The travellers\nentered the palace and found two princes already there with their\nwedding apples [82] laid upon a table. Then the young man also\nplaced his apple on the table. When the tsar saw the newcomers he\nsaid to those around him: \"What shall we do now? Those are imperial\nprinces, and these men look like beggars!\" Thereupon the angel said:\n\"Let the contest be decided thus: the princess shall plant three\nvines in the garden, dedicating one to each of the three wooers;\nand he on whose vine grapes are found next morning, is to be the\none whom the princess shall marry!\" This plan was agreed to by all,\nand the princess accordingly planted three vines.\n\nWhen the next morning dawned, lo! grapes hung in clusters on the vine\ndedicated to the poor man. So the tsar could not refuse his daughter\nto the youngest brother. After the marriage, the angel led the young\ncouple to the forest, where he left them for a full year.\n\n\n\n\nThe Angel Returns\n\nThen God sent again His angel, saying: \"Go down to earth and see how\nthose poor ones are living now: if they are in misery, it may be you\nwill be able to improve their condition!\" The angel obeyed immediately,\nand disguising himself again as a beggar, he went first to the eldest\nbrother and asked him for a glass of wine. But the rich man refused,\nsaying: \"If I were to give every one a glass of wine, there would be\nnone left for myself!\" Upon this the angel made the sign of the cross\nwith his stick, and the stream began instantly to flow with water as\nbefore. Then he turned to the man and said: \"This was not for you;\ngo back under the pear-tree and continue to guard it!\"\n\nThen the angel went on to the second brother, whose fields were\ncovered with sheep, and asked him for a slice of cheese; but the rich\nman refused, saying: \"If I were to give everybody a slice of cheese,\nthere would be none left for myself!\" Again the angel made the sign\nof the cross with his stick, and lo! all the sheep turned instantly\ninto doves, who flew away. Then he said to the second brother: \"Of\na surety that was not for you, go under the pear-tree and watch it!\"\n\nFinally the angel went to the youngest brother in order to see how\nhe was living, and found him with his wife in the forest, dwelling\nas a poor man in a hut. He begged to be admitted into their hut, and\nto pass the night there. They welcomed him very cordially, but they\nexplained that they could not entertain him as well as they would like\nto do. \"We are,\" they added, \"very poor people.\" To which the angel\nanswered: \"Do not speak so, I shall be quite content with what you\nhave!\" They wondered then what to do, for there was no corn in their\nhut to make real bread; they usually ground the bark of certain trees\nand made bread from it. Such bread the wife now made for their guest,\nand placed it in the oven to bake. When she came later to inspect her\nbaking, she was pleasantly surprised to find a fine loaf of real bread.\n\nWhen the couple saw this wonder they lifted their hands toward\nheaven and gave thanks: \"We thank thee, O God! that we are now able\nto entertain our guest!\" After they had placed the bread before their\nguest, they brought a vessel of water, and lo! when they came to drink,\nthey found it was wine.\n\nThen the angel once more made the sign of the cross with his stick\nover the hut, and on that spot instantly rose a beautiful palace,\ncontaining an abundance of everything. Then the angel blessed the\ncouple and disappeared. The modest and pious man and woman lived\nthere happily ever after.\n\n\n\n\nVIII. BASH TCHELIK OR REAL STEEL\n\nThere lived once a tsar who had three sons and three daughters. When\nold age overtook him and the hour came for him to die he called his\nchildren to him, and desired his sons to give their sisters to the\nfirst wooers who might ask them in marriage. \"Do as I tell you,\"\nadded the dying tsar, \"or dread my curse!\"\n\nShortly after the tsar had passed away there came one night a fearful\nknocking at the palace gate, so that the whole building shook, and\na great roaring, screaming, and blowing was heard; it seemed as if\nthe palace was assailed by some awful tempest. All the courtiers\nwere seized with unspeakable fear, and suddenly a voice from outside\nwas heard: \"O princes, open the door!\" Thereupon the eldest brother\nexclaimed: \"Do not open!\" The second brother added: \"Do not open for\nanything!\" But the youngest brother said: \"I must open the door!\" and\nhe sprang to the door and flung it open. As he did so something came\nin, but the brothers could see only a bright light, out of which\nproceeded these urgent words: \"I have come to ask your eldest sister\nin marriage, and to take her away this moment; for I have no time to\nlose, neither shall I come a second time to demand her! Answer quickly,\nwill you give her or not? That is what I must know.\"\n\nThe eldest brother answered: \"I will not give her. I cannot see you,\nand do not know who you are or even whence you came. To-night is\nthe first time I have heard your voice, and you insist upon taking\nmy sister away at once. Should I not know where I could visit my\nsister sometimes?\"\n\nThe second brother also said: \"I will not consent that my sister\nshould be taken away to-night!\"\n\nBut the youngest brother protested, saying: \"If you will not give her,\nI will. Do you not remember our father's words?\" Thereupon he took\nhis sister by the hand, [83] and presented her to the invisible wooer,\nsaying: \"May she be a loyal and dutiful wife!\"\n\nThe moment the princess passed over the threshold every one in the\npalace fell to the ground in terror, so fearsome was the lightning\nand so loud the peals of thunder. The whole building shook as if\nabout to fall. The storm, however, passed and daybreak came. That\nmorning close search was made to see if any trace could be found of\nthe strange visitant or the way it had gone; but, alas! all their\nefforts were vain.\n\nThe second night, about the same time, a similar noise was heard\nagain round the palace, and a voice at the door exclaimed: \"O princes,\nopen the door!\"\n\nSeized with fear they dared not disobey. Then the pitiless voice\nspake again: \"Give me your second sister; I have come to ask her\nin marriage!\"\n\nThe eldest brother protested: \"I will not consent!\" The second brother\nsaid: \"I will not give away our sister!\" But the youngest brother was\nwilling. \"I will give her!\" said he; \"have you already forgotten what\nour father commanded at the hour of his death?\"\n\nThereupon the youngest prince took his sister by the hand and presented\nher to the unseen visitor, saying: \"Take her, may she be loyal and\ndutiful to you!\" So the visitant departed with the princess, and next\nmorning no trace of him could be found.\n\nThe third night at the same hour the earth quaked and the palace rocked\non its foundations, so mighty was the tumult around it. And again a\nmysterious voice was heard from without. The princes opened the door,\nand the unseen presence entered and said: \"I come to ask your youngest\nsister in marriage!\" The two elder brothers exclaimed simultaneously:\n\"We will not give our sister by night; we must know to whom we are\ngiving her, so that we may visit her when we wish to do so!\" But\nonce more the youngest brother exclaimed: \"I will give her, if you\nwill not! Have you, then, forgotten what our father told us? It is\nnot so very long ago!\" So saying, he took the maiden and presented\nher to the invisible power, saying: \"Take her with you! And may she\nbring you joy and happiness!\"\n\n\n\n\nThe Princes set Out\n\nNext morning the brothers debated the fate of their sisters, and\nsorrow filled their hearts. \"Great Heaven!\" they said, \"what a mighty\nwonder! We know not what has befallen our sisters; neither do we\nknow where they have gone nor whom they have married!\" At length\nthey decided to go in search of their beloved sisters, and making\nthe necessary preparations for their journey they set out on the quest.\n\nThey journeyed for some time and then lost their way in a dense\nforest, in which they wandered for a whole day. When darkness fell,\nthey agreed that they must pass the night at some place where they\ncould find water, so when they came to a lake, they decided to pass\nthe night there, and sat down to eat. When they were ready to compose\nthemselves to sleep, the eldest proposed to his brothers that they\nshould sleep while he kept guard. So the two younger brothers went\nto sleep, and the eldest watched.\n\nAbout midnight the lake became agitated, and the watcher was seized\nwith horror when he saw in the middle of it something moving straight\ntoward him. As it came nearer, he saw clearly that it was a monstrous\nalligator with two huge ears. The monster attacked the prince with\nall its strength, but the gallant young man received it on the point\nof his sword and swiftly cleft its head asunder. Then he cut off the\nears, placed them in his bag, but threw the carcass back into the\nlake. Soon after this, morning broke; but the two younger brothers\nslept quietly on, unconscious of their brother's exploit.\n\nIn due time the prince awakened the young men and, without mentioning\nwhat had happened, he recommended that they should continue their\njourney. They travelled the whole day long and, having again lost\ntheir way in another dense forest, they decided to pass the coming\nnight by a small lake, and they quickly made a fire. After they had\neaten, the second brother said: \"To-night you two sleep, and I shall\nwatch.\" And so the eldest and the youngest brothers slept, while the\nsecond kept guard.\n\nSuddenly the water of the lake began to stir, and lo! an alligator with\ntwo heads appeared and rushed furiously upon the three brothers. But\nthe second brother was no coward; he gave the monster a fearful blow\nwith his gleaming sabre and the alligator fell dead. Then the prince\ncut off its four ears, placed them in his bag, and threw the horrible\ncarcass into the lake. The two sleeping brothers knew nothing of all\nthis and slept till sun-rise. Then the gallant prince exclaimed:\n\"Get up, my brothers, it is high time!\" And they instantly arose,\nand prepared to continue their journey, without knowing whither they\nshould go.\n\nA great fear seized their hearts when they found themselves in a\nhorrible desert; they wandered in this for three long days, and, as\ntheir food was consumed, they feared now lest they should die of hunger\nin this strange land, which seemed to have no end. Then they addressed\ntheir fervent prayers to the Almighty that He might be pleased to\nafford them some guidance, and lo! they saw at length a large sheet\nof water. Great was now their joy, and they took counsel with each\nother and agreed to pass the night on the shores of that lake.\n\nHaving quenched their thirst, they made a bright fire, and when the\nhour for sleep approached, the youngest brother proposed: \"To-night\nit is my turn; you two go to sleep and I shall watch!\" So the two\nelder brothers went to sleep, and the youngest brother kept awake,\nlooking sharply about him, often casting his eyes over the lake. Toward\nmidnight he noticed a disturbance in the water, and as he looked in\nwonder the lake grew so agitated that a wave overflowed the shore and\nnearly extinguished the fire. The next moment a horrible alligator\nwith three heads appeared and rushed furiously on the brothers,\nobviously intending to devour them. But the youngest prince was no\nless brave than his two brothers; he unsheathed his sword, and as\nthe monster came on with jaws wide agape, he gave it three fearful\nblows in rapid succession, slashing off its three heads. Then he cut\noff the six ears and placed them in his bag, and threw the body and\nthe heads back into the lake.\n\n\n\n\nThe Nine Giants\n\nMeantime the fire had smouldered out, and having no materials with\nwhich to make a fresh fire, and not wishing to awake his brothers,\nthe prince went a short distance into the desert in the hope of\nfinding some fuel, but without success. He climbed upon a rock, and\nlooking around he saw at length the glare of a fire. As it seemed\nthat the fire was not very far off, he decided to go and get brands\nwith which to relight his own fire. So he descended from the rock and\nhastening for some time through the desert, he came at last to a cave\nin which he saw nine giants sitting round a big fire and roasting on\nspits two men, one on each side. Upon the fire there stood a caldron\nfull of the limbs of men.\n\nWhen the prince saw all this, he was seized with horror, and would\nreadily have gone back, but it was too late. So he saluted the giants\nthus: \"Good evening, my comrades, I have been in search of you for a\nlong time!\" They welcomed him in a friendly manner and returned the\ngreeting, saying: \"May God favour you, since you are one of us!\" The\nwily prince added: \"Why, I shall remain one of your faithful friends\nfor ever, and would give my life for your sake!\" \"Eh!\" exclaimed\nthe giants, \"since you intend to join us, no doubt you are ready\nto eat man's flesh, and to join our company when we go in search of\nprey?\" Thereupon the tsar's son answered: \"Most decidedly! I shall\ndo willingly everything that you, yourselves, do.\" Hearing this the\ngiants retorted: \"That is well for you then! Come and sit here with\nus!\" Then the whole company, sitting round the fire, and taking the\nmeat out of the caldron, began to eat. The tsar's son pretended to\neat, but he deceived them cleverly, for instead of eating he threw\nthe meat behind him.\n\nAfter supper the giants exclaimed: \"Now let us go to hunt, for we\nmust have something to eat to-morrow!\" So they started out, all nine\nof them, the prince being the tenth of the party. \"Come with us,\"\nsaid the giants to the prince, \"we will go to a neighbouring city\nin which lives a tsar: for from that city we have been supplying\nourselves with food for many years!\" When they arrived at that\nplace, the giants uprooted two fir-trees, and, reaching the walls\nof the city, they placed one tree against it and ordered the prince:\n\"Go up to the top of the wall, and we will hand you the second tree,\nwhich you will fix on the other side of the wall, so that we can climb\ndown the stem of it into the city.\" The prince obeyed, and, when he\nwas on the top of the wall, he said: \"I do not know how to do it,\nI am not familiar with this place, and I cannot manage to throw the\ntree over the wall; please come up, one of you, and show me how to do\nit!\" Thereupon one of the giants climbed up, took the top of the tree\nand threw the stem over the wall, holding fast the highest branch in\nhis hands. The prince utilised this opportunity to draw his sword,\nand, unseen by those below, with one stroke he cut off the giant's\nhead, and pushed his body over the wall. Then he said to the others:\n\"Now come up one by one, so that I can let you down into the city as\nI did our first comrade.\" The giants, suspecting nothing, climbed up\none after the other; and the prince cut off their heads till he had\nkilled the whole nine. Then he slowly descended the pine-tree and\nreached the ground within the city walls.\n\nWalking through the streets he was surprised to see no living soul\nthere, and the whole city seemed to be deserted! So he reasoned to\nhimself: \"Those ugly giants must have annihilated all the inhabitants\nof this city!\"\n\n\n\n\nThe Sleeping Princess\n\nHe continued wandering about till he saw at length a very tall tower,\nthrough one of the vent-holes of which shone a light. He opened the\ndoor and went straight to the room from which he judged the light\nto have come. It was magnificently decorated with gold and velvet,\nand lying on a resplendent couch, was a maiden sleeping. The girl was\nexceedingly beautiful, and as the prince devoured her with his eyes\nhe was horrified to see a snake on the wall; it poised its hideous\nhead with the obvious intention of striking the girl on her forehead\nbetween the eyes, but the prince rushed swiftly forward with drawn\nponiard and pierced the serpent's head so that it was nailed to the\nwall, exclaiming as he did so: \"May God grant that my poniard cannot\nbe drawn out of the wall by any hand but mine!\" He then hurried away,\nclimbing the city wall by the same way as he had come. When he arrived\nat the giants' cave, he took a brand from the fire, and hastened to the\nplace where he had left his brothers, and found them still sleeping. He\nmade a fresh fire, and, as meantime the sun had risen, he now awoke his\nbrothers and they immediately continued their journey. That same day\nthey came to a road which led to the city of which we have heard. It\nwas the custom of the tsar who lived in that city to walk abroad\nevery morning and to lament the great destruction of his people by\nthe giants. His greatest anxiety was lest his only daughter would one\nday be their prey. On this particular morning he walked unusually\nearly through the streets, which were all empty. After a time he\ncame to a part of the city wall against which the tall pine-tree\nof the giants leaned. He approached closely and found the bodies of\nthe nine giants, the terrible enemies of his people, lying upon the\nground with their heads cut off. When the tsar saw this wonder he\nrejoiced exceedingly, and the people soon gathered around him and\nprayed that God might grant happiness and long life to the hero who\nhad killed the giants. At that very moment servants came hurriedly\nfrom the palace and informed the tsar that a snake had very nearly\ncaused the death of his daughter. Hearing this the tsar ran to his\ndaughter, and entering her room he was amazed to see a large, hideous\nserpent nailed to the wall. He tried at once to pluck out the poniard,\nbut was not able to do so.\n\nThen the tsar issued a proclamation throughout his vast empire to the\neffect that if the hero who had killed the nine giants and pierced\nthe snake would come to court he should receive great gifts and the\nhand of the tsar's daughter in marriage. This proclamation spread\nquickly all over the land, and by the tsar's orders, in every inn\non the principal roads an official was stationed whose duty it was\nto ask every traveller if he had heard of the hero who had killed\nthe nine giants. If any man should know anything about the matter,\nhe was at once to come before the tsar and tell what he knew, and\nwas to be rewarded. And the tsar's commands were strictly carried out.\n\nAfter some time the three princes in search of their sisters came\nto pass the night at one of the inns of that country, and, after\nsupper, they began an animated conversation with the inn-keeper,\nin the course of which the witty host boasted of his exploits, and\nat length asked the princes: \"Tell me now, what heroic deeds have\nyou young men performed?\"\n\nThereupon the eldest brother started thus: \"When my brothers and I set\nout on our expedition in search of our sisters, we decided to pass\nthe first night on the shores of a lake in the midst of a deserted\nforest. There I proposed that my brothers should go to sleep while\nI remained to keep watch. As soon as they fell asleep, a terrible\nalligator rose from the lake to devour my brothers, but I received\nit on the point of my sword and cleft its hideous head asunder: if\nyou do not believe, here are the ears of the monster!\" Saying this,\nthe eldest brother took out of his bag the ears of the alligator and\nplaced them on the table.\n\nWhen the second brother heard this, he said: \"And I was on guard,\nmy brothers, while you were sleeping the second night; and from the\nlake appeared an alligator with two heads. I rushed at it with my\nsword and cut off both its heads: if you do not believe me, see! here\nare the four ears of the monster!\" Saying this, he produced the ears\nfrom his bag and placed them on the table to the great astonishment\nof the listeners.\n\n\n\n\nThe Hero Found\n\nBut the youngest brother kept silent. And the inn-keeper asked him:\n\"By my faith, young man, your brothers are veritable heroes, let us\nhear whether you have performed any heroic exploit?\" Then the youngest\nbrother began to relate: \"I have also done a little. When we arrived\nat the shores of a lake on the third night in that desert to pass the\nnight, you, my brothers, went to rest, and I remained awake to keep\nwatch. About midnight, the lake was greatly agitated and an alligator\nwith three heads rushed out with the intention of swallowing you, but I\nreceived it on the point of my sword and successfully cleft its three\nheads asunder: if you do not believe me, see! here are the six ears\nof the monster!\" This astounded even his brothers, and the young man\ncontinued: \"Meantime our fire was extinguished, and I went in search\nof fuel. Wandering over the desert, I came across nine giants ...\" and\nso he proceeded to relate to them all his surprising deeds. When the\nstory came to an end the inn-keeper hurried off and told everything to\nthe tsar, who gave him money and ordered that the brothers should be\nbrought to him. When they appeared the tsar asked the youngest prince:\n\"Is it really you who have done all those wonders in my city, and\nsaved the life of my only daughter?\" \"Yes, your Majesty!\" answered\nthe prince. Thereupon the tsar moved with great joy and gratitude,\ngave his daughter in marriage to the gallant prince and appointed\nhim his prime minister. As to his brothers, the tsar said: \"If you\nwish to remain with your brother, I shall find you wives and shall\norder castles to be built for you!\" But the two princes thanked his\nMajesty and declared that they were already married and that they\nwished to continue their search for their lost sisters.\n\nThe tsar approved of this resolution, and having been supplied with\ntwo mules loaded with gold the two brothers said their farewells\nand departed. The youngest brother soon began to think of his three\nsisters; he would have been sorry to leave his wife to go in search of\nthem, and in any case the tsar, his father-in-law, would not permit\nhim to leave the court. Nevertheless the prince wasted away slowly\nin grief for his sisters.\n\nOne day the tsar went forth to hunt, and said to the prince:\n\"Remain in the palace, and take these nine keys and keep them in\nyour pocket. You can open three or four rooms with those keys, there\nyou will find unbounded gold, silver and precious stones. In fact,\nif you wish to do so, you can open even the eight rooms, but do not\ndare to open the ninth. Ill indeed will be your fate if you do!\"\n\n\n\n\nBash Tchelik\n\nAs soon as the tsar had left the palace, the young prince began\nto open the doors, one after the other, of all the eight rooms,\nand truly he saw much gold, silver and other precious things. At\nlength he came to the ninth room, and reasoned to himself: \"I have\nsurvived many extraordinary adventures, nothing ever surprised me;\nwhy should I now be afraid to venture into this room?\" Saying this,\nhe opened the door, and what do you think he saw there? In the middle\nof the room stood a strange man, whose legs were bound in iron up to\nthe knees and his arms up to the elbows; in the four corners of the\nroom there were chains fastened to thick beams, and all the chains\nmet in a ring round the man's neck, so that he could not make the\nslightest movement. In front of him was a fountain from which the water\nstreamed through a golden pipe into a golden basin. Near him stood a\ngolden mug, incrusted with precious stones. Despite his longing to\ndrink the water, the man could not move to reach the mug. When the\nprince saw all this, he was indeed astounded, and drew back, but the\nman groaned: \"For heaven's sake, come to me!\" The prince approached\nhim and the man said: \"Do a good deed! Give me now a cup of water,\nand know for certain, that I will reward you with another life!\"\n\nThe prince thought within himself: \"Is there anything better than\nto possess two lives?\" So he took the mug, filled it with water, and\nhanded it to the man, who drank eagerly. Then the prince asked him:\n\"Tell me now, what is your name?\" The man answered: \"My name is Bash\nTchelik (Real Steel).\" The prince made a movement toward the door,\nbut the man again implored him: \"Give me another mug of water, and\nI shall give you a second life!\" The prince thought: \"Now, if he\ngives me a second life, I shall have, together with my own, three\nlives! This will be quite wonderful!\" So he again filled the mug\nand handed it to the strange prisoner, who emptied it greedily. The\nprince turned toward the door, but the man exclaimed: \"O hero, do not\ngo! Come back a moment! Since you have done two good deeds, do yet\na third, and I will give you a third life as reward. Take this mug,\nfill it with water, and pour it over my head!\"\n\nThe prince had no desire to refuse; he filled the cup with water,\nand poured it over the man's head. No sooner had he done this than\nBash Tchelik broke the iron chains around his neck, jumped up with\nthe speed of lightning, and, lo! he had wings. He rushed through the\ndoor before the surprised prince could make a movement, and, having\nsnatched up the daughter of the tsar, the wife of his deliverer,\nhe flew into the air and disappeared.\n\nWhen the tsar returned from the hunt, his son-in-law told him all\nthat had happened, and the tsar was indeed greatly saddened, and\nexclaimed: \"Why did you do this? Did I not tell you not to open the\nninth room?\" The prince humbly answered: \"Do not be angry, I shall\ngo in search of Bash Tchelik, for I must fetch my wife.\" But the\ntsar tried to dissuade him, saying: \"Do not go, for anything in the\nworld! You do not yet know this man; it cost me many an army before\nI succeeded in taking him prisoner. Remain in peace where you are,\nand I will find for you a still better wife than my daughter was, and\nrest assured that I shall continue to love you as my own son!\" However,\nthe young prince would not listen to his father-in-law's advice, but\ntook money for his travelling expenses, saddled a horse and went in\nsearch of Bash Tchelik.\n\n\n\n\nThe Prince finds his Sister\n\nSome time later the young man came to a city. From the window of\na castle a girl cried out: \"O prince, alight from your charger and\ncome into our courtyard!\" The prince did as he was invited; the girl\nmet him in the courtyard, and he was greatly astonished to recognize\nin her his eldest sister. They embraced and kissed each other, and\nhis sister said: \"Come within, my brother.\" When they were inside,\nthe prince asked his sister who her husband was, and she answered:\n\"I have married the king of dragons, and he has sworn that he will\nkill my brothers the first time he comes across them. Therefore,\nI will hide you, and shall ask him first what he would do to you\nif you appeared. Should he declare that he would do you no harm,\nI would tell him of your presence.\" So she hid both her brother and\nhis horse. Toward evening the dragon flew home, and the whole castle\nshone. As soon as he entered, he called his wife: \"My dear, there is\na smell of human bones! Tell me at once who is here!\" She answered:\n\"There is nobody!\" But the dragon added: \"That cannot be!\" Then his\nwife asked him: \"Please answer truly, would you harm my brothers if\none of them should come here to see me?\" And the king of dragons said:\n\"Your eldest and your second brother I would slaughter and roast, but\nyour youngest brother I would not harm.\" Then she said: \"My youngest\nbrother, and your brother-in-law, is here.\" Thereupon the king said:\n\"Let him come in.\" And when the prince appeared, the king of dragons\nstretched forth his arms, embraced his brother-in-law, and said:\n\"Welcome, O brother!\" And the prince answered: \"I hope you are\nwell?\" Then they related to each other all their adventures from\nbeginning to end, and sat down to supper.\n\nAt length the prince told his brother-in-law that he was searching\nfor Bash Tchelik, and the dragon advised him, saying, \"Do not go any\nfurther! I will tell you all about him; the very day when he escaped\nfrom his prison, I met him with five thousand of my dragons, and,\nafter a severe battle, he escaped victorious. So you see, there is\nslender hope for you, alone, to overpower him. Therefore I advise you,\nas a friend, to abandon your plan, and return home in peace; and if\nyou are in need of money I will give you any amount of it.\" But the\nprince answered: \"I thank you very much for all your good wishes\nand advice, but I cannot do otherwise than go in search of Bash\nTchelik!\" And he thought: \"Why should I not do so, since I have three\nsuperfluous lives?\"\n\nWhen the king of dragons saw that he could not dissuade the prince,\nhe handed a feather he was wearing to him, and said: \"Take this, and if\nyou are ever in need of my help, you have only to burn it, and I will\ncome at once to your aid with all my forces.\" The prince thankfully\ntook the feather and started once more in pursuit of Bash Tchelik.\n\n\n\n\nThe Second Sister\n\nWandering for some time he came at length to another city, and,\nas he was riding under the tower of a magnificent castle, a window\nopened and he heard a voice calling him: \"Alight from your steed, O\nprince, and come into our courtyard!\" The prince complied immediately,\nand when he entered the courtyard, he was greatly surprised to see\nhis second sister, who threw herself into his arms, weeping for\njoy. Then she showed her brother into her private apartment, and\nhe asked: \"To whom are you married, sister dear?\" And she answered:\n\"My husband is the king of the eagles.\" When the king returned home\nhis loving wife welcomed him, but he exclaimed at once: \"Who is the\ndaring man now in my castle? Tell me directly!\" She lied and said:\n\"No one!\" Then they began their supper, and the princess asked her\nhusband: \"Tell me truly, would you do any harm to my brothers if\none of them should dare to come here to see me?\" And the eagle-king\nanswered: \"As to your eldest and your second brother, I declare that\nI would kill them; but your third brother I would welcome and help\nas much as I could.\" Then she took heart and told him: \"Here is\nmy youngest brother, and your brother-in-law, who has come to see\nus!\" Then the king ordered his servants to bring the prince before\nhim, and when the servants obeyed and the prince appeared, he stood\nup and embraced and kissed his brother-in-law, saying: \"Welcome,\nmy dear brother-in-law!\" And the prince, touched by his kindness,\nanswered most courteously: \"Thank you, my brother! I hope you are\nwell!\" The king at once bade him be seated at table, and after supper\nthe prince related his wonderful adventures, and finished by telling\nthem about his search for Bash Tchelik. Hearing this, the eagle-king\ncounselled his brother-in-law most urgently to give up his hazardous\nplan, adding: \"Leave that fiend alone, O dear brother-in-law! I would\nadvise you to remain here; you will find everything you desire in my\ncastle.\" But the adventurous prince would not listen to this advice\nfor a moment, and on the morrow he prepared to resume his search for\nBash Tchelik. Then the eagle-king, seeing that the prince's resolution\nwas unshakable, plucked out of his garment a beautiful feather, handed\nit to his brother-in-law, and said: \"Take this feather, O brother,\nand if you ever should need my help you will have but to burn it,\nand I will at once come to your aid with the whole of my army.\" The\nprince accepted the feather most gratefully, took his leave, and went\naway in pursuit of his enemy.\n\n\n\n\nThe Third Sister\n\nAfter some time he came to a third city, in which he found in the\nsame manner his youngest sister. She was married to the king of the\nfalcons, who also welcomed him in a friendly manner, and gave him a\nfeather to burn in case of need.\n\n\n\n\nThe Prince finds his Wife\n\nAfter wandering from one place to another, he finally found his wife in\na cave. When his wife saw him she exclaimed: \"How in the world did you\ncome here, my dear husband?\" And he told her all about his adventures\nand said: \"Let us flee together, my wife!\" But she replied: \"How could\nwe flee, when Bash Tchelik will surely overtake us: he would kill you,\nand he would take me back and punish me.\" Nevertheless, the prince,\nknowing well that he had three additional lives, persuaded his wife\nto go with him.\n\nNo sooner had they left the cavern than Bash Tchelik heard of their\ndeparture and hurried after them. In a short time he reached them,\ntook back the princess, and reproached the prince; \"O prince, you have\nstolen your wife! This time I forgive you, because I recollect having\ngranted you three lives. So you can go, but if you dare come again\nfor your wife I shall kill you!\" Thereupon Bash Tchelik disappeared\nwith the princess, and her husband remained to wonder what he should\ndo next. At length he decided to try his luck again, and when he\nwas near the cave he chose a moment when Bash Tchelik was absent,\nand again took away his wife. But Bash Tchelik again learnt of their\ndeparture quickly, and in a short time reached them again. Now he drew\nhis bow at the prince, saying: \"Do you prefer to be shot by this arrow,\nor to be beheaded by my sabre?\" The prince asked to be pardoned again,\nand Bash Tchelik forgave him, saying: \"I pardon you this time also,\nbut know surely that should you dare come again to take away your\nwife I shall kill you without mercy.\"\n\nThe prince tried his luck yet a third time, and, being again caught\nby Bash Tchelik, once more implored to be pardoned. Because he had\ngiven him of his own free will three lives, Bash Tchelik listened to\nhis plea, but said: \"Be warned; do not risk losing the one life God\ngave you!\"\n\nThe prince, seeing that against such a power he could do nothing,\nstarted homeward, pondering in his mind, however, how he could\nfree his wife from Bash Tchelik. Suddenly an idea came to him: he\nrecalled what his brothers-in-law had said when giving him a feather\nfrom their garments. So he thought: \"I must go once more and try to\nrescue my wife; if I come to any harm I will burn the feathers and\nmy brothers-in-law will come to my aid.\"\n\nThereupon the prince returned to the cave of Bash Tchelik, and his\nwife was greatly surprised to see him and exclaimed: \"So, you are\ntired of life, since you have come back a fourth time for me!\" But\nthe prince showed his wife the feathers and explained their uses, and\nprevailed upon her to try once more to escape. No sooner had they left\nthe cavern, however, than Bash Tchelik rushed after them shouting:\n\"Stop, prince! You cannot escape me!\" The prince, seeing that they\nwere in imminent peril, hastily burnt all three feathers, and when Bash\nTchelik came up with drawn sabre ready to kill him, oh! what a mighty\nwonder! At the same moment came flying to the rescue the dragon-king\nwith his host of dragons, the eagle-king with all his fierce eagles,\nand the falcon-king with all his falcons. One and all fell furiously\nupon Bash Tchelik, but despite the shedding of much blood Bash Tchelik\nseemed to be invincible, and at length he seized the princess and fled.\n\nAfter the battle the three brothers-in-law found the prince dead,\nand immediately decided to recall him to life. They asked three\ndragons which of them could bring, in the shortest possible time,\nsome water from the Jordan. The first said: \"I could bring it in half\nan hour!\" The second declared: \"I will bring it in ten minutes!\" The\nthird asserted: \"I can bring it in nine seconds!\" Thereupon the king\ndispatched the third dragon, and, indeed, he used all his fiery might\nand returned in nine seconds. The king took the healing water, poured\nit upon the gaping wounds of their brother-in-law, and, as they did\nso, the wounds were healed up and the prince sprang to his feet alive.\n\nThen the kings counselled him: \"Since you have been saved from death go\nhome in peace.\" But the prince declared that he would once more try to\nregain his beloved wife. The kings endeavoured to dissuade him, saying:\n\"Do not go, for you will be lost if you do! You know well that you\nhave now only the one life which God gave you.\" But the prince would\nnot listen. Thereupon the kings said: \"Since it cannot be otherwise,\nthen go! But do not vainly think to flee with your wife! Request your\nwife to ask Bash Tchelik where his strength lies, and then come and\ntell us, in order that we may help you to conquer him.\"\n\n\n\n\nThe Secret of Strength\n\nThis time the prince went stealthily to the cavern and, as\ncounselled by the kings, told his wife to inquire from Bash Tchelik\nwherein lay his strength. When Bash Tchelik returned home that\nevening, the princess asked: \"I pray you, tell me where lies your\nstrength?\" Bash Tchelik, hearing this laughed and said: \"My strength\nis in my sabre!\" The princess knelt before the sabre and began to\npray. Thereupon Bash Tchelik burst into louder laughter, exclaiming:\n\"O foolish woman! My strength is not in my sabre, but in my bow and\nmy arrows!\" Then the princess knelt before the bow and the arrows,\nand Bash Tchelik, shouting with laughter, said: \"O foolish woman! My\nstrength is neither in my bow nor in my arrows! But tell me who\ninstructed you to ask me where my force lies? If your husband were\nalive I could guess it was he who demanded it!\" But the princess\nprotested that no one urged her, and he believed what she said.\n\nAfter some time the prince came, and when his wife told him that she\ncould not learn anything from Bash Tchelik, he said: \"Try again!\" and\nwent away.\n\nWhen Bash Tchelik returned home the princess began again to ask him to\ntell the secret of his strength. Then he answered: \"Since you esteem\nmy heroism so much, I will tell you the truth about it.\" And he began:\n\"Far away from here is a high mountain, in that mountain there lives a\nfox, in the fox is a heart, in that heart there lives a bird: in that\nbird lies my whole strength. But it is very hard to catch that fox,\nfor it can turn itself into anything!\"\n\nNext morning, when Bash Tchelik left the cave, the prince came\nand learned the secret from his wife. Then he went straight to his\nbrothers-in-law who, upon hearing his tale, went at once with him\nto find the mountain. This they were not long in doing, and they\nloosed eagles to chase the fox, whereat the fox quickly ran into a\nlake and there it transformed itself into a six-winged duck. Then the\nfalcons flew to the duck and it mounted into the clouds. Seeing this,\nthe dragons pursued it; the duck changed again into a fox; the other\neagles surrounded it, and at length it was caught.\n\nThen the three kings ordered the fox to be cut open and its heart\ntaken out. This done, they made a great fire and from the fox's\nheart took a bird which they threw into the fire, and it was burnt\nto death. So perished Bash Tchelik, and thus did the prince finally\nregain his beloved and loyal wife.\n\n\n\n\nIX. THE GOLDEN APPLE-TREE AND THE NINE PEAHENS\n\nOnce there was a king who had three sons. In the garden of the palace\ngrew a golden apple-tree, which, in one and the same night would\nblossom and bear ripe fruit. But during the night a thief would come\nand pluck the golden apples, and none could detect him. One day the\nking deliberating with his sons, said: \"I would give much to know\nwhat happens to the fruit of our apple-tree!\" Thereupon the eldest\nson answered: \"I will mount guard to-night under the apple-tree,\nand we will see who gathers the fruit.\"\n\nWhen evening came, the prince laid himself under the apple-tree to\nwatch; but as the apples ripened, he fell asleep and did not wake until\nnext morning, when the apples had vanished. He told his father what\nhad happened, and his brother, the second son, then offered to keep\nguard that night. But he had no more success than his elder brother.\n\nIt was now the turn of the youngest son to try his luck, and, when\nnight came on, he placed a bed under the tree, and lay down and went\nto sleep. About midnight he awoke and glanced at the apple-tree. And\nlo! the apples were just ripening and the whole castle was lit up\nwith their shining. At that moment nine peahens flew to the tree and\nsettled on its branches, where eight remained to pluck the fruit. The\nninth, however, flew to the ground and was instantly transformed into\na maiden so beautiful that one might in vain search for her equal\nthroughout the kingdom.\n\nThe prince immediately fell madly in love with his visitor and the\nfair maiden was not at all unwilling to stay and converse with the\nyoung man. An hour or two soon passed but at last the maiden said\nthat she might stay no longer. She thanked the prince for the apples\nwhich her sisters had plucked, but he asked that they would give him\nat least one to carry home.\n\nThe maiden smiled sweetly and handed the young man two apples, one\nfor himself, the other for his father, the king. She then turned\nagain into a peahen, joined her sisters and all flew away.\n\nNext morning the prince carried the two apples to his father. The king,\nvery pleased, praised his son, and on the following night, the happy\nprince placed himself under the tree, as before, next morning again\nbringing two apples to his father. After this had happened for several\nnights, his two brothers grew envious, because they had not been able\nto do what he had done. Then a wicked old woman offered her services\nto the malcontent princes, promising that she would reveal the secret\nto them. So on the next evening the old woman stole softly under the\nbed of the young prince and hid herself there. Soon afterward the\nprince came and at once went to sleep just as before. When midnight\ncame, lo! the peahens flew down as usual; eight of them settling on\nthe branches of the apple-tree, but the ninth, descending on the bed\nof the prince, instantly turned into a maiden. The old woman, seeing\nthis strange metamorphosis, crept softly near and cut off a lock of\nthe maiden's hair, whereupon the girl immediately arose, changed again\ninto a peahen, and disappeared together with her sisters.  Then the\nyoung prince jumped up and wondering what had been the reason for the\nsudden departure of his beloved began to look around. He then saw the\nold woman, dragged her from under his bed, and ordered his servants\nto fasten her to the tails of four horses and so to destroy her.\n\nBut the peahens never came again, to the great sorrow of the prince,\nand for all that he mourned and wept.\n\nWeeping will not move any mountain, and at length the prince resolved\nto go through the wide world in search of his sweetheart and not\nreturn home until he had found her. As a good son, he asked leave\nof his father who tried hard to make him give up such a hazardous\nscheme and promised him a much more beautiful bride in his own vast\nkingdom--for he was very sure that any maiden would be glad to marry\nsuch a valiant prince.\n\n\n\n\nThe Prince's Quest\n\nBut all his fatherly advice was vain, so the king finally allowed\nhis son to do what his heart bade, and the sorrowful prince departed\nwith only one servant to seek his love. Journeying on for a long\ntime, he came at length to the shore of a large lake, near which\nwas a magnificent castle in which there lived a very old woman, a\nqueen, with her only daughter. The prince implored the aged queen,\n\"I pray thee, grandmother, tell me what you can about the nine golden\npeahens?\" The queen answered: \"O, my son, I know those peahens well,\nfor they come every day at noon to this lake and bathe. But had you\nnot better forget the peahens, and rather consider this beautiful\ngirl, she is my daughter and will inherit my wealth and treasures,\nand you can share all with her.\" But the prince, impatient to find the\npeahens, did not even listen to what the queen was saying. Seeing his\nindifference, the old lady bribed his servant and gave him a pair of\nbellows, saying: \"Do you see this? When you go to-morrow to the lake,\nblow secretly behind your master's neck, and he will fall asleep and\nwill not be able to speak to the peahens.\"\n\nThe faithless servant agreed to do exactly as the queen bade, and when\nthey went to the lake, he used the first favourable occasion and blew\nwith the bellows behind his poor master's neck, whereupon the prince\nfell so soundly asleep that he resembled a dead man. Soon after, the\neight peahens flew to the lake, and the ninth alighted on the prince's\nhorse and began to embrace him, saying: \"Arise, sweetheart! Arise,\nbeloved one! Ah, do!\" Alas! the poor prince remained as if dead. Then\nafter the peahens had bathed, all disappeared.\n\nShortly after their departure the prince woke up and asked his servant:\n\"What has happened? Have they been here?\" The servant answered that\nthey had indeed been there; that eight of them bathed in the lake,\nwhile the ninth caressed and kissed him, trying to arouse him from\nslumber. Hearing this, the poor prince was so angry that he was almost\nready to kill himself.\n\nNext morning the same thing happened. But on this occasion the\npeahen bade the servant tell the prince that she would come again the\nfollowing day for the last time. When the third day dawned the prince\nwent again to the lake, and fearing to fall asleep he decided to gallop\nalong the marge instead of pacing slowly as before. His deceitful\nservant, however, pursuing him closely, again found an opportunity\nfor using the bellows, and yet again the prince fell asleep.\n\nShortly afterward the peahens came; eight of them went as usual to\nbathe, and the ninth alighted on the prince's horse and tried to awaken\nhim. She embraced him and spoke thus: \"Awake, my darling! Sweetheart,\narise! Ah, my soul!\" But her efforts were futile; the prince was\nsleeping as if he were dead. Then she said to the servant: \"When thy\nmaster awakes tell him to cut off the head of the nail; then only he\nmay be able to find me again.\"\n\nSaying this the peahen disappeared with her sisters, and they had\nhardly disappeared when the prince awoke and asked his servant:\n\"Have they been here?\" And the malicious fellow answered: \"Yes;\nthe one who alighted on your horse ordered me to tell you that, if\nyou wish to find her again, you must first cut off the head of the\nnail.\" Hearing this the prince unsheathed his sword and struck off\nhis faithless servant's head.\n\n\n\n\nThe Quest Resumed\n\nThe prince now resumed his pilgrimage alone, and after long journeying\nhe came to a mountain where he met a hermit, who offered hospitality\nto him. In the course of conversation the prince asked his host\nwhether he knew anything about the nine peahens; the hermit replied:\n\"O my son, you are really fortunate! God himself has shown you the\nright way. From here to their dwelling is but half a day's walk;\nto-morrow I will point you the way.\"\n\nThe prince rose very early the next morning, prepared himself for the\njourney, thanked the hermit for giving him shelter, and went on as\nhe was directed. He came to a large gate, and, passing through it,\nhe turned to the right; toward noon he observed some white walls,\nthe sight of which rejoiced him very much. Arriving at this castle\nhe asked the way to the palace of the nine peahens, and proceeding\nhe soon came to it. He was, of course, challenged by the guards,\nwho asked his name and whence he came. When the queen heard that he\nhad arrived, she was overwhelmed with joy, and turning into a maiden\nshe ran swiftly to the gate and led the prince into the palace.\n\nThere was great feasting and rejoicing when, later, their nuptials\nwere solemnized, and after the wedding the prince remained within\nthe palace and lived in peace.\n\nNow one day the queen went for a walk in the palace grounds accompanied\nby an attendant, the prince remaining in the palace. Before starting\nthe queen gave her spouse the keys of twelve cellars, saying: \"You\nmay go into the cellars, all but one; do not on any account go into\nthe twelfth; you must not even open the door!\"\n\nThe prince soon began to speculate upon what there could possibly be\nin the twelfth cellar; and having opened one cellar after the other,\nhe stood hesitatingly at the door of the twelfth. He who hesitates\nis lost, and so the prince finally inserted the key in the lock and\nthe next moment had passed into the forbidden place. In the middle of\nthe floor was a huge cask bound tightly round with three strong iron\nhoops. The bung-hole was open and from within the cask came a muffled\nvoice which said: \"I pray thee, brother, give me a drink of water,\nelse I shall die of thirst!\" The prince took a glass of water and\npoured it through the bung-hole; immediately one hoop burst. Then\nthe voice spake again: \"O brother give me more water lest I should\ndie of thirst!\" The good-hearted prince emptied a second glass into\nthe cask, and a second hoop instantly came asunder. Again the voice\nimplored: \"O brother, give me yet a third glass! I am still consumed by\nthirst!\" The prince made haste to gratify the unseen speaker, and as\nhe poured in the water the third hoop burst, the cask fell in pieces,\nand a great dragon struggled out from the wreck, rushed through the\ndoor and flew into the open. Very soon he fell in with the queen,\nwho was on her way back to the palace, and carried her off. Her\nattendant, affrighted, rushed to the prince with the intelligence,\nand the news came as a thunderbolt.\n\nFor a time the prince was as one distraught, but then he became\nmore calm and he resolved to set out again in search of his beloved\nqueen. In his wanderings he came to a river, and, walking along\nits bank, he noticed in a little hole a small fish leaping and\nstruggling. When the fish saw the prince it began to beseech him\npiteously: \"Be my brother-in-God! Throw me back into the stream; some\nday I may, perhaps, be useful to you! But be sure to take a scale from\nme, and when you are in need of help rub it gently.\" The prince picked\nup the fish, took a scale from it, and threw the poor creature into\nthe water; then he carefully wrapped the scale in his handkerchief.\n\nContinuing his wanderings, he came to a place where he saw a fox\ncaught in an iron trap, and the animal addressed him, saying: \"Be my\nbrother-in-God! Release me, I pray, from this cruel trap; and some day,\nperhaps, I may be helpful to you. Only take a hair from my brush,\nand, if you are in need, rub it gently!\" The prince took a hair\nfrom the fox's tail and set him free. Journeying on, he came upon\na wolf caught in a trap. And the wolf besought him in these words:\n\"Be my brother-in-God, and release me! One day you may need my help,\ntherefore, take just one hair from my coat, and if you should ever\nneed my assistance, you will have but to rub it a little!\" This\nlikewise the prince did.\n\nSome days elapsed and then, as the prince went wearily on his way, he\nmet a man in the mountains, to whom he said: \"O my brother-in-God! Can\nyou direct me to the castle of the king of the dragons?\" Luckily the\nman knew of this castle and was able to tell the way to it; he also\ninformed the prince exactly how long the journey would take.\n\n\n\n\nThe Prince finds his Wife\n\nThe prince thanked the stranger and continued his journey with fresh\nvigour until he came to where the king of the dragons lived. He entered\nthe castle boldly and found his wife there; after their first joy\nof meeting, they began to consider how they could escape. Finally,\nthey took swift horses from the stables, but they had hardly set out\nbefore the dragon came back. When he found that the queen had escaped,\nhe took counsel with his courser: \"What do you advise? Shall we first\neat and drink, or shall we pursue at once!\" The horse answered: \"Let\nus first refresh ourselves, for we shall surely catch them.\" After\nthe meal, the dragon mounted his horse and in a very few minutes they\nreached the fugitives. Then he seized the queen and said to the prince:\n\"Go in peace! I pardon you this time, because you released me from\nthat cellar: but do not venture to cross my path again, for you will\nnot be forgiven a second time.\"\n\nThe poor prince started sadly on his way, but he soon found that he\ncould not abandon his wife. Whatever the cost he must make another\nattempt to rescue her, and so he retraced his steps, and on the\nfollowing day entered the castle again and found his wife in tears. It\nwas evident that they must use guile if they were to elude the magical\npowers of the dragon-king, and after they had thought upon the matter,\nthe prince said: \"When the dragon comes home to-night, ask where he\ngot his horse; perchance I may be able to procure a steed that is\nequally swift: only then could we hopefully make another attempt to\nescape.\" Saying this he left his wife for a time. When the dragon-king\nreturned, the queen began to caress him and to pleasantly converse;\nat length she said: \"How I admire your fine horse! Certainly he is of\nno ordinary breed! Where did you find such a swift courser?\" And the\ndragon-king replied: \"Ah! his like is not to be got by every one! In\na certain mountain lives an old woman, who has in her stables twelve\nwondrous horses; none could easily tell which is the finest! But\nin a corner stands one that is apparently leprous; he is, in fact,\nthe best of the stable, and whoever becomes his master, may ride\neven higher than the clouds. My steed is a brother of those horses,\nand if anyone would get a horse from that old woman he must serve her\nfor three days. She has a mare and a foal, and he who is her servant\nmust tend them for three days and three nights; if he succeeds in\nguarding them and returns them to the old woman, he is entitled to\nchoose a horse from her stable. But, if the servant does not watch\nwell over the mare and its foal, he will indeed lose his life.\"\n\n\n\n\nThe old Woman and her Horses\n\nNext morning, when the dragon had left the castle, the prince came\nand the queen told him what she had heard. Hastily bidding his\nwife farewell, he went with all speed to the mountain, and finding\nthe old woman, he said to her: \"God help you, grandmother!\" And she\nreturned the greeting: \"May God help you also, my son! What good wind\nbrought you here, and what do you wish?\" He answered: \"I should like\nto serve you.\" Thereupon the old woman said: \"Very well, my son! If\nyou successfully watch my mare and its foal for three days, I shall\nreward you with a horse which you yourself are at liberty to choose\nfrom my stable; but if you do not keep them safe, you must die.\"\n\nThen she led the prince into her courtyard, where he saw stakes\nall around placed close together, and on each save one was stuck\na human head. The one stake kept shouting out to the old woman:\n\"Give me a head, O grandmother! Give me a head!\" The old woman said:\n\"All these are heads of those who once served me; they did not succeed\nin keeping my mare and its foal safe, so they had to pay with their\nheads!\" But the prince was not to be frightened at what he saw,\nand he readily accepted the old woman's conditions.\n\nWhen evening came, he mounted the mare and rode it to pasture, the\nfoal following. He remained seated on the mare, but, toward midnight,\nhe dozed a little and finally fell fast asleep. When he awoke he saw,\nto his great consternation, that he was sitting upon the trunk of a\ntree holding the mare's bridle in his hand. He sprang down and went\nimmediately in search of the tricky animal. Soon he came to a river,\nthe sight of which reminded him of the little fish, and taking the\nscale from his handkerchief, he rubbed it gently between his fingers,\nwhen lo! the fish instantly appeared and asked: \"What is the matter,\nmy brother-in-God?\" The prince answered: \"My mare has fled, and I do\nnot know where to look for her!\" And the fish answered: \"Here she is\nwith us, turned into a fish, and her foal into a small one! Strike\nonce upon the water with the bridle and shout: 'Doora! Mare of the\nold woman!'\"\n\nThe prince did as the fish told him; at once the mare and her foal\ncame out of the water; he bridled the mare, mounted and rode home; the\nyoung foal trotting after. The old woman brought the prince some food\nwithout a word; then she took the mare into the stable, beat her with\na poker, and said: \"Did I not tell you to go down among the fish?\" The\nmare answered: \"I have been down to the fish, but the fish are his\nfriends and they betrayed me to him.\" Thereupon the old woman said:\n\"To-night you go among the foxes!\"\n\nWhen evening came, the prince mounted the mare again and rode to\nthe field, the foal following its mother. He determined again to\nremain in the saddle and to keep watch, but, toward midnight, he was\nagain overcome by drowsiness and became unconscious. When he awoke\nnext morning, lo! he was seated on a tree-trunk holding fast the\nbridle. This alarmed him greatly, and he looked here and he looked\nthere. But search as he would, he could find no trace of the mare\nand her foal. Then he remembered his friend the fox, and taking the\nhair from the fox's tail out of his handkerchief, he rubbed it gently\nbetween his fingers, and the fox instantly stood before him. \"What\nis the matter, my brother-in-God?\" said he. The prince complained of\nhis misfortune, saying that he had hopelessly lost his mare. The fox\nsoon reassured him: \"The mare is with us, changed to a fox, and her\nfoal into a cub; just strike once with the bridle on the earth, and\nshout out 'Doora, the old woman's mare!'\" He did so, and sure enough\nthe mare at once appeared before him with the foal. So he bridled her\nand mounted, and when he reached home the old woman gave him food,\nand took the mare to the stable and beat her with a poker, saying:\n\"Why did you not turn into a fox, you disobedient creature?\" And\nthe mare protested: \"I did turn into a fox; but the foxes are his\nfriends, so they betrayed me!\" At this the old woman commanded:\n\"Next time you go to the wolves!\"\n\nWhen evening came the prince set out on the mare and the same things\nbefell as before. He found himself, the next morning, sitting on a\ntree-trunk, and this time he called the wolf, who said: \"The mare of\nthe old woman is with us in the likeness of a she-wolf, and the foal\nof a wolf's cub; strike the ground once with the bridle and exclaim:\n'Doora! the mare of the old woman!'\" The prince did as the wolf\ncounselled, and the mare reappeared with her foal standing behind her.\n\nHe mounted once again and proceeded to the old woman's house, where, on\nhis arrival, he found her preparing a meal. Having set food before him,\nshe took the mare to the stable and beat her with a poker. \"Did I not\ntell you to go to the wolves, you wretched creature?\" she scolded. But\nthe mare protested again, saying: \"I did go to the wolves, but they\nare also his friends and they betrayed me!\" Then the old woman went\nback to the house and the prince said to her: \"Well, grandmother,\nI think I have served you honestly; now I hope you will give me what\nyou promised me!\" The old woman replied: \"O my son, verily a promise\nmust be fulfilled! Come to the stable; there are twelve horses;\nyou are at liberty to choose whichever you like best!\"\n\n\n\n\nThe Prince's Choice\n\nThereupon the prince said firmly: \"Well, why should I be\nparticular? Give me the leprous horse, standing in that corner.\" The\nold woman tried by all means in her power to deter him from taking that\nugly horse, saying: \"Why be so foolish as to take that leprous jade\nwhen you can have a fine horse?\" But the prince kept to his choice, and\nsaid: \"Give me rather the one I selected, as it was agreed between us!\"\n\nThe old woman, seeing that he would not yield, gave way, and the prince\ntook leave of her and led away his choice. When they came to a forest\nhe curried and groomed the horse, and it shone as if its skin were\nof pure gold. Then he mounted, and, the horse flying like a bird,\nthey reached the dragon-king's castle in a few seconds.\n\nThe prince immediately entered and greeted the queen with: \"Hasten,\nall is ready for our flight!\" The queen was ready, and in a few\nseconds they were speeding away, swift as the wind, on the back of\nthe wonderful horse.\n\nShortly after they had gone, the dragon-king came home, and finding\nthat the queen had again disappeared, he addressed the following\nwords to his horse: \"What shall we do now? Shall we refresh ourselves,\nor shall we go after the fugitives at once?\" And his horse replied:\n\"We may do as you will, but we shall never reach them!\"\n\nUpon hearing this the dragon-king at once flung himself upon his horse\nand they were gone in a flash. After a time the prince looked behind\nhim and saw the dragon-king in the distance. He urged his horse, but\nit said: \"Be not afraid! There is no need to run quicker.\" But the\ndragon-king drew nearer, so close that his horse was able to speak thus\nto its brother: \"O brother dear, tarry, I beseech you! else I shall\nperish in running at this speed!\" But the prince's horse answered:\n\"Nay, why be so foolish as to carry that monster? Fling up your\nhoofs and throw him against a rock, then come with me!\" At these\nwords the dragon-king's horse shook its head, curved its back, and\nkicked up its hoofs so furiously that its rider was flung on to a rock\nand killed. Seeing this, the prince's horse stood still, its brother\ntrotted up, and the queen mounted on it. So they arrived happily in her\nown land, where they lived and ruled in great prosperity ever after.\n\n\n\n\nX. THE BIRD MAIDEN\n\nThere was once a king who had an only son, whom, when he had grown\nup, he sent abroad to seek a suitable wife. The prince set out on\nhis journey, but, although he travelled over the whole world, he did\nnot succeed in finding a bride. Finally, after having exhausted his\npatience and his purse, he decided to die, and, that there should\nnot remain any trace of him, he climbed a high mountain, intending\nto throw himself from the summit. He was on the point of jumping\nfrom the pinnacle, when a voice uttered these mysterious words:\n\"Stop! Stop! O man! Do not kill yourself, for the sake of three\nhundred and sixty-five which are in the year!\"\n\nThe prince endeavoured in vain to discover whence the voice came,\nand, seeing no one, he asked: \"Who are you that speak to me? Show\nyourself! If you knew of my troubles, you would surely not hinder\nme!\" Thereupon an old man appeared, with hair as white as snow,\nand said to the unfortunate prince: \"I am well aware of all you\nsuffer; but listen to me. Do you see yonder high hill?\" The king's\nson answered: \"Yes, indeed.\" \"Very well,\" continued the old man,\n\"seated day and night in the same spot on the summit of that hill\nthere is an old woman with golden hair, and she holds a bird in her\nlap. He who succeeds in securing that bird will be the happiest man\nin the world. But if you wish to try your luck you must be cautious;\nyou must approach the old woman quietly, and, before she sees you, you\nmust take her by the hair. Should she see you before you seize her, you\nwill be turned to stone then and there, just as it has happened to many\nyoung men whom you will see there in the form of blocks of marble.\"\n\n\n\n\nThe Old Witch\n\nWhen the prince heard these words, he reflected: \"It is all one to\nme; I shall go, and, if I succeed in seizing her, so much the better\nfor me; but if she should see me before I catch her, I can but die,\nas I had already resolved to do.\" So he thanked the old man, and went\ncheerfully to try his luck. He soon climbed the other hill and saw the\nold woman, whom he approached very warily from behind. Fortunately\nthe old woman was absorbed in playing with the bird, and so the\nprince was able to get quite near without being perceived. Then he\nsprang suddenly forward and seized the old woman by her golden hair;\nwhereupon she screamed so loudly that the whole hill shook as with an\nearthquake. But the courageous prince held her fast. Then the old woman\nexclaimed: \"Release me, and ask whatever you wish!\" And the prince\nanswered: \"I will do so if you let me have that bird, and if you at\nonce recall to life all these young men whom you have bewitched.\" The\nold woman was forced to consent, and she gave up the bird. Then from\nher lips she breathed a blue wind toward the petrified figures, so\nthat instantly they became living men once more. The noble prince\nexpressed the joy in his heart by kissing the bird in his hands,\nwhereupon it was transformed into a most beautiful girl, whom, it\nappeared, the enchantress had bewitched in order to lure young men to\na horrid fate. The king's son was so pleased with his companion that\nhe promptly fell in love with her. On their way from that place the\nmaiden gave him a stick, and told him that it would do everything he\nmight wish. Presently the prince wished that he had the wherewithal\nto travel as befitted a prince and his bride; he struck a rock with\nthe stick, and out poured a torrent of golden coins, from which they\ntook all they needed for their journey. When they came to a river,\nthe prince touched the water with his stick, and a dry path appeared,\nupon which they crossed dryshod. A little farther on they were attacked\nby a pack of wolves, but the prince protected his bride with his stick,\nand one by one the wolves were turned into ants.\n\nAnd many other adventures they had, but in the end they arrived\nsafely at the prince's home. Then they married and they lived happily\never after.\n\n\n\n\nXI. LYING FOR A WAGER\n\nOne day a father sent his boy to the mill with corn to be ground,\nand, at the moment of his departure, he warned him not to grind it\nin any mill where he should happen to find a beardless man. [84]\n\nWhen the boy came to a mill, he was therefore disappointed to find\nthat the miller was beardless.\n\n\"God bless you, Beardless!\" saluted the boy.\n\n\"May God help you!\" returned the miller.\n\n\"May I grind my corn here?\" asked the boy.\n\n\"Yes, why not?\" responded the beardless one, \"my corn will be soon\nground; you can then grind yours as long as you please.\"\n\nBut the boy, remembering his father's warning, left this mill and\nwent to another up the brook. But Beardless took some grain and,\nhurrying by a shorter way, reached the second mill first and put some\nof his corn there to be ground. When the boy arrived and saw that\nthe miller was again a beardless man, he hastened to a third mill;\nbut again Beardless hurried by a short cut, and reached it before\nthe boy. He did the same at a fourth mill, so that the boy concluded\nthat all millers are beardless men. He therefore put down his sack,\nand when the corn of Beardless was ground he took his turn at the\nmill. When all of his grain had been ground Beardless proposed:\n\"Listen, my boy! Let us make a loaf of your flour.\"\n\nThe boy had not forgotten his father's injunction to have nothing to\ndo with beardless millers, but as he saw no way out of it, he accepted\nthe proposal. So Beardless now took all the flour, mixed it with water,\nwhich the boy brought him, and thus made a very large loaf. Then they\nfired the oven and baked the loaf, which, when finished, they placed\nagainst the wall.\n\nThen the miller proposed: \"Listen, my boy! If we were now to divide\nthis loaf between us, there would be little enough for either of\nus, let us therefore tell each other stories, and whoever tells the\ngreatest lie shall have the whole loaf for himself.\"\n\nThe boy reflected a little and, seeing no way of helping himself, said:\n\"Very well, but you must begin.\"\n\nThen Beardless told various stories till he got quite tired. Then the\nboy said: \"Eh, my dear Beardless, it is a pity if you do not know\nany more, for what you have said is really nothing; only listen,\nand I shall tell you now the real truth.\"\n\n\n\n\nThe Boy's Story\n\n\"In my young days, when I was an old man, we possessed many beehives,\nand I used to count the bees every morning; I counted them easily\nenough, but I could never contrive to count the beehives. Well,\none morning, as I was counting the bees, I was greatly surprised to\nfind that the best bee was missing, so I saddled a cock, mounted it,\nand started in search of my bee. I traced it to the sea-shore, and\nsaw that it had gone over the sea, so I decided to follow it. When I\nhad crossed the water, I discovered that a peasant had caught my bee;\nhe was ploughing his fields with it and was about to sow millet. So\nI exclaimed: 'That is my bee! How did you get it?' And the ploughman\nanswered: 'Brother, if this is really your bee, come here and take\nit!' So I went to him and he gave me back my bee, and a sack full of\nmillet on account of the services my bee had rendered him. Then I\nput the sack on my back, and moved the saddle from the cock to the\nbee. Then I mounted, and led the cock behind me that it might rest\na little. As I was crossing the sea, one of the strings of my sack\nburst, and all the millet poured into the water. When I had got across,\nit was already night, so I alighted and let the bee loose to graze;\nas to the cock, I fastened him near me, and gave him some hay. After\nthat I laid myself down to sleep. When I rose next morning, great was\nmy surprise to see that during the night, the wolves had slaughtered\nand devoured my bee; and the honey was spread about the valley,\nknee-deep and ankle-deep on the hills. Then I was puzzled to know in\nwhat vessel I could gather up all the honey. Meantime I remembered I\nhad a little axe with me, so I went into the woods to catch a beast,\nin order to make a bag of its skin. When I reached the forest, I saw\ntwo deer dancing on one leg; so I threw my axe, broke their only leg\nand caught them both. From those two deer I drew three skins and made a\nbag of each, and in them gathered up all the honey. Then I loaded the\ncock with the bags and hurried homeward. When I arrived home I found\nthat my father had just been born, and I was told to go to heaven\nto fetch some holy water. I did not know how to get there, but as I\npondered the matter I remembered the millet which had fallen into the\nsea. I went back to that place and found that the grain had grown up\nquite to heaven, for the place where it had fallen was rather damp,\nso I climbed up by one of the stems. Upon reaching heaven I found\nthat the millet had ripened, and an angel had harvested the grain\nand had made a loaf of it, and was eating it with some warm milk. I\ngreeted him, saying: 'God bless you!' The angel responded: 'May God\nhelp you!' and gave me some holy water. On my way back I found that\nthere had been a great rain, so that the sea had risen so high that my\nmillet was carried away! I was frightened as to how I should descend\nagain to earth, but at length I remembered that I had long hair--it is\nso long that when I am standing upright it reaches down to the ground,\nand when I sit it reaches to my ears. Well, I took out my knife and\ncut off one hair after another, tying them end to end as I descended on\nthem. Meantime darkness overtook me before I got to the bottom, and so\nI decided to make a large knot and to pass the night on it. But what\nwas I to do without a fire! The tinder-box I had with me, but I had\nno wood. Suddenly I remembered that I had in my vest a sewing needle,\nso I found it, split it and made a big fire, which warmed me nicely;\nthen I laid myself down to sleep. When I fell asleep, unfortunately\na flame burnt the hair through, and, head over heels, I fell to the\nground, and sank into the earth up to my girdle. I moved about to see\nhow I could get out, and, when I found that I was tightly interred,\nI hurried home for a spade and came back and dug myself out. As soon\nas I was freed, I took the holy water and started for home. When I\narrived reapers were working in the field. It was such a hot day,\nthat I feared the poor men would burn to death, and called to them:\n'Why do you not bring here our mare which is two days' journey long\nand half a day broad, and on whose back large willows are growing;\nshe could make some shade where you are working?' My father hearing\nthis, quickly brought the mare, and the reapers continued working\nin the shade. Then I took a jug in which to fetch some water. When\nI came to the well, I found the water was quite frozen, so I took my\nhead off and broke the ice with it; then I filled the jug and carried\nthe water to the reapers. When they saw me they asked me: 'Where is\nyour head?' I lifted my hand, and, to my great surprise, my head was\nnot upon my shoulders, and then I remembered having left it by the\nwell. I went back at once, but found that a fox was there before me,\nand was busy devouring my head. I approached slowly and struck the\nbeast fiercely with my foot, so that in great fear, it dropped a little\nbook. This I picked up and on opening it, found written in it these\nwords: 'The whole loaf is for thee, and Beardless is to get nothing!'\"\n\nSaying this, the boy took hold of the loaf and made off. As for\nBeardless, he was speechless, and remained gazing after the boy\nin astonishment.\n\n\n\n\nXII. THE MAIDEN WISER THAN THE TSAR\n\nLong ago there lived an old man, who dwelt in a poor cottage. He\npossessed one thing only in the world, and that was a daughter who\nwas so wise that she could teach even her old father.\n\nOne day the man went to the tsar to beg, and the tsar, astonished at\nhis cultivated speech, asked him whence he came and who had taught\nhim to converse so well. He told the tsar where he lived, and that\nit was his daughter who had taught him to speak with eloquence.\n\n\"And where was your daughter taught?\" asked the tsar.\n\n\"God and our poverty have made her wise,\" answered the poor man.\n\nThereupon the tsar gave him thirty eggs and said: \"Take these to your\ndaughter, and command her in my name to bring forth chickens from\nthem. If she does this successfully I will give her rich presents,\nbut if she fails you shall be tortured.\"\n\nThe poor man, weeping, returned to his cottage and told all this to\nhis daughter. The maiden saw at once that the eggs which the tsar had\nsent were boiled, and bade her father rest while she considered what\nwas to be done. Then while the old man was sleeping the girl filled\na pot with water and boiled some beans.\n\nNext morning she woke her father and begged him to take a plough and\noxen and plough near the road where the tsar would pass. \"When you see\nhim coming,\" said she, \"take a handful of beans, and while you are\nsowing them you must shout: 'Go on, my oxen, and may God grant that\nthe boiled beans may bear fruit!' Then,\" she went on, \"when the tsar\nasks you, 'How can you expect boiled beans to bear fruit?' answer him:\n'just as from boiled eggs one can produce chicks!'\"\n\nThe old man did as his daughter told him, and went forth to\nplough. When he saw the tsar he took out a handful of beans, and\nexclaimed: \"Go on, my oxen! And may God grant that the boiled beans may\nbear fruit!\" Upon hearing these words the tsar stopped his carriage,\nand said to the man: \"My poor fellow, how can you expect boiled beans\nto bear fruit?\"\n\n\"Just as from boiled eggs one can produce chicks!\" answered the\napparently simple old man.\n\nThe tsar laughed and passed on, but he had recognized the old man,\nand guessed that his daughter had instructed him to say this. He\ntherefore sent officers to bring the peasant into his presence. When\nthe old man came, the tsar gave him a bunch of flax, saying: \"Take\nthis, and make out of it all the sails necessary for a ship; if you\ndo not, you shall lose your life.\"\n\nThe poor man took the flax with great fear, and went home in tears\nto tell his daughter of his new task. The wise maiden soothed him,\nand said that if he would rest she would contrive some plan. Next\nmorning she gave her father a small piece of wood, and bade him take\nit to the tsar with the demand that from it should be made all the\nnecessary tools for spinning and weaving, that he should thereby be\nenabled to execute his Majesty's order. The old man obeyed, and when\nthe tsar heard the extraordinary request he was greatly astounded at\nthe astuteness of the girl, and, not to be outdone, he took a small\nglass, saying: \"Take this little glass to your daughter, and tell\nher she must empty the sea with it, so that dry land shall be where\nthe ocean now is.\"\n\nThe old man went home heavily to tell this to his daughter. But the\ngirl again reassured him, and next morning she gave him a pound of\ntow, saying: \"Take this to the tsar and say, that when with this tow\nhe dams the sources of all rivers and streams I will dry up the sea.\"\n\n\n\n\nThe Tsar Sends for the Girl\n\nThe father went back to the tsar and told him what his daughter had\nsaid, and the tsar, seeing that the girl was wiser than himself,\nordered that she should be brought before him. When she appeared the\ntsar asked her: \"Can you guess what it is that can be heard at the\ngreatest distance?\" and the girl answered: \"Your Majesty, there are two\nthings: the thunder and the lie can be heard at the greatest distance!\"\n\nThe astonished tsar grasped his beard, and, turning to his attendants,\nexclaimed: \"Guess what my beard is worth?\" Some said so much, others\nagain so much; but the maiden observed to the tsar that none of his\ncourtiers had guessed right. \"His Majesty's beard is worth as much as\nthree summer rains,\" she said. The tsar, more astonished than ever,\nsaid: \"The maiden has guessed rightly!\" Then he asked her to become\nhis wife, for \"I love you,\" said he. The girl had become enamoured\nof the tsar, and she bowed low before him and said: \"Your glorious\nMajesty! Let it be as you wish! But I pray that your Majesty may be\ngraciously pleased to write with your own hand on a piece of parchment\nthat should you or any of your courtiers ever be displeased with me,\nand in consequence banish me from the palace, I shall be allowed to\ntake with me any one thing which I like best.\"\n\nThe tsar gladly consented, wrote out this declaration and affixed\nhis signature.\n\nSome years passed by happily but there came at last a day when the\ntsar was offended with the tsarina and he said angrily: \"You shall\nbe no longer my wife, I command you to leave my palace!\"\n\nThe tsarina answered dutifully: \"O most glorious tsar, I will obey;\npermit me to pass but one night in the palace, and to-morrow I will\ndepart.\"\n\nTo this the tsar assented.\n\nThat evening, at supper, the tsarina mixed certain herbs in wine and\ngave the cup to the tsar, saying: \"Drink, O most glorious tsar! And\nbe of good cheer! I am to go away, but, believe me, I shall be happier\nthan when I first met you!\"\n\nThe tsar, having drunk the potion fell asleep. Then the tsarina who\nhad a coach in readiness, placed the tsar in it and carried him off\nto her father's cottage.\n\nWhen his Majesty awoke next morning and saw that he was in a cottage,\nhe exclaimed: \"Who brought me here?\"\n\n\"I did,\" answered the tsarina.\n\nThe tsar protested, saying: \"How have you dared do so? Did I not tell\nyou that you are no longer my wife?\"\n\nInstead of answering the tsarina produced the parchment containing\nthe tsar's promise and he could not find a word to say.\n\nThen the tsarina said: \"As you see, you promised that should I be\nbanished from your palace I should be at liberty to take with me that\nwhich I liked best!\"\n\nHearing this, the tsar's love for his spouse returned, he took her\nin his arms, and they returned to the palace together.\n\n\n\n\nXIII. GOOD DEEDS NEVER PERISH\n\nOnce upon a time there lived a man and woman who had one son. When the\nboy grew up his parents endeavoured to give him a suitable education\nwhich would be useful in his after life. He was a good, quiet boy,\nand above all he feared God. After he had completed his studies,\nhis father intrusted him with a galley laden with various goods,\nso that he might trade with distant countries, and be the support of\nhis parents' old age.\n\n\n\n\nThe First Voyage\n\nOn his first voyage he one day met with a Turkish ship, in which he\nheard weeping. So he called to the sailors on the Turkish vessel: \"I\npray you, tell me why there is such sorrow on board your ship!\" And\nthey answered: \"We have many slaves whom we have captured in\nvarious parts of the world, and those who are chained are weeping\nand lamenting.\" Thereupon the young man said: \"Pray, O brethren,\nask your captain if he will allow me to ransom the slaves for a sum\nof money?\" The sailors gladly called their captain, who was willing\nto bargain, and in the end the young man gave his ship with all its\ncargo to the Turk, in exchange for his vessel containing the slaves.\n\nThe young man asked each slave whence he came, and gave to all their\nfreedom, and said that each might return to his own country.\n\nAmong the slaves was an old woman who held a most beautiful maiden\nby the arm. When he asked whence they came, the old woman answered\nthrough her tears: \"We come from a far-away country. This young\ngirl is the only daughter of the tsar, whom I have brought up from\nher infancy. One unlucky day she was walking in the palace gardens,\nand wandered to a lonely spot, where those accursed Turks saw her\nand seized her. She began to scream, and I, who happened to be near,\nran to help her, but alas! I could not save her, and the Turks carried\nus both on board this galley.\" Then the good nurse and the beautiful\ngirl, not knowing the way to their own country, and having no means of\nreturning thither, implored the young man to take them with him. And\nthis he was quite willing to do; indeed, he had immediately fallen in\nlove with the princess, and he now married the poor homeless maiden,\nand, together with her and the old woman, returned home.\n\nOn their arrival, his father asked where his galley and its cargo\nwere, and he told him how he had ransomed the slaves and set them at\nliberty. \"This girl,\" said he, \"is the daughter of a tsar, and this old\nwoman is her nurse; as they could not return to their country I took\nthem with me, and I have married the maiden.\" Thereupon his father\ngrew very angry, and said: \"O foolish son, what have you done? Why\ndid you dispose so stupidly of my property without my permission?\" and\nhe drove him out of the house.\n\nFortunately for the young man, a good neighbour offered him\nhospitality, and, with his wife and her old nurse, he resided for a\nlong time near by, endeavouring, through the influence of his mother\nand friends, to persuade his father to forgive him.\n\n\n\n\nThe Second Voyage\n\nAfter some time the father relented, and received his son again in\nhis house, together with his young wife and her nurse. Soon after,\nhe purchased a second galley, larger and finer than the first, and\nloaded it with merchandise wherewith his son might trade to great\nprofit, if so be that he were wise.\n\nThe young man sailed in this new vessel, leaving his wife and her nurse\nin the house of his parents, and soon came to a certain city, where\nhe beheld a sorrowful sight. He saw soldiers busied in seizing poor\npeasants and throwing them into prison, and he asked: \"Why, brethren,\nare you showing such cruelty to these unfortunate people?\" And the\nsoldiers replied: \"Because they have not paid the tsar's taxes.\" The\nyoung man at once went to the officer and said: \"I pray you, tell\nme how much these poor people must pay.\" The officer told him the\namount due, and, without hesitation, the young man sold his galley\nand the cargo, and discharged the debts of all the prisoners. He now\nreturned home, and, falling at the feet of his father, he told him\nthe story and begged that he might be forgiven. But his father grew\nexceedingly angry this time, and drove him away from his house.\n\nWhat could the unhappy son do in this fresh trouble? How could he beg,\nhe whose parents were so well-to-do? Old friends of the family again\nused their influence with his father, urging that he should take pity\non his son and receive him back, \"for,\" said they, \"it is certain\nthat suffering has made him wiser, and that he will never again act\nso foolishly.\" At length his father yielded, took him again into his\nhouse, and prepared a third galley for him, much larger and finer\nthan the two former ones.\n\n\n\n\nThe Third Voyage\n\nThe young man was overjoyed at his good fortune, and he had the\nportrait of his beloved wife painted on the helm, and that of the old\nnurse on the stern. When all the preparations for a new voyage were\ncompleted, he took leave of his parents, his wife, and other members of\nthe family, and weighed anchor. After sailing for some time he arrived\nat a great city, in which there lived a tsar, and, dropping anchor,\nhe fired his guns as a salute to the city. Toward evening the tsar\nsent one of his ministers to learn who the stranger was and whence he\ncame, and to inform him that his master would come at nine o'clock next\nmorning to visit the galley. The minister was astounded to see on the\nhelm the portrait of the imperial princess--whom the tsar had promised\nto him in marriage when she was still a child--and on the stern that of\nthe old nurse; but he did not make any remark, nor did he tell anyone\nat the palace what he had seen. At nine o'clock next morning the tsar\ncame on board the galley with his ministers, and, as he paced the deck,\nconversing with the captain, he also saw the portrait of the maiden\npainted on the helm and that of the old woman on the stern, and he\nrecognized at once the features of his only daughter and her nurse,\nwhom the Turks had captured. At once he conceived the hope that his\nbeloved child was alive and well, but he could not trust himself to\nspeak, so great was his emotion. Composing himself as best he could,\nhe invited the captain to come at two o'clock that afternoon to his\npalace, intending to question him, hoping thus to confirm the hopes\nof his heart.\n\nPunctually at two o'clock the captain appeared at the palace, and the\ntsar at once began to question him in a roundabout manner as to the\nmaiden whose portrait he had seen on the helm of his galley. Was she\none of his relations, and, if so, in what degree? He was also curious\nconcerning the old woman whose likeness was painted on the stern.\n\nThe young captain guessed at once that the tsar must be his wife's\nfather, and he related to him word by word all his adventures, not\nomitting to say that, having found that the young maiden and her nurse\nhad forgotten the way back to their country, he had taken pity on them\nand later had espoused the maiden. Hearing this the tsar exclaimed:\n\"That girl is my only child and the old woman is her nurse; hasten\nand bring my daughter here that I may see her once more before I\ndie. Bring here also your parents and all your family; your father\nwill be my brother and your mother my sister, for you are my son and\nthe heir to my crown. Go and sell all your property and come that\nwe may live together in my palace!\" Then he called the tsarina, his\nwife, and all his ministers, that they might hear the joyful news,\nand there was great joy in the court.\n\nAfter this the tsar gave the captain a magnificent ship requesting\nhim to leave his own galley behind. The young man was, of course,\nvery grateful, but he said: \"O glorious tsar! My parents will not\nbelieve me, if you do not send one of your ministers to accompany\nme.\" Thereupon the tsar appointed as his companion for the voyage,\nthe very minister to whom he had formerly promised his daughter\nin marriage.\n\nThe captain's father was greatly surprised to see his son return so\nsoon and in such a magnificent ship. Then the young man related to his\nfather and others all that had happened, and the imperial minister\nconfirmed all his statements. When the princess saw the minister\nshe exclaimed joyfully: \"Yes, indeed, all that he has said is true;\nthis is my father's minister, who was to be my betrothed.\" Then the\nman and his family sold all their property and went on board the ship.\n\n\n\n\nThe Treacherous Minister\n\nNow the minister was a wicked man, and he had formed a design to kill\nthe young husband of the princess that he might espouse her and one day\nbecome tsar. Accordingly during the voyage he called the young man on\ndeck one night to confer with him. The captain had a quiet conscience\nand did not suspect evil, wherefore he was entirely unprepared when\nthe minister seized him and threw him swiftly overboard. The ship\nwas sailing fast; it was impossible that he could reach it, so he\nfell gradually behind. By great good luck he was very near to land\nand soon he was cast ashore by the waves. But, alas! this land was\nbut a bare uninhabited rock.\n\nMeantime the minister had stolen back to his cabin and next morning\nwhen it was found that the captain had disappeared, all began to weep\nand wail, thinking that he had fallen overboard in the night and been\ndrowned. His family would not be consoled, more especially his wife,\nwho loved him so much. When they arrived at the tsar's palace and\nreported that the young man had been accidentally drowned, the entire\ncourt mourned with them.\n\nFor fifteen days the tsar's unhappy son-in-law was condemned to a\nbare subsistence upon the scanty grass which grew upon the rocky\nislet. His skin was tanned by the hot sun and his garments became\nsoiled and torn, so that no one could have recognized him. On the\nmorrow of the fifteenth day, he had the good fortune to perceive an\nold man on the shore, leaning on a stick, engaged in fishing. He\nbegan at once to hail the old man and to beseech him to help him\noff the rock. The old fisherman said: \"I will save you, if you will\npay me!\" \"How can I pay you,\" answered the castaway, \"when, as you\nsee, I have only these rags, and nothing more?\" \"Oh, as for that,\"\nreplied the old man, \"you can write and sign a promise to give me a\nhalf of everything that you may ever possess.\" The young man gladly\nmade this promise. Then the old man produced writing materials and\nthe young man signed the agreement, after which they both sailed in\nthe old man's fishing boat to the mainland. After that the young man\nwandered from house to house and from village to village, a barefoot\nbeggar, in rags, sunburnt, and hungry.\n\n\n\n\nThe Young Man's Return\n\nAfter thirty days' journeying, good luck led him to the city of the\ntsar and he sat him down, staff in hand, at the gates of the palace,\nstill wearing on his finger his wedding-ring, on which was engraved\nhis name and that of his wife. The servants of the tsar, pitying his\nsad plight, offered him shelter for the night in the palace and gave\nhim to eat fragments from their own dinner. Next morning he went to\nthe garden of the palace, but the gardener came and drove him away,\nsaying that the tsar and his family were soon coming by. He moved\nfrom that spot and sat down in a corner on the grass, when suddenly he\nsaw the tsar walking with his own mother and father, who had remained\nat the court as the tsar's guests, and his beloved wife walking arm\nin arm with his enemy, the minister. He did not yet wish to reveal\nhimself, but as the tsar and his train passed by and gave him alms,\nhe stretched out his hand to receive it and the wedding-ring upon\nhis finger caught the princess's eye. She recognized it at once,\nbut it was incredible that the beggar could be her husband, and she\nsaid to him: \"Pray, give me your hand that I may see your ring!\" The\nminister protested, but the princess did not pay any attention to\nhim, and proceeded to examine the ring, to find there her own name\nand that of her husband. Her heart was greatly agitated at the sight,\nbut she made an effort to control her feelings and said nothing. Upon\nher return to the palace she appeared before her father and told him\nwhat she had seen. \"Please send for him,\" said she, \"and we may find\nout how the ring came into his possession!\" The tsar immediately sent\nan attendant to fetch the beggar. The order was executed at once,\nand, when the stranger appeared the tsar asked him his name, whence\nhe came, and in what manner he obtained the ring. The unfortunate\nyoung man could no longer maintain his disguise, so telling the\ntsar who he was, he went on to relate all his adventures since the\nminister treacherously threw him into the sea. \"Behold!\" said he at\nlast, \"Our gracious Lord and my right-dealing has brought me back\nto my parents and my wife.\" Almost beside themselves for joy, the\ntsar called for the young man's parents and imparted to them the\ngood news. Who could express the joy of the aged couple when they\nidentified their son? Words fail, also, to describe adequately the\nrejoicing which filled the hearts of the entire court. The servants\nprepared perfumed baths for the young man and brought him sumptuous\nnew garments. The tsar gave orders that he should be crowned as tsar,\nand for several days there were wonderful festivities, in which the\nwhole city joined; everywhere was singing, dancing and feasting. The\nold tsar summoned the wicked minister to appear before his son-in-law,\nto be dealt with according to his will. But the young tsar had a kind\nheart, so he forgave him upon the condition that he should leave the\ntsardom without delay, and never come back during his reign.\n\nThe new tsar had hardly began to rule, when the old fisherman who had\nsaved him from the rocky isle came and craved audience. The tsar at\nonce received his deliverer who produced the written promise. \"Very\nwell, old man,\" said the tsar; \"to-day I am ruler, but I will as\nreadily fulfil my word as if I were a beggar with little to share;\nso let us divide my possessions in two equal parts.\" Then the tsar\ntook the books and began to divide the cities, saying: \"This is for\nyou--this is for me.\" So he marked all on a map, till the whole tsardom\nwas divided between them, from the greatest city to the poorest hut.\n\nWhen the tsar had finished the old man said: \"Take all back! I am not\na man of this world; I am an angel from God, who sent me to save you\non account of your good deeds. Now reign and be happy, and may you\nlive long in complete prosperity!\" So saying, he vanished suddenly,\nand the young tsar ruled in great happiness ever after.\n\n\n\n\nXIV. HE WHOM GOD HELPS NO ONE CAN HARM\n\nOnce upon a time there lived a man and his wife, and they were\nblessed with three sons. The youngest son was the most handsome,\nand he possessed a better heart than his brothers, who thought him\na fool. When the three brothers had arrived at the man's estate,\nthey came together to their father, each of them asking permission to\nmarry. The father was embarrassed with this sudden wish of his sons,\nand said he would first take counsel with his wife as to his answer.\n\n\n\n\nThe First Quest\n\nA few days later the man called his sons together and told them to\ngo to the neighbouring town and seek for employment. \"He who brings\nme the finest rug will obtain my permission to marry first,\" he said.\n\nThe brothers started off to the neighbouring town together. On the\nway the two elder brothers began to make fun of the youngest, mocking\nhis simplicity, and finally they forced him to take a different road.\n\nAbandoned by his malicious brothers, the young man prayed God to\ngrant him good fortune. At length he came to a lake, on the further\nshore of which was a magnificent castle. The castle belonged to the\ndaughter of a tyrannous and cruel prince who had died long ago. The\nyoung princess was uncommonly beautiful, and many a suitor had come\nthere to ask for her hand. The suitors were always made very welcome,\nbut when they went to their rooms at night the late master of the\ncastle would invariably come as a vampire and suffocate them.\n\nAs the youngest brother stood upon the shore wondering how to cross\nthe lake, the princess noticed him from her window and at once gave an\norder to the servants to take a boat and bring the young man before\nher. When he appeared he was a little confused, but the noble maiden\nreassured him with some kind words--for he had, indeed, made a good\nimpression upon her and she liked him at first sight. She asked him\nwhence he came and where he intended to go, and the young man told\nher all about his father's command.\n\nWhen the princess heard that, she said to the young man: \"You will\nremain here for the night, and to-morrow morning we will see what we\ncan do about your rug.\"\n\nAfter they had supped, the princess conducted her guest to a green\nroom, and bidding him \"good-night,\" said: \"This is your room. Do\nnot be alarmed if during the night anything unusual should appear to\ndisturb you.\"\n\nBeing a simple youth, he could not even close his eyes, so deep was\nthe impression made by the beautiful things which surrounded him, when\nsuddenly, toward midnight, there was a great noise. In the midst of\nthe commotion he heard distinctly a mysterious voice whisper: \"This\nyouth will inherit the princely crown, no one can do him harm!\" The\nyoung man took refuge in earnest prayer, and, when day dawned, he\narose safe and sound.\n\nWhen the princess awoke, she sent a servant to summon the young man\nto her presence, and he was greatly astonished to find the young man\nalive; so also was the princess and every one in the castle.\n\nAfter breakfast the princess gave her guest a rich rug, saying:\n\"Take this rug to your father, and if he desires aught else you have\nonly to come back.\" The young man thanked his fair hostess and with\na deep bow took his leave of her.\n\nWhen he arrived home he found his two brothers already there; they\nwere showing their father the rugs they had brought. When the youngest\nexhibited his they were astounded, and exclaimed: \"How did you get\nhold of such a costly rug? You must have stolen it!\"\n\n\n\n\nThe Second Quest\n\nAt length the father, in order to quieten them, said: \"Go once more\ninto the world, and he who brings back a chain long enough to encircle\nour house nine times shall have my permission to marry first!\" Thus\nthe father succeeded in pacifying his sons. The two elder brothers\nwent their way, and the youngest hurried back to the princess. When\nhe appeared she asked him: \"What has your father ordered you to do\nnow?\" And he answered: \"That each of us should bring a chain long\nenough to encircle our house nine times.\" The princess again made\nhim welcome and, after supper, she showed him into a yellow room,\nsaying: \"Somebody will come again to frighten you during the night,\nbut you must not pay any attention to him, and to-morrow we will see\nwhat we can do about your chain.\"\n\nAnd sure enough, about midnight there came many ghosts dancing round\nhis bed and making fearful noises, but he followed the advice of\nthe princess and remained calm and quiet. Next morning a servant\ncame once more to conduct him to the princess, and, after breakfast,\nshe gave him a fine box, saying: \"Take this to your father, and if he\nshould desire anything more, you have but to come to me.\" The young\nman thanked her, and took his leave.\n\nAgain he found that his brothers had reached home first with their\nchains, but these were not long enough to encircle the house even\nonce, and they were greatly astonished when their youngest brother\nproduced from the box the princess had given an enormous gold chain\nof the required length. Filled with envy, they exclaimed: \"You will\nruin the reputation of our house, for you must have stolen this chain!\"\n\n\n\n\nThe Third Quest\n\nAt length the father, tired of their jangling, sent them away, saying:\n\"Go; bring each of you his sweetheart, and I will give you permission\nto marry.\" Thereupon the two elder brothers went joyfully to fetch\nthe girls they loved, and the youngest hurried away to the princess\nto tell her what was now his father's desire. When she heard, the\nprincess said: \"You must pass a third night here, and then we shall\nsee what we can do.\"\n\nSo, after supping together, she took him into a red room. During the\nnight he heard again a blood-curdling noise, and from the darkness a\nmysterious voice said: \"This young man is about to take possession\nof my estates and crown!\" He was assaulted by ghosts and vampires,\nand was dragged from his bed; but through all the young man strove\nearnestly in prayer, and God saved him.\n\nNext morning when he appeared before the princess, she congratulated\nhim on his bravery, and declared that he had won her love. The young\nman was overwhelmed with happiness, for although he would never have\ndared to reveal the secret of his heart, he also loved the princess. A\nbarber was now summoned to attend upon the young man, and a tailor\nto dress him like a prince. This done, the couple went together to\nthe castle chapel and were wedded.\n\nA few days later they drove to the young man's village, and as they\nstopped outside his home they heard great rejoicing and music, whereat\nthey understood that his two elder brothers were celebrating their\nmarriage feasts. The youngest brother knocked on the gate, and when\nhis father came he did not recognize his son in the richly attired\nprince who stood before him. He was surprised that such distinguished\nguests should pay him a visit, and still more so when the prince said:\n\"Good man, will you give us your hospitality for to-night?\" The father\nanswered: \"Most gladly, but we are having festivities in our house, and\nI fear that these common people will disturb you with their singing and\nmusic.\" To this the young prince said: \"Oh, no; it would please me to\nsee the peasants feasting, and my wife would like it even more than I.\"\n\nThey now entered the house, and as the hostess curtsied deeply before\nthem the prince congratulated her, saying: \"How happy you must be to\nsee your two sons wedded on the same day!\" The woman sighed. \"Ah,\"\nsaid she, \"on one hand I have joy and on the other mourning: I had\na third son, who went out in the world, and who knows what ill fate\nmay have befallen him?\"\n\nAfter a time the young prince found an opportunity to step into his\nold room, and put on one of his old suits over his costly attire. He\nthen returned to the room where the feast was spread and stood behind\nthe door. Soon his two brothers saw him, and they called out: \"Come\nhere, father, and see your much-praised son, who went and stole like\na thief!\" The father turned, and seeing the young man, he exclaimed:\n\"Where have you been for so long, and where is your sweetheart?\"\n\nThen the youngest son said: \"Do not reproach me; all is well with\nme and with you!\" As he spake he took off his old garments and stood\nrevealed in his princely dress. Then he told his story and introduced\nhis wife to his parents.\n\nThe brothers now expressed contrition for their conduct, and received\nthe prince's pardon, after which they all embraced; the feasting was\nrenewed, and the festivities went on for several days. Finally the\nyoung prince distributed amongst his father and brothers large portions\nof his new lands, and they all lived long and happily together.\n\n\n\n\nXV. ANIMALS AS FRIENDS AND AS ENEMIES [85]\n\nOnce upon a time, a long while ago, there lived in a very far-off\ncountry, a young nobleman who was so exceedingly poor that all his\nproperty was an old castle, a handsome horse, a trusty hound, and a\ngood rifle.\n\nThis nobleman spent all his time in hunting and shooting, and lived\nentirely on the produce of the chase.\n\nOne day he mounted his well-kept horse and rode off to the neighbouring\nforest, accompanied, as usual, by his faithful hound. When he came to\nthe forest he dismounted, fastened his horse securely to a young tree,\nand then went deep into the thicket in search of game. The hound ran\non at a distance before his master, and the horse remained all alone,\ngrazing quietly. Now it happened that a hungry fox came by that way\nand, seeing how well-fed and well-trimmed the horse was, stopped a\nwhile to admire him. By and by she was so charmed with the handsome\nhorse, that she lay down in the grass near him to bear him company.\n\nSome time afterward the young nobleman came back out of the forest,\ncarrying a stag that he had killed, and was extremely surprised to\nsee the fox lying so near his horse. So he raised his rifle with the\nintention of shooting her; but the fox ran up to him quickly and said,\n\"Do not kill me! Take me with you, and I will serve you faithfully. I\nwill take care of your fine horse whilst you are in the forest.\"\n\nThe fox spoke so pitifully that the nobleman was sorry for her,\nand agreed to her proposal. Thereupon he mounted his horse, placed\nthe stag he had shot before him, and rode back to his old castle,\nfollowed closely by his hound and his new servant, the fox.\n\nWhen the young nobleman prepared his supper, he did not forget to\ngive the fox a due share, and she congratulated herself that she was\nnever likely to be hungry again, at least so long as she served so\nskilful a hunter.\n\nThe next morning the nobleman went out again to the chase; the fox also\naccompanied him. When the young man dismounted and bound his horse,\nas usual, to a tree, the fox lay down near it to keep it company.\n\nNow, whilst the hunter was far off in the depth of the forest looking\nfor game, a hungry bear came by the place where the horse was tied,\nand, seeing how invitingly fat it looked, ran up to kill it. The\nfox hereupon sprang up and begged the bear not to hurt the horse,\ntelling him if he was hungry he had only to wait patiently until her\nmaster came back from the forest, and then she was quite sure that\nthe good nobleman would take him also to his castle and feed him,\nand care for him, as he did for his horse, his hound, and herself.\n\nThe bear pondered over the matter very wisely and deeply for some\ntime, and at length resolved to follow the fox's advice. Accordingly\nhe lay down quietly near the horse, and waited for the return of the\nhuntsman. When the young noble came out of the forest he was greatly\nsurprised to see so large a bear near his horse, and, dropping the\nstag he had shot from his shoulders, he raised his trusty rifle and\nwas about to shoot the beast. The fox, however, ran up to the huntsman\nand entreated him to spare the bear's life, and to take him, also, into\nhis service. This the nobleman agreed to do; and, mounting his horse,\nrode back to his castle, followed by the hound, the fox, and the bear.\n\nThe next morning, when the young man had gone again with his dog into\nthe forest, and the fox and the bear lay quietly near the horse,\na hungry wolf, seeing the horse, sprang out of a thicket to kill\nit. The fox and the bear, however, jumped up quickly and begged him\nnot to hurt the animal, telling him to what a good master it belonged,\nand that they were sure, if he would only wait, he also would be taken\ninto the same service, and would be well cared for. Thereupon the\nwolf, hungry though he was, thought it best to accept their counsel,\nand he also lay down with them in the grass until their master come\nout of the forest.\n\nYou can imagine how surprised the young nobleman was when he saw a\ngreat gaunt wolf lying so near his horse! However, when the fox had\nexplained the matter to him, he consented to take the wolf also into\nhis service. Thus it happened that this day he rode home followed by\nthe dog, the fox, the bear, and the wolf. As they were all hungry,\nthe stag he had killed was not too large to furnish their suppers that\nnight, and their breakfasts next morning. Not many days afterward a\nmouse was added to the company, and after that a mole begged so hard\nfor admission that the good nobleman could not find in his heart to\nrefuse her. Last of all came the great bird, the kumrekusha--so strong\na bird that she can carry in her claws a horse with his rider! Soon\nafter a hare was added to the company, and the nobleman took great\ncare of all his animals and fed them regularly and well, so that they\nwere all exceedingly fond of him.\n\n\n\n\nThe Animals' Council\n\nOne day the fox said to the bear, \"My good Bruin, pray run into the\nforest and bring me a nice large log, on which I can sit whilst I\npreside at a very important council we are going to hold.\"\n\nBruin, who had a great respect for the quick wit and good management\nof the fox, went out at once to seek the log, and soon came back\nbringing a heavy one, with which the fox expressed herself quite\nsatisfied. Then she called all the animals about her, and, having\nmounted the log, addressed them in these words:\n\n\"You know all of you, my friends, how very kind and good a master we\nhave. But, though he is very kind, he is also very lonely. I propose,\ntherefore, that we find a fitting wife for him.\"\n\nThe assembly was evidently well pleased with this idea, and responded\nunanimously, \"Very good, indeed, if we only knew any girl worthy to\nbe the wife of our master; which, however, we do not.\"\n\nThen the fox said, \"I know that the king has a most beautiful daughter,\nand I think it will be a good thing to take her for our lord; and\ntherefore I propose, further, that our friend the kumrekusha should\nfly at once to the king's palace, and hover about there until the\nprincess comes out to take her walk. Then she must catch her up at\nonce, and bring her here.\"\n\nAs the kumrekusha was glad to do anything for her kind master, she\nflew away at once, without even waiting to hear the decision of the\nassembly on this proposal.\n\nJust before evening set in, the princess came out to walk before her\nfather's palace: whereupon the great bird seized her and placed her\ngently on her outspread wings, and thus carried her off swiftly to\nthe young nobleman's castle.\n\nThe king was exceedingly grieved when he heard that his daughter had\nbeen carried off, and sent out everywhere proclamations promising\nrich rewards to any one who should bring her back, or even tell\nhim where he might look for her. For a long time, however, all his\npromises were of no avail, for no one in the kingdom knew anything\nat all about the princess.\n\nAt last, however, when the king was well-nigh in despair, an old\ngipsy woman came to the palace and asked the king, \"What will you\ngive me if I bring back to you your daughter, the princess?\"\n\nThe king answered quickly, \"I will gladly give you whatever you like\nto ask, if only you bring me back my daughter!\"\n\nThen the old gipsy went back to her hut in the forest, and tried all\nher magical spells to find out where the princess was. At last she\nfound out that she was living in an old castle, in a very distant\ncountry, with a young nobleman who had married her.\n\n\n\n\nThe Magic Carpet\n\nThe gipsy was greatly pleased when she knew this, and taking a whip\nin her hand seated herself at once in the middle of a small carpet,\nand lashed it with her whip. Then the carpet rose up from the ground\nand bore her swiftly through the air, toward the far country where\nthe young nobleman lived, in his lonely old castle, with his beautiful\nwife, and all his faithful company of beasts.\n\nWhen the gipsy came near the castle she made the carpet descend on the\ngrass among some tress, and leaving it there went to look about until\nshe could meet the princess walking about the grounds. By and by the\nbeautiful young lady came out of the castle, and immediately the ugly\nold woman went up to her, and began to fawn on her and to tell her all\nkinds of strange stories. Indeed, she was such a good story-teller\nthat the princess grew quite tired of walking before she was tired\nof listening; so, seeing the soft carpet lying nicely on the green\ngrass, she sat down on it to rest awhile. The moment she was seated\nthe cunning old gipsy sat down by her, and, seizing her whip, lashed\nthe carpet furiously. In the next minute the princess found herself\nborne upon the carpet far away from her husband's castle, and before\nlong the gipsy made it descend into the garden of the king's palace.\n\nYou can easily guess how glad he was to see his lost daughter,\nand how he generously gave the gipsy even more than she asked as\na reward. Then the king made the princess live from that time in a\nvery secluded tower with only two waiting-women, so afraid was he\nlest she would again be stolen from him.\n\nMeanwhile the fox, seeing how miserable and melancholy her young\nmaster appeared after his wife had so strangely been taken from him,\nand having heard of the great precautions which the king was using\nin order to prevent the princess being carried off again, summoned\nonce more all the animals to a general council.\n\nWhen all of them were gathered about her, the fox thus began: \"You know\nall of you, my dear friends, how happily our kind master was married;\nbut you know, also, that his wife has been unhappily stolen from him,\nand that he is now far worse off than he was before we found the\nprincess for him. Then he was lonely; now he is more than lonely--he\nis desolate! This being the case, it is clearly our duty, as his\nfaithful servants, to try in some way to bring her back to him. This,\nhowever, is not a very easy matter, seeing that the king has placed\nhis daughter for safety in a strong tower. Nevertheless, I do not\ndespair, and my plan is this: I will turn myself into a beautiful\ncat, and play about in the palace gardens under the windows of the\ntower in which the princess lives. I dare say she will long for me\ngreatly the moment she sees me, and will send her waiting-women down\nto catch me and take me up to her. But I will take good care that the\nmaids do not catch me, so that, at last, the princess will forget her\nfather's orders not to leave the tower, and will come down herself\ninto the gardens to see if she may not be more successful. I will\nthen make believe to let her catch me, and at this moment our friend,\nthe kumrekusha, who must be hovering over about the palace, must fly\ndown quickly, seize the princess, and carry her off as before. In\nthis way, my dear friends, I hope we shall be able to bring back to\nour kind master his beautiful wife. Do you approve of my plan?\"\n\nOf course, the assembly were only too glad to have such a wise\ncounsellor, and to be able to prove their gratitude to their\nconsiderate master. So the fox ran up to the kumrekusha, who flew\naway with her under her wing, both being equally eager to carry out\nthe project, and thus to bring back the old cheerful look to the face\nof their lord.\n\nWhen the kumrekusha came to the tower wherein the princess dwelt she\nset the fox down quietly among the trees, where it at once changed\ninto a most beautiful cat, and commenced to play all sorts of graceful\nantics under the window at which the princess sat. The cat was striped\nall over the body with many different colours, and before long the\nking's daughter noticed her, and sent down her two women to catch\nher and bring her up in the tower.\n\nThe two waiting-women came down into the garden, and called,\n\"Pussy! pussy!\" in their sweetest voices; they offered her bread and\nmilk, but they offered it all in vain. The cat sprang merrily about\nthe garden, and ran round and round them, but would on no account\nconsent to be caught.\n\nAt length the princess, who stood watching them at one of the windows\nof her tower, became impatient, and descended herself into the garden,\nsaying petulantly, \"You only frighten the cat; let me try to catch\nher!\" As she approached the cat, who seemed now willing to be caught,\nthe kumrekusha darted down quickly, seized the princess by the waist,\nand carried her high up into the air.\n\nThe frightened waiting-women ran to report to the king what had\nhappened to the princess; whereupon the king immediately let loose\nall his greyhounds to seize the cat which had been the cause of\nhis daughter's being carried off a second time. The dogs followed\nthe cat closely, and were on the point of catching her, when she,\njust in the nick of time, saw a cave with a very narrow entrance and\nran into it for shelter. There the dogs tried to follow her, or to\nwiden the mouth of the cave with their claws, but all in vain; so,\nafter barking a long time very furiously, they at length grew weary,\nand stole back ashamed and afraid to the king's stables.\n\nWhen all the greyhounds were out of sight the cat changed herself\nback into a fox, and ran off in a straight line toward the castle,\nwhere she found her young master very joyful, for the kumrekusha had\nalready brought back to him his beautiful wife.\n\n\n\n\nThe King makes War on the Animals\n\nNow the king was exceedingly angry to think that he had again lost\nhis daughter, and he was all the more angry to think that such poor\ncreatures as a bird and a cat had succeeded in carrying her off after\nall his precautions. So, in his great wrath, he resolved to make a\ngeneral war on the animals, and entirely exterminate them.\n\nTo this end he gathered together a very large army, and determined\nto be himself their leader. The news of the king's intention spread\nswiftly over the whole kingdom, whereupon for the third time the fox\ncalled together all her friends--the bear, the wolf, the kumrekusha,\nthe mouse, the mole, and the hare--to a general council.\n\nWhen all were assembled the fox addressed them thus: \"My friends, the\nking has declared war against us, and intends to destroy us all. Now\nit is our duty to defend ourselves in the best way we can. Let us each\nsee what number of animals we are able to muster. How many of your\nbrother bears do you think you can bring to our help, my good Bruin?\"\n\nThe bear got up as quickly as he could on his hind legs and called out,\n\"I am sure I can bring a hundred.\"\n\n\"And how many of your friends can you bring, my good wolf?\" asked\nthe fox anxiously.\n\n\"I can bring at least five hundred wolves with me,\" said the wolf\nwith an air of importance.\n\nThe fox nodded her satisfaction and continued, \"And what can you do\nfor us, dear master hare?\"\n\n\"Well, I think, I can bring about eight hundred,\" said the hare\ncautiously.\n\n\"And what can you do, you dear little mouse?\"\n\n\"Oh, I can certainly bring three thousand mice.\"\n\n\"Very well, indeed!--and you Mr. Mole?\"\n\n\"I am sure I can gather eight thousand.\"\n\n\"And now what number do you think you can bring us, my great friend,\nkumrekusha?\"\n\n\"I fear not more than two or three hundred, at the very best,\" said\nthe kumrekusha sadly.\n\n\"Very good; now all of you go at once and collect your friends; when\nyou have brought all you can, we will decide what is to be done,\" said\nthe fox; whereupon the council broke up, and the animals dispersed\nin different directions throughout the forest.\n\nNot very long after, very unusual noises were heard in the\nneighbourhood of the castle. There was a great shaking of trees; and\nthe growling of bears and the short sharp barking of wolves broke the\nusual quiet of the forest. The army of animals was gathering from\nall sides at the appointed place. When all were gathered together\nthe fox explained to them her plans in these words: \"When the king's\narmy stops on its march to rest the first night, then you, bears\nand wolves, must be prepared to attack and kill all the horses. If,\nnotwithstanding this, the army proceeds farther, you mice must be ready\nto bite and destroy all the saddle-straps and belts while the soldiers\nare resting the second night, and you hares must gnaw through the\nropes with which the men draw the cannon. If the king still persists\nin his march, you moles must go the third night and dig out the earth\nunder the road they will take the next day, and must make a ditch full\nfifteen yards in breadth and twenty yards in depth all round their\ncamp. Next morning, when the army begins to march over this ground\nwhich has been hollowed out, you kumrekushas must throw down on them\nfrom above heavy stones while the earth will give way under them.\"\n\nThe plan was approved, and all the animals went off briskly to attend\nto their allotted duties.\n\nWhen the king's army awoke, after their first night's rest on their\nmarch, they beheld, to their great consternation, that all the horses\nwere killed. This sad news was reported at once to the king; but he\nonly sent back for more horses, and, when they came late in the day,\npursued his march.\n\nThe second night the mice crept quietly into the camp, and nibbled\ndiligently at the horses' saddles and at the soldiers' belts, while the\nhares as busily gnawed at the ropes with which the men drew the cannon.\n\nNext morning the soldiers were terrified, seeing the mischief the\nanimals had done. The king, however, reassured them, and sent back to\nthe city for new saddles and belts. When they were at length brought\nhe resolutely pursued his march, only the more determined to revenge\nhimself on these presumptuous and despised enemies.\n\nOn the third night, while the soldiers were sleeping, the moles\nworked incessantly in digging round the camp a wide and deep trench\nunderground. About midnight the fox sent the bears to help the moles,\nand to carry away the loads of earth.\n\nNext morning the king's soldiers were delighted to find that no harm\nseemed to have been done on the previous night to their horses or\nstraps, and started with new courage on their march. But their march\nwas quickly arrested, for soon the heavy horsemen and artillery began\nto fall through the hollow ground, and the king, when he observed that,\ncalled out, \"Let us turn back. I see God himself is against us, since\nwe have declared war against the animals. I will give up my daughter.\"\n\nThen the army turned back, amidst the rejoicings of the soldiers. The\nmen found, however, to their great surprise and fear, that whichever\nway they turned, they fell through the earth. To make their\nconsternation yet more complete, the kumrekushas now began to throw\ndown heavy stones on them, which crushed them completely. In this\nway the king, as well as his whole army, perished.\n\nVery soon afterward the young nobleman, who had married the king's\ndaughter, went to the enemy's capital and took possession of the\nking's palace, taking with him all his animals; and there they all\nlived long and happily together.\n\n\n\n\nXVI. THE THREE SUITORS\n\nIn a very remote country there formerly lived a king who had only one\nchild--an exceedingly beautiful daughter. The princess had a great\nnumber of suitors, and amongst them were three young noblemen, whom\nthe king loved much. As, however, the king liked the three nobles\nequally well, he could not decide to which of the three he should\ngive his daughter as wife. One day, therefore, he called the three\nyoung noblemen to him, and said, \"Go, all of you, and travel about\nthe world. The one of you who brings home the most remarkable thing\nshall be my son-in-law!\"\n\nThe three suitors started at once on their travels, each of them\ntaking opposite ways, and going in search of remarkable things into\nfar different countries.\n\nA long time had not passed before one of the young nobles found a\nwonderful carpet which would carry rapidly through the air whoever\nsat upon it.\n\nAnother of them found a marvellous telescope, through which he could\nsee everybody and everything in the world, and even the many-coloured\nsands at the bottom of the great deep sea.\n\nThe third found a wonder-working ointment, which could cure every\ndisease in the world, and even bring dead people back to life again.\n\nNow the three noble travellers were far distant from each other\nwhen they found these wonderful things. But when the young man who\nhad found the telescope looked through it, he saw one of his former\nfriends and present rivals walking with a carpet on his shoulder, and\nso he set out to join him. As he could always see, by means of his\nmarvellous telescope, where the other nobleman was, he had no great\ndifficulty in finding him, and when the two had met, they sat side\nby side on the wonderful carpet, and it carried them through the air\nuntil they had joined the third traveller. One day, when each of them\nhad been telling of the remarkable things he had seen in his travels,\none of them exclaimed suddenly, \"Now let us see what the beautiful\nprincess is doing, and where she is.\" Then the noble who had found\nthe telescope, looked through it and saw, to his great surprise and\ndismay, that the king's daughter was lying very sick and at the point\nof death. He told this to his two friends and rivals, and they, too,\nwere thunderstruck at the bad news--until the one who had found the\nwonder-working ointment, remembering it suddenly, exclaimed, \"I am sure\nI could cure her, if I could only reach the palace soon enough!\" On\nhearing this the noble who had found the wonderful carpet cried out,\n\"Let us sit down on my carpet, and it will quickly carry us to the\nking's palace!\"\n\nThereupon the three nobles gently placed themselves in the carpet,\nwhich rose instantly in the air, and carried them direct to the\nking's palace.\n\nThe king received them immediately; but said very sadly, \"I am sorry\nfor you: for all your travels have been in vain. My daughter is just\ndying, so she can marry none of you!\"\n\nBut the nobleman who possessed the wonder-working ointment said\nrespectfully, \"Do not fear, sire, the princess will not die!\" And\non being permitted to enter the apartment where she lay sick, he\nplaced the ointment so that she could smell it. In a few moments the\nprincess revived, and when her waiting-women had rubbed a little of\nthe ointment in her skin she recovered so quickly that in a few days\nshe was better than she had been before she was taken ill.\n\nThe king was so glad to have his daughter given back to him, as he\nthought, from the grave, that he declared that she should marry no\none but the young nobleman whose wonderful ointment had cured her.\n\n\n\n\nThe Dispute\n\nBut now a great dispute arose between the three young nobles: the\none who possessed the ointment affirmed that had he not found it the\nprincess would have died, and could not, therefore, have married any\none; the noble who owned the telescope declared that had he not found\nthe wonderful telescope they would never have known that the princess\nwas dying, and so his friend would not have brought the ointment\nto cure her; whilst the third noble proved to them that had he not\nfound the wonderful carpet neither the finding of the ointment nor\nthe telescope would have helped the princess, since they could not\nhave travelled such a great distance in time to save her.\n\nThe king, overhearing this dispute, called the young noblemen to him,\nand said to them, \"My lords, from what you have said, I see that\nI cannot, with justice, give my daughter to any of you; therefore,\nI pray you to give up altogether the idea of marrying her, and that\nyou continue friends as you always were before you became rivals.\"\n\nThe three young nobles saw that the king had decided justly; so\nthey all left their native country, and went into a far-off desert\nto live like hermits. And the king gave the princess to another of\nhis great nobles.\n\nMany, many years had passed away since the marriage of the princess,\nwhen her husband was sent by her father to a distant country with which\nthe king was waging war. The nobleman took his wife, the princess,\nwith him, as he was uncertain how long he might be forced to remain\nabroad. Now it happened that a violent storm arose just as the vessel\nwhich carried the princess and her husband was approaching a strange\ncoast; and in the height of the great tempest the ship dashed on some\nrocks, and went to pieces instantly. All the people on board perished\nin the waves, excepting only the princess, who clung very fast to a\nboat and was carried by the wind and the tide to the shore. There she\nfound what seemed to be an uninhabited country, and, discovering a\nsmall cave in a rock, she lived alone in it for three years, feeding\non wild herbs and fruits. She searched every day to find some way\nout of the forest which surrounded her cave, but could find none. One\nday, however, when she had wandered farther than usual from the cave\nwhere she lived, she came suddenly on another cave which, to her great\nastonishment, had a small door. She tried over and over again to open\nthe door, thinking she would pass the night in the cave; but all her\nefforts were unavailing, it was shut so fast. At length, however,\na deep voice from within the cave called out, \"Who is at the door?\"\n\nAt this the princess was so surprised that she could not answer for\nsome moments; when, however, she had recovered a little, she said,\n\"Open me the door!\" Immediately the door was opened from within,\nand she saw, with sudden terror, an old man with a thick grey\nbeard reaching below his waist and long white hair flowing over\nhis shoulders.\n\nWhat frightened the princess the more was her finding a man living\nhere in the same desert where she had lived herself three years\nwithout seeing a single soul.\n\nThe hermit and the princess looked at each long and earnestly without\nsaying a word. At length, however, the old man said, \"Tell me, are\nyou an angel or a daughter of this world?\"\n\nThen the princess answered, \"Old man, let me rest a moment, and then\nI will tell you all about myself, and what brought me here.\" So the\nhermit brought out some wild pears, and when the princess had taken\nsome of them, she began to tell him who she was, and how she came in\nthat desert. She said, \"I am a king's daughter, and once, many years\nago, three young nobles of my father's court asked the king for my\nhand in marriage. Now the king had such an equal affection for all\nthese three young men that he was unwilling to give pain to any of\nthem, so he sent them to travel into distant countries, and promised\nto decide between them when they returned.\n\n\"The three noblemen remained a long time away; and whilst they were\nstill abroad somewhere, I fell dangerously ill. I was just at the point\nof death, when they all three returned suddenly; one of them bringing a\nwonderful ointment, which cured me at once; the two others brought each\nequally remarkable things--a carpet that would carry whoever sat on it\nthrough the air, and a telescope with which one could see everybody and\neverything in the world, even to the sands at the bottom of the sea.\"\n\n\n\n\nThe Recognition\n\nThe princess had gone on thus far with her story, when the hermit\nsuddenly interrupted her, saying: \"All that happened afterward I\nknow as well as you can tell me. Look at me, my daughter! I am one of\nthose noblemen who sought to win your hand, and here is the wonderful\ntelescope.\" And the hermit brought out the instrument from a recess\nin the side of his cave before he continued; \"My two friends and\nrivals came with me to this desert. We parted, however, immediately,\nand have never met since. I know not whether they are living or dead,\nbut I will look for them.\"\n\nThen the hermit looked through his telescope, and saw that the other\ntwo noblemen were living in caves like his, in different parts of the\nsame desert. Having found this out, he took the princess by the hand,\nand led her on until they found the other hermits. When all were\nre-united, the princess related her adventures since the foundering\nof the ship, in which her husband had gone down, and from which she\nalone had been saved.\n\nThe three noble hermits were pleased to see her alive once again,\nbut at once decided that they ought to send her back to the king,\nher father.\n\nThen they made the princess a present of the wonderful telescope, and\nthe wonder-working ointment, and placed her on the wonderful carpet,\nwhich carried her and her treasures quickly and safely to her father's\npalace. As for the three noblemen, they remained, still living like\nhermits, in the desert, only they visited each other now and then,\nso that the years seemed no longer so tedious to them. For they had\nmany adventures to relate to each other.\n\nThe king was exceedingly glad to receive his only child back safely,\nand the princess lived with her father many years; but neither the king\nnor his daughter could entirely forget the three noble friends who,\nfor her sake, lived like hermits in a wild desert in a far-off land.\n\n\n\n\nXVII. THE DREAM OF THE KING'S SON\n\nThere was once a king who had three sons. One evening, when the young\nprinces were going to sleep, the king ordered them to take good note\nof their dreams and come and tell them to him next morning. So, the\nnext day the princes went to their father as soon as they awoke,\nand the moment the king saw them he asked of the eldest, \"Well,\nwhat have you dreamt?\"\n\nThe prince answered, \"I dreamt that I should be the heir to your\nthrone.\"\n\nAnd the second said, \"And I dreamt that I should be the first subject\nin the kingdom.\"\n\nThen the youngest said, \"I dreamt that I was going to wash my hands,\nand that the princes, my brothers, held the basin, whilst the queen,\nmy mother, held fine towels for me to dry my hands with, and your\nmajesty's self poured water over them from a golden ewer.\"\n\nThe king, hearing this last dream, became very angry, and exclaimed,\n\"What! I--the king--pour water over the hands of my own son! Go away\nthis instant out of my palace, and out of my kingdom! You are no\nlonger my son.\"\n\nThe poor young prince tried hard to make his peace with his father,\nsaying that he was really not to be blamed for what he had only\ndreamed; but the king grew more and more furious, and at last actually\nthrust the prince out of the palace.\n\nSo the young prince was obliged to wander up and down in different\ncountries, until one day, being in a large forest, he saw a cave,\nand entered it to rest. There, to his great surprise and joy, he\nfound a large kettle full of Indian corn, boiling over a fire: and,\nbeing exceedingly hungry, began to help himself to the corn. In this\nway he went until he was shocked to see he had nearly eaten up all\nthe maize, and then, being afraid some mischief would come of it,\nhe looked about for a place in which to hide himself. At this moment,\nhowever, a great noise was heard at the cave-mouth, and he had only\ntime to hide himself in a dark corner before a blind old man entered,\nriding on a great goat and driving a number of goats before him.\n\nThe old man rode straight up to the kettle, but as soon as he found\nthat the corn was nearly all gone, he began to suspect some one was\nthere, and groped about the cave until he caught hold of the prince.\n\n\"Who are you?\" asked he sharply; and the prince answered, \"I am a\npoor, homeless wanderer about the world, and have come now to beg\nyou to be good enough to receive me.\"\n\n\"Well,\" said the old man, \"why not? I shall at least have some one\nto mind my corn whilst I am out with my goats in the forest.\"\n\nSo they lived together for some time; the prince remaining in the\ncave to boil the maize, whilst the old man drove out his goats every\nmorning into the forest.\n\nOne day, however, the old man said to the prince, \"I think you shall\ntake out the goats to-day, and I will stay at home to mind the corn.\"\n\nThis the prince consented to very gladly, as he was tired of living\nso long quietly in the cave. But the old man added, \"Mind only one\nthing! There are nine different mountains, and you can let the goats\ngo freely over eight of them, but you must on no account go on the\nninth. The veele live there, and they will certainly put out your eyes\nas they have put out mine, if you venture on their mountain.\" The\nprince thanked the old man for his warning, and then, mounting the\ngreat goat, drove the rest of the goats before him out of the cave.\n\nFollowing the goats, he had passed over all the mountains to the\neighth, and from this he could see the ninth mountain, and could not\nresist the temptation he felt to go upon it. So he said to himself,\n\"I will venture up, whatever happens!\"\n\n\n\n\nThe Prince and the Veele\n\nHardly had he stepped on the ninth mountain before the fairies\nsurrounded him, and prepared to put out his eyes. But, happily, a\nthought came into his head, and he exclaimed, quickly, \"Dear veele,\nwhy take this sin on your heads? Better let us make a bargain, that\nif you spring over a tree that I will place ready to jump over,\nyou shall put out my eyes, and I will not blame you!\"\n\nSo the veele consented to this, and the prince went and brought a large\ntree, which he cleft down the middle almost to the root; this done,\nhe placed a wedge to keep the two halves of the trunk open a little.\n\nWhen it was fixed upright, he himself first jumped over it, and then\nhe said to the veele, \"Now it is your turn. Let us see if you can\nspring over the tree!\"\n\nOne veele attempted to spring over, but the same moment the prince\nknocked the wedge out, and the trunk closing at once held the veele\nfast. Then all the other fairies were alarmed, and begged him to\nopen the trunk and let their sister free, promising, in return,\nto give him anything he might ask. The prince said, \"I want nothing\nexcept to keep my own eyes, and to restore eyesight to that poor old\nman.\" So the fairies gave him a certain herb, and told him to lay it\nover the old man's eyes, and then he would recover his sight. The\nprince took the herb, opened the tree a little so as to let the\nfairy free, and then rode back on the goat to the cave, driving the\nother goats before him. When he arrived there he placed at once the\nherb on the old man's eyes, and in a moment his eyesight came back,\nto his exceeding surprise and joy.\n\nNext morning the old man, before he drove out his goats, gave the\nprince the keys of eight closets in the cave, but warned him on no\naccount to open the ninth closet, although the key hung directly over\nthe door. Then he went out, telling the prince to take good care that\nthe corn was ready for their suppers.\n\nLeft alone in the cave, the young man began to wonder what might be\nin the ninth closet, and at last he could not resist the temptation\nto take down the key and open the door to look in.\n\n\n\n\nThe Golden Horse\n\nWhat was his surprise to see there a golden horse, with a golden\ngreyhound beside him, and near them a golden hen and golden chickens\nwere busy picking up golden millet-seeds.\n\nThe young prince gazed at them for some time, admiring their beauty,\nand then he spoke to the golden horse, \"Friend, I think we had better\nleave this place before the old man comes back again.\"\n\n\"Very well,\" answered the golden horse, \"I am quite willing to go\naway, only you must take heed to what I am going to tell. Go and find\nlinen cloth enough to spread over the stones at the mouth of the cave,\nfor if the old man hears the ring of my hoofs he will be certain to\nkill you. Then you must take with you a little stone, a drop of water,\nand a pair of scissors, and the moment I tell you to throw them down\nyou must obey me quickly, or you are lost.\"\n\nThe prince did everything that the golden horse had ordered him,\nand then, taking up the golden hen with her chickens in a bag, he\nplaced it under his arm, and mounted the horse and rode quickly out\nof the cave, leading with him, in a leash, the golden greyhound. But\nthe moment they were in the open air the old man, although he was\nvery far off, tending his goats on a distant mountain, heard the\nclang of the golden hoofs, and cried to his great goat, \"They have\nrun away. Let us follow them at once.\"\n\nIn a wonderfully short time the old man on his great goat came\nso near the prince on his golden horse, that the latter shouted,\n\"Throw now the little stone!\"\n\nThe moment the prince had thrown it down, a high rocky mountain rose\nup between him and the old man, and before the goat had climbed over\nit, the golden horse had gained much ground. Very soon, however,\nthe old man was so nearly catching them that the horse shouted,\n\"Throw, now, the drop of water!\" The prince obeyed instantly, and\nimmediately saw a broad river flowing between him and his pursuer.\n\nIt took the old man on his goat so long to cross the river that the\nprince on his golden horse was far away before them; but for all that\nit was not very long before the horse heard the goat so near behind him\nthat he shouted, \"Throw the scissors.\" The prince threw them, and the\ngoat, running over them, injured one of his fore legs very badly. When\nthe old man saw this, he exclaimed, \"Now I see I cannot catch you,\nso you may keep what you have taken. But you will do wisely to listen\nto my counsel. People will be sure to kill you for the sake of your\ngolden horse, so you had better buy at once a donkey, and take the\nhide to cover your horse. And do the same with your golden greyhound.\"\n\nHaving said this, the old man turned and rode back to his cave; and\nthe prince lost no time in attending to his advice, and covered with\ndonkey-hide his golden horse and his golden hound.\n\nAfter travelling a long time the prince came unawares to the kingdom\nof his father. There he heard that the king had had a ditch dug, three\nhundred yards wide and four hundred yards deep, and had proclaimed\nthat whosoever should leap his horse over it, should have the princess,\nhis daughter, for wife.\n\nAlmost a whole year had elapsed since the proclamation was issued,\nbut as yet no one had dared to risk the leap. When the prince heard\nthis, he said, \"I will leap over it with my donkey and my dog!\" and\nhe leapt over it.\n\nBut the king was very angry when he heard that a poorly dressed man, on\na donkey, had dared to leap over the great ditch which had frightened\nback his bravest knights; so he had the disguised prince thrown into\none of his deepest dungeons, together with his donkey and his dog.\n\nNext morning the king sent some of his servants to see if the man was\nstill living, and these soon ran back to him, full of wonder, and told\nhim that they had found in the dungeon, instead of a poor man and his\ndonkey, a young man, beautifully dressed, a golden horse, a golden\ngreyhound, and a golden hen, surrounded by golden chickens, which\nwere picking up golden millet-seeds from the ground. Then the king\nsaid, \"That must be some powerful prince.\" So he ordered the queen,\nand the princes, his sons, to prepare all things for the stranger to\nwash his hands. Then he went down himself into the dungeon, and led\nthe prince up with much courtesy, desiring to make thus amends for\nthe past ill-treatment.\n\nThe king himself took a golden ewer full of water, and poured some\nover the prince's hands, whilst the two princes held the basin under\nthem, and the queen held out fine towels to dry them on.\n\nThis done, the young prince exclaimed, \"Now, my dream is fulfilled\";\nand they all at once recognized him, and were very glad to see him\nonce again amongst them.\n\n\n\n\nXVIII. THE BITER BIT\n\nOnce upon a time there was an old man who, whenever he heard anyone\ncomplain how many sons he had to care for, always laughed and said,\n\"I wish that it would please God to give me a hundred sons!\"\n\nThis he said in jest; as time went on, however, he had, in reality,\nneither more nor less than a hundred sons.\n\nHe had trouble enough to find different trades for his sons, but\nwhen they were once all started in life they worked diligently and\ngained plenty of money. Now, however, came a fresh difficulty. One\nday the eldest son came in to his father and said, \"My dear father,\nI think it is quite time that I should marry.\"\n\nHardly had he said these words before the second son came in, saying,\n\"Dear father, I think it is already time that you were looking out\nfor a wife for me.\"\n\nA moment later came in the third son, asking, \"Dear father, don't\nyou think it is high time that you should find me a wife?\" In like\nmanner came the fourth and fifth, until the whole hundred had made\na similar request. All of them wished to marry, and desired their\nfather to find wives for them as soon as he could.\n\nThe old man was not a little troubled at these requests; he said,\nhowever, to his sons, \"Very well, my sons, I have nothing to say\nagainst your marrying; there is, however, I foresee, one great\ndifficulty in the way. There are one hundred of you asking for wives,\nand I hardly think we can find one hundred marriageable girls in all\nthe fifteen villages which are in our neighbourhood.\"\n\nTo this the sons, however, answered, \"Don't be anxious about that, but\nmount your horse and take in your sack sufficient engagement-cakes. You\nmust take, also, a stick in your hand so that you can cut a notch\nin it for every girl you see. It does not signify whether she be\nhandsome or ugly, or lame or blind, just cut a notch in your stick\nfor every one you meet with.\"\n\nThe old man said, \"Very wisely spoken, my sons! I will do exactly as\nyou tell me.\"\n\nAccordingly he mounted his horse, took a sack full of cakes on his\nshoulder and a long stick in his hand, and started off at once to\nbeat up the neighbourhood for girls to marry his sons.\n\nThe old man had travelled from village to village during a whole month,\nand whenever he had seen a girl he cut a notch in his stick. But he was\ngetting pretty well tired, and he began to count how many notches he\nhad already made. When he had counted them carefully over and over\nagain, to be certain that he had counted all, he could only make\nout seventy-four, so that still twenty-six were wanting to complete\nthe number required. He was, however, so weary with his month's ride\nthat he determined to return home. As he rode along, he saw a priest\ndriving oxen yoked to a plough, and seemingly very deep in anxious\nthought about something. Now the old man wondered a little to see the\npriest ploughing his own corn-fields without even a boy to help him;\nhe therefore shouted to ask him why he drove his oxen himself. The\npriest, however, did not even turn his head to see who called to him,\nso intent was he in urging on his oxen and in guiding his plough.\n\nThe old man thought he had not spoken loud enough, so he shouted out\nagain as loud as he could, \"Stop your oxen a little, and tell me why\nyou are ploughing yourself without even a lad to help you, and this,\ntoo, on a holy-day!\"\n\nNow the priest--who was in a perspiration with his hard work--answered\ntestily, \"I conjure you by your old age leave me in peace! I cannot\ntell you my ill-luck.\"\n\n\n\n\nThe Hundred Daughters\n\nAt this answer, however, the old man was only the more curious, and\npersisted all the more earnestly in asking questions to find out why\nthe priest ploughed on a saint's day. At last the priest, tired with\nhis importunity, sighed deeply and said, \"Well, if you will know:\nI am the only man in my household, and God has blessed me with a\nhundred daughters!\"\n\nThe old man was overjoyed at hearing this, and exclaimed cheerfully,\n\"That's very good! It is just what I want, for I have a hundred sons,\nand so, as you have a hundred daughters, we can be friends!\"\n\nThe moment the priest heard this he became pleasant and talkative,\nand invited the old man to pass the night in his house. Then, leaving\nhis plough in the field, he drove the oxen back to the village. Just\nbefore reaching his house, however, he said to the old man, \"Go\nyourself into the house whilst I tie up my oxen.\"\n\nNo sooner, however, had the old man entered the yard than the wife of\nthe priest rushed at him with a big stick, crying out, \"We have not\nbread enough for our hundred daughters, and we want neither beggars\nnor visitors,\" and with these words she drove him away.\n\nShortly afterwards the priest came out of the barn, and, finding the\nold man sitting on the road before the gate, asked him why he had\nnot gone into the house as he had told him to do. Whereupon the old\nman replied, \"I went in, but your wife drove me away!\"\n\nThen the priest said, \"Only wait here a moment till I come back to\nfetch you.\" He then went quickly into his house and scolded his wife\nright well, saying, \"What have you done? What a fine chance you have\nspoiled! The man who came in was going to be our friend, for he has\na hundred sons who would gladly have married our hundred daughters!\"\n\nWhen the wife heard this she changed her dress hastily, and arranged\nher hair and head-dress in a different fashion. Then she smiled\nvery sweetly, and welcomed with the greatest possible politeness\nthe old man, when her husband led him into the house. In fact, she\npretended that she knew nothing at all of anyone having been driven\naway from their door. And as the old man wanted much to find wives\nfor his sons, he also pretended that he did not know that the smiling\nhouse-mistress and the woman who drove him away with a stick were\none and the selfsame person.\n\nSo the old man passed the night in the house, and next morning asked\nthe priest formally to give him his hundred daughters for wives for\nhis hundred sons. Thereupon the priest answered that he was quite\nwilling, and had already spoken to his daughters about the matter,\nand that they, too, were all quite willing. Then the old man took\nout his \"engagement-cakes,\" and put them on the table beside him,\nand gave each of the girls a piece of money to mark. Then each of the\nengaged girls sent a small present by him to that one of his sons to\nwhom she was thus betrothed. These gifts the old man put in the bag\nwherein he had carried the \"engagement-cakes.\" He then mounted his\nhorse, and rode off merrily homewards. There were great rejoicings in\nhis household when he told how successful he had been in his search,\nand that he really had found a hundred girls ready and willing to be\nmarried; and these hundred, too, a priest's daughters.\n\nThe sons insisted that they should begin to make the wedding\npreparations without delay, and commenced at once to invite the guests\nwho were to form part of the wedding procession to go to the priest's\nhouse and bring home the brides.\n\nHere, however, another difficulty occurred. The old father must find\ntwo hundred bride-leaders (two for each bride); one hundred kooms; one\nhundred starisvats; one hundred chaious (running footmen who go before\nthe processions); and three hundred vojvodes (standard-bearers);\nand, besides these, a respectable number of other non-official\nguests. To find all these persons the father had to hunt throughout\nthe neighbourhood for three years; at last, however, they were all\nfound, and a day was appointed when they were to meet at his house,\nand go thence in procession to the house of the priest.\n\n\n\n\nThe Wedding Procession\n\nOn the appointed day all the invited guests gathered at the old man's\nhouse. With great noise and confusion, after a fair amount of feasting,\nthe wedding procession was formed properly, and set out for the house\nof the priest, where the hundred brides were already prepared for\ntheir departure for their new home.\n\nSo great was the confusion, indeed, that the old man quite forgot to\ntake with him one of the hundred sons, and never missed him in the\ngreeting and talking and drinking he was obliged, as father of the\nbridegrooms, to go through. Now the young man had worked so long and\nso hard in preparing for the wedding-day that he never woke up till\nlong after the procession had started; and every one had had, like\nhis father, too much to do and too many things to think of to miss him.\n\nThe wedding procession arrived in good order at the priest's house,\nwhere a feast was already spread out for them. Having done honour to\nthe various good things, and having gone through all the ceremonies\nusual on such occasions, the hundred brides were given over to their\n\"leaders,\" and the procession started on its return to the old\nman's house. But, as they did not set off until pretty late in the\nafternoon, it was decided that the night should be spent somewhere\non the road. When they came, therefore, to a certain river named\n\"Luckless,\" as it was already dark, some of the men proposed that the\nparty should pass the night by the side of the water without crossing\nover. However, some others of the chief of the party so warmly advised\nthe crossing the river and encamping on the other bank, that this\ncourse was at length, after a very lively discussion, determined on;\naccordingly the procession began to move over the bridge.\n\nJust, however, as the wedding party were half-way across the bridge\nits two sides began to draw nearer each other, and pressed the people\nso close together that they had hardly room to breathe--much less\ncould they move forwards or backwards.\n\n\n\n\nThe Black Giant\n\nThey were kept for some time in this position, some shouting and\nscolding, others quiet because frightened, until at length a black\ngiant appeared, and shouted to them in a terribly loud voice, \"Who\nare you all? Where do you come from? Where are you going?\"\n\nSome of the bolder among them answered, \"We are going to our old\nfriend's house, taking home the hundred brides for his hundred sons;\nbut unluckily we ventured on this bridge after nightfall, and it\nhas pressed us so tightly together that we cannot move one way or\nthe other.\"\n\n\"And where is your old friend?\" inquired the black giant.\n\nNow all the wedding guests turned their eyes towards the old\nman. Thereupon he turned towards the giant, who instantly said to him,\n\"Listen, old man! Will you give me what you have forgotten at home,\nif I let your friends pass over the bridge?\"\n\nThe old man considered some time what it might be that he had\nforgotten at home, but, at last, not being able to recollect anything\nin particular that he had left, and hearing on all sides the groans\nand moans of his guests, he replied, \"Well, I will give it you,\nif you will only let the procession pass over.\"\n\nThen the black giant said to the party, \"You all hear what he has\npromised, and are all my witnesses to the bargain. In three days I\nshall come to fetch what I have bargained for.\"\n\nHaving said this, the black giant widened the bridge and the whole\nprocession passed on to the other bank in safety. The people, however,\nno longer wished to spend the night on the way, so they moved on\nas fast as they could, and early in the morning reached the old\nman's house.\n\nAs everybody talked of the strange adventure they had met with, the\neldest son, who had been left at home, soon began to understand how\nthe matter stood, and went to his father saying, \"O my father! you\nhave sold me to the black giant!\"\n\nThen the old man was very sorry, and troubled; but his friends\ncomforted him, saying, \"Don't be frightened! nothing will come of it.\"\n\nThe marriage ceremonies were celebrated with great rejoicings. Just,\nhowever, as the festivities were at their height, on the third day,\nthe black giant appeared at the gate and shouted, \"Now, give me at\nonce what you have promised.\"\n\nThe old man, trembling all over, went forward and asked him, \"What\ndo you want?\"\n\n\"Nothing but what you have promised me!\" returned the black giant.\n\nAs he could not break his promise, the old man, very distressed, was\nthen obliged to deliver up his eldest son to the giant, who thereupon\nsaid, \"Now I shall take your son with me, but after three years have\npassed you can come to the Luckless River and take him away.\"\n\nHaving said this the black giant disappeared, taking with him the\nyoung man, whom he carried off to his workshop as an apprentice to\nthe trade of witchcraft.\n\nFrom that time the poor old man had not a single moment of\nhappiness. He was always sad and anxious, and counted every year, and\nmonth, and week, and even every day, until the dawn of the last day of\nthe three years. Then he took a staff in his hand and hurried off to\nthe bank of the river Luckless. As soon as he reached the river, he was\nmet by the black giant, who asked him, \"Why are you come?\" The old man\nanswered that he come to take home his son, according to his agreement.\n\nThereupon the giant brought out a tray on which stood a sparrow,\na turtle-dove, and a quail, and said to the old man, \"Now, if you\ncan tell which of these is your son, you may take him away.\"\n\nThe poor old father looked intently at the three birds, one after\nthe other, and over and over again, but at last he was forced to own\nthat he could not tell which of them was his son. So he was obliged\nto go away by himself, and was far more miserable than before. He had\nhardly, however, got half-way home when he thought he would go back\nto the river and take one of the birds which remembered and looked\nat him intently.\n\nWhen he reached the river Luckless he was again met by the black\ngiant, who brought out the tray again, and placed on it this time\na partridge, a tit-mouse, and a thrush, saying, 'Now, my old man,\nfind out which is your son!'\n\nThe anxious father again looked at one bird after the other, but\nhe felt more uncertain than before, and so, crying bitterly, again\nwent away.\n\n\n\n\nThe Old Woman\n\nJust as the old man was going through a forest, which was between\nthe river Luckless and his house, an old woman met him, and said,\n\"Stop a moment! Where are you hurrying to? And why are you in such\ntrouble?\" Now, the old man was so deeply musing over his great\nunhappiness that he did not at first attend to the old woman; but\nshe followed him, calling after him, and repeating her questions with\nmore earnestness. So he stopped at last, and told her what a terrible\nmisfortune had fallen upon him. When the old woman had listened to\nthe whole story, she said cheerfully, \"Don't be cast down! Don't be\nafraid! Go back again to the river, and, when the giant brings out\nthe three birds, look into their eyes sharply. When you see that one\nof the birds has a tear in one of its eyes, seize that bird and hold\nit fast, for it has a human soul.\"\n\nThe old man thanked her heartily for her advice, and turned back,\nfor the third time, towards the Luckless River. Again the black\ngiant appeared, and looked very merry whilst he brought out his tray\nand put upon it a sparrow, a dove, and a woodpecker, saying, \"My old\nman! find out which is your son!\" Then the father looked sharply into\nthe eyes of the birds, and saw that from the right eye of the dove a\ntear dropped slowly down. In a moment he grasped the bird tightly,\nsaying, \"This is my son!\" The next moment he found himself holding\nfast his eldest son by the shoulder, and so, singing and shouting in\nhis great joy, took him quickly home, and gave him over to his eldest\ndaughter-in-law, the wife of his son.\n\nNow, for some time they all lived together very happily. One day,\nhowever, the young man said to his father, \"Whilst I was apprentice\nin the workshop of the black giant, I learned a great many tricks of\nwitchcraft. Now I intend to change myself into a fine horse, and you\nshall take me to market and sell me for a good sum of money. But be\nsure not to give up the halter.\"\n\nThe father did as the son had said. Next market day he went to the\ncity with a fine horse which he offered for sale. Many buyers came\nround him, admiring the horse, and bidding some sums for it, so that\nat last the old man was able to sell it for two thousand ducats. When\nhe received the money, he took good care not to let go the halter,\nand he returned home far richer than he ever dreamt of being.\n\nA few days later, the man who had bought the horse sent his servant\nwith it to the river to bathe, and, whilst in the water, the horse\ngot loose from the servant and galloped off into the neighbouring\nforest. There he changed himself back into his real shape, and returned\nto his father's house.\n\nAfter some time had passed, the young man said one day to his father,\n\"Now I will change myself into an ox, and you can take me to market to\nsell me; but take care not to give up the rope with which you lead me.\"\n\nSo next market-day the old man went to the city leading a very fine\nox, and soon found a buyer, who offered ten times the usual price paid\nfor an ox. The buyer asked also for the rope to lead the animal home,\nbut the old man said, \"What do you want with such an old thing? You\nhad better buy a new one!\" and he went off taking with him the rope.\n\nThat evening, whilst the servants of the buyer were driving the ox\nto the field, he ran away into a wood near, and, having taken there\nhis human shape, returned home to his father's house.\n\nOn the eve of the next market-day, the young man said to his father:\n\"Now I will change myself into a cow with golden horns, and you can\nsell me as before, only take care not to give up the string.\"\n\nAccordingly he changed himself next morning into a cow, and the old\nman took it to the market-place, and asked for it three hundred crowns.\n\nBut the black giant had learnt that his former apprentice was making\na great deal of money by practising the trade he had taught him,\nand, being jealous at this, he determined to put an end to the young\nman's gains.\n\n\n\n\nThe Giant buys the Cow\n\nTherefore, on the third day he came to the market himself as a buyer,\nand the moment he saw the beautiful cow with golden horns he knew\nthat it could be no other than his former apprentice. So he came up\nto the old man, and, having outbid all the other would-be purchasers,\npaid at once the price he had agreed on. Having done this, he caught\nthe string in his hand, and tried to wrench it from the terrified\nold man, who called out, \"I have not sold you the string, but the\ncow!\" and held the string as fast as he could with both hands.\n\n\"Oh, no!\" said the buyer, \"I have the law and custom on my\nside! Whoever buys a cow, buys also the string with which it is\nled!\" Some of the amused and astonished lookers-on said that this was\nquite true, therefore the old man was obliged to give up the string.\n\nThe black giant, well satisfied with his purchase, took the cow with\nhim to his castle, and, after having put iron chains on her legs,\nfastened her in a cellar. Every morning the giant gave the cow some\nwater and hay, but he never unchained her.\n\nOne evening, however, the cow, with incessant struggles, managed to\nget free from the chains, and immediately opened the cellar-door with\nher horns and ran away.\n\nNext morning the black giant went as usual into the cellar, carrying\nthe hay and water for the cow; but seeing she had got free and run\naway, he threw the hay down, and started off at once to pursue her.\n\nWhen he came within sight of her, he turned himself into a wolf and\nran at her with great fury; but his clever apprentice changed himself\ninstantly from a cow into a bear, whereupon the giant turned himself\nfrom a wolf into a lion; the bear then turned into a tiger, and the\nlion changed into a crocodile, whereupon the tiger turned into a\nsparrow. Upon this the giant changed from the form of a crocodile\ninto a hawk, and the apprentice immediately changed into a hare;\non seeing which the hawk became a greyhound. Then the apprentice\nchanged from a hare into a falcon, and the greyhound into an eagle;\nwhereupon the apprentice changed into a fish. The giant then turned\nfrom an eagle into a mouse, and immediately the apprentice, as a cat,\nran after him; then the giant turned himself into a heap of millet, and\nthe apprentice transformed himself into a hen and chickens, which very\ngreedily picked up all the millet except one single seed, in which the\nmaster was, who changed himself into a squirrel; instantly, however,\nthe apprentice became a hawk, and, pouncing on the squirrel, killed it.\n\nIn this way the apprentice beat his master, the black giant, and\nrevenged himself for all the sufferings he had endured whilst learning\nthe trade of witchcraft. Having killed the squirrel, the hawk took\nhis proper shape again, and the young man returned joyfully to his\nfather, whom he made immensely rich.\n\n\n\n\nXIX. THE TRADE THAT NO ONE KNOWS\n\nA long while ago there lived a poor old couple, who had an only\nson. The old man and his wife worked very hard to nourish their child\nwell and bring him up properly, hoping that he, in return, would take\ncare of them in their old age.\n\nWhen, however, the boy had grown up, he said to his parents, \"I am a\nman now, and I intend to marry, so I wish you to go at once to the\nking and ask him to give me his daughter for wife.\" The astonished\nparents rebuked him, saying: \"What can you be thinking of? We have\nonly this poor hut to shelter us, and hardly bread enough to eat,\nand we dare not presume to go into the king's presence, much less\ncan we venture to ask for his daughter to be your wife.\"\n\nThe son, however, insisted that they should do as he said, threatening\nthat if they did not comply with his wishes he would leave them,\nand go away into the world. Seeing that he was really in earnest\nin what he said, the unhappy parents promised him they would go and\nask for the king's daughter. Then the old mother made a wedding cake\nin her son's presence, and, when it was ready, she put it in a bag,\ntook her staff in her hand, and went straight to the palace where the\nking lived. There the king's servants bade her come in, and led her\ninto the hall where his Majesty was accustomed to receive the poor\npeople who came to ask alms or to present petitions.\n\nThe poor old woman stood in the hall, confused and ashamed at her\nworn-out, shabby clothes, and looking as if she were made of stone,\nuntil the king said to her kindly: \"What do you want from me,\nold mother?\"\n\nShe dared not, however, tell his Majesty why she had come, so she\nstammered out in her confusion: \"Nothing, your Majesty.\"\n\nThen the king smiled a little and said, \"Perhaps you come to ask alms?\"\n\nThen the old woman, much abashed, replied: \"Yes, your Majesty, if\nyou please!\"\n\nThereupon the king called his servants and ordered them to give the\nold woman ten crowns, which they did. Having received this money,\nshe thanked his Majesty, and returned home, saying to herself:\n\"I dare say when my son sees all this money he will not think any\nmore of going away from us.\"\n\nIn this thought, however, she was quite mistaken, for no sooner had\nshe entered the hut than the son came to her and asked impatiently:\n\"Well, mother, have you done as I asked you?\"\n\nAt this she exclaimed: \"Do give up, once for all, this silly fancy,\nmy son. How could you expect me to ask the king for his daughter to\nbe your wife? That would be a bold thing for a rich nobleman to do,\nhow then can we think of such a thing? Anyhow, I dared not say one\nword to the king about it. But only look what a lot of money I have\nbrought back. Now you can look for a wife suitable for you, and then\nyou will forget the king's daughter.\"\n\nWhen the young man heard his mother speak thus, he grew very angry,\nand said to her: \"What do I want with the king's money? I don't want\nhis money, but I do want his daughter! I see you are only playing with\nme, so I shall leave you. I will go away somewhere--anywhere--wherever\nmy eyes lead me.\"\n\nThen the poor old parents prayed and begged him not to go away from\nthem, and leave them alone in their old age; but they could only quiet\nhim by promising faithfully that the mother should go again next day\nto the king, and this time really ask him to give his daughter to\nher son for a wife.\n\nIn the morning, therefore, the old woman went again to the palace, and\nthe servants showed her into the same hall she had been in before. The\nking, seeing her stand there, inquired: \"What want you, my old woman,\nnow?\" She was, however, so ashamed that she could hardly stammer,\n\"Nothing, please your Majesty.\"\n\nThe king, supposing that she came again to beg, ordered his servants\nto give this time also ten crowns.\n\nWith this money the poor woman returned to her hut, where her son\nmet her, asking: \"Well, mother, this time I hope you have done what\nI asked you?\" But she replied: \"Now, my dear son, do leave the king's\ndaughter in peace. How can you really think of such a thing? Even if\nshe would marry you, where is the house to bring her to? So be quiet,\nand take this money which I have brought you.\"\n\nAt these words the son was more angry than before, and said sharply:\n\"As I see you will not let me marry the king's daughter, I will\nleave you this moment and never come back again;\" and, rushing out\nof the hut, he ran away. His parents hurried after him, and at length\nprevailed on him to return, by swearing to him that his mother should\ngo again to the king next morning, and really and in truth ask his\nMajesty this time for his daughter.\n\nSo the young man agreed to go back home and wait until the next day.\n\nOn the morrow the old woman, with a heavy heart, went to the palace,\nand was shown as before into the king's presence. Seeing her there\nfor the third time, his Majesty asked her impatiently: \"What do\nyou want this time, old woman?\" And she, trembling all over, said:\n\"Please your Majesty--nothing.\" Then the king exclaimed: \"But it\ncannot be nothing. Something you must want, so tell me truth at once,\nif you value your life!\" Thereupon the old woman was forced to tell\nall the story to the king; how her son had a great desire to marry\nthe princess, and so had forced her to come and ask the king to give\nher him to wife.\n\nWhen the king had heard everything, he said: \"Well, after all, I\nshall say nothing against it if my daughter will consent to it.\" He\nthen told his servants to lead the princess into his presence. When\nshe came he told her all about the affair, and asked her, \"Are you\nwilling to marry the son of this old woman?\"\n\n\n\n\nThe Condition\n\nThe princess answered: \"Why not? If only he learns first the trade\nthat no one knows!\" Thereupon the king bade his attendants give money\nto the poor woman, who now went back to her hut with a light heart.\n\nThe moment she entered her son asked her: \"Have you engaged her?\" And\nshe returned: \"Do let me get my breath a little! Well, now I have\nreally asked the king: but it is of no use, for the princess declares\nshe will not marry you until you have learnt the trade that no\none knows!\"\n\n\"Oh, that matters nothing!\" exclaimed the son. \"Now I only know the\ncondition, it's all right!\" The next morning the young man set out on\nhis travels through the world in search of a man who could teach him\nthe trade that no one knows. He wandered about a long time without\nbeing able to find out where he could learn such a trade. At length\none day, being quite tired out with walking and very sad, he sat\ndown on a fallen log by the wayside. After he had sat thus a little\nwhile, an old woman came up to him, and asked: \"Why art thou so sad,\nmy son?\" And he answered: \"What is the use of your asking, when you\ncannot help me?\" But she continued: \"Only tell me what is the matter,\nand perhaps I can help you.\" Then he said: \"Well, if you must know,\nthe matter is this: I have been travelling about the world a long time\nto find a master who can teach me the trade that no one knows.\" \"Oh,\nif it is only that,\" cried the old woman, \"just listen to me! Don't\nbe afraid, but go straight into the forest which lies before you,\nand there you will find what you want.\"\n\nThe young man was very glad to hear this, and got up at once and went\nto the forest. When he had gone pretty far in the wood he saw a large\ncastle, and whilst he stood looking at it and wondering what it was,\nfour giants came out of it and ran up to him, shouting: \"Do you wish\nto learn the trade that no one knows?\" He said: \"Yes; that is just\nthe reason why I come here.\" Whereupon they took him into the castle.\n\nNext morning the giants prepared to go out hunting, and, before\nleaving, they said to him: \"You must on no account go into the first\nroom by the dining-hall.\" Hardly, however, were the giants well out\nof sight before the young man began to reason thus with himself:\n\"I see very well that I have come into a place from which I shall\nnever go out alive with my head, so I may as well see what is in\nthe room, come what may afterwards.\" So he went and opened the door\na little and peeped in. There stood a golden ass, bound to a golden\nmanger. He looked at it a little, and was just going to shut the door\nwhen the ass said: \"Come and take the halter from my head, and keep\nit hidden about you. It will serve you well if you only understand\nhow to use it.\" So he took the halter, and, after fastening the\nroom-door, quickly concealed it under his clothes. He had not sat\nvery long before the giants came home. They asked him at once if\nhe had been in the first room, and he, much frightened, replied:\n\"No, I have not been in.\" \"But we know that you have been!\" said the\ngiants in great anger, and seizing some large sticks they beat him\nso severely that he could hardly stand on his feet. It was very lucky\nfor him that he had the halter wound round his body under his clothes,\nor else he would certainly have been killed.\n\nThe next day the giants again prepared to go out hunting, but before\nleaving him they ordered him on no account to enter the second room.\n\nAlmost as soon as the giants had gone away he became so very curious\nto see what might be in the second room, that he could not resist\ngoing to the door. He stood there a little, thinking within himself,\n\"Well, I am already more dead than alive, much worse cannot happen to\nme!\" and so he opened the door and looked in. There he was surprised\nto see a very beautiful girl, dressed all in gold and silver, who sat\ncombing her hair, and setting in every tress a large diamond. He stood\nadmiring her a little while, and was just going to shut the door again,\nwhen she spoke, \"Wait a minute, young man. Come and take this key,\nand mind you keep it safely. It will serve you some time, if you only\nknow how to use it.\" So he went in and took the key from the girl,\nand then, going out, fastened the door and went and sat down in the\nsame place he had sat before.\n\nHe had not remained there very long before the giants came home from\nhunting. The moment they entered the house they took up their large\nsticks to beat him, asking, at the same time, whether he had been\nin the second room. Shaking all over with fear, he answered them,\n\"No, I have not!\"\n\n\"But we know you have been,\" shouted the giants in great anger,\nand they then beat him worse than on the first day.\n\n\n\n\nThe Third Room\n\nThe next morning, as the giants went out as usual to hunt, they said\nto him: \"Do not go into the third room, for anything in the world;\nfor if you do go in we shall not forgive you as we did yesterday,\nand the day before! We shall kill you outright!\" No sooner, however,\nhad the giants gone out of sight, than the young man began to say to\nhimself, \"Most likely they will kill me, whether I go into the room\nor not. Besides, if they do not kill me, they have beaten me so badly\nalready that I am sure I cannot live long, so, anyhow, I will go and\nsee what is in the third room.\" Then he got up and went and opened\nthe door.\n\nHe was quite shocked, however, when he saw that the room was full\nof human heads! These heads belonged to young men who had come,\nlike himself, to learn the trade that no one knows, and who, having\nobeyed faithfully and strictly the orders of the giants, had been\nkilled by them.\n\nThe young man was turning quickly to go away when one of the heads\ncalled out: \"Don't be afraid, but come in!\" Thereupon he went into\nthe room. Then the head gave him an iron chain, and said: \"Take care\nof this chain, for it will serve you some time if you know how to\nuse it!\" So he took the chain, and going out fastened the door.\n\nHe went and sat down in the usual place to wait for the coming home\nof the giants, and, as he waited, he grew quite frightened, for he\nfully expected that they would really kill him this time.\n\nThe instant the giants came home they took up their thick sticks and\nbegan to beat him without stopping to ask anything. They beat him\nso terribly that he was all but dead; then they threw him out of the\nhouse, saying to him: \"Go away now, since you have learnt the trade\nthat no one knows!\" When he had lain a long time on the ground where\nthey had thrown him, feeling very sore and miserable, at length he\ntried to move away, saying to himself: \"Well, if they really have\ntaught me the trade that no one knows for the sake of the king's\ndaughter I can suffer gladly all this pain, if I can only win her.\"\n\nAfter travelling for a long time, the young man came at last to\nthe palace of the king whose daughter he wished to marry. When he\nsaw the palace, he was exceedingly sad, and remembered the words of\nthe princess; for, after all his wanderings and sufferings, he had\nlearnt no trade, and had never been able to find what trade it was\n\"that no one knows.\" Whilst considering what he had better do,\nhe suddenly recollected the halter, the key and the iron chain,\nwhich he had carried concealed about him ever since he left the\ncastle of the four giants. He then said to himself, \"Let me see what\nthese things can do!\" So he took the halter and struck the earth\nwith it, and immediately a handsome horse, beautifully caparisoned,\nstood before him. Then he struck the ground with the iron chain, and\ninstantly a hare and a greyhound appeared, and the hare began to run\nquickly and the greyhound to follow her. In a moment the young man\nhardly knew himself, for he found himself in a fine hunting-dress,\nriding on the horse after the hare, which took a path that passed\nimmediately under the windows of the king's palace.\n\nNow, it happened that the king stood at a window looking out, and\nnoticed at once the beautiful greyhound which was chasing the hare,\nand the very handsome horse which a huntsman in a splendid dress was\nmounted on. The king was so pleased with the appearance of the horse\nand the greyhound that he called instantly some of his servants, and,\nsending them after the strange rider, bade them invite him to come to\nthe palace. The young man, however, hearing some people coming behind\nhim calling and shouting, rode quickly behind a thick bush, and shook\na little the halter and the iron chain. In a moment the horse, the\ngreyhound, and the hare had vanished, and he found himself sitting\non the ground under the trees dressed in his old shabby clothes. By\nthis time the king's servants had come up, and, seeing him sit there,\nthey asked him whether he had seen a fine huntsman on a beautiful\nhorse pass that way. But he answered them rudely: \"No! I have not\nseen any one pass, neither do I care to look to see who passes!\"\n\nThen the king's servants went on and searched the forest, calling\nand shouting as loudly as they could, but it was all in vain; they\ncould neither see nor hear anything of the hunter. At length they\nwent back to the king, and told him that the horse the huntsman rode\nwas so exceedingly quick that they could not hear anything of him in\nthe forest.\n\n\n\n\nThe Son Returns\n\nThe young man now resolved to go to the hut where his old parents\nlived; and they were glad to see that he had come back to them\nonce more.\n\nNext morning, the son said to his father: \"Now, father, I will\nshow you what I have learned. I will change myself into a beautiful\nhorse, and you must lead me into the city and sell me, but be very\ncareful not to give away the halter, or else I shall remain always a\nhorse!\" Accordingly, in a moment he changed himself into a horse of\nextraordinary beauty, and the father took him to the market-place to\nsell him. Very soon a great number of people gathered round the horse,\nwondering at his unusual beauty, and very high prices were offered\nfor him; the old man, however, raised the price higher and higher at\nevery offer. The news spread quickly about the city that a wonderfully\nhandsome horse was for sale in the market-place, and at length the\nking himself heard of it, and sent some servants to bring the horse,\nthat he might see it. The old man led the horse at once before the\npalace, and the king, after looking at it for some time with great\nadmiration, could not help exclaiming, \"By my word, though I am a\nking, I never yet saw, much less rode, so handsome a horse!\" Then he\nasked the old man if he would sell it him. \"I will sell it to your\nMajesty, very willingly,\" said the old man; \"but I will sell only\nthe horse, and not the halter.\" Thereupon the king laughed, saying:\n\"What should I want with your dirty halter? For such a horse I will\nhave a halter of gold made!\" So the horse was sold to the king for\na very high price, and the old man returned home with the money.\n\nNext morning, however, there was a great stir and much consternation\nin the royal stables, for the beautiful horse had vanished somehow\nduring the night. And at the time when the horse disappeared, the\nyoung man returned to his parents' hut.\n\nA day or two afterwards the young man said to his father: \"Now I\nwill turn myself into a fine church not far from the king's palace,\nand if the king wishes to buy it you may sell it him, only be sure\nnot to part with the key or else I must remain always a church!\"\n\nWhen the king got up that morning, and went to his window to look out,\nhe saw a beautiful church which he had never noticed before. Then\nhe sent his servants out to see what it was, and soon after they\ncame back saying, that \"the church belonged to an old pilgrim,\nwho told them that he was willing to sell it if the king wished to\nbuy it.\" Then the king sent to ask what price he would sell it for,\nand the pilgrim replied: \"It is worth a great deal of money.\"\n\n\n\n\nThe King Outbid\n\nWhilst the servants were bargaining with the father an old woman came\nup. Now this was the same old woman who had sent the young man to\nthe castle of the four giants, and she herself had been there and\nhad learnt the trade that no one knew. As she understood at once\nall about the church, and had no mind to have a rival in the trade,\nshe resolved to put an end to the young man. For this purpose she\nbegan to outbid the king, and offered, at last, so very large a sum\nof ready money, that the old man was quite astonished and confused\nat seeing the money which she showed him. He accordingly accepted\nher offer, but whilst he was counting the money, quite forgot about\nthe key. Before long, however, he recollected what his son had said,\nand then, fearing some mischief, he ran after old woman and demanded\nthe key back. But the woman could not be persuaded to give back the\nkey, and said it belonged to the church which she had bought and paid\nfor. Seeing she would not give up the key, the old man grew more and\nmore alarmed, lest some ill should befall his son, so he took hold\nof the old woman by the neck and forced her to drop the key. She\nstruggled very hard to get it back again, and, whilst the old man\nand she wrestled together, the key changed itself suddenly into a\ndove and flew away high in the air over the palace gardens.\n\nWhen the old woman saw this, she changed herself into a hawk, and\nchased the dove. Just, however, as the hawk was about to pounce upon\nit, the dove turned itself into a beautiful bouquet, and dropped down\ninto the hand of the king's daughter, who happened to be walking in\nthe garden. Then the hawk changed again into the old woman, who went\nto the gate of the palace and begged very hard that the princess\nwould give that bouquet, or, at least, one single flower from it.\n\nBut the princess said, \"No! not for anything in the world! These\nflowers fell to me from heaven!\" The old woman, however, was determined\nto get one flower from the bouquet, so, seeing the princess would not\nhear her, she went straight to the king, and begged piteously that\nhe would order his daughter to give her one of the flowers from her\nbouquet. The king, thinking the old woman wanted one of the flowers\nto cure some disease, called his daughter to him, and told her to\ngive one to the beggar.\n\nBut just as the king said this, the bouquet changed itself into a\nheap of millet-seed and scattered itself all over the ground. Then\nthe old woman quickly changed herself into a hen and chickens, and\nbegan greedily to pick up the seeds. Suddenly, however, the millet\nvanished, and in its place appeared a fox, which sprang on the hen\nand killed her.\n\nThen the fox changed into the young man, who explained to the\nastonished king and princess that he it was who had demanded the hand\nof the princess, and that, in order to obtain it he had wandered all\nover the world in search of some one who could teach him \"the trade\nthat no one knows.\"\n\nWhen the king and his daughter heard this, they gladly fulfilled their\npart of the bargain, seeing how well the young man had fulfilled his.\n\nThen, shortly afterwards, the king's daughter married the son of the\npoor old couple; and the king built for the princess and her husband\na palace close to his own. There they lived long and had plenty of\nchildren, and people say that some of their descendants are living at\npresent, and that these go constantly to pray in the church, which is\nalways open because the key of it turned itself into a young man who\nmarried the king's daughter, after he had shown to her that he had done\nas she wished, and learnt, for her sake, \"the trade that no one knows.\"\n\n\n\n\nXX. THE GOLDEN-HAIRED TWINS\n\nOnce upon a time, a long, long while ago, there lived a young king\nwho wished very much to marry, but could not decide where he had\nbetter look for a wife.\n\nOne evening as he was walking disguised through the streets of his\ncapital, as it was his frequent custom to do, he stopped to listen\nnear an open window where he heard three young girls chatting gaily\ntogether.\n\nThe girls were talking about a report which had been lately spread\nthrough the city, that the king intended soon to marry.\n\nOne of the girls exclaimed: \"If the king would marry me I would give\nhim a son who should be the greatest hero in the world.\"\n\nThe second girl said: \"And if I were to be his wife I would present\nhim with two sons at once--the twins with golden hair.\"\n\nAnd the third girl declared that were the king to marry her, she\nwould give him a daughter so beautiful that there should not be her\nequal in the whole wide world!\n\nThe young king listened to all this, and for some time thought over\ntheir words, and tried to make up his mind which of the three girls\nhe should choose for a wife. At last he decided that he would marry\nthe one who had said she would bring him twins with golden hair.\n\nHaving once settled this in his own mind, he ordered that all\npreparations for his marriage should be made forthwith, and shortly\nafter, when all was ready, he married the second girl of the three.\n\nSeveral months after his marriage the young king, who was at war\nwith one of the neighbouring princes, received tidings of the defeat\nof his army, and heard that his presence was immediately required\nin the camp. He accordingly left his capital and went to his army,\nleaving the young queen in his palace to the care of his stepmother.\n\nNow the king's stepmother hated her daughter-in-law very much indeed,\nso when the young queen was near her confinement, the old queen told\nher that it was always customary in the royal family for the heirs\nto the throne to be born in a garret.\n\nThe young queen (who knew nothing about the customs in royal families\nexcept what she had learnt from hearing or seeing since her marriage\nto the king) believed implicitly what her mother-in-law told her,\nalthough she thought it a great pity to leave her splendid apartments\nand go up into a miserable attic.\n\nNow when the golden-haired twins were born, the old queen contrived to\nsteal them out of their cradle, and put in their place two ugly little\ndogs. She then caused the two beautiful golden-haired boys to be buried\nalive in an out-of-the-way spot in the palace gardens, and then sent\nword to the king that the young queen had given him two little dogs\ninstead of the heirs he was hoping for. The wicked stepmother said in\nher letter to the king that she herself was not surprised at this,\nthough she was very sorry for his disappointment. As to herself,\nshe had a long time suspected the young queen of having too great a\nfriendship for goblins and elves, and all kinds of evil spirits.\n\nWhen the king received this letter, he fell into a frightful rage,\nbecause he had only married the young girl in order to have the\ngolden-haired twins she had promised him as heirs to his throne.\n\nSo he sent word back to the old queen that his wife should be put at\nonce into the dampest dungeon in the castle, an order which the wicked\nwoman took good care to see carried out without delay. Accordingly\nthe poor young queen was thrown into a miserably dark dungeon under\nthe palace, and kept on bread and water.\n\n\n\n\nThe Plight of the Young Queen\n\nNow there was only a very small hole in this prison--hardly enough\nto let in light and air--yet the old queen managed to cause a great\nmany people to pass by this hole, and whoever passed was ordered\nto spit at and abuse the unhappy young queen, calling out to her,\n\"Are you really the queen? Are you the girl who cheated the king in\norder to be a queen? Where are your golden-haired twins? You cheated\nthe king and your friends, and now the witches have cheated you!\"\n\nBut the young king, though terribly angry and mortified at his\ngreat disappointment, was, at the same time, too sad and troubled\nto be willing to return to his palace. So he remained away for fully\nnine years. When he at last consented to return, the first thing he\nnoticed in the palace gardens were two fine young trees, exactly the\nsame size and the same shape.\n\nThese trees had both golden leaves and golden blossoms, and had grown\nup of themselves from the very spot where the stepmother of the king\nhad buried the two golden-haired boys she had stolen from their cradle.\n\nThe king admired these two trees exceedingly, and was never weary of\nlooking at them. This, however, did not at all please the old queen,\nfor she knew that the two young princes were buried just where the\ntrees grew, and she always feared that by some means what she had done\nwould come to the king's ears. She therefore pretended that she was\nvery sick, and declared that she was sure she should die unless her\nstepson, the king, ordered the two golden-leaved trees to be cut down,\nand a bed made for her out of their wood.\n\nAs the king was not willing to be the cause of her death, he ordered\nthat her wishes should be attended to, notwithstanding he was\nexceedingly sorry to lose his favourite trees.\n\nA bed was soon made from the two trees, and the seemingly sick old\nqueen was laid on it as she desired. She was quite delighted that the\ngolden-leaved trees had disappeared from the garden; but when midnight\ncame, she could not sleep a bit, for it seemed to her that she heard\nthe boards of which her bed was made in conversation with each other!\n\nAt last it seemed to her, that one board said, quite plainly, \"How\nare you, my brother?\" And the other board answered: \"Thank you,\nI am very well; how are you?\"\n\n\"Oh, I am all right,\" returned the first board; \"but I wonder how our\npoor mother is in her dark dungeon! Perhaps she is hungry and thirsty!\"\n\nThe wicked old queen could not sleep a minute all night, after hearing\nthis conversation between the boards of her new bed; so next morning\nshe got up very early and went to see the king. She thanked him for\nattending to her wish, and said she already was much better, but she\nfelt quite sure she would never recover thoroughly unless the boards\nof her new bed were cut up and thrown into a fire. The king was sorry\nto lose entirely even the boards made out of his two favourite trees,\nnevertheless he could not refuse to use the means pointed out for\nhis step-mother's perfect recovery.\n\nSo the new bed was cut to pieces and thrown into the fire. But whilst\nthe boards were blazing and crackling, two sparks from the fire flew\ninto the courtyard, and in the next moment two beautiful lambs with\ngolden fleeces and golden horns were seen gambolling about the yard.\n\nThe king admired them greatly, and made many inquiries who had sent\nthem there, and to whom they belonged. He even sent the public\ncrier many times through the city, calling on the owners of the\ngolden-fleeced lambs to appear and claim them; but no one came,\nso at length he thought he might fairly take them as his own property.\n\nThe king took very great care of these two beautiful lambs, and\nevery day directed that they should be well fed and attended to;\nthis, however, did not at all please his stepmother. She could not\nendure even to look on the lambs with their golden fleeces and golden\nhorns, for they always reminded her of the golden-haired twins. So,\nin a little while she pretended again to be dangerously sick, and\ndeclared she felt sure that she should soon die unless the two lambs\nwere killed and cooked for her.\n\nThe king was even fonder of his golden-fleeced lambs than he had been\nof the golden-leaved trees, but he could not long resist the tears\nand prayers of the old queen, especially as she seemed to be very\nill. Accordingly, the lambs were killed, and a servant was ordered to\ncarry their golden fleeces down to the river and to wash the blood\nwell out of them. But whilst the servant held them under the water,\nthey slipped, in some way or other, out of his fingers, and floated\ndown the stream, which just at that place flowed very rapidly. Now\nit happened that a hunter was passing near the river a little lower\ndown, and, as he chanced to look in the water, he saw something\nstrange in it. So he stepped into the stream, and soon fished out\na small box which he carried to his house, and there opened it. To\nhis unspeakably great surprise, he found in the box two golden-haired\nboys. Now the hunter had no children of his own; he therefore adopted\nthe twins he had fished out of the river, and brought them up just\nas if they had been his own sons. When the twins were grown up into\nhandsome young men, one of them said to his foster-father, \"Make\nus two suits of beggar's clothes, and let us go and wander a little\nabout the world!\" The hunter, however, replied and said: \"No, I will\nhave a fine suit made for each of you, such as is fitting for two such\nnoble-looking young men.\" But as the twins begged hard that he should\nnot spend his money uselessly in buying fine clothes, telling him that\nthey wished to travel about as beggars, the hunter--who always liked\nto do as his two handsome foster-sons wished--did as they desired,\nand ordered two suit of clothes, like those worn by beggars, to be\nprepared for them. The two sons then dressed themselves up as beggars,\nand as well as they could hid their beautiful golden locks, and then\nset out to see the world. They took with them a goussle and cymbal,\nand maintained themselves with their singing and playing.\n\n\n\n\nThe King's Sons\n\nThey had wandered about in this way some time when one day they came to\nthe king's palace. As the afternoon was already pretty far advanced,\nthe young musicians begged to allowed to pass the night in one of\nthe out-buildings belonging to the court, as they were poor men, and\nquite strangers in the city. The old queen, however, who happened to\nbe just then in the courtyard, saw them, and hearing their request\nsaid sharply that beggars could not be permitted to enter any part\nof the king's palace. The two travellers said they had hoped to pay\nfor their night's lodging by their songs and music, as one of them\nplayed and sung to the goussle, and the other to the cymbal.\n\nThe old queen, however, was not moved by this, but insisted on their\ngoing away at once. Happily for the two brothers, the king himself\ncame out into the courtyard just as his stepmother angrily ordered them\nto go away, and at once directed his servants to find a place for the\nmusicians to sleep in, and ordered them to provide the brothers with\na good supper. After they had supped, the king commanded them to be\nbrought before him that he might judge of their skill as musicians,\nand that their singing might help him to pass the time more pleasantly.\n\nAccordingly, after the two young men had taken the refreshment\nprovided for them, the servants took them into the king's presence,\nand they began to sing this ballad:--\n\n\"The pretty bird, the swallow, built her nest with care in the palace\nof the king. In the nest she reared up happily two of her little\nones. A black, ugly-looking bird, however came to the swallow's nest to\nmar her happiness and to kill her two little ones. And the ugly black\nbird succeeded in destroying the happiness of the poor little swallow;\nthe little ones, however, although yet weak and unfledged were saved,\nand, when they were grown up and able to fly, they came to look at\nthe palace where their mother, the pretty swallow, had built her nest.\"\n\nThis strange song the two minstrels sung so very sweetly that the\nking was quite charmed, and asked them the meaning of the words.\n\nWhereupon the two meanly dressed young men took off their hats, so that\nthe rich tresses of their golden hair fell down over their shoulders,\nand the light glanced so brightly upon it that the whole hall was\nilluminated by the shining. They then stepped forward together,\nand told the king all that had happened to them and to their mother,\nand convinced him that they were really his own sons.\n\nThe king was exceedingly angry when he heard all the cruel things his\nstepmother had done, and he gave orders that she should be burnt to\ndeath. He then went with the two golden-haired princes to the miserable\ndungeon wherein his unfortunate wife had been confined so many years,\nand brought her once more into her beautiful palace. There, looking on\nher golden-haired sons, and seeing how much the king, their father,\nloved them, she soon forgot all her long years of misery. As to the\nking, he felt that he could never do enough to make amends for all\nthe misfortunes his queen had lived through, and all the dangers to\nwhich his twin sons had been exposed. He felt that he had too easily\nbelieved the stories of the old queen, because he would not trouble\nhimself to inquire more particularly into the truth or falsehood of\nthe strange things she had told him.\n\nAfter all this mortification, and trouble, and misery, everything\ncame right at last. So the king and his wife, with their golden-haired\ntwins, lived together long and happily.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XV: SOME SERBIAN POPULAR ANECDOTES\n\n\nSt. Peter and the Sand\n\nA townsman went one day to the country to hunt and came at noon to\nthe house of a peasant whom he knew. The man asked him to share his\ndinner, and while they were eating, the townsman looked around him\nand noticed that there was but little arable land to be seen. There\nwere rocks and stones in abundance, however. Surprised at this,\nthe townsman exclaimed: \"In the name of all that is good, my friend,\nhow on earth can you good people of this village exist without arable\nland! and whence these heaps of rocks and stones?\" \"It is, indeed,\na great misfortune!\" answered the peasant. \"People say that our\nancestors heard from their fore-fathers that when our Lord walked on\nthis earth, St. Peter accompanied Him carrying on his back a sack full\nof sand. Occasionally our Lord would take a grain of sand and throw\nit down to make a mountain, saying: 'May this grain multiply!' When\nthey arrived here St. Peter's sack burst and half of its contents\npoured out in our village.\"\n\n\n\n\nWhy the Serbian People are Poor\n\nThe nations of the world met together one day on the middle of the\nearth to divide between themselves the good things in life. First they\ndeliberated upon the methods of procedure. Some recommended a lottery,\nbut the Christians, well knowing that they, as the cleverest, would\nbe able to obtain the most desirable gifts, and not wishing to be at\nthe mercy of fortune, suggested (and the idea was instantly adopted\nby all) that each should express  a wish for some good thing and it\nwould be granted to him. The men of Italy were allowed to express\ntheir wish first, and they desired Wisdom. The Britons said: \"We will\ntake the sea.\" The Turks: \"And we will take fields.\" The Russians:\n\"We will take the forests and mines.\" The French: \"And we will have\nmoney and war.\" \"And what about you Serbians?\" asked the nations,\n\"What do you wish for?\" \"Wait till we make up our mind!\" answered\nthe Serbians; and they have not yet agreed upon their reply.\n\n\n\n\nThe Gipsies and the Nobleman\n\nA very rich and powerful nobleman was one day driving through his\nvast estates. From afar four Tzigans [86] noted that he was alone,\nand greedily coveting his fine carriage horses, determined to deprive\nhim of them. As the carriage approached, they rushed on to the road,\nrespectfully took off their hats, knelt before him, and one of them\nbegan to speak, saying: \"O how happy we are to have an opportunity\nof manifesting to you, O most gracious lord, our deep gratitude for\nthe noble deeds and many acts of kindness with which your late and\ngenerous father used to overwhelm us! As we have no valuable presents\nto offer you, allow us to harness ourselves to your carriage and draw\nyou home.\" The haughty nobleman, proud of his father's good deeds,\nwas pleased to assent to this unusual form of courtesy. Two gipsies\nthereupon detached the horses, harnessed themselves to the carriage\nand drew it for some distance. Suddenly, however, they cut themselves\nloose and ran back to the two other rascals who by this time had got\nclear away with the horses.\n\n\n\n\nWhy the Priest was drowned\n\nA few peasants and a priest were once crossing a river. Suddenly a\ntempest arose and overturned the boat. All were good swimmers except\nthe poor priest, and when the peasants regained their boat and righted\nit, which they did very soon, they approached the struggling preacher\nand called to him to give them his hand that they might save him; but\nhe hesitated and was drowned. The peasants went to impart the sad news\nto the priest's widow who, hearing it, exclaimed: \"What a pity! But\nhad you offered him your hands, he would surely have accepted them,\nand thus his precious life would have been saved--for it was ever\nhis custom to receive.\"\n\n\n\n\nThe Era from the other World [87]\n\nA Turk and his wife halted in the shadow of a tree. The Turk went\nto the river to water his horse, and his wife remained to await his\nreturn. Just then an Era passed by and saluted the Turkish woman:\n\"Allah help you, noble lady.\" \"May God aid you,\" she returned;\n\"whence do you come?\" \"I come from the Other World, noble lady.\" \"As\nyou have been in the Other World, have you not, perchance, seen there\nmy son Mouyo, who died a few months ago?\" \"Oh, how could I help seeing\nhim? He is my immediate neighbour.\" \"Happy me! How is he, then?\" \"He\nis well, may God be praised! But he could stand just a little more\ntobacco and some more pocket-money to pay for black coffee.\" \"Are you\ngoing back again? And if so, would you be so kind as to deliver to\nhim this purse with his parent's greetings?\" The Era took the money\nprotesting that he would be only too glad to convey so pleasant a\nsurprise to the youth, and hurried away. Soon the Turk came back,\nand his wife told him what had transpired. He perceived at once\nthat she had been victimized and without stopping to reproach her,\nhe mounted his horse and galloped after the Era, who, observing the\npursuit, and guessing at once that the horseman was the husband of\nthe credulous woman, made all the speed that he could. There was a\nmill near by and making for it, the Era rushed in and addressed the\nmiller with: \"For Goodness' sake, brother, fly! There is a Turkish\nhorseman coming with drawn sword; he will kill you. I heard him say\nso and have hurried to warn you in time.\" The miller had no time to\nask for particulars; he knew how cruel the Turks were, and without\na word he dashed out of the mill and fled up the adjacent rocks.\n\nMeantime the Era placed the miller's hat upon his own head and\nsprinkled flour copiously over his clothes, that he might look like a\nmiller. No sooner was this done than the Turk came up. Alighting from\nhis horse, he rushed into the mill and hurriedly asked the Era where\nhe had hidden the thief. The Era pointed indifferently to the flying\nmiller on the rock, whereupon the Turk requested him to take care\nof his horse while he ran and caught the swindler. When the Turk was\ngone some distance up the hill our Era brushed his clothes, swiftly\nmounted the horse and galloped away. The Turk caught the real miller,\nand demanded: \"Where is the money you took from my wife, swindler?\" The\npoor miller made the sign of the cross [88] and said: \"God forbid! I\nnever saw your noble lady, still less did I take her money.\"\n\nAfter about half an hour of futile discussion, the Turk was convinced\nof the miller's innocence, and returned to where he had left his\nhorse. But lo! There was no sign of a horse! He walked sadly back\nto his wife, and she, seeing that her husband had no horse, asked in\nsurprise: \"Where did you go, and what became of your horse?\" The Turk\nreplied: \"You sent money to our darling son; so I thought I had better\nsend him the horse that he need not go on foot in the Other World!\"\n\n\n\n\nA Trade before Everything\n\nOnce upon a time a king set out in his luxurious pleasure-galley\naccompanied by his queen and a daughter. They had proceeded a very\nlittle way from the shore when a powerful wind drove the galley far out\nto sea, where at last it was dashed upon a barren rock. Fortunately\nthere was a small boat upon the galley, and the king, being a good\nsailor, was able to launch this frail bark, and he rescued his wife and\ndaughter from the waves. After long tossing and drifting, good fortune\nsmiled upon the wanderers; they began to see birds and floating leaves,\nwhich indicated that they were approaching dry land. And, indeed,\nthey soon came in sight of shore, and, as the sea was now calm, were\nable to land without further adventure. But, alas, the king knew no\ntrade, and had no money upon his person. Consequently he was forced\nto offer his services as a shepherd to a rich landowner, who gave\nhim a hut and a flock of sheep to tend. In these idyllic and simple\nconditions they lived contentedly for several years, undisturbed by\nregrets for the magnificence of their past circumstances.\n\nOne day the only son of the ruler of that strange country lost his\nway while riding in the neighbourhood after a fox, and presently\nhe beheld the beautiful daughter of our shepherd. No sooner did his\neyes fall upon the maiden than he fell violently in love with her,\nand she was not unwilling to receive the protestations of undying\naffection which he poured into her ears. They met again and again,\nand the maiden consented to marry the prince, provided her parents\nwould approve the match.\n\nThe prince first declared his wish to his own parents, who, of course,\nwere greatly astonished at their son's apparently foolish selection,\nand would not give their consent. But the prince protested solemnly\nthat his resolution was unshakable; he would either marry the girl\nhe loved or remain single all his days. Finally his royal father took\npity on him, and sent his first adjutant to the shepherd secretly to\nask the hand of his daughter for the prince.\n\n\n\n\nThe Condition\n\nWhen the adjutant came and communicated the royal message, the\nshepherd asked him: \"Is there any trade with which the royal prince is\nfamiliar?\" The adjutant was amazed at such a question. \"Lord forbid,\nfoolish man!\" he exclaimed, \"how could you expect the heir-apparent to\nknow a trade? People learn trades in order to earn their daily bread;\nprinces possess lands and cities, and so do not need to work.\"\n\nBut the shepherd persisted, saying: \"If the prince knows no trade,\nhe cannot become my son-in-law.\"\n\nThe royal courier returned to the palace and reported to the king\nhis conversation with the shepherd, and great was the astonishment\nthroughout the palace when the news became known, for all expected\nthat the shepherd would be highly flattered that the king had chosen\nhis daughter's hand for the prince in preference to the many royal\nand imperial princesses who would have been willing to marry him for\nthe asking.\n\nThe king sent again to the shepherd, but the man remained firm in his\nresolution. \"As long as the prince,\" said he, \"does not know any trade,\nI shall not grant him the hand of my daughter.\"\n\nWhen this second official brought back to the palace the same answer,\nthe king informed his son of the shepherd's condition, and the royal\nprince resolved to put himself in the way of complying with it.\n\nHis first step was to go through the city from door to door in\norder to select some simple and easy trade. As he walked through\nthe streets he beheld various craftsmen at their work, but he did\nnot stay until he came to the workshop of a carpet-maker, and this\ntrade appeared to him both easy and lucrative. He therefore offered\nhis services to the master, who gladly undertook to teach him the\ntrade. In due time the prince obtained a certificate of efficiency,\nand he went to the shepherd and showed it to him, together with\nsamples of his hand work. The shepherd examined these and asked the\nprince: \"How much could you get for this carpet?\" The prince replied:\n\"If it is made of grass, I could sell it for threepence.\" \"Why, that\nis a splendid trade,\" answered the shepherd, \"threepence to-day and\nanother threepence to-morrow would make sixpence, and in two other\ndays you would have earned a shilling! If I only had known this\ntrade a few years ago I would not have been a shepherd.\" Thereupon he\nrelated to the prince and his suite the story of his past life, and\nwhat ill fate had befallen him, to the greatest surprise of all. You\nmay be sure that the prince rejoiced to learn that his beloved was\nhighly born, and the worthy mate of a king's son. As for his father,\nhe was especially glad that his son had fallen in love, not with the\ndaughter of a simple shepherd, but with a royal princess.\n\nThe marriage was now celebrated with great magnificence, and when the\nfestivities came to an end, the king gave the shepherd a fine ship,\ntogether with a powerful escort, that he might go back to his country\nand reassume possession of his royal throne.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGLOSSARY & INDEX\n\n\nThere are thirty characters in the Serbian alphabet for the thirty\ncorresponding sounds, of which five are vowels--all open sounds,\nviz. a, e, u, o, y.\n\n\n        a as in \"father\"\n        e as in \"met\"\n        u as e in \"be\"\n        o as in \"note\"\n        y as oo in \"boot.\"\n\n\nou is pronounced also as oo in \"boot.\" Closed or semi-closed vowels\nare unknown to the Serbian tongue.\n\nThe twenty-five consonants are pronounced as in English, with the\nfollowing exceptions:\n\nh at the beginning of words or syllables is always aspirated.\n\nr is always rolled. In a Serbian monosyllable it sometimes plays the\npart of a vowel between two consonants, e.g. vrt (garden).\n\nThe combinations ts or tz, as in \"tsar,\" \"tzarina,\" etc., are\npronounced like ts in \"its.\"\n\ny has been used in the English forms of Serbian names not as a vowel\nbut invariably as a consonant, as in \"year.\" This consonantal y has\nbeen used often after the consonants d, l, n, and t, and y is then\nmerged into the preceding consonant to form one sound. For example, dy\nbecomes very like the sound of j in \"jaw,\" as in the word \"Dyourady,\"\nwhich is pronounced Joo-radg.\n\nz in the names \"Zdral\" and \"Zabylak\" is pronounced like s in\n\"pleasure\"; elsewhere it is pronounced as in English.\n\nThe Serbian language being phonetic does not employ double consonants,\ndiphthongs or triphthongs. The thirty letters represent always the\nsame thirty sounds, and the position of the written symbol does not\naffect or qualify its sound.\n\n\n\n\nA\n\nAdrianople. Equivalent, Yedrenet, 123\n\nAdriatic. Ivan Tzrnoyevitch sails across, to Venice, 134, 142\n\nAdriatic Coast. The Latins, Illyrians, Thracians, Greeks, and Albanians\ndriven by the Serbians toward the, 1\n\nAfrica-n, West. A Serbian folk-tale dealing with Animals' Language;\nsimilarity of, to a story native to the negroes of, 230\n\nAges, Middle. Banovitch Strahinya, one of the finest and most famous\nballads composed by Serbian bards of the, 119\n\nAgram (Zagreb). Croatians establish an episcopate at, in eleventh\ncentury, 14\n\nAlbania. Subdued by Doushan the Powerful, 5;\n  George Kastriotovitch-Skander-Beg fights for liberty of, 8;\n  Skadar the capital of Northern, 119\n\nAlbanian-s, The. Driven by Serbians toward the Adriatic coast, 1;\n  spirits of the wood dreaded by, 19;\n  Arbanass an appellation for, 108\n\nAlexander. Unworthy son of Milan; ascends throne of Serbia, 11;\n  marries his former mistress, Draga Mashin, but is murdered, 11\n\nAmouradh. A Turkish Grand Vizir; Prince Marko and, 105-108\n\nAmourath, Sultan (Mourat, corrupted form).\n  Defeats Knez Lazar on field of Kossovo, 7;\n  Vlah-Ali independent of, 121;\n  slain by Serbian hero, Voivode Milosh, 173\n\nAnecdotes.\n  Some Serbian popular, 362-369;\n  \"St. Peter and the Sand,\" 362;\n  \"Why the Serbian People are Poor,\" 362;\n  \"The Gipsies and the Nobleman,\" 363;\n  \"Why the Priest was Drowned,\" 364;\n  \"The Era from the other World,\" 364;\n  \"A Trade before Everything,\" 366\n\nAnimals.\n  The king makes war on the;\n  described in the Serbian folk-tale \"Animals as Friends and Enemies,\"\n  313-316\n\n\"Animals as Friends and Enemies.\"\n  A Serbian folk-tale, 305-316\n\nAnimals' Council, The.\n  Described in the Serbian folk-tale \"Animals as Friends and Enemies,\"\n  308, 309\n\nAnimals, King of The.\n  Hero in a Serbian folk-tale, 230\n\nAnimals' Language.\n  A Serbian folk-tale dealing with, 230-235\n\nAnjou, Charles of.\n  Prince Ourosh maintains friendly relations with French Court of, 119\n\nAntivari.\n  Ivan Tzrnoyevitch invites all heroes in the province of, to his\n  son's wedding, 139\n\nApostles.\n  The Greek priests and monks prepare the ground for the great\n  Slav, 29;\n  Cyrillos and Methodius, the two Slav, 29\n\nApple.\n  The, a symbolic gift, which a Serbian wooer offers to the maiden\n  of his choice, 245\n\n\"Apple-tree, The Golden.\"\n  A Serbian folk-tale, 267-280\n\nArbanass.\n  Appellation for Albanian, 108\n\nArchangel Michael.\n  Death and, 31;\n  Kolyivo not prepared for, 41\n\nAthos, Mount.\n  Vasso, the abbot of, finds Marko's dead body, 118\n\nAustria.\n  War between Serbia and Bulgaria instigated by, 11\n\nAvala.\n  A mountain by Belgrade, 177\n\nAzov, Sea of.\n  Serbians lived to the north-east of, 1\n\n\n\n\nB\n\n\"Badgnak.\"\n  The oak tree used at Christmas by the Serbians, 47\n\n\"Badgni Dan.\"\n  Serbian equivalent for Christmas Eve, 46\n\nBajazet.\n  Son of Sultan Amourath, 7\n\nBalcius.\n  Latinized form of Baux, in early records, 119;\n  name changed at the Court at Naples into Balza, 119\n\nBalkan Peninsula.\n  Incursion of the Serbians into, 1\n\nBalkan Territories.\n  Kingdoms embraced in, 1\n\nBalkan War.\n  Mrs. C. H. Farnam's devotion to the wounded during the, 57, 58;\n  reference to the feats of arms performed by the Serbians during\n  the, 175\n\nBalkans.\n  Hero tales of the, express the ideals which have inspired the\n  Serbian race, 12;\n  explanation of the decay of the ancient aristocracy throughout\n  the, 14\n\n\"Balkans, the Empress of the.\"\n  Drama by King Nicholas I Petrovitch of Montenegro, 134\n\nBallad-s.\n  Serbian bards improvise, to record deeds of King Nicholas I\n  Petrovitch of Montenegro, 120;\n  \"The Marriage of Maximus Tzrnoyevitch,\" the finest and most famous\n  Serbian, 134;\n  usual ending to ballads by Serbian and Montenegrin bards, 184;\n  historical note on that of \"King Voukashin's Marriage,\" 193, 194;\n  observation regarding motif of \"The Captivity and Marriage of\n  Stephan Kakshitch,\" 194;\n  \"The Saints Divide the Treasures,\" 195-197;\n  three Serbian--(1) \"The Building of \"Skadar\" (Scutari), etc., 198;\n                 (2) \"The Stepsisters,\" 206;\n             and (3) \"The Abduction of the Beautiful Iconia,\" 210\n\nBalshitch.\n  Nicholas I Petrovitch, King of Montenegro, and an indirect descendant\n  out of, 120\n\nBalza.\n  Italianized form of Balcius (Baux), 119\n\nBan.\n  The original title of the rulers of Bosnia, 6\n\nBanat.\n  One of the Serbian provinces in Austria-Hungary\n\nBanovitch Strahinya.\n  The ballad relating to, one of the finest composed by anonymous\n  bards of Middle Ages, 119;\n  historical data, 119, 120;\n  some Serbian historians believe identical with the glorious\n  Strashimir Balshitch-Nemanyitch, 119;\n  eulogized as \"a falcon without equal,\" 120;\n  Dyogo the faithful steed of, 120;\n  Caraman the faithful greyhound of, 120;\n  visits Youg Bogdan, 120-121\n\nBanyska (Lord of Little).\n  Title by which a dervish hails Banovitch Strahinya, 122\n\nBards.\n  (1) Serbian. Attention now turned to the exploits of modern heroes\n  at Monastir, Koumanovo, Perlep (Prilip), Scutari (Skadar), etc., 176;\n    usual ending to ballads of, 184;\n    word 'book' invariably used by those of fourteenth century when\n    speaking of a letter, 186.\n  (2) Montenegrin. Stereotyped ending to ballads of, 184\n\nBash Tchelik (Real Steel).\n  A Serbian folk-tale, 247-267;\n  his promise of three lives to the Prince, and his abduction of his\n  deliverer's wife, 258-267\n\nBasil I, Emperor.\n  The second conversion of Southern Slavs to Christianity was effected\n  by, 28\n\nBatchka.\n  One of the Serbian provinces in Austria-Hungary\n\nBaux, Des.\n  Strashimir Balshitch-Nemanyitch a descendant of the old Provencal\n  family of, 119;\n  in early records the name is latinized Balcius, 119;\n  supposition that the Italianized Seigneurs des Baux, who married\n  into royal house of Nemanyitch and who settled in Serbian lands,\n  further changed their patronymic to Balsha or Balshitch, 119\n\nBaux, Hughes de.\n  A French knight; reference to, 33\n\nBazar, Relya of.\n  A Serbian knight;\n  Bogdan the Bully and, 87-89\n\nBeardless.\n  A name used as the personification of craftiness and sharpness,\n  applied to man in Serbian folk-tale \"Lying for a Wager,\" 283\n\nBeata Maria.\n  St. Elias inquires the reason of her great grief, 195;\n  St. Elias comforts, 196\n\nBedevia.\n  The Moorish chieftain's mare, 79;\n  Sharatz and, 79, 80, 81;\n  Bogdan the Bully's mare, 87;\n  name of mare given by Ivan Tzrnoyevitch to Milosh Obrenbegovitch,\n  141;\n  Voivode Balatchko's mare, 168\n\nBelgrade.\n  Reference to the triumphal return of the Serbian army to, at the\n  conclusion of the Balkan campaigns, 1912-13, 176;\n  a veela warns Stephan and Demitrius Yakshitch of the intention of\n  the Turks to assail, 177;\n  Stephan Yakshitch and Haykoona escape to, 183\n\nBeliefs.\n  Superstitions of Serbians, and national customs, 13-53\n\nBerlin.\n  Famous Treaty of, acknowledged the independence of Serbia during\n  rule of Milan, 10, 11;\n  mention of a Veele ring in Treaty of, 17\n\nBertrandon de la Broquiere, Chevalier.\n  Told in 1433 that Trajanople had been built by the Emperor Trajan, 27\n\nBind.\n  Illyrian god;\n  a reminder of, in the tradition regarding Prince Ivan Tzrnoyevitch,\n  25\n\n\"Bird Maiden, The.\"\n  A Serbian folk-tale, 280-283\n\n\"Biter Bit, The.\"\n  A Serbian folk-tale, 328-340;\n  the hundred daughters in, 330;\n  the wedding procession, 333;\n  the Black Giant in, 334;\n  the old woman meets the old man in a forest by the river Luckless,\n  336;\n  the Black Giant buys the cow, 339\n\nBlind.\n  In Serbian Hungary there are schools for, in which national ballads\n  are taught, 55, 56\n\n\"Bochtchaluks.\"\n  Serbian equivalent for wedding presents, 32\n\nBodin, King.\n  Son of Michaylo;\n  obtains title from Pope Gregory VII, 3;\n  restores the Serbia of Tchaslav, and adds Bosnia to his State, 3\n\nBogdan the Bully.\n  Marko and, 87-89\n\nBogdan, Youg.\n  Aged father-in-law of Banovitch, 120, 121;\n  castle in Kroushevatz the residence of, 120;\n  one of his sons-in-law a direct descendant of King Nemanya, 120;\n  Strahinya returns to, after his slaying of Vlah-Ali, 128\n\nBogoumils.\n  Protestants of the Greek Orthodox Church who settled in Bosnia, 4\n\n\"Bojitch.\"\n  Equivalent, \"the little God.\" The Christmas Day church service, 49\n\nBoshko Yougovitch.\n  One of Tsarina Militza's nine brothers, 170;\n  refuses to remain with her while Tsar Lazarus departs to battlefield\n  of Kossovo, 171\n\nBoshnyaks.\n  Serbians inhabiting Bosnia;\n  considered to be the most typical Serbians, 13\n\nBosnia.\n  King Bodin adds to his State, 3;\n  Ban Koulin placed on the throne of, 4;\n  Stevan Tomashevitch king of, 8;\n  subjugation of, complete by 1463, 8;\n  the Padishah offers to make Stephan Yakshitch Grand Vizier of,\n  if he will renounce the Holy Cross, 179\n\nBosnia and Herzegovina.\n  One of the kingdoms in the Balkan territories, 1;\n  Serbian calamity on Kossovo due mainly to the disobedience of the\n  Serbian lords who ruled over, 175\n\nBowring, Sir John.\n  Quotations of three poems from his Servian Popular Poetry, 198-212\n\nBoyana.\n  River on which Skadar's fortress stands, 186, 198\n\nBrankovitch, Dyourady.\n  Nephew of Vook Brankovitch, 7;\n  reference to death of, 8\n\nBrankovitch, Vook (Wolf).\n  The treachery of, against Knez Lazar, 7;\n  his death, 7;\n  Tsarina Militza and death of, 173;\n  responsibility for great calamity to the Serbian army on Kossovo\n  assigned by bards to, 174\n\nBregalnitza.\n  Reference to, as a set-off to Slivnitza, 176\n\nBregovo.\n  Town of;\n  Marko and Milosh at, 105\n\nBride.\n  The custom with the Serbians for one of her brothers to present\n  the bride to her wooer, 248\n\nBulgaria.\n  A province of Serbia under Stevan Detchanski, 5;\n  war against, by Serbia, 11;\n  Shishman king of, 94\n\nBulgars.\n  Serbians an easy prey to attacks of, 2\n\nBully, The.\n  Alternative for Bogdan, 87-89;\n  Albanian equivalent, Kessedjiya, 108;\n  his death on the top of Katchanik mountain, 114\n\nByzantines.\n  Serbians an easy prey to attack of, 2;\n  Christianity deeply rooted in the, 14;\n  Peroon, the Russian God of Thunder, concluded with the, 15\n\nByzantine Empire.\n  Incorporates Bulgaria and overpowers Rashka, 3;\n  Doushan the Powerful subdues almost the whole of the, 5;\n  Prince Ourosh endeavours to negotiate an alliance between Serbs\n  and French for overthrow of, 119\n\n\n\n\nC\n\nCaraman.\n  The greyhound of Banovitch, 120, 121;\n  assists Banovitch against Vlah-Ali, 127\n\nCarpet, The Magic.\n  Described in the Serbian folk-tale \"Animals as Friends and Enemies,\"\n  309-313\n\nCharles of Anjou.\n  Prince Ourosh through his wife Helen, a French princess, maintains\n  friendly relations with French Court of, 119\n\nChrist.\n  Teachings of; translated into Serb language by Cyrillos and\n  Methodius, 2\n\nChristianity.\n  Conversion of pagan Serbian tribes to, 1;\n  Paganism and, of Southern-Slavonic races, 14-53;\n  as early as the eleventh century a number of Croatians converted\n  to, 14;\n  the new, sapped in Russia by the Enchanters, 24;\n  indicated by the Cross, 26;\n  the spread of, 28-32;\n  Moravians converted to, 29;\n  superstition stronger in the Balkans than, 30\n\nChristians.\n  Reference to campaigns between Turks and the, 6;\n  miseries of, under Turkish rule, 8, 9;\n  evil spirits and, 19;\n  Prince Maximus and Yovan Obrenbegovitch to be used in service\n  against, 149;\n  historical note re the cunning efforts of Ottoman statesmen to seduce\n  malcontents from their allegiance to their rightful lords, 184, 185\n\nChristmas.\n  Serbian customs at, 46-51\n\nChurch.\n  The Greek Christian, to which all Serbians, including the natives\n  of Montenegro, Macedonia, etc., belong, 30;\n  reference to the, in the Serbian ballad \"The Saints Divide the\n  Treasures,\" 197\n\nCinderella.\n  See Pepelyouga and Marra, 226-229\n\nCock, The.\n  Retort of, regarding the man who had been granted the gift of\n  animals' language, 235\n\nConstantinople.\n  Vanquished by crusaders, 4;\n  dead bodies burnt during siege of, 25;\n  Cyrillos a professor of philosophy in University of the Imperial\n  Palace of, 29;\n  Turkish alternative Istamboul, 72\n\nCourtenay, House de.\n  Helen, wife of Ourosh, a French princess of the, 119\n\nCow.\n  The Black Giant buys the; described in the Serbian folk-tale \"The\n  Biter Bit,\" 339\n\nCroatia.\n  One of the provinces in Austria-Hungary, 1\n\nCroatians.\n  A number of, converted to Christianity as early as the eleventh\n  century, 14\n\nCross, The.\n  Indicates the presence of Christianity, 26;\n  the Slava and the sign of, 42, 44;\n  Christmas customs and the sign of, 47, 48;\n  Boshko Yougovitch's devotion to, 171;\n  Stephan Yakshitch's devotion to, 179;\n  St. John chooses, 196;\n  Christians of the Balkans and the sign of, before and after every\n  meal, 237;\n  the Serbians when greatly surprised at anything, involuntarily make\n  the sign of, 366\n\nCurse of Christendom.\n  Marko takes steps to avoid the, 117\n\nCustoms, National.\n  The chief of the Serbians, 31-53;\n  marriage, 32-40;\n  Slava (or Krsno Ime), 40-49\n\nCustoms, Serbian.\n  Superstitious beliefs and, 13-53;\n  a brother to present a bride to her wooer, 248\n\nCyrillos.\n  Methodius and, the so-called Slavonic apostles who translated the\n  teaching of Christ into the ancient Slav language, 2, 29\n\n\n\n\nD\n\nDaedalus.\n  Confused in Serbian legends with Emperor Trajan, 27\n\nDalmatians.\n  Sea-going men who pray only to St. Nicholas, 51\n\nDance Rings (Vrzino kollo).\n  The Veele and their, 17;\n  one on Mount Kom in Montenegro called Vilino Kollo, 17\n\nDanitza. The morning star;\n  its appearance puts Zmay of Yastrebatz to flight, 130;\n  reference to, in \"The Captivity and Marriage of Stephan Yakshitch,\"\n  177\n\nDanube.\n  Allusion to Sharatz's swim across the, 91;\n  Marko drowns part of Voutcha's army in, 92\n\nDaughters.\n  The hundred, in the Serbian folk-tale \"The Biter Bit,\" 330\n\nDaybog (The Sun God).\n  Russian equivalent, Daszbog--literally \"Give, O God!\" 16;\n  to the Serbians the personification of sunshine, life and prosperity,\n  16;\n  remains of idols representing, among Southern-Slavonic nations, 16;\n  Christmas festivities and, 49\n\nDead.\n  Festival in honour of, during Lent, 52\n\nDeath.\n  The Archangel Michael and, 31\n\n\"Deeds, Good, Never Perish.\"\n  The Serbian folk-tale, 291-299\n\nDessimir.\n  King Vukashin's trusty servant, 199\n\n\"Dever.\"\n  The leader of the Serbian bride, 35\n\nDevil-s (dyavo).\n  Considered as pagan gods, 19\n\nDiascevastes.\n  The learned, of Pisistrate's epoch, 54\n\nDiocletian, Emperor.\n  References in Southern-Slavonic legends to, 27\n\n\"Divan.\"\n  Means, in Serbian, any State gathering. As used in the Serbian ballad\n  \"The Saints Divide the Treasures\" it means the Supreme Judgment, 195\n\nDjelat (executioner).\n  Stephan Yakshitch threatened with the, 180\n\nDobrivoy.\n  Servant of Theodore of Stalatch, 211\n\n\"Doda or Dodola.\"\n  The rite connected with the favourite goddess of Rain, 51, 52\n\nDon, The River.\n  Serbians lived on banks of, 1\n\nDourmitor.\n  The mountain, 186\n\nDoushan the Powerful (Mighty).\n  Dethrones his father Stevan Detchanski, 5;\n  vampires and the Code of, 21, 22, 24;\n  Voukashin's bad faith toward, 61;\n  attended by Archdeacon Nedelyko till death, 66;\n  the marriage of, 150-169;\n  sends Theodor, Councillor of State, to King Michael of Ledyen, 150;\n  sues for the hand of Princess Roksanda, 150, 151;\n  the two Voinovitchs, Voukashin and Petrashin, nephews of, 151;\n  Milosh-the-Shepherd joins the wedding procession of, 153, 154;\n  the four tests undertaken by Milosh-the-Shepherd on behalf of,\n  in order to win the Princess Roksanda, 160-166;\n  reference to the wresting of the Empire from the Turk by the Serb,\n  until it is in extent almost equivalent to Empire under, 176\n\nDragomir.\n  Djoupan of Trebinye, father of Stephen Voislav, 3\n\nDragoutin. Son of Ourosh the Great;\n  deposes his father and becomes king of Serbia, 4;\n  retires in favour of his brother Miloutin, 4;\n  assumes title of King of Sirmia, 5;\n  yields his throne to Miloutin, 5\n\n\"Dream of the King's Son, The.\"\n  A Serbian folk-tale, 322-328\n\nDucadyin, Plain of.\n  Given as fief to Mehmed-Bey Obrenbegovitch, 149\n\nDulzigno.\n  Ivan Tzrnoyevitch invites all heroes in province of, to his son's\n  wedding, 134, 139\n\nDyakovitza.\n  Voutche of, admires Koulash the steed of Milosh-the-Shepherd, 157\n\n\"Dyavo.\"\n  See Devils.\n\nDyogo.\n  Faithful steed of Banovitch, 120, 121, 122;\n  enables Banovitch to escape Vlah-Ali's spear, 126\n\n\n\n\nE\n\nEarth.\n  The Saints divide the treasures of, 195-197\n\nElias, St. (Elijah).\n  Serbian peasants believe that the god Peroon still lives in person\n  of, 15;\n  Kolyivo not prepared for, 41;\n  mention of, in Serbian ballad \"The Saints Divide the Treasures,\"\n  195, 196;\n  lightning and thunder chosen by, 196\n\nEnchanters (tcharobnitzi).\n  Celebrants of the various pagan rites, 24\n\nEnemies.\n  \"Animals as Friends and,\" a Serbian folk-tale, 305-316\n\nEra.\n  The name given to the peasants of the district of Ouzitze (Western\n  Serbia);\n  they are supposed to be very witty and shrewd, and might be called\n  the Irishmen of Serbia, 364;\n  \"The Era from the Other World,\" a Serbian popular anecdote, 364-366\n\nEurope.\n  The Turk almost driven from, during the golden rule of King Peter\n  I, 11\n\n\n\n\nF\n\nFalcon, The.\n  Banovitch eulogized as, \"without equal,\" 120\n\nFarnam, Mrs. C. H.\n  Her interest in Vouk's book of Serbian national poems, 57, 58\n\nFeast.\n  The Slava, 45, 46\n\nFolk-Lore.\n  Tales of Serbian, 213-328;\n  \"The Ram with the Golden Fleece,\" 213-220;\n  \"A Pavilion neither in the Sky nor on the Earth,\" 220-224;\n  \"Pepelyouga,\" 224-230;\n  \"Animals' Language,\" 230-235;\n  \"The Stepmother and her Stepdaughter,\" 235-240;\n  \"Justice and Injustice,\" 240-243;\n  \"He who asks Little receives Much,\" 243-247;\n  \"Bash Tchelik\" (Real Steel), 247-267;\n  \"The Golden Apple-tree and the Nine Pea-hens,\" 267-280;\n  \"The Bird Maiden,\" 280-283;\n  \"Lying for a Wager,\" 283-287;\n  \"The Maiden Wiser than the Tsar,\" 287-291;\n  \"Good Deeds never Perish,\" 291-299;\n  \"He whom God helps no one can harm,\" 300-305, etc.;\n  \"Animals as Friends and Enemies,\" 305-316;\n  \"The Three Suitors,\" 316-322;\n  \"The Dream of the King's Son,\" 322-328;\n  \"The Biter Bit,\" 328-340;\n  \"The Trade that no one Knows,\" 340-353;\n  \"The Golden-haired Twins,\" 353-361\n\nFrancs.\n  Serbians an easy prey to attacks of, 2\n\nFrench. Princess;\n  Helen wife of Ourosh a, 119;\n  Court of Charles of Anjou and Prince Ourosh, 119;\n  Ourosh negotiates an alliance between Serbs and the, 119\n\nFriends.\n  \"Animals as Enemies and,\" a Serbian folk-tale, 305-316\n\nFuneral Customs.\n  Description of, among Slavs, Serbians, etc., 25-27\n\n\n\n\nG\n\nGalicia.\n  Serbians lived as a patriarchal people in country now known as, 1\n\nGeorge's Day, St.\n  Serbian equivalent, Dyourdyev Dan. Strange sorceries practised on, 53\n\nGiants.\n  Serbian equivalent, Djins: Turkish equivalent, Div.\n  Those in Bulgarian, Croatian, etc., mythology, we owe to the cycle\n  of mediaeval myths, 27;\n  the nine, in the Serbian folk-tale \"Bash Tchelik,\" 247, 252, 253,\n  254, 255;\n  the Black, in the Serbian folk-tale \"The Biter Bit,\" 328;\n  the, in the Serbian folk-tale \"The Trade that no one Knows,\" 345\n\nGipsies.\n  Serbian equivalent, Tzigans, 363;\n  \"The Nobleman and the,\" a Serbian popular anecdote, 363;\n  stealing and selling horses their main occupation, 363\n\nGod.\n  The Veele believed in, and St. John, 17;\n  Keys of the Heavens given to the Saints by, 196;\n  the wrath of, 197;\n  \"He whom God helps no one can harm,\" a Serbian folk-tale, 300-305,\n  etc.\n\nGod-s.\n  Peroon, the God of Thunder, 15;\n  Volos, the God of Cattle, 15;\n  Daybog, the Sun god, 15, 16\n\nGoethe.\n  One of Vouk's national ballads was translated by, 55\n\nGoletch.\n  The mountain of, the dervish declares he would recognize Banovitch\n  Strahinya even on top of, 122;\n  Banovitch rides to Mount, 124\n\nGoiko.\n  Youngest of three brothers who built Skadar (Scutari), 198;\n  his young wife immured in the foundation of Skadar, 198-205\n\nGolouban.\n  Tsar Lazarus' servant who succours Tsarina Militza, 172\n\n\"Good Deeds Never Perish.\"\n  A Serbian folk-tale, 291-299\n\nGooslar.\n  A Serbian national bard, 50, 63\n\n\"Gorsky Viyenatz\" (The Mountain Wreath).\n  The masterpiece of the Serbian poet Peter Petrovitch, 56;\n  mention of the goussle in, 56\n\nGospel.\n  The Slavonic translation of, applies name tcharobnitzi to the three\n  Holy Kings, 24;\n  Cyrillos translates the, 29\n\n\"Goussle.\"\n  A primitive instrument with a single string, found in every Serbian\n  home, 56;\n  used during Balkans-Turkish War, 1912-13, in reciting poems relating\n  to Marko, 63\n\nGoyko, Voivode.\n  Inheritance of the Empire disputed by, 65-71\n\nGreat Powers, The.\n  King Nicholas I Petrovitch of Montenegro obliged to evacuate Skadar\n  by, 120\n\nGreeks, The.\n Driven by the Serbians toward the Adriatic coast, 1\n\nGreek Nymphs.\n  The Veele compared with, 17\n\nGregory VII, Pope.\n  Bestows title of King upon Michaylo, 3\n\nGuns.\n  Krgno and Zelenko, Ivan Tzrnoyevitch's two famous, 140\n\n\n\n\nH\n\n\"Hadjis.\"\n  Turkish equivalent for pilgrims, 108\n\n\"Haidooks.\" Knight-brigands;\n  exploits of, sung by professional bards, 55\n\nHaykoona.\n  Daughter of the vizier of Novi Bazar, 180;\n  Stephan Yakshitch declines the 'water of oblivion' offered by,\n  181, 182;\n  confesses her real love for Stephan Yakshitch and enables him to\n  escape, 182, 183\n\nHeaven-s.\n  The Saints divide the treasures of, 195-197;\n  the keys of, given by God to the Saints, 196;\n  the Saints lock the Seven, 197\n\nHelen.\n  A French princess of the house of Courtenay, wife of Prince Ourosh,\n  119\n\nHelen, Queen. Serbian alternative, Yevrossima (Euphrosyne);\n  mother of the Royal Prince Marko, 59\n\nHeraclius, Emperor.\n  Cedes provinces to the Serbians, 1;\n  Serbians first adopt Christian faith during reign of, 28\n\nHeroes.\n  Attention of Serbian bards now turned to exploits of modern, at\n  Monastir, Koumanovo, Perlep (Prilip), Scutari (Skadar), etc., 176\n\nHerzegovina.\n  Subjugation complete by 1482, 8;\n  King Voukashin dispatches book (letter) to, 186\n\nHistorical Note.\n  On \"Tsar Lazarus and the Tsarina Militza,\" 174-176;\n  On \"The Captivity and Marriage of Stephan Yakshitch,\" 184, 185;\n  on \"The Marriage of King Voukashin,\" 193, 194\n\nHistorical Retrospect.\n  Of the Serbians, 1-12\n\n\"Hodjas.\"\n  Turkish equivalent for priest, 108, 179\n\nHomer.\n  Reference to, 54\n\nHoossein.\n  The trusty servant of the vizier of Novi Bazar, 180\n\nHorea Margi.\n  Capital of the state which the Serbians failed to form in ninth\n  century, 2\n\nHorse-s.\n  Sharatz, Prince Marko's wonderful, 17, 57, 61-65, 68, 69, 76;\n  Koulash, the steed of Prince Voinovitch, 154, 155, 157-159;\n  Bedevia, name of the Moorish chieftain's, 79-81;\n  Dyogo, the name of the faithful steed of Banovitch, 120, 121,\n  122, 126;\n  Bedevia, name of Milosh Obrenbegovitch's, 141;\n  Zdral, name of Ivan Tzrnoyevitch's steed, 135, 140, 142;\n  Bedevia, name of Voivode Balatchko's, 168;\n  the old woman and her, in the Serbian folk-tale \"The Golden\n  Apple-tree and the Nine Pea-hens,\" 276-280;\n  the golden, in the Serbian folk-tale \"The Dream of the King's Son,\"\n  325-328\n\nHuman Sacrifices.\n  Legends regarding, among Russians, Slavs, Serbians, etc., 25\n\nHungary.\n  Thousands of Serbian families emigrate to, through tyrannous Turkish\n  rule, 8\n\nHuntsmen.\n  Prince Marko and the Turkish, 105-108\n\n\n\n\nI\n\n\"Ich, Itch, or Ic.\"\n  The characteristic termination of most Serbian family names, 119\n\nIconia. Daughter of Prince Miloutin;\n  Theodore of Stalatch abducts, 210-212;\n  betrothed to George Irene, for Sredoi, 211\n\n\"Iconia, the Abduction of the Beautiful.\"\n  A Serbian national ballad from Sir John Bowring's Servian Popular\n  Poetry, 210-212\n\nIliad.\n  Reference to, 54\n\nIllyrians, The.\n  Driven by Serbians toward Adriatic coast, 1\n\nImmortality.\n  Serbians believe in Predestination and, 18\n\nIndia.\n  Beata Maria relates to St. Elias her recent arrival from, 195.\n\nIrene, George.\n  Iconia betrothed to, for Sredoi, 211\n\nIrishmen. Of Serbia;\n  the peasants of the district of Ouzitze (Western Serbia) might be\n  termed the, 364\n\nIslam.\n  Remnant of Serbians under Turkish rule forced to embrace, 8;\n  Maximus Tzrnoyevitch threatens to embrace, 149;\n  Stephan Yakshitch declines to embrace faith of, 181, 182\n\nIssaya.\n  The deacon of Abbot Vasso, 118\n\nIstamboul.\n  Turkish equivalent for Constantinople, 72;\n  Moorish chieftain demands daughter of Sultan at, 72-81;\n  Moussa Kessedjiya at, 108;\n  Prince Maximus threatens to go to, in order to embrace Islam, 149\n\nIstria.\n  One of the provinces in Austria-Hungary, 1\n\nIvanbegovitch, Scander-Beg.\n  Turkish alternative for Prince Maximus Tzrnoyevitch, 149\n\nIvan Kosantchitch. See Kosantchitch.\n\nIvan Tzrnoyevitch (see Tzrnoyevitch).\n  Tradition regarding the river of Tzrnoyevitch and, 24, 25\n\n\n\n\nJ\n\nJhesu, Lord.\n  Stephan Yakshitch prefers to lose his life for the sake of, rather\n  than become a Turk, 180;\n  Stephan Yakshitch plights his troth to Haykoona in the name of, 183\n\nJohn, St.\n  The Veele believed in, 17;\n  the princess appeals to Prince Marko in name of, 75, 76;\n  the veela Raviyoyla appeals to Marko by memory of, 104;\n  mention of, in Serbian ballad \"The Saints Divide the Treasures,\" 195;\n  brotherhood and koomhood as well as the Holy Cross, chosen by, 196\n\n\"Justice and Injustice.\"\n  A Serbian folk-tale, 240-243\n\n\n\n\nK\n\nKadi.\n  Equivalent, Ottoman judge, 179\n\n\"Kami\" (or bileg).\n  Term applied in Middle Ages to gravestones still found in large\n  numbers in Herzegovina, Dalmatia, etc., now known as stetyak or\n  mramor, 26, 27\n\nKaradgitch, Vouk Stephanovitch. See Vouk Stephanovitch Karadgitch\n\nKarageorgevitch, Alexander.\n  Son of Karageorge Petrovitch, 10\n\nKaravallahian Land.\n  Milosh-the-Shepherd instructed to declare that he hails from the, 155\n\nKastriotovitch-Skander-Beg, George.\n  An Albanian chief who fought successfully for the liberty of\n  Albania, 8\n\nKatchanik.\n  A defile up which Prince Marko rides to meet Moussa, 112;\n  Moussa the Bully's death on mountain of, 114\n\n\"Kessedjiya.\"\n  Equivalent, fighter or bully. The nickname of an Albanian\n  chevalier-brigand, Moussa, who rebelled against the Sultan, 108\n\nKeys.\n  The, of the Heavenly Empire, chosen by St. Peter, 196;\n  the Keys of the Heavens given by God to the Saints, 196\n\nKeystut. Brother of the Grand Duke Olgerd;\n  his interment the last recorded instance of a pagan burial, 26\n\nKlissoura.\n  The wedding procession of Tsar Doushan reaches, 157;\n  the fight for Koulash at, 158, 159\n\nKnez.\n  The title corresponding to \"Prince,\" 6\n\n\"Kolatch.\"\n  A special cake eaten on Saints' days, 41\n\n\"Kollo.\"\n  The Serbian national dances, 40, 52\n\nKollo, Vrzino.\n  Name applied to the Veele rings, 17\n\n\"Kolyivo.\" Lit. something which has been killed with the knife;\n  the Slava cake, 41\n\n\"Koom.\"\n  The principal witness at Serbian weddings, 35;\n  Beata Maria complains of a brother koom bearing false witness\n  against, 196\n\nKoopinovo.\n  A village on plain of Sirmia, in which Zmay-Despot Vook lived, 130\n\nKosantchitch, Ivan.\n  General Voutcha and, 89-94\n\nKossovo.\n  Vouk's national poems dwell on the glory of the Serbian mediaeval\n  Empire, lost on fatal field of, 55;\n  four tabors meet on field of, disputing over the inheritance of\n  the Empire, 65;\n  the Sultana's dream concerning, 74;\n  Marko and the maiden from, 82-86;\n  Marko, Relya, and Milosh ride out from, 87;\n  Banovitch hears of encampment of hordes of Turks on field of, 120;\n  Banovitch seeks and attacks the Turks on field of, 120-128;\n  Tsar Doushan's wedding procession rides through field of, 152;\n  Milosh takes farewell of Tsar Doushan in middle of plain of, 168;\n  Tsar Lazarus does battle on field of, 170-172;\n  death of Tsar Lazarus on field of, 172-174;\n  historical note on battle of, 174-176;\n  historical note re Ottoman influence upon the peasantry in Bosnia\n  and Herzegovina at the time (1389) of the battle of, 184, 185\n\nKoulash.\n  Steed of Petroshin Voinovitch, ridden by Milosh-the-Shepherd to\n  join wedding procession of Tsar Doushan, 154, 155;\n  the wonderful leap of, admired by Voutche of Dyakovitza, Yanko of\n  Nestopolye and others, 156, 157;\n  the fight for, at Klissoura, 157, 158, 159\n\nKoulin, Ban.\n  Placed on throne of Bosnia, 4\n\nKoumanovo.\n  Famous battlefield on which in 1913 more Turks perished than did\n  Serbians five centuries ago, 175;\n  reference to, as a set-off to Kossovo, 176\n\n\"Kraly.\"\n  Serbian equivalent for king, 198\n\n\"Krgno\" and \"Zelenko.\"\n  Ivan Tzrnoyevitch's two famous guns, 140\n\nKroushevatz.\n  I. Castle in, the residence of Youg Bogdan, 120;\n  II. Castle in, the residence of Tsar Lazar, 129;\n    Tsar Lazar beseeches Zmay-Despot Vook to come to, 131;\n  III. The capital of the vast Serbian Empire during the reign of Tsar\n  Hrebelianovitch at time of famous battle of Kossovo (A.D. 1389), 171;\n    Bosko Yougovitch declares he would not forgo battle of Kossovo\n    for the price of, 171\n\nKroushevo.\n  A plain, over which Zmay of Yastrebatz flies toward the Tsarina's\n  tower, 130;\n  Zmay-Despot Vook reaches, 131\n\nKustandil.\n  Veele ring between Vranya and, mentioned in the Treaty of Berlin, 17\n\n\n\n\nL\n\nLale.\n  The popular appellation of Serbians living in Batchka and Banat, 156\n\nLanguage, Animals'.\n  A Serbian folk-tale dealing with, 230-235\n\nLatins, The.\n  Driven by Serbians toward Adriatic coast, 1\n\nLazar, Knez.\n  Elected ruler of Serbia, 6;\n  makes an alliance with Ban Tvrtko against the Turks, 6, 7;\n  slain by Sultan Amourath, 7\n\nLazar, Tsar.\n  The Tsarina Militza confesses to the embraces of her magic lover,\n  the Zmay of Yastrebatz, 129-133;\n  Zmay-Despot Vook in the wheatfields of, 131\n\nLazarus.\n  I. Of Bethany.\n    Poems recited on the resurrection of, 52.\n  II. Tsar.\n    The Tsarina Militza and, 170-176;\n    his departure to the battlefield of Kossovo, 170-172;\n    his glorious death, 173, 174;\n    historical note regarding, 174-176;\n    reference to Empire lost by, regained under King Peter I, 176\n\nLedyen.\n  Tsar Doushan sends Theodor to King Michael of, 150;\n  Milosh-the-Shepherd pursues champion of the Venetian king to gates\n  of, 162;\n  Milosh rides to perform the second test in the meadow of, 163;\n  Voivode Balatchko ordered to fight Milosh by the king of, 167\n\nLegends.\n  Influence on Southern-Slavonic peoples, of Graeco-Oriental and\n  Christian myths and, 14;\n  influence from Greeks and Romans on Southern-Slavonic, 27-30\n\nLove.\n  Lado, oy, Lado-deh, refrain which is probably the name of the\n  ancient Slavonic Deity of Love, 52\n\nLove.\n  The, of sister for her brother is proverbial in Serbia, 170\n\nLuckless, The River.\n  Mention of, in the Serbian folk-tale \"The Biter Bit,\" 336\n\n\"Lying for a Wager.\"\n  A Serbian folk-tale, 283-287\n\n\n\n\nM\n\nMacedonia.\n  One of the provinces in the Balkan territories, 1\n\nMagyar-s.\n  Prince Marko and, 92-94\n\n\"Maiden, The Bird-.\"\n  A Serbian folk-tale, 280-283\n\n\"Maiden Wiser than the Tsar, The.\"\n  A Serbian folk-tale, 287-291\n\nMarko, Krazyevitch.\n  Pro-claimed himself King of the Serbians;\n  eldest son of King Voukashin, 6, 59;\n  aids Turks against the Christians, 6;\n  killed in battle of Rovina, 6;\n  endowed with superhuman strength, and presented with a wonderful\n  courser, Sharatz, by a veela, 17;\n  his guests on his Slava day, 45;\n  the goussle and exploits of, 57;\n  Queen Helen mother of, 59;\n  traditional son of a veela and a Zmay, 59;\n  the most beloved of Serbian heroes, 59, 60;\n  virtues of, 59;\n  tradition extols him as faithful defender of Prince Ourosh, 61;\n  Serbian belief that he will reappear to reestablish the mediaeval\n  Empire, 64;\n  his supposed appearance at the battle of Prilip (1912), 64, 65;\n  tells whose the Empire shall be, 65-71;\n  cursed by his father, 71;\n  the Moor and, 72-81;\n  the Sultana's dream concerning, 74;\n  wedding tax abolished by, 82-86;\n  Bogdan the Bully and, 87-89;\n  General Voutcha and, 89-94;\n  wedding procession of, 94-100;\n  the Moorish princess and, 100-102;\n  the veela Raviyoyla and, 102-105;\n  the Turkish huntsmen and, 105-108;\n  Moussa Kessedjiya and, 108-114;\n  his death, 115-118\n\nMarra.\n  Alternative, Pepelyouga (Cinderella), 226-229\n\nMarriage.\n  The customs obtaining at Serbian, 32-40\n\nMass, The Holy.\n  Mention of, in Serbian ballad \"The Saints Divide the Treasures,\" 196\n\nMaximus Tzrnoyevitch.\n  See Tzrnoyevitch\n\nMehmed. Turkish Grand Vizier;\n  Vlah-Ali independent of, 121\n\nMethodius.\n  Cyrillos and, the so-called Slavonic apostles who translated the\n  teaching of Christ into the ancient Slav language, 2, 29\n\nMichael. King of Ledyen, father of Princess Roksanda;\n  Tsar Doushan sues for the hand of Roksanda, 150;\n  Theodor reports to the Tsar result of his mission to King of Ledyen,\n  151, 152\n\nMichael, Archangel.\n  Death and, 31;\n  kolyivo not prepared for, 41\n\nMichaylo. Son of Stephen Voislav;\n  obtains title of King from Pope Gregory VII, 3;\n  King Bodin son of, 3\n\nMichel (Serbian Mihaylo). Son of Milosh Obrenovitch;\n  succeeds his father as prince of Serbia, 10\n\nMichel III, Emperor.\n  Mission of Cyrillos and Methodius to, 29\n\nMiddle Ages.\n  \"Banovitch Strahinya,\" one of the finest ballads composed anonymously\n  by Serbian bards during the, 119\n\nMijatovitch, Madame C.\n  Reference to Serbian Folk-lore, by, 305\n\nMilan.\n  Succeeds his cousin Michel as prince of Serbia, 10;\n  war of 1876-8 against Turkey by, 10;\n  acknowledgment of Serbian independence by Treaty of Berlin during\n  rule of, 10;\n  his abdication, 11\n\nMilan of Toplitza.\n  General Voutcha and, 89-94\n\nMilitchevitch.\n  A famous Serbian ethnographist relates incident re a resnik (priest)\n  who read prayers out of the apocrypha of Peroon, 22\n\nMilitza, Tsarina.\n  The Zmay of Yastrebatz and the, 129-133;\n  deceives the Zmay, 130;\n  recognizes Zmay-Despot Vook, 131;\n  Tsar Lazarus and the, 170-176;\n  as her nine brothers Yougovitchs are to accompany Tsar Lazarus to\n  battle on field of Kossovo she pleads for one brother to be left\n  behind with her, 170;\n  her brother Boshko Yougovitch refuses to remain behind, 171;\n  succoured by Golouban, 172;\n  news of battle brought by two ravens to, 172, 173;\n  death of Lazarus and her brothers described by Miloutin, 173, 174\n\nMilosh Obilitch.\n  The Sultan Amourath perishes by the hand of, 7, 175\n\nMilosh Obrenbegovitch, Voivode.\n  Ivan Tzrnoyevitch invites to be the stari-svat in connexion with\n  his son's wedding, 138-149;\n  Maximus Tzrnoyevitch slays, 148;\n  Yovan Obrenbegovitch brother of, 149\n\nMilosh Obrenovitch.\n  Succeeds in re-establishing the Belgrade pashalik, 10;\n  forced to abdicate, 10;\n  restored by the Skoupshtina, 10;\n  his death, 10;\n  Michel son of, 10\n\nMilosh of Potzerye. A Serbian knight;\n  Bogdan the Bully and, 87-89;\n  General Voutcha and, 89-94;\n  the veela Raviyoyla and, 102-105\n\nMilosh-the-Shepherd.\n  The mother of the two Voinovitchs counsels them to send for, 153;\n  his meeting with his two brothers, 154;\n  joins the wedding procession of Tsar Doushan, 155;\n  rides the steed Koulash, 154, 155;\n  his fight for Koulash, 158, 159;\n  he undertakes the first test on behalf of Tsar Doushan, in order\n  to win Roksanda, 160-162;\n  the second test undertaken by, 162, 163;\n  succeeds in the third test, 164;\n  succeeds in the fourth test by discovering the identity of Princess\n  Roksanda, 164-166;\n  his contest with Balatchko, 167-169;\n  Balatchko slain by, 168;\n  discloses his identity to Tsar Doushan, 168\n\nMilosh, Voivode.\n  The veela Raviyoyla wounds, 17;\n  the great Serbian hero who slays the Turkish sultan, Amourath I, 173\n\nMiloutin.\n  I. Dragoutin, his brother, king of Serbia, retires in favour of, 4;\n    one of the most remarkable descendants of Nemanya, 5;\n    Stevan Datchanski son of, 5.\n  II. Servant of Prince Lazarus;\n    relates to Tsarina Militza death of Tsar Lazarus and her nine\n    brothers on field of Kossovo, 173, 174.\n  III. Prince of Ressava;\n    Iconia daughter of, 211-212.\n\nMinister.\n  The treacherous, in the Serbian folk-tale \"Good Deeds Never\n  Perish,\" 294\n\nMirotch.\n  Prince Marko and Milosh of Potzerye ride across the mountain of, 102\n\nMission.\n  Of Cyrillos and Methodius to the Emperor Michel III, 29\n\nMiyatovich, M. Chedo.\n  Personal friend of King Alexander, 11\n\nMohammed.\n  The vizier of Tyoopria undertakes to make Stephan Yakshitch love\n  the creed of, 179\n\nMohammedanism.\n  Prince Maximus and Yovan Obrenbegovitch embrace, 149\n\nMoldavia.\n  Many noble Serbian families take refuge with Christian princes of, 8\n\nMomchilo.\n  Queen Helen, sister of the adventurous knight, 59\n\nMomtchilo, Voivode.\n  Vidossava the lonely consort of, 186;\n  Yaboutchilo the steed of, 187-191;\n  King Voukashin marches an army against, 187;\n  the strange dream of, 189;\n  falls into an ambuscade, 189;\n  his valiant fight, 190;\n  Yevrossima vainly attempts to rescue, 191;\n  the death of, 192;\n  his castle pillaged, 193\n\nMontenegro.\n  Never subdued by Turks, 8;\n  belief in, that each house has its guardian spirit, 18;\n  belief in vampires in, 21, 22;\n  Nicholas I Petrovitch king of, 120;\n  \"The Marriage of Maximus Tzrnoyevitch\" the source of the drama\n  \"The Empress of the Balkans\" by king of, 134;\n  Vladika Danilo Petrovitch, uncle of the present king of, who first\n  assumed the title of Prince as a hereditary one, 184;\n  few instances of treachery in, 185\n\nMoor, The.\n  Wedding tax inflicted by, 82-86\n\nMoorish Chieftain, A.\n  Prince Marko and, 72-80\n\nMorava.\n  The river of, 2;\n  Theodore of Stalatch at, 210\n\nMoravians.\n  Their conversion to Christianity, 29\n\nMoussa Arbanass.\n  See Moussa Kessedjiya\n\nMoussa Kessedjiya.\n  Prince Marko and, 108-114\n\nMouyo.\n  His welfare in the Other World described in the Serbian popular\n  anecdote \"The Era from the Other World,\" 331-333\n\nMrnyavtchevitch.\n  Three brothers who built Skadar (Scutari), 198\n\nMussulman Faith.\n  The vizier of Tyoopria tries to convert Stephan Yakshitch to the, 179\n\nMythology.\n  Giants (djins) in Bulgarian, Croatian, and Slavonian, we owe to\n  the mediaeval cycle of myths, 27, 28\n\nMyths.\n  Influence on Southern-Slavonic peoples of Graeco-Oriental and\n  Christian legends and, 14\n\n\n\n\nN\n\nNaples.\n  Prince Ourosh keeps up friendly relations with French Court of\n  Charles of Anjou in, 119\n\nNaturalism.\n  Ousted from the Serbians by the doctrines of the Great Master, 29, 30\n\nNature.\n  The worship of, by Southern-Slavonic races not adequately studied,\n  14;\n  has not yet vanished from the creed of the Balkans, 30\n\nNedelyko, Archdeacon.\n  King Voukashin summons to the field of Kossovo, 66, 67\n\n\"Neimar.\"\n  Equivalent, architect, 204\n\nNemagnitch.\n  Reference to the glorious dynasty of, 58\n\nNemanya, Stephan. Grand Djoupan;\n  created Duke of Serbia by the Byzantine emperor, 4;\n  Stevan second son of, 4;\n  one of Youg Bogdan's, sons-in-law a direct descendant of, 120\n\nNestopolye, Yanko of.\n  Milosh-the-Shepherd's steed, Koulash, admired by, 157\n\nNew Inn.\n  Prince Marko placed in, to recuperate his strength for his duel\n  with Moussa, 110, 111\n\nNicholas I Petrovitch. King of Montenegro, an indirect descendant\nout of Balshitchi;\n  forced by the Great Powers to evacuate Skadar, 120;\n  Serbian bards improvise ballads to record deeds of, 120;\n  source of inspiration of his drama \"The Empress of the Balkans,\" 134\n\nNicholas, St.\n  Power of controlling ocean, etc., attributed by the Serbians to, 51;\n  mention of, in Serbian ballad \"The Saints Divide the Treasures,\" 195;\n  the seas with the galleys upon them chosen by, 196\n\nNish.\n  Extreme devotion to the Saints practised at, 46\n\nNovak.\n  A famous maker of swords, 111;\n  makes a sword for Prince Marko, 111, 112\n\nNovi Bazar.\n  The pasha of, one of the leaders in the assault on Belgrade, 177-184;\n  the vizier of Tyoopria wishes to have Stephan Yakshitch appointed\n  vizier of, 180;\n  Stephan Yakshitch's life redeemed by the vizier of, 180\n\n\n\n\nO\n\nObrenbegovitch, Mehmed-Bey.\n  Turkish alternative for Yovan Obrenbegovitch, 149\n\nObrenovitch III, Prince Michel.\n  The Serbian legend of \"A Pavilion neither in the Sky nor on the\n  Earth,\" contributed to Vouk Stephanovitch Karadgitch by, 220\n\nObugagn Greb.\n  Name borne by the grave of Governor Obuganitch, in Konavla, 27\n\nOdyssey.\n  Reference to, 54\n\nOgnyena Maria (Mary the Fiery One).\n  Serbian peasants believe her to be the sister of the god Peroon\n  (St. Elias), 15\n\nOld Serbia.\n  One of the provinces in the Balkan territories, 1\n\nOossood.\n  A veela who pronounced the destiny of Serbian infants, 18\n\nOttoman Generals.\n  Mediaeval history of Serbia contains many instances of malcontents\n  who became tools in hands of, 174, 175\n\nOttoman Invasion.\n  Ourosh and his nobles pave the way for the, 5\n\nOttoman Statesmen.\n  Historical note re the cunning efforts of, to seduce malcontents\n  from their allegiance to their rightful lords at the Courts of the\n  Christian princes of the Balkans, 184, 185\n\nOuglesha.\n  Inheritance of the Empire disputed by, 65, 70\n\nOurosh.\n  Younger son of Doushan the Powerful, 5;\n  Voukashin's bad faith toward, 61;\n  inheritance of the Empire disputed by, 65-71;\n  Marko blessed by, 71\n\nOurosh, Prince.\n  Belonged to the Nemanya dynasty, 119;\n  Helen (a princess of the house de Courtenay) wife of, 119;\n  maintained friendly relations with the French Court of Charles of\n  Anjou in Naples through his wife, 119\n\nOurosh the Great.\n  Dethrones his brother Vladislav, 4;\n  dethroned by his son Dragoutin, 4\n\nOurvinian Mountain.\n  Prince Marko's death on, 115-118\n\n\n\n\nP\n\nPadishah (Sultan).\n  Marko fears his foes will calumniate him to, 107;\n  Vlah-Ali the rebel of the, 123;\n  Stephan Yakshitch taken before the, 178;\n  Stephan Yakshitch tempted to abjure the Holy Cross by, 178\n\nPaganism.\n  The religion and the, of the Serbians, 14-53;\n  only partially abolished from the Balkans, 30\n\nPalm Sunday.\n  Serbian festivities on, 52\n\nPanthelias, St.\n  Mention of, in Serbian ballad \"The Saints Divide the Treasures,\" 195;\n  great heats chosen by, 196\n\nPaul.\n  One of the brothers in the Serbian ballad \"The Stepsisters,\" 206-210\n\n\"Pavilion neither in the Sky nor on the Earth, A.\"\n  A Serbian legend, 220-224\n\n\"Pea-hens, The Nine.\"\n  A Serbian folk-tale, 267-280\n\n\"Pepelyouga\" (Cinderella).\n  A Serbian legend, 226-230;\n  alternative name of, Marra, 226-229\n\nPeroon.\n  The Russian God of Thunder, 15;\n  name preserved in village \"Peroon,\" and in plant \"Peroonika,\" 15\n\nPeter I, King. Son of Alexandre Karageorgevitch;\n  his glorious rule, 11;\n  George Petrovitch grandfather of, 175;\n  Empire lost by Tsar Lazarus regained under, 176\n\nPeter II.\n  Archbishop of Montenegro, and belief in vampires, 22\n\nPeter, St.\n  Mention of, in Serbian ballad \"The Saints Divide the Treasures,\" 195;\n  wine, wheat and the Keys of the Heavenly Empire chosen by, 196;\n  \"St. Peter and the Sand,\" a Serbian popular anecdote, 362\n\nPetrovitch, George. Turkish designation Karageorge ('Black George').\n  A gifted Serbian who led a successful insurrection against the\n  Turks in 1804, 9, 175;\n  cruelly assassinated by order of Milosh, 10\n\nPetrovitch, Nicholas I.\n  See Nicholas\n\nPetrovitch, Peter. The popular Serbian poet;\n  reference to his masterpiece on Gorsky Viyenatz (\"The Mountain\n  Wreath\"), 56\n\nPetrovitch, Vladika Danilo. Uncle of present king of Montenegro;\n  first assumed the title of Prince as a hereditary one, 184\n\nPirlitor. Alternative, Piritor.\n  The white city opposite the mountain Dourmitor, the walls of the\n  castle of which it is said still exist in Herzegovina, 186;\n  Vidossava punished by the castle, 193\n\nPisistrate's Epoch.\n  The learned Diascevastes of, 54\n\nPleiades.\n  Serbian equivalent, Sedmoro Bratye ('The Seven Brothers'), 22\n\nPodgoritza.\n  Captain Yovan's five hundred men of, 139\n\nPoetry, Epic.\n  The Serbian national, 54-58\n\nPogatcha.\n  The Serbian wedding cake, 38\n\nPolaznik.\n  A Serbian visitor, 50\n\nPope, The.\n  Stevan Tomashevitch fails to get help from, 8\n\nPoretch. The district of;\n  Milo and Milosh arrive at, 105\n\nPorphyrogenete, Constantine.\n  According to, the Serbians adopted the Christian faith at two\n  different periods, 28\n\nPotzerye, Milosh of.\n  Bogdan the Bully and, 87-89;\n  General Voutcha and, 89-94;\n  the veela Raviyoyla and, 102-105\n\nPredestination.\n  Serbians believe in immortality and, 18\n\nPriepolye.\n  A youth from, admires Milosh-the-Shepherd's steed, Koulash, 157\n\n\"Priest, The, why drowned.\"\n  A Serbian popular anecdote, 364\n\nPrilip.\n  Serbian belief that Prince Marko is asleep in castle at, 64;\n  Prince Marko's appearance at battle of, in November, 1912, 64;\n  Archdeacon Nedelyko bids the four tabors appeal to Marko at, 67;\n  the Sultana's dream concerning, 74;\n  Milosh sends a messenger to, 90;\n  Marko imprisons Voutcha and Velimir in, 93, 94\n\nPrisrend.\n  Theodor arrives at, and reports to Tsar Doushan the result of his\n  mission, 151, 152;\n  Tsar Doushan's return to, 168\n\nPtolemy.\n  Greek geographer, describes the Serbians, 1\n\n\n\n\nQ\n\nQuests.\n  The, of the three sons in the Serbian folk-tale \"He whom God helps\n  no one can harm,\" 300-305\n\n\n\n\nR\n\nRado.\n  The architect (neimar) who builds Skadar, 200-205\n\nRadool.\n  One of the brothers in the Serbian ballad \"The Stepsisters,\" 206-210\n\nRadoslav. Son of Stevan, becomes King of Serbia;\n  deposed by his brother Vladislav, 4\n\nRadoul-bey.\n  A Turkish lord, the supposed master of Milosh-the-Shepherd, 155\n\nRagusa.\n  Many noble Serbian families find a safe refuge in, 8\n\n\"Ram with the Golden Fleece, The.\"\n  A Serbian folk-lore story, 213-220\n\nRashka.\n  Name of the independent State that Djoupan Vlastimir attempted to\n  form, 2;\n  Tsar Simeon invades, to support Djoupan Tchaslav, 2;\n  overpowered by Byzantine Empire, 3\n\nRastislav, Prince.\n  Cyrillos and Methodius entrusted with a mission to Emperor Michel\n  III by, 29\n\nRaviyoyla, Veela.\n  Prince Marko all but slays the, 17;\n  the story of Prince Marko and, 102-105\n\nReligion.\n  Paganism and the, of the Serbians, 14-53;\n  naturalism and the Serbians, 29, 30\n\nRelya of Bazar. A Serbian knight;\n  Bogdan the Bully and, 87\n\nRenaissance.\n  The Serbian poets of Ragusa made frequent reference during the,\n  to nymphs and dryads as 'Veele,' 16\n\n\"Resnik.\"\n  A proper name in Serbia, etc., which means \"the one who is searching\n  for truth,\" 24\n\nRessava.\n  Theodore of Stalatch wanders by river of, and sees Iconia, 210, 211\n\nRoksanda, Princess. Daughter of King Michael of Ledyen;\n  Tsar Doushan sues for hand of, 150;\n  the four tests undertaken by Milosh-the-Shepherd on behalf of Tsar\n  Doushan in order to win, 160-166\n\nRonceval.\n  Reference to the French troubadour's ballad of battle at, in\n  comparison with the method of elaboration employed in connexion with\n  \"King Voukashin's Marriage,\" 193, 194\n\nRoumania.\n  Battle of Rovina in, 6\n\nRovina.\n  Marko killed in battle of, 6\n\nRussians.\n  Funeral customs among the, 26, 27\n\n\n\n\nS\n\nSacrificial Rites.\n  The exact terminology of well-known, from translations of the Greek\n  legends of the Saints, 24;\n  legends of human, among Russians, Polapic Slavs, Serbians, etc., 25\n\nSt. Elias (Elijah).\n  Serbian peasants believe that the god Peroon still lives in the\n  person of, 15;\n  kolyivo not prepared for, 41;\n  mention of, in Serbian ballad \"The Saints Divide the Treasures,\" 195;\n  comforts Beata Maria, 196\n\nSt. George's Day. Serbian equivalent, Dyourdyev Dan.\n  Strange sorceries practised on, 33, 53\n\nSt. John.\n  The princess appeals to Prince Marko in name of, 75, 76;\n  the veela Raviyoyla appeals to Marko by memory of, 104;\n  mention of, in Serbian ballad \"The Saints Divide the Treasures,\" 195;\n  brotherhood, koomhood, and the Holy Cross chosen by, 196\n\nSt. Nicholas.\n  Power of controlling ocean, etc., attributed by the Serbians to, 51;\n  mention of, in Serbian ballad \"The Saints Divide the Treasures,\" 195\n\nSt. Panthelias.\n  Mention of, in Serbian ballad \"The Saints Divide the Treasures,\" 195;\n  great heats chosen by, 196\n\nSt. Peter.\n  Mention of, in Serbian ballad \"The Saints Divide the Treasures,\" 195;\n  wine, wheat, and the Keys of the Heavenly Empire chosen by, 196\n\n\"Saints Divide the Treasures, The.\"\n  Serbian ballad, 195-197;\n  \"The Sand and,\" a Serbian popular anecdote, 362\n\nSalonica.\n  The Slav apostles of, Cyrillos and Methodius two of, 29\n\nSamodrezja.\n  White church of, on field of Kossovo, 65;\n  Marko chased by Voukashin round church of, 70, 71\n\nSand \"St. Peter and the.\"\n  A Serbian popular anecdote, 362\n\nSava.\n  Youngest son of Grand Djoupan Stephan Nemanya, 4;\n  becomes first Servian archbishop, 4\n\nScutari. Modern alternative for Skadar. See Skadar.\n  Sir John Bowring and the token on the walls of, confirming the\n  story of Goiko's wife being immured, 205\n\nSea.\n  The Saints divide the treasures of, 195-197\n\nSerb-s.\n  The coming of the, 1;\n  Prince Ourosh seeks to promote an alliance between the French\n  and, 119\n\nSerbia.\n  Use of the solecism Servia in English language, 1;\n  one of the kingdoms in the Balkan territories, 1;\n  ruled by dynasty founded by Grand Djoupan Stephan Nemanya, 3, 4;\n  Stevan assumes title of King of, 4;\n  Bulgaria a province of, 5;\n  Doushan the Powerful Tsar of, 5;\n  Knez Lazar elected ruler of, 6;\n  fresh subjugation of, in year 1813, 9;\n  Treaty of Berlin acknowledges independence of, 10, 11;\n  Princess Roksanda's excellence unmatched throughout, 152;\n  the love of a sister for her brother is proverbial in, 170\n\nSerbian-s.\n  Galicia occupied by, prior to their incursion into the Balkan\n  Peninsula, 1;\n  described by Ptolemy as living on banks of Don, 1;\n  Heraclius cedes provinces to the, 1;\n  an easy prey to the Byzantines, the Bulgars, and the Francs, 2;\n  attempt to form a State on banks of River Morava in ninth century, 2;\n  nation hindered by internecine strife from becoming a powerful\n  political unit, 3;\n  church, Sava obtains autonomy of, 4;\n  archbishop, Sava becomes the first, 4;\n  lands occupied by the Turks, 6;\n  struggle between Turks and, 7;\n  final defeat of, 8;\n  emigration of, to Hungary, 8;\n  superstitious beliefs of, and national customs, 13-53;\n  mixed with the indigenous population of the Balkan Peninsula, 13;\n  the Boshnyaks considered the most typical, 13;\n  bards, the Veele glorified by, 16;\n  national customs of the, 31-53;\n  national epic poetry, 54-58;\n  \"Banovitch Strahinya\" one of the finest ballads composed by anonymous\n  bards during Middle Ages, 119;\n  the departure of, from Ledyen, bearing Princess Roksanda, 166;\n  \"People, Why Poor,\" a Serbian popular anecdote, 362\n\n\"Servian Popular Poetry.\"\n  Sir John Bowring's, quotations of three poems from, 198-212\n\nShar.\n  The mountain where Milosh-the-Shepherd tarried with his flocks, 153\n\nSharatz (Piebald).\n  Prince Marko's wonderful courser, 17, 57;\n  story how Marko became possessed of the wonderful steed, 61-65;\n  alternatives, Sharin or Sharo, 62;\n  Marko rides to Kossovo, 68, 69;\n  prepared for fight against a Moor, 76;\n  Marko rides, to Istamboul, 76, 77;\n  Bedevia and, 79, 80, 81;\n  Marko rides, in his conflict with the Moor to abolish his wedding\n  tax, 82-86;\n  how Marko escaped Bogdan the Bully on, 87;\n  Marko attacks General Voutcha on, 91-94;\n  Marko flees from Moorish princes on, 102;\n  the veela Raviyoyla overtaken by, 103, 104;\n  Marko pursues the Turkish Grand Vizir on, 106;\n  Marko rides forth on, to meet Moussa, 112;\n  Marko returns triumphantly to the Sultan at Istamboul on, 114;\n  Marko slays and buries, 116, 117\n\nShishman, King.\n  Marko and daughter of, 95-97\n\nSimeon. A Bulgarian Tsar;\n  Rashka invaded by, 2\n\nSirmia.\n  I. One of the kingdoms in the Balkan territories, 1;\n    Dragoutin king of, 5.\n  II. A plain containing village of Koopinovo, in which Zmay-Despot\n  Vook lived, 130.\n\nSitnitza.\n  Strahinya beholds supposed tent of Vlah-Ali from the banks of, 122;\n  Banovitch crosses the river, 124;\n  Ban Strahinya's death by the streamlet, 174\n\nSkadar or Skadra. Modern alternative, Scutari;\n  birthplace of Prince Marko, 59;\n  the capital of Northern Albania, where Strashimir\n  Balshitch-Nemanyitch reigned (1360-1370), 119;\n  the capital of Zeta (the Montenegro of modern times), 120;\n  name derived from the Italian appellation Scodra, otherwise Scutari,\n  198;\n  belonged to Serbians from time immemorial, 198;\n  Serbian ballad \"The Building of,\" 198-205;\n  on river Boyana, 186\n\nSkoupshtina, The (National Assembly).\n  Milosh restored by, 10;\n  elects King Peter I, 11\n\nSlav-s.\n  Language, teachings of Christ translated into, by Cyrillos and\n  Methodius, 2;\n  apostles, Cyrillos and Methodius two of, 29;\n  explanation of conquest of Ottoman generals over the Balkan, 175\n\nSlava. Alternative, Krsno Ime.\n  The Serbian tutelary Saint-day, 40-46\n\nSlavonic Races.\n  Paganism and religion of, 14-53;\n  influence of Graeco-Oriental myths and legends, Illyrian and Roman\n  propaganda, Christian legends and apocryphal writings, on the, 14;\n  remains of idols of the Sun god 'Daybog' among the, 16\n\nSouthern Slavs.\n  At first the Christian faith spread only superficially, 28;\n  life of, interwoven with superstition, 30-53;\n  national customs of, 31-53;\n  allusion to frescoes illustrating duel between Marko and Moussa on\n  tavern walls in villages of, 108\n\nSpirits, Good and Evil.\n  Serbian belief in, 18, 22\n\nSredoi. A kinsman of George Irene;\n  Iconia promised to, for Irene, 211\n\nStalatch.\n  A ruined fortress on the banks of the river Morava, 210;\n  Theodore of, 210\n\nStamboul.\n  Mediaeval history of Serbia contains many instances of malcontents\n  going to, and becoming tools of Ottoman generals, 174, 175;\n  return in triumph of the vizier of Tyoopria to, 178\n\n\"Steel, True.\"\n  The Serbian folk-tale of \"Bash Tchelik\" or, 247-267\n\nStefan Strematz.\n  The celebrated Serbian novelist, and Slava customs, 46\n\n\"Stepmother and her Step-Daughter, The.\"\n  A Serbian folk-tale, 235-240\n\n\"Stepsisters, The.\"\n  A Serbian ballad from Sir John Bowring's Servian Popular Poetry,\n  206-210\n\nStevan.\n  Second son of Grand Djoupan Stephan Nemanya, 3, 4;\n  on abdication of his father he assumes title of King of Servia, 4;\n  Radoslav son of, 4\n\nStevan Detchanski. Miloutin's son;\n  by victory at Velbouzd brings whole of Bulgaria under his sway, 5;\n  dethroned by Doushan, 5\n\nStevan Tomashevitch.\n  King of Bosnia, 8\n\nStoyan and Stoyana.\n  Twins whom it was attempted to immure in the foundation of Skadar,\n  198-205\n\nStrahinya, Banovitch.\n  Serbian bards improvise ballads to tell story of Nicholas I\n  Petrovitch just as their ancestors recorded exploits of, 120;\n  Vlah-Ali attacks castle and captures wife of, 120-128;\n  slays Vlah-Ali and returns to Kroushevatz, 128\n\nStrashimir Balshitch-Nemanyitch.\n  Some Serbian historians believe identical with Banovitch Strahinya,\n  119;\n  a descendant of the old Provencal family of des Baux, 119;\n  reigned conjointly with two brothers in Skadar, the capital of\n  Northern Albania (1360-1370), 119\n\nStrength.\n  The secret of Bash Tchelik's, 266\n\nStrhigna, Ban.\n  Tsarina Militza and death of, 173\n\nSublime Porte.\n  Accepts Milosh as hereditary Prince of Serbia, 10\n\n\"Suitors, The Three.\"\n  A Servian folk-tale, 316-322\n\nSun and Moon.\n  Serbian beliefs regarding eclipses recall Norse belief of a similar\n  nature, 19\n\nSun-God.\n  Pagan sacrifices to, in Serbia, 49\n\nSunday.\n  Veela discountenances fighting on, 17, 113, 114\n\nSuperstition.\n  Christianity and, in the Balkans, 30\n\n\"Svati\" (or svatovi).\n  Serbian equivalent for wedding guests, 32\n\nSvetchar.\n  The chief man of the family in connexion with the Slava, 40, 42\n\nSvetopluk, Prince.\n  Cyrillos and Methodius entrusted with a mission to Emperor Michel\n  III by, 29\n\nSword.\n  Novak makes a celebrated one for Prince Marko, 111, 112\n\n\n\n\nT\n\nTarra.\n  The river, 186\n\nTasks, The Three.\n  Named in the Serbian ballad \"The Ram with the Golden Fleece,\" 213-220\n\nTchardack.\n  A Turkish word signifying a tower provided with balconies, 129\n\nTchaslav. The Djoupan of a Serbian tribe;\n  claims the Rashka State, 2;\n  wrests also the territories of Zetta, Trebinye, Neretva, and Housa,\n  2, 3\n\nTchile. Diminutive for Yaboutchilo.\n  The steed of Voivode Momtchilo, 186-191\n\nTekiye.\n  Allusion to the church at, 93\n\nTheodor. Tsar Doushan's Councillor of State;\n  sent to sue for hand of Roksanda, daughter of King Michael of\n  Ledyen, 150;\n  reports result of his mission, 151, 152;\n  his inability to undergo the fourth test in order to win Princess\n  Roksanda, 164, 165\n\nTheodore of Stalatch.\n  Hero in the Serbian ballad \"The Abduction of the Beautiful Iconia,\"\n  210-212;\n  Dobrivoy servant of, 211\n\nThracians, The.\n  Driven by Serbians toward Adriatic coast, 1\n\nThunderer, The.\n  Appellation for St. Elias, 196\n\nTimok.\n  River of, crossed by Marko and Milosh, 105\n\nToasts.\n  The Slava and, 44\n\nToplitza, Milan of.\n  General Voutcha and, 89-94\n\n\"Trade, A, before Everything.\"\n  A Serbian popular anecdote, 366-369\n\n\"Trade that no one Knows, The.\"\n  A Serbian folk-tale, 340-353\n\nTrajan, Emperor.\n  Confused in the Balkans with the Greek King Midas, 27;\n  confused in Serbian legends with Daedalus, 27\n\nTravnik.\n  The city of, 179\n\nTreachery.\n  Vook Brankovitch's, against Knez Lazar, 7\n\nTreasures, \"The Saints Divide the,\" 195-197\n\nTreaty of Berlin.\n  The famous, acknowledged the independence of Serbia during the rule\n  of Milan, 10, 11;\n  mention of a Veele ring in the, 17\n\n\"Tsar, The Maiden Wiser Than The.\"\n  Serbian folk-tale, 287-291\n\nTurk-s.\n  Reference to campaigns between Christians and, 6;\n  struggle between Serbians and, 7;\n  final success of, 8;\n  almost driven from Europe under glorious rule of King Peter I, 11;\n  abhorred by the Veele, 17;\n  defeat of, on battlefields of Koumanovo, Monastir, Prilip, Prizrend,\n  Kirk-Kilisse and Scutari, 54;\n  sought and attacked by Banovitch on field of Kossovo, 121-128;\n  Prince Maximus and Yovan Obrenbegovitch become, 149;\n  Belgrade assailed by a great host of, 177-184;\n  Stephan Yakshitch resists the temptation to become a, 179-182;\n  historical note re the cunning efforts of, to seduce malcontents\n  from their allegiance to their rightful lords at courts of the\n  Christian princes of the Balkans, 184, 185\n\nTurkish Atrocities.\n  Their culmination reached in seventeenth century, 9\n\nTurkish Huntsmen, The.\n  Prince Marko and, 105-108\n\nTurkish Rule.\n  The miseries of, 8, 9\n\nTvrtko, Ban. Of Bosnia;\n  alliance against the Turks between Knez Lazar and, 6\n\n\"Twins, The Golden-Haired.\"\n  A Serbian folk-tale, 353-361\n\nTyoopria.\n  I. Vizier of;\n    one of the leaders in the assault on Belgrade, 177-183;\n    Stephan Yakshitch led as prisoner to, 178;\n    kindness of, to Stephan Yakshitch, 178-180;\n    his return in triumph to Stamboul, 178;\n    his wish to make Stephan Yakshitch vizier of Novi Bazar, 180.\n  II. Castle of, the vizier of Tyoopria offers to retain Stephan\n  Yakshitch as prisoner in, 179.\n\nTyouprilitch, Grand Vizir.\n  Undertakes a campaign against Moussa, 108;\n  Moussa takes prisoner and sends ignominiously bound to Istamboul,\n  108, 109;\n  advises Sultan to send for Prince Marko, 109\n\nTyoupriya.\n  Modern alternative for Horea Margi, 2\n\n\"Tzechin.\"\n  A golden coin worth about ten shillings, 240\n\nTzigan-s.\n  Serbian equivalent for gipsies, 36, 363;\n  their main occupation is stealing and selling horses, 363\n\nTzrnoyevitch, Ivan.\n  Sails across the Adriatic to Venice to secure wife for his son\n  Maximus, 134;\n  sails for Zablak, 135;\n  Zdral steed of, 135;\n  invites Voivode Milosh Obrenbegovitch to be the stari-svat in\n  connexion with his son's wedding, 138-149;\n  invites Captain Yovan to the wedding of his son, 139;\n  Krgno and Zelenko, two famous guns of, 140\n\nTzrnoyevitch, Maximus.\n  The marriage of, 134-149;\n  son of Ivan Tzrnoyevitch, 134;\n  stricken with small-pox, 135;\n  Yovan in a dream sees a falling tower strike, 139;\n  Milosh Obrenbegovitch slain by, 148;\n  Turkish alternative, Scanderbeg Ivanbegovitch, 149;\n  Scutari on river Boyana granted to, by Sultan, 149\n\n\n\n\nU\n\nUglesha-Voivode.\n  Second of three brothers who built Skadar (Scutari), 198-205\n\n\n\n\nV\n\nValahia.\n  Many noble Serbian families take refuge with Christian princes of, 8\n\nVampires.\n  The belief in, universal throughout the Balkans, 21, 22\n\nVaradin, Fort.\n  Guns of, signal General Voutcha's triumph, 89;\n  Prince Marko on the plain before, 91, 92;\n  Marko sends Voutcha and Velimir to, 94\n\nVasso. The igouman (abbot) of Mount Athos;\n  finds the body of Marko and mourns his death, 118;\n  Issaya the deacon of, 118\n\nVassoye, Land of.\n  Momtchilo dreams that a cloud of fog from, wraps itself round\n  Dourmitor mountain, 189\n\nVeela.\n  Marko endued with superhuman strength by a, 17;\n  presented with Sharatz by a, 17;\n  Raviyoyla a, allusion to incident of Marko and, 17;\n  Oossood a, who pronounced the destiny of Serbian infants, 18;\n  Raviyoyla and Marko, 102-105;\n  Marko calls for aid from his sister-in-God the, 113, 114;\n  Marko hears the call of the, on the top of Ourvinian mountain,\n  115-118\n\nVeele or Vile (singular, Veela or Vila).\n  Minor deities in Serbian superstition identical with the nymphai\n  and potami mentioned by the Greek historian Procope, 16-18;\n  Stephan Yakshitch and a, 177;\n  Skadra's fortress and the, 198;\n  the prince and the, in the Serbian folk-tale \"The Dream of the\n  King's Son,\" 324, 325\n\nVelbouzd.\n  Famous battle of, 5\n\nVeless. The city of;\n  derived name from Russian God of Cattle, Volos, 15\n\nVelessnitza. A village on the lower Danube;\n  derived name from the Russian God of Cattle, Volos, 15\n\nVelimir. Son of General Voutcha;\n  Marko and, 91-94\n\nVenetian King.\n  The four tests put by the, to Tsar Doushan in order to win the\n  Princess Roksanda, 160-166\n\nVenetian Land.\n  Tsar Doushan journeys to the, 152\n\nVenetians, The.\n  Their cunning known from ancient times, 152, 153\n\nVenice.\n  Maximus Tzrnoyevitch's wedding and, 140, 142\n\nVenice, Doge of.\n  Marko invites to act as koom the, 96-100;\n  Ivan Tzrnoyevitch asks daughter of, in marriage for his son Maximus,\n  134-149\n\nVidal, Pierre. A French troubadour;\n  Donna Azalais de Baux his patroness, 33\n\nVidin, The Pasha of.\n  One of the leaders in the assault on Belgrade, 177-184\n\nVidossava. The lonely consort of Voivode Momtchilo;\n  letter sent secretly to, by King Voukashin, 186;\n  the treachery of, 187;\n  destroys wings of steed Yaboutchilo, 188;\n  her punishment, 192, 193\n\nVienna.\n  Vouk Stephanovitch-Karadgitch's first collection of Serbian national\n  poems published at, 54\n\nVilindar.\n  Vasso the Abbot of Mount Athos rides from the white church of, 118;\n  Prince Marko's body interred within the white church of, 118\n\nVladika.\n  Meaning in Serbian, 'bishop,' 184\n\nVladislav.\n  Radoslav dethroned by, 4;\n  Ourosh the Great dethrones, 4\n\nVlah-Ali.\n  A haughty chieftain who attacks Strahinya's castle and captures\n  his wife, 120-128;\n  independent of the Grand Vizir Mehmed and of Sultan Amourath, 121;\n  Strahinya seeks out and attacks, 121-128;\n  his slaying by Banovitch, 128\n\nVlastela (Assembly of Nobles).\n  Doushan the Powerful proclaimed Tsar of Serbia in agreement with, 5\n\nVlastimir, Djoupan (Great).\n  Attempts to form an independent State, 2\n\nVo or Voll.\n  Equivalent, Ox, 15. See Volos\n\nVoinovitch, Milosh, Prince.\n  Identical with Milosh-the Shepherd, 168, 169\n\nVoinovitch, Petrashin.\n  Nephew of Tsar Doushan, 151;\n  Doushan swears to hang, 152;\n  Milosh-the-Shepherd brother of, 153, 154\n\nVoinovitch, Voukashin.\n  Nephew of Tsar Doushan, 151;\n  Doushan swears to hang, 152;\n  Milosh-the-Shepherd brother of, 153, 154\n\nVoislav, Stephen.\n  Ruler of Zetta, son of Dragomir, declares his independence and\n  appropriates Zahoumlye (Hertzegovina), 3\n\nVoivode.\n  As a title of nobility corresponds to English 'Duke,' 7\n\nVoivode, Balatchko the.\n  The contest with Milosh-the-Shepherd, 167-169;\n  Milosh slays, 168\n\nVolos. The Russian God of Cattle;\n  derivative appears in the Serbian word vo or voll ('ox'), 15\n\nVook, Zmay-Despot.\n  The Zmay of Yastrebatz and, 130-133;\n  fear of Zmay of Yastrebatz of, 130;\n  village of Koopinovo on plain of Sirmia, his abode, 130;\n  his fight with Zmay of Yastrebatz, 131, 132;\n  the Zmay slain by, 132;\n  ruled over Sirmia, 132\n\nVouk Stephanovitch-Karadgitch.\n  Serbian national poet, 54, 55;\n  takes down from lips of Serbian bard the ballad of \"The Marriage\n  of King Voukashin,\" 193;\n  records the belief of the Serbian people that no great building\n  can be successfully erected without immuring some human being, 205;\n  Serbian legend \"A Pavilion neither in the Sky nor on the Earth,\"\n  contributed by Prince Michel Obrenovitch III to, 220\n\nVoukashin, King.\n  Defeated by Ourosh on banks of river Maritza, 6;\n  Prince Marko son of, 59;\n  Serbian ballads sing of, 60;\n  the bad faith of, toward Emperor Doushan, 61;\n  disputes the inheritance of the Empire, 65-71;\n  curses Marko, 71;\n  the marriage of, 186-194;\n  vassal king to the Emperor Doushan the Powerful, 186;\n  writes a book (letter) to Vidossava and dispatches it to Herzegovina,\n  186;\n  on the advice of Vidossava he marches a large force to Herzegovina\n  against Momtchilo, 187-192;\n  his woe concerning the death of Momtchilo, 192;\n  weds Yevrossima 192;\n  Marko and Andrias born to, 193;\n  historical note on, 193, 194\n\nVoutcha, General.\n  Prince Marko and, 89-94\n\nVoutche of Dyakovitza.\n  Admires the steed Koulash, 157\n\nVoutchitrn, Castle of.\n  Tsar Doushan swears to hang his nephews, the Voinovitchs, on the\n  gates of the, 152;\n  Tsar Doushan's wedding procession passes by walls of, 152;\n  Milosh takes farewell of Tsar Doushan in order to return to, 168\n\nVoyages.\n  The three, of the good son in the Serbian folk-tale \"Good Deeds\n  Never Perish,\" 291-299\n\nVrzino (or Vilino) Kollo.\n  Dance rings of the Veele, 17\n\nVukashin Kraly.\n  Eldest of three brothers who built Skadar (Scutari), 198-205\n\n\n\n\nW\n\n\"Wager, Lying for a.\"\n  A Serbian folk-tale, 283-287\n\nWedding Procession.\n  The, in the Serbian folk-tale \"The Biter Bit,\" 333\n\nWedding Tax.\n  Prince Marko abolishes, 82-86\n\nWhitsuntide.\n  Serbian festivities during, 52\n\nWitch-es (veshtitze).\n  Female evil spirits, who are irreconcilably hostile to men and\n  children, 20, 21;\n  the old, in the Serbian folk-tale \"The Bird-Maiden,\" 281-283\n\nWorship.\n  Of the sun and moon, 22;\n  of fire and lightning, 22;\n  of animals, 22, 23;\n  of snakes, 23;\n  of the dragon--that of Southern Slavs contrasted with that of the\n  Hellenes, 23\n\nWrath of God, The.\n  Mention of, in Serbian ballad \"The Saints Divide the Treasures,\" 197\n\n\n\n\nY\n\nYaboutchilo (diminutive, Tchile).\n  The steed of Voivode Momtchilo, 187-191;\n  Momtchilo reproaches, 190\n\nYahorika.\n  Demitrius Yakshitch rests by river, 178\n\nYakshitch, Demitrius. Brother of Stephan Yakshitch;\n  the Veela's warning to, 177;\n  his remorse by the river Yahorika, 178\n\nYakshitch, Stephan.\n  The captivity and marriage of (a ballad of Montenegro), 177-185;\n  Demitrius the brother of, 177;\n  the veela's warning to, 177;\n  taken prisoner and led to the presence of the Vizier of Tyoopria,\n  178;\n  led to the presence of the mighty Padishah, 178;\n  the Padishah tempts him to renounce the Holy Cross, 179;\n  declines the \"water of oblivion\" offered by Haykoona, 181, 182;\n  Haykoona confesses her real love for, and enables him to escape,\n  182, 183\n\nYanissaries.\n  The pasha of Novi Bazar in the assault on Belgrade brings twenty\n  thousand fierce, 177\n\nYanko of Nestopolye.\n  Admires the steed Koulash, 157\n\nYastrebatz, the Zmay of.\n  The Tsarina Militza and, 129-133;\n  his fear of Zmay-Despot Vook, 130;\n  Vook attacks and slays, 131, 132\n\nYedrenet. Equivalent, Adrianople.\n  Prince Marko received by the Sultan at, 107, 108\n\nYelitza.\n  Sister of Paul and Radool, in the Serbian ballad \"The Stepsisters,\"\n  207-210\n\nYesdimir.\n  The aged brother of the doge of Venice, 143\n\nYevrossima (Euphrosyne).\n  I. Alternative name for Queen Helen, mother of Prince Marko, 59, 67.\n  II. Sister of Voivode Momtchilo, 187;\n    vainly attempts to rescue her brother Momtchilo, 191;\n    King Voukashin weds, to whom she bears Marko and Andrias, 193;\n    historical note on, 193, 194\n\nYoug Bogdan.\n  Aged father-in-law of Banovitch, 120;\n  visited by Banovitch, 120, 121;\n  castle in Kroushevatz the residence of, 120;\n  Strahinya returns to, after his slaying of Vlah-Ali, 128;\n  Tsarina Militza and death of, 173\n\nYougovitch-s.\n  I. The nine brothers-in-law of Strahinya;\n    Strahinya urges them not to slay their sister, 128.\n  II. The nine brothers of Tsarina Militza, 170-174\n\nYovan, Captain.\n  Ivan Tzrnoyevitch invites, to the wedding of his son, 139-149\n\nYovan Obrenbegovitch.\n  Brother of Milosh Obrenbegovitch, 149;\n  meets Prince Maximus, 149;\n  Turkish alternative Mehmed-Bey Obrenbegovitch, 149;\n  plain of Ducadyin given as fief to, 149\n\nYovo.\n  Infant son of Goiko, 204, 205\n\n\n\n\nZ\n\nZablak.\n  Ivan Tzrnoyevitch sails for, 135;\n  wedding attendants invited by Ivan Tzrnoyevitch encamp on plain\n  of, 139;\n  Yovan in a dream beholds fire consume the beautiful capital of, 139;\n  Milosh to escort Maximus' bride to, 141, 144\n\n\"Zadrooga.\"\n  Designation of Serbian family associations, 13, 14\n\nZagorye.\n  Mountain on which Milosh-the-Shepherd overtakes wedding procession\n  of Tsar Doushan, 155\n\nZagreb (Agram).\n  Croatians had established an episcopate at, as early as the eleventh\n  century, 14\n\nZahoumlye (Herzegovina).\n  Appropriated by Stephen Voislav, 3\n\nZdral.\n  Steed of Ivan Tzrnoyevitch, 135, 140, 142\n\n\"Zelenko\" and \"Krgno.\"\n  Ivan Tzrnoyevitch's two famous guns, 140\n\nZemlyitch, Styepan.\n  Accompanies the doge of Venice, who acts as Marko's koom, 96-100\n\nZeta.\n  The Montenegro of modern times, Skadar the capital of, 119, 120\n\nZetina.\n  Waters of, stirred by explosion of Ivan Tzrnoyevitch's guns, 140\n\nZmay.\n  The Serbian word for dragon, 129;\n  the, of Yastrebatz, and the Tsarina Militza, 129\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNOTES\n\n\n[1] This was written one month before an even more critical situation\nconfronted the Serbian nation.\n\n[2] Mussachi's memoir in Karl Hopf's Chroniques Graeco-Romaines.\n\n[3] Tcheque is a better synonym for the solecism Bohemian.\n\n[4] In Serbian Pepelyouga, where pepel, or--with vocalized l--pepeo,\nmeans 'cinder' or 'ashes'; ouga being the idiomatic suffix\ncorresponding to the Italian one or English ella, etc.\n\n[5] See Servian Conversation Grammar, by Woislav M. Petrovitch,\ned. Julius Groos, Heidelberg, 1914 (London: David Nutt, 212 Shaftesbury\nAvenue, W.C.), Introduction, pp. 1-8.\n\n[6] The English language is the only one which, instead of the correct\nforms 'Serbian,' 'Serbia,' uses the solecism 'Servia,' etc. Suggesting\na false derivation from the Latin root which furnished the English\nwords 'serf,' 'servant,' 'servitude,' this corrupted form is, of\ncourse, extremely offensive to the people to whom it is applied and\nshould be abandoned.\n\n[7] Protestants of the Greek Orthodox Church who later settled\nin Bosnia.\n\n[8] See the poem: \"Tsar Ourosh and his Nobles, or, The Royal Prince\nMarko tells whose the Empire will be.\"\n\n[9] This title corresponds to 'prince.'\n\n[10] 'Ban' is the original title of the rulers of Bosnia.\n\n[11] Voivode originally meant 'leader of an army' or 'General.' As\na title of nobility it corresponds with the English 'Duke,' which,\nderived from the Latin, dux, possesses the same root meaning.\n\n[12] The male members of a Serbian family continue to live after\nmarriage in the paternal home. If the house is too small to accommodate\nthe young couple, an annexe is built. The home may be frequently\nenlarged in this way, and as many as eighty members of a family have\nbeen known to reside together. Such family associations are called\n'zadrooga.'\n\n[13] One of the principal characters in King Nicholas's drama The\nEmpress of the Balkans is a warrior called 'Peroon.'\n\n[14] See \"Prince Marko and the Veela,\" page 102.\n\n[15] See \"The Death of Marko,\" page 117.\n\n[16] See \"The Building of Skadar,\" page 198.\n\n[17] Monk Marcus of Seres, Zetesis peri boulcholachon, ed. Lambros;\nNeos Hellenomnemon, I (1904), 336-352.\n\n[18] 'Pleiades' are otherwise known under the name of Sedam Vlashitya.\n\n[19] See \"The Tsarina Militza and the Zmay of Yastrebatz.\" page 129.\n\n[20] A Serbian word of Turkish origin.\n\n[21] This personage is usually a brother or very intimate friend\nof the bridegroom. He corresponds somewhat to the 'best man' at an\nEnglish wedding, but his functions are more important, as will be seen.\n\n[22] Forests have been considered until recently as the common\nproperty of all. Even in our day every peasant is at liberty to cut a\nBadgnak-tree in any forest he chooses, though it may be the property\nof strangers.\n\n[23] Quoted from the historian Leopold von Ranke.\n\n[24] An instrument which emits droning monotonous sounds, and which\nresembles in many points the hurdy-gurdy. In olden times, in Serbia,\nthis instrument was played by minstrels thirty years of age or more;\nyounger men played the flute, violin, and a kind of bagpipes.\n\n[25] In order to illustrate how firmly rooted is that belief\nthroughout Serbia, the author quotes from his article (condensed):\n\"How a Fourteenth Century Serbian Prince achieved a Miraculous Victory\nin the Late War,\" The International Psychic Gazette, May 1913.\n\n\"... When we arrived on the 15th of November last year, at Skoplye\n(Uskub), the Serbian officers gave a comparatively sumptuous banquet\nat their barracks in honour of Surgeon-General Bourke and the two\nunits of the British Red Cross, on which occasion the aged General\nMishitch related to us the following incident from the battle of\nPrilip, fought a few days previously.\n\n\"... Our infantry was ordered to make a forced march on the eve of\nthat battle, which is unique in the history of warfare. They were to\nwait at the foot of the mount of Prilip on which stood the Castle\nof Marko for the effect of our artillery, which was superior both\nin numbers and quality to that of the Turks. They were especially\ncautioned against storming the fort before they received the order\nfrom their commander-in-chief. This was necessary, for our soldiers\nhad won recently several battles at the point of the bayonet, and were\nconvinced that there was nothing that would frighten the Turks more\nthan the sight of the shining bayonets of the Serbian troops. They\nknew well that the mere exclamation of Bulgarians, Na noge! put the\nTurks to flight at Kirk-Klisse and Luele Bourgass.\n\n\"During the early morning the infantry kept quiet, but at the first\ncannon-shots we noticed an effervescence among our troops, and soon\nafterward we heard them shouting frantically and saw them running\nlike wolves straight to the castle of the Royal Prince Marko. I could\nhear the voice of our Captain Agatonovitch, commanding them to stop\nand await the General's order. When the immediate commanders saw\nthat discipline proved futile, they essayed in vain to appeal to the\nsoldiers' reason, assuring them of certain death if they would not\nawait at least the effect of our artillery. Our warriors, deafened\nby the roaring of the Turkish siege-cannon and mitrailleuses, ran\nstraight into the fire, and appeared to fall in dozens! The sight was\nhorrible. I was unable to stop my soldiers. My blood froze, I closed\nmy eyes. Disastrous defeat! Demoralisation of other troops! My own\ndegradation was certain!\n\n\"In a little while our artillery ceased firing, lest they should\nkill their own comrades, who were now crossing bayonets with the\nTurkish infantry. A few minutes later we saw the Serbian national\ncolours fluttering on the donjon of Kralyevitch Marko's castle. The\nTurks were fleeing in greatest disorder. The Serbian victory was as\ncomplete as it was rapid!\n\n\"When we arrived on the scene a little later, a parade was\nordered. After calling together the troops we found our loss had been\ncomparatively insignificant. I praised my heroes for their brave\nconduct, but reproached them bitterly for their disobedience. At\nmy last admonishing words, I heard from thousands of soldiers in\nmajestic unison:\n\n\"'Kralyevitch Marko commanded us all the time: FORWARD! Did you not\nsee him on his Sharatz?'\n\n\"It was clear to me that the tradition of Kralyevitch Marko was so\ndeeply engraved on the hearts of those honest and heroic men that,\nin their vivid enthusiasm, they had seen the incarnation of their hero.\n\n\"I dismissed the troops and ordered double portions of food and wine\nto be given to all for a week. Every tenth man obtained a 'Medalya\nza Hrabrost' (medal for courage).\"\n\n[26] Tabor is a Turkish word meaning an army, or a camp.\n\n[27] Other bards mention 'Gratchanitza.'\n\n[28] Despot was an honorary title of the Byzantine emperors, then\nof members of their families, and was later conferred as a title of\noffice on vassal rulers and governors. The rank of Despot was next\nto that of the king.\n\n[29] Divan, a Turkish word for \"senate.\"\n\n[30] Koula is a Serbo-Turkish word for \"castle.\"\n\n[31] Istamboul is the Turkish name for Constantinople.\n\n[32] Firman is a Turkish word for an imperial \"letter\" or \"decree.\"\n\n[33] Tovar is a Serbian measure, representing what a normal horse\ncan carry on its back. It is now an obsolete term.\n\n[34] Dervish is an ecclesiastic official amongst the Mohammedans. When\napplied to the laity it is used as a term of reproach.\n\n[35] Literally, \"until thy good luck calls thee,\" and means in Serbia\nuntil she marries.\n\n[36] This is a reference to Lazar, who fell at the battle of Kossovo.\n\n[37] Kessedjiya means 'fighter' or 'bully,' and is the nickname of an\nAlbanian chevalier-brigand Moussa, who defied for years the distant\npower of the Sultan. The incident described in the poem here referred\nto recounts--according to some Serbian historians--an event which\nactually took place in the beginning of the fourteenth century. There\nis hardly any inn or tavern in the villages of the Southern Slavs on\nthe front wall of which one cannot see a rough fresco illustrating\nthe duel between Marko and Moussa.\n\n[38] Arbanass is another appellation for Albanian.\n\n[39] Dyugoom, a water vessel made of copper and enamelled inside.\n\n[40] Adrianople.\n\n[41] The lines are considered to be the finest composed by any Serbian\nbard, and may be freely translated: \"O Lord Strahinya, thou Serbian\nglorious falcon! Depending ever upon thy true steed Dyogo and upon\nthine own courage, wherever thou goest, there thou shalt find a way\nfree of all danger.\"\n\n[42] Here the bard in his naive meditations on the psychology of women,\nstates that the fair sex is always alarmed by true dogs.\n\n[43] Zmay is the Serbian word for 'dragon,' but in this poem it is\nemployed metaphorically to suggest the superhuman attributes supposed\nto be possessed by the heroes.\n\n[44] Tchardack is a Turkish word and signifies: a tower provided\nwith balconies.\n\n[45] Ruler of Zetta and Montenegro, which were separate states at\nthe beginning of the fifteenth century.\n\n[46] This expression occurs in several of the poems and implies the\nmost deeply felt depression of spirits, and disappointment.\n\n[47] In this verse the troubadour expresses the opinion--not at all\ncomplimentary to women, but universally prevailing in the Balkans--that\n\"women have long hair and short brains\" (Dooge kosse a pameti kratke).\n\n[48] Other renderings of this ballad have it that Maximus challenged\nMilosh to a duel in which the prince was victorious.\n\n[49] Others state that Maximus did not flee but remained and fought\ntill he was nearly exhausted by his numberless wounds, and that then\nhe made a superhuman effort and succeeded in rescuing his bride.\n\n[50] This is the popular appellation of Serbians living in Batchka\nand Banat, which provinces are now under Austro-Hungarian rule.\n\n[51] The love of a sister for her brother in Serbia is\nproverbial. Entire ballads are devoted to beautiful examples of such\nlove. There is no greater and more solemn oath for a sister in Serbia\nthan that sworn by the name of her brother.\n\n[52] Kroushevatz was the capital of the vast Serbian empire during\nthe reign of Tsar Lazarus Hrebelianovitch at the time of the famous\nbattle of Kossovo (A.D. 1389).\n\n[53] Laboud means white swan in Serbian.\n\n[54] The Turkish sultan, Amourath I, perished by the hand of Voivode\nMilosh. That great Serbian hero stabbed him with his secret poniard\nwhen conducted as an alleged traitor to the sultan's presence.\n\n[55] Corrupted form of Amourad or Amourath.\n\n[56] A ballad of Montenegro, county Byelopavlitch.\n\n[57] Danitza is the Morning Star.  The Serbian bards often begin their\npoems with a reference to the dawn and \"Danitza.\" Several well-known\nballads begin thus: \"The Moon scolds the star Danitza: Where hast thou\nbeen? Wherefore hast thou wasted much time?\" And Danitza in order to\nexonerate herself, invariably relates to the Moon something she has\nseen in the night during her absence; usually some wrongful deed by a\nTurk or dishonourable conduct on the part of a young man to his brother\nor other relatives, such as an unjust division of patrimony, &c.\n\n[58] Sidjade, a divan.\n\n[59] Hodja, a Mussulman priest.\n\n[60] Kadi, an Ottoman judge.\n\n[61] Djelat, an executioner.\n\n[62] Vladika means in Serbian 'Bishop.' In Montenegro members of the\nPetrovitch-Niegosh family were bishops as well as political rulers. It\nwas Vladika Danilo Petrovitch, uncle of the present king of Montenegro,\nwho first assumed the title of prince as an hereditary one.\n\n[63] King Voukashin, the father of Prince Marko, was a vassal king\nto the Emperor Doushan the Powerful.\n\n[64] Boyana is the river upon the banks of which Scutari is built.\n\n[65] The Serbian bards of the fourteenth century invariably use the\nword \"book\" when speaking of a letter.\n\n[66] Or, according to some bards, Piritor. It is said that the walls\nof the castle still exist in Herzegovina.\n\n[67] Tchile, diminutive of Yaboutchilo, the full name of the steed.\n\n[68] It must be remembered that these ballads are recited by bards\nbefore great gatherings of people of all ages and both sexes, hence\nsuch direct addresses.\n\n[69] This is one more instance of the intensity of sisterly love to\nwhich we have previously referred.\n\n[70] This ballad is in all probability a remnant of the mythologic\ntraces of a great prehistoric catastrophe, and it illustrates more\nthan any other ancient memorial of the poetic Serbian people, the\nstriking similarity in the beliefs of nations.\n\n[71] This opening might perplex many readers if it were not explained\nthat the commotion is not caused by the saints, but is due to the\ndevice, familiar to a Serbian audience, whereby the bard gives his\nballad an effective start, and obtains the close attention of his\npeasant hearers.\n\n[72] Divan means in Serbian any state gathering. In this passage it\nmeans the Supreme Judgment.\n\n[73] Skadar or Skadra, derived from the Italian appellation Scodra,\notherwise Scutari, the present capital of Albania. Scutari has belonged\nfrom time immemorial to the Serbians.\n\n[74] Kraly means King.\n\n[75] Boyana is the name of the river washing the wall of Skadar.\n\n[76] Neimar means 'architect.'\n\n[77] Sir John Bowring, writing in 1827, states that a small stream of\nliquid carbonate of lime is shown on the walls of Scutari as evidence\nof the truth of this story. Vouk St. Karadjitch, says that the Serbian\npeople even to-day believe that no great building can be successfully\nerected without the immuring of some human being. Therefore they avoid\nthe neighbourhood of such buildings while they are being erected,\nfor it is said that even the spirit of such an unfortunate being can\nbe immured, whereby a speedy death would ensue. Srpske Narodne Pyesme,\nVienna, 1875, vol. ii. p. 124, footnote 20.\n\n[78] A ruined fortress on the banks of the River Morava. The same\nname is borne by a city in Central Serbia, situated not far from the\ncastle of Theodore.\n\n[79] This legend was written and contributed to Vouk St. Karadgitch\nby Prince Michel Obrenovitch III, who had heard it in his childhood\nfrom the lips of his nurse.\n\n[80] The Christians of the Balkans usually make the sign of the cross\nbefore and after every meal.\n\n[81] A golden coin worth about 10s.\n\n[82] The apple is a symbolic gift, which a wooer offers to the maiden\nof his choice.\n\n[83] It is the custom with Serbians, for one of her brothers to\npresent the bride to her wooer.\n\n[84] Beardless is used as the personification of craftiness and\nsharpness.\n\n[85] This and the remaining stories in this chapter are reprinted\nfrom Serbian Folk-Lore, by Madame C. Mijatovitch, by kind permission\nof M. Chedo Miyatovich.\n\n[86] Tzigans or Gipsies in Serbia, and indeed in the whole Balkan\nPeninsula, deal mostly with horses. Stealing and selling horses is\ntheir main occupation.\n\n[87] Era is a name given to the peasants of the district of Ouzitze\n(Western Serbia). They are supposed to be very witty and shrewd,\nand might be called the Irishmen of Serbia.\n\n[88] When Serbians are greatly surprised at anything they involuntarily\nmake the sign of the cross.","title":"Hero Tales and Legends of the Serbians","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":124730}