{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_540/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_540","id":"gutenberg_540","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/540","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Children & Young Adult Reading","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Category: Short Stories","Children's Literature","Fairy tales","Folklore"],"text":"The\nRed Fairy Book\n\nEdited by\nAndrew Lang\n\n\nTO\nMASTER BILLY TREMAYNE MILES\nA PROFOUND STUDENT\nYET\nAN AMIABLE CRITIC\n\n\nContents\n\n PREFACE\n THE TWELVE DANCING PRINCESSES\n THE PRINCESS MAYBLOSSOM\n SORIA MORIA CASTLE\n THE DEATH OF KOSHCHEI THE DEATHLESS\n THE BLACK THIEF AND KNIGHT OF THE GLEN.\n THE MASTER THIEF\n BROTHER AND SISTER\n PRINCESS ROSETTE\n THE ENCHANTED PIG\n THE NORKA\n THE WONDERFUL BIRCH\n JACK AND THE BEANSTALK\n THE LITTLE GOOD MOUSE\n GRACIOSA AND PERCINET\n THE THREE PRINCESSES OF WHITELAND\n THE VOICE OF DEATH\n THE SIX SILLIES\n KARI WOODENGOWN\n DRAKESTAIL\n THE RATCATCHER\n THE TRUE HISTORY OF LITTLE GOLDENHOOD\n THE GOLDEN BRANCH\n THE THREE DWARFS\n DAPPLEGRIM\n THE ENCHANTED CANARY\n THE TWELVE BROTHERS\n RAPUNZEL\n THE NETTLE SPINNER\n FARMER WEATHERBEARD\n MOTHER HOLLE\n MINNIKIN\n BUSHY BRIDE\n SNOWDROP\n THE GOLDEN GOOSE\n THE SEVEN FOALS\n THE MARVELLOUS MUSICIAN\n THE STORY OF SIGURD\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE\n\n\nIn a second gleaning of the fields of Fairy Land we cannot expect to\nfind a second Perrault. But there are good stories enough left, and it\nis hoped that some in the Red Fairy Book may have the attraction of\nbeing less familiar than many of the old friends. The tales have been\ntranslated, or, in the case of those from Madame d\u2019Aulnoy\u2019s long\nstories, adapted, by Mrs. Hunt from the Norse, by Miss Minnie Wright\nfrom Madame d\u2019Aulnoy, by Mrs. Lang and Miss Bruce from other French\nsources, by Miss May Sellar, Miss Farquharson, and Miss Blackley from\nthe German, while the story of \u2018Sigurd\u2019 is condensed by the Editor from\nMr. William Morris\u2019s prose version of the \u2018Volsunga Saga.\u2019 The Editor\nhas to thank his friend, M. Charles Marelles, for permission to\nreproduce his versions of the \u2018Pied Piper,\u2019 of \u2018Drakestail,\u2019 and of\n\u2018Little Golden Hood\u2019 from the French, and M. Henri Carnoy for the same\nprivilege in regard to \u2018The Six Sillies\u2019 from _La Tradition_.\n\nLady Frances Balfour has kindly copied an old version of \u2018Jack and the\nBeanstalk,\u2019 and Messrs. Smith and Elder have permitted the publication\nof two of Mr. Ralston\u2019s versions from the Russian.\n\nA. L.\n\n\n\n\nTHE TWELVE DANCING PRINCESSES\n\n\nI\n\nOnce upon a time there lived in the village of Montignies-sur-Roc a\nlittle cow-boy, without either father or mother. His real name was\nMichael, but he was always called the Star Gazer, because when he drove\nhis cows over the commons to seek for pasture, he went along with his\nhead in the air, gaping at nothing.\n\nAs he had a white skin, blue eyes, and hair that curled all over his\nhead, the village girls used to cry after him, \u2018Well, Star Gazer, what\nare you doing?\u2019 and Michael would answer, \u2018Oh, nothing,\u2019 and go on his\nway without even turning to look at them.\n\nThe fact was he thought them very ugly, with their sun-burnt necks,\ntheir great red hands, their coarse petticoats and their wooden shoes.\nHe had heard that somewhere in the world there were girls whose necks\nwere white and whose hands were small, who were always dressed in the\nfinest silks and laces, and were called princesses, and while his\ncompanions round the fire saw nothing in the flames but common everyday\nfancies, he dreamed that he had the happiness to marry a princess.\n\nII\n\nOne morning about the middle of August, just at mid-day when the sun\nwas hottest, Michael ate his dinner of a piece of dry bread, and went\nto sleep under an oak. And while he slept he dreamt that there appeared\nbefore him a beautiful lady, dressed in a robe of cloth of gold, who\nsaid to him: \u2018Go to the castle of Beloeil, and there you shall marry a\nprincess.\u2019\n\nThat evening the little cow-boy, who had been thinking a great deal\nabout the advice of the lady in the golden dress, told his dream to the\nfarm people. But, as was natural, they only laughed at the Star Gazer.\n\nThe next day at the same hour he went to sleep again under the same\ntree. The lady appeared to him a second time, and said: \u2018Go to the\ncastle of Beloeil, and you shall marry a princess.\u2019\n\nIn the evening Michael told his friends that he had dreamed the same\ndream again, but they only laughed at him more than before. \u2018Never\nmind,\u2019 he thought to himself; \u2018if the lady appears to me a third time,\nI will do as she tells me.\u2019\n\nThe following day, to the great astonishment of all the village, about\ntwo o\u2019clock in the afternoon a voice was heard singing:\n\n\u2018Rale\u00f4, rale\u00f4,\nHow the cattle go!\u2019\n\n\nIt was the little cow-boy driving his herd back to the byre.\n\nThe farmer began to scold him furiously, but he answered quietly, \u2018I am\ngoing away,\u2019 made his clothes into a bundle, said good-bye to all his\nfriends, and boldly set out to seek his fortunes.\n\nThere was great excitement through all the village, and on the top of\nthe hill the people stood holding their sides with laughing, as they\nwatched the Star Gazer trudging bravely along the valley with his\nbundle at the end of his stick.\n\nIt was enough to make anyone laugh, certainly.\n\nIII\n\nIt was well known for full twenty miles round that there lived in the\ncastle of Beloeil twelve princesses of wonderful beauty, and as proud\nas they were beautiful, and who were besides so very sensitive and of\nsuch truly royal blood, that they would have felt at once the presence\nof a pea in their beds, even if the mattresses had been laid over it.\n\nIt was whispered about that they led exactly the lives that princesses\nought to lead, sleeping far into the morning, and never getting up till\nmid-day. They had twelve beds all in the same room, but what was very\nextraordinary was the fact that though they were locked in by triple\nbolts, every morning their satin shoes were found worn into holes.\n\nWhen they were asked what they had been doing all night, they always\nanswered that they had been asleep; and, indeed, no noise was ever\nheard in the room, yet the shoes could not wear themselves out alone!\n\nAt last the Duke of Beloeil ordered the trumpet to be sounded, and a\nproclamation to be made that whoever could discover how his daughters\nwore out their shoes should choose one of them for his wife.\n\nOn hearing the proclamation a number of princes arrived at the castle\nto try their luck. They watched all night behind the open door of the\nprincesses, but when the morning came they had all disappeared, and no\none could tell what had become of them.\n\nIV\n\nWhen he reached the castle, Michael went straight to the gardener and\noffered his services. Now it happened that the garden boy had just been\nsent away, and though the Star Gazer did not look very sturdy, the\ngardener agreed to take him, as he thought that his pretty face and\ngolden curls would please the princesses.\n\nThe first thing he was told was that when the princesses got up he was\nto present each one with a bouquet, and Michael thought that if he had\nnothing more unpleasant to do than that he should get on very well.\n\nAccordingly he placed himself behind the door of the princesses\u2019 room,\nwith the twelve bouquets in a basket. He gave one to each of the\nsisters, and they took them without even deigning to look at the lad,\nexcept Lina the youngest, who fixed her large black eyes as soft as\nvelvet on him, and exclaimed, \u2018Oh, how pretty he is\u2014our new flower\nboy!\u2019 The rest all burst out laughing, and the eldest pointed out that\na princess ought never to lower herself by looking at a garden boy.\n\nNow Michael knew quite well what had happened to all the princes, but\nnotwithstanding, the beautiful eyes of the Princess Lina inspired him\nwith a violent longing to try his fate. Unhappily he did not dare to\ncome forward, being afraid that he should only be jeered at, or even\nturned away from the castle on account of his impudence.\n\nV\n\nNevertheless, the Star Gazer had another dream. The lady in the golden\ndress appeared to him once more, holding in one hand two young laurel\ntrees, a cherry laurel and a rose laurel, and in the other hand a\nlittle golden rake, a little golden bucket, and a silken towel. She\nthus addressed him:\n\n\u2018Plant these two laurels in two large pots, rake them over with the\nrake, water them with the bucket, and wipe them with the towel. When\nthey have grown as tall as a girl of fifteen, say to each of them, \u2018\u2019My\nbeautiful laurel, with the golden rake I have raked you, with the\ngolden bucket I have watered you, with the silken towel I have wiped\nyou.\u2018\u2019 Then after that ask anything you choose, and the laurels will\ngive it to you.\u2019\n\nMichael thanked the lady in the golden dress, and when he woke he found\nthe two laurel bushes beside him. So he carefully obeyed the orders he\nhad been given by the lady.\n\nThe trees grew very fast, and when they were as tall as a girl of\nfifteen he said to the cherry laurel, \u2018My lovely cherry laurel, with\nthe golden rake I have raked thee, with the golden bucket I have\nwatered thee, with the silken towel I have wiped thee. Teach me how to\nbecome invisible.\u2019 Then there instantly appeared on the laurel a pretty\nwhite flower, which Michael gathered and stuck into his button-hole.\n\nVI\n\nThat evening, when the princesses went upstairs to bed, he followed\nthem barefoot, so that he might make no noise, and hid himself under\none of the twelve beds, so as not to take up much room.\n\nThe princesses began at once to open their wardrobes and boxes. They\ntook out of them the most magnificent dresses, which they put on before\ntheir mirrors, and when they had finished, turned themselves all round\nto admire their appearances.\n\nMichael could see nothing from his hiding-place, but he could hear\neverything, and he listened to the princesses laughing and jumping with\npleasure. At last the eldest said, \u2018Be quick, my sisters, our partners\nwill be impatient.\u2019 At the end of an hour, when the Star Gazer heard no\nmore noise, he peeped out and saw the twelve sisters in splendid\ngarments, with their satin shoes on their feet, and in their hands the\nbouquets he had brought them.\n\n\u2018Are you ready?\u2019 asked the eldest.\n\n\u2018Yes,\u2019 replied the other eleven in chorus, and they took their places\none by one behind her.\n\nThen the eldest Princess clapped her hands three times and a trap door\nopened. All the princesses disappeared down a secret staircase, and\nMichael hastily followed them.\n\nAs he was following on the steps of the Princess Lina, he carelessly\ntrod on her dress.\n\n\u2018There is somebody behind me,\u2019 cried the Princess; \u2018they are holding my\ndress.\u2019\n\n\u2018You foolish thing,\u2019 said her eldest sister, \u2018you are always afraid of\nsomething. It is only a nail which caught you.\u2019\n\nVII\n\nThey went down, down, down, till at last they came to a passage with a\ndoor at one end, which was only fastened with a latch. The eldest\nPrincess opened it, and they found themselves immediately in a lovely\nlittle wood, where the leaves were spangled with drops of silver which\nshone in the brilliant light of the moon.\n\nThey next crossed another wood where the leaves were sprinkled with\ngold, and after that another still, where the leaves glittered with\ndiamonds.\n\nAt last the Star Gazer perceived a large lake, and on the shores of the\nlake twelve little boats with awnings, in which were seated twelve\nprinces, who, grasping their oars, awaited the princesses.\n\nEach princess entered one of the boats, and Michael slipped into that\nwhich held the youngest. The boats glided along rapidly, but Lina\u2019s,\nfrom being heavier, was always behind the rest. \u2018We never went so\nslowly before,\u2019 said the Princess; \u2018what can be the reason?\u2019\n\n\u2018I don\u2019t know,\u2019 answered the Prince. \u2018I assure you I am rowing as hard\nas I can.\u2019\n\nOn the other side of the lake the garden boy saw a beautiful castle\nsplendidly illuminated, whence came the lively music of fiddles,\nkettle-drums, and trumpets.\n\nIn a moment they touched land, and the company jumped out of the boats;\nand the princes, after having securely fastened their barques, gave\ntheir arms to the princesses and conducted them to the castle.\n\nVIII\n\nMichael followed, and entered the ball-room in their train. Everywhere\nwere mirrors, lights, flowers, and damask hangings.\n\nThe Star Gazer was quite bewildered at the magnificence of the sight.\n\nHe placed himself out of the way in a corner, admiring the grace and\nbeauty of the princesses. Their loveliness was of every kind. Some were\nfair and some were dark; some had chestnut hair, or curls darker still,\nand some had golden locks. Never were so many beautiful princesses seen\ntogether at one time, but the one whom the cow-boy thought the most\nbeautiful and the most fascinating was the little Princess with the\nvelvet eyes.\n\nWith what eagerness she danced! leaning on her partner\u2019s shoulder she\nswept by like a whirlwind. Her cheeks flushed, her eyes sparkled, and\nit was plain that she loved dancing better than anything else.\n\nThe poor boy envied those handsome young men with whom she danced so\ngracefully, but he did not know how little reason he had to be jealous\nof them.\n\nThe young men were really the princes who, to the number of fifty at\nleast, had tried to steal the princesses\u2019 secret. The princesses had\nmade them drink something of a philtre, which froze the heart and left\nnothing but the love of dancing.\n\nIX\n\nThey danced on till the shoes of the princesses were worn into holes.\nWhen the cock crowed the third time the fiddles stopped, and a\ndelicious supper was served by negro boys, consisting of sugared orange\nflowers, crystallised rose leaves, powdered violets, cracknels, wafers,\nand other dishes, which are, as everyone knows, the favourite food of\nprincesses.\n\nAfter supper, the dancers all went back to their boats, and this time\nthe Star Gazer entered that of the eldest Princess. They crossed again\nthe wood with the diamond-spangled leaves, the wood with gold-sprinkled\nleaves, and the wood whose leaves glittered with drops of silver, and\nas a proof of what he had seen, the boy broke a small branch from a\ntree in the last wood. Lina turned as she heard the noise made by the\nbreaking of the branch.\n\n\u2018What was that noise?\u2019 she said.\n\n\u2018It was nothing,\u2019 replied her eldest sister; \u2018it was only the screech\nof the barn-owl that roosts in one of the turrets of the castle.\u2019\n\nWhile she was speaking Michael managed to slip in front, and running up\nthe staircase, he reached the princesses\u2019 room first. He flung open the\nwindow, and sliding down the vine which climbed up the wall, found\nhimself in the garden just as the sun was beginning to rise, and it was\ntime for him to set to his work.\n\nX\n\nThat day, when he made up the bouquets, Michael hid the branch with the\nsilver drops in the nosegay intended for the youngest Princess.\n\nWhen Lina discovered it she was much surprised. However, she said\nnothing to her sisters, but as she met the boy by accident while she\nwas walking under the shade of the elms, she suddenly stopped as if to\nspeak to him; then, altering her mind, went on her way.\n\nThe same evening the twelve sisters went again to the ball, and the\nStar Gazer again followed them and crossed the lake in Lina\u2019s boat.\nThis time it was the Prince who complained that the boat seemed very\nheavy.\n\n\u2018It is the heat,\u2019 replied the Princess. \u2018I, too, have been feeling very\nwarm.\u2019\n\nDuring the ball she looked everywhere for the gardener\u2019s boy, but she\nnever saw him.\n\nAs they came back, Michael gathered a branch from the wood with the\ngold-spangled leaves, and now it was the eldest Princess who heard the\nnoise that it made in breaking.\n\n\u2018It is nothing,\u2019 said Lina; \u2018only the cry of the owl which roosts in\nthe turrets of the castle.\u2019\n\nXI\n\nAs soon as she got up she found the branch in her bouquet. When the\nsisters went down she stayed a little behind and said to the cow-boy:\n\u2018Where does this branch come from?\u2019\n\n\u2018Your Royal Highness knows well enough,\u2019 answered Michael.\n\n\u2018So you have followed us?\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes, Princess.\u2019\n\n\u2018How did you manage it? we never saw you.\u2019\n\n\u2018I hid myself,\u2019 replied the Star Gazer quietly.\n\nThe Princess was silent a moment, and then said:\n\n\u2018You know our secret!\u2014keep it. Here is the reward of your discretion.\u2019\nAnd she flung the boy a purse of gold.\n\n\u2018I do not sell my silence,\u2019 answered Michael, and he went away without\npicking up the purse.\n\nFor three nights Lina neither saw nor heard anything extraordinary; on\nthe fourth she heard a rustling among the diamond-spangled leaves of\nthe wood. That day there was a branch of the trees in her bouquet.\n\nShe took the Star Gazer aside, and said to him in a harsh voice:\n\n\u2018You know what price my father has promised to pay for our secret?\u2019\n\n\u2018I know, Princess,\u2019 answered Michael.\n\n\u2018Don\u2019t you mean to tell him?\u2019\n\n\u2018That is not my intention.\u2019\n\n\u2018Are you afraid?\u2019\n\n\u2018No, Princess.\u2019\n\n\u2018What makes you so discreet, then?\u2019\n\nBut Michael was silent.\n\nXII\n\nLina\u2019s sisters had seen her talking to the little garden boy, and\njeered at her for it.\n\n\u2018What prevents your marrying him?\u2019 asked the eldest, \u2018you would become\na gardener too; it is a charming profession. You could live in a\ncottage at the end of the park, and help your husband to draw up water\nfrom the well, and when we get up you could bring us our bouquets.\u2019\n\nThe Princess Lina was very angry, and when the Star Gazer presented her\nbouquet, she received it in a disdainful manner.\n\nMichael behaved most respectfully. He never raised his eyes to her, but\nnearly all day she felt him at her side without ever seeing him.\n\nOne day she made up her mind to tell everything to her eldest sister.\n\n\u2018What!\u2019 said she, \u2018this rogue knows our secret, and you never told me!\nI must lose no time in getting rid of him.\u2019\n\n\u2018But how?\u2019\n\n\u2018Why, by having him taken to the tower with the dungeons, of course.\u2019\n\nFor this was the way that in old times beautiful princesses got rid of\npeople who knew too much.\n\nBut the astonishing part of it was that the youngest sister did not\nseem at all to relish this method of stopping the mouth of the\ngardener\u2019s boy, who, after all, had said nothing to their father.\n\nXIII\n\nIt was agreed that the question should be submitted to the other ten\nsisters. All were on the side of the eldest. Then the youngest sister\ndeclared that if they laid a finger on the little garden boy, she would\nherself go and tell their father the secret of the holes in their\nshoes.\n\nAt last it was decided that Michael should be put to the test; that\nthey would take him to the ball, and at the end of supper would give\nhim the philtre which was to enchant him like the rest.\n\nThey sent for the Star Gazer, and asked him how he had contrived to\nlearn their secret; but still he remained silent.\n\nThen, in commanding tones, the eldest sister gave him the order they\nhad agreed upon.\n\nHe only answered:\n\n\u2018I will obey.\u2019\n\nHe had really been present, invisible, at the council of princesses,\nand had heard all; but he had made up his mind to drink of the philtre,\nand sacrifice himself to the happiness of her he loved.\n\nNot wishing, however, to cut a poor figure at the ball by the side of\nthe other dancers, he went at once to the laurels, and said:\n\n\u2018My lovely rose laurel, with the golden rake I have raked thee, with\nthe golden bucket I have watered thee, with a silken towel I have dried\nthee. Dress me like a prince.\u2019\n\nA beautiful pink flower appeared. Michael gathered it, and found\nhimself in a moment clothed in velvet, which was as black as the eyes\nof the little Princess, with a cap to match, a diamond aigrette, and a\nblossom of the rose laurel in his button-hole.\n\nThus dressed, he presented himself that evening before the Duke of\nBeloeil, and obtained leave to try and discover his daughters\u2019 secret.\nHe looked so distinguished that hardly anyone would have known who he\nwas.\n\nXIV\n\nThe twelve princesses went upstairs to bed. Michael followed them, and\nwaited behind the open door till they gave the signal for departure.\n\nThis time he did not cross in Lina\u2019s boat. He gave his arm to the\neldest sister, danced with each in turn, and was so graceful that\neveryone was delighted with him. At last the time came for him to dance\nwith the little Princess. She found him the best partner in the world,\nbut he did not dare to speak a single word to her.\n\nWhen he was taking her back to her place she said to him in a mocking\nvoice:\n\n\u2018Here you are at the summit of your wishes: you are being treated like\na prince.\u2019\n\n\u2018Don\u2019t be afraid,\u2019 replied the Star Gazer gently. \u2018You shall never be a\ngardener\u2019s wife.\u2019\n\nThe little Princess stared at him with a frightened face, and he left\nher without waiting for an answer.\n\nWhen the satin slippers were worn through the fiddles stopped, and the\nnegro boys set the table. Michael was placed next to the eldest sister,\nand opposite to the youngest.\n\nThey gave him the most exquisite dishes to eat, and the most delicate\nwines to drink; and in order to turn his head more completely,\ncompliments and flattery were heaped on him from every side.\n\nBut he took care not to be intoxicated, either by the wine or the\ncompliments.\n\nXV\n\nAt last the eldest sister made a sign, and one of the black pages\nbrought in a large golden cup.\n\n\u2018The enchanted castle has no more secrets for you,\u2019 she said to the\nStar Gazer. \u2018Let us drink to your triumph.\u2019\n\nHe cast a lingering glance at the little Princess, and without\nhesitation lifted the cup.\n\n\u2018Don\u2019t drink!\u2019 suddenly cried out the little Princess; \u2018I would rather\nmarry a gardener.\u2019\n\nAnd she burst into tears.\n\nMichael flung the contents of the cup behind him, sprang over the\ntable, and fell at Lina\u2019s feet. The rest of the princes fell likewise\nat the knees of the princesses, each of whom chose a husband and raised\nhim to her side. The charm was broken.\n\nThe twelve couples embarked in the boats, which crossed back many times\nin order to carry over the other princes. Then they all went through\nthe three woods, and when they had passed the door of the underground\npassage a great noise was heard, as if the enchanted castle was\ncrumbling to the earth.\n\nThey went straight to the room of the Duke of Beloeil, who had just\nawoke. Michael held in his hand the golden cup, and he revealed the\nsecret of the holes in the shoes.\n\n\u2018Choose, then,\u2019 said the Duke, \u2018whichever you prefer.\u2019\n\n\u2018My choice is already made,\u2019 replied the garden boy, and he offered his\nhand to the youngest Princess, who blushed and lowered her eyes.\n\nXVI\n\nThe Princess Lina did not become a gardener\u2019s wife; on the contrary, it\nwas the Star Gazer who became a Prince: but before the marriage\nceremony the Princess insisted that her lover should tell her how he\ncame to discover the secret.\n\nSo he showed her the two laurels which had helped him, and she, like a\nprudent girl, thinking they gave him too much advantage over his wife,\ncut them off at the root and threw them in the fire. And this is why\nthe country girls go about singing:\n\nNous n\u2019irons plus au bois,\nLes lauriers sont coup\u00e9s,\n\n\nand dancing in summer by the light of the moon.\n\n\n\n\nTHE PRINCESS MAYBLOSSOM\n\n\nOnce upon a time there lived a King and Queen whose children had all\ndied, first one and then another, until at last only one little\ndaughter remained, and the Queen was at her wits\u2019 end to know where to\nfind a really good nurse who would take care of her, and bring her up.\nA herald was sent who blew a trumpet at every street corner, and\ncommanded all the best nurses to appear before the Queen, that she\nmight choose one for the little Princess. So on the appointed day the\nwhole palace was crowded with nurses, who came from the four corners of\nthe world to offer themselves, until the Queen declared that if she was\never to see the half of them, they must be brought out to her, one by\none, as she sat in a shady wood near the palace.\n\nThis was accordingly done, and the nurses, after they had made their\ncurtsey to the King and Queen, ranged themselves in a line before her\nthat she might choose. Most of them were fair and fat and charming, but\nthere was one who was dark-skinned and ugly, and spoke a strange\nlanguage which nobody could understand. The Queen wondered how she\ndared offer herself, and she was told to go away, as she certainly\nwould not do. Upon which she muttered something and passed on, but hid\nherself in a hollow tree, from which she could see all that happened.\nThe Queen, without giving her another thought, chose a pretty\nrosy-faced nurse, but no sooner was her choice made than a snake, which\nwas hidden in the grass, bit that very nurse on her foot, so that she\nfell down as if dead. The Queen was very much vexed by this accident,\nbut she soon selected another, who was just stepping forward when an\neagle flew by and dropped a large tortoise upon her head, which was\ncracked in pieces like an egg-shell. At this the Queen was much\nhorrified; nevertheless, she chose a third time, but with no better\nfortune, for the nurse, moving quickly, ran into the branch of a tree\nand blinded herself with a thorn. Then the Queen in dismay cried that\nthere must be some malignant influence at work, and that she would\nchoose no more that day; and she had just risen to return to the palace\nwhen she heard peals of malicious laughter behind her, and turning\nround saw the ugly stranger whom she had dismissed, who was making very\nmerry over the disasters and mocking everyone, but especially the\nQueen. This annoyed Her Majesty very much, and she was about to order\nthat she should be arrested, when the witch\u2014for she was a witch\u2014with\ntwo blows from a wand summoned a chariot of fire drawn by winged\ndragons, and was whirled off through the air uttering threats and\ncries. When the King saw this he cried:\n\n\u2018Alas! now we are ruined indeed, for that was no other than the Fairy\nCarabosse, who has had a grudge against me ever since I was a boy and\nput sulphur into her porridge one day for fun.\u2019\n\nThen the Queen began to cry.\n\n\u2018If I had only known who it was,\u2019 she said, \u2018I would have done my best\nto make friends with her; now I suppose all is lost.\u2019\n\nThe King was sorry to have frightened her so much, and proposed that\nthey should go and hold a council as to what was best to be done to\navert the misfortunes which Carabosse certainly meant to bring upon the\nlittle Princess.\n\nSo all the counsellors were summoned to the palace, and when they had\nshut every door and window, and stuffed up every keyhole that they\nmight not be overheard, they talked the affair over, and decided that\nevery fairy for a thousand leagues round should be invited to the\nchristening of the Princess, and that the time of the ceremony should\nbe kept a profound secret, in case the Fairy Carabosse should take it\ninto her head to attend it.\n\nThe Queen and her ladies set to work to prepare presents for the\nfairies who were invited: for each one a blue velvet cloak, a petticoat\nof apricot satin, a pair of high-heeled shoes, some sharp needles, and\na pair of golden scissors. Of all the fairies the Queen knew, only five\nwere able to come on the day appointed, but they began immediately to\nbestow gifts upon the Princess. One promised that she should be\nperfectly beautiful, the second that she should understand anything\u2014no\nmatter what\u2014the first time it was explained to her, the third that she\nshould sing like a nightingale, the fourth that she should succeed in\neverything she undertook, and the fifth was opening her mouth to speak\nwhen a tremendous rumbling was heard in the chimney, and Carabosse, all\ncovered with soot, came rolling down, crying:\n\n\u2018I say that she shall be the unluckiest of the unlucky until she is\ntwenty years old.\u2019\n\nThen the Queen and all the fairies began to beg and beseech her to\nthink better of it, and not be so unkind to the poor little Princess,\nwho had never done her any harm. But the ugly old Fairy only grunted\nand made no answer. So the last Fairy, who had not yet given her gift,\ntried to mend matters by promising the Princess a long and happy life\nafter the fatal time was over. At this Carabosse laughed maliciously,\nand climbed away up the chimney, leaving them all in great\nconsternation, and especially the Queen. However, she entertained the\nfairies splendidly, and gave them beautiful ribbons, of which they are\nvery fond, in addition to the other presents.\n\nWhen they were going away the oldest Fairy said that they were of\nopinion that it would be best to shut the Princess up in some place,\nwith her waiting-women, so that she might not see anyone else until she\nwas twenty years old. So the King had a tower built on purpose. It had\nno windows, so it was lighted with wax candles, and the only way into\nit was by an underground passage, which had iron doors only twenty feet\napart, and guards were posted everywhere.\n\nThe Princess had been named Mayblossom, because she was as fresh and\nblooming as Spring itself, and she grew up tall and beautiful, and\neverything she did and said was charming. Every time the King and Queen\ncame to see her they were more delighted with her than before, but\nthough she was weary of the tower, and often begged them to take her\naway from it, they always refused. The Princess\u2019s nurse, who had never\nleft her, sometimes told her about the world outside the tower, and\nthough the Princess had never seen anything for herself, yet she always\nunderstood exactly, thanks to the second Fairy\u2019s gift. Often the King\nsaid to the Queen:\n\n\u2018We were cleverer than Carabosse after all. Our Mayblossom will be\nhappy in spite of her predictions.\u2019\n\nAnd the Queen laughed until she was tired at the idea of having\noutwitted the old Fairy. They had caused the Princess\u2019s portrait to be\npainted and sent to all the neighbouring Courts, for in four days she\nwould have completed her twentieth year, and it was time to decide whom\nshe should marry. All the town was rejoicing at the thought of the\nPrincess\u2019s approaching freedom, and when the news came that King Merlin\nwas sending his ambassador to ask her in marriage for his son, they\nwere still more delighted. The nurse, who kept the Princess informed of\neverything that went forward in the town, did not fail to repeat the\nnews that so nearly concerned her, and gave such a description of the\nsplendour in which the ambassador Fanfaronade would enter the town,\nthat the Princess was wild to see the procession for herself.\n\n\u2018What an unhappy creature I am,\u2019 she cried, \u2018to be shut up in this\ndismal tower as if I had committed some crime! I have never seen the\nsun, or the stars, or a horse, or a monkey, or a lion, except in\npictures, and though the King and Queen tell me I am to be set free\nwhen I am twenty, I believe they only say it to keep me amused, when\nthey never mean to let me out at all.\u2019\n\nAnd then she began to cry, and her nurse, and the nurse\u2019s daughter, and\nthe cradle-rocker, and the nursery-maid, who all loved her dearly,\ncried too for company, so that nothing could be heard but sobs and\nsighs. It was a scene of woe. When the Princess saw that they all\npitied her she made up her mind to have her own way. So she declared\nthat she would starve herself to death if they did not find some means\nof letting her see Fanfaronade\u2019s grand entry into the town.\n\n\u2018If you really love me,\u2019 she said, \u2018you will manage it, somehow or\nother, and the King and Queen need never know anything about it.\u2019\n\nThen the nurse and all the others cried harder than ever, and said\neverything they could think of to turn the Princess from her idea. But\nthe more they said the more determined she was, and at last they\nconsented to make a tiny hole in the tower on the side that looked\ntowards the city gates.\n\nAfter scratching and scraping all day and all night, they presently\nmade a hole through which they could, with great difficulty, push a\nvery slender needle, and out of this the Princess looked at the\ndaylight for the first time. She was so dazzled and delighted by what\nshe saw, that there she stayed, never taking her eyes away from the\npeep-hole for a single minute, until presently the ambassador\u2019s\nprocession appeared in sight.\n\nAt the head of it rode Fanfaronade himself upon a white horse, which\npranced and caracoled to the sound of the trumpets. Nothing could have\nbeen more splendid than the ambassador\u2019s attire. His coat was nearly\nhidden under an embroidery of pearls and diamonds, his boots were solid\ngold, and from his helmet floated scarlet plumes. At the sight of him\nthe Princess lost her wits entirely, and determined that Fanfaronade\nand nobody else would she marry.\n\n\u2018It is quite impossible,\u2019 she said, \u2018that his master should be half as\nhandsome and delightful. I am not ambitious, and having spent all my\nlife in this tedious tower, anything\u2014even a house in the country\u2014will\nseem a delightful change. I am sure that bread and water shared with\nFanfaronade will please me far better than roast chicken and sweetmeats\nwith anybody else.\u2019\n\nAnd so she went on talk, talk, talking, until her waiting-women\nwondered where she got it all from. But when they tried to stop her,\nand represented that her high rank made it perfectly impossible that\nshe should do any such thing, she would not listen, and ordered them to\nbe silent.\n\nAs soon as the ambassador arrived at the palace, the Queen started to\nfetch her daughter.\n\nAll the streets were spread with carpets, and the windows were full of\nladies who were waiting to see the Princess, and carried baskets of\nflowers and sweetmeats to shower upon her as she passed.\n\nThey had hardly begun to get the Princess ready when a dwarf arrived,\nmounted upon an elephant. He came from the five fairies, and brought\nfor the Princess a crown, a sceptre, and a robe of golden brocade, with\na petticoat marvellously embroidered with butterflies\u2019 wings. They also\nsent a casket of jewels, so splendid that no one had ever seen anything\nlike it before, and the Queen was perfectly dazzled when she opened it.\nBut the Princess scarcely gave a glance to any of these treasures, for\nshe thought of nothing but Fanfaronade. The Dwarf was rewarded with a\ngold piece, and decorated with so many ribbons that it was hardly\npossible to see him at all. The Princess sent to each of the fairies a\nnew spinning-wheel with a distaff of cedar wood, and the Queen said she\nmust look through her treasures and find something very charming to\nsend them also.\n\nWhen the Princess was arrayed in all the gorgeous things the Dwarf had\nbrought, she was more beautiful than ever, and as she walked along the\nstreets the people cried: \u2018How pretty she is! How pretty she is!\u2019\n\nThe procession consisted of the Queen, the Princess, five dozen other\nprincesses her cousins, and ten dozen who came from the neighbouring\nkingdoms; and as they proceeded at a stately pace the sky began to grow\ndark, then suddenly the thunder growled, and rain and hail fell in\ntorrents. The Queen put her royal mantle over her head, and all the\nprincesses did the same with their trains. Mayblossom was just about to\nfollow their example when a terrific croaking, as of an immense army of\ncrows, rooks, ravens, screech-owls, and all birds of ill-omen was\nheard, and at the same instant a huge owl skimmed up to the Princess,\nand threw over her a scarf woven of spiders\u2019 webs and embroidered with\nbats\u2019 wings. And then peals of mocking laughter rang through the air,\nand they guessed that this was another of the Fairy Carabosse\u2019s\nunpleasant jokes.\n\nThe Queen was terrified at such an evil omen, and tried to pull the\nblack scarf from the Princess\u2019s shoulders, but it really seemed as if\nit must be nailed on, it clung so closely.\n\n\u2018Ah!\u2019 cried the Queen, \u2018can nothing appease this enemy of ours? What\ngood was it that I sent her more than fifty pounds of sweetmeats, and\nas much again of the best sugar, not to mention two Westphalia hams?\nShe is as angry as ever.\u2019\n\nWhile she lamented in this way, and everybody was as wet as if they had\nbeen dragged through a river, the Princess still thought of nothing but\nthe ambassador, and just at this moment he appeared before her, with\nthe King, and there was a great blowing of trumpets, and all the people\nshouted louder than ever. Fanfaronade was not generally at a loss for\nsomething to say, but when he saw the Princess, she was so much more\nbeautiful and majestic than he had expected that he could only stammer\nout a few words, and entirely forgot the harangue which he had been\nlearning for months, and knew well enough to have repeated it in his\nsleep. To gain time to remember at least part of it, he made several\nlow bows to the Princess, who on her side dropped half-a-dozen curtseys\nwithout stopping to think, and then said, to relieve his evident\nembarrassment:\n\n\u2018Sir Ambassador, I am sure that everything you intend to say is\ncharming, since it is you who mean to say it; but let us make haste\ninto the palace, as it is pouring cats and dogs, and the wicked Fairy\nCarabosse will be amused to see us all stand dripping here. When we are\nonce under shelter we can laugh at her.\u2019\n\nUpon this the Ambassador found his tongue, and replied gallantly that\nthe Fairy had evidently foreseen the flames that would be kindled by\nthe bright eyes of the Princess, and had sent this deluge to extinguish\nthem. Then he offered his hand to conduct the Princess, and she said\nsoftly:\n\n\u2018As you could not possibly guess how much I like you, Sir Fanfaronade,\nI am obliged to tell you plainly that, since I saw you enter the town\non your beautiful prancing horse, I have been sorry that you came to\nspeak for another instead of for yourself. So, if you think about it as\nI do, I will marry you instead of your master. Of course I know you are\nnot a prince, but I shall be just as fond of you as if you were, and we\ncan go and live in some cosy little corner of the world, and be as\nhappy as the days are long.\u2019\n\nThe Ambassador thought he must be dreaming, and could hardly believe\nwhat the lovely Princess said. He dared not answer, but only squeezed\nthe Princess\u2019s hand until he really hurt her little finger, but she did\nnot cry out. When they reached the palace the King kissed his daughter\non both cheeks, and said:\n\n\u2018My little lambkin, are you willing to marry the great King Merlin\u2019s\nson, for this Ambassador has come on his behalf to fetch you?\u2019\n\n\u2018If you please, sire,\u2019 said the Princess, dropping a curtsey.\n\n\u2018I consent also,\u2019 said the Queen; \u2018so let the banquet be prepared.\u2019\n\nThis was done with all speed, and everybody feasted except Mayblossom\nand Fanfaronade, who looked at one another and forgot everything else.\n\nAfter the banquet came a ball, and after that again a ballet, and at\nlast they were all so tired that everyone fell asleep just where he\nsat. Only the lovers were as wide-awake as mice, and the Princess,\nseeing that there was nothing to fear, said to Fanfaronade:\n\n\u2018Let us be quick and run away, for we shall never have a better chance\nthan this.\u2019\n\nThen she took the King\u2019s dagger, which was in a diamond sheath, and the\nQueen\u2019s neck-handkerchief, and gave her hand to Fanfaronade, who\ncarried a lantern, and they ran out together into the muddy street and\ndown to the sea-shore. Here they got into a little boat in which the\npoor old boatman was sleeping, and when he woke up and saw the lovely\nPrincess, with all her diamonds and her spiders\u2019\u2014web scarf, he did not\nknow what to think, and obeyed her instantly when she commanded him to\nset out. They could see neither moon nor stars, but in the Queen\u2019s\nneck-handkerchief there was a carbuncle which glowed like fifty\ntorches. Fanfaronade asked the Princess where she would like to go, but\nshe only answered that she did not care where she went as long as he\nwas with her.\n\n\u2018But, Princess,\u2019 said he, \u2018I dare not take you back to King Merlin\u2019s\ncourt. He would think hanging too good for me.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, in that case,\u2019 she answered, \u2018we had better go to Squirrel Island;\nit is lonely enough, and too far off for anyone to follow us there.\u2019\n\nSo she ordered the old boatman to steer for Squirrel Island.\n\nMeanwhile the day was breaking, and the King and Queen and all the\ncourtiers began to wake up and rub their eyes, and think it was time to\nfinish the preparations for the wedding. And the Queen asked for her\nneck-handkerchief, that she might look smart. Then there was a\nscurrying hither and thither, and a hunting everywhere: they looked\ninto every place, from the wardrobes to the stoves, and the Queen\nherself ran about from the garret to the cellar, but the handkerchief\nwas nowhere to be found.\n\nBy this time the King had missed his dagger, and the search began all\nover again. They opened boxes and chests of which the keys had been\nlost for a hundred years, and found numbers of curious things, but not\nthe dagger, and the King tore his beard, and the Queen tore her hair,\nfor the handkerchief and the dagger were the most valuable things in\nthe kingdom.\n\nWhen the King saw that the search was hopeless he said:\n\n\u2018Never mind, let us make haste and get the wedding over before anything\nelse is lost.\u2019 And then he asked where the Princess was. Upon this her\nnurse came forward and said:\n\n\u2018Sire, I have been seeking her these two hours, but she is nowhere to\nbe found.\u2019 This was more than the Queen could bear. She gave a shriek\nof alarm and fainted away, and they had to pour two barrels of\neau-de-cologne over her before she recovered. When she came to herself\neverybody was looking for the Princess in the greatest terror and\nconfusion, but as she did not appear, the King said to his page:\n\n\u2018Go and find the Ambassador Fanfaronade, who is doubtless asleep in\nsome corner, and tell him the sad news.\u2019\n\nSo the page hunted hither and thither, but Fanfaronade was no more to\nbe found than the Princess, the dagger, or the neck-handkerchief!\n\nThen the King summoned his counsellors and his guards, and, accompanied\nby the Queen, went into his great hall. As he had not had time to\nprepare his speech beforehand, the King ordered that silence should be\nkept for three hours, and at the end of that time he spoke as follows:\n\n\u2018Listen, great and small! My dear daughter Mayblossom is lost: whether\nshe has been stolen away or has simply disappeared I cannot tell. The\nQueen\u2019s neck-handkerchief and my sword, which are worth their weight in\ngold, are also missing, and, what is worst of all, the Ambassador\nFanfaronade is nowhere to be found. I greatly fear that the King, his\nmaster, when he receives no tidings from him, will come to seek him\namong us, and will accuse us of having made mince-meat of him. Perhaps\nI could bear even that if I had any money, but I assure you that the\nexpenses of the wedding have completely ruined me. Advise me, then, my\ndear subjects, what had I better do to recover my daughter,\nFanfaronade, and the other things.\u2019\n\nThis was the most eloquent speech the King had been known to make, and\nwhen everybody had done admiring it the Prime Minister made answer:\n\n\u2018Sire, we are all very sorry to see you so sorry. We would give\neverything we value in the world to take away the cause of your sorrow,\nbut this seems to be another of the tricks of the Fairy Carabosse. The\nPrincess\u2019s twenty unlucky years were not quite over, and really, if the\ntruth must be told, I noticed that Fanfaronade and the Princess\nappeared to admire one another greatly. Perhaps this may give some clue\nto the mystery of their disappearance.\u2019\n\nHere the Queen interrupted him, saying, \u2018Take care what you say, sir.\nBelieve me, the Princess Mayblossom was far too well brought up to\nthink of falling in love with an Ambassador.\u2019\n\nAt this the nurse came forward, and, falling on her knees, confessed\nhow they had made the little needle-hole in the tower, and how the\nPrincess had declared when she saw the Ambassador that she would marry\nhim and nobody else. Then the Queen was very angry, and gave the nurse,\nand the cradle-rocker, and the nursery-maid such a scolding that they\nshook in their shoes. But the Admiral Cocked-Hat interrupted her,\ncrying:\n\n\u2018Let us be off after this good-for-nothing Fanfaronade, for with out a\ndoubt he has run away with our Princess.\u2019\n\nThen there was a great clapping of hands, and everybody shouted, \u2018By\nall means let us be after him.\u2019\n\nSo while some embarked upon the sea, the others ran from kingdom to\nkingdom beating drums and blowing trumpets, and wherever a crowd\ncollected they cried:\n\n\u2018Whoever wants a beautiful doll, sweetmeats of all kinds, a little pair\nof scissors, a golden robe, and a satin cap has only to say where\nFanfaronade has hidden the Princess Mayblossom.\u2019\n\nBut the answer everywhere was, \u2018You must go farther, we have not seen\nthem.\u2019\n\nHowever, those who went by sea were more fortunate, for after sailing\nabout for some time they noticed a light before them which burned at\nnight like a great fire. At first they dared not go near it, not\nknowing what it might be, but by-and-by it remained stationary over\nSquirrel Island, for, as you have guessed already, the light was the\nglowing of the carbuncle. The Princess and Fanfaronade on landing upon\nthe island had given the boatman a hundred gold pieces, and made him\npromise solemnly to tell no one where he had taken them; but the first\nthing that happened was that, as he rowed away, he got into the midst\nof the fleet, and before he could escape the Admiral had seen him and\nsent a boat after him.\n\nWhen he was searched they found the gold pieces in his pocket, and as\nthey were quite new coins, struck in honour of the Princess\u2019s wedding,\nthe Admiral felt certain that the boatman must have been paid by the\nPrincess to aid her in her flight. But he would not answer any\nquestions, and pretended to be deaf and dumb.\n\nThen the Admiral said: \u2018Oh! deaf and dumb is he? Lash him to the mast\nand give him a taste of the cat-o\u2019-nine-tails. I don\u2019t know anything\nbetter than that for curing the deaf and dumb!\u2019\n\nAnd when the old boatman saw that he was in earnest, he told all he\nknew about the cavalier and the lady whom he had landed upon Squirrel\nIsland, and the Admiral knew it must be the Princess and Fanfaronade;\nso he gave the order for the fleet to surround the island.\n\nMeanwhile the Princess Mayblossom, who was by this time terribly\nsleepy, had found a grassy bank in the shade, and throwing herself down\nhad already fallen into a profound slumber, when Fanfaronade, who\nhappened to be hungry and not sleepy, came and woke her up, saying,\nvery crossly:\n\n\u2018Pray, madam, how long do you mean to stay here? I see nothing to eat,\nand though you may be very charming, the sight of you does not prevent\nme from famishing.\u2019\n\n\u2018What! Fanfaronade,\u2019 said the Princess, sitting up and rubbing her\neyes, \u2018is it possible that when I am here with you you can want\nanything else? You ought to be thinking all the time how happy you\nare.\u2019\n\n\u2018Happy!\u2019 cried he; \u2018say rather unhappy. I wish with all my heart that\nyou were back in your dark tower again.\u2019\n\n\u2018Darling, don\u2019t be cross,\u2019 said the Princess. \u2018I will go and see if I\ncan find some wild fruit for you.\u2019\n\n\u2018I wish you might find a wolf to eat you up,\u2019 growled Fanfaronade.\n\nThe Princess, in great dismay, ran hither and thither all about the\nwood, tearing her dress, and hurting her pretty white hands with the\nthorns and brambles, but she could find nothing good to eat, and at\nlast she had to go back sorrowfully to Fanfaronade. When he saw that\nshe came empty-handed he got up and left her, grumbling to himself.\n\nThe next day they searched again, but with no better success.\n\n\u2018Alas!\u2019 said the Princess, \u2018if only I could find something for you to\neat, I should not mind being hungry myself.\u2019\n\n\u2018No, I should not mind that either,\u2019 answered Fanfaronade.\n\n\u2018Is it possible,\u2019 said she, \u2018that you would not care if I died of\nhunger? Oh, Fanfaronade, you said you loved me!\u2019\n\n\u2018That was when we were in quite another place and I was not hungry,\u2019\nsaid he. \u2018It makes a great difference in one\u2019s ideas to be dying of\nhunger and thirst on a desert island.\u2019\n\nAt this the Princess was dreadfully vexed, and she sat down under a\nwhite rose bush and began to cry bitterly.\n\n\u2018Happy roses,\u2019 she thought to herself, \u2018they have only to blossom in\nthe sunshine and be admired, and there is nobody to be unkind to them.\u2019\nAnd the tears ran down her cheeks and splashed on to the rose-tree\nroots. Presently she was surprised to see the whole bush rustling and\nshaking, and a soft little voice from the prettiest rosebud said:\n\n\u2018Poor Princess! look in the trunk of that tree, and you will find a\nhoneycomb, but don\u2019t be foolish enough to share it with Fanfaronade.\u2019\n\nMayblossom ran to the tree, and sure enough there was the honey.\nWithout losing a moment she ran with it to Fanfaronade, crying gaily:\n\n\u2018See, here is a honeycomb that I have found. I might have eaten it up\nall by myself, but I had rather share it with you.\u2019\n\nBut without looking at her or thanking her he snatched the honey comb\nout of her hands and ate it all up\u2014every bit, without offering her a\nmorsel. Indeed, when she humbly asked for some he said mockingly that\nit was too sweet for her, and would spoil her teeth.\n\nMayblossom, more downcast than ever, went sadly away and sat down under\nan oak tree, and her tears and sighs were so piteous that the oak\nfanned her with his rustling leaves, and said:\n\n\u2018Take courage, pretty Princess, all is not lost yet. Take this pitcher\nof milk and drink it up, and whatever you do, don\u2019t leave a drop for\nFanfaronade.\u2019\n\nThe Princess, quite astonished, looked round, and saw a big pitcher\nfull of milk, but before she could raise it to her lips the thought of\nhow thirsty Fanfaronade must be, after eating at least fifteen pounds\nof honey, made her run back to him and say:\n\n\u2018Here is a pitcher of milk; drink some, for you must be thirsty I am\nsure; but pray save a little for me, as I am dying of hunger and\nthirst.\u2019\n\nBut he seized the pitcher and drank all it contained at a single\ndraught, and then broke it to atoms on the nearest stone, saying with a\nmalicious smile: \u2018As you have not eaten anything you cannot be\nthirsty.\u2019\n\n\u2018Ah!\u2019 cried the Princess, \u2018I am well punished for disappointing the\nKing and Queen, and running away with this Ambassador about whom I knew\nnothing.\u2019\n\nAnd so saying she wandered away into the thickest part of the wood, and\nsat down under a thorn tree, where a nightingale was singing. Presently\nshe heard him say: \u2018Search under the bush Princess; you will find some\nsugar, almonds, and some tarts there But don\u2019t be silly enough to offer\nFanfaronade any.\u2019 And this time the Princess, who was fainting with\nhunger, took the nightingale\u2019s advice, and ate what she found all by\nherself. But Fanfaronade, seeing that she had found something good, and\nwas not going to share it with him, ran after her in such a fury that\nshe hastily drew out the Queen\u2019s carbuncle, which had the property of\nrendering people invisible if they were in danger, and when she was\nsafely hidden from him she reproached him gently for his unkindness.\n\nMeanwhile Admiral Cocked-Hat had despatched\nJack-the-Chatterer-of-the-Straw-Boots, Courier in Ordinary to the Prime\nMinister, to tell the King that the Princess and the Ambassador had\nlanded on Squirrel Island, but that not knowing the country he had not\npursued them, for fear of being captured by concealed enemies. Their\nMajesties were overjoyed at the news, and the King sent for a great\nbook, each leaf of which was eight ells long. It was the work of a very\nclever Fairy, and contained a description of the whole earth. He very\nsoon found that Squirrel Island was uninhabited.\n\n\u2018Go,\u2019 said he, to Jack-the-Chatterer, \u2018tell the Admiral from me to land\nat once. I am surprised at his not having done so sooner.\u2019 As soon as\nthis message reached the fleet, every preparation was made for war, and\nthe noise was so great that it reached the ears of the Princess, who at\nonce flew to protect her lover. As he was not very brave he accepted\nher aid gladly.\n\n\u2018You stand behind me,\u2019 said she, \u2018and I will hold the carbuncle which\nwill make us invisible, and with the King\u2019s dagger I can protect you\nfrom the enemy.\u2019 So when the soldiers landed they could see nothing,\nbut the Princess touched them one after another with the dagger, and\nthey fell insensible upon the sand, so that at last the Admiral, seeing\nthat there was some enchantment, hastily gave orders for a retreat to\nbe sounded, and got his men back into their boats in great confusion.\n\nFanfaronade, being once more left with the Princess, began to think\nthat if he could get rid of her, and possess himself of the carbuncle\nand the dagger, he would be able to make his escape. So as they walked\nback over the cliffs he gave the Princess a great push, hoping she\nwould fall into the sea; but she stepped aside so quickly that he only\nsucceeded in overbalancing himself, and over he went, and sank to the\nbottom of the sea like a lump of lead, and was never heard of any more.\nWhile the Princess was still looking after him in horror, her attention\nwas attracted by a rushing noise over her head, and looking up she saw\ntwo chariots approaching rapidly from opposite directions. One was\nbright and glittering, and drawn by swans and peacocks, while the Fairy\nwho sat in it was beautiful as a sunbeam; but the other was drawn by\nbats and ravens, and contained a frightful little Dwarf, who was\ndressed in a snake\u2019s skin, and wore a great toad upon her head for a\nhood. The chariots met with a frightful crash in mid-air, and the\nPrincess looked on in breathless anxiety while a furious battle took\nplace between the lovely Fairy with her golden lance, and the hideous\nlittle Dwarf and her rusty pike. But very soon it was evident that the\nBeauty had the best of it, and the Dwarf turned her bats\u2019 heads and\nflickered away in great confusion, while the Fairy came down to where\nthe Princess stood, and said, smiling, \u2018You see Princess, I have\ncompletely routed that malicious old Carabosse. Will you believe it!\nshe actually wanted to claim authority over you for ever, because you\ncame out of the tower four days before the twenty years were ended.\nHowever, I think I have settled her pretensions, and I hope you will be\nvery happy and enjoy the freedom I have won for you.\u2019\n\nThe Princess thanked her heartily, and then the Fairy despatched one of\nher peacocks to her palace to bring a gorgeous robe for Mayblossom, who\ncertainly needed it, for her own was torn to shreds by the thorns and\nbriars. Another peacock was sent to the Admiral to tell him that he\ncould now land in perfect safety, which he at once did, bringing all\nhis men with him, even to Jack-the-Chatterer, who, happening to pass\nthe spit upon which the Admiral\u2019s dinner was roasting, snatched it up\nand brought it with him.\n\nAdmiral Cocked-Hat was immensely surprised when he came upon the golden\nchariot, and still more so to see two lovely ladies walking under the\ntrees a little farther away. When he reached them, of course he\nrecognised the Princess, and he went down on his knees and kissed her\nhand quite joyfully. Then she presented him to the Fairy, and told him\nhow Carabosse had been finally routed, and he thanked and congratulated\nthe Fairy, who was most gracious to him. While they were talking she\ncried suddenly:\n\n\u2018I declare I smell a savoury dinner.\u2019\n\n\u2018Why yes, Madam, here it is,\u2019 said Jack-the-Chatterer, holding up the\nspit, where all the pheasants and partridges were frizzling. \u2018Will your\nHighness please to taste any of them?\u2019\n\n\u2018By all means,\u2019 said the Fairy, \u2018especially as the Princess will\ncertainly be glad of a good meal.\u2019\n\nSo the Admiral sent back to his ship for everything that was needful,\nand they feasted merrily under the trees. By the time they had finished\nthe peacock had come back with a robe for the Princess, in which the\nFairy arrayed her. It was of green and gold brocade, embroidered with\npearls and rubies, and her long golden hair was tied back with strings\nof diamonds and emeralds, and crowned with flowers. The Fairy made her\nmount beside her in the golden chariot, and took her on board the\nAdmiral\u2019s ship, where she bade her farewell, sending many messages of\nfriendship to the Queen, and bidding the Princess tell her that she was\nthe fifth Fairy who had attended the christening. Then salutes were\nfired, the fleet weighed anchor, and very soon they reached the port.\nHere the King and Queen were waiting, and they received the Princess\nwith such joy and kindness that she could not get a word in edgewise,\nto say how sorry she was for having run away with such a very poor\nspirited Ambassador. But, after all, it must have been all Carabosse\u2019s\nfault. Just at this lucky moment who should arrive but King Merlin\u2019s\nson, who had become uneasy at not receiving any news from his\nAmbassador, and so had started himself with a magnificent escort of a\nthousand horsemen, and thirty body-guards in gold and scarlet uniforms,\nto see what could have happened. As he was a hundred times handsomer\nand braver than the Ambassador, the Princess found she could like him\nvery much. So the wedding was held at once, with so much splendour and\nrejoicing that all the previous misfortunes were quite forgotten.[1]\n\n [1] _La Princesse Printani\u00e8re._ Par Mme. d\u2019Aulnoy.\n\n\n\n\nSORIA MORIA CASTLE\n\n\nThere was once upon a time a couple of folks who had a son called\nHalvor. Ever since he had been a little boy he had been unwilling to do\nany work, and had just sat raking about among the ashes. His parents\nsent him away to learn several things, but Halvor stayed nowhere, for\nwhen he had been gone two or three days he always ran away from his\nmaster, hurried off home, and sat down in the chimney corner to grub\namong the ashes again.\n\nOne day, however, a sea captain came and asked Halvor if he hadn\u2019t a\nfancy to come with him and go to sea, and behold foreign lands. And\nHalvor had a fancy for that, so he was not long in getting ready.\n\nHow long they sailed I have no idea, but after a long, long time there\nwas a terrible storm, and when it was over and all had become calm\nagain, they knew not where they were, for they had been driven away to\na strange coast of which none of them had any knowledge.\n\nAs there was no wind at all they lay there becalmed, and Halvor asked\nthe skipper to give him leave to go on shore to look about him, for he\nwould much rather do that than lie there and sleep.\n\n\u2018Dost thou think that thou art fit to go where people can see thee?\u2019\nsaid the skipper; \u2018thou hast no clothes but those rags thou art going\nabout in!\u2019\n\nHalvor still begged for leave, and at last got it, but he was to come\nback at once if the wind began to rise.\n\nSo he went on shore, and it was a delightful country; whithersoever he\nwent there were wide plains with fields and meadows, but as for people,\nthere were none to be seen. The wind began to rise, but Halvor thought\nthat he had not seen enough yet, and that he would like to walk about a\nlittle longer, to try if he could not meet somebody. So after a while\nhe came to a great highway, which was so smooth that an egg might have\nbeen rolled along it without breaking. Halvor followed this, and when\nevening drew near he saw a big castle far away in the distance, and\nthere were lights in it. So as he had now been walking the whole day\nand had not brought anything to eat away with him, he was frightfully\nhungry. Nevertheless, the nearer he came to the castle the more afraid\nhe was.\n\nA fire was burning in the castle, and Halvor went into the kitchen,\nwhich was more magnificent than any kitchen he had ever yet beheld.\nThere were vessels of gold and silver, but not one human being was to\nbe seen. When Halvor had stood there for some time, and no one had come\nout, he went in and opened a door, and inside a Princess was sitting at\nher wheel spinning.\n\n\u2018Nay!\u2019 she cried, \u2018can Christian folk dare to come hither? But the best\nthing that you can do is to go away again, for if not the Troll will\ndevour you. A Troll with three heads lives here.\u2019\n\n\u2018I should have been just as well pleased if he had had four heads more,\nfor I should have enjoyed seeing the fellow,\u2019 said the youth; \u2018and I\nwon\u2019t go away, for I have done no harm, but you must give me something\nto eat, for I am frightfully hungry.\u2019\n\nWhen Halvor had eaten his fill, the Princess told him to try if he\ncould wield the sword which was hanging on the wall, but he could not\nwield it, nor could he even lift it up.\n\n\u2018Well, then, you must take a drink out of that bottle which is hanging\nby its side, for that\u2019s what the Troll does whenever he goes out and\nwants to use the sword,\u2019 said the Princess.\n\nHalvor took a draught, and in a moment he was able to swing the sword\nabout with perfect ease. And now he thought it was high time for the\nTroll to make his appearance, and at that very moment he came, panting\nfor breath.\n\nHalvor got behind the door.\n\n\u2018Hutetu!\u2019 said the Troll as he put his head in at the door. \u2018It smells\njust as if there were Christian man\u2019s blood here!\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes, you shall learn that there is!\u2019 said Halvor, and cut off all his\nheads.\n\nThe Princess was so rejoiced to be free that she danced and sang, but\nthen she remembered her sisters, and said: \u2018If my sisters were but free\ntoo!\u2019\n\n\u2018Where are they?\u2019 asked Halvor.\n\nSo she told him where they were. One of them had been taken away by a\nTroll to his castle, which was six miles off, and the other had been\ncarried off to a castle which was nine miles farther off still.\n\n\u2018But now,\u2019 said she, \u2018you must first help me to get this dead body away\nfrom here.\u2019\n\nHalvor was so strong that he cleared everything away, and made all\nclean and tidy very quickly. So then they ate and drank, and were\nhappy, and next morning he set off in the grey light of dawn. He gave\nhimself no rest, but walked or ran the livelong day. When he came in\nsight of the castle he was again just a little afraid. It was much more\nsplendid than the other, but here too there was not a human being to be\nseen. So Halvor went into the kitchen, and did not linger there either,\nbut went straight in.\n\n\u2018Nay! do Christian folk dare to come here?\u2019 cried the second Princess.\n\u2018I know not how long it is since I myself came, but during all that\ntime I have never seen a Christian man. It will be better for you to\ndepart at once, for a Troll lives here who has six heads.\u2019\n\n\u2018No, I shall not go,\u2019 said Halvor; \u2018even if he had six more I would\nnot.\u2019\n\n\u2018He will swallow you up alive,\u2019 said the Princess.\n\nBut she spoke to no purpose, for Halvor would not go; he was not afraid\nof the Troll, but he wanted some meat and drink, for he was hungry\nafter his journey. So she gave him as much as he would have, and then\nshe once more tried to make him go away.\n\n\u2018No,\u2019 said Halvor, \u2018I will not go, for I have not done anything wrong,\nand I have no reason to be afraid.\u2019\n\n\u2018He won\u2019t ask any questions about that,\u2019 said the Princess, \u2018for he\nwill take you without leave or right; but as you will not go, try if\nyou can wield that sword which the Troll uses in battle.\u2019\n\nHe could not brandish the sword; so the Princess said that he was to\ntake a draught from the flask which hung by its side, and when he had\ndone that he could wield the sword.\n\nSoon afterwards the Troll came, and he was so large and stout that he\nwas forced to go sideways to get through the door. When the Troll got\nhis first head in he cried: \u2018Hutetu! It smells of a Christian man\u2019s\nblood here!\u2019\n\nWith that Halvor cut off the first head, and so on with all the rest.\nThe Princess was now exceedingly delighted, but then she remembered her\nsisters, and wished that they too were free. Halvor thought that might\nbe managed, and wanted to set off immediately; but first he had to help\nthe Princess to remove the Troll\u2019s body, so it was not until morning\nthat he set forth on his way.\n\nIt was a long way to the castle, and he both walked and ran to get\nthere in time. Late in the evening he caught sight of it, and it was\nvery much more magnificent than either of the others. And this time he\nwas not in the least afraid, but went into the kitchen, and then\nstraight on inside the castle. There a Princess was sitting, who was so\nbeautiful that there was never anyone to equal her. She too said what\nthe others had said, that no Christian folk had ever been there since\nshe had come, and entreated him to go away again, or else the Troll\nwould swallow him up alive. The Troll had nine heads, she told him.\n\n\u2018Yes, and if he had nine added to the nine, and then nine more still, I\nwould not go away,\u2019 said Halvor, and went and stood by the stove.\n\nThe Princess begged him very prettily to go lest the Troll should\ndevour him; but Halvor said, \u2018Let him come when he will.\u2019\n\nSo she gave him the Troll\u2019s sword, and bade him take a drink from the\nflask to enable him to wield it.\n\nAt that same moment the Troll came, breathing hard, and he was ever so\nmuch bigger and stouter than either of the others, and he too was\nforced to go sideways to get in through the door.\n\n\u2018Hutetu! what a smell of Christian blood there is here!\u2019 said he.\n\nThen Halvor cut off the first head, and after that the others, but the\nlast was the toughest of them all, and it was the hardest work that\nHalvor had ever done to get it off, but he still believed that he would\nhave strength enough to do it.\n\nAnd now all the Princesses came to the castle, and were together again,\nand they were happier than they had ever been in their lives; and they\nwere delighted with Halvor, and he with them, and he was to choose the\none he liked best; but of the three sisters the youngest loved him\nbest.\n\nBut Halvor went about and was so strange and so mournful and quiet that\nthe Princesses asked what it was that he longed for, and if he did not\nlike to be with them. He said that he did like to be with them, for\nthey had enough to live on, and he was very comfortable there; but he\nlonged to go home, for his father and mother were alive, and he had a\ngreat desire to see them again.\n\nThey thought that this might easily be done.\n\n\u2018You shall go and return in perfect safety if you will follow our\nadvice,\u2019 said the Princesses.\n\nSo he said that he would do nothing that they did not wish.\n\nThen they dressed him so splendidly that he was like a King\u2019s son; and\nthey put a ring on his finger, and it was one which would enable him to\ngo there and back again by wishing, but they told him that he must not\nthrow it away, or name their names; for if he did, all his magnificence\nwould be at an end, and then he would never see them more.\n\n\u2018If I were but at home again, or if home were but here!\u2019 said Halvor,\nand no sooner had he wished this than it was granted. Halvor was\nstanding outside his father and mother\u2019s cottage before he knew what he\nwas about. The darkness of night was coming on, and when the father and\nmother saw such a splendid and stately stranger walk in, they were so\nstartled that they both began to bow and curtsey.\n\nHalvor then inquired if he could stay there and have lodging for the\nnight. No, that he certainly could not. \u2018We can give you no such\naccommodation,\u2019 they said, \u2018for we have none of the things that are\nneedful when a great lord like you is to be entertained. It will be\nbetter for you to go up to the farm. It is not far off, you can see the\nchimney-pots from here, and there they have plenty of everything.\u2019\n\nHalvor would not hear of that, he was absolutely determined to stay\nwhere he was; but the old folks stuck to what they had said, and told\nhim that he was to go to the farm, where he could get both meat and\ndrink, whereas they themselves had not even a chair to offer him.\n\n\u2018No,\u2019 said Halvor, \u2018I will not go up there till early to-morrow\nmorning; let me stay here to-night. I can sit down on the hearth.\u2019\n\nThey could say nothing against that, so Halvor sat down on the hearth,\nand began to rake about among the ashes just as he had done before,\nwhen he lay there idling away his time.\n\nThey chattered much about many things, and told Halvor of this and of\nthat, and at last he asked them if they had never had any child.\n\n\u2018Yes,\u2019 they said; they had had a boy who was called Halvor, but they\ndid not know where he had gone, and they could not even say whether he\nwere dead or alive.\n\n\u2018Could I be he?\u2019 said Halvor.\n\n\u2018I should know him well enough,\u2019 said the old woman rising. \u2018Our Halvor\nwas so idle and slothful that he never did anything at all, and he was\nso ragged that one hole ran into another all over his clothes. Such a\nfellow as he was could never turn into such a man as you are, sir.\u2019\n\nIn a short time the old woman had to go to the fireplace to stir the\nfire, and when the blaze lit up Halvor, as it used to do when he was at\nhome raking up the ashes, she knew him again.\n\n\u2018Good Heavens! is that you, Halvor?\u2019 said she, and such great gladness\nfell on the old parents that there were no bounds to it. And now he had\nto relate everything that had befallen him, and the old woman was so\ndelighted with him that she would take him up to the farm at once to\nshow him to the girls who had formerly looked down on him so. She went\nthere first, and Halvor followed her. When she got there she told them\nhow Halvor had come home again, and now they should just see how\nmagnificent he was. \u2018He looks like a prince,\u2019 she said.\n\n\u2018We shall see that he is just the same ragamuffin that he was before,\u2019\nsaid the girls, tossing their heads.\n\nAt that same moment Halvor entered, and the girls were so astonished\nthat they left their kirtles lying in the chimney corner, and ran away\nin nothing but their petticoats. When they came in again they were so\nshamefaced that they hardly dared to look at Halvor, towards whom they\nhad always been so proud and haughty before.\n\n\u2018Ay, ay! you have always thought that you were so pretty and dainty\nthat no one was equal to you,\u2019 said Halvor, \u2018but you should just see\nthe eldest Princess whom I set free. You look like herds-women compared\nwith her, and the second Princess is also much prettier than you; but\nthe youngest, who is my sweetheart, is more beautiful than either sun\nor moon. I wish to Heaven they were here, and then you would see them.\u2019\n\nScarcely had he said this before they were standing by his side, but\nthen he was very sorrowful, for the words which they had said to him\ncame to his mind.\n\nUp at the farm a great feast was made ready for the Princesses, and\nmuch respect paid to them, but they would not stay there.\n\n\u2018We want to go down to your parents,\u2019 they said to Halvor, \u2018so we will\ngo out and look about us.\u2019\n\nHe followed them out, and they came to a large pond outside the\nfarm-house. Very near the water there was a pretty green bank, and\nthere the Princesses said they would sit down and while away an hour,\nfor they thought that it would be pleasant to sit and look out over the\nwater, they said.\n\nThere they sat down, and when they had sat for a short time the\nyoungest Princess said, \u2018I may as well comb your hair a little,\nHalvor.\u2019\n\nSo Halvor laid his head down on her lap, and she combed it, and it was\nnot long before he fell asleep. Then she took her ring from him and put\nanother in its place, and then she said to her sisters: \u2018Hold me as I\nam holding you. I would that we were at Soria Moria Castle.\u2019\n\nWhen Halvor awoke he knew that he had lost the Princesses, and began to\nweep and lament, and was so unhappy that he could not be comforted. In\nspite of all his father\u2019s and mother\u2019s entreaties, he would not stay,\nbut bade them farewell, saying that he would never see them more, for\nif he did not find the Princess again he did not think it worth while\nto live.\n\nHe again had three hundred dollars, which he put into his pocket and\nwent on his way. When he had walked some distance he met a man with a\ntolerably good horse. Halvor longed to buy it, and began to bargain\nwith the man.\n\n\u2018Well, I have not exactly been thinking of selling him,\u2019 said the man,\n\u2018but if we could agree, perhaps\u2014\u2014\u2019\n\nHalvor inquired how much he wanted to have for the horse.\n\n\u2018I did not give much for him, and he is not worth much; he is a capital\nhorse to ride, but good for nothing at drawing; but he will always be\nable to carry your bag of provisions and you too, if you walk and ride\nby turns.\u2019 At last they agreed about the price, and Halvor laid his bag\non the horse, and sometimes he walked and sometimes he rode. In the\nevening he came to a green field, where stood a great tree, under which\nhe seated himself. Then he let the horse loose and lay down to sleep,\nbut before he did that he took his bag off the horse. At daybreak he\nset off again, for he did not feel as if he could take any rest. So he\nwalked and rode the whole day, through a great wood where there were\nmany green places which gleamed very prettily among the trees. He did\nnot know where he was or whither he was going, but he never lingered\nlonger in any place than was enough to let his horse get a little food\nwhen they came to one of these green spots, while he himself took out\nhis bag of provisions.\n\nSo he walked and he rode, and it seemed to him that the wood would\nnever come to an end. But on the evening of the second day he saw a\nlight shining through the trees.\n\n\u2018If only there were some people up there I might warm myself and get\nsomething to eat,\u2019 thought Halvor.\n\nWhen he got to the place where the light had come from, he saw a\nwretched little cottage, and through a small pane of glass he saw a\ncouple of old folks inside. They were very old, and as grey-headed as a\npigeon, and the old woman had such a long nose that she sat in the\nchimney corner and used it to stir the fire.\n\n\u2018Good evening! good evening!\u2019 said the old hag; \u2018but what errand have\nyou that can bring you here? No Christian folk have been here for more\nthan a hundred years.\u2019\n\nSo Halvor told her that he wanted to get to Soria Moria Castle, and\ninquired if she knew the way thither.\n\n\u2018No,\u2019 said the old woman, \u2018that I do not, but the Moon will be here\npresently, and I will ask her, and she will know. She can easily see\nit, for she shines on all things.\u2019\n\nSo when the Moon stood clear and bright above the tree-tops the old\nwoman went out. \u2018Moon! Moon!\u2019 she screamed. \u2018Canst thou tell me the way\nto Soria Moria Castle?\u2019\n\n\u2018No,\u2019 said the Moon, \u2018that I can\u2019t, for when I shone there, there was a\ncloud before me.\u2019\n\n\u2018Wait a little longer,\u2019 said the old woman to Halvor, \u2018for the West\nWind will presently be here, and he will know it, for he breathes\ngently or blows into every corner.\u2019\n\n\u2018What! have you a horse too?\u2019 she said when she came in again. \u2018Oh! let\nthe poor creature loose in our bit of fenced-in pasture, and don\u2019t let\nit stand there starving at our very door. But won\u2019t you exchange him\nwith me? We have a pair of old boots here with which you can go fifteen\nquarters of a mile at each step. You shall have them for the horse, and\nthen you will be able to get sooner to Soria Moria Castle.\u2019\n\nHalvor consented to this at once, and the old woman was so delighted\nwith the horse that she was ready to dance. \u2018For now I, too, shall be\nable to ride to church,\u2019 she said. Halvor could take no rest, and\nwanted to set off immediately; but the old woman said that there was no\nneed to hasten. \u2018Lie down on the bench and sleep a little, for we have\nno bed to offer you,\u2019 said she, \u2018and I will watch for the coming of the\nWest Wind.\u2019\n\nEre long came the West Wind, roaring so loud that the walls creaked.\n\nThe old woman went out and cried:\n\n\u2018West Wind! West Wind! Canst thou tell me the way to Soria Moria\nCastle? Here is one who would go thither.\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes, I know it well,\u2019 said the West Wind. \u2018I am just on my way there\nto dry the clothes for the wedding which is to take place. If he is\nfleet of foot he can go with me.\u2019\n\nOut ran Halvor.\n\n\u2018You will have to make haste if you mean to go with me,\u2019 said the West\nWind; and away it went over hill and dale, and moor and morass, and\nHalvor had enough to do to keep up with it.\n\n\u2018Well, now I have no time to stay with you any longer,\u2019 said the West\nWind, \u2018for I must first go and tear down a bit of spruce fir before I\ngo to the bleaching-ground to dry the clothes; but just go along the\nside of the hill, and you will come to some girls who are standing\nthere washing clothes, and then you will not have to walk far before\nyou are at Soria Moria Castle.\u2019\n\nShortly afterwards Halvor came to the girls who were standing washing,\nand they asked him if he had seen anything of the West Wind, who was to\ncome there to dry the clothes for the wedding.\n\n\u2018Yes,\u2019 said Halvor, \u2018he has only gone to break down a bit of spruce\nfir. It won\u2019t be long before he is here.\u2019 And then he asked them the\nway to Soria Moria Castle. They put him in the right way, and when he\ncame in front of the castle it was so full of horses and people that it\nswarmed with them. But Halvor was so ragged and torn with following the\nWest Wind through bushes and bogs that he kept on one side, and would\nnot go among the crowd until the last day, when the feast was to be\nheld at noon.\n\nSo when, as was the usage and custom, all were to drink to the bride\nand the young girls who were present, the cup-bearer filled the cup for\neach in turn, both bride and bridegroom, and knights and servants, and\nat last, after a very long time, he came to Halvor. He drank their\nhealth, and then slipped the ring which the Princess had put on his\nfinger when they were sitting by the waterside into the glass, and\nordered the cup-bearer to carry the glass to the bride from him and\ngreet her.\n\nThen the Princess at once rose up from the table, and said, \u2018Who is\nmost worthy to have one of us\u2014he who has delivered us from the Trolls\nor he who is sitting here as bridegroom?\u2019\n\nThere could be but one opinion as to that, everyone thought, and when\nHalvor heard what they said he was not long in flinging off his\nbeggar\u2019s rags and arraying himself as a bridegroom.\n\n\u2018Yes, he is the right one,\u2019 cried the youngest Princess when she caught\nsight of him; so she flung the other out of the window and held her\nwedding with Halvor.[2]\n\n [2] From P. C. Asbj\u00f8rnsen.\n\n\n\n\nTHE DEATH OF KOSHCHEI THE DEATHLESS\n\n\nIn a certain kingdom there lived a Prince Ivan. He had three sisters.\nThe first was the Princess Marya, the second the Princess Olga, the\nthird the Princess Anna. When their father and mother lay at the point\nof death, they had thus enjoined their son: \u2018Give your sisters in\nmarriage to the very first suitors who come to woo them. Don\u2019t go\nkeeping them by you!\u2019\n\nThey died, and the Prince buried them, and then, to solace his grief,\nhe went with his sisters into the garden green to stroll. Suddenly the\nsky was covered by a black cloud; a terrible storm arose.\n\n\u2018Let us go home, sisters!\u2019 he cried.\n\nHardly had they got into the palace, when the thunder pealed, the\nceiling split open, and into the room where they were came flying a\nfalcon bright. The Falcon smote upon the ground, became a brave youth,\nand said:\n\n\u2018Hail, Prince Ivan! Before I came as a guest, but now I have come as a\nwooer! I wish to propose for your sister, the Princess Marya.\u2019\n\n\u2018If you find favour in the eyes of my sister, I will not interfere with\nher wishes. Let her marry you, in God\u2019s name!\u2019\n\nThe Princess Marya gave her consent; the Falcon married her and bore\nher away into his own realm.\n\nDays follow days, hours chase hours; a whole year goes by. One day\nPrince Ivan and his two sisters went out to stroll in the garden green.\nAgain there arose a storm-cloud, with whirlwind and lightning.\n\n\u2018Let us go home, sisters!\u2019 cries the Prince. Scarcely had they entered\nthe palace when the thunder crashed, the roof burst into a blaze, the\nceiling split in twain, and in flew an eagle. The Eagle smote upon the\nground and became a brave youth.\n\n\u2018Hail, Prince Ivan! Before I came as a guest, but now I have come as a\nwooer!\u2019\n\nAnd he asked for the hand of the Princess Olga. Prince Ivan replied:\n\n\u2018If you find favour in the eyes of the Princess Olga, then let her\nmarry you. I will not interfere with her liberty of choice.\u2019\n\nThe Princess Olga gave her consent and married the Eagle. The Eagle\ntook her and carried her off to his own kingdom.\n\nAnother year went by. Prince Ivan said to his youngest sister:\n\n\u2018Let us go out and stroll in the garden green!\u2019\n\nThey strolled about for a time. Again there arose a storm-cloud, with\nwhirlwind and lightning.\n\n\u2018Let us return home, sister!\u2019 said he.\n\nThey returned home, but they hadn\u2019t had time to sit down when the\nthunder crashed, the ceiling split open, and in flew a raven. The Raven\nsmote upon the floor and became a brave youth. The former youths had\nbeen handsome, but this one was handsomer still.\n\n\u2018Well, Prince Ivan! Before I came as a guest, but now I have come as a\nwooer! Give me the Princess Anna to wife.\u2019\n\n\u2018I won\u2019t interfere with my sister\u2019s freedom. If you gain her\naffections, let her marry you.\u2019\n\nSo the Princess Anna married the Raven, and he bore her away into his\nown realm. Prince Ivan was left alone. A whole year he lived without\nhis sisters; then he grew weary, and said:\n\n\u2018I will set out in search of my sisters.\u2019\n\nHe got ready for the journey, he rode and rode, and one day he saw a\nwhole army lying dead on the plain. He cried aloud, \u2018If there be a\nliving man there, let him make answer! Who has slain this mighty host?\u2019\n\nThere replied unto him a living man:\n\n\u2018All this mighty host has been slain by the fair Princess Marya\nMorevna.\u2019\n\nPrince Ivan rode further on, and came to a white tent, and forth came\nto meet him the fair Princess Marya Morevna.\n\n\u2018Hail, Prince!\u2019 says she; \u2018whither does God send you? and is it of your\nfree will or against your will?\u2019\n\nPrince Ivan replied, \u2018Not against their will do brave youths ride!\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, if your business be not pressing, tarry awhile in my tent.\u2019\n\nThereat was Prince Ivan glad. He spent two nights in the tent, and he\nfound favour in the eyes of Marya Morevna, and she married him. The\nfair Princess, Marya Morevna, carried him off into her own realm.\n\nThey spent some time together, and then the Princess took it into her\nhead to go a warring. So she handed over all the house-keeping affairs\nto Prince Ivan, and gave him these instructions:\n\n\u2018Go about everywhere, keep watch over everything; only do not venture\nto look into that closet there.\u2019\n\nHe couldn\u2019t help doing so. The moment Marya Morevna had gone he rushed\nto the closet, pulled open the door, and looked in\u2014there hung Koshchei\nthe Deathless, fettered by twelve chains. Then Koshchei entreated\nPrince Ivan, saying:\n\n\u2018Have pity upon me and give me to drink! Ten years long have I been\nhere in torment, neither eating nor drinking; my throat is utterly\ndried up.\u2019\n\nThe Prince gave him a bucketful of water; he drank it up and asked for\nmore, saying:\n\n\u2018A single bucket of water will not quench my thirst; give me more!\u2019\n\nThe Prince gave him a second bucketful. Koshchei drank it up and asked\nfor a third, and when he had swallowed the third bucketful, he regained\nhis former strength, gave his chains a shake, and broke all twelve at\nonce.\n\n\u2018Thanks, Prince Ivan!\u2019 cried Koshchei the Deathless, \u2018now you will\nsooner see your own ears than Marya Morevna!\u2019 and out of the window he\nflew in the shape of a terrible whirlwind. And he came up with the fair\nPrincess Marya Morevna as she was going her way, laid hold of her and\ncarried her off home with him. But Prince Ivan wept full sore, and he\narrayed himself and set out a-wandering, saying to himself, \u2018Whatever\nhappens, I will go and look for Marya Morevna!\u2019\n\nOne day passed, another day passed; at the dawn of the third day he saw\na wondrous palace, and by the side of the palace stood an oak, and on\nthe oak sat a falcon bright. Down flew the Falcon from the oak, smote\nupon the ground, turned into a brave youth, and cried aloud:\n\n\u2018Ha, dear brother-in-law! how deals the Lord with you?\u2019\n\nOut came running the Princess Marya, joyfully greeted her brother Ivan,\nand began inquiring after his health, and telling him all about\nherself. The Prince spent three days with them; then he said:\n\n\u2018I cannot abide with you; I must go in search of my wife, the fair\nPrincess Marya Morevna.\u2019\n\n\u2018Hard will it be for you to find her,\u2019 answered the Falcon. \u2018At all\nevents leave with us your silver spoon. We will look at it and remember\nyou.\u2019 So Prince Ivan left his silver spoon at the Falcon\u2019s, and went on\nhis way again.\n\nOn he went one day, on he went another day, and by the dawn of the\nthird day he saw a palace still grander than the former one and hard by\nthe palace stood an oak, and on the oak sat an eagle. Down flew the\nEagle from the oak, smote upon the ground, turned into a brave youth,\nand cried aloud:\n\n\u2018Rise up, Princess Olga! Hither comes our brother dear!\u2019\n\nThe Princess Olga immediately ran to meet him, and began kissing him\nand embracing him, asking after his health, and telling him all about\nherself. With them Prince Ivan stopped three days; then he said:\n\n\u2018I cannot stay here any longer. I am going to look for my wife, the\nfair Princess Marya Morevna.\u2019\n\n\u2018Hard will it be for you to find her,\u2019 replied the Eagle. \u2018Leave with\nus a silver fork. We will look at it and remember you.\u2019\n\nHe left a silver fork behind, and went his way. He travelled one day,\nhe travelled two days; at daybreak on the third day he saw a palace\ngrander than the first two, and near the palace stood an oak, and on\nthe oak sat a raven. Down flew the Raven from the oak, smote upon the\nground, turned into a brave youth, and cried aloud:\n\n\u2018Princess Anna, come forth quickly! our brother is coming.\u2019\n\nOut ran the Princess Anna, greeted him joyfully, and began kissing and\nembracing him, asking after his health and telling him all about\nherself. Prince Ivan stayed with them three days; then he said:\n\n\u2018Farewell! I am going to look for my wife, the fair Princess Marya\nMorevna.\u2019\n\n\u2018Hard will it be for you to find her,\u2019 replied the Raven. \u2018Anyhow,\nleave your silver snuff-box with us. We will look at it and remember\nyou.\u2019\n\nThe Prince handed over his silver snuff-box, took his leave, and went\nhis way. One day he went, another day he went, and on the third day he\ncame to where Marya Morevna was. She caught sight of her love, flung\nher arms around his neck, burst into tears, and exclaimed:\n\n\u2018Oh, Prince Ivan! why did you disobey me and go looking into the closet\nand letting out Koshchei the Deathless?\u2019\n\n\u2018Forgive me, Marya Morevna! Remember not the past; much better fly with\nme while Koshchei the Deathless is out of sight. Perhaps he won\u2019t catch\nus.\u2019\n\nSo they got ready and fled. Now Koshchei was out hunting. Towards\nevening he was returning home, when his good steed stumbled beneath\nhim.\n\n\u2018Why stumblest thou, sorry jade? Scentest thou some ill?\u2019 The steed\nreplied:\n\n\u2018Prince Ivan has come and carried off Marya Morevna.\u2019\n\n\u2018Is it possible to catch them?\u2019\n\n\u2018It is possible to sow wheat, to wait till it grows up, to reap it and\nthresh it, to grind it to flour, to make five pies of it, to eat those\npies, and then to start in pursuit\u2014and even then to be in time.\u2019\nKoshchei galloped off and caught up Prince Ivan.\n\n\u2018Now,\u2019 says he, \u2018this time I will forgive you, in return for your\nkindness in giving me water to drink. And a second time I will forgive\nyou; but the third time beware! I will cut you to bits.\u2019\n\nThen he took Marya Morevna from him, and carried her off. But Prince\nIvan sat down on a stone and burst into tears. He wept and wept\u2014and\nthen returned back again to Marya Morevna. Now Koshchei the Deathless\nhappened not to be at home.\n\n\u2018Let us fly, Marya Morevna!\u2019\n\n\u2018Ah, Prince Ivan! he will catch us.\u2019\n\n\u2018Suppose he does catch us. At all events we shall have spent an hour or\ntwo together.\u2019\n\nSo they got ready and fled. As Koshchei the Deathless was returning\nhome, his good steed stumbled beneath him.\n\n\u2018Why stumblest thou, sorry jade? Scentest thou some ill?\u2019\n\n\u2018Prince Ivan has come and carried off Marya Morevna.\u2019\n\n\u2018Is it possible to catch them?\u2019\n\n\u2018It is possible to sow barley, to wait till it grows up, to reap it and\nthresh it, to brew beer, to drink ourselves drunk on it, to sleep our\nfill, and then to set off in pursuit\u2014and yet to be in time.\u2019\n\nKoshchei galloped off, caught up Prince Ivan:\n\n\u2018Didn\u2019t I tell you that you should not see Marya Morevna any more than\nyour own ears?\u2019\n\nAnd he took her away and carried her off home with him.\n\nPrince Ivan was left there alone. He wept and wept; then he went back\nagain after Marya Morevna. Koshchei happened to be away from home at\nthat moment.\n\n\u2018Let us fly, Marya Morevna!\u2019\n\n\u2018Ah, Prince Ivan! he is sure to catch us and hew you in pieces.\u2019\n\n\u2018Let him hew away! I cannot live without you.\n\nSo they got ready and fled.\n\nKoshchei the Deathless was returning home when his good steed stumbled\nbeneath him.\n\n\u2018Why stumblest thou? Scentest thou any ill?\u2019\n\n\u2018Prince Ivan has come and has carried off Marya Morevna.\u2019\n\nKoshchei galloped off, caught Prince Ivan, chopped him into little\npieces, put them into a barrel, smeared it with pitch and bound it with\niron hoops, and flung it into the blue sea. But Marya Morevna he\ncarried off home.\n\nAt that very time the silver articles turned black which Prince Ivan\nhad left with his brothers-in-law.\n\n\u2018Ah!\u2019 said they, \u2018the evil is accomplished sure enough!\u2019\n\nThen the Eagle hurried to the blue sea, caught hold of the barrel, and\ndragged it ashore; the Falcon flew away for the Water of Life, and the\nRaven for the Water of Death.\n\nAfterwards they all three met, broke open the barrel, took out the\nremains of Prince Ivan, washed them, and put them together in fitting\norder. The Raven sprinkled them with the Water of Death\u2014the pieces\njoined together, the body became whole. The Falcon sprinkled it with\nthe Water of Life\u2014Prince Ivan shuddered, stood up, and said:\n\n\u2018Ah! what a time I\u2019ve been sleeping!\u2019\n\n\u2018You\u2019d have gone on sleeping a good deal longer if it hadn\u2019t been for\nus,\u2019 replied his brothers-in-law. \u2018Now come and pay us a visit.\u2019\n\n\u2018Not so, brothers; I shall go and look for Marya Morevna.\u2019\n\nAnd when he had found her, he said to her:\n\n\u2018Find out from Koshchei the Deathless whence he got so good a steed.\u2019\n\nSo Marya Morevna chose a favourable moment, and began asking Koshchei\nabout it. Koshchei replied:\n\n\u2018Beyond thrice nine lands, in the thirtieth kingdom, on the other side\nof the fiery river, there lives a Baba Yaga. She has so good a mare\nthat she flies right round the world on it every day. And she has many\nother splendid mares. I watched her herds for three days without losing\na single mare, and in return for that the Baba Yaga gave me a foal.\u2019\n\n\u2018But how did you get across the fiery river?\u2019\n\n\u2018Why, I\u2019ve a handkerchief of this kind\u2014when I wave it thrice on the\nright hand, there springs up a very lofty bridge, and the fire cannot\nreach it.\u2019\n\nMarya Morevna listened to all this, and repeated it to Prince Ivan, and\nshe carried off the handkerchief and gave it to him. So he managed to\nget across the fiery river, and then went on to the Baba Yaga\u2019s. Long\nwent he on without getting anything either to eat or to drink. At last\nhe came across an outlandish bird and its young ones. Says Prince Ivan:\n\n\u2018I\u2019ll eat one of these chickens.\u2019\n\n\u2018Don\u2019t eat it, Prince Ivan!\u2019 begs the outlandish bird; \u2018some time or\nother I\u2019ll do you a good turn.\u2019\n\nHe went on farther and saw a hive of bees in the forest.\n\n\u2018I\u2019ll get a bit of honeycomb,\u2019 says he.\n\n\u2018Don\u2019t disturb my honey, Prince Ivan!\u2019 exclaims the queen-bee; \u2018some\ntime or other I\u2019ll do you a good turn.\u2019\n\nSo he didn\u2019t disturb it, but went on. Presently there met him a lioness\nwith her cub.\n\n\u2018Anyhow, I\u2019ll eat this lion cub,\u2019 says he; \u2018I\u2019m so hungry I feel quite\nunwell!\u2019\n\n\u2018Please let us alone, Prince Ivan!\u2019 begs the lioness; \u2018some time or\nother I\u2019ll do you a good turn.\u2019\n\n\u2018Very well; have it your own way,\u2019 says he.\n\nHungry and faint he wandered on, walked farther and farther, and at\nlast came to where stood the house of the Baba Yaga. Round the house\nwere set twelve poles in a circle, and on each of eleven of these poles\nwas stuck a human head; the twelfth alone remained unoccupied.\n\n\u2018Hail, granny!\u2019\n\n\u2018Hail, Prince Ivan! wherefore have you come? Is it of your own accord,\nor on compulsion?\u2019\n\n\u2018I have come to earn from you an heroic steed.\u2019\n\n\u2018So be it, Prince! You won\u2019t have to serve a year with me, but just\nthree days. If you take good care of my mares, I\u2019ll give you an heroic\nsteed. But if you don\u2019t\u2014why, then you mustn\u2019t be annoyed at finding\nyour head stuck on top of the last pole up there.\u2019\n\nPrince Ivan agreed to these terms. The Baba Yaga gave him food and\ndrink, and bade him set about his business. But the moment he had\ndriven the mares afield, they cocked up their tails, and away they tore\nacross the meadows in all directions. Before the Prince had time to\nlook round they were all out of sight. Thereupon he began to weep and\nto disquiet himself, and then he sat down upon a stone and went to\nsleep. But when the sun was near its setting the outlandish bird came\nflying up to him, and awakened him, saying:\n\n\u2018Arise, Prince Ivan! The mares are at home now.\u2019\n\nThe Prince arose and returned home. There the Baba Yaga was storming\nand raging at her mares, and shrieking:\n\n\u2018Whatever did ye come home for?\u2019\n\n\u2018How could we help coming home?\u2019 said they. \u2018There came flying birds\nfrom every part of the world, and all but pecked our eyes out.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, well! to-morrow don\u2019t go galloping over the meadows, but\ndisperse amid the thick forests.\u2019\n\nPrince Ivan slept all night. In the morning the Baba Yaga says to him:\n\n\u2018Mind, Prince! if you don\u2019t take good care of the mares, if you lose\nmerely one of them\u2014your bold head will be stuck on that pole!\u2019\n\nHe drove the mares afield. Immediately they cocked up their tails and\ndispersed among the thick forests. Again did the Prince sit down on the\nstone, weep and weep, and then go to sleep. The sun went down behind\nthe forest. Up came running the lioness.\n\n\u2018Arise, Prince Ivan! The mares are all collected.\u2019\n\nPrince Ivan arose and went home. More than ever did the Baba Yaga storm\nat her mares and shriek:\n\n\u2018Whatever did ye come back home for?\u2019\n\n\u2018How could we help coming back? Beasts of prey came running at us from\nall parts of the world, and all but tore us utterly to pieces.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, to-morrow run off into the blue sea.\u2019\n\nAgain did Prince Ivan sleep through the night. Next morning the Baba\nYaga sent him forth to watch the mares.\n\n\u2018If you don\u2019t take good care of them,\u2019 says she, \u2018your bold head will\nbe stuck on that pole!\u2019\n\nHe drove the mares afield. Immediately they cocked up their tails,\ndisappeared from sight, and fled into the blue sea. There they stood,\nup to their necks in water. Prince Ivan sat down on the stone, wept,\nand fell asleep. But when the sun had set behind the forest, up came\nflying a bee, and said:\n\n\u2018Arise, Prince! The mares are all collected. But when you get home,\ndon\u2019t let the Baba Yaga set eyes on you, but go into the stable and\nhide behind the mangers. There you will find a sorry colt rolling in\nthe muck. Do you steal it, and at the dead of night ride away from the\nhouse.\u2019\n\nPrince Ivan arose, slipped into the stable, and lay down behind the\nmangers, while the Baba Yaga was storming away at her mares and\nshrieking:\n\n\u2018Why did ye come back?\u2019\n\n\u2018How could we help coming back? There came flying bees in countless\nnumbers from all parts of the world, and began stinging us on all sides\ntill the blood came!\u2019\n\nThe Baba Yaga went to sleep. In the dead of the night Prince Ivan stole\nthe sorry colt, saddled it, jumped on its back, and galloped away to\nthe fiery river. When he came to that river he waved the handkerchief\nthree times on the right hand, and suddenly, springing goodness knows\nwhence, there hung across the river, high in the air, a splendid\nbridge. The Prince rode across the bridge and waved the handkerchief\ntwice only on the left hand; there remained across the river a thin,\never so thin a bridge!\n\nWhen the Baba Yaga got up in the morning the sorry colt was not to be\nseen! Off she set in pursuit. At full speed did she fly in her iron\nmortar, urging it on with the pestle, sweeping away her traces with the\nbroom. She dashed up to the fiery river, gave a glance, and said, \u2018A\ncapital bridge!\u2019 She drove on to the bridge, but had only got half-way\nwhen the bridge broke in two, and the Baba Yaga went flop into the\nriver. There truly did she meet with a cruel death!\n\nPrince Ivan fattened up the colt in the green meadows, and it turned\ninto a wondrous steed. Then he rode to where Marya Morevna was. She\ncame running out, and flung herself on his neck, crying:\n\n\u2018By what means has God brought you back to life?\u2019\n\n\u2018Thus and thus,\u2019 says he. \u2018Now come along with me.\u2019\n\n\u2018I am afraid, Prince Ivan! If Koshchei catches us you will be cut in\npieces again.\u2019\n\n\u2018No, he won\u2019t catch us! I have a splendid heroic steed now; it flies\njust like a bird.\u2019 So they got on its back and rode away.\n\nKoshchei the Deathless was returning home when his horse stumbled\nbeneath him.\n\n\u2018What art thou stumbling for, sorry jade? Dost thou scent any ill?\u2019\n\n\u2018Prince Ivan has come and carried off Marya Morevna.\u2019\n\n\u2018Can we catch them?\u2019\n\n\u2018God knows! Prince Ivan has a horse now which is better than I.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, I can\u2019t stand it,\u2019 says Koshchei the Deathless. \u2018I will pursue.\u2019\n\nAfter a time he came up with Prince Ivan, lighted on the ground, and\nwas going to chop him up with his sharp sword. But at that moment\nPrince Ivan\u2019s horse smote Koshchei the Deathless full swing with its\nhoof, and cracked his skull, and the Prince made an end of him with a\nclub. Afterwards the Prince heaped up a pile of wood, set fire to it,\nburnt Koshchei the Deathless on the pyre, and scattered his ashes to\nthe wind. Then Marya Morevna mounted Koshchei\u2019s horse and Prince Ivan\ngot on his own, and they rode away to visit first the Raven, and then\nthe Eagle, and then the Falcon. Wherever they went they met with a\njoyful greeting.\n\n\u2018Ah, Prince Ivan! why, we never expected to see you again. Well, it\nwasn\u2019t for nothing that you gave yourself so much trouble. Such a\nbeauty as Marya Morevna one might search for all the world over\u2014and\nnever find one like her!\u2019\n\nAnd so they visited, and they feasted; and afterwards they went off to\ntheir own realm.[3]\n\n [3] Ralston.\n\n\n\n\nTHE BLACK THIEF AND KNIGHT OF THE GLEN.\n\n\nIn times of yore there was a King and a Queen in the south of Ireland\nwho had three sons, all beautiful children; but the Queen, their\nmother, sickened unto death when they were yet very young, which caused\ngreat grief throughout the Court, particularly to the King, her\nhusband, who could in no wise be comforted. Seeing that death was\ndrawing near her, she called the King to her and spoke as follows:\n\n\u2018I am now going to leave you, and as you are young and in your prime,\nof course after my death you will marry again. Now all the request I\nask of you is that you will build a tower in an island in the sea,\nwherein you will keep your three sons until they are come of age and\nfit to do for themselves; so that they may not be under the power or\njurisdiction of any other woman. Neglect not to give them education\nsuitable to their birth, and let them be trained up to every exercise\nand pastime requisite for king\u2019s sons to learn. This is all I have to\nsay, so farewell.\u2019\n\nThe King had scarce time, with tears in his eyes, to assure her she\nshould be obeyed in everything, when she, turning herself in her bed,\nwith a smile gave up the ghost. Never was greater mourning seen than\nwas throughout the Court and the whole kingdom; for a better woman than\nthe Queen, to rich and poor, was not to be found in the world. She was\ninterred with great pomp and magnificence, and the King, her husband,\nbecame in a manner inconsolable for the loss of her. However, he caused\nthe tower to be built and his sons placed in it, under proper\nguardians, according to his promise.\n\nIn process of time the lords and knights of the kingdom counselled the\nKing (as he was young) to live no longer as he had done, but to take a\nwife; which counsel prevailing, they chose him a rich and beautiful\nprincess to be his consort\u2014a neighbouring King\u2019s daughter, of whom he\nwas very fond. Not long after, the Queen had a fine son, which caused\ngreat feasting and rejoicing at the Court, insomuch that the late\nQueen, in a manner, was entirely forgotten. That fared well, and King\nand Queen lived happy together for several years.\n\nAt length the Queen, having some business with the hen-wife, went\nherself to her, and, after a long conference passed, was taking leave\nof her, when the hen-wife prayed that if ever she should come back to\nher again she might break her neck. The Queen, greatly incensed at such\na daring insult from one of her meanest subjects, demanded immediately\nthe reason, or she would have her put to death.\n\n\u2018It was worth your while, madam,\u2019 says the hen-wife, \u2018to pay me well\nfor it, for the reason I prayed so on you concerns you much.\u2019\n\n\u2018What must I pay you?\u2019 asked the Queen.\n\n\u2018You must give me,\u2019 says she, \u2018the full of a pack of wool, and I have\nan ancient crock which you must fill with butter, likewise a barrel\nwhich you must fill for me full of wheat.\u2019\n\n\u2018How much wool will it take to the pack?\u2019 says the Queen.\n\n\u2018It will take seven herds of sheep,\u2019 said she, \u2018and their increase for\nseven years.\u2019\n\n\u2018How much butter will it take to fill your crock?\u2019\n\n\u2018Seven dairies,\u2019 said she, \u2018and their increase for seven years.\u2019\n\n\u2018And how much will it take to fill the barrel you have?\u2019 says the\nQueen.\n\n\u2018It will take the increase of seven barrels of wheat for seven years.\u2019\n\n\u2018That is a great quantity,\u2019 says the Queen; \u2018but the reason must be\nextraordinary, and before I want it, I will give you all you demand.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well,\u2019 says the hen-wife, \u2018it is because you are so stupid that you\ndon\u2019t observe or find out those affairs that are so dangerous and\nhurtful to yourself and your child.\u2019\n\n\u2018What is that?\u2019 says the Queen.\n\n\u2018Why,\u2019 says she, \u2018the King your husband has three fine sons he had by\nthe late Queen, whom he keeps shut up in a tower until they come of\nage, intending to divide the kingdom between them, and let your son\npush his fortune; now, if you don\u2019t find some means of destroying them;\nyour child and perhaps yourself will be left desolate in the end.\u2019\n\n\u2018And what would you advise me to do?\u2019 said she; \u2018I am wholly at a loss\nin what manner to act in this affair.\u2019\n\n\u2018You must make known to the King,\u2019 says the hen-wife, \u2018that you heard\nof his sons, and wonder greatly that he concealed them all this time\nfrom you; tell him you wish to see them, and that it is full time for\nthem to be liberated, and that you would be desirous he would bring\nthem to the Court. The King will then do so, and there will be a great\nfeast prepared on that account, and also diversions of every sort to\namuse the people; and in these sports,\u2019 said she, \u2018ask the King\u2019s sons\nto play a game at cards with you, which they will not refuse. Now,\u2019\nsays the hen-wife, \u2018you must make a bargain, that if you win they must\ndo whatever you command them, and if they win, that you must do\nwhatever they command you to do; this bargain must be made before the\nassembly, and here is a pack of cards,\u2019 says she, \u2018that I am thinking\nyou will not lose by.\u2019\n\nThe Queen immediately took the cards, and, after returning the hen-wife\nthanks for her kind instruction, went back to the palace, where she was\nquite uneasy until she got speaking to the King in regard of his\nchildren; at last she broke it off to him in a very polite and engaging\nmanner, so that he could see no muster or design in it. He readily\nconsented to her desire, and his sons were sent for to the tower, who\ngladly came to Court, rejoicing that they were freed from such\nconfinement. They were all very handsome, and very expert in all arts\nand exercises, so that they gained the love and esteem of all that had\nseen them.\n\nThe Queen, more jealous with them than ever, thought it an age until\nall the feasting and rejoicing was over, that she might get making her\nproposal, depending greatly on the power of the hen-wife\u2019s cards. At\nlength this royal assembly began to sport and play at all kinds of\ndiversions, and the Queen very cunningly challenged the three Princes\nto play at cards with her, making bargain with them as she had been\ninstructed.\n\nThey accepted the challenge, and the eldest son and she played the\nfirst game, which she won; then the second son played, and she won that\ngame likewise; the third son and she then played the last game, and he\nwon it, which sorely grieved her that she had not him in her power as\nwell as the rest, being by far the handsomest and most beloved of the\nthree.\n\nHowever, everyone was anxious to hear the Queen\u2019s commands in regard to\nthe two Princes, not thinking that she had any ill design in her head\nagainst them. Whether it was the hen-wife instructed her, or whether it\nwas from her own knowledge, I cannot tell; but she gave out they must\ngo and bring her the Knight of the Glen\u2019s wild Steed of Bells, or they\nshould lose their heads.\n\nThe young Princes were not in the least concerned, not knowing what\nthey had to do; but the whole Court was amazed at her demand, knowing\nvery well that it was impossible for them ever to get the steed, as all\nthat ever sought him perished in the attempt. However, they could not\nretract the bargain, and the youngest Prince was desired to tell what\ndemand he had on the Queen, as he had won his game.\n\n\u2018My brothers,\u2019 says he, \u2018are now going to travel, and, as I understand,\na perilous journey wherein they know not what road to take or what may\nhappen them. I am resolved, therefore, not to stay here, but to go with\nthem, let what will betide; and I request and command, according to my\nbargain, that the Queen shall stand on the highest tower of the palace\nuntil we come back (or find out that we are certainly dead), with\nnothing but sheaf corn for her food and cold water for her drink, if it\nshould be for seven years and longer.\u2019\n\nAll things being now fixed, the three princes departed the Court in\nsearch of the Knight of the Glen\u2019s palace, and travelling along the\nroad they came up with a man who was a little lame, and seemed to be\nsomewhat advanced in years; they soon fell into discourse, and the\nyoungest of the princes asked the stranger his name, or what was the\nreason he wore so remarkable a black cap as he saw on him.\n\n\u2018I am called,\u2019 said he, \u2018the Thief of Sloan, and sometimes the Black\nThief from my cap; \u2018and so telling the prince the most of his\nadventures, he asked him again where they were bound for, or what they\nwere about.\n\nThe prince, willing to gratify his request, told him their affairs from\nthe beginning to the end. \u2018And now,\u2019 said he, \u2018we are travelling, and\ndo not know whether we are on the right road or not.\u2019\n\n\u2018Ah! my brave fellows,\u2019 says the Black Thief, \u2018you little know the\ndanger you run. I am after that steed myself these seven years, and can\nnever steal him on account of a silk covering he has on him in the\nstable, with sixty bells fixed to it, and whenever you approach the\nplace he quickly observes it and shakes himself; which, by the sound of\nthe bells, not only alarms the prince and his guards, but the whole\ncountry round, so that it is impossible ever to get him, and those that\nare so unfortunate as to be taken by the Knight of the Glen are boiled\nin a red-hot fiery furnace.\u2019\n\n\u2018Bless me,\u2019 says the young prince, \u2018what will we do? If we return\nwithout the steed we will lose our heads, so I see we are ill fixed on\nboth sides.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well,\u2019 says the Thief of Sloan, \u2018if it were my case I would rather die\nby the Knight than by the wicked Queen; besides, I will go with you\nmyself and show you the road, and whatever fortune you will have, I\nwill take chance of the same.\u2019\n\nThey returned him sincere thanks for his kindness, and he, being well\nacquainted with the road, in a short time brought them within view of\nthe knight\u2019s castle.\n\n\u2018Now,\u2019 says he, \u2018we must stay here till night comes; for I know all the\nways of the place, and if there be any chance for it, it is when they\nare all at rest; for the steed is all the watch the knight keeps\nthere.\u2019\n\nAccordingly, in the dead hour of the night, the King\u2019s three sons and\nthe Thief of Sloan attempted the Steed of Bells in order to carry him\naway, but before they could reach the stables the steed neighed most\nterribly and shook himself so, and the bells rung with such noise, that\nthe knight and all his men were up in a moment.\n\nThe Black Thief and the King\u2019s sons thought to make their escape, but\nthey were suddenly surrounded by the knight\u2019s guards and taken\nprisoners; where they were brought into that dismal part of the palace\nwhere the knight kept a furnace always boiling, in which he threw all\noffenders that ever came in his way, which in a few moments would\nentirely consume them.\n\n\u2018Audacious villains!\u2019 says the Knight of the Glen, \u2018how dare you\nattempt so bold an action as to steal my steed? See, now, the reward of\nyour folly; for your greater punishment I will not boil you all\ntogether, but one after the other, so that he that survives may witness\nthe dire afflictions of his unfortunate companions.\u2019\n\nSo saying he ordered his servants to stir up the fire: \u2018We will boil\nthe eldest-looking of these young men first,\u2019 said he, \u2018and so on to\nthe last, which will be this old champion with the black cap. He seems\nto be the captain, and looks as if he had come through many toils.\u2019\n\n\u2018I was as near death once as the prince is yet,\u2019 says the Black Thief,\n\u2018and escaped; and so will he too.\u2019\n\n\u2018No, you never were,\u2019 said the knight; \u2018for he is within two or three\nminutes of his latter end.\u2019\n\n\u2018But,\u2019 says the Black Thief, \u2018I was within one moment of my death, and\nI am here yet.\u2019\n\n\u2018How was that?\u2019 says the knight; \u2018I would be glad to hear it, for it\nseems impossible.\u2019\n\n\u2018If you think, sir knight,\u2019 says the Black Thief, \u2018that the danger I\nwas in surpasses that of this young man, will you pardon him his\ncrime?\u2019\n\n\u2018I will,\u2019 says the knight, \u2018so go on with your story.\u2019\n\n\u2018I was, sir,\u2019 says he, \u2018a very wild boy in my youth, and came through\nmany distresses; once in particular, as I was on my rambling, I was\nbenighted and could find no lodging. At length I came to an old kiln,\nand being much fatigued I went up and lay on the ribs. I had not been\nlong there when I saw three witches coming in with three bags of gold.\nEach put their bags of gold under their heads, as if to sleep. I heard\none of them say to the other that if the Black Thief came on them while\nthey slept, he would not leave them a penny. I found by their discourse\nthat everybody had got my name into their mouth, though I kept silent\nas death during their discourse. At length they fell fast asleep, and\nthen I stole softly down, and seeing some turf convenient, I placed one\nunder each of their heads, and off I went, with their gold, as fast as\nI could.\n\n\u2018I had not gone far,\u2019 continued the Thief of Sloan, \u2018until I saw a\ngrey-hound, a hare, and a hawk in pursuit of me, and began to think it\nmust be the witches that had taken the shapes in order that I might not\nescape them unseen either by land or water. Seeing they did not appear\nin any formidable shape, I was more than once resolved to attack them,\nthinking that with my broad sword I could easily destroy them. But\nconsidering again that it was perhaps still in their power to become\nalive again, I gave over the attempt and climbed with difficulty up a\ntree, bringing my sword in my hand and all the gold along with me.\nHowever, when they came to the tree they found what I had done, and\nmaking further use of their hellish art, one of them was changed into a\nsmith\u2019s anvil and another into a piece of iron, of which the third soon\nmade a hatchet. Having the hatchet made, she fell to cutting down the\ntree, and in the course of an hour it began to shake with me. At length\nit began to bend, and I found that one or two blows at the most would\nput it down. I then began to think that my death was inevitable,\nconsidering that those who were capable of doing so much would soon end\nmy life; but just as she had the stroke drawn that would terminate my\nfate, the cock crew, and the witches disappeared, having resumed their\nnatural shapes for fear of being known, and I got safe off with my bags\nof gold.\n\n\u2018Now, sir,\u2019 says he to the Knight of the Glen, \u2018if that be not as great\nan adventure as ever you heard, to be within one blow of a hatchet of\nmy end, and that blow even drawn, and after all to escape, I leave it\nto yourself.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, I cannot say but it is very extraordinary,\u2019 says the Knight of\nthe Glen, \u2018and on that account pardon this young man his crime; so stir\nup the fire, till I boil this second one.\u2019\n\n\u2018Indeed,\u2019 says the Black Thief, \u2018I would fain think he would not die\nthis time either.\u2019\n\n\u2018How so?\u2019 says the knight; \u2018it is impossible for him to escape.\u2019\n\n\u2018I escaped death more wonderfully myself,\u2019 says the Thief of Sloan,\n\u2018than if you had him ready to throw into the furnace, and I hope it\nwill be the case with him likewise.\u2019\n\n\u2018Why, have you been in another great danger?\u2019 says the knight. \u2018I would\nbe glad to hear the story too, and if it be as wonderful as the last, I\nwill pardon this young man as I did the other.\u2019\n\n\u2018My way of living, sir,\u2019 says the Black Thief, \u2018was not good, as I told\nyou before; and being at a certain time fairly run out of cash, and\nmeeting with no enterprise worthy of notice, I was reduced to great\nstraits. At length a rich bishop died in the neighbourhood I was then\nin, and I heard he was interred with a great deal of jewels and rich\nrobes upon him, all which I intended in a short time to be master of.\nAccordingly that very night I set about it, and coming to the place, I\nunderstood he was placed at the further end of a long dark vault, which\nI slowly entered. I had not gone in far until I heard a foot coming\ntowards me with a quick pace, and although naturally bold and daring,\nyet, thinking of the deceased bishop and the crime I was engaged in, I\nlost courage, and ran towards the entrance of the vault. I had\nretreated but a few paces when I observed, between me and the light,\nthe figure of a tall black man standing in the entrance. Being in great\nfear and not knowing how to pass, I fired a pistol at him, and he\nimmediately fell across the entrance. Perceiving he still retained the\nfigure of a mortal man, I began to imagine that it could not be the\nbishop\u2019s ghost; recovering myself therefore from the fear I was in, I\nventured to the upper end of the vault, where I found a large bundle,\nand upon further examination I found that the corpse was already\nrifled, and that which I had taken to be a ghost was no more than one\nof his own clergy. I was then very sorry that I had the misfortune to\nkill him, but it then could not be helped. I took up the bundle that\ncontained everything belonging to the corpse that was valuable,\nintending to take my departure from this melancholy abode; but just as\nI came to the mouth of the entrance I saw the guards of the place\ncoming towards me, and distinctly heard them saying that they would\nlook in the vault, for that the Black Thief would think little of\nrobbing the corpse if he was anywhere in the place. I did not then know\nin what manner to act, for if I was seen I would surely lose my life,\nas everybody had a look-out at that time, and because there was no\nperson bold enough to come in on me. I knew very well on the first\nsight of me that could be got, I would be shot like a dog. However, I\nhad not time to lose. I took and raised up the man which I had killed,\nas if he was standing on his feet, and I, crouching behind him, bore\nhim up as well as I could, so that the guards readily saw him as they\ncame up to the vault. Seeing the man in black, one of the men cried\nthat was the Black Thief, and, presenting his piece, fired at the man,\nat which I let him fall, and crept into a little dark corner myself,\nthat was at the entrance of the place. When they saw the man fall, they\nran all into the vault, and never stopped until they were at the end of\nit, for fear, as I thought, that there might be some others along with\nhim that was killed. But while they were busy inspecting the corpse and\nthe vault to see what they could miss, I slipped out, and, once away,\nand still away; but they never had the Black Thief in their power\nsince.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, my brave fellow,\u2019 says the Knight of the Glen, \u2018I see you have\ncome through many dangers: you have freed these two princes by your\nstories; but I am sorry myself that this young prince has to suffer for\nall. Now, if you could tell me something as wonderful as you have told\nalready, I would pardon him likewise; I pity this youth and do not want\nto put him to death if I could help it.\u2019\n\n\u2018That happens well,\u2019 says the Thief of Sloan, \u2018for I like him best\nmyself, and have reserved the most curious passage for the last on his\naccount.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, then,\u2019 says the knight, \u2018let us hear it.\u2019\n\n\u2018I was one day on my travels,\u2019 says the Black Thief, \u2018and I came into a\nlarge forest, where I wandered a long time, and could not get out of\nit. At length I came to a large castle, and fatigue obliged me to call\nin the same, where I found a young woman and a child sitting on her\nknee, and she crying. I asked her what made her cry, and where the lord\nof the castle was, for I wondered greatly that I saw no stir of\nservants or any person about the place.\n\n\u2018\u201cIt is well for you,\u201d says the young woman, \u201cthat the lord of this\ncastle is not at home at present; for he is a monstrous giant, with but\none eye on his forehead, who lives on human flesh. He brought me this\nchild,\u201d says she, \u201cI do not know where he got it, and ordered me to\nmake it into a pie, and I cannot help crying at the command.\u201d\n\n\u2018I told her that if she knew of any place convenient that I could leave\nthe child safely I would do it, rather than it should be killed by such\na monster.\n\n\u2018She told me of a house a distance off where I would get a woman who\nwould take care of it. \u201cBut what will I do in regard of the pie?\u201d\n\n\u2018\u201cCut a finger off it,\u201d said I, \u201cand I will bring you in a young wild\npig out of the forest, which you may dress as if it was the child, and\nput the finger in a certain place, that if the giant doubts anything\nabout it you may know where to turn it over at the first, and when he\nsees it he will be fully satisfied that the pie is made of the child.\u201d\n\n\u2018She agreed to the scheme I proposed, and, cutting off the child\u2019s\nfinger, by her direction I soon had it at the house she told me of, and\nbrought her the little pig in the place of it. She then made ready the\npie, and after eating and drinking heartily myself, I was just taking\nmy leave of the young woman when we observed the giant coming through\nthe castle gates.\n\n\u2018\u201cBless me,\u201d said she, \u201cwhat will you do now? Run away and lie down\namong the dead bodies that he has in the room (showing me the place),\nand strip off your clothes that he may not know you from the rest if he\nhas occasion to go that way.\u201d\n\n\u2018I took her advice, and laid myself down among the rest, as if dead, to\nsee how he would behave. The first thing I heard was him calling for\nhis pie. When she set it down before him he swore it smelled like\nswine\u2019s flesh, but knowing where to find the finger, she immediately\nturned it up, which fairly convinced him of the contrary. The pie only\nserved to sharpen his appetite, and I heard him sharpening his knife\nand saying he must have a collop or two, for he was not near satisfied.\nBut what was my terror when I heard the giant groping among the bodies,\nand, fancying myself, cut the half of my hip off, and took it with him\nto be roasted. You may be certain I was in great pain, but the fear of\nbeing killed prevented me from making any complaint. However, when he\nhad eaten all he began to drink hot liquors in great abundance, so that\nin a short time he could not hold up his head, but threw himself on a\nlarge creel he had made for the purpose, and fell fast asleep. When I\nheard him snoring, as I was I went up and caused the woman to bind my\nwound with a handkerchief; and, taking the giant\u2019s spit, reddened it in\nthe fire, and ran it through the eye, but was not able to kill him.\n\n\u2018However, I left the spit sticking in his head, and took to my heels;\nbut I soon found he was in pursuit of me, although blind; and having an\nenchanted ring he threw it at me, and it fell on my big toe and\nremained fastened to it.\n\n\u2018The giant then called to the ring, where it was, and to my great\nsurprise it made him answer on my foot; and he, guided by the same,\nmade a leap at me which I had the good luck to observe, and fortunately\nescaped the danger. However, I found running was of no use in saving\nme, as long as I had the ring on my foot; so I took my sword and cut\noff the toe it was fastened on, and threw both into a large fish-pond\nthat was convenient. The giant called again to the ring, which by the\npower of enchantment always made him answer; but he, not knowing what I\nhad done, imagined it was still on some part of me, and made a violent\nleap to seize me, when he went into the pond, over head and ears, and\nwas drowned. Now, sir knight,\u2019 says the Thief of Sloan, \u2018you see what\ndangers I came through and always escaped; but, indeed, I am lame for\nthe want of my toe ever since.\u2019\n\n\u2018My lord and master,\u2019 says an old woman that was listening all the\ntime, \u2018that story is but too true, as I well know, for I am the very\nwoman that was in the giant\u2019s castle, and you, my lord, the child that\nI was to make into a pie; and this is the very man that saved your\nlife, which you may know by the want of your finger that was taken off,\nas you have heard, to deceive the giant.\u2019\n\nThe Knight of the Glen, greatly surprised at what he had heard the old\nwoman tell, and knowing he wanted his finger from his childhood, began\nto understand that the story was true enough.\n\n\u2018And is this my deliverer?\u2019 says he. \u2018O brave fellow, I not only pardon\nyou all, but will keep you with myself while you live, where you shall\nfeast like princes, and have every attendance that I have myself.\u2019\n\nThey all returned thanks on their knees, and the Black Thief told him\nthe reason they attempted to steal the Steed of Bells, and the\nnecessity they were under in going home.\n\n\u2018Well,\u2019 says the Knight of the Glen, \u2018if that\u2019s the case I bestow you\nmy steed rather than this brave fellow should die; so you may go when\nyou please, only remember to call and see me betimes, that we may know\neach other well.\u2019\n\nThey promised they would, and with great joy they set off for the King\ntheir father\u2019s palace, and the Black Thief along with them.\n\nThe wicked Queen was standing all this time on the tower, and, hearing\nthe bells ringing at a great distance off, knew very well it was the\nprinces coming home, and the steed with them, and through spite and\nvexation precipitated herself from the tower and was shattered to\npieces.\n\nThe three princes lived happy and well during their father\u2019s reign, and\nalways keeping the Black Thief along with them; but how they did after\nthe old King\u2019s death is not known.[4]\n\n [4] The Hibernian Tales.\n\n\n\n\nTHE MASTER THIEF\n\n\nThere was once upon a time a husbandman who had three sons. He had no\nproperty to bequeath to them, and no means of putting them in the way\nof getting a living, and did not know what to do, so he said that they\nhad his leave to take to anything they most fancied, and go to any\nplace they best liked. He would gladly accompany them for some part of\ntheir way, he said, and that he did. He went with them till they came\nto a place where three roads met, and there each of them took his own\nway, and the father bade them farewell and returned to his own home\nagain. What became of the two elder I have never been able to discover,\nbut the youngest went both far and wide.\n\nIt came to pass, one night, as he was going through a great wood, that\na terrible storm came on. It blew so hard and rained so heavily that he\ncould scarcely keep his eyes open, and before he was aware of it he had\ngot quite out of the track, and could neither find road nor path. But\nhe went on, and at last he saw a light far away in the wood. Then he\nthought he must try and get to it, and after a long, long time he did\nreach it. There was a large house, and the fire was burning so brightly\ninside that he could tell that the people were not in bed. So he went\nin, and inside there was an old woman who was busy about some work.\n\n\u2018Good evening, mother!\u2019 said the youth.\n\n\u2018Good evening!\u2019 said the old woman.\n\n\u2018Hutetu! it is terrible weather outside to-night,\u2019 said the young\nfellow.\n\n\u2018Indeed it is,\u2019 said the old woman.\n\n\u2018Can I sleep here, and have shelter for the night?\u2019 asked the youth.\n\n\u2018It wouldn\u2019t be good for you to sleep here,\u2019 said the old hag, \u2018for if\nthe people of the house come home and find you, they will kill both you\nand me.\u2019\n\n\u2018What kind of people are they then, who dwell here?\u2019 said the youth.\n\n\u2018Oh! robbers, and rabble of that sort,\u2019 said the old woman; \u2018they stole\nme away when I was little, and I have had to keep house for them ever\nsince.\u2019\n\n\u2018I still think I will go to bed, all the same,\u2019 said the youth. \u2018No\nmatter what happens, I\u2019ll not go out to-night in such weather as this.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, then, it will be the worse for yourself,\u2019 said the old woman.\n\nThe young man lay down in a bed which stood near, but he dared not go\nto sleep: and it was better that he didn\u2019t, for the robbers came, and\nthe old woman said that a young fellow who was a stranger had come\nthere, and she had not been able to get him to go away again.\n\n\u2018Did you see if he had any money?\u2019 said the robbers.\n\n\u2018He\u2019s not one to have money, he is a tramp! If he has a few clothes to\nhis back, that is all.\u2019\n\nThen the robbers began to mutter to each other apart about what they\nshould do with him, whether they should murder him, or what else they\nshould do. In the meantime the boy got up and began to talk to them,\nand ask them if they did not want a man-servant, for he could find\npleasure enough in serving them.\n\n\u2018Yes,\u2019 said they, \u2018if you have a mind to take to the trade that we\nfollow, you may have a place here.\u2019\n\n\u2018It\u2019s all the same to me what trade I follow,\u2019 said the youth, \u2018for\nwhen I came away from home my father gave me leave to take to any trade\nI fancied.\u2019\n\n\u2018Have you a fancy for stealing, then?\u2019 said the robbers.\n\n\u2018Yes,\u2019 said the boy, for he thought that was a trade which would not\ntake long to learn.\n\nNot very far off there dwelt a man who had three oxen, one of which he\nwas to take to the town to sell. The robbers had heard of this, so they\ntold the youth that if he were able to steal the ox from him on the\nway, without his knowing, and without doing him any harm, he should\nhave leave to be their servant-man. So the youth set off, taking with\nhim a pretty shoe with a silver buckle that was lying about in the\nhouse. He put this in the road by which the man must go with his ox,\nand then went into the wood and hid himself under a bush. When the man\ncame up he at once saw the shoe.\n\n\u2018That\u2019s a brave shoe,\u2019 said he. \u2018If I had but the fellow to it, I would\ncarry it home with me, and then I should put my old woman into a good\nhumour for once.\u2019\n\nFor he had a wife who was so cross and ill-tempered that the time\nbetween the beatings she gave him was very short. But then he bethought\nhimself that he could do nothing with one shoe if he had not the fellow\nto it, so he journeyed onwards and let it lie where it was. Then the\nyouth picked up the shoe and hurried off away through the wood as fast\nas he was able, to get in front of the man, and then put the shoe in\nthe road before him again.\n\nWhen the man came with the ox and saw the shoe, he was quite vexed at\nhaving been so stupid as to leave the fellow to it lying where it was,\ninstead of bringing it on with him.\n\n\u2018I will just run back again and fetch it now,\u2019 he said to himself, \u2018and\nthen I shall take back a pair of good shoes to the old woman, and she\nmay perhaps throw a kind word to me for once.\u2019\n\nSo he went and searched and searched for the other shoe for a long,\nlong time, but no shoe was to be found, and at last he was forced to go\nback with the one which he had.\n\nIn the meantime the youth had taken the ox and gone off with it. When\nthe man got there and found that his ox was gone, he began to weep and\nwail, for he was afraid that when his old woman got to know she would\nbe the death of him. But all at once it came into his head to go home\nand get the other ox, and drive it to the town, and take good care that\nhis old wife knew nothing about it. So he did this; he went home and\ntook the ox without his wife\u2019s knowing about it, and went on his way to\nthe town with it. But the robbers they knew it well, because they got\nout their magic. So they told the youth that if he could take this ox\nalso without the man knowing anything about it, and without doing him\nany hurt, he should then be on an equality with them.\n\n\u2018Well, that will not be a very hard thing to do,\u2019 thought the youth.\n\nThis time he took with him a rope and put it under his arms and tied\nhimself up to a tree, which hung over the road that the man would have\nto take. So the man came with his ox, and when he saw the body hanging\nthere he felt a little queer.\n\n\u2018What a hard lot yours must have been to make you hang yourself!\u2019 said\nhe. \u2018Ah, well! you may hang there for me; I can\u2019t breathe life into you\nagain.\u2019\n\nSo on he went with his ox. Then the youth sprang down from the tree,\nran by a short cut and got before him, and once more hung himself up on\na tree in the road before the man.\n\n\u2018How I should like to know if you really were so sick at heart that you\nhanged yourself there, or if it is only a hobgoblin that\u2019s before me!\u2019\nsaid the man. \u2018Ah, well! you may hang there for me, whether you are a\nhobgoblin or not,\u2019 and on he went with his ox.\n\nOnce more the youth did just as he had done twice already; jumped down\nfrom the tree, ran by a short cut through the wood, and again hanged\nhimself in the very middle of the road before him.\n\nBut when the man once more saw this he said to himself, \u2018What a bad\nbusiness this is! Can they all have been so heavy-hearted that they\nhave all three hanged themselves? No, I can\u2019t believe that it is\nanything but witchcraft! But I will know the truth,\u2019 he said; \u2018if the\ntwo others are still hanging there it is true but if they are not it\u2019s\nnothing else but witchcraft.\u2019\n\nSo he tied up his ox and ran back to see if they really were hanging\nthere. While he was going, and looking up at every tree as he went, the\nyouth leapt down and took his ox and went off with it. Any one may\neasily imagine what a fury the man fell into when he came back and saw\nthat his ox was gone. He wept and he raged, but at last he took comfort\nand told himself that the best thing to do was to go home and take the\nthird ox, without letting his wife know anything about it, and then try\nto sell it so well that he got a good sum of money for it. So he went\nhome and took the third ox, and drove it off without his wife knowing\nanything about it. But the robbers knew all about it, and they told the\nyouth that if he could steal this as he had stolen the two others, he\nshould be master of the whole troop. So the youth set out and went to\nthe wood, and when the man was coming along with the ox he began to\nbellow loudly, just like a great ox somewhere inside the wood. When the\nman heard that he was right glad, for he fancied he recognised the\nvoice of his big bullock, and thought that now he should find both of\nthem again. So he tied up the third, and ran away off the road to look\nfor them in the wood. In the meantime the youth went away with the\nthird ox. When the man returned and found that he had lost that too, he\nfell into such a rage that there was no bounds to it. He wept and\nlamented, and for many days he did not dare to go home again, for he\nwas afraid that the old woman would slay him outright. The robbers,\nalso, were not very well pleased at this, for they were forced to own\nthat the youth was at the head of them all. So one day they made up\ntheir minds to set to work to do something which it was not in his\npower to accomplish, and they all took to the road together, and left\nhim at home alone. When they were well out of the house, the first\nthing that he did was to drive the oxen out on the road, whereupon they\nall ran home again to the man from whom he had stolen them, and right\nglad was the husbandman to see them. Then he brought out all the horses\nthe robbers had, and loaded them with the most valuable things which he\ncould find\u2014vessels of gold and of silver, and clothes and other\nmagnificent things\u2014and then he told the old woman to greet the robbers\nfrom him and thank them from him, and say that he had gone away, and\nthat they would have a great deal of difficulty in finding him again,\nand with that he drove the horses out of the courtyard. After a long,\nlong time he came to the road on which he was travelling when he came\nto the robbers. And when he had got very near home, and was in sight of\nthe house where his father lived, he put on a uniform which he had\nfound among the things he had taken from the robbers, and which was\nmade just like a general\u2019s, and drove into the yard just as if he were\na great man. Then he entered the house and asked if he could find a\nlodging there.\n\n\u2018No, indeed you can\u2019t!\u2019 said his father. \u2018How could I possibly be able\nto lodge such a great gentleman as you? It is all that I can do to find\nclothes and bedding for myself, and wretched they are.\u2019\n\n\u2018You were always a hard man,\u2019 said the youth, \u2018and hard you are still\nif you refuse to let your own son come into your house.\u2019\n\n\u2018Are you my son?\u2019 said the man.\n\n\u2018Do you not know me again then?\u2019 said the youth.\n\nThen he recognised him and said, \u2018But what trade have you taken to that\nhas made you such a great man in so short a time?\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, that I will tell you,\u2019 answered the youth. \u2018You said that I might\ntake to anything I liked, so I apprenticed myself to some thieves and\nrobbers, and now I have served my time and have become Master Thief.\u2019\n\nNow the Governor of the province lived by his father\u2019s cottage, and\nthis Governor had such a large house and so much money that he did not\neven know how much it was, and he had a daughter too who was both\npretty and dainty, and good and wise. So the Master Thief was\ndetermined to have her to wife, and told his father that he was to go\nto the Governor, and ask for his daughter for him. \u2018If he asks what\ntrade I follow, you may say that I am a Master Thief,\u2019 said he.\n\n\u2018I think you must be crazy,\u2019 said the man, \u2018for you can\u2019t be in your\nsenses if you think of anything so foolish.\u2019\n\n\u2018You must go to the Governor and beg for his daughter\u2014there is no\nhelp,\u2019 said the youth.\n\n\u2018But I dare not go to the Governor and say this. He is so rich and has\nso much wealth of all kinds,\u2019 said the man.\n\n\u2018There is no help for it,\u2019 said the Master Thief; \u2018go you must, whether\nyou like it or not. If I can\u2019t get you to go by using good words, I\nwill soon make you go with bad ones.\u2019\n\nBut the man was still unwilling, so the Master Thief followed him,\nthreatening him with a great birch stick, till he went weeping and\nwailing through the door to the Governor of the province.\n\n\u2018Now, my man, and what\u2019s amiss with you?\u2019 said the Governor.\n\nSo he told him that he had three sons who had gone away one day, and\nhow he had given them permission to go where they chose, and take to\nwhatsoever work they fancied. \u2018Now,\u2019 he said, \u2018the youngest of them has\ncome home, and has threatened me till I have come to you to ask for\nyour daughter for him, and I am to say that he is a Master Thief,\u2019 and\nagain the man fell a-weeping and lamenting.\n\n\u2018Console yourself, my man,\u2019 said the Governor, laughing. \u2018You may tell\nhim from me that he must first give me some proof of this. If he can\nsteal the joint off the spit in the kitchen on Sunday, when every one\nof us is watching it, he shall have my daughter. Will you tell him\nthat?\u2019\n\nThe man did tell him, and the youth thought it would be easy enough to\ndo it. So he set himself to work to catch three hares alive, put them\nin a bag, clad himself in some old rags so that he looked so poor and\nwretched that it was quite pitiable to see him, and in this guise on\nSunday forenoon he sneaked into the passage with his bag, like any\nbeggar boy. The Governor himself and every one in the house was in the\nkitchen, keeping watch over the joint. While they were doing this the\nyouth let one of the hares slip out of his bag, and off it set and\nbegan to run round the yard.\n\n\u2018Just look at that hare,\u2019 said the people in the kitchen, and wanted to\ngo out and catch it.\n\nThe Governor saw it too, but said, \u2018Oh, let it go! it\u2019s no use to think\nof catching a hare when it\u2019s running away.\u2019\n\nIt was not long before the youth let another hare out, and the people\nin the kitchen saw this too, and thought that it was the same. So again\nthey wanted to go out and catch it, but the Governor again told them\nthat it was of no use to try.\n\nVery soon afterwards, however, the youth let slip the third hare, and\nit set off and ran round and round the courtyard. The people in the\nkitchen saw this too, and believed that it was still the same hare that\nwas running about, so they wanted to go out and catch it.\n\n\u2018It\u2019s a remarkably fine hare!\u2019 said the Governor. \u2018Come and let us see\nif we can get hold of it.\u2019 So out he went, and the others with him, and\naway went the hare, and they after it, in real earnest.\n\nIn the meantime, however, the Master Thief took the joint and ran off\nwith it, and whether the Governor got any roast meat for his dinner\nthat day I know not, but I know that he had no roast hare, though he\nchased it till he was both hot and tired. At noon came the Priest, and\nwhen the Governor had told him of the trick played by the Master Thief\nthere was no end to the ridicule he cast on the Governor.\n\n\u2018For my part,\u2019 said the Priest, \u2018I can\u2019t imagine myself being made a\nfool of by such a fellow as that!\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, I advise you to be careful,\u2019 said the Governor, \u2018for he may be\nwith you before you are at all aware.\u2019\n\nBut the Priest repeated what he had said, and mocked the Governor for\nhaving allowed himself to be made such a fool of.\n\nLater in the afternoon the Master Thief came and wanted to have the\nGovernor\u2019s daughter as he had promised.\n\n\u2018You must first give some more samples of your skill,\u2019 said the\nGovernor, trying to speak him fair, \u2018for what you did to-day was no\nsuch very great thing after all. Couldn\u2019t you play off a really good\ntrick on the Priest? for he is sitting inside there and calling me a\nfool for having let myself be taken in by such a fellow as you.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, it wouldn\u2019t be very hard to do that,\u2019 said the Master Thief. So\nhe dressed himself up like a bird, and threw a great white sheet over\nhimself; broke off a goose\u2019s wings, and set them on his back; and in\nthis attire climbed into a great maple tree which stood in the Priest\u2019s\ngarden. So when the Priest returned home in the evening the youth began\nto cry, \u2018Father Lawrence! Father Lawrence! \u2018for the Priest was called\nFather Lawrence.\n\n\u2018Who is calling me?\u2019 said the Priest.\n\n\u2018I am an angel sent to announce to thee that because of thy piety thou\nshalt be taken away alive into heaven,\u2019 said the Master Thief. \u2018Wilt\nthou hold thyself in readiness to travel away next Monday night? for\nthen will I come and fetch thee, and bear thee away with me in a sack,\nand thou must lay all thy gold and silver, and whatsoever thou may\u2019st\npossess of this world\u2019s wealth, in a heap in thy best parlour.\u2019\n\nSo Father Lawrence fell down on his knees before the angel and thanked\nhim, and the following Sunday he preached a farewell sermon, and gave\nout that an angel had come down into the large maple tree in his\ngarden, and had announced to him that, because of his righteousness, he\nshould be taken up alive into heaven, and as he thus preached and told\nthem this everyone in the church, old or young, wept.\n\nOn Monday night the Master Thief once more came as an angel, and before\nthe Priest was put into the sack he fell on his knees and thanked him;\nbut no sooner was the Priest safely inside it than the Master Thief\nbegan to drag him away over stocks and stones.\n\n\u2018Oh! oh!\u2019 cried the Priest in the sack. \u2018Where are you taking me?\u2019\n\n\u2018This is the way to heaven. The way to heaven is not an easy one,\u2019 said\nthe Master Thief, and dragged him along till he all but killed him.\n\nAt last he flung him into the Governor\u2019s goose-house, and the geese\nbegan to hiss and peck at him, till he felt more dead than alive.\n\n\u2018Oh! oh! oh! Where am I now?\u2019 asked the Priest.\n\n\u2018Now you are in Purgatory,\u2019 said the Master Thief, and off he went and\ntook the gold and the silver and all the precious things which the\nPriest had laid together in his best parlour.\n\nNext morning, when the goose-girl came to let out the geese, she heard\nthe Priest bemoaning himself as he lay in the sack in the goose-house.\n\n\u2018Oh, heavens! who is that, and what ails you?\u2019 said she.\n\n\u2018Oh,\u2019 said the Priest, \u2018if you are an angel from heaven do let me out\nand let me go back to earth again, for no place was ever so bad as\nthis\u2014the little fiends nip me so with their tongs.\u2019\n\n\u2018I am no angel,\u2019 said the girl, and helped the Priest out of the sack.\n\u2018I only look after the Governor\u2019s geese, that\u2019s what I do, and they are\nthe little fiends which have pinched your reverence.\u2019\n\n\u2018This is the Master Thief\u2019s doing! Oh, my gold and my silver and my\nbest clothes!\u2019 shrieked the Priest, and, wild with rage, he ran home so\nfast that the goose-girl thought he had suddenly gone mad.\n\nWhen the Governor learnt what had happened to the Priest he laughed\ntill he nearly killed himself, but when the Master Thief came and\nwanted to have his daughter according to promise, he once more gave him\nnothing but fine words, and said, \u2018You must give me one more proof of\nyour skill, so that I can really judge of your worth. I have twelve\nhorses in my stable, and I will put twelve stable boys in it, one on\neach horse. If you are clever enough to steal the horses from under\nthem, I will see what I can do for you.\u2019\n\n\u2018What you set me to do can be done,\u2019 said the Master Thief, \u2018but am I\ncertain to get your daughter when it is?\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes; if you can do that I will do my best for you,\u2019 said the Governor.\n\nSo the Master Thief went to a shop, and bought enough brandy to fill\ntwo pocket flasks, and he put a sleeping drink into one of these, but\ninto the other he poured brandy only. Then he engaged eleven men to lie\nthat night in hiding behind the Governor\u2019s stable. After this, by fair\nwords and good payment, he borrowed a ragged gown and a jerkin from an\naged woman, and then, with a staff in his hand and a poke on his back,\nhe hobbled off as evening came on towards the Governor\u2019s stable. The\nstable boys were just watering the horses for the night, and it was\nquite as much as they could do to attend to that.\n\n\u2018What on earth do you want here?\u2019 said one of them to the old woman.\n\n\u2018Oh dear! oh dear! How cold it is!\u2019 she said, sobbing, and shivering\nwith cold. \u2018Oh dear! oh dear! it\u2019s cold enough to freeze a poor old\nbody to death!\u2019 and she shivered and shook again, and said, \u2018For\nheaven\u2019s sake give me leave to stay here and sit just inside the stable\ndoor.\u2019\n\n\u2018You will get nothing of the kind! Be off this moment! If the Governor\nwere to catch sight of you here, he would lead us a pretty dance,\u2019 said\none.\n\n\u2018Oh! what a poor helpless old creature!\u2019 said another, who felt sorry\nfor her. \u2018That poor old woman can do no harm to anyone. She may sit\nthere and welcome.\u2019\n\nThe rest of them thought that she ought not to stay, but while they\nwere disputing about this and looking after the horses, she crept\nfarther and farther into the stable, and at last sat down behind the\ndoor, and when once she was inside no one took any more notice of her.\n\nAs the night wore on the stable boys found it rather cold work to sit\nstill on horseback.\n\n\u2018Hutetu! But it is fearfully cold!\u2019 said one, and began to beat his\narms backwards and forwards across his breast.\n\n\u2018Yes, I am so cold that my teeth are chattering,\u2019 said another.\n\n\u2018If one had but a little tobacco,\u2019 said a third.\n\nWell, one of them had a little, so they shared it among them, though\nthere was very little for each man, but they chewed it. This was some\nhelp to them, but very soon they were just as cold as before.\n\n\u2018Hutetu!\u2019 said one of them, shivering again.\n\n\u2018Hutetu!\u2019 said the old woman, gnashing her teeth together till they\nchattered inside her mouth; and then she got out the flask which\ncontained nothing but brandy, and her hands trembled so that she shook\nthe bottle about, and when she drank it made a great gulp in her\nthroat.\n\n\u2018What is that you have in your flask, old woman?\u2019 asked one of the\nstable boys.\n\n\u2018Oh, it\u2019s only a little drop of brandy, your honour,\u2019 she said.\n\n\u2018Brandy! What! Let me have a drop! Let me have a drop!\u2019 screamed all\nthe twelve at once.\n\n\u2018Oh, but what I have is so little,\u2019 whimpered the old woman. \u2018It will\nnot even wet your mouths.\u2019\n\nBut they were determined to have it, and there was nothing to be done\nbut give it; so she took out the flask with the sleeping drink and put\nit to the lips of the first of them; and now she shook no more, but\nguided the flask so that each of them got just as much as he ought, and\nthe twelfth had not done drinking before the first was already sitting\nsnoring. Then the Master Thief flung off his beggar\u2019s rags, and took\none stable boy after the other and gently set him astride on the\npartitions which divided the stalls, and then he called his eleven men\nwho were waiting outside, and they rode off with the Governor\u2019s horses.\n\nIn the morning when the Governor came to look after his stable boys\nthey were just beginning to come to again. They were driving their\nspurs into the partition till the splinters flew about, and some of the\nboys fell off, and some still hung on and sat looking like fools. \u2018Ah,\nwell,\u2019 said the Governor, \u2018it is easy to see who has been here; but\nwhat a worthless set of fellows you must be to sit here and let the\nMaster Thief steal the horses from under you!\u2019 And they all got a\nbeating for not having kept watch better.\n\nLater in the day the Master Thief came and related what he had done,\nand wanted to have the Governor\u2019s daughter as had been promised. But\nthe Governor gave him a hundred dollars, and said that he must do\nsomething that was better still.\n\n\u2018Do you think you can steal my horse from under me when I am out riding\non it?\u2019 said he.\n\n\u2018Well, it might be done,\u2019 said the Master Thief, \u2018if I were absolutely\ncertain that I should get your daughter.\u2019\n\nSo the Governor said that he would see what he could do, and then he\nsaid that on a certain day he would ride out to a great common where\nthey drilled the soldiers.\n\nSo the Master Thief immediately got hold of an old worn-out mare, and\nset himself to work to make a collar for it of green withies and\nbranches of broom; bought a shabby old cart and a great cask, and then\nhe told a poor old beggar woman that he would give her ten dollars if\nshe would get into the cask and keep her mouth wide-open beneath the\ntap-hole, into which he was going to stick his finger. No harm should\nhappen to her, he said; she should only be driven about a little, and\nif he took his finger out more than once, she should have ten dollars\nmore. Then he dressed himself in rags, dyed himself with soot, and put\non a wig and a great beard of goat\u2019s hair, so that it was impossible to\nrecognise him, and went to the parade ground, where the Governor had\nalready been riding about a long time.\n\nWhen the Master Thief got there the mare went along so slowly and\nquietly that the cart hardly seemed to move from the spot. The mare\npulled it a little forward, and then a little back, and then it stopped\nquite short. Then the mare pulled a little forward again, and it moved\nwith such difficulty that the Governor had not the least idea that this\nwas the Master Thief. He rode straight up to him, and asked if he had\nseen anyone hiding anywhere about in a wood that was close by.\n\n\u2018No,\u2019 said the man, \u2018that have I not.\u2019\n\n\u2018Hark you,\u2019 said the Governor. \u2018If you will ride into that wood, and\nsearch it carefully to see if you can light upon a fellow who is hiding\nin there, you shall have the loan of my horse and a good present of\nmoney for your trouble.\u2019\n\n\u2018I am not sure that I can do it,\u2019 said the man, \u2018for I have to go to a\nwedding with this cask of mead which I have been to fetch, and the tap\nhas fallen out on the way, so now I have to keep my finger in the\ntap-hole as I drive.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, just ride off,\u2019 said the Governor, \u2018and I will look after the cask\nand the horse too.\u2019\n\nSo the man said that if he would do that he would go, but he begged the\nGovernor to be very careful to put his finger into the tap-hole the\nmoment he took his out.\n\nSo the Governor said that he would do his very best, and the Master\nThief got on the Governor\u2019s horse.\n\nBut time passed, and it grew later and later, and still the man did not\ncome back, and at last the Governor grew so weary of keeping his finger\nin the tap-hole that he took it out.\n\n\u2018Now I shall have ten dollars more!\u2019 cried the old woman inside the\ncask; so he soon saw what kind of mead it was, and set out homewards.\nWhen he had gone a very little way he met his servant bringing him the\nhorse, for the Master Thief had already taken it home.\n\nThe following day he went to the Governor and wanted to have his\ndaughter according to promise. But the Governor again put him off with\nfine words, and only gave him three hundred dollars, saying that he\nmust do one more masterpiece of skill, and if he were but able to do\nthat he should have her.\n\nWell, the Master Thief thought he might if he could hear what it was.\n\n\u2018Do you think you can steal the sheet off our bed, and my wife\u2019s\nnight-gown?\u2019 said the Governor.\n\n\u2018That is by no means impossible,\u2019 said the Master Thief. \u2018I only wish I\ncould get your daughter as easily.\u2019\n\nSo late at night the Master Thief went and cut down a thief who was\nhanging on the gallows, laid him on his own shoulders, and took him\naway with him. Then he got hold of a long ladder, set it up against the\nGovernor\u2019s bedroom window, and climbed up and moved the dead man\u2019s head\nup and down, just as if he were some one who was standing outside and\npeeping in.\n\n\u2018There\u2019s the Master Thief, mother!\u2019 said the Governor, nudging his\nwife. \u2018Now I\u2019ll just shoot him, that I will!\u2019\n\nSo he took up a rifle which he had laid at his bedside.\n\n\u2018Oh no, you must not do that,\u2019 said his wife; \u2018you yourself arranged\nthat he was to come here.\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes, mother, I will shoot him,\u2019 said he, and lay there aiming, and\nthen aiming again, for no sooner was the head up and he caught sight of\nit than it was gone again. At last he got a chance and fired, and the\ndead body fell with a loud thud to the ground, and down went the Master\nThief too, as fast as he could.\n\n\u2018Well,\u2019 said the Governor, \u2018I certainly am the chief man about here,\nbut people soon begin to talk, and it would be very unpleasant if they\nwere to see this dead body; the best thing that I can do is to go out\nand bury him.\u2019\n\n\u2018Just do what you think best, father,\u2019 said his wife.\n\nSo the Governor got up and went downstairs, and as soon as he had gone\nout through the door, the Master Thief stole in and went straight\nupstairs to the woman.\n\n\u2018Well, father dear,\u2019 said she, for she thought it was her husband.\n\u2018Have you got done already?\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh yes, I only put him into a hole,\u2019 said he, \u2018and raked a little\nearth over him; that\u2019s all I have been able to do to-night, for it is\nfearful weather outside. I will bury him better afterwards, but just\nlet me have the sheet to wipe myself with, for he was bleeding, and I\nhave got covered with blood with carrying him.\u2019\n\nSo she gave him the sheet.\n\n\u2018You will have to let me have your night-gown too,\u2019 he said, \u2018for I\nbegin to see that the sheet won\u2019t be enough.\u2019\n\nThen she gave him her night-gown, but just then it came into his head\nthat he had forgotten to lock the door, and he was forced to go\ndownstairs and do it before he could lie down in bed again. So off he\nwent with the sheet, and the night-gown too.\n\nAn hour later the real Governor returned.\n\n\u2018Well, what a time it has taken to lock the house door, father!\u2019 said\nhis wife, \u2018and what have you done with the sheet and the night-gown?\u2019\n\n\u2018What do you mean?\u2019 asked the Governor.\n\n\u2018Oh, I am asking you what you have done with the night-gown and sheet\nthat you got to wipe the blood off yourself with,\u2019 said she.\n\n\u2018Good heavens!\u2019 said the Governor, \u2018has he actually got the better of\nme again?\u2019\n\nWhen day came the Master Thief came too, and wanted to have the\nGovernor\u2019s daughter as had been promised, and the Governor dared do no\notherwise than give her to him, and much money besides, for he feared\nthat if he did not the Master Thief might steal the very eyes out of\nhis head, and that he himself would be ill spoken of by all men. The\nMaster Thief lived well and happily from that time forth, and whether\nhe ever stole any more or not I cannot tell you, but if he did it was\nbut for pastime.[5]\n\n [5] From P. C. Asbj\u00f8rnsen.\n\n\n\n\nBROTHER AND SISTER\n\n\nBrother took sister by the hand and said: \u2018Look here; we haven\u2019t had\none single happy hour since our mother died. That stepmother of ours\nbeats us regularly every day, and if we dare go near her she kicks us\naway. We never get anything but hard dry crusts to eat\u2014why, the dog\nunder the table is better off than we are. She does throw him a good\nmorsel or two now and then. Oh dear! if our own dear mother only knew\nall about it! Come along, and let us go forth into the wide world\ntogether.\u2019\n\nSo off they started through fields and meadows, over hedges and\nditches, and walked the whole day long, and when it rained sister said:\n\n\u2018Heaven and our hearts are weeping together.\u2019\n\nTowards evening they came to a large forest, and were so tired out with\nhunger and their long walk, as well as all their trouble, that they\ncrept into a hollow tree and soon fell fast asleep.\n\nNext morning, when they woke up, the sun was already high in the\nheavens and was shining down bright and warm into the tree. Then said\nbrother:\n\n\u2018I\u2019m so thirsty, sister; if I did but know where to find a little\nstream, I\u2019d go and have a drink. I do believe I hear one.\u2019 He jumped\nup, took sister by the hand, and they set off to hunt for the brook.\n\nNow their cruel stepmother was in reality a witch, and she knew\nperfectly well that the two children had run away. She had crept\nsecretly after them, and had cast her spells over all the streams in\nthe forest.\n\nPresently the children found a little brook dancing and glittering over\nthe stones, and brother was eager to drink of it, but as it rushed past\nsister heard it murmuring:\n\n\u2018Who drinks of me will be a tiger! who drinks of me will be a tiger!\u2019\n\nSo she cried out, \u2018Oh! dear brother, pray don\u2019t drink, or you\u2019ll be\nturned into a wild beast and tear me to pieces.\u2019\n\nBrother was dreadfully thirsty, but he did not drink.\n\n\u2018Very well,\u2019 said he, \u2018I\u2019ll wait till we come to the next spring.\u2019\n\nWhen they came to the second brook, sister heard it repeating too:\n\n\u2018Who drinks of me will be a wolf! who drinks of me will be a wolf!\u2019\n\nAnd she cried, \u2018Oh! brother, pray don\u2019t drink here either, or you\u2019ll be\nturned into a wolf and eat me up.\u2019\n\nAgain brother did not drink, but he said:\n\n\u2018Well, I\u2019ll wait a little longer till we reach the next stream, but\nthen, whatever you may say, I really must drink, for I can bear this\nthirst no longer.\u2019\n\nAnd when they got to the third brook, sister heard it say as it rushed\npast:\n\n\u2018Who drinks of me will be a roe! who drinks of me will be a roe!\u2019\n\nAnd she begged, \u2018Ah! brother, don\u2019t drink yet, or you\u2019ll become a roe\nand run away from me.\u2019\n\nBut her brother was already kneeling by the brook and bending over it\nto drink, and, sure enough, no sooner had his lips touched the water\nthan he fell on the grass transformed into a little Roebuck.\n\nSister cried bitterly over her poor bewitched brother, and the little\nRoe wept too, and sat sadly by her side. At last the girl said:\n\n\u2018Never mind, dear little fawn, I will never forsake you,\u2019 and she took\noff her golden garter and tied it round the Roe\u2019s neck.\n\nThen she plucked rushes and plaited a soft cord of them, which she\nfastened to the collar. When she had done this she led the Roe farther\nand farther, right into the depths of the forest.\n\nAfter they had gone a long, long way they came to a little house, and\nwhen the girl looked into it she found it was quite empty, and she\nthought \u2018perhaps we might stay and live here.\u2019\n\nSo she hunted up leaves and moss to make a soft bed for the little Roe,\nand every morning and evening she went out and gathered roots, nuts,\nand berries for herself, and tender young grass for the fawn. And he\nfed from her hand, and played round her and seemed quite happy. In the\nevening, when sister was tired, she said her prayers and then laid her\nhead on the fawn\u2019s back and fell sound asleep with it as a pillow. And\nif brother had but kept his natural form, really it would have been a\nmost delightful kind of life.\n\nThey had been living for some time in the forest in this way, when it\ncame to pass that the King of that country had a great hunt through the\nwoods. Then the whole forest rang with such a blowing of horns, baying\nof dogs, and joyful cries of huntsmen, that the little Roe heard it and\nlonged to join in too.\n\n\u2018Ah!\u2019 said he to sister, \u2018do let me go off to the hunt! I can\u2019t keep\nstill any longer.\u2019\n\nAnd he begged and prayed till at last she consented.\n\n\u2018But,\u2019 said she, \u2018mind you come back in the evening. I shall lock my\ndoor fast for fear of those wild huntsmen; so, to make sure of my\nknowing you, knock at the door and say, \u201cMy sister dear, open; I\u2019m\nhere.\u201d If you don\u2019t speak I shan\u2019t open the door.\u2019\n\nSo off sprang the little Roe, and he felt quite well and happy in the\nfree open air.\n\nThe King and his huntsmen soon saw the beautiful creature and started\nin pursuit, but they could not come up with it, and whenever they\nthought they were sure to catch it, it bounded off to one side into the\nbushes and disappeared. When night came on it ran home, and knocking at\nthe door of the little house cried:\n\n\u2018My sister dear, open; I\u2019m here.\u2019 The door opened, and he ran in and\nrested all night on his soft mossy bed.\n\nNext morning the hunt began again, and as soon as the little Roe heard\nthe horns and the \u2018Ho! ho!\u2019 of the huntsmen, he could not rest another\nmoment, and said:\n\n\u2018Sister, open the door, I must get out.\u2019\n\nSo sister opened the door and said, \u2018Now mind and get back by\nnightfall, and say your little rhyme.\u2019\n\nAs soon as the King and his huntsmen saw the Roe with the golden collar\nthey all rode off after it, but it was far too quick and nimble for\nthem. This went on all day, but as evening came on the huntsmen had\ngradually encircled the Roe, and one of them wounded it slightly in the\nfoot, so that it limped and ran off slowly.\n\nThen the huntsman stole after it as far as the little house, and heard\nit call out, \u2018My sister dear, open; I\u2019m here,\u2019 and he saw the door open\nand close immediately the fawn had run in.\n\nThe huntsman remembered all this carefully, and went off straight to\nthe King and told him all he had seen and heard.\n\n\u2018To-morrow we will hunt again,\u2019 said the King.\n\nPoor sister was terribly frightened when she saw how her little Fawn\nhad been wounded. She washed off the blood, bound up the injured foot\nwith herbs, and said: \u2018Now, dear, go and lie down and rest, so that\nyour wound may heal.\u2019\n\nThe wound was really so slight that it was quite well next day, and the\nlittle Roe did not feel it at all. No sooner did it hear the sounds of\nhunting in the forest than it cried:\n\n\u2018I can\u2019t stand this, I must be there too; I\u2019ll take care they shan\u2019t\ncatch me.\u2019\n\nSister began to cry, and said, \u2018They are certain to kill you, and then\nI shall be left all alone in the forest and forsaken by everyone. I\ncan\u2019t and won\u2019t let you out.\u2019\n\n\u2018Then I shall die of grief,\u2019 replied the Roe, \u2018for when I hear that\nhorn I feel as if I must jump right out of my skin.\u2019\n\nSo at last, when sister found there was nothing else to be done, she\nopened the door with a heavy heart, and the Roe darted forth full of\nglee and health into the forest.\n\nAs soon as the King saw the Roe, he said to his huntsman, \u2018Now then,\ngive chase to it all day till evening, but mind and be careful not to\nhurt it.\u2019\n\nWhen the sun had set the King said to his huntsman, \u2018Now come and show\nme the little house in the wood.\u2019\n\nAnd when he got to the house he knocked at the door and said, \u2018My\nsister dear, open; I\u2019m here.\u2019 Then the door opened and the King walked\nin, and there stood the loveliest maiden he had ever seen.\n\nThe girl was much startled when instead of the little Roe she expected\nshe saw a man with a gold crown on his head walk in. But the King\nlooked kindly at her, held out his hand, and said, \u2018Will you come with\nme to my castle and be my dear wife?\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh yes!\u2019 replied the maiden, \u2018but you must let my Roe come too. I\ncould not possibly forsake it.\u2019\n\n\u2018It shall stay with you as long as you live, and shall want for\nnothing,\u2019 the King promised.\n\nIn the meantime the Roe came bounding in, and sister tied the rush cord\nonce more to its collar, took the end in her hand, and so they left the\nlittle house in the forest together.\n\nThe King lifted the lonely maiden on to his horse, and led her to his\ncastle, where the wedding was celebrated with the greatest splendour.\nThe Roe was petted and caressed, and ran about at will in the palace\ngardens.\n\nNow all this time the wicked stepmother, who had been the cause of\nthese poor children\u2019s misfortunes and trying adventures, was feeling\nfully persuaded that sister had been torn to pieces by wild beasts, and\nbrother shot to death in the shape of a Roe. When she heard how happy\nand prosperous they were, her heart was filled with envy and hatred,\nand she could think of nothing but how to bring some fresh misfortune\non them. Her own daughter, who was as hideous as night and had only one\neye, reproached her by saying, \u2018It is I who ought to have had this good\nluck and been Queen.\u2019\n\n\u2018Be quiet, will you,\u2019 said the old woman; \u2018when the time comes I shall\nbe at hand.\u2019\n\nNow after some time it happened one day when the King was out hunting\nthat the Queen gave birth to a beautiful little boy. The old witch\nthought here was a good chance for her; so she took the form of the\nlady in waiting, and, hurrying into the room where the Queen lay in her\nbed, called out, \u2018The bath is quite ready; it will help to make you\nstrong again. Come, let us be quick, for fear the water should get\ncold.\u2019 Her daughter was at hand, too, and between them they carried the\nQueen, who was still very weak, into the bath-room and laid her in the\nbath; then they locked the door and ran away.\n\nThey took care beforehand to make a blazing hot fire under the bath, so\nthat the lovely young Queen might be suffocated.\n\nAs soon as they were sure this was the case, the old witch tied a cap\non her daughter\u2019s head and laid her in the Queen\u2019s bed. She managed,\ntoo, to make her figure and general appearance look like the Queen\u2019s,\nbut even her power could not restore the eye she had lost; so she made\nher lie on the side of the missing eye, in order to prevent the King\u2019s\nnoticing anything.\n\nIn the evening, when the King came home and heard the news of his son\u2019s\nbirth, he was full of delight, and insisted on going at once to his\ndear wife\u2019s bedside to see how she was getting on. But the old witch\ncried out, \u2018Take care and keep the curtains drawn; don\u2019t let the light\nget into the Queen\u2019s eyes; she must be kept perfectly quiet.\u2019 So the\nKing went away and never knew that it was a false Queen who lay in the\nbed.\n\nWhen midnight came and everyone in the palace was sound asleep, the\nnurse who alone watched by the baby\u2019s cradle in the nursery saw the\ndoor open gently, and who should come in but the real Queen. She lifted\nthe child from its cradle, laid it on her arm, and nursed it for some\ntime. Then she carefully shook up the pillows of the little bed, laid\nthe baby down and tucked the coverlet in all round him. She did not\nforget the little Roe either, but went to the corner where it lay, and\ngently stroked its back. Then she silently left the room, and next\nmorning when the nurse asked the sentries if they had seen any one go\ninto the castle that night, they all said, \u2018No, we saw no one at all.\u2019\n\nFor many nights the Queen came in the same way, but she never spoke a\nword, and the nurse was too frightened to say anything about her\nvisits.\n\nAfter some little time had elapsed the Queen spoke one night, and said:\n\n\u2018Is my child well? Is my Roe well?\nI\u2019ll come back twice and then farewell.\u2019\n\n\nThe nurse made no answer, but as soon as the Queen had disappeared she\nwent to the King and told him all. The King exclaimed, \u2018Good heavens!\nwhat do you say? I will watch myself to-night by the child\u2019s bed.\u2019\n\nWhen the evening came he went to the nursery, and at midnight the Queen\nappeared and said:\n\n\u2018Is my child well? Is my Roe well?\nI\u2019ll come back once and then farewell.\u2019\n\n\nAnd she nursed and petted the child as usual before she disappeared.\nThe King dared not trust himself to speak to her, but the following\nnight he kept watch again.\n\nThat night when the Queen came she said:\n\n\u2018Is my child well? Is my Roe well?\nI\u2019ve come this once, and now farewell.\u2019\n\n\nThen the King could restrain himself no longer, but sprang to her side\nand cried, \u2018You can be no one but my dear wife!\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes,\u2019 said she, \u2018I am your dear wife!\u2019 and in the same moment she was\nrestored to life, and was as fresh and well and rosy as ever. Then she\ntold the King all the cruel things the wicked witch and her daughter\nhad done. The King had them both arrested at once and brought to trial,\nand they were condemned to death. The daughter was led into the forest,\nwhere the wild beasts tore her to pieces, and the old witch was burnt\nat the stake.\n\nAs soon as she reduced to ashes the spell was taken off the little Roe,\nand he was restored to his natural shape once more, and so brother and\nsister lived happily ever after.[6]\n\n [6] Grimm.\n\n\n\n\nPRINCESS ROSETTE\n\n\nOnce upon a time there lived a King and Queen who had two beautiful\nsons and one little daughter, who was so pretty that no one who saw her\ncould help loving her. When it was time for the christening of the\nPrincess, the Queen\u2014as she always did\u2014sent for all the fairies to be\npresent at the ceremony, and afterwards invited them to a splendid\nbanquet.\n\nWhen it was over, and they were preparing to go away, the Queen said to\nthem:\n\n\u2018Do not forget your usual good custom. Tell me what is going to happen\nto Rosette.\u2019\n\nFor that was the name they had given the Princess.\n\nBut the fairies said they had left their book of magic at home, and\nthey would come another day and tell her.\n\n\u2018Ah!\u2019 said the Queen, \u2018I know very well what that means\u2014you have\nnothing good to say; but at least I beg that you will not hide anything\nfrom me.\u2019\n\nSo, after a great deal of persuasion, they said:\n\n\u2018Madam, we fear that Rosette may be the cause of great misfortunes to\nher brothers; they may even meet with their death through her; that is\nall we have been able to foresee about your dear little daughter. We\nare very sorry to have nothing better to tell you.\u2019\n\nThen they went away, leaving the Queen very sad, so sad that the King\nnoticed it, and asked her what was the matter.\n\nThe Queen said that she had been sitting too near the fire, and had\nburnt all the flax that was upon her distaff.\n\n\u2018Oh! is that all?\u2019 said the King, and he went up into the garret and\nbrought her down more flax than she could spin in a hundred years. But\nthe Queen still looked sad, and the King asked her again what was the\nmatter. She answered that she had been walking by the river and had\ndropped one of her green satin slippers into the water.\n\n\u2018Oh! if that\u2019s all,\u2019 said the King, and he sent to all the shoe-makers\nin his kingdom, and they very soon made the Queen ten thousand green\nsatin slippers, but still she looked sad. So the King asked her again\nwhat was the matter, and this time she answered that in eating her\nporridge too hastily she had swallowed her wedding-ring. But it so\nhappened that the King knew better, for he had the ring himself, and he\nsaid:\n\n\u2018Oh! you are not telling me the truth, for I have your ring here in my\npurse.\u2019\n\nThen the Queen was very much ashamed, and she saw that the King was\nvexed with her; so she told him all that the fairies had predicted\nabout Rosette, and begged him to think how the misfortunes might be\nprevented.\n\nThen it was the King\u2019s turn to look sad, and at last he said:\n\n\u2018I see no way of saving our sons except by having Rosette\u2019s head cut\noff while she is still little.\u2019\n\nBut the Queen cried that she would far rather have her own head cut\noff, and that he had better think of something else, for she would\nnever consent to such a thing. So they thought and thought, but they\ncould not tell what to do, until at last the Queen heard that in a\ngreat forest near the castle there was an old hermit, who lived in a\nhollow tree, and that people came from far and near to consult him; so\nshe said:\n\n\u2018I had better go and ask his advice; perhaps he will know what to do to\nprevent the misfortunes which the fairies foretold.\u2019\n\nShe set out very early the next morning, mounted upon a pretty little\nwhite mule, which was shod with solid gold, and two of her ladies rode\nbehind her on beautiful horses. When they reached the forest they\ndismounted, for the trees grew so thickly that the horses could not\npass, and made their way on foot to the hollow tree where the hermit\nlived. At first when he saw them coming he was vexed, for he was not\nfond of ladies; but when he recognised the Queen, he said:\n\n\u2018You are welcome, Queen. What do you come to ask of me?\u2019\n\nThen the Queen told him all the fairies had foreseen for Rosette, and\nasked what she should do, and the hermit answered that she must shut\nthe Princess up in a tower and never let her come out of it again. The\nQueen thanked and rewarded him, and hastened back to the castle to tell\nthe King. When he heard the news he had a great tower built as quickly\nas possible, and there the Princess was shut up, and the King and Queen\nand her two brothers went to see her every day that she might not be\ndull. The eldest brother was called \u2018the Great Prince,\u2019 and the second\n\u2018the Little Prince.\u2019 They loved their sister dearly, for she was the\nsweetest, prettiest princess who was ever seen, and the least little\nsmile from her was worth more than a hundred pieces of gold. When\nRosette was fifteen years old the Great Prince went to the King and\nasked if it would not soon be time for her to be married, and the\nLittle Prince put the same question to the Queen.\n\nTheir majesties were amused at them for thinking of it, but did not\nmake any reply, and soon after both the King and the Queen were taken\nill, and died on the same day. Everybody was sorry, Rosette especially,\nand all the bells in the kingdom were tolled.\n\nThen all the dukes and counsellors put the Great Prince upon a golden\nthrone, and crowned him with a diamond crown, and they all cried, \u2018Long\nlive the King!\u2019 And after that there was nothing but feasting and\nrejoicing.\n\nThe new King and his brother said to one another:\n\n\u2018Now that we are the masters, let us take our sister out of that dull\ntower which she is so tired of.\u2019\n\nThey had only to go across the garden to reach the tower, which was\nvery high, and stood up in a corner. Rosette was busy at her\nembroidery, but when she saw her brothers she got up, and taking the\nKing\u2019s hand cried:\n\n\u2018Good morning, dear brother. Now that you are King, please take me out\nof this dull tower, for I am so tired of it.\u2019\n\nThen she began to cry, but the King kissed her and told her to dry her\ntears, as that was just what they had come for, to take her out of the\ntower and bring her to their beautiful castle, and the Prince showed\nher the pocketful of sugar plums he had brought for her, and said:\n\n\u2018Make haste, and let us get away from this ugly tower, and very soon\nthe King will arrange a grand marriage for you.\u2019\n\nWhen Rosette saw the beautiful garden, full of fruit and flowers, with\ngreen grass and sparkling fountains, she was so astonished that not a\nword could she say, for she had never in her life seen anything like it\nbefore. She looked about her, and ran hither and thither gathering\nfruit and flowers, and her little dog Frisk, who was bright green all\nover, and had but one ear, danced before her, crying \u2018Bow-wow-wow,\u2019 and\nturning head over heels in the most enchanting way.\n\nEverybody was amused at Frisk\u2019s antics, but all of a sudden he ran away\ninto a little wood, and the Princess was following him, when, to her\ngreat delight, she saw a peacock, who was spreading his tail in the\nsunshine. Rosette thought she had never seen anything so pretty. She\ncould not take her eyes off him, and there she stood entranced until\nthe King and the Prince came up and asked what was amusing her so much.\nShe showed them the peacock, and asked what it was, and they answered\nthat it was a bird which people sometimes ate.\n\n\u2018What!\u2019 said the Princess, \u2018do they dare to kill that beautiful\ncreature and eat it? I declare that I will never marry any one but the\nKing of the Peacocks, and when I am Queen I will take very good care\nthat nobody eats any of my subjects.\u2019\n\nAt this the King was very much astonished.\n\n\u2018But, little sister,\u2019 said he, \u2018where shall we find the King of the\nPeacocks?\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh! wherever you like, sire,\u2019 she answered, \u2018but I will never marry\nany one else.\u2019\n\nAfter this they took Rosette to the beautiful castle, and the peacock\nwas brought with her, and told to walk about on the terrace outside her\nwindows, so that she might always see him, and then the ladies of the\ncourt came to see the Princess, and they brought her beautiful\npresents\u2014dresses and ribbons and sweetmeats, diamonds and pearls and\ndolls and embroidered slippers, and she was so well brought up, and\nsaid, \u2018Thank you!\u2019 so prettily, and was so gracious, that everyone went\naway delighted with her.\n\nMeanwhile the King and the Prince were considering how they should find\nthe King of the Peacocks, if there was such a person in the world. And\nfirst of all they had a portrait made of the Princess, which was so\nlike her that you really would not have been surprised if it had spoken\nto you. Then they said to her:\n\n\u2018Since you will not marry anyone but the King of the Peacocks, we are\ngoing out together into the wide world to search for him. If we find\nhim for you we shall be very glad. In the meantime, mind you take good\ncare of our kingdom.\u2019\n\nRosette thanked them for all the trouble they were taking on her\naccount, and promised to take great care of the kingdom, and only to\namuse herself by looking at the peacock, and making Frisk dance while\nthey were away.\n\nSo they set out, and asked everyone they met\u2014\n\n\u2018Do you know the King of the Peacocks?\u2019\n\nBut the answer was always, \u2018No, no.\u2019\n\nThen they went on and on, so far that no one has ever been farther, and\nat last they came to the Kingdom of the Cockchafers.\n\nThey had never before seen such a number of cockchafers, and the\nbuzzing was so loud that the King was afraid he should be deafened by\nit. He asked the most distinguished-looking cockchafer they met if he\nknew where they could find the King of the Peacocks.\n\n\u2018Sire,\u2019 replied the cockchafer, \u2018his kingdom is thirty thousand leagues\nfrom this; you have come the longest way.\u2019\n\n\u2018And how do you know that?\u2019 said the King.\n\n\u2018Oh!\u2019 said the cockchafer, \u2018we all know you very well, since we spend\ntwo or three months in your garden every year.\u2019\n\nThereupon the King and the Prince made great friends with him, and they\nall walked arm-in-arm and dined together, and afterwards the cockchafer\nshowed them all the curiosities of his strange country, where the\ntiniest green leaf costs a gold piece and more. Then they set out again\nto finish their journey, and this time, as they knew the way, they were\nnot long upon the road. It was easy to guess that they had come to the\nright place, for they saw peacocks in every tree, and their cries could\nbe heard a long way off.\n\nWhen they reached the city they found it full of men and women who were\ndressed entirely in peacocks\u2019 feathers, which were evidently thought\nprettier than anything else.\n\nThey soon met the King, who was driving about in a beautiful little\ngolden carriage which glittered with diamonds, and was drawn at full\nspeed by twelve peacocks. The King and the Prince were delighted to see\nthat the King of the Peacocks was as handsome as possible. He had curly\ngolden hair and was very pale, and he wore a crown of peacocks\u2019\nfeathers.\n\nWhen he saw Rosette\u2019s brothers he knew at once that they were\nstrangers, and stopping his carriage he sent for them to speak to him.\nWhen they had greeted him they said:\n\n\u2018Sire, we have come from very far away to show you a beautiful\nportrait.\u2019\n\nSo saying they drew from their travelling bag the picture of Rosette.\n\nThe King looked at it in silence a long time, but at last he said:\n\n\u2018I could not have believed that there was such a beautiful Princess in\nthe world!\u2019\n\n\u2018Indeed, she is really a hundred times as pretty as that,\u2019 said her\nbrothers.\n\n\u2018I think you must be making fun of me,\u2019 replied the King of the\nPeacocks.\n\n\u2018Sire,\u2019 said the Prince, \u2018my brother is a King, like yourself. He is\ncalled \u201cthe King,\u201d I am called \u201cthe Prince,\u201d and that is the portrait\nof our sister, the Princess Rosette. We have come to ask if you would\nlike to marry her. She is as good as she is beautiful, and we will give\nher a bushel of gold pieces for her dowry.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh! with all my heart,\u2019 replied the King, \u2018and I will make her very\nhappy. She shall have whatever she likes, and I shall love her dearly;\nonly I warn you that if she is not as pretty as you have told me, I\nwill have your heads cut off.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh! certainly, we quite agree to that,\u2019 said the brothers in one\nbreath.\n\n\u2018Very well. Off with you into prison, and stay there until the Princess\narrives,\u2019 said the King of the Peacocks.\n\nAnd the Princes were so sure that Rosette was far prettier than her\nportrait that they went without a murmur. They were very kindly\ntreated, and that they might not feel dull the King came often to see\nthem. As for Rosette\u2019s portrait that was taken up to the palace, and\nthe King did nothing but gaze at it all day and all night.\n\nAs the King and the Prince had to stay in prison, they sent a letter to\nthe Princess telling her to pack up all her treasures as quickly as\npossible, and come to them, as the King of the Peacocks was waiting to\nmarry her; but they did not say that they were in prison, for fear of\nmaking her uneasy.\n\nWhen Rosette received the letter she was so delighted that she ran\nabout telling everyone that the King of the Peacocks was found, and she\nwas going to marry him.\n\nGuns were fired, and fireworks let off. Everyone had as many cakes and\nsweetmeats as he wanted. And for three days everybody who came to see\nthe Princess was presented with a slice of bread-and-jam, a\nnightingale\u2019s egg, and some hippocras. After having thus entertained\nher friends, she distributed her dolls among them, and left her\nbrother\u2019s kingdom to the care of the wisest old men of the city,\ntelling them to take charge of everything, not to spend any money, but\nsave it all up until the King should return, and above all, not to\nforget to feed her peacock. Then she set out, only taking with her her\nnurse, and the nurse\u2019s daughter, and the little green dog Frisk.\n\nThey took a boat and put out to sea, carrying with them the bushel of\ngold pieces, and enough dresses to last the Princess ten years if she\nwore two every day, and they did nothing but laugh and sing. The nurse\nasked the boatman:\n\n\u2018Can you take us, can you take us to the kingdom of the peacocks?\u2019\n\nBut he answered:\n\n\u2018Oh no! oh no!\u2019\n\nThen she said:\n\n\u2018You must take us, you must take us.\u2019\n\nAnd he answered:\n\n\u2018Very soon, very soon.\u2019\n\nThen the nurse said:\n\n\u2018Will you take us? will you take us?\u2019\n\nAnd the boatman answered:\n\n\u2018Yes, yes.\u2019\n\nThen she whispered in his ear:\n\n\u2018Do you want to make your fortune?\u2019\n\nAnd he said:\n\n\u2018Certainly I do.\u2019\n\n\u2018I can tell you how to get a bag of gold,\u2019 said she.\n\n\u2018I ask nothing better,\u2019 said the boatman.\n\n\u2018Well,\u2019 said the nurse, \u2018to-night, when the Princess is asleep, you\nmust help me to throw her into the sea, and when she is drowned I will\nput her beautiful clothes upon my daughter, and we will take her to the\nKing of the Peacocks, who will be only too glad to marry her, and as\nyour reward you shall have your boat full of diamonds.\u2019\n\nThe boatman was very much surprised at this proposal, and said:\n\n\u2018But what a pity to drown such a pretty Princess!\u2019\n\nHowever, at last the nurse persuaded him to help her, and when the\nnight came and the Princess was fast asleep as usual, with Frisk curled\nup on his own cushion at the foot of her bed, the wicked nurse fetched\nthe boatman and her daughter, and between them they picked up the\nPrincess, feather bed, mattress, pillows, blankets and all, and threw\nher into the sea, without even waking her. Now, luckily, the Princess\u2019s\nbed was entirely stuffed with phoenix feathers, which are very rare,\nand have the property of always floating upon water, so Rosette went on\nswimming about as if she had been in a boat. After a little while she\nbegan to feel very cold, and turned round so often that she woke Frisk,\nwho started up, and, having a very good nose, smelt the soles and\nherrings so close to him that he began to bark. He barked so long and\nso loud that he woke all the other fish, who came swimming up round the\nPrincess\u2019s bed, and poking at it with their great heads. As for her,\nshe said to herself:\n\n\u2018How our boat does rock upon the water! I am really glad that I am not\noften as uncomfortable as I have been to-night.\u2019\n\nThe wicked nurse and the boatman, who were by this time quite a long\nway off, heard Frisk barking, and said to each other:\n\n\u2018That horrid little animal and his mistress are drinking our health in\nsea-water now. Let us make haste to land, for we must be quite near the\ncity of the King of the Peacocks.\u2019\n\nThe King had sent a hundred carriages to meet them, drawn by every kind\nof strange animal. There were lions, bears, wolves, stags, horses,\nbuffaloes, eagles, and peacocks. The carriage intended for the Princess\nRosette had six blue monkeys, which could turn summer-saults, and dance\non a tight-rope, and do many other charming tricks. Their harness was\nall of crimson velvet with gold buckles, and behind the carriage walked\nsixty beautiful ladies chosen by the King to wait upon Rosette and\namuse her.\n\nThe nurse had taken all the pains imaginable to deck out her daughter.\nShe put on her Rosette\u2019s prettiest frock, and covered her with diamonds\nfrom head to foot. But she was so ugly that nothing could make her look\nnice, and what was worse, she was sulky and ill-tempered, and did\nnothing but grumble all the time.\n\nWhen she stepped from the boat and the escort sent by the King of the\nPeacocks caught sight of her, they were so surprised that they could\nnot say a single word.\n\n\u2018Now then, look alive,\u2019 cried the false Princess. \u2018If you don\u2019t bring\nme something to eat I will have all your heads cut off!\u2019\n\nThen they whispered one to another:\n\n\u2018Here\u2019s a pretty state of things! she is as wicked as she is ugly. What\na bride for our poor King! She certainly was not worth bringing from\nthe other end of the world!\u2019\n\nBut she went on ordering them all about, and for no fault at all would\ngive slaps and pinches to everyone she could reach.\n\nAs the procession was so long it advanced but slowly, and the nurse\u2019s\ndaughter sat up in her carriage trying to look like a Queen. But the\npeacocks, who were sitting upon every tree waiting to salute her, and\nwho had made up their minds to cry, \u2018Long live our beautiful Queen!\u2019\nwhen they caught sight of the false bride could not help crying\ninstead:\n\n\u2018Oh! how ugly she is!\u2019\n\nWhich offended her so much that she said to the guards:\n\n\u2018Make haste and kill all these insolent peacocks who have dared to\ninsult me.\u2019\n\nBut the peacocks only flew away, laughing at her.\n\nThe rogue of a boatman, who noticed all this, said softly to the nurse:\n\n\u2018This is a bad business for us, gossip; your daughter ought to have\nbeen prettier.\u2019\n\nBut she answered:\n\n\u2018Be quiet, stupid, or you will spoil everything.\u2019\n\nNow they told the King that the Princess was approaching.\n\n\u2018Well,\u2019 said he, \u2018did her brothers tell me truly? Is she prettier than\nher portrait?\u2019\n\n\u2018Sire,\u2019 they answered, \u2018if she were as pretty that would do very well.\u2019\n\n\u2018That\u2019s true,\u2019 said the King; \u2018I for one shall be quite satisfied if\nshe is. Let us go and meet her.\u2019 For they knew by the uproar that she\nhad arrived, but they could not tell what all the shouting was about.\nThe King thought he could hear the words:\n\n\u2018How ugly she is! How ugly she is!\u2019 and he fancied they must refer to\nsome dwarf the Princess was bringing with her. It never occurred to him\nthat they could apply to the bride herself.\n\nThe Princess Rosette\u2019s portrait was carried at the head of the\nprocession, and after it walked the King surrounded by his courtiers.\nHe was all impatience to see the lovely Princess, but when he caught\nsight of the nurse\u2019s daughter he was furiously angry, and would not\nadvance another step. For she was really ugly enough to have frightened\nanybody.\n\n\u2018What!\u2019 he cried, \u2018have the two rascals who are my prisoners dared to\nplay me such a trick as this? Do they propose that I shall marry this\nhideous creature? Let her be shut up in my great tower, with her nurse\nand those who brought her here; and as for them, I will have their\nheads cut off.\u2019\n\nMeanwhile the King and the Prince, who knew that their sister must have\narrived, had made themselves smart, and sat expecting every minute to\nbe summoned to greet her. So when the gaoler came with soldiers, and\ncarried them down into a black dungeon which swarmed with toads and\nbats, and where they were up to their necks in water, nobody could have\nbeen more surprised and dismayed than they were.\n\n\u2018This is a dismal kind of wedding,\u2019 they said; \u2018what can have happened\nthat we should be treated like this? They must mean to kill us.\u2019\n\nAnd this idea annoyed them very much. Three days passed before they\nheard any news, and then the King of the Peacocks came and berated them\nthrough a hole in the wall.\n\n\u2018You have called yourselves King and Prince,\u2019 he cried, \u2018to try and\nmake me marry your sister, but you are nothing but beggars, not worth\nthe water you drink. I mean to make short work with you, and the sword\nis being sharpened that will cut off your heads!\u2019\n\n\u2018King of the Peacocks,\u2019 answered the King angrily, \u2018you had better take\ncare what you are about. I am as good a King as yourself, and have a\nsplendid kingdom and robes and crowns, and plenty of good red gold to\ndo what I like with. You are pleased to jest about having our heads cut\noff; perhaps you think we have stolen something from you?\u2019\n\nAt first the King of the Peacocks was taken aback by this bold speech,\nand had half a mind to send them all away together; but his Prime\nMinister declared that it would never do to let such a trick as that\npass unpunished, everybody would laugh at him; so the accusation was\ndrawn up against them, that they were impostors, and that they had\npromised the King a beautiful Princess in marriage who, when she\narrived, proved to be an ugly peasant girl.\n\nThis accusation was read to the prisoners, who cried out that they had\nspoken the truth, that their sister was indeed a Princess more\nbeautiful than the day, and that there was some mystery about all this\nwhich they could not fathom. Therefore they demanded seven days in\nwhich to prove their innocence. The King of the Peacocks was so angry\nthat he would hardly even grant them this favour, but at last he was\npersuaded to do so.\n\nWhile all this was going on at court, let us see what had been\nhappening to the real Princess. When the day broke she and Frisk were\nequally astonished at finding themselves alone upon the sea, with no\nboat and no one to help them. The Princess cried and cried, until even\nthe fishes were sorry for her.\n\n\u2018Alas!\u2019 she said, \u2018the King of the Peacocks must have ordered me to be\nthrown into the sea because he had changed his mind and did not want to\nmarry me. But how strange of him, when I should have loved him so much,\nand we should have been so happy together!\u2019\n\nAnd then she cried harder than ever, for she could not help still\nloving him. So for two days they floated up and down the sea, wet and\nshivering with the cold, and so hungry that when the Princess saw some\noysters she caught them, and she and Frisk both ate some, though they\ndidn\u2019t like them at all. When night came the Princess was so frightened\nthat she said to Frisk:\n\n\u2018Oh! Do please keep on barking for fear the soles should come and eat\nus up!\u2019\n\nNow it happened that they had floated close in to the shore, where a\npoor old man lived all alone in a little cottage. When he heard Frisk\u2019s\nbarking he thought to himself:\n\n\u2018There must have been a shipwreck!\u2019 (for no dogs ever passed that way\nby any chance), and he went out to see if he could be of any use. He\nsoon saw the Princess and Frisk floating up and down, and Rosette,\nstretching out her hands to him, cried:\n\n\u2018Oh! Good old man, do save me, or I shall die of cold and hunger!\u2019\n\nWhen he heard her cry out so piteously he was very sorry for her, and\nran back into his house to fetch a long boat-hook. Then he waded into\nthe water up to his chin, and after being nearly drowned once or twice\nhe at last succeeded in getting hold of the Princess\u2019s bed and dragging\nit on shore.\n\nRosette and Frisk were joyful enough to find themselves once more on\ndry land, and the Princess thanked the old man heartily; then, wrapping\nherself up in her blankets, she daintily picked her way up to the\ncottage on her little bare feet. There the old man lighted a fire of\nstraw, and then drew from an old box his wife\u2019s dress and shoes, which\nthe Princess put on, and thus roughly clad looked as charming as\npossible, and Frisk danced his very best to amuse her.\n\nThe old man saw that Rosette must be some great lady, for her bed\ncoverings were all of satin and gold. He begged that she would tell him\nall her history, as she might safely trust him. The Princess told him\neverything, weeping bitterly again at the thought that it was by the\nKing\u2019s orders that she had been thrown overboard.\n\n\u2018And now, my daughter, what is to be done?\u2019 said the old man. \u2018You are\na great Princess, accustomed to fare daintily, and I have nothing to\noffer you but black bread and radishes, which will not suit you at all.\nShall I go and tell the King of the Peacocks that you are here? If he\nsees you he will certainly wish to marry you.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh no!\u2019 cried Rosette, \u2018he must be wicked, since he tried to drown me.\nDon\u2019t let us tell him, but if you have a little basket give it to me.\u2019\n\nThe old man gave her a basket, and tying it round Frisk\u2019s neck she said\nto him: \u2018Go and find out the best cooking-pot in the town and bring the\ncontents to me.\u2019\n\nAway went Frisk, and as there was no better dinner cooking in all the\ntown than the King\u2019s, he adroitly took the cover off the pot and\nbrought all it contained to the Princess, who said:\n\n\u2018Now go back to the pantry, and bring the best of everything you find\nthere.\u2019\n\nSo Frisk went back and filled his basket with white bread, and red\nwine, and every kind of sweetmeat, until it was almost too heavy for\nhim to carry.\n\nWhen the King of the Peacocks wanted his dinner there was nothing in\nthe pot and nothing in the pantry. All the courtiers looked at one\nanother in dismay, and the King was terribly cross.\n\n\u2018Oh well! \u2018he said, \u2018if there is no dinner I cannot dine, but take care\nthat plenty of things are roasted for supper.\u2019\n\nWhen evening came the Princess said to Frisk:\n\n\u2018Go into the town and find out the best kitchen, and bring me all the\nnicest morsels that are being roasted upon the spit.\u2019\n\nFrisk did as he was told, and as he knew of no better kitchen than the\nKing\u2019s, he went in softly, and when the cook\u2019s back was turned took\neverything that was upon the spit, As it happened it was all done to a\nturn, and looked so good that it made him hungry only to see it. He\ncarried his basket to the Princess, who at once sent him back to the\npantry to bring all the tarts and sugar plums that had been prepared\nfor the King\u2019s supper.\n\nThe King, as he had had no dinner, was very hungry and wanted his\nsupper early, but when he asked for it, lo and behold it was all gone,\nand he had to go to bed half-starved and in a terrible temper. The next\nday the same thing happened, and the next, so that for three days the\nKing got nothing at all to eat, because just when the dinner or the\nsupper was ready to be served it mysteriously disappeared. At last the\nPrime Minister began to be afraid that the King would be starved to\ndeath, so he resolved to hide himself in some dark corner of the\nkitchen, and never take his eyes off the cooking-pot. His surprise was\ngreat when he presently saw a little green dog with one ear slip softly\ninto the kitchen, uncover the pot, transfer all its contents to his\nbasket, and run off. The Prime Minister followed hastily, and tracked\nhim all through the town to the cottage of the good old man; then he\nran back to the King and told him that he had found out where all his\ndinners and suppers went. The King, who was very much astonished, said\nhe should like to go and see for himself. So he set out, accompanied by\nthe Prime Minister and a guard of archers, and arrived just in time to\nfind the old man and the Princess finishing his dinner.\n\nThe King ordered that they should be seized and bound with ropes, and\nFrisk also.\n\nWhen they were brought back to the palace some one told the King, who\nsaid:\n\n\u2018To-day is the last day of the respite granted to those impostors; they\nshall have their heads cut off at the same time as these stealers of my\ndinner.\u2019 Then the old man went down on his knees before the King and\nbegged for time to tell him everything. While he spoke the King for the\nfirst time looked attentively at the Princess, because he was sorry to\nsee how she cried, and when he heard the old man saying that her name\nwas Rosette, and that she had been treacherously thrown into the sea,\nhe turned head over heels three times without stopping, in spite of\nbeing quite weak from hunger, and ran to embrace her, and untied the\nropes which bound her with his own hands, declaring that he loved her\nwith all his heart.\n\nMessengers were sent to bring the Princes out of prison, and they came\nvery sadly, believing that they were to be executed at once: the nurse\nand her daughter and the boatman were brought also. As soon as they\ncame in Rosette ran to embrace her brothers, while the traitors threw\nthemselves down before her and begged for mercy. The King and the\nPrincess were so happy that they freely forgave them, and as for the\ngood old man he was splendidly rewarded, and spent the rest of his days\nin the palace. The King of the Peacocks made ample amends to the King\nand Prince for the way in which they had been treated, and did\neverything in his power to show how sorry he was.\n\nThe nurse restored to Rosette all her dresses and jewels, and the\nbushel of gold pieces; the wedding was held at once, and they all lived\nhappily ever after\u2014even to Frisk, who enjoyed the greatest luxury, and\nnever had anything worse than the wing of a partridge for dinner all\nthe rest of his life.[7]\n\n [7] Madame d\u2019Aulnoy.\n\n\n\n\nTHE ENCHANTED PIG\n\n\nOnce upon a time there lived a King who had three daughters. Now it\nhappened that he had to go out to battle, so he called his daughters\nand said to them:\n\n\u2018My dear children, I am obliged to go to the wars. The enemy is\napproaching us with a large army. It is a great grief to me to leave\nyou all. During my absence take care of yourselves and be good girls;\nbehave well and look after everything in the house. You may walk in the\ngarden, and you may go into all the rooms in the palace, except the\nroom at the back in the right-hand corner; into that you must not\nenter, for harm would befall you.\u2019\n\n\u2018You may keep your mind easy, father,\u2019 they replied. \u2018We have never\nbeen disobedient to you. Go in peace, and may heaven give you a\nglorious victory!\u2019\n\nWhen everything was ready for his departure, the King gave them the\nkeys of all the rooms and reminded them once more of what he had said.\nHis daughters kissed his hands with tears in their eyes, and wished him\nprosperity, and he gave the eldest the keys.\n\nNow when the girls found themselves alone they felt so sad and dull\nthat they did not know what to do. So, to pass the time, they decided\nto work for part of the day, to read for part of the day, and to enjoy\nthemselves in the garden for part of the day. As long as they did this\nall went well with them. But this happy state of things did not last\nlong. Every day they grew more and more curious, and you will see what\nthe end of that was.\n\n\u2018Sisters,\u2019 said the eldest Princess, \u2018all day long we sew, spin, and\nread. We have been several days quite alone, and there is no corner of\nthe garden that we have not explored. We have been in all the rooms of\nour father\u2019s palace, and have admired the rich and beautiful furniture:\nwhy should not we go into the room that our father forbad us to enter?\u2019\n\n\u2018Sister,\u2019 said the youngest, \u2018I cannot think how you can tempt us to\nbreak our father\u2019s command. When he told us not to go into that room he\nmust have known what he was saying, and have had a good reason for\nsaying it.\u2019\n\n\u2018Surely the sky won\u2019t fall about our heads if we _do_ go in,\u2019 said the\nsecond Princess. \u2018Dragons and such like monsters that would devour us\nwill not be hidden in the room. And how will our father ever find out\nthat we have gone in?\u2019\n\nWhile they were speaking thus, encouraging each other, they had reached\nthe room; the eldest fitted the key into the lock, and snap! the door\nstood open.\n\nThe three girls entered, and what do you think they saw?\n\nThe room was quite empty, and without any ornament, but in the middle\nstood a large table, with a gorgeous cloth, and on it lay a big open\nbook.\n\nNow the Princesses were curious to know what was written in the book,\nespecially the eldest, and this is what she read:\n\n\u2018The eldest daughter of this King will marry a prince from the East.\u2019\n\nThen the second girl stepped forward, and turning over the page she\nread:\n\n\u2018The second daughter of this King will marry a prince from the West.\u2019\n\nThe girls were delighted, and laughed and teased each other.\n\nBut the youngest Princess did not want to go near the table or to open\nthe book. Her elder sisters however left her no peace, and will she,\nnill she, they dragged her up to the table, and in fear and trembling\nshe turned over the page and read:\n\n\u2018The youngest daughter of this King will be married to a pig from the\nNorth.\u2019\n\nNow if a thunderbolt had fallen upon her from heaven it would not have\nfrightened her more.\n\nShe almost died of misery, and if her sisters had not held her up, she\nwould have sunk to the ground and cut her head open.\n\nWhen she came out of the fainting fit into which she had fallen in her\nterror, her sisters tried to comfort her, saying:\n\n\u2018How can you believe such nonsense? When did it ever happen that a\nking\u2019s daughter married a pig?\u2019\n\n\u2018What a baby you are!\u2019 said the other sister; \u2018has not our father\nenough soldiers to protect you, even if the disgusting creature did\ncome to woo you?\u2019\n\nThe youngest Princess would fain have let herself be convinced by her\nsisters\u2019 words, and have believed what they said, but her heart was\nheavy. Her thoughts kept turning to the book, in which stood written\nthat great happiness waited her sisters, but that a fate was in store\nfor her such as had never before been known in the world.\n\nBesides, the thought weighed on her heart that she had been guilty of\ndisobeying her father. She began to get quite ill, and in a few days\nshe was so changed that it was difficult to recognise her; formerly she\nhad been rosy and merry, now she was pale and nothing gave her any\npleasure. She gave up playing with her sisters in the garden, ceased to\ngather flowers to put in her hair, and never sang when they sat\ntogether at their spinning and sewing.\n\nIn the meantime the King won a great victory, and having completely\ndefeated and driven off the enemy, he hurried home to his daughters, to\nwhom his thoughts had constantly turned. Everyone went out to meet him\nwith cymbals and fifes and drums, and there was great rejoicing over\nhis victorious return. The King\u2019s first act on reaching home was to\nthank Heaven for the victory he had gained over the enemies who had\nrisen against him. He then entered his palace, and the three Princesses\nstepped forward to meet him. His joy was great when he saw that they\nwere all well, for the youngest did her best not to appear sad.\n\nIn spite of this, however, it was not long before the King noticed that\nhis third daughter was getting very thin and sad-looking. And all of a\nsudden he felt as if a hot iron were entering his soul, for it flashed\nthrough his mind that she had disobeyed his word. He felt sure he was\nright; but to be quite certain he called his daughters to him,\nquestioned them, and ordered them to speak the truth. They confessed\neverything, but took good care not to say which had led the other two\ninto temptation.\n\nThe King was so distressed when he heard it that he was almost overcome\nby grief. But he took heart and tried to comfort his daughters, who\nlooked frightened to death. He saw that what had happened had happened,\nand that a thousand words would not alter matters by a hair\u2019s-breadth.\n\nWell, these events had almost been forgotten when one fine day a prince\nfrom the East appeared at the Court and asked the King for the hand of\nhis eldest daughter. The King gladly gave his consent. A great wedding\nbanquet was prepared, and after three days of feasting the happy pair\nwere accompanied to the frontier with much ceremony and rejoicing.\n\nAfter some time the same thing befell the second daughter, who was\nwooed and won by a prince from the West.\n\nNow when the young Princess saw that everything fell out exactly as had\nbeen written in the book, she grew very sad. She refused to eat, and\nwould not put on her fine clothes nor go out walking, and declared that\nshe would rather die than become a laughing-stock to the world. But the\nKing would not allow her to do anything so wrong, and he comforted her\nin all possible ways.\n\nSo the time passed, till lo and behold! one fine day an enormous pig\nfrom the North walked into the palace, and going straight up to the\nKing said, \u2018Hail! oh King. May your life be as prosperous and bright as\nsunrise on a clear day!\u2019\n\n\u2018I am glad to see you well, friend,\u2019 answered the King, \u2018but what wind\nhas brought you hither?\u2019\n\n\u2018I come a-wooing,\u2019 replied the Pig.\n\nNow the King was astonished to hear so fine a speech from a Pig, and at\nonce it occurred to him that something strange was the matter. He would\ngladly have turned the Pig\u2019s thoughts in another direction, as he did\nnot wish to give him the Princess for a wife; but when he heard that\nthe Court and the whole street were full of all the pigs in the world\nhe saw that there was no escape, and that he must give his consent. The\nPig was not satisfied with mere promises, but insisted that the wedding\nshould take place within a week, and would not go away till the King\nhad sworn a royal oath upon it.\n\nThe King then sent for his daughter, and advised her to submit to fate,\nas there was nothing else to be done. And he added:\n\n\u2018My child, the words and whole behaviour of this Pig are quite unlike\nthose of other pigs. I do not myself believe that he always was a pig.\nDepend upon it some magic or witchcraft has been at work. Obey him, and\ndo everything that he wishes, and I feel sure that Heaven will shortly\nsend you release.\u2019\n\n\u2018If you wish me to do this, dear father, I will do it,\u2019 replied the\ngirl.\n\nIn the meantime the wedding-day drew near. After the marriage, the Pig\nand his bride set out for his home in one of the royal carriages. On\nthe way they passed a great bog, and the Pig ordered the carriage to\nstop, and got out and rolled about in the mire till he was covered with\nmud from head to foot; then he got back into the carriage and told his\nwife to kiss him. What was the poor girl to do? She bethought herself\nof her father\u2019s words, and, pulling out her pocket handkerchief, she\ngently wiped the Pig\u2019s snout and kissed it.\n\nBy the time they reached the Pig\u2019s dwelling, which stood in a thick\nwood, it was quite dark. They sat down quietly for a little, as they\nwere tired after their drive; then they had supper together, and lay\ndown to rest. During the night the Princess noticed that the Pig had\nchanged into a man. She was not a little surprised, but remembering her\nfather\u2019s words, she took courage, determined to wait and see what would\nhappen.\n\nAnd now she noticed that every night the Pig became a man, and every\nmorning he was changed into a Pig before she awoke. This happened\nseveral nights running, and the Princess could not understand it at\nall. Clearly her husband must be bewitched. In time she grew quite fond\nof him, he was so kind and gentle.\n\nOne fine day as she was sitting alone she saw an old witch go past. She\nfelt quite excited, as it was so long since she had seen a human being,\nand she called out to the old woman to come and talk to her. Among\nother things the witch told her that she understood all magic arts, and\nthat she could foretell the future, and knew the healing powers of\nherbs and plants.\n\n\u2018I shall be grateful to you all my life, old dame,\u2019 said the Princess,\n\u2018if you will tell me what is the matter with my husband. Why is he a\nPig by day and a human being by night?\u2019\n\n\u2018I was just going to tell you that one thing, my dear, to show you what\na good fortune-teller I am. If you like, I will give you a herb to\nbreak the spell.\u2019\n\n\u2018If you will only give it to me,\u2019 said the Princess, \u2018I will give you\nanything you choose to ask for, for I cannot bear to see him in this\nstate.\u2019\n\n\u2018Here, then, my dear child,\u2019 said the witch, \u2018take this thread, but do\nnot let him know about it, for if he did it would lose its healing\npower. At night, when he is asleep, you must get up very quietly, and\nfasten the thread round his left foot as firmly as possible; and you\nwill see in the morning he will not have changed back into a Pig, but\nwill still be a man. I do not want any reward. I shall be sufficiently\nrepaid by knowing that you are happy. It almost breaks my heart to\nthink of all you have suffered, and I only wish I had known it sooner,\nas I should have come to your rescue at once.\u2019\n\nWhen the old witch had gone away the Princess hid the thread very\ncarefully, and at night she got up quietly, and with a beating heart\nshe bound the thread round her husband\u2019s foot. Just as she was pulling\nthe knot tight there was a crack, and the thread broke, for it was\nrotten.\n\nHer husband awoke with a start, and said to her, \u2018Unhappy woman, what\nhave you done? Three days more and this unholy spell would have fallen\nfrom me, and now, who knows how long I may have to go about in this\ndisgusting shape? I must leave you at once, and we shall not meet again\nuntil you have worn out three pairs of iron shoes and blunted a steel\nstaff in your search for me.\u2019 So saying he disappeared.\n\nNow, when the Princess was left alone she began to weep and moan in a\nway that was pitiful to hear; but when she saw that her tears and\ngroans did her no good, she got up, determined to go wherever fate\nshould lead her.\n\nOn reaching a town, the first thing she did was to order three pairs of\niron sandals and a steel staff, and having made these preparations for\nher journey, she set out in search of her husband. On and on she\nwandered over nine seas and across nine continents; through forests\nwith trees whose stems were as thick as beer-barrels; stumbling and\nknocking herself against the fallen branches, then picking herself up\nand going on; the boughs of the trees hit her face, and the shrubs tore\nher hands, but on she went, and never looked back. At last, wearied\nwith her long journey and worn out and overcome with sorrow, but still\nwith hope at her heart, she reached a house.\n\nNow who do you think lived there? The Moon.\n\nThe Princess knocked at the door, and begged to be let in that she\nmight rest a little. The mother of the Moon, when she saw her sad\nplight, felt a great pity for her, and took her in and nursed and\ntended her. And while she was here the Princess had a little baby.\n\nOne day the mother of the Moon asked her:\n\n\u2018How was it possible for you, a mortal, to get hither to the house of\nthe Moon?\u2019\n\nThen the poor Princess told her all that happened to her, and added \u2018I\nshall always be thankful to Heaven for leading me hither, and grateful\nto you that you took pity on me and on my baby, and did not leave us to\ndie. Now I beg one last favour of you; can your daughter, the Moon,\ntell me where my husband is?\u2019\n\n\u2018She cannot tell you that, my child,\u2019 replied the goddess, \u2018but, if you\nwill travel towards the East until you reach the dwelling of the Sun,\nhe may be able to tell you something.\u2019\n\nThen she gave the Princess a roast chicken to eat, and warned her to be\nvery careful not to lose any of the bones, because they might be of\ngreat use to her.\n\nWhen the Princess had thanked her once more for her hospitality and for\nher good advice, and had thrown away one pair of shoes that were worn\nout, and had put on a second pair, she tied up the chicken bones in a\nbundle, and taking her baby in her arms and her staff in her hand, she\nset out once more on her wanderings.\n\nOn and on and on she went across bare sandy deserts, where the roads\nwere so heavy that for every two steps that she took forwards she fell\nback one; but she struggled on till she had passed these dreary plains;\nnext she crossed high rocky mountains, jumping from crag to crag and\nfrom peak to peak. Sometimes she would rest for a little on a mountain,\nand then start afresh always farther and farther on. She had to cross\nswamps and to scale mountain peaks covered with flints, so that her\nfeet and knees and elbows were all torn and bleeding, and sometimes she\ncame to a precipice across which she could not jump, and she had to\ncrawl round on hands and knees, helping herself along with her staff.\nAt length, wearied to death, she reached the palace in which the Sun\nlived. She knocked and begged for admission. The mother of the Sun\nopened the door, and was astonished at beholding a mortal from the\ndistant earthly shores, and wept with pity when she heard of all she\nhad suffered. Then, having promised to ask her son about the Princess\u2019s\nhusband, she hid her in the cellar, so that the Sun might notice\nnothing on his return home, for he was always in a bad temper when he\ncame in at night. The next day the Princess feared that things would\nnot go well with her, for the Sun had noticed that some one from the\nother world had been in the palace. But his mother had soothed him with\nsoft words, assuring him that this was not so. So the Princess took\nheart when she saw how kindly she was treated, and asked:\n\n\u2018But how in the world is it possible for the Sun to be angry? He is so\nbeautiful and so good to mortals.\u2019\n\n\u2018This is how it happens,\u2019 replied the Sun\u2019s mother. \u2018In the morning\nwhen he stands at the gates of paradise he is happy, and smiles on the\nwhole world, but during the day he gets cross, because he sees all the\nevil deeds of men, and that is why his heat becomes so scorching; but\nin the evening he is both sad and angry, for he stands at the gates of\ndeath; that is his usual course. From there he comes back here.\u2019\n\nShe then told the Princess that she had asked about her husband, but\nthat her son had replied that he knew nothing about him, and that her\nonly hope was to go and inquire of the Wind.\n\nBefore the Princess left the mother of the Sun gave her a roast chicken\nto eat, and advised her to take great care of the bones, which she did,\nwrapping them up in a bundle. She then threw away her second pair of\nshoes, which were quite worn out, and with her child on her arm and her\nstaff in her hand, she set forth on her way to the Wind.\n\nIn these wanderings she met with even greater difficulties than before,\nfor she came upon one mountain of flints after another, out of which\ntongues of fire would flame up; she passed through woods which had\nnever been trodden by human foot, and had to cross fields of ice and\navalanches of snow. The poor woman nearly died of these hardships, but\nshe kept a brave heart, and at length she reached an enormous cave in\nthe side of a mountain. This was where the Wind lived. There was a\nlittle door in the railing in front of the cave, and here the Princess\nknocked and begged for admission. The mother of the Wind had pity on\nher and took her in, that she might rest a little. Here too she was\nhidden away, so that the Wind might not notice her.\n\nThe next morning the mother of the Wind told her that her husband was\nliving in a thick wood, so thick that no axe had been able to cut a way\nthrough it; here he had built himself a sort of house by placing trunks\nof trees together and fastening them with withes and here he lived\nalone, shunning human kind.\n\nAfter the mother of the Wind had given the Princess a chicken to eat,\nand had warned her to take care of the bones, she advised her to go by\nthe Milky Way, which at night lies across the sky, and to wander on\ntill she reached her goal.\n\nHaving thanked the old woman with tears in her eyes for her\nhospitality, and for the good news she had given her, the Princess set\nout on her journey and rested neither night nor day, so great was her\nlonging to see her husband again. On and on she walked until her last\npair of shoes fell in pieces. So she threw them away and went on with\nbare feet, not heeding the bogs nor the thorns that wounded her, nor\nthe stones that bruised her. At last she reached a beautiful green\nmeadow on the edge of a wood. Her heart was cheered by the sight of the\nflowers and the soft cool grass, and she sat down and rested for a\nlittle. But hearing the birds chirping to their mates among the trees\nmade her think with longing of her husband, and she wept bitterly, and\ntaking her child in her arms, and her bundle of chicken bones on her\nshoulder, she entered the wood.\n\nFor three days and three nights she struggled through it, but could\nfind nothing. She was quite worn out with weariness and hunger, and\neven her staff was no further help to her, for in her many wanderings\nit had become quite blunted. She almost gave up in despair, but made\none last great effort, and suddenly in a thicket she came upon the sort\nof house that the mother of the Wind had described. It had no windows,\nand the door was up in the roof. Round the house she went, in search of\nsteps, but could find none. What was she to do? How was she to get in?\nShe thought and thought, and tried in vain to climb up to the door.\nThen suddenly she be-thought her of the chicken bones that she had\ndragged all that weary way, and she said to herself: \u2018They would not\nall have told me to take such good care of these bones if they had not\nhad some good reason for doing so. Perhaps now, in my hour of need,\nthey may be of use to me.\u2019\n\nSo she took the bones out of her bundle, and having thought for a\nmoment, she placed the two ends together. To her surprise they stuck\ntight; then she added the other bones, till she had two long poles the\nheight of the house; these she placed against the wall, at a distance\nof a yard from one another. Across them she placed the other bones,\npiece by piece, like the steps of a ladder. As soon as one step was\nfinished she stood upon it and made the next one, and then the next,\ntill she was close to the door. But just as she got near the top she\nnoticed that there were no bones left for the last rung of the ladder.\nWhat was she to do? Without that last step the whole ladder was\nuseless. She must have lost one of the bones. Then suddenly an idea\ncame to her. Taking a knife she chopped off her little finger, and\nplacing it on the last step, it stuck as the bones had done. The ladder\nwas complete, and with her child on her arm she entered the door of the\nhouse. Here she found everything in perfect order. Having taken some\nfood, she laid the child down to sleep in a trough that was on the\nfloor, and sat down herself to rest.\n\nWhen her husband, the Pig, came back to his house, he was startled by\nwhat he saw. At first he could not believe his eyes, and stared at the\nladder of bones, and at the little finger on the top of it. He felt\nthat some fresh magic must be at work, and in his terror he almost\nturned away from the house; but then a better idea came to him, and he\nchanged himself into a dove, so that no witchcraft could have power\nover him, and flew into the room without touching the ladder. Here he\nfound a woman rocking a child. At the sight of her, looking so changed\nby all that she had suffered for his sake, his heart was moved by such\nlove and longing and by so great a pity that he suddenly became a man.\n\nThe Princess stood up when she saw him, and her heart beat with fear,\nfor she did not know him. But when he had told her who he was, in her\ngreat joy she forgot all her sufferings, and they seemed as nothing to\nher. He was a very handsome man, as straight as a fir tree. They sat\ndown together and she told him all her adventures, and he wept with\npity at the tale. And then he told her his own history.\n\n\u2018I am a King\u2019s son. Once when my father was fighting against some\ndragons, who were the scourge of our country, I slew the youngest\ndragon. His mother, who was a witch, cast a spell over me and changed\nme into a Pig. It was she who in the disguise of an old woman gave you\nthe thread to bind round my foot. So that instead of the three days\nthat had to run before the spell was broken, I was forced to remain a\nPig for three more years. Now that we have suffered for each other, and\nhave found each other again, let us forget the past.\u2019\n\nAnd in their joy they kissed one another.\n\nNext morning they set out early to return to his father\u2019s kingdom.\nGreat was the rejoicing of all the people when they saw him and his\nwife; his father and his mother embraced them both, and there was\nfeasting in the palace for three days and three nights.\n\nThen they set out to see her father. The old King nearly went out of\nhis mind with joy at beholding his daughter again. When she had told\nhim all her adventures, he said to her:\n\n\u2018Did not I tell you that I was quite sure that that creature who wooed\nand won you as his wife had not been born a Pig? You see, my child, how\nwise you were in doing what I told you.\u2019\n\nAnd as the King was old and had no heirs, he put them on the throne in\nhis place. And they ruled as only kings rule who have suffered many\nthings. And if they are not dead they are still living and ruling\nhappily.[8]\n\n [8] Rum\u00e4nische M\u00e4rchen \u00fcbersetzt von Nite Kremnitz.\n\n\n\n\nTHE NORKA\n\n\nOnce upon a time there lived a King and Queen. They had three sons, two\nof them with their wits about them, but the third a simpleton. Now the\nKing had a deer park in which were quantities of wild animals of\ndifferent kinds. Into that park there used to come a huge beast\u2014Norka\nwas its name\u2014and do fearful mischief, devouring some of the animals\nevery night. The King did all he could, but he was unable to destroy\nit. So at last he called his sons together and said, \u2018Whoever will\ndestroy the Norka, to him will I give the half of my kingdom.\u2019\n\nWell, the eldest son undertook the task. As soon as it was night, he\ntook his weapons and set out. But before he reached the park, he went\ninto a traktir (or tavern), and there he spent the whole night in\nrevelry. When he came to his senses it was too late; the day had\nalready dawned. He felt himself disgraced in the eyes of his father,\nbut there was no help for it. The next day the second son went, and did\njust the same. Their father scolded them both soundly, and there was an\nend of it.\n\nWell, on the third day the youngest son undertook the task. They all\nlaughed him to scorn, because he was so stupid, feeling sure he\nwouldn\u2019t do anything. But he took his arms, and went straight into the\npark, and sat down on the grass in such a position that the moment he\nwent asleep his weapons would prick him, and he would awake.\n\nPresently the midnight hour sounded. The earth began to shake, and the\nNorka came rushing up, and burst right through the fence into the park,\nso huge was it. The Prince pulled himself together, leapt to his feet,\ncrossed himself, and went straight at the beast. It fled back, and the\nPrince ran after it. But he soon saw that he couldn\u2019t catch it on foot,\nso he hastened to the stable, laid his hands on the best horse there,\nand set off in pursuit. Presently he came up with the beast, and they\nbegan a fight. They fought and fought; the Prince gave the beast three\nwounds. At last they were both utterly exhausted, so they lay down to\ntake a short rest. But the moment the Prince closed his eyes, up jumped\nthe beast and took to flight. The Prince\u2019s horse awoke him; up he\njumped in a moment, and set off again in pursuit, caught up the beast,\nand again began fighting with it. Again the Prince gave the beast three\nwounds, and then he and the beast lay down again to rest. Thereupon\naway fled the beast as before. The Prince caught it up, and again gave\nit three wounds. But all of a sudden, just as the Prince began chasing\nit for the fourth time, the beast fled to a great white stone, tilted\nit up, and escaped into the other world, crying out to the Prince:\n\u2018Then only will you overcome me, when you enter here.\u2019\n\nThe Prince went home, told his father all that had happened, and asked\nhim to have a leather rope plaited, long enough to reach to the other\nworld. His father ordered this to be done. When the rope was made, the\nPrince called for his brothers, and he and they, having taken servants\nwith them, and everything that was needed for a whole year, set out for\nthe place where the beast had disappeared under the stone. When they\ngot there, they built a palace on the spot, and lived in it for some\ntime. But when everything was ready, the youngest brother said to the\nothers: \u2018Now, brothers, who is going to lift this stone?\u2019\n\nNeither of them could so much as stir it, but as soon as he touched it,\naway it flew to a distance, though it was ever so big\u2014big as a hill.\nAnd when he had flung the stone aside, he spoke a second time to his\nbrothers, saying:\n\n\u2018Who is going into the other world, to overcome the Norka?\u2019\n\nNeither of them offered to do so. Then he laughed at them for being\nsuch cowards, and said:\n\n\u2018Well, brothers, farewell! Lower me into the other world, and don\u2019t go\naway from here, but as soon as the cord is jerked, pull it up.\u2019\n\nHis brothers lowered him accordingly, and when he had reached the other\nworld, underneath the earth, he went on his way. He walked and walked.\nPresently he espied a horse with rich trappings, and it said to him:\n\n\u2018Hail, Prince Ivan! Long have I awaited thee!\u2019\n\nHe mounted the horse and rode on\u2014rode and rode, until he saw standing\nbefore him a palace made of copper. He entered the courtyard, tied up\nhis horse, and went indoors. In one of the rooms a dinner was laid out.\nHe sat down and dined, and then went into a bedroom. There he found a\nbed, on which he lay down to rest. Presently there came in a lady, more\nbeautiful than can be imagined anywhere but in a fairy tale, who said:\n\n\u2018Thou who art in my house, name thyself! If thou art an old man, thou\nshalt be my father; if a middle-aged man, my brother; but if a young\nman, thou shalt be my husband dear. And if thou art a woman, and an old\none, thou shalt be my grandmother; if middle-aged, my mother; and if a\ngirl, thou shalt be my own sister.\u2019\n\nThereupon he came forth. And when she saw him she was delighted with\nhim, and said:\n\n\u2018Wherefore, O Prince Ivan\u2014my husband dear shalt thou be!\u2014wherefore hast\nthou come hither?\u2019\n\nThen he told her all that had happened, and she said:\n\n\u2018That beast which thou wishest to overcome is my brother. He is staying\njust now with my second sister, who lives not far from here in a silver\npalace. I bound up three of the wounds which thou didst give him.\u2019\n\nWell, after this they drank, and enjoyed themselves, and held sweet\nconverse together, and then the Prince took leave of her, and went on\nto the second sister, the one who lived in the silver palace, and with\nher also he stayed awhile. She told him that her brother Norka was then\nat her youngest sister\u2019s. So he went on to the youngest sister, who\nlived in a golden palace. She told him that her brother was at that\ntime asleep on the blue sea, and she gave him a sword of steel and a\ndraught of the Water of Strength, and she told him to cut off her\nbrother\u2019s head at a single stroke. And when he had heard these things,\nhe went his way.\n\nAnd when the Prince came to the blue sea, he looked\u2014there slept the\nNorka on a stone in the middle of the sea; and when it snored, the\nwater was agitated for seven miles around. The Prince crossed himself,\nwent up to it, and smote it on the head with his sword. The head jumped\noff, saying the while, \u2018Well, I\u2019m done for now!\u2019 and rolled far away\ninto the sea.\n\nAfter killing the beast, the Prince went back again, picking up all the\nthree sisters by the way, with the intention of taking them out into\nthe upper world: for they all loved him and would not be separated from\nhim. Each of them turned her palace into an egg\u2014for they were all\nenchantresses\u2014and they taught him how to turn the eggs into palaces,\nand back again, and they handed over the eggs to him. And then they all\nwent to the place from which they had to be hoisted into the upper\nworld. And when they came to where the rope was, the Prince took hold\nof it and made the maidens fast to it. Then he jerked away at the rope\nand his brothers began to haul it up. And when they had hauled it up,\nand had set eyes on the wondrous maidens, they went aside and said:\n\u2018Let\u2019s lower the rope, pull our brother part of the way up, and then\ncut the rope. Perhaps he\u2019ll be killed; but then if he isn\u2019t, he\u2019ll\nnever give us these beauties as wives.\u2019\n\nSo when they had agreed on this, they lowered the rope. But their\nbrother was no fool; he guessed what they were at, so he fastened the\nrope to a stone, and then gave it a pull. His brothers hoisted the\nstone to a great height, and then cut the rope. Down fell the stone and\nbroke in pieces; the Prince poured forth tears and went away. Well, he\nwalked and walked. Presently a storm arose; the lightning flashed, the\nthunder roared, the rain fell in torrents. He went up to a tree in\norder to take shelter under it, and on that tree he saw some young\nbirds which were being thoroughly drenched. So he took off his coat and\ncovered them over with it, and he himself sat down under the tree.\nPresently there came flying a bird\u2014such a big one that the light was\nblotted out by it. It had been dark there before, but now it became\ndarker still. Now this was the mother of those small birds which the\nPrince had covered up. And when the bird had come flying up, she\nperceived that her little ones were covered over, and she said, \u2018Who\nhas wrapped up my nestlings?\u2019 and presently, seeing the Prince, she\nadded: \u2018Didst thou do that? Thanks! In return, ask of me anything thou\ndesirest. I will do anything for thee.\u2019\n\n\u2018Then carry me into the other world,\u2019 he replied.\n\n\u2018Make me a large vessel with a partition in the middle,\u2019 she said;\n\u2018catch all sorts of game, and put them into one half of it, and into\nthe other half pour water; so that there may be meat and drink for me.\u2019\n\nAll this the Prince did. Then the bird\u2014having taken the vessel on her\nback, with the Prince sitting in the middle of it\u2014began to fly. And\nafter flying some distance she brought him to his journey\u2019s end, took\nleave of him, and flew away back. But he went to the house of a certain\ntailor, and engaged himself as his servant. So much the worse for wear\nwas he, so thoroughly had he altered in appearance, that nobody would\nhave suspected him of being a Prince.\n\nHaving entered into the service of this master, the Prince began to ask\nwhat was going on in that country. And his master replied: \u2018Our two\nPrinces\u2014for the third one has disappeared\u2014have brought away brides from\nthe other world, and want to marry them, but those brides refuse. For\nthey insist on having all their wedding-clothes made for them first,\nexactly like those which they used to have in the other world, and that\nwithout being measured for them. The King has called all the workmen\ntogether, but not one of them will undertake to do it.\u2019\n\nThe Prince, having heard all this, said, \u2018Go to the King, master, and\ntell him that you will provide everything that\u2019s in your line.\u2019\n\n\u2018However can I undertake to make clothes of that sort? I work for quite\ncommon folks,\u2019 says his master.\n\n\u2018Go along, master! I will answer for everything,\u2019 says the Prince.\n\nSo the tailor went. The King was delighted that at least one good\nworkman had been found, and gave him as much money as ever he wanted.\nWhen his tailor had settled everything, he went home. And the Prince\nsaid to him:\n\n\u2018Now then, pray to God, and lie down to sleep; to-morrow all will be\nready.\u2019 And the tailor followed his lad\u2019s advice, and went to bed.\n\nMidnight sounded. The Prince arose, went out of the city into the\nfields, took out of his pocket the eggs which the maidens had given\nhim, and, as they had taught him, turned them into three palaces. Into\neach of these he entered, took the maidens\u2019 robes, went out again,\nturned the palaces back into eggs, and went home. And when he got there\nhe hung up the robes on the wall, and lay down to sleep.\n\nEarly in the morning his master awoke, and behold! there hung such\nrobes as he had never seen before, all shining with gold and silver and\nprecious stones. He was delighted, and he seized them and carried them\noff to the King. When the Princesses saw that the clothes were those\nwhich had been theirs in the other world, they guessed that Prince Ivan\nwas in this world, so they exchanged glances with each other, but they\nheld their peace. And the master, having handed over the clothes, went\nhome, but he no longer found his dear journeyman there. For the Prince\nhad gone to a shoemaker\u2019s, and him too he sent to work for the King;\nand in the same way he went the round of all the artificers, and they\nall proffered him thanks, inasmuch as through him they were enriched by\nthe King.\n\nBy the time the princely workman had gone the round of all the\nartificers, the Princesses had received what they had asked for; all\ntheir clothes were just like what they had been in the other world.\nThen they wept bitterly because the Prince had not come, and it was\nimpossible for them to hold out any longer; it was necessary that they\nshould be married. But when they were ready for the wedding, the\nyoungest bride said to the King:\n\n\u2018Allow me, my father, to go and give alms to the beggars.\u2019\n\nHe gave her leave, and she went and began bestowing alms upon them, and\nexamining them closely. And when she had come to one of them, and was\ngoing to give him some money, she caught sight of the ring which she\nhad given to the Prince in the other world, and her sisters\u2019 rings\ntoo\u2014for it really was he. So she seized him by the hand, and brought\nhim into the hall, and said to the King:\n\n\u2018Here is he who brought us out of the other world. His brothers forbade\nus to say that he was alive, threatening to slay us if we did.\u2019\n\nThen the King was wroth with those sons, and punished them as he\nthought best. And afterwards three weddings were celebrated.\n\n\n\n\nTHE WONDERFUL BIRCH\n\n\nOnce upon a time there were a man and a woman, who had an only\ndaughter. Now it happened that one of their sheep went astray, and they\nset out to look for it, and searched and searched, each in a different\npart of the wood. Then the good wife met a witch, who said to her:\n\n\u2018If you spit, you miserable creature, if you spit into the sheath of my\nknife, or if you run between my legs, I shall change you into a black\nsheep.\u2019\n\nThe woman neither spat, nor did she run between her legs, but yet the\nwitch changed her into a sheep. Then she made herself look exactly like\nthe woman, and called out to the good man:\n\n\u2018Ho, old man, halloa! I have found the sheep already!\u2019\n\nThe man thought the witch was really his wife, and he did not know that\nhis wife was the sheep; so he went home with her, glad at heart because\nhis sheep was found. When they were safe at home the witch said to the\nman:\n\n\u2018Look here, old man, we must really kill that sheep lest it run away to\nthe wood again.\u2019\n\nThe man, who was a peaceable quiet sort of fellow, made no objections,\nbut simply said:\n\n\u2018Good, let us do so.\u2019\n\nThe daughter, however, had overheard their talk, and she ran to the\nflock and lamented aloud:\n\n\u2018Oh, dear little mother, they are going to slaughter you!\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, then, if they do slaughter me,\u2019 was the black sheep\u2019s answer,\n\u2018eat you neither the meat nor the broth that is made of me, but gather\nall my bones, and bury them by the edge of the field.\u2019\n\nShortly after this they took the black sheep from the flock and\nslaughtered it. The witch made pease-soup of it, and set it before the\ndaughter. But the girl remembered her mother\u2019s warning. She did not\ntouch the soup, but she carried the bones to the edge of the field and\nburied them there; and there sprang up on the spot a birch tree\u2014a very\nlovely birch tree.\n\nSome time had passed away\u2014who can tell how long they might have been\nliving there?\u2014when the witch, to whom a child had been born in the\nmeantime, began to take an ill-will to the man\u2019s daughter, and to\ntorment her in all sorts of ways.\n\nNow it happened that a great festival was to be held at the palace, and\nthe King had commanded that all the people should be invited, and that\nthis proclamation should be made:\n\n        \u2018Come, people all!\nPoor and wretched, one and all!\nBlind and crippled though ye be,\nMount your steeds or come by sea.\u2019\n\n\nAnd so they drove into the King\u2019s feast all the outcasts, and the\nmaimed, and the halt, and the blind. In the good man\u2019s house, too,\npreparations were made to go to the palace. The witch said to the man:\n\n\u2018Go you on in front, old man, with our youngest; I will give the elder\ngirl work to keep her from being dull in our absence.\u2019\n\nSo the man took the child and set out. But the witch kindled a fire on\nthe hearth, threw a potful of barleycorns among the cinders, and said\nto the girl:\n\n\u2018If you have not picked the barley out of the ashes, and put it all\nback in the pot before nightfall, I shall eat you up!\u2019\n\nThen she hastened after the others, and the poor girl stayed at home\nand wept. She tried to be sure to pick up the grains of barley, but she\nsoon saw how useless her labour was; and so she went in her sore\ntrouble to the birch tree on her mother\u2019s grave, and cried and cried,\nbecause her mother lay dead beneath the sod and could help her no\nlonger. In the midst of her grief she suddenly heard her mother\u2019s voice\nspeak from the grave, and say to her:\n\n\u2018Why do you weep, little daughter?\u2019\n\n\u2018The witch has scattered barleycorns on the hearth, and bid me pick\nthem out of the ashes,\u2019 said the girl; \u2018that is why I weep, dear little\nmother.\u2019\n\n\u2018Do not weep,\u2019 said her mother consolingly. \u2018Break off one of my\nbranches, and strike the hearth with it crosswise, and all will be put\nright.\u2019 The girl did so. She struck the hearth with the birchen branch,\nand lo! the barleycorns flew into the pot, and the hearth was clean.\nThen she went back to the birch tree and laid the branch upon the\ngrave. Then her mother bade her bathe on one side of the stem, dry\nherself on another, and dress on the third. When the girl had done all\nthat, she had grown so lovely that no one on earth could rival her.\nSplendid clothing was given to her, and a horse, with hair partly of\ngold, partly of silver, and partly of something more precious still.\nThe girl sprang into the saddle, and rode as swift as an arrow to the\npalace. As she turned into the courtyard of the castle the King\u2019s son\ncame out to meet her, tied her steed to a pillar, and led her in. He\nnever left her side as they passed through the castle rooms; and all\nthe people gazed at her, and wondered who the lovely maiden was, and\nfrom what castle she came; but no one knew her\u2014no one knew anything\nabout her. At the banquet the Prince invited her to sit next him in the\nplace of honour; but the witch\u2019s daughter gnawed the bones under the\ntable. The Prince did not see her, and thinking it was a dog, he gave\nher such a push with his foot that her arm was broken. Are you not\nsorry for the witch\u2019s daughter? It was not her fault that her mother\nwas a witch.\n\nTowards evening the good man\u2019s daughter thought it was time to go home;\nbut as she went, her ring caught on the latch of the door, for the\nKing\u2019s son had had it smeared with tar. She did not take time to pull\nit off, but, hastily unfastening her horse from the pillar, she rode\naway beyond the castle walls as swift as an arrow. Arrived at home, she\ntook off her clothes by the birch tree, left her horse standing there,\nand hastened to her place behind the stove. In a short time the man and\nthe woman came home again too, and the witch said to the girl:\n\n\u2018Ah! you poor thing, there you are to be sure! You don\u2019t know what fine\ntimes we have had at the palace! The King\u2019s son carried my daughter\nabout, but the poor thing fell and broke her arm.\u2019\n\nThe girl knew well how matters really stood, but she pretended to know\nnothing about it, and sat dumb behind the stove.\n\nThe next day they were invited again to the King\u2019s banquet.\n\n\u2018Hey! old man,\u2019 said the witch, \u2018get on your clothes as quick as you\ncan; we are bidden to the feast. Take you the child; I will give the\nother one work, lest she weary.\u2019\n\nShe kindled the fire, threw a potful of hemp seed among the ashes, and\nsaid to the girl:\n\n\u2018If you do not get this sorted, and all the seed back into the pot, I\nshall kill you!\u2019\n\nThe girl wept bitterly; then she went to the birch tree, washed herself\non one side of it and dried herself on the other; and this time still\nfiner clothes were given to her, and a very beautiful steed. She broke\noff a branch of the birch tree, struck the hearth with it, so that the\nseeds flew into the pot, and then hastened to the castle.\n\nAgain the King\u2019s son came out to meet her, tied her horse to a pillar,\nand led her into the banqueting hall. At the feast the girl sat next\nhim in the place of honour, as she had done the day before. But the\nwitch\u2019s daughter gnawed bones under the table, and the Prince gave her\na push by mistake, which broke her leg\u2014he had never noticed her\ncrawling about among the people\u2019s feet. She was _very_ unlucky!\n\nThe good man\u2019s daughter hastened home again betimes, but the King\u2019s son\nhad smeared the door-posts with tar, and the girl\u2019s golden circlet\nstuck to it. She had not time to look for it, but sprang to the saddle\nand rode like an arrow to the birch tree. There she left her horse and\nher fine clothes, and said to her mother:\n\n\u2018I have lost my circlet at the castle; the door-post was tarred, and it\nstuck fast.\u2019\n\n\u2018And even had you lost two of them,\u2019 answered her mother, \u2018I would give\nyou finer ones.\u2019\n\nThen the girl hastened home, and when her father came home from the\nfeast with the witch, she was in her usual place behind the stove. Then\nthe witch said to her:\n\n\u2018You poor thing! what is there to see here compared with what _we_ have\nseen at the palace? The King\u2019s son carried my daughter from one room to\nanother; he let her fall, \u2018tis true, and my child\u2019s foot was broken.\u2019\n\nThe man\u2019s daughter held her peace all the time, and busied herself\nabout the hearth.\n\nThe night passed, and when the day began to dawn, the witch awakened\nher husband, crying:\n\n\u2018Hi! get up, old man! We are bidden to the royal banquet.\u2019\n\nSo the old man got up. Then the witch gave him the child, saying:\n\n\u2018Take you the little one; I will give the other girl work to do, else\nshe will weary at home alone.\u2019\n\nShe did as usual. This time it was a dish of milk she poured upon the\nashes, saying:\n\n\u2018If you do not get all the milk into the dish again before I come home,\nyou will suffer for it.\u2019\n\nHow frightened the girl was this time! She ran to the birch tree, and\nby its magic power her task was accomplished; and then she rode away to\nthe palace as before. When she got to the courtyard she found the\nPrince waiting for her. He led her into the hall, where she was highly\nhonoured; but the witch\u2019s daughter sucked the bones under the table,\nand crouching at the people\u2019s feet she got an eye knocked out, poor\nthing! Now no one knew any more than before about the good man\u2019s\ndaughter, no one knew whence she came; but the Prince had had the\nthreshold smeared with tar, and as she fled her gold slippers stuck to\nit. She reached the birch tree, and laying aside her finery, she said:\n\n\u2018Alas I dear little mother, I have lost my gold slippers!\u2019\n\n\u2018Let them be,\u2019 was her mother\u2019s reply; \u2018if you need them I shall give\nyou finer ones.\u2019\n\nScarcely was she in her usual place behind the stove when her father\ncame home with the witch. Immediately the witch began to mock her,\nsaying:\n\n\u2018Ah! you poor thing, there is nothing for you to see here, and _we_\u2014ah:\nwhat great things we have seen at the palace! My little girl was\ncarried about again, but had the ill-luck to fall and get her eye\nknocked out. You stupid thing, you, what do you know about anything?\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes, indeed, what can I know?\u2019 replied the girl; \u2018I had enough to do\nto get the hearth clean.\u2019\n\nNow the Prince had kept all the things the girl had lost, and he soon\nset about finding the owner of them. For this purpose a great banquet\nwas given on the fourth day, and all the people were invited to the\npalace. The witch got ready to go too. She tied a wooden beetle on\nwhere her child\u2019s foot should have been, a log of wood instead of an\narm, and stuck a bit of dirt in the empty socket for an eye, and took\nthe child with her to the castle. When all the people were gathered\ntogether, the King\u2019s son stepped in among the crowd and cried:\n\n\u2018The maiden whose finger this ring slips over, whose head this golden\nhoop encircles, and whose foot this shoe fits, shall be my bride.\u2019\n\nWhat a great trying on there was now among them all! The things would\nfit no one, however.\n\n\u2018The cinder wench is not here,\u2019 said the Prince at last; \u2018go and fetch\nher, and let her try on the things.\u2019\n\nSo the girl was fetched, and the Prince was just going to hand the\nornaments to her, when the witch held him back, saying:\n\n\u2018Don\u2019t give them to her; she soils everything with cinders; give them\nto my daughter rather.\u2019\n\nWell, then the Prince gave the witch\u2019s daughter the ring, and the woman\nfiled and pared away at her daughter\u2019s finger till the ring fitted. It\nwas the same with the circlet and the shoes of gold. The witch would\nnot allow them to be handed to the cinder wench; she worked at her own\ndaughter\u2019s head and feet till she got the things forced on. What was to\nbe done now? The Prince had to take the witch\u2019s daughter for his bride\nwhether he would or no; he sneaked away to her father\u2019s house with her,\nhowever, for he was ashamed to hold the wedding festivities at the\npalace with so strange a bride. Some days passed, and at last he had to\ntake his bride home to the palace, and he got ready to do so. Just as\nthey were taking leave, the kitchen wench sprang down from her place by\nthe stove, on the pretext of fetching something from the cowhouse, and\nin going by she whispered in the Prince\u2019s ear as he stood in the yard:\n\n\u2018Alas! dear Prince, do not rob me of my silver and my gold.\u2019\n\nThereupon the King\u2019s son recognised the cinder wench; so he took both\nthe girls with him, and set out. After they had gone some little way\nthey came to the bank of a river, and the Prince threw the witch\u2019s\ndaughter across to serve as a bridge, and so got over with the cinder\nwench. There lay the witch\u2019s daughter then, like a bridge over the\nriver, and could not stir, though her heart was consumed with grief. No\nhelp was near, so she cried at last in her anguish:\n\n\u2018May there grow a golden hemlock out of my body! perhaps my mother will\nknow me by that token.\u2019\n\nScarcely had she spoken when a golden hemlock sprang up from her, and\nstood upon the bridge.\n\nNow, as soon as the Prince had got rid of the witch\u2019s daughter he\ngreeted the cinder wench as his bride, and they wandered together to\nthe birch tree which grew upon the mother\u2019s grave. There they received\nall sorts of treasures and riches, three sacks full of gold, and as\nmuch silver, and a splendid steed, which bore them home to the palace.\nThere they lived a long time together, and the young wife bore a son to\nthe Prince. Immediately word was brought to the witch that her daughter\nhad borne a son\u2014for they all believed the young King\u2019s wife to be the\nwitch\u2019s daughter.\n\n\u2018So, so,\u2019 said the witch to herself; \u2018I had better away with my gift\nfor the infant, then.\u2019\n\nAnd so saying she set out. Thus it happened that she came to the bank\nof the river, and there she saw the beautiful golden hemlock growing in\nthe middle of the bridge, and when she began to cut it down to take to\nher grandchild, she heard a voice moaning:\n\n\u2018Alas! dear mother, do not cut me so!\u2019\n\n\u2018Are you here?\u2019 demanded the witch.\n\n\u2018Indeed I am, dear little mother,\u2019 answered the daughter. \u2018They threw\nme across the river to make a bridge of me.\u2019\n\nIn a moment the witch had the bridge shivered to atoms, and then she\nhastened away to the palace. Stepping up to the young Queen\u2019s bed, she\nbegan to try her magic arts upon her, saying:\n\n\u2018Spit, you wretch, on the blade of my knife; bewitch my knife\u2019s blade\nfor me, and I shall change you into a reindeer of the forest.\u2019\n\n\u2018Are you there again to bring trouble upon me?\u2019 said the young woman.\n\nShe neither spat nor did anything else, but still the witch changed her\ninto a reindeer, and smuggled her own daughter into her place as the\nPrince\u2019s wife. But now the child grew restless and cried, because it\nmissed its mother\u2019s care. They took it to the court, and tried to\npacify it in every conceivable way, but its crying never ceased.\n\n\u2018What makes the child so restless?\u2019 asked the Prince, and he went to a\nwise widow woman to ask her advice.\n\n\u2018Ay, ay, your own wife is not at home,\u2019 said the widow woman; \u2018she is\nliving like a reindeer in the wood; you have the witch\u2019s daughter for a\nwife now, and the witch herself for a mother-in-law.\u2019\n\n\u2018Is there any way of getting my own wife back from the wood again?\u2019\nasked the Prince.\n\n\u2018Give me the child,\u2019 answered the widow woman. \u2018I\u2019ll take it with me\nto-morrow when I go to drive the cows to the wood. I\u2019ll make a rustling\namong the birch leaves and a trembling among the aspens\u2014perhaps the boy\nwill grow quiet when he hears it.\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes, take the child away, take it to the wood with you to quiet it,\u2019\nsaid the Prince, and led the widow woman into the castle.\n\n\u2018How now? you are going to send the child away to the wood?\u2019 said the\nwitch in a suspicious tone, and tried to interfere.\n\nBut the King\u2019s son stood firm by what he had commanded, and said:\n\n\u2018Carry the child about the wood; perhaps that will pacify it.\u2019\n\nSo the widow woman took the child to the wood. She came to the edge of\na marsh, and seeing a herd of reindeer there, she began all at once to\nsing\u2014\n\n\u2018Little Bright-eyes, little Redskin,\nCome nurse the child you bore!\n    That bloodthirsty monster,\n    That man-eater grim,\nShall nurse him, shall tend him no more.\n    They may threaten and force as they will,\n    He turns from her, shrinks from her still,\u2019\n\n\nand immediately the reindeer drew near, and nursed and tended the child\nthe whole day long; but at nightfall it had to follow the herd, and\nsaid to the widow woman:\n\n\u2018Bring me the child to-morrow, and again the following day; after that\nI must wander with the herd far away to other lands.\u2019\n\nThe following morning the widow woman went back to the castle to fetch\nthe child. The witch interfered, of course, but the Prince said:\n\n\u2018Take it, and carry it about in the open air; the boy is quieter at\nnight, to be sure, when he has been in the wood all day.\u2019\n\nSo the widow took the child in her arms, and carried it to the marsh in\nthe forest. There she sang as on the preceding day\u2014\n\n\u2018Little Bright-eyes, little Redskin,\nCome nurse the child you bore!\n    That bloodthirsty monster,\n    That man-eater grim,\nShall nurse him, shall tend him no more.\n    They may threaten and force as they will,\n    He turns from her, shrinks from her still,\u2019\n\n\nand immediately the reindeer left the herd and came to the child, and\ntended it as on the day before. And so it was that the child throve,\ntill not a finer boy was to be seen anywhere. But the King\u2019s son had\nbeen pondering over all these things, and he said to the widow woman:\n\n\u2018Is there no way of changing the reindeer into a human being again?\u2019\n\n\u2018I don\u2019t rightly know,\u2019 was her answer. \u2018Come to the wood with me,\nhowever; when the woman puts off her reindeer skin I shall comb her\nhead for her; whilst I am doing so you must burn the skin.\u2019\n\nThereupon they both went to the wood with the child; scarcely were they\nthere when the reindeer appeared and nursed the child as before. Then\nthe widow woman said to the reindeer:\n\n\u2018Since you are going far away to-morrow, and I shall not see you again,\nlet me comb your head for the last time, as a remembrance of you.\u2019\n\nGood; the young woman stript off the reindeer skin, and let the widow\nwoman do as she wished. In the meantime the King\u2019s son threw the\nreindeer skin into the fire unobserved.\n\n\u2018What smells of singeing here?\u2019 asked the young woman, and looking\nround she saw her own husband. \u2018Woe is me! you have burnt my skin. Why\ndid you do that?\u2019\n\n\u2018To give you back your human form again.\u2019\n\n\u2018Alack-a-day! I have nothing to cover me now, poor creature that I am!\u2019\ncried the young woman, and transformed herself first into a distaff,\nthen into a wooden beetle, then into a spindle, and into all imaginable\nshapes. But all these shapes the King\u2019s son went on destroying till she\nstood before him in human form again.\n\nAlas! wherefore take me home with you again,\u2019 cried the young woman,\n\u2018since the witch is sure to eat me up?\u2019\n\n\u2018She will not eat you up,\u2019 answered her husband; and they started for\nhome with the child.\n\nBut when the witch wife saw them she ran away with her daughter, and if\nshe has not stopped she is running still, though at a great age. And\nthe Prince, and his wife, and the baby lived happy ever afterwards.[9]\n\n [9] From the Russo-Karelian.\n\n\n\n\nJACK AND THE BEANSTALK\n\n\nJACK SELLS THE COW\n\nOnce upon a time there was a poor widow who lived in a little cottage\nwith her only son Jack.\n\nJack was a giddy, thoughtless boy, but very kind-hearted and\naffectionate. There had been a hard winter, and after it the poor woman\nhad suffered from fever and ague. Jack did no work as yet, and by\ndegrees they grew dreadfully poor. The widow saw that there was no\nmeans of keeping Jack and herself from starvation but by selling her\ncow; so one morning she said to her son, \u2018I am too weak to go myself,\nJack, so you must take the cow to market for me, and sell her.\u2019\n\nJack liked going to market to sell the cow very much; but as he was on\nthe way, he met a butcher who had some beautiful beans in his hand.\nJack stopped to look at them, and the butcher told the boy that they\nwere of great value, and persuaded the silly lad to sell the cow for\nthese beans.\n\nWhen he brought them home to his mother instead of the money she\nexpected for her nice cow, she was very vexed and shed many tears,\nscolding Jack for his folly. He was very sorry, and mother and son went\nto bed very sadly that night; their last hope seemed gone.\n\nAt daybreak Jack rose and went out into the garden.\n\n\u2018At least,\u2019 he thought, \u2018I will sow the wonderful beans. Mother says\nthat they are just common scarlet-runners, and nothing else; but I may\nas well sow them.\u2019\n\nSo he took a piece of stick, and made some holes in the ground, and put\nin the beans.\n\nThat day they had very little dinner, and went sadly to bed, knowing\nthat for the next day there would be none and Jack, unable to sleep\nfrom grief and vexation, got up at day-dawn and went out into the\ngarden.\n\nWhat was his amazement to find that the beans had grown up in the\nnight, and climbed up and up till they covered the high cliff that\nsheltered the cottage, and disappeared above it! The stalks had twined\nand twisted themselves together till they formed quite a ladder.\n\n\u2018It would be easy to climb it,\u2019 thought Jack.\n\nAnd, having thought of the experiment, he at once resolved to carry it\nout, for Jack was a good climber. However, after his late mistake about\nthe cow, he thought he had better consult his mother first.\n\nWONDERFUL GROWTH OF THE BEANSTALK\n\nSo Jack called his mother, and they both gazed in silent wonder at the\nBeanstalk, which was not only of great height, but was thick enough to\nbear Jack\u2019s weight.\n\n\u2018I wonder where it ends,\u2019 said Jack to his mother; \u2018I think I will\nclimb up and see.\u2019\n\nHis mother wished him not to venture up this strange ladder, but Jack\ncoaxed her to give her consent to the attempt, for he was certain there\nmust be something wonderful in the Beanstalk; so at last she yielded to\nhis wishes.\n\nJack instantly began to climb, and went up and up on the ladder-like\nbean till everything he had left behind him\u2014the cottage, the village,\nand even the tall church tower\u2014looked quite little, and still he could\nnot see the top of the Beanstalk.\n\nJack felt a little tired, and thought for a moment that he would go\nback again; but he was a very persevering boy, and he knew that the way\nto succeed in anything is not to give up. So after resting for a moment\nhe went on.\n\nAfter climbing higher and higher, till he grew afraid to look down for\nfear he should be giddy, Jack at last reached the top of the Beanstalk,\nand found himself in a beautiful country, finely wooded, with beautiful\nmeadows covered with sheep. A crystal stream ran through the pastures;\nnot far from the place where he had got off the Beanstalk stood a fine,\nstrong castle.\n\nJack wondered very much that he had never heard of or seen this castle\nbefore; but when he reflected on the subject, he saw that it was as\nmuch separated from the village by the perpendicular rock on which it\nstood as if it were in another land.\n\nWhile Jack was standing looking at the castle, a very strange-looking\nwoman came out of the wood, and advanced towards him.\n\nShe wore a pointed cap of quilted red satin turned up with ermine, her\nhair streamed loose over her shoulders, and she walked with a staff.\nJack took off his cap and made her a bow.\n\n\u2018If you please, ma\u2019am,\u2019 said he, \u2018is this your house?\u2019\n\n\u2018No,\u2019 said the old lady. \u2018Listen, and I will tell you the story of that\ncastle.\n\n\u2018Once upon a time there was a noble knight, who lived in this castle,\nwhich is on the borders of Fairyland. He had a fair and beloved wife\nand several lovely children: and as his neighbours, the little people,\nwere very friendly towards him, they bestowed on him many excellent and\nprecious gifts.\n\n\u2018Rumour whispered of these treasures; and a monstrous giant, who lived\nat no great distance, and who was a very wicked being, resolved to\nobtain possession of them.\n\n\u2018So he bribed a false servant to let him inside the castle, when the\nknight was in bed and asleep, and he killed him as he lay. Then he went\nto the part of the castle which was the nursery, and also killed all\nthe poor little ones he found there.\n\n\u2018Happily for her, the lady was not to be found. She had gone with her\ninfant son, who was only two or three months old, to visit her old\nnurse, who lived in the valley; and she had been detained all night\nthere by a storm.\n\n\u2018The next morning, as soon as it was light, one of the servants at the\ncastle, who had managed to escape, came to tell the poor lady of the\nsad fate of her husband and her pretty babes. She could scarcely\nbelieve him at first, and was eager at once to go back and share the\nfate of her dear ones; but the old nurse, with many tears, besought her\nto remember that she had still a child, and that it was her duty to\npreserve her life for the sake of the poor innocent.\n\n\u2018The lady yielded to this reasoning, and consented to remain at her\nnurse\u2019s house as the best place of concealment; for the servant told\nher that the giant had vowed, if he could find her, he would kill both\nher and her baby. Years rolled on. The old nurse died, leaving her\ncottage and the few articles of furniture it contained to her poor\nlady, who dwelt in it, working as a peasant for her daily bread. Her\nspinning-wheel and the milk of a cow, which she had purchased with the\nlittle money she had with her, sufficed for the scanty subsistence of\nherself and her little son. There was a nice little garden attached to\nthe cottage, in which they cultivated peas, beans, and cabbages, and\nthe lady was not ashamed to go out at harvest time, and glean in the\nfields to supply her little son\u2019s wants.\n\n\u2018Jack, that poor lady is your mother. This castle was once your\nfather\u2019s, and must again be yours.\u2019\n\nJack uttered a cry of surprise.\n\n\u2018My mother! oh, madam, what ought I to do? My poor father! My dear\nmother!\u2019\n\n\u2018Your duty requires you to win it back for your mother. But the task is\na very difficult one, and full of peril, Jack. Have you courage to\nundertake it?\u2019\n\n\u2018I fear nothing when I am doing right,\u2019 said Jack.\n\n\u2018Then,\u2019 said the lady in the red cap, \u2018you are one of those who slay\ngiants. You must get into the castle, and if possible possess yourself\nof a hen that lays golden eggs, and a harp that talks. Remember, all\nthe giant possesses is really yours.\u2019 As she ceased speaking, the lady\nof the red hat suddenly disappeared, and of course Jack knew she was a\nfairy.\n\nJack determined at once to attempt the adventure; so he advanced, and\nblew the horn which hung at the castle portal. The door was opened in a\nminute or two by a frightful giantess, with one great eye in the middle\nof her forehead.\n\nAs soon as Jack saw her he turned to run away, but she caught him, and\ndragged him into the castle.\n\n\u2018Ho, ho!\u2019 she laughed terribly. \u2018You didn\u2019t expect to see me here, that\nis clear! No, I shan\u2019t let you go again. I am weary of my life. I am so\noverworked, and I don\u2019t see why I should not have a page as well as\nother ladies. And you shall be my boy. You shall clean the knives, and\nblack the boots, and make the fires, and help me generally when the\ngiant is out. When he is at home I must hide you, for he has eaten up\nall my pages hitherto, and you would be a dainty morsel, my little\nlad.\u2019\n\nWhile she spoke she dragged Jack right into the castle. The poor boy\nwas very much frightened, as I am sure you and I would have been in his\nplace. But he remembered that fear disgraces a man; so he struggled to\nbe brave and make the best of things.\n\n\u2018I am quite ready to help you, and do all I can to serve you, madam,\u2019\nhe said, \u2018only I beg you will be good enough to hide me from your\nhusband, for I should not like to be eaten at all.\u2019\n\n\u2018That\u2019s a good boy,\u2019 said the Giantess, nodding her head; \u2018it is lucky\nfor you that you did not scream out when you saw me, as the other boys\nwho have been here did, for if you had done so my husband would have\nawakened and have eaten you, as he did them, for breakfast. Come here,\nchild; go into my wardrobe: he never ventures to open _that;_ you will\nbe safe there.\u2019\n\nAnd she opened a huge wardrobe which stood in the great hall, and shut\nhim into it. But the keyhole was so large that it admitted plenty of\nair, and he could see everything that took place through it. By-and-by\nhe heard a heavy tramp on the stairs, like the lumbering along of a\ngreat cannon, and then a voice like thunder cried out;\n\n\u2018Fe, fa, fi-fo-fum,\nI smell the breath of an Englishman.\nLet him be alive or let him be dead,\nI\u2019ll grind his bones to make my bread.\u2019\n\n\n\u2018Wife,\u2019 cried the Giant, \u2018there is a man in the castle. Let me have him\nfor breakfast.\u2019\n\n\u2018You are grown old and stupid,\u2019 cried the lady in her loud tones. \u2018It\nis only a nice fresh steak off an elephant, that I have cooked for you,\nwhich you smell. There, sit down and make a good breakfast.\u2019\n\nAnd she placed a huge dish before him of savoury steaming meat, which\ngreatly pleased him, and made him forget his idea of an Englishman\nbeing in the castle. When he had breakfasted he went out for a walk;\nand then the Giantess opened the door, and made Jack come out to help\nher. He helped her all day. She fed him well, and when evening came put\nhim back in the wardrobe.\n\nTHE HEN THAT LAYS GOLDEN EGGS.\n\nThe Giant came in to supper. Jack watched him through the keyhole, and\nwas amazed to see him pick a wolf\u2019s bone, and put half a fowl at a time\ninto his capacious mouth.\n\nWhen the supper was ended he bade his wife bring him his hen that laid\nthe golden eggs.\n\n\u2018It lays as well as it did when it belonged to that paltry knight,\u2019 he\nsaid; \u2018indeed I think the eggs are heavier than ever.\u2019\n\nThe Giantess went away, and soon returned with a little brown hen,\nwhich she placed on the table before her husband. \u2018And now, my dear,\u2019\nshe said, \u2018I am going for a walk, if you don\u2019t want me any longer.\u2019\n\n\u2018Go,\u2019 said the Giant; \u2018I shall be glad to have a nap by-and-by.\u2019\n\nThen he took up the brown hen and said to her:\n\n\u2018Lay!\u2019 And she instantly laid a golden egg.\n\n\u2018Lay!\u2019 said the Giant again. And she laid another.\n\n\u2018Lay!\u2019 he repeated the third time. And again a golden egg lay on the\ntable.\n\nNow Jack was sure this hen was that of which the fairy had spoken.\n\nBy-and-by the Giant put the hen down on the floor, and soon after went\nfast asleep, snoring so loud that it sounded like thunder.\n\nDirectly Jack perceived that the Giant was fast asleep, he pushed open\nthe door of the wardrobe and crept out; very softly he stole across the\nroom, and, picking up the hen, made haste to quit the apartment. He\nknew the way to the kitchen, the door of which he found was left ajar;\nhe opened it, shut and locked it after him, and flew back to the\nBeanstalk, which he descended as fast as his feet would move.\n\nWhen his mother saw him enter the house she wept for joy, for she had\nfeared that the fairies had carried him away, or that the Giant had\nfound him. But Jack put the brown hen down before her, and told her how\nhe had been in the Giant\u2019s castle, and all his adventures. She was very\nglad to see the hen, which would make them rich once more.\n\nTHE MONEY BAGS.\n\nJack made another journey up the Beanstalk to the Giant\u2019s castle one\nday while his mother had gone to market; but first he dyed his hair and\ndisguised himself. The old woman did not know him again, and dragged\nhim in as she had done before, to help her to do the work; but she\nheard her husband coming, and hid him in the wardrobe, not thinking\nthat it was the same boy who had stolen the hen. She bade him stay\nquite still there, or the Giant would eat him.\n\nThen the Giant came in saying:\n\n\u2018Fe, fa, fi-fo-fum,\nI smell the breath of an Englishman.\nLet him be alive or let him be dead,\nI\u2019ll grind his bones to make my bread.\u2019\n\n\n\u2018Nonsense!\u2019 said the wife, \u2018it is only a roasted bullock that I thought\nwould be a tit-bit for your supper; sit down and I will bring it up at\nonce.\u2019 The Giant sat down, and soon his wife brought up a roasted\nbullock on a large dish, and they began their supper. Jack was amazed\nto see them pick the bones of the bullock as if it had been a lark. As\nsoon as they had finished their meal, the Giantess rose and said:\n\n\u2018Now, my dear, with your leave I am going up to my room to finish the\nstory I am reading. If you want me call for me.\u2019\n\n\u2018First,\u2019 answered the Giant, \u2018bring me my money bags, that I may count\nmy golden pieces before I sleep.\u2019 The Giantess obeyed. She went and\nsoon returned with two large bags over her shoulders, which she put\ndown by her husband.\n\n\u2018There,\u2019 she said; \u2018that is all that is left of the knight\u2019s money.\nWhen you have spent it you must go and take another baron\u2019s castle.\u2019\n\n\u2018That he shan\u2019t, if I can help it,\u2019 thought Jack.\n\nThe Giant, when his wife was gone, took out heaps and heaps of golden\npieces, and counted them, and put them in piles, till he was tired of\nthe amusement. Then he swept them all back into their bags, and leaning\nback in his chair fell fast asleep, snoring so loud that no other sound\nwas audible.\n\nJack stole softly out of the wardrobe, and taking up the bags of money\n(which were his very own, because the Giant had stolen them from his\nfather), he ran off, and with great difficulty descending the\nBeanstalk, laid the bags of gold on his mother\u2019s table. She had just\nreturned from town, and was crying at not finding Jack.\n\n\u2018There, mother, I have brought you the gold that my father lost.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, Jack! you are a very good boy, but I wish you would not risk your\nprecious life in the Giant\u2019s castle. Tell me how you came to go there\nagain.\u2019\n\nAnd Jack told her all about it.\n\nJack\u2019s mother was very glad to get the money, but she did not like him\nto run any risk for her.\n\nBut after a time Jack made up his mind to go again to the Giant\u2019s\ncastle.\n\nTHE TALKING HARP.\n\nSo he climbed the Beanstalk once more, and blew the horn at the Giant\u2019s\ngate. The Giantess soon opened the door; she was very stupid, and did\nnot know him again, but she stopped a minute before she took him in.\nShe feared another robbery; but Jack\u2019s fresh face looked so innocent\nthat she could not resist him, and so she bade him come in, and again\nhid him away in the wardrobe.\n\nBy-and-by the Giant came home, and as soon as he had crossed the\nthreshold he roared out:\n\n\u2018Fe, fa, fi-fo-fum,\nI smell the breath of an Englishman.\nLet him be alive or let him be dead,\nI\u2019ll grind his bones to make my bread.\u2019\n\n\n\u2018You stupid old Giant,\u2019 said his wife, \u2018you only smell a nice sheep,\nwhich I have grilled for your dinner.\u2019\n\nAnd the Giant sat down, and his wife brought up a whole sheep for his\ndinner. When he had eaten it all up, he said:\n\n\u2018Now bring me my harp, and I will have a little music while you take\nyour walk.\u2019\n\nThe Giantess obeyed, and returned with a beautiful harp. The framework\nwas all sparkling with diamonds and rubies, and the strings were all of\ngold.\n\n\u2018This is one of the nicest things I took from the knight,\u2019 said the\nGiant. \u2018I am very fond of music, and my harp is a faithful servant.\u2019\n\nSo he drew the harp towards him, and said:\n\n\u2018Play!\u2019\n\nAnd the harp played a very soft, sad air.\n\n\u2018Play something merrier!\u2019 said the Giant.\n\nAnd the harp played a merry tune.\n\n\u2018Now play me a lullaby,\u2019 roared the Giant; and the harp played a sweet\nlullaby, to the sound of which its master fell asleep.\n\nThen Jack stole softly out of the wardrobe, and went into the huge\nkitchen to see if the Giantess had gone out; he found no one there, so\nhe went to the door and opened it softly, for he thought he could not\ndo so with the harp in his hand.\n\nThen he entered the Giant\u2019s room and seized the harp and ran away with\nit; but as he jumped over the threshold the harp called out:\n\n\u2018MASTER! MASTER!\u2019\n\nAnd the Giant woke up.\n\nWith a tremendous roar he sprang from his seat, and in two strides had\nreached the door.\n\nBut Jack was very nimble. He fled like lightning with the harp, talking\nto it as he went (for he saw it was a fairy), and telling it he was the\nson of its old master, the knight.\n\nStill the Giant came on so fast that he was quite close to poor Jack,\nand had stretched out his great hand to catch him. But, luckily, just\nat that moment he stepped upon a loose stone, stumbled, and fell flat\non the ground, where he lay at his full length.\n\nThis accident gave Jack time to get on the Beanstalk and hasten down\nit; but just as he reached their own garden he beheld the Giant\ndescending after him.\n\n\u2018Mother! Mother!\u2019 cried Jack, \u2018make haste and give me the axe.\u2019\n\nHis mother ran to him with a hatchet in her hand, and Jack with one\ntremendous blow cut through all the Beanstalks except one.\n\n\u2018Now, mother, stand out of the way!\u2019 said he.\n\nTHE GIANT BREAKS HIS NECK.\n\nJack\u2019s mother shrank back, and it was well she did so, for just as the\nGiant took hold of the last branch of the Beanstalk, Jack cut the stem\nquite through and darted from the spot.\n\nDown came the Giant with a terrible crash, and as he fell on his head,\nhe broke his neck, and lay dead at the feet of the woman he had so much\ninjured.\n\nBefore Jack and his mother had recovered from their alarm and\nagitation, a beautiful lady stood before them.\n\n\u2018Jack,\u2019 said she, \u2018you have acted like a brave knight\u2019s son, and\ndeserve to have your inheritance restored to you. Dig a grave and bury\nthe Giant, and then go and kill the Giantess.\u2019\n\n\u2018But,\u2019 said Jack, \u2018I could not kill anyone unless I were fighting with\nhim; and I could not draw my sword upon a woman. Moreover, the Giantess\nwas very kind to me.\u2019\n\nThe Fairy smiled on Jack.\n\n\u2018I am very much pleased with your generous feeling,\u2019 she said.\n\u2018Nevertheless, return to the castle, and act as you will find needful.\u2019\n\nJack asked the Fairy if she would show him the way to the castle, as\nthe Beanstalk was now down. She told him that she would drive him there\nin her chariot, which was drawn by two peacocks. Jack thanked her, and\nsat down in the chariot with her.\n\nThe Fairy drove him a long distance round, till they reached a village\nwhich lay at the bottom of the hill. Here they found a number of\nmiserable-looking men assembled. The Fairy stopped her carriage and\naddressed them:\n\n\u2018My friends,\u2019 said she, \u2018the cruel giant who oppressed you and ate up\nall your flocks and herds is dead, and this young gentleman was the\nmeans of your being delivered from him, and is the son of your kind old\nmaster, the knight.\u2019\n\nThe men gave a loud cheer at these words, and pressed forward to say\nthat they would serve Jack as faithfully as they had served his father.\nThe Fairy bade them follow her to the castle, and they marched thither\nin a body, and Jack blew the horn and demanded admittance.\n\nThe old Giantess saw them coming from the turret loop-hole. She was\nvery much frightened, for she guessed that something had happened to\nher husband; and as she came downstairs very fast she caught her foot\nin her dress, and fell from the top to the bottom and broke her neck.\n\nWhen the people outside found that the door was not opened to them,\nthey took crowbars and forced the portal. Nobody was to be seen, but on\nleaving the hall they found the body of the Giantess at the foot of the\nstairs.\n\nThus Jack took possession of the castle. The Fairy went and brought his\nmother to him, with the hen and the harp. He had the Giantess buried,\nand endeavoured as much as lay in his power to do right to those whom\nthe Giant had robbed.\n\nBefore her departure for fairyland, the Fairy explained to Jack that\nshe had sent the butcher to meet him with the beans, in order to try\nwhat sort of lad he was.\n\n\u2018If you had looked at the gigantic Beanstalk and only stupidly wondered\nabout it,\u2019 she said, \u2018I should have left you where misfortune had\nplaced you, only restoring her cow to your mother. But you showed an\ninquiring mind, and great courage and enterprise, therefore you deserve\nto rise; and when you mounted the Beanstalk you climbed the Ladder of\nFortune.\u2019\n\nShe then took her leave of Jack and his mother.\n\n\n\n\nTHE LITTLE GOOD MOUSE\n\n\nOnce upon a time there lived a King and Queen who loved each other so\nmuch that they were never happy unless they were together. Day after\nday they went out hunting or fishing; night after night they went to\nballs or to the opera; they sang, and danced, and ate sugar-plums, and\nwere the gayest of the gay, and all their subjects followed their\nexample so that the kingdom was called the Joyous Land. Now in the next\nkingdom everything was as different as it could possibly be. The King\nwas sulky and savage, and never enjoyed himself at all. He looked so\nugly and cross that all his subjects feared him, and he hated the very\nsight of a cheerful face; so if he ever caught anyone smiling he had\nhis head cut off that very minute. This kingdom was very appropriately\ncalled the Land of Tears. Now when this wicked King heard of the\nhappiness of the Jolly King, he was so jealous that he collected a\ngreat army and set out to fight him, and the news of his approach was\nsoon brought to the King and Queen. The Queen, when she heard of it,\nwas frightened out of her wits, and began to cry bitterly. \u2018Sire,\u2019 she\nsaid, \u2018let us collect all our riches and run away as far as ever we\ncan, to the other side of the world.\u2019\n\nBut the King answered:\n\n\u2018Fie, madam! I am far too brave for that. It is better to die than to\nbe a coward.\u2019\n\nThen he assembled all his armed men, and after bidding the Queen a\ntender farewell, he mounted his splendid horse and rode away. When he\nwas lost to sight the Queen could do nothing but weep, and wring her\nhands, and cry.\n\n\u2018Alas! If the King is killed, what will become of me and of my little\ndaughter?\u2019 and she was so sorrowful that she could neither eat nor\nsleep.\n\nThe King sent her a letter every day, but at last, one morning, as she\nlooked out of the palace window, she saw a messenger approaching in hot\nhaste.\n\n\u2018What news, courier? What news?\u2019 cried the Queen, and he answered:\n\n\u2018The battle is lost and the King is dead, and in another moment the\nenemy will be here.\u2019\n\nThe poor Queen fell back insensible, and all her ladies carried her to\nbed, and stood round her weeping and wailing. Then began a tremendous\nnoise and confusion, and they knew that the enemy had arrived, and very\nsoon they heard the King himself stamping about the palace seeking the\nQueen. Then her ladies put the little Princess into her arms, and\ncovered her up, head and all, in the bedclothes, and ran for their\nlives, and the poor Queen lay there shaking, and hoping she would not\nbe found. But very soon the wicked King clattered into the room, and in\na fury because the Queen would not answer when he called to her, he\ntore back her silken coverings and tweaked off her lace cap, and when\nall her lovely hair came tumbling down over her shoulders, he wound it\nthree times round his hand and threw her over his shoulder, where he\ncarried her like a sack of flour.\n\nThe poor Queen held her little daughter safe in her arms and shrieked\nfor mercy, but the wicked King only mocked her, and begged her to go on\nshrieking, as it amused him, and so mounted his great black horse, and\nrode back to his own country. When he got there he declared that he\nwould have the Queen and the little Princess hanged on the nearest\ntree; but his courtiers said that seemed a pity, for when the baby grew\nup she would be a very nice wife for the King\u2019s only son.\n\nThe King was rather pleased with this idea, and shut the Queen up in\nthe highest room of a tall tower, which was very tiny, and miserably\nfurnished with a table and a very hard bed upon the floor. Then he sent\nfor a fairy who lived near his kingdom, and after receiving her with\nmore politeness than he generally showed, and entertaining her at a\nsumptuous feast, he took her up to see the Queen. The fairy was so\ntouched by the sight of her misery that when she kissed her hand she\nwhispered:\n\n\u2018Courage, madam! I think I see a way to help you.\u2019\n\nThe Queen, a little comforted by these words, received her graciously,\nand begged her to take pity upon the poor little Princess, who had met\nwith such a sudden reverse of fortune. But the King got very cross when\nhe saw them whispering together, and cried harshly:\n\n\u2018Make an end of these fine speeches, madam. I brought you here to tell\nme if the child will grow up pretty and fortunate.\u2019\n\nThen the Fairy answered that the Princess would be as pretty, and\nclever, and well brought up as it was possible to be, and the old King\ngrowled to the Queen that it was lucky for her that it was so, as they\nwould certainly have been hanged if it were otherwise. Then he stamped\noff, taking the Fairy with him, and leaving the poor Queen in tears.\n\n\u2018How can I wish my little daughter to grow up pretty if she is to be\nmarried to that horrid little dwarf, the King\u2019s son,\u2019 she said to\nherself, \u2018and yet, if she is ugly we shall both be killed. If I could\nonly hide her away somewhere, so that the cruel King could never find\nher.\u2019\n\nAs the days went on, the Queen and the little Princess grew thinner and\nthinner, for their hard-hearted gaoler gave them every day only three\nboiled peas and a tiny morsel of black bread, so they were always\nterribly hungry. At last, one evening, as the Queen sat at her\nspinning-wheel\u2014for the King was so avaricious that she was made to work\nday and night\u2014she saw a tiny, pretty little mouse creep out of a hole,\nand said to it:\n\n\u2018Alas, little creature! what are you coming to look for here? I only\nhave three peas for my day\u2019s provision, so unless you wish to fast you\nmust go elsewhere.\u2019\n\nBut the mouse ran hither and thither, and danced and capered so\nprettily, that at last the Queen gave it her last pea, which she was\nkeeping for her supper, saying: \u2018Here, little one, eat it up; I have\nnothing better to offer you, but I give this willingly in return for\nthe amusement I have had from you.\u2019\n\nShe had hardly spoken when she saw upon the table a delicious little\nroast partridge, and two dishes of preserved fruit. \u2018Truly,\u2019 said she,\n\u2018a kind action never goes unrewarded; \u2018and she and the little Princess\nate their supper with great satisfaction, and then the Queen gave what\nwas left to the little mouse, who danced better than ever afterwards.\nThe next morning came the gaoler with the Queen\u2019s allowance of three\npeas, which he brought in upon a large dish to make them look smaller;\nbut as soon as he set it down the little mouse came and ate up all\nthree, so that when the Queen wanted her dinner there was nothing left\nfor her. Then she was quite provoked, and said:\n\n\u2018What a bad little beast that mouse must be! If it goes on like this I\nshall be starved.\u2019 But when she glanced at the dish again it was\ncovered with all sorts of nice things to eat, and the Queen made a very\ngood dinner, and was gayer than usual over it. But afterwards as she\nsat at her spinning-wheel she began to consider what would happen if\nthe little Princess did not grow up pretty enough to please the King,\nand she said to herself:\n\n\u2018Oh! if I could only think of some way of escaping.\u2019\n\nAs she spoke she saw the little mouse playing in a corner with some\nlong straws. The Queen took them and began to plait them, saying:\n\n\u2018If only I had straws enough I would make a basket with them, and let\nmy baby down in it from the window to any kind passer-by who would take\ncare of her.\u2019\n\nBy the time the straws were all plaited the little mouse had dragged in\nmore and more, until the Queen had plenty to make her basket, and she\nworked at it day and night, while the little mouse danced for her\namusement; and at dinner and supper time the Queen gave it the three\npeas and the bit of black bread, and always found something good in the\ndish in their place. She really could not imagine where all the nice\nthings came from. At last one day when the basket was finished, the\nQueen was looking out of the window to see how long a cord she must\nmake to lower it to the bottom of the tower, when she noticed a little\nold woman who was leaning upon her stick and looking up at her.\nPresently she said:\n\n\u2018I know your trouble, madam. If you like I will help you.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh! my dear friend,\u2019 said the Queen. \u2018If you really wish to be of use\nto me you will come at the time that I will appoint, and I will let\ndown my poor little baby in a basket. If you will take her, and bring\nher up for me, when I am rich I will reward you splendidly.\u2019\n\n\u2018I don\u2019t care about the reward,\u2019 said the old woman, \u2018but there is one\nthing I should like. You must know that I am very particular about what\nI eat, and if there is one thing that I fancy above all others, it is a\nplump, tender little mouse. If there is such a thing in your garret\njust throw it down to me, and in return I will promise that your little\ndaughter shall be well taken care of.\u2019\n\nThe Queen when she heard this began to cry, but made no answer, and the\nold woman after waiting a few minutes asked her what was the matter.\n\n\u2018Why,\u2019 said the Queen, \u2018there is only one mouse in this garret, and\nthat is such a dear, pretty little thing that I cannot bear to think of\nits being killed.\u2019\n\n\u2018What!\u2019 cried the old woman, in a rage. \u2018Do you care more for a\nmiserable mouse than for your own baby? Good-bye, madam! I leave you to\nenjoy its company, and for my own part I thank my stars that I can get\nplenty of mice without troubling you to give them to me.\u2019\n\nAnd she hobbled off grumbling and growling. As to the Queen, she was so\ndisappointed that, in spite of finding a better dinner than usual, and\nseeing the little mouse dancing in its merriest mood, she could do\nnothing but cry. That night when her baby was fast asleep she packed it\ninto the basket, and wrote on a slip of paper, \u2018This unhappy little\ngirl is called Delicia!\u2019 This she pinned to its robe, and then very\nsadly she was shutting the basket, when in sprang the little mouse and\nsat on the baby\u2019s pillow.\n\n\u2018Ah! little one,\u2019 said the Queen, \u2018it cost me dear to save your life.\nHow shall I know now whether my Delicia is being taken care of or no?\nAnyone else would have let the greedy old woman have you, and eat you\nup, but I could not bear to do it.\u2019 Whereupon the Mouse answered:\n\n\u2018Believe me, madam, you will never repent of your kindness.\u2019\n\nThe Queen was immensely astonished when the Mouse began to speak, and\nstill more so when she saw its little sharp nose turn to a beautiful\nface, and its paws to hands and feet; then it suddenly grew tall, and\nthe Queen recognised the Fairy who had come with the wicked King to\nvisit her.\n\nThe Fairy smiled at her astonished look, and said:\n\n\u2018I wanted to see if you were faithful and capable of feeling a real\nfriendship for me, for you see we fairies are rich in everything but\nfriends, and those are hard to find.\u2019\n\n\u2018It is not possible that _you_ should want for friends, you charming\ncreature,\u2019 said the Queen, kissing her.\n\n\u2018Indeed it is so,\u2019 the Fairy said. \u2018For those who are only friendly\nwith me for their own advantage, I do not count at all. But when you\ncared for the poor little mouse you could not have known there was\nanything to be gained by it, and to try you further I took the form of\nthe old woman whom you talked to from the window, and then I was\nconvinced that you really loved me.\u2019 Then, turning to the little\nPrincess, she kissed her rosy lips three times, saying:\n\n\u2018Dear little one, I promise that you shall be richer than your father,\nand shall live a hundred years, always pretty and happy, without fear\nof old age and wrinkles.\u2019\n\nThe Queen, quite delighted, thanked the Fairy gratefully, and begged\nher to take charge of the little Delicia and bring her up as her own\ndaughter. This she agreed to do, and then they shut the basket and\nlowered it carefully, baby and all, to the ground at the foot of the\ntower. The Fairy then changed herself back into the form of a mouse,\nand this delayed her a few seconds, after which she ran nimbly down the\nstraw rope, but only to find when she got to the bottom that the baby\nhad disappeared.\n\nIn the greatest terror she ran up again to the Queen, crying:\n\n\u2018All is lost! my enemy Cancaline has stolen the Princess away. You must\nknow that she is a cruel fairy who hates me, and as she is older than I\nam and has more power, I can do nothing against her. I know no way of\nrescuing Delicia from her clutches.\u2019\n\nWhen the Queen heard this terrible news she was heart-broken, and\nbegged the Fairy to do all she could to get the poor little Princess\nback again. At this moment in came the gaoler, and when he missed the\nlittle Princess he at once told the King, who came in a great fury\nasking what the Queen had done with her. She answered that a fairy,\nwhose name she did not know, had come and carried her off by force.\nUpon this the King stamped upon the ground, and cried in a terrible\nvoice:\n\n\u2018You shall be hung! I always told you you should.\u2019 And without another\nword he dragged the unlucky Queen out into the nearest wood, and\nclimbed up into a tree to look for a branch to which he could hang her.\nBut when he was quite high up, the Fairy, who had made herself\ninvisible and followed them, gave him a sudden push, which made him\nlose his footing and fall to the ground with a crash and break four of\nhis teeth, and while he was trying to mend them the fairy carried the\nQueen off in her flying chariot to a beautiful castle, where she was so\nkind to her that but for the loss of Delicia the Queen would have been\nperfectly happy. But though the good little mouse did her very utmost,\nthey could not find out where Cancaline had hidden the little Princess.\n\nThus fifteen years went by, and the Queen had somewhat recovered from\nher grief, when the news reached her that the son of the wicked King\nwished to marry the little maiden who kept the turkeys, and that she\nhad refused him; the wedding-dresses had been made, nevertheless, and\nthe festivities were to be so splendid that all the people for leagues\nround were flocking in to be present at them. The Queen felt quite\ncurious about a little turkey-maiden who did not wish to be a Queen, so\nthe little mouse conveyed herself to the poultry-yard to find out what\nshe was like.\n\nShe found the turkey-maiden sitting upon a big stone, barefooted, and\nmiserably dressed in an old, coarse linen gown and cap; the ground at\nher feet was all strewn with robes of gold and silver, ribbons and\nlaces, diamonds and pearls, over which the turkeys were stalking to and\nfro, while the King\u2019s ugly, disagreeable son stood opposite her,\ndeclaring angrily that if she would not marry him she should be killed.\n\nThe Turkey-maiden answered proudly:\n\n\u2018I never will marry you! you are too ugly and too much like your cruel\nfather. Leave me in peace with my turkeys, which I like far better than\nall your fine gifts.\u2019\n\nThe little mouse watched her with the greatest admiration, for she was\nas beautiful as the spring; and as soon as the wicked Prince was gone,\nshe took the form of an old peasant woman and said to her:\n\n\u2018Good day, my pretty one! you have a fine flock of turkeys there.\u2019\n\nThe young Turkey-maiden turned her gentle eyes upon the old woman, and\nanswered:\n\n\u2018Yet they wish me to leave them to become a miserable Queen! what is\nyour advice upon the matter?\u2019\n\n\u2018My child,\u2019 said the Fairy, \u2018a crown is a very pretty thing, but you\nknow neither the price nor the weight of it.\u2019\n\n\u2018I know so well that I have refused to wear one,\u2019 said the little\nmaiden, \u2018though I don\u2019t know who was my father, or who was my mother,\nand I have not a friend in the world.\u2019\n\n\u2018You have goodness and beauty, which are of more value than ten\nkingdoms,\u2019 said the wise Fairy. \u2018But tell me, child, how came you here,\nand how is it you have neither father, nor mother, nor friend?\u2019\n\n\u2018A Fairy called Cancaline is the cause of my being here,\u2019 answered she,\n\u2018for while I lived with her I got nothing but blows and harsh words,\nuntil at last I could bear it no longer, and ran away from her without\nknowing where I was going, and as I came through a wood the wicked\nPrince met me, and offered to give me charge of the poultry-yard. I\naccepted gladly, not knowing that I should have to see him day by day.\nAnd now he wants to marry me, but that I will never consent to.\u2019\n\nUpon hearing this the Fairy became convinced that the little\nTurkey-maiden was none other than the Princess Delicia.\n\n\u2018What is your name, my little one?\u2019 said she.\n\n\u2018I am called Delicia, if it please you,\u2019 she answered.\n\nThen the Fairy threw her arms round the Princess\u2019s neck, and nearly\nsmothered her with kisses, saying:\n\n\u2018Ah, Delicia! I am a very old friend of yours, and I am truly glad to\nfind you at last; but you might look nicer than you do in that old\ngown, which is only fit for a kitchen-maid. Take this pretty dress and\nlet us see the difference it will make.\u2019\n\nSo Delicia took off the ugly cap, and shook out all her fair shining\nhair, and bathed her hands and face in clear water from the nearest\nspring till her cheeks were like roses, and when she was adorned with\nthe diamonds and the splendid robe the Fairy had given her, she looked\nthe most beautiful Princess in the world, and the Fairy with great\ndelight cried:\n\n\u2018Now you look as you ought to look, Delicia: what do you think about it\nyourself?\u2019\n\nAnd Delicia answered:\n\n\u2018I feel as if I were the daughter of some great king.\u2019\n\n\u2018And would you be glad if you were?\u2019 said the Fairy.\n\n\u2018Indeed I should,\u2019 answered she.\n\n\u2018Ah, well,\u2019 said the Fairy, \u2018to-morrow I may have some pleasant news\nfor you.\u2019\n\nSo she hurried back to her castle, where the Queen sat busy with her\nembroidery, and cried:\n\n\u2018Well, madam! will you wager your thimble and your golden needle that I\nam bringing you the best news you could possibly hear?\u2019\n\n\u2018Alas!\u2019 sighed the Queen, \u2018since the death of the Jolly King and the\nloss of my Delicia, all the news in the world is not worth a pin to me.\n\n\u2018There, there, don\u2019t be melancholy,\u2019 said the Fairy. \u2018I assure you the\nPrincess is quite well, and I have never seen her equal for beauty. She\nmight be a Queen to-morrow if she chose;\u2019 and then she told all that\nhad happened, and the Queen first rejoiced over the thought of\nDelicia\u2019s beauty, and then wept at the idea of her being a\nTurkey-maiden.\n\n\u2018I will not hear of her being made to marry the wicked King\u2019s son,\u2019 she\nsaid. \u2018Let us go at once and bring her here.\u2019\n\nIn the meantime the wicked Prince, who was very angry with Delicia, had\nsat himself down under a tree, and cried and howled with rage and spite\nuntil the King heard him, and cried out from the window:\n\n\u2018What is the matter with you, that you are making all this\ndisturbance?\u2019\n\nThe Prince replied:\n\n\u2018It is all because our Turkey-maiden will not love me!\u2019\n\n\u2018Won\u2019t love you? eh!\u2019 said the King. \u2018We\u2019ll very soon see about that!\u2019\nSo he called his guards and told them to go and fetch Delicia. \u2018See if\nI don\u2019t make her change her mind pretty soon!\u2019 said the wicked King\nwith a chuckle.\n\nThen the guards began to search the poultry-yard, and could find nobody\nthere but Delicia, who, with her splendid dress and her crown of\ndiamonds, looked such a lovely Princess that they hardly dared to speak\nto her. But she said to them very politely:\n\n\u2018Pray tell me what you are looking for here?\u2019\n\n\u2018Madam,\u2019 they answered, \u2018we are sent for an insignificant little person\ncalled Delicia.\u2019\n\n\u2018Alas!\u2019 said she, \u2018that is my name. What can you want with me?\u2019\n\nSo the guards tied her hands and feet with thick ropes, for fear she\nmight run away, and brought her to the King, who was waiting with his\nson.\n\nWhen he saw her he was very much astonished at her beauty, which would\nhave made anyone less hard-hearted sorry for her. But the wicked King\nonly laughed and mocked at her, and cried: \u2018Well, little fright, little\ntoad! why don\u2019t you love my son, who is far too handsome and too good\nfor you? Make haste and begin to love him this instant, or you shall be\ntarred and feathered.\u2019\n\nThen the poor little Princess, shaking with terror, went down on her\nknees, crying:\n\n\u2018Oh, don\u2019t tar and feather me, please! It would be so uncomfortable.\nLet me have two or three days to make up my mind, and then you shall do\nas you like with me.\u2019\n\nThe wicked Prince would have liked very much to see her tarred and\nfeathered, but the King ordered that she should be shut up in a dark\ndungeon. It was just at this moment that the Queen and the Fairy\narrived in the flying chariot, and the Queen was dreadfully distressed\nat the turn affairs had taken, and said miserably that she was destined\nto be unfortunate all her days. But the Fairy bade her take courage.\n\n\u2018I\u2019ll pay them out yet,\u2019 said she, nodding her head with an air of\ngreat determination.\n\nThat very same night, as soon as the wicked King had gone to bed, the\nFairy changed herself into the little mouse, and creeping up on to his\npillow nibbled his ear, so that he squealed out quite loudly and turned\nover on his other side; but that was no good, for the little mouse only\nset to work and gnawed away at the second ear until it hurt more than\nthe first one.\n\nThen the King cried \u2018Murder!\u2019 and \u2018Thieves!\u2019 and all his guards ran to\nsee what was the matter, but they could find nothing and nobody, for\nthe little mouse had run off to the Prince\u2019s room and was serving him\nin exactly the same way. All night long she ran from one to the other,\nuntil at last, driven quite frantic by terror and want of sleep, the\nKing rushed out of the palace crying:\n\n\u2018Help! help! I am pursued by rats.\u2019\n\nThe Prince when he heard this got up also, and ran after the King, and\nthey had not gone far when they both fell into the river and were never\nheard of again.\n\nThen the good Fairy ran to tell the Queen, and they went together to\nthe black dungeon where Delicia was imprisoned. The Fairy touched each\ndoor with her wand, and it sprang open instantly, but they had to go\nthrough forty before they came to the Princess, who was sitting on the\nfloor looking very dejected. But when the Queen rushed in, and kissed\nher twenty times in a minute, and laughed, and cried, and told Delicia\nall her history, the Princess was wild with delight. Then the Fairy\nshowed her all the wonderful dresses and jewels she had brought for\nher, and said:\n\n\u2018Don\u2019t let us waste time; we must go and harangue the people.\u2019\n\nSo she walked first, looking very serious and dignified, and wearing a\ndress the train of which was at least ten ells long. Behind her came\nthe Queen wearing a blue velvet robe embroidered with gold, and a\ndiamond crown that was brighter than the sun itself. Last of all walked\nDelicia, who was so beautiful that it was nothing short of marvellous.\n\nThey proceeded through the streets, returning the salutations of all\nthey met, great or small, and all the people turned and followed them,\nwondering who these noble ladies could be.\n\nWhen the audience hall was quite full, the Fairy said to the subjects\nof the Wicked King that if they would accept Delicia, who was the\ndaughter of the Jolly King, as their Queen, she would undertake to find\na suitable husband for her, and would promise that during their reign\nthere should be nothing but rejoicing and merry-making, and all dismal\nthings should be entirely banished. Upon this the people cried with one\naccord, \u2018We will, we will! we have been gloomy and miserable too long\nalready.\u2019 And they all took hands and danced round the Queen, and\nDelicia, and the good Fairy, singing: \u2018Yes, yes; we will, we will!\u2019\n\nThen there were feasts and fireworks in every street in the town, and\nearly the next morning the Fairy, who had been all over the world in\nthe night, brought back with her, in her flying chariot, the most\nhandsome and good-tempered Prince she could find anywhere. He was so\ncharming that Delicia loved him from the moment their eyes met, and as\nfor him, of course he could not help thinking himself the luckiest\nPrince in the world. The Queen felt that she had really come to the end\nof her misfortunes at last, and they all lived happily ever after.[10]\n\n [10] _La bonne petite Souris_, par Madame d\u2019Aulnoy.\n\n\n\n\nGRACIOSA AND PERCINET\n\n\nOnce upon a time there lived a King and Queen who had one charming\ndaughter. She was so graceful and pretty and clever that she was called\nGraciosa, and the Queen was so fond of her that she could think of\nnothing else.\n\nEvery day she gave the Princess a lovely new frock of gold brocade, or\nsatin, or velvet, and when she was hungry she had bowls full of\nsugar-plums, and at least twenty pots of jam. Everybody said she was\nthe happiest Princess in the world. Now there lived at this same court\na very rich old duchess whose name was Grumbly. She was more frightful\nthan tongue can tell; her hair was red as fire, and she had but one\neye, and that not a pretty one! Her face was as broad as a full moon,\nand her mouth was so large that everybody who met her would have been\nafraid they were going to be eaten up, only she had no teeth. As she\nwas as cross as she was ugly, she could not bear to hear everyone\nsaying how pretty and how charming Graciosa was; so she presently went\naway from the court to her own castle, which was not far off. But if\nanybody who went to see her happened to mention the charming Princess,\nshe would cry angrily:\n\n\u2018It\u2019s not true that she is lovely. I have more beauty in my little\nfinger than she has in her whole body.\u2019\n\nSoon after this, to the great grief of the Princess, the Queen was\ntaken ill and died, and the King became so melancholy that for a whole\nyear he shut himself up in his palace. At last his physicians, fearing\nthat he would fall ill, ordered that he should go out and amuse\nhimself; so a hunting party was arranged, but as it was very hot\nweather the King soon got tired, and said he would dismount and rest at\na castle which they were passing.\n\nThis happened to be the Duchess Grumbly\u2019s castle, and when she heard\nthat the King was coming she went out to meet him, and said that the\ncellar was the coolest place in the whole castle if he would condescend\nto come down into it. So down they went together, and the King seeing\nabout two hundred great casks ranged side by side, asked if it was only\nfor herself that she had this immense store of wine.\n\n\u2018Yes, sire,\u2019 answered she, \u2018it is for myself alone, but I shall be most\nhappy to let you taste some of it. Which do you like, canary, St.\nJulien, champagne, hermitage sack, raisin, or cider?\u2019\n\n\u2018Well,\u2019 said the King, \u2018since you are so kind as to ask me, I prefer\nchampagne to anything else.\u2019\n\nThen Duchess Grumbly took up a little hammer and tapped upon the cask\ntwice, and out came at least a thousand crowns.\n\n\u2018What\u2019s the meaning of this?\u2019 said she smiling.\n\nThen she tapped the next cask, and out came a bushel of gold pieces.\n\n\u2018I don\u2019t understand this at all,\u2019 said the Duchess, smiling more than\nbefore.\n\nThen she went on to the third cask, tap, tap, and out came such a\nstream of diamonds and pearls that the ground was covered with them.\n\n\u2018Ah!\u2019 she cried, \u2018this is altogether beyond my comprehension, sire.\nSomeone must have stolen my good wine and put all this rubbish in its\nplace.\u2019\n\n\u2018Rubbish, do you call it, Madam Grumbly?\u2019 cried the King. \u2018Rubbish! why\nthere is enough there to buy ten kingdoms.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well,\u2019 said she, \u2018you must know that all those casks are full of gold\nand jewels, and if you like to marry me it shall all be yours.\u2019\n\nNow the King loved money more than anything else in the world, so he\ncried joyfully:\n\n\u2018Marry you? why with all my heart! to-morrow if you like.\u2019\n\n\u2018But I make one condition,\u2019 said the Duchess; \u2018I must have entire\ncontrol of your daughter to do as I please with her.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh certainly, you shall have your own way; let us shake hands upon the\nbargain,\u2019 said the King.\n\nSo they shook hands and went up out of the cellar of treasure together,\nand the Duchess locked the door and gave the key to the King.\n\nWhen he got back to his own palace Graciosa ran out to meet him, and\nasked if he had had good sport.\n\n\u2018I have caught a dove,\u2019 answered he.\n\n\u2018Oh! do give it to me,\u2019 said the Princess, \u2018and I will keep it and take\ncare of it.\u2019\n\n\u2018I can hardly do that,\u2019 said he, \u2018for, to speak more plainly, I mean\nthat I met the Duchess Grumbly, and have promised to marry her.\u2019\n\n\u2018And you call her a dove?\u2019 cried the Princess. \u2018_I_ should have called\nher a screech owl.\u2019\n\n\u2018Hold your tongue,\u2019 said the King, very crossly. \u2018I intend you to\nbehave prettily to her. So now go and make yourself fit to be seen, as\nI am going to take you to visit her.\u2019\n\nSo the Princess went very sorrowfully to her own room, and her nurse,\nseeing her tears, asked what was vexing her.\n\n\u2018Alas! who would not be vexed?\u2019 answered she, \u2018for the King intends to\nmarry again, and has chosen for his new bride my enemy, the hideous\nDuchess Grumbly.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, well!\u2019 answered the nurse, \u2018you must remember that you are a\nPrincess, and are expected to set a good example in making the best of\nwhatever happens. You must promise me not to let the Duchess see how\nmuch you dislike her.\u2019\n\nAt first the Princess would not promise, but the nurse showed her so\nmany good reasons for it that in the end she agreed to be amiable to\nher step-mother.\n\nThen the nurse dressed her in a robe of pale green and gold brocade,\nand combed out her long fair hair till it floated round her like a\ngolden mantle, and put on her head a crown of roses and jasmine with\nemerald leaves.\n\nWhen she was ready nobody could have been prettier, but she still could\nnot help looking sad.\n\nMeanwhile the Duchess Grumbly was also occupied in attiring herself.\nShe had one of her shoe heels made an inch or so higher than the other,\nthat she might not limp so much, and put in a cunningly made glass eye\nin the place of the one she had lost. She dyed her red hair black, and\npainted her face. Then she put on a gorgeous robe of lilac satin lined\nwith blue, and a yellow petticoat trimmed with violet ribbons, and\nbecause she had heard that queens always rode into their new dominions,\nshe ordered a horse to be made ready for her to ride.\n\nWhile Graciosa was waiting until the King should be ready to set out,\nshe went down all alone through the garden into a little wood, where\nshe sat down upon a mossy bank and began to think. And her thoughts\nwere so doleful that very soon she began to cry, and she cried, and\ncried, and forgot all about going back to the palace, until she\nsuddenly saw a handsome page standing before her. He was dressed in\ngreen, and the cap which he held in his hand was adorned with white\nplumes. When Graciosa looked at him he went down on one knee, and said\nto her:\n\n\u2018Princess, the King awaits you.\u2019\n\nThe Princess was surprised, and, if the truth must be told, very much\ndelighted at the appearance of this charming page, whom she could not\nremember to have seen before. Thinking he might belong to the household\nof the Duchess, she said:\n\n\u2018How long have you been one of the King\u2019s pages?\u2019\n\n\u2018I am not in the service of the King, madam,\u2019 answered he, \u2018but in\nyours.\u2019\n\n\u2018In mine?\u2019 said the Princess with great surprise. \u2018Then how is it that\nI have never seen you before?\u2019\n\n\u2018Ah, Princess!\u2019 said he, \u2018I have never before dared to present myself\nto you, but now the King\u2019s marriage threatens you with so many dangers\nthat I have resolved to tell you at once how much I love you already,\nand I trust that in time I may win your regard. I am Prince Percinet,\nof whose riches you may have heard, and whose fairy gift will, I hope,\nbe of use to you in all your difficulties, if you will permit me to\naccompany you under this disguise.\u2019\n\n\u2018Ah, Percinet!\u2019 cried the Princess, \u2018is it really you? I have so often\nheard of you and wished to see you. If you will indeed be my friend, I\nshall not be afraid of that wicked old Duchess any more.\u2019\n\nSo they went back to the palace together, and there Graciosa found a\nbeautiful horse which Percinet had brought for her to ride. As it was\nvery spirited he led it by the bridle, and this arrangement enabled him\nto turn and look at the Princess often, which he did not fail to do.\nIndeed, she was so pretty that it was a real pleasure to look at her.\nWhen the horse which the Duchess was to ride appeared beside\nGraciosa\u2019s, it looked no better than an old cart horse, and as to their\ntrappings, there was simply no comparison between them, as the\nPrincess\u2019s saddle and bridle were one glittering mass of diamonds. The\nKing had so many other things to think of that he did not notice this,\nbut all his courtiers were entirely taken up with admiring the Princess\nand her charming Page in green, who was more handsome and\ndistinguished-looking than all the rest of the court put together.\n\nWhen they met the Duchess Grumbly she was seated in an open carriage\ntrying in vain to look dignified. The King and the Princess saluted\nher, and her horse was brought forward for her to mount. But when she\nsaw Graciosa\u2019s she cried angrily:\n\n\u2018If that child is to have a better horse than mine, I will go back to\nmy own castle this very minute. What is the good of being a Queen if\none is to be slighted like this?\u2019\n\nUpon this the King commanded Graciosa to dismount and to beg the\nDuchess to honour her by mounting her horse. The Princess obeyed in\nsilence, and the Duchess, without looking at her or thanking her,\nscrambled up upon the beautiful horse, where she sat looking like a\nbundle of clothes, and eight officers had to hold her up for fear she\nshould fall off.\n\nEven then she was not satisfied, and was still grumbling and muttering,\nso they asked her what was the matter.\n\n\u2018I wish that Page in green to come and lead the horse, as he did when\nGraciosa rode it,\u2019 said she very sharply.\n\nAnd the King ordered the Page to come and lead the Queen\u2019s horse.\nPercinet and the Princess looked at one another, but said never a word,\nand then he did as the King commanded, and the procession started in\ngreat pomp. The Duchess was greatly elated, and as she sat there in\nstate would not have wished to change places even with Graciosa. But at\nthe moment when it was least expected the beautiful horse began to\nplunge and rear and kick, and finally to run away at such a pace that\nit was impossible to stop him.\n\nAt first the Duchess clung to the saddle, but she was very soon thrown\noff and fell in a heap among the stones and thorns, and there they\nfound her, shaken to a jelly, and collected what was left of her as if\nshe had been a broken glass. Her bonnet was here and her shoes there,\nher face was scratched, and her fine clothes were covered with mud.\nNever was a bride seen in such a dismal plight. They carried her back\nto the palace and put her to bed, but as soon as she recovered enough\nto be able to speak, she began to scold and rage, and declared that the\nwhole affair was Graciosa\u2019s fault, that she had contrived it on purpose\nto try and get rid of her, and that if the King would not have her\npunished, she would go back to her castle and enjoy her riches by\nherself.\n\nAt this the King was terribly frightened, for he did not at all want to\nlose all those barrels of gold and jewels. So he hastened to appease\nthe Duchess, and told her she might punish Graciosa in any way she\npleased.\n\nThereupon she sent for Graciosa, who turned pale and trembled at the\nsummons, for she guessed that it promised nothing agreeable for her.\nShe looked all about for Percinet, but he was nowhere to be seen; so\nshe had no choice but to go to the Duchess Grumbly\u2019s room. She had\nhardly got inside the door when she was seized by four waiting women,\nwho looked so tall and strong and cruel that the Princess shuddered at\nthe sight of them, and still more when she saw them arming themselves\nwith great bundles of rods, and heard the Duchess call out to them from\nher bed to beat the Princess without mercy. Poor Graciosa wished\nmiserably that Percinet could only know what was happening and come to\nrescue her. But no sooner did they begin to beat her than she found, to\nher great relief, that the rods had changed to bundles of peacock\u2019s\nfeathers, and though the Duchess\u2019s women went on till they were so\ntired that they could no longer raise their arms from their sides, yet\nshe was not hurt in the least. However, the Duchess thought she must be\nblack and blue after such a beating; so Graciosa, when she was\nreleased, pretended to feel very bad, and went away into her own room,\nwhere she told her nurse all that had happened, and then the nurse left\nher, and when the Princess turned round there stood Percinet beside\nher. She thanked him gratefully for helping her so cleverly, and they\nlaughed and were very merry over the way they had taken in the Duchess\nand her waiting-maids; but Percinet advised her still to pretend to be\nill for a few days, and after promising to come to her aid whenever she\nneeded him, he disappeared as suddenly as he had come.\n\nThe Duchess was so delighted at the idea that Graciosa was really ill,\nthat she herself recovered twice as fast as she would have done\notherwise, and the wedding was held with great magnificence. Now as the\nKing knew that, above all other things, the Queen loved to be told that\nshe was beautiful, he ordered that her portrait should be painted, and\nthat a tournament should be held, at which all the bravest knights of\nhis court should maintain against all comers that Grumbly was the most\nbeautiful princess in the world.\n\nNumbers of knights came from far and wide to accept the challenge, and\nthe hideous Queen sat in great state in a balcony hung with cloth of\ngold to watch the contests, and Graciosa had to stand up behind her,\nwhere her loveliness was so conspicuous that the combatants could not\nkeep their eyes off her. But the Queen was so vain that she thought all\ntheir admiring glances were for herself, especially as, in spite of the\nbadness of their cause, the King\u2019s knights were so brave that they were\nthe victors in every combat.\n\nHowever, when nearly all the strangers had been defeated, a young\nunknown knight presented himself. He carried a portrait, enclosed in a\nbow encrusted with diamonds, and he declared himself willing to\nmaintain against them all that the Queen was the ugliest creature in\nthe world, and that the Princess whose portrait he carried was the most\nbeautiful.\n\nSo one by one the knights came out against him, and one by one he\nvanquished them all, and then he opened the box, and said that, to\nconsole them, he would show them the portrait of his Queen of Beauty,\nand when he did so everyone recognised the Princess Graciosa. The\nunknown knight then saluted her gracefully and retired, without telling\nhis name to anybody. But Graciosa had no difficulty in guessing that it\nwas Percinet.\n\nAs to the Queen, she was so furiously angry that she could hardly\nspeak; but she soon recovered her voice, and overwhelmed Graciosa with\na torrent of reproaches.\n\n\u2018What!\u2019 she said, \u2018do you dare to dispute with me for the prize of\nbeauty, and expect me to endure this insult to my knights? But I will\nnot bear it, proud Princess. I will have my revenge.\u2019\n\n\u2018I assure you, Madam,\u2019 said the Princess, \u2018that I had nothing to do\nwith it and am quite willing that you shall be declared Queen of Beauty\n\n\u2018Ah! you are pleased to jest, popinjay!\u2019 said the Queen, \u2018but it will\nbe my turn soon!\u2019\n\nThe King was speedily told what had happened, and how the Princess was\nin terror of the angry Queen, but he only said: \u2018The Queen must do as\nshe pleases. Graciosa belongs to her!\u2019\n\nThe wicked Queen waited impatiently until night fell, and then she\nordered her carriage to be brought. Graciosa, much against her will,\nwas forced into it, and away they drove, and never stopped until they\nreached a great forest, a hundred leagues from the palace. This forest\nwas so gloomy, and so full of lions, tigers, bears and wolves, that\nnobody dared pass through it even by daylight, and here they set down\nthe unhappy Princess in the middle of the black night, and left her in\nspite of all her tears and entreaties. The Princess stood quite still\nat first from sheer bewilderment, but when the last sound of the\nretreating carriages died away in the distance she began to run\naimlessly hither and thither, sometimes knocking herself against a\ntree, sometimes tripping over a stone, fearing every minute that she\nwould be eaten up by the lions. Presently she was too tired to advance\nanother step, so she threw herself down upon the ground and cried\nmiserably:\n\n\u2018Oh, Percinet! where are you? Have you forgotten me altogether?\u2019\n\nShe had hardly spoken when all the forest was lighted up with a sudden\nglow. Every tree seemed to be sending out a soft radiance, which was\nclearer than moonlight and softer than daylight, and at the end of a\nlong avenue of trees opposite to her the Princess saw a palace of clear\ncrystal which blazed like the sun. At that moment a slight sound behind\nher made her start round, and there stood Percinet himself.\n\n\u2018Did I frighten you, my Princess?\u2019 said he. \u2018I come to bid you welcome\nto our fairy palace, in the name of the Queen, my mother, who is\nprepared to love you as much as I do.\u2019 The Princess joyfully mounted\nwith him into a little sledge, drawn by two stags, which bounded off\nand drew them swiftly to the wonderful palace, where the Queen received\nher with the greatest kindness, and a splendid banquet was served at\nonce. Graciosa was so happy to have found Percinet, and to have escaped\nfrom the gloomy forest and all its terrors, that she was very hungry\nand very merry, and they were a gay party. After supper they went into\nanother lovely room, where the crystal walls were covered with\npictures, and the Princess saw with great surprise that her own history\nwas represented, even down to the moment when Percinet found her in the\nforest.\n\n\u2018Your painters must indeed be diligent,\u2019 she said, pointing out the\nlast picture to the Prince.\n\n\u2018They are obliged to be, for I will not have anything forgotten that\nhappens to you,\u2019 he answered.\n\nWhen the Princess grew sleepy, twenty-four charming maidens put her to\nbed in the prettiest room she had ever seen, and then sang to her so\nsweetly that Graciosa\u2019s dreams were all of mermaids, and cool sea\nwaves, and caverns, in which she wandered with Percinet; but when she\nwoke up again her first thought was that, delightful as this fairy\npalace seemed to her, yet she could not stay in it, but must go back to\nher father. When she had been dressed by the four-and-twenty maidens in\na charming robe which the Queen had sent for her, and in which she\nlooked prettier than ever, Prince Percinet came to see her, and was\nbitterly disappointed when she told him what she had been thinking. He\nbegged her to consider again how unhappy the wicked Queen would make\nher, and how, if she would but marry him, all the fairy palace would be\nhers, and his one thought would be to please her. But, in spite of\neverything he could say, the Princess was quite determined to go back,\nthough he at last persuaded her to stay eight days, which were so full\nof pleasure and amusement that they passed like a few hours. On the\nlast day, Graciosa, who had often felt anxious to know what was going\non in her father\u2019s palace, said to Percinet that she was sure that he\ncould find out for her, if he would, what reason the Queen had given\nher father for her sudden disappearance. Percinet at first offered to\nsend his courier to find out, but the Princess said:\n\n\u2018Oh! isn\u2019t there a quicker way of knowing than that?\u2019\n\n\u2018Very well,\u2019 said Percinet, \u2018you shall see for yourself.\u2019\n\nSo up they went together to the top of a very high tower, which, like\nthe rest of the castle, was built entirely of rock-crystal.\n\nThere the Prince held Graciosa\u2019s hand in his, and made her put the tip\nof her little finger into her mouth, and look towards the town, and\nimmediately she saw the wicked Queen go to the King, and heard her say\nto him, \u2018That miserable Princess is dead, and no great loss either. I\nhave ordered that she shall be buried at once.\u2019\n\nAnd then the Princess saw how she dressed up a log of wood and had it\nburied, and how the old King cried, and all the people murmured that\nthe Queen had killed Graciosa with her cruelties, and that she ought to\nhave her head cut off. When the Princess saw that the King was so sorry\nfor her pretended death that he could neither eat nor drink, she cried:\n\n\u2018Ah, Percinet! take me back quickly if you love me.\u2019\n\nAnd so, though he did not want to at all, he was obliged to promise\nthat he would let her go.\n\n\u2018You may not regret me, Princess,\u2019 he said sadly, \u2018for I fear that you\ndo not love me well enough; but I foresee that you will more than once\nregret that you left this fairy palace where we have been so happy.\u2019\n\nBut, in spite of all he could say, she bade farewell to the Queen, his\nmother, and prepared to set out; so Percinet, very unwillingly, brought\nthe little sledge with the stags and she mounted beside him. But they\nhad hardly gone twenty yards when a tremendous noise behind her made\nGraciosa look back, and she saw the palace of crystal fly into a\nmillion splinters, like the spray of a fountain, and vanish.\n\n\u2018Oh, Percinet!\u2019 she cried, \u2018what has happened? The palace is gone.\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes,\u2019 he answered, \u2018my palace is a thing of the past; you will see it\nagain, but not until after you have been buried.\u2019\n\n\u2018Now you are angry with me,\u2019 said Graciosa in her most coaxing voice,\n\u2018though after all I am more to be pitied than you are.\u2019\n\nWhen they got near the palace the Prince made the sledge and themselves\ninvisible, so the Princess got in unobserved, and ran up to the great\nhall where the King was sitting all by himself. At first he was very\nmuch startled by Graciosa\u2019s sudden appearance, but she told him how the\nQueen had left her out in the forest, and how she had caused a log of\nwood to be buried. The King, who did not know what to think, sent\nquickly and had it dug up, and sure enough it was as the Princess had\nsaid. Then he caressed Graciosa, and made her sit down to supper with\nhim, and they were as happy as possible. But someone had by this time\ntold the wicked Queen that Graciosa had come back, and was at supper\nwith the King, and in she flew in a terrible fury. The poor old King\nquite trembled before her, and when she declared that Graciosa was not\nthe Princess at all, but a wicked impostor, and that if the King did\nnot give her up at once she would go back to her own castle and never\nsee him again, he had not a word to say, and really seemed to believe\nthat it was not Graciosa after all. So the Queen in great triumph sent\nfor her waiting women, who dragged the unhappy Princess away and shut\nher up in a garret; they took away all her jewels and her pretty dress,\nand gave her a rough cotton frock, wooden shoes, and a little cloth\ncap. There was some straw in a corner, which was all she had for a bed,\nand they gave her a very little bit of black bread to eat. In this\nmiserable plight Graciosa did indeed regret the fairy palace, and she\nwould have called Percinet to her aid, only she felt sure he was still\nvexed with her for leaving him, and thought that she could not expect\nhim to come.\n\nMeanwhile the Queen had sent for an old Fairy, as malicious as herself,\nand said to her:\n\n\u2018You must find me some task for this fine Princess which she cannot\npossibly do, for I mean to punish her, and if she does not do what I\norder, she will not be able to say that I am unjust.\u2019 So the old Fairy\nsaid she would think it over, and come again the next day. When she\nreturned she brought with her a skein of thread, three times as big as\nherself; it was so fine that a breath of air would break it, and so\ntangled that it was impossible to see the beginning or the end of it.\n\nThe Queen sent for Graciosa, and said to her:\n\n\u2018Do you see this skein? Set your clumsy fingers to work upon it, for I\nmust have it disentangled by sunset, and if you break a single thread\nit will be the worse for you.\u2019 So saying she left her, locking the door\nbehind her with three keys.\n\nThe Princess stood dismayed at the sight of the terrible skein. If she\ndid but turn it over to see where to begin, she broke a thousand\nthreads, and not one could she disentangle. At last she threw it into\nthe middle of the floor, crying:\n\n\u2018Oh, Percinet! this fatal skein will be the death of me if you will not\nforgive me and help me once more.\u2019\n\nAnd immediately in came Percinet as easily as if he had all the keys in\nhis own possession.\n\n\u2018Here I am, Princess, as much as ever at your service,\u2019 said he,\n\u2018though really you are not very kind to me.\u2019\n\nThen he just stroked the skein with his wand, and all the broken\nthreads joined themselves together, and the whole skein wound itself\nsmoothly off in the most surprising manner, and the Prince, turning to\nGraciosa, asked if there was nothing else that she wished him to do for\nher, and if the time would never come when she would wish for him for\nhis own sake.\n\n\u2018Don\u2019t be vexed with me, Percinet,\u2019 she said. \u2018I am unhappy enough\nwithout that.\u2019\n\n\u2018But why should you be unhappy, my Princess?\u2019 cried he. \u2018Only come with\nme and we shall be as happy as the day is long together.\u2019\n\n\u2018But suppose you get tired of me?\u2019 said Graciosa.\n\nThe Prince was so grieved at this want of confidence that he left her\nwithout another word.\n\nThe wicked Queen was in such a hurry to punish Graciosa that she\nthought the sun would never set; and indeed it was before the appointed\ntime that she came with her four Fairies, and as she fitted the three\nkeys into the locks she said:\n\n\u2018I\u2019ll venture to say that the idle minx has not done anything at\nall\u2014she prefers to sit with her hands before her to keep them white.\u2019\n\nBut, as soon as she entered, Graciosa presented her with the ball of\nthread in perfect order, so that she had no fault to find, and could\nonly pretend to discover that it was soiled, for which imaginary fault\nshe gave Graciosa a blow on each cheek, that made her white and pink\nskin turn green and yellow. And then she sent her back to be locked\ninto the garret once more.\n\nThen the Queen sent for the Fairy again and scolded her furiously.\n\u2018Don\u2019t make such a mistake again; find me something that it will be\nquite impossible for her to do,\u2019 she said.\n\nSo the next day the Fairy appeared with a huge barrel full of the\nfeathers of all sorts of birds. There were nightingales, canaries,\ngoldfinches, linnets, tomtits, parrots, owls, sparrows, doves,\nostriches, bustards, peacocks, larks, partridges, and everything else\nthat you can think of. These feathers were all mixed up in such\nconfusion that the birds themselves could not have chosen out their\nown. \u2018Here,\u2019 said the Fairy, \u2018is a little task which it will take all\nyour prisoner\u2019s skill and patience to accomplish. Tell her to pick out\nand lay in a separate heap the feathers of each bird. She would need to\nbe a fairy to do it.\u2019\n\nThe Queen was more than delighted at the thought of the despair this\ntask would cause the Princess. She sent for her, and with the same\nthreats as before locked her up with the three keys, ordering that all\nthe feathers should be sorted by sunset. Graciosa set to work at once,\nbut before she had taken out a dozen feathers she found that it was\nperfectly impossible to know one from another.\n\n\u2018Ah! well,\u2019 she sighed, \u2018the Queen wishes to kill me, and if I must die\nI must. I cannot ask Percinet to help me again, for if he really loved\nme he would not wait till I called him, he would come without that.\u2019\n\n\u2018I am here, my Graciosa,\u2019 cried Percinet, springing out of the barrel\nwhere he had been hiding. \u2018How can you still doubt that I love you with\nall my heart?\u2019\n\nThen he gave three strokes of his wand upon the barrel, and all the\nfeathers flew out in a cloud and settled down in neat little separate\nheaps all round the room.\n\n\u2018What should I do without you, Percinet?\u2019 said Graciosa gratefully. But\nstill she could not quite make up her mind to go with him and leave her\nfather\u2019s kingdom for ever; so she begged him to give her more time to\nthink of it, and he had to go away disappointed once more.\n\nWhen the wicked Queen came at sunset she was amazed and infuriated to\nfind the task done. However, she complained that the heaps of feathers\nwere badly arranged, and for that the Princess was beaten and sent back\nto her garret. Then the Queen sent for the Fairy once more, and scolded\nher until she was fairly terrified, and promised to go home and think\nof another task for Graciosa, worse than either of the others.\n\nAt the end of three days she came again, bringing with her a box.\n\n\u2018Tell your slave,\u2019 said he, \u2018to carry this wherever you please, but on\nno account to open it. She will not be able to help doing so, and then\nyou will be quite satisfied with the result.\u2019 So the Queen came to\nGraciosa, and said:\n\n\u2018Carry this box to my castle, and place it upon the table in my own\nroom. But I forbid you on pain of death to look at what it contains.\u2019\n\nGraciosa set out, wearing her little cap and wooden shoes and the old\ncotton frock, but even in this disguise she was so beautiful that all\nthe passers-by wondered who she could be. She had not gone far before\nthe heat of the sun and the weight of the box tired her so much that\nshe sat down to rest in the shade of a little wood which lay on one\nside of a green meadow. She was carefully holding the box upon her lap\nwhen she suddenly felt the greatest desire to open it.\n\n\u2018What could possibly happen if I did?\u2019 she said to herself. \u2018I should\nnot take anything out. I should only just see what was there.\u2019\n\nAnd without farther hesitation she lifted the cover.\n\nInstantly out came swarms of little men and women, no taller than her\nfinger, and scattered themselves all over the meadow, singing and\ndancing, and playing the merriest games, so that at first Graciosa was\ndelighted and watched them with much amusement. But presently, when she\nwas rested and wished to go on her way, she found that, do what she\nwould, she could not get them back into their box. If she chased them\nin the meadow they fled into the wood, and if she pursued them into the\nwood they dodged round trees and behind sprigs of moss, and with peals\nof elfin laughter scampered back again into the meadow.\n\nAt last, weary and terrified, she sat down and cried.\n\n\u2018It is my own fault,\u2019 she said sadly. \u2018Percinet, if you can still care\nfor such an imprudent Princess, do come and help me once more.\u2019\n\nImmediately Percinet stood before her.\n\n\u2018Ah, Princess!\u2019 he said, \u2018but for the wicked Queen I fear you would\nnever think of me at all.\u2019\n\n\u2018Indeed I should,\u2019 said Graciosa; \u2018I am not so ungrateful as you think.\nOnly wait a little and I believe I shall love you quite dearly.\u2019\n\nPercinet was pleased at this, and with one stroke of his wand compelled\nall the wilful little people to come back to their places in the box,\nand then rendering the Princess invisible he took her with him in his\nchariot to the castle.\n\nWhen the Princess presented herself at the door, and said that the\nQueen had ordered her to place the box in her own room, the governor\nlaughed heartily at the idea.\n\n\u2018No, no, my little shepherdess,\u2019 said he, \u2018that is not the place for\nyou. No wooden shoes have ever been over that floor yet.\u2019\n\nThen Graciosa begged him to give her a written message telling the\nQueen that he had refused to admit her. This he did, and she went back\nto Percinet, who was waiting for her, and they set out together for the\npalace. You may imagine that they did not go the shortest way, but the\nPrincess did not find it too long, and before they parted she had\npromised that if the Queen was still cruel to her, and tried again to\nplay her any spiteful trick, she would leave her and come to Percinet\nfor ever.\n\nWhen the Queen saw her returning she fell upon the Fairy, whom she had\nkept with her, and pulled her hair, and scratched her face, and would\nreally have killed her if a Fairy could be killed. And when the\nPrincess presented the letter and the box she threw them both upon the\nfire without opening them, and looked very much as if she would like to\nthrow the Princess after them. However, what she really did do was to\nhave a great hole as deep as a well dug in her garden, and the top of\nit covered with a flat stone. Then she went and walked near it, and\nsaid to Graciosa and all her ladies who were with her:\n\n\u2018I am told that a great treasure lies under that stone; let us see if\nwe can lift it.\u2019\n\nSo they all began to push and pull at it, and Graciosa among the\nothers, which was just what the Queen wanted; for as soon as the stone\nwas lifted high enough, she gave the Princess a push which sent her\ndown to the bottom of the well, and then the stone was let fall again,\nand there she was a prisoner. Graciosa felt that now indeed she was\nhopelessly lost, surely not even Percinet could find her in the heart\nof the earth.\n\n\u2018This is like being buried alive,\u2019 she said with a shudder. \u2018Oh,\nPercinet! if you only knew how I am suffering for my want of trust in\nyou! But how could I be sure that you would not be like other men and\ntire of me from the moment you were sure I loved you?\u2019\n\nAs she spoke she suddenly saw a little door open, and the sunshine\nblazed into the dismal well. Graciosa did not hesitate an instant, but\npassed through into a charming garden. Flowers and fruit grew on every\nside, fountains plashed, and birds sang in the branches overhead, and\nwhen she reached a great avenue of trees and looked up to see where it\nwould lead her, she found herself close to the palace of crystal. Yes!\nthere was no mistaking it, and the Queen and Percinet were coming to\nmeet her.\n\n\u2018Ah, Princess!\u2019 said the Queen, \u2018don\u2019t keep this poor Percinet in\nsuspense any longer. You little guess the anxiety he has suffered while\nyou were in the power of that miserable Queen.\u2019\n\nThe Princess kissed her gratefully, and promised to do as she wished in\neverything, and holding out her hand to Percinet, with a smile, she\nsaid:\n\n\u2018Do you remember telling me that I should not see your palace again\nuntil I had been buried? I wonder if you guessed then that, when that\nhappened, I should tell you that I love you with all my heart, and will\nmarry you whenever you like?\u2019\n\nPrince Percinet joyfully took the hand that was given him, and, for\nfear the Princess should change her mind, the wedding was held at once\nwith the greatest splendour, and Graciosa and Percinet lived happily\never after.[11]\n\n [11] _Gracieuse et Percinet_. Mdme. d\u2019Aulnoy.\n\n\n\n\nTHE THREE PRINCESSES OF WHITELAND\n\n\nThere was once upon a time a fisherman, who lived hard by a palace and\nfished for the King\u2019s table. One day he was out fishing, but caught\nnothing at all. Let him do what he might with rod and line, there was\nnever even so much as a sprat on his hook; but when the day was well\nnigh over, a head rose up out of the water, and said: \u2018If you will give\nme what your wife shows you when you go home, you shall catch fish\nenough.\u2019\n\nSo the man said \u2018Yes\u2019 in a moment, and then he caught fish in plenty;\nbut when he got home at night, and his wife showed him a baby which had\njust been born, and fell a-weeping and wailing when he told her of the\npromise which he had given, he was very unhappy.\n\nAll this was soon told to the King up at the palace, and when he heard\nwhat sorrow the woman was in, and the reason of it, he said that he\nhimself would take the child and see if he could not save it. The baby\nwas a boy, and the King took him at once and brought him up as his own\nson until the lad grew up. Then one day he begged to have leave to go\nout with his father to fish; he had a strong desire to do this, he\nsaid. The King was very unwilling to permit it, but at last the lad got\nleave. He stayed with his father, and all went prosperously and well\nwith them the whole day, until they came back to land in the evening.\nThen the lad found that he had lost his pocket-handkerchief, and would\ngo out in the boat after it; but no sooner had he got into the boat\nthan it began to move off with him so quickly that the water foamed all\nround about, and all that the lad did to keep the boat back with the\noars was done to no purpose, for it went on and on the whole night\nthrough, and at last he came to a white strand that lay far, far away.\nThere he landed, and when he had walked on for some distance he met an\nold man with a long white beard.\n\n\u2018What is the name of this country?\u2019 said the youth.\n\n\u2018Whiteland,\u2019 answered the man, and then he begged the youth to tell him\nwhence he came and what he was going to do, and the youth did so.\n\n\u2018Well, then,\u2019 said the man, \u2018if you walk on farther along the seashore\nhere, you will come to three princesses who are standing in the earth\nso that their heads alone are out of it. Then the first of them will\ncall you\u2014she is the eldest\u2014and will beg you very prettily to come to\nher and help her, and the second will do the same, but you must not go\nnear either of them. Hurry past, as if you neither saw nor heard them;\nbut you shall go to the third and do what she bids you; it will bring\nyou good fortune.\u2019\n\nWhen the youth came to the first princess, she called to him and begged\nhim to come to her very prettily, but he walked on as if he did not\neven see her, and he passed by the second in the same way, but he went\nup to the third.\n\n\u2018If thou wilt do what I tell thee, thou shalt choose among us three,\u2019\nsaid the Princess.\n\nSo the lad said that he was most willing, and she told him that three\nTrolls had planted them all three there in the earth, but that formerly\nthey had dwelt in the castle which he could see at some distance in the\nwood.\n\n\u2018Now,\u2019 she said, \u2018thou shalt go into the castle, and let the Trolls\nbeat thee one night for each of us, and if thou canst but endure that,\nthou wilt set us free.\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes,\u2019 answered the lad, \u2018I will certainly try to do so.\u2019\n\n\u2018When thou goest in,\u2019 continued the Princess, \u2018two lions will stand by\nthe doorway, but if thou only goest straight between them they will do\nthee no harm; go straight forward into a small dark chamber; there thou\nshalt lie down. Then the Troll will come and beat thee, but thou shalt\ntake the flask which is hanging on the wall, and anoint thyself\nwheresoever he has wounded thee, after which thou shalt be as well as\nbefore. Then lay hold of the sword which is hanging by the side of the\nflask, and smite the Troll dead.\u2019\n\nSo he did what the Princess had told him. He walked straight in between\nthe lions just as if he did not see them, and then into the small\nchamber, and lay down on the bed.\n\nThe first night a Troll came with three heads and three rods, and beat\nthe lad most unmercifully; but he held out until the Troll was done\nwith him, and then he took the flask and rubbed himself. Having done\nthis, he grasped the sword and smote the Troll dead.\n\nIn the morning when he went to the sea-shore the Princesses were out of\nthe earth as far as their waists.\n\nThe next night everything happened in the same way, but the Troll who\ncame then had six heads and six rods, and he beat him much more\nseverely than the first had done but when the lad went out of doors\nnext morning, the Princesses were out of the earth as far as their\nknees.\n\nOn the third night a Troll came who had nine heads and nine rods, and\nhe struck the lad and flogged him so long, that at last he swooned\naway; so the Troll took him up and flung him against the wall, and this\nmade the flask of ointment fall down, and it splashed all over him, and\nhe became as strong as ever again.\n\nThen, without loss of time, he grasped the sword and struck the Troll\ndead, and in the morning when he went out of the castle the Princesses\nwere standing there entirely out of the earth. So he took the youngest\nfor his Queen, and lived with her very happily for a long time.\n\nAt last, however, he took a fancy to go home for a short time to see\nhis parents. His Queen did not like this, but when his longing grew so\ngreat that he told her he must and would go, she said to him:\n\n\u2018One thing shalt thou promise me, and that is, to do what thy father\nbids thee, but not what thy mother bids thee,\u2019 and this he promised.\n\nSo she gave him a ring, which enabled him who wore it to obtain two\nwishes.\n\nHe wished himself at home, and instantly found himself there; but his\nparents were so amazed at the splendour of his apparel that their\nwonder never ceased.\n\nWhen he had been at home for some days his mother wanted him to go up\nto the palace, to show the King what a great man he had become.\n\nThe father said, \u2018No; he must not do that, for if he does we shall have\nno more delight in him this time;\u2019 but he spoke in vain, for the mother\nbegged and prayed until at last he went.\n\nWhen he arrived there he was more splendid, both in raiment and in all\nelse, than the other King, who did not like it, and said:\n\n\u2018Well, you can see what kind of Queen mine is, but I can\u2019t see yours. I\ndo not believe you have such a pretty Queen as I have.\u2019\n\n\u2018Would to heaven she were standing here, and then you would be able to\nsee!\u2019 said the young King, and in an instant she was standing there.\n\nBut she was very sorrowful, and said to him, \u2018Why didst thou not\nremember my words, and listen only to what thy father said? Now must I\ngo home again at once, and thou hast wasted both thy wishes.\u2019\n\nThen she tied a ring in his hair, which had her name upon it, and\nwished herself at home again.\n\nAnd now the young King was deeply afflicted, and day out and day in\nwent about thinking of naught else but how to get back again to his\nQueen. \u2018I will try to see if there is any place where I can learn how\nto find Whiteland,\u2019 he thought, and journeyed forth out into the world.\n\nWhen he had gone some distance he came to a mountain, where he met a\nman who was Lord over all the beasts in the forest\u2014for they all came to\nhim when he blew a horn which he had. So the King asked where Whiteland\nwas.\n\n\u2018I do not know that,\u2019 he answered, \u2018but I will ask my beasts.\u2019 Then he\nblew his horn and inquired whether any of them knew where Whiteland\nlay, but there was not one who knew that.\n\nSo the man gave him a pair of snow shoes. \u2018When you have these on,\u2019 he\nsaid, \u2018you will come to my brother, who lives hundreds of miles from\nhere; he is Lord over all the birds in the air\u2014ask him. When you have\ngot there, just turn the shoes so that the toes point this way, and\nthen they will come home again of their own accord.\u2019\n\nWhen the King arrived there he turned the shoes as the Lord of the\nbeasts had bidden him, and they went back.\n\nAnd now he once more asked after Whiteland, and the man summoned all\nthe birds together, and inquired if any of them knew where Whiteland\nlay. No, none knew this. Long after the others there came an old eagle.\nHe had been absent ten whole years, but he too knew no more than the\nrest.\n\n\u2018Well, well,\u2019 said the man, \u2018then you shall have the loan of a pair of\nsnow shoes of mine. If you wear them you will get to my brother, who\nlives hundreds of miles from here. He is Lord of all the fish in the\nsea\u2014you can ask him. But do not forget to turn the shoes round.\u2019\n\nThe King thanked him, put on the shoes, and when he had got to him who\nwas Lord of all the fish in the sea, he turned the snow shoes round,\nand back they went just as the others had gone, and he asked once more\nwhere Whiteland was.\n\nThe man called the fish together with his horn, but none of them knew\nanything about it. At last came an old, old pike, which he had great\ndifficulty in bringing home to him.\n\nWhen he asked the pike, it said, \u2018Yes, Whiteland is well known to me,\nfor I have been cook there these ten years. To-morrow morning I have to\ngo back there, for now the Queen, whose King is staying away, is to\nmarry some one else.\u2019\n\n\u2018If that be the case I will give you a piece of advice,\u2019 said the man.\n\u2018Not far from here on a moor stand three brothers, who have stood there\na hundred years fighting for a hat, a cloak, and a pair of boots; if\nany one has these three things he can make himself invisible, and if he\ndesires to go to any place, he has but to wish and he is there. You may\ntell them that you have a desire to try these things, and then you will\nbe able to decide which of the men is to have them.\u2019\n\nSo the King thanked him and went, and did what he had said.\n\n\u2018What is this that you are standing fighting about for ever and ever?\u2019\nsaid he to the brothers; \u2018let me make a trial of these things, and then\nI will judge between you.\u2019\n\nThey willingly consented to this, but when he had got the hat, the\ncloak, and the boots, he said, \u2018Next time we meet you shall have my\ndecision,\u2019 and hereupon he wished himself away.\n\nWhile he was going quickly through the air he fell in with the North\nWind.\n\n\u2018And where may you be going?\u2019 said the North Wind.\n\n\u2018To Whiteland,\u2019 said the King, and then he related what had happened to\nhim.\n\n\u2018Well,\u2019 said the North Wind, \u2018you can easily go a little quicker than I\ncan, for I have to puff and blow into every corner; but when you get\nthere, place yourself on the stairs by the side of the door, and then I\nwill come blustering in as if I wanted to blow down the whole castle,\nand when the Prince who is to have your Queen comes out to see what is\nastir, just take him by the throat and fling him out, and then I will\ntry to carry him away from court.\u2019\n\nAs the North Wind had said, so did the King. He stood on the stairs,\nand when the North Wind came howling and roaring, and caught the roof\nand walls of the castle till they shook again, the Prince went out to\nsee what was the matter; but as soon as he came the King took him by\nthe neck and flung him out, and then the North Wind laid hold of him\nand carried him off. And when he was rid of him the King went into the\ncastle. At first the Queen did not know him, because he had grown so\nthin and pale from having travelled so long and so sorrowfully; but\nwhen she saw her ring she was heartily glad, and then the rightful\nwedding was held, and held in such a way that it was talked about far\nand wide.[12]\n\n [12] From J. Moe.\n\n\n\n\nTHE VOICE OF DEATH\n\n\nOnce upon a time there lived a man whose one wish and prayer was to get\nrich. Day and night he thought of nothing else, and at last his prayers\nwere granted, and he became very wealthy. Now being so rich, and having\nso much to lose, he felt that it would be a terrible thing to die and\nleave all his possessions behind; so he made up his mind to set out in\nsearch of a land where there was no death. He got ready for his\njourney, took leave of his wife, and started. Whenever he came to a new\ncountry the first question that he asked was whether people died in\nthat land, and when he heard that they did, he set out again on his\nquest. At last he reached a country where he was told that the people\ndid not even know the meaning of the word death. Our traveller was\ndelighted when he heard this, and said:\n\n\u2018But surely there are great numbers of people in your land, if no one\never dies?\u2019\n\n\u2018No,\u2019 they replied, \u2018there are not great numbers, for you see from time\nto time a voice is heard calling first one and then another, and\nwhoever hears that voice gets up and goes away, and never comes back.\u2019\n\n\u2018And do they see the person who calls them,\u2019 he asked, \u2018or do they only\nhear his voice?\u2019\n\n\u2018They both see and hear him,\u2019 was the answer.\n\nWell, the man was amazed when he heard that the people were stupid\nenough to follow the voice, though they knew that if they went when it\ncalled them they would never return. And he went back to his own home\nand got all his possessions together, and, taking his wife and family,\nhe set out resolved to go and live in that country where the people did\nnot die, but where instead they heard a voice calling them, which they\nfollowed into a land from which they never returned. For he had made up\nhis own mind that when he or any of his family heard that voice they\nwould pay no heed to it, however loudly it called.\n\nAfter he had settled down in his new home, and had got everything in\norder about him, he warned his wife and family that, unless they wanted\nto die, they must on no account listen to a voice which they might some\nday hear calling them.\n\nFor some years everything went well with them, and they lived happily\nin their new home. But one day, while they were all sitting together\nround the table, his wife suddenly started up, exclaiming in a loud\nvoice:\n\n\u2018I am coming! I am coming!\u2019\n\nAnd she began to look round the room for her fur coat, but her husband\njumped up, and taking firm hold of her by the hand, held her fast, and\nreproached her, saying:\n\n\u2018Don\u2019t you remember what I told you? Stay where you are unless you wish\nto die.\u2019\n\n\u2018But don\u2019t you hear that voice calling me?\u2019 she answered. \u2018I am merely\ngoing to see why I am wanted. I shall come back directly.\u2019\n\nSo she fought and struggled to get away from her husband, and to go\nwhere the voice summoned. But he would not let her go, and had all the\ndoors of the house shut and bolted. When she saw that he had done this,\nshe said:\n\n\u2018Very well, dear husband, I shall do what you wish, and remain where I\nam.\u2019\n\nSo her husband believed that it was all right, and that she had thought\nbetter of it, and had got over her mad impulse to obey the voice. But a\nfew minutes later she made a sudden dash for one of the doors, opened\nit and darted out, followed by her husband. He caught her by the fur\ncoat, and begged and implored her not to go, for if she did she would\ncertainly never return. She said nothing, but let her arms fall\nbackwards, and suddenly bending herself forward, she slipped out of the\ncoat, leaving it in her husband\u2019s hands. He, poor man, seemed turned to\nstone as he gazed after her hurrying away from him, and calling at the\ntop of her voice, as she ran:\n\n\u2018I am coming! I am coming!\u2019\n\nWhen she was quite out of sight her husband recovered his wits and went\nback into his house, murmuring:\n\n\u2018If she is so foolish as to wish to die, I can\u2019t help it. I warned and\nimplored her to pay no heed to that voice, however loudly it might\ncall.\u2019\n\nWell, days and weeks and months and years passed, and nothing happened\nto disturb the peace of the household. But one day the man was at the\nbarber\u2019s as usual, being shaved. The shop was full of people, and his\nchin had just been covered with a lather of soap, when, suddenly\nstarting up from the chair, he called out in a loud voice:\n\n\u2018I won\u2019t come, do you hear? I won\u2019t come!\u2019\n\nThe barber and the other people in the shop listened to him with\namazement. But again looking towards the door, he exclaimed:\n\n\u2018I tell you, once and for all, I do not mean to come, so go away.\u2019\n\nAnd a few minutes later he called out again:\n\n\u2018Go away, I tell you, or it will be the worse for you. You may call as\nmuch as you like but you will never get me to come.\u2019\n\nAnd he got so angry that you might have thought that some one was\nactually standing at the door, tormenting him. At last he jumped up,\nand caught the razor out of the barber\u2019s hand, exclaiming:\n\n\u2018Give me that razor, and I\u2019ll teach him to let people alone for the\nfuture.\u2019\n\nAnd he rushed out of the house as if he were running after some one,\nwhom no one else saw. The barber, determined not to lose his razor,\npursued the man, and they both continued running at full speed till\nthey had got well out of the town, when all of a sudden the man fell\nhead foremost down a precipice, and never was seen again. So he too,\nlike the others, had been forced against his will to follow the voice\nthat called him.\n\nThe barber, who went home whistling and congratulating himself on the\nescape he had made, described what had happened, and it was noised\nabroad in the country that the people who had gone away, and had never\nreturned, had all fallen into that pit; for till then they had never\nknown what had happened to those who had heard the voice and obeyed its\ncall.\n\nBut when crowds of people went out from the town to examine the\nill-fated pit that had swallowed up such numbers, and yet never seemed\nto be full, they could discover nothing. All that they could see was a\nvast plain, that looked as if it had been there since the beginning of\nthe world. And from that time the people of the country began to die\nlike ordinary mortals all the world over.[13]\n\n [13] Roumanian Tales from the German of Mite Thremnitz.\n\n\n\n\nTHE SIX SILLIES\n\n\nOnce upon a time there was a young girl who reached the age of\nthirty-seven without ever having had a lover, for she was so foolish\nthat no one wanted to marry her.\n\nOne day, however, a young man arrived to pay his addresses to her, and\nher mother, beaming with joy, sent her daughter down to the cellar to\ndraw a jug of beer.\n\nAs the girl never came back the mother went down to see what had become\nof her, and found her sitting on the stairs, her head in her hands,\nwhile by her side the beer was running all over the floor, as she had\nforgotten to close the tap. \u2018What are you doing there?\u2019 asked the\nmother.\n\n\u2018I was thinking what I shall call my first child after I am married to\nthat young man. All the names in the calendar are taken already.\u2019\n\nThe mother sat down on the staircase beside her daughter and said, \u2018I\nwill think about it with you, my dear.\u2019\n\nThe father who had stayed upstairs with the young man was surprised\nthat neither his wife nor his daughter came back, and in his turn went\ndown to look for them. He found them both sitting on the stairs, while\nbeside them the beer was running all over the ground from the tap,\nwhich was wide open.\n\n\u2018What are you doing there? The beer is running all over the cellar.\u2019\n\n\u2018We were thinking what we should call the children that our daughter\nwill have when she marries that young man. All the names in the\ncalendar are taken already.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well,\u2019 said the father, \u2018I will think about it with you.\u2019\n\nAs neither mother nor daughter nor father came upstairs again, the\nlover grew impatient, and went down into the cellar to see what they\ncould all be doing. He found them all three sitting on the stairs,\nwhile beside them the beer was running all over the ground from the\ntap, which was wide open.\n\n\u2018What in the world are you all doing that you don\u2019t come upstairs, and\nthat you let the beer run all over the cellar?\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes, I know, my boy,\u2019 said the father, \u2018but if you marry our daughter\nwhat shall you call your children? All the names in the calendar are\ntaken.\u2019\n\nWhen the young man heard this answer he replied:\n\n\u2018Well! good-bye, I am going away. When I shall have found three people\nsillier than you I will come back and marry your daughter.\u2019\n\nSo he continued his journey, and after walking a long way he reached an\norchard. Then he saw some people knocking down walnuts, and trying to\nthrow them into a cart with a fork.\n\n\u2018What are you doing there?\u2019 he asked.\n\n\u2018We want to load the cart with our walnuts, but we can\u2019t manage to do\nit.\u2019\n\nThe lover advised them to get a basket and to put the walnuts in it, so\nas to turn them into the cart.\n\n\u2018Well,\u2019 he said to himself, \u2018I have already found someone more foolish\nthan those three.\u2019\n\nSo he went on his way, and by-and-by he came to a wood. There he saw a\nman who wanted to give his pig some acorns to eat, and was trying with\nall his might to make him climb up the oak-tree.\n\n\u2018What are you doing, my good man?\u2019 asked he.\n\n\u2018I want to make my pig eat some acorns, and I can\u2019t get him to go up\nthe tree.\u2019\n\n\u2018If you were to climb up and shake down the acorns the pig would pick\nthem up.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, I never thought of that.\u2019\n\n\u2018Here is the second idiot,\u2019 said the lover to himself.\n\nSome way farther along the road he came upon a man who had never worn\nany trousers, and who was trying to put on a pair. So he had fastened\nthem to a tree and was jumping with all his might up in the air so that\nhe should hit the two legs of the trousers as he came down.\n\n\u2018It would be much better if you held them in your hands,\u2019 said the\nyoung man, \u2018and then put your legs one after the other in each hole.\u2019\n\n\u2018Dear me to be sure! You are sharper than I am, for that never occurred\nto me.\u2019\n\nAnd having found three people more foolish than his bride, or her\nfather or her mother, the lover went back to marry the young lady.\n\nAnd in course of time they had a great many children.\n\nStory from Hainaut.\n(M. Lemoine. _La Tradition_. No, 34,)\n\n\n\n\nKARI WOODENGOWN\n\n\nThere was once upon a time a King who had become a widower. His Queen\nhad left one daughter behind her, and she was so wise and so pretty\nthat it was impossible for any one to be wiser or prettier. For a long\ntime the King went sorrowing for his wife, for he had loved her\nexceedingly; but at last he grew tired of living alone, and married a\nQueen who was a widow, and she also had a daughter, who was just as\nill-favoured and wicked as the other was good and beautiful. The\nstepmother and her daughter were envious of the King\u2019s daughter because\nshe was so pretty, but so long as the King was at home they dared do\nher no harm, because his love for her was so great.\n\nThen there came a time when he made war on another King and went away\nto fight, and then the new Queen thought that she could do what she\nliked; so she both hungered and beat the King\u2019s daughter and chased her\nabout into every corner. At last she thought that everything was too\ngood for her, and set her to work to look after the cattle. So she went\nabout with the cattle, and herded them in the woods and in the fields.\nOf food she got little or none, and grew pale and thin, and was nearly\nalways weeping and sad. Among the herd there was a great blue bull,\nwhich always kept itself very smart and sleek, and often came to the\nKing\u2019s daughter and let her stroke him. So one day, when she was again\nsitting crying and sorrowing, the Bull came up to her and asked why she\nwas always so full of care? She made no answer, but continued to weep.\n\n\u2018Well,\u2019 said the Bull, \u2018I know what it is, though you will not tell me;\nyou are weeping because the Queen is unkind to you, and because she\nwants to starve you to death. But you need be under no concern about\nfood, for in my left ear there lies a cloth, and if you will but take\nit and spread it out, you can have as many dishes as you like.\u2019\n\nSo she did this, and took the cloth and spread it out upon the grass,\nand then it was covered with the daintiest dishes that any one could\ndesire, and there was wine, and mead, and cake. And now she became\nbrisk and well again, and grew so rosy, and plump, and fair that the\nQueen and her scraggy daughter turned blue and white with vexation at\nit. The Queen could not imagine how her step-daughter could look so\nwell on such bad food, so she ordered one of her handmaidens to follow\nher into the wood and watch her, and see how it was, for she thought\nthat some of the servants must be giving her food. So the maid followed\nher into the wood and watched, and saw how the step-daughter took the\ncloth out of the Blue Bull\u2019s ear, and spread it out, and how the cloth\nwas then covered with the most delicate dishes, which the step-daughter\nate and regaled herself with. So the waiting-maid went home and told\nthe Queen.\n\nAnd now the King came home, and he had conquered the other King with\nwhom he had been at war. So there was great gladness in the palace, but\nno one was more glad than the King\u2019s daughter. The Queen, however,\npretended to be ill, and gave the doctor much money to say that she\nwould never be well again unless she had some of the flesh of the Blue\nBull to eat. Both the King\u2019s daughter and the people in the palace\nasked the doctor if there were no other means of saving her, and begged\nfor the Bull\u2019s life, for they were all fond of him, and they all\ndeclared that there was no such Bull in the whole country; but it was\nall in vain, he was to be killed, and should be killed, and nothing\nelse would serve. When the King\u2019s daughter heard it she was full of\nsorrow, and went down to the byre to the Bull. He too was standing\nthere hanging his head, and looking so downcast that she fell a-weeping\nover him.\n\n\u2018What are you weeping for?\u2019 said the Bull.\n\nSo she told him that the King had come home again, and that the Queen\nhad pretended to be ill, and that she had made the doctor say that she\ncould never be well again unless some of the flesh of the Blue Bull was\ngiven her to eat, and that now he was to be killed.\n\n\u2018When once they have taken my life they will soon kill you also,\u2019 said\nthe Bull. \u2018If you are of the same mind with me, we will take our\ndeparture this very night.\u2019\n\nThe King\u2019s daughter thought that it was bad to go and leave her father,\nbut that it was worse still to be in the same house with the Queen, so\nshe promised the Bull that she would come.\n\nAt night, when all the others had gone to bed, the King\u2019s daughter\nstole softly down to the byre to the Bull, and he took her on his back\nand got out of the courtyard as quickly as he could. So at cock-crow\nnext morning, when the people came to kill the Bull, he was gone, and\nwhen the King got up and asked for his daughter she was gone too. He\nsent forth messengers to all parts of the kingdom to search for them,\nand published his loss in all the parish churches, but there was no one\nwho had seen anything of them.\n\nIn the meantime the Bull travelled through many lands with the King\u2019s\ndaughter on his back, and one day they came to a great copper-wood,\nwhere the trees, and the branches, and the leaves, and the flowers, and\neverything else was of copper.\n\nBut before they entered the wood the Bull said to the King\u2019s daughter:\n\n\u2018When we enter into this wood, you must take the greatest care not to\ntouch a leaf of it, or all will be over both with me and with you, for\na Troll with three heads, who is the owner of the wood, lives here.\u2019\n\nSo she said she would be on her guard, and not touch anything. And she\nwas very careful, and bent herself out of the way of the branches, and\nput them aside with her hands; but it was so thickly wooded that it was\nall but impossible to get forward, and do what she might, she somehow\nor other tore off a leaf which got into her hand.\n\n\u2018Oh! oh! What have you done now?\u2019 said the Bull. \u2018It will now cost us a\nbattle for life or death; but do be careful to keep the leaf.\u2019\n\nVery soon afterwards they came to the end of the wood, and the Troll\nwith three heads came rushing up to them.\n\n\u2018Who is that who is touching my wood?\u2019 said the Troll.\n\n\u2018The wood is just as much mine as yours!\u2019 said the Bull.\n\n\u2018We shall have a tussle for that!\u2019 shrieked the Troll.\n\n\u2018That may be,\u2019 said the Bull.\n\nSo they rushed on each other and fought, and as for the Bull he butted\nand kicked with all the strength of his body, but the Troll fought\nquite as well as he did, and the whole day went by before the Bull put\nan end to him, and then he himself was so full of wounds and so worn\nout that he was scarcely able to move. So they had to wait a day, and\nthe Bull told the King\u2019s daughter to take the horn of ointment which\nhung at the Troll\u2019s belt, and rub him with it; then he was himself\nagain, and the next day they set off once more. And now they journeyed\non for many, many days, and then after a long, long time they came to a\nsilver wood. The trees, and the boughs, and the leaves, and the\nflowers, and everything else was of silver.\n\nBefore the Bull went into the wood, he said to the King\u2019s daughter:\n\u2018When we enter into this wood you must, for Heaven\u2019s sake, be very\ncareful not to touch anything at all, and not to pluck off even so much\nas one leaf, or else all will be over both with you and with me. A\nTroll with six heads lives here, who is the owner of the wood, and I do\nnot think I should be able to overcome him.\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes,\u2019 said the King\u2019s daughter, \u2018I will take good care not to touch\nwhat you do not wish me to touch.\u2019\n\nBut when they got into the wood it was so crowded, and the trees so\nclose together, that they could scarcely get forward. She was as\ncareful as she could be, and bent aside to get out of the way of the\nbranches, and thrust them away from before her with her hands; but\nevery instant a branch struck against her eyes, and in spite of all her\ncare, she happened to pull off one leaf.\n\n\u2018Oh! oh! What have you done now?\u2019 said the Bull. It will now cost us a\nbattle for life or death, for this Troll has six heads and is twice as\nstrong as the other, but do be careful to keep the leaf.\u2019\n\nJust as he said this came the Troll. \u2018Who is that who is touching my\nwood?\u2019 he said.\n\n\u2018It is just as much mine as yours!\u2019\n\n\u2018We shall have a tussle for that!\u2019 screamed the Troll.\n\n\u2018That may be,\u2019 said the Bull, and rushed at the Troll, and gored out\nhis eyes, and drove his horns right through him so that his entrails\ngushed out, but the Troll fought just as well as he did, and it was\nthree whole days before the Bull got the life out of him. But the Bull\nwas then so weak and worn out that it was only with pain and effort\nthat he could move, and so covered with wounds that the blood streamed\nfrom him. So he told the King\u2019s daughter to take the horn of ointment\nthat was hanging at the Troll\u2019s belt, and anoint him with it. She did\nthis, and then he came to himself again, but they had to stay there and\nrest for a week before the Bull was able to go any farther.\n\nAt last they set forth on their way again, but the Bull was still weak,\nand at first could not go quickly. The King\u2019s daughter wished to spare\nhim, and said that she was so young and light of foot that she would\nwillingly walk, but he would not give her leave to do that, and she was\nforced to seat herself on his back again. So they travelled for a long\ntime, and through many lands, and the King\u2019s daughter did not at all\nknow where he was taking her, but after a long, long time they came to\na gold wood. It was so golden that the gold dripped off it, and the\ntrees, and the branches, and the flowers, and the leaves were all of\npure gold. Here all happened just as it had happened in the copper wood\nand silver wood. The Bull told the King\u2019s daughter that on no account\nwas she to touch it, for there was a Troll with nine heads who was the\nowner, and that he was much larger and stronger than both the others\nput together, and that he did not believe that he could overcome him.\nSo she said that she would take great care not to touch anything, and\nhe should see that she did. But when they got into the wood it was\nstill thicker than the silver wood, and the farther they got into it\nthe worse it grew. The wood became thicker and thicker, and closer and\ncloser, and at last she thought there was no way whatsoever by which\nthey could get forward; she was so terrified lest she should break\nanything off, that she sat and twisted, and turned herself on this side\nand on that, to get out of the way of the branches, and pushed them\naway from her with her hands, but every moment they struck against her\neyes, so that she could not see what she was clutching at, and before\nshe knew what she was doing she had a golden apple in her hands. She\nwas now in such terror that she began to cry, and wanted to throw it\naway, but the Bull said that she was to keep it, and take the greatest\ncare of it, and comforted her as well as he could, but he believed that\nit would be a hard struggle, and he doubted whether it would go well\nwith him.\n\nJust then the Troll with nine heads came, and he was so frightful that\nthe King\u2019s daughter scarcely dared to look at him\n\n\u2018Who is this who is breaking my wood?\u2019 he screamed.\n\n\u2018It is as much mine as yours!\u2019 said the Bull.\n\n\u2018We shall have a tussle for that!\u2019 screamed the Troll.\n\n\u2018That may be,\u2019 said the Bull; so they rushed at each other, and fought,\nand it was such a dreadful sight that the King\u2019s daughter very nearly\nswooned. The Bull gored the Troll\u2019s eyes out and ran his horns right\nthrough him, but the Troll fought as well as he did, and when the Bull\nhad gored one head to death the other heads breathed life into it\nagain, so it was a whole week before the Bull was able to kill him. But\nthen he himself was so worn out and weak that he could not move at all.\nHis body was all one wound, and he could not even so much as tell the\nKing\u2019s daughter to take the horn of ointment out of the Troll\u2019s belt\nand rub him with it. She did this without being told; so he came to\nhimself again, but he had to lie there for three weeks and rest before\nhe was in a state to move.\n\nThen they journeyed onwards by degrees, for the Bull said that they had\nstill a little farther to go, and in this way they crossed many high\nhills and thick woods. This lasted for a while, and then they came upon\nthe fells.\n\n\u2018Do you see anything?\u2019 asked the Bull.\n\n\u2018No, I see nothing but the sky above and the wild fell side,\u2019 said the\nKing\u2019s daughter.\n\nThen they climbed up higher, and the fell grew more level, so that they\ncould see farther around them.\n\n\u2018Do you see anything now?\u2019 said the Bull.\n\n\u2018Yes, I see a small castle, far, far away,\u2019 said the Princess.\n\n\u2018It is not so very little after all,\u2019 said the Bull.\n\nAfter a long, long time they came to a high hill, where there was a\nprecipitous wall of rock.\n\n\u2018Do you see nothing now?\u2019 said the Bull.\n\n\u2018Yes, now I see the castle quite near, and now it is much, much\nlarger,\u2019 said the King\u2019s daughter.\n\n\u2018Thither shall you go,\u2019 said the Bull; \u2018immediately below the castle\nthere is a pig-sty, where you shall dwell. When you get there, you will\nfind a wooden gown which you are to put on, and then go to the castle\nand say that you are called Kari Woodengown, and that you are seeking a\nplace. But now you must take out your little knife and cut off my head\nwith it, and then you must flay me and roll up my hide and put it there\nunder the rock, and beneath the hide you must lay the copper leaf, and\nthe silver leaf, and the golden apple. Close beside the rock a stick is\nstanding, and when you want me for anything you have only to knock at\nthe wall of rock with that.\u2019\n\nAt first she would not do it, but when the Bull said that this was the\nonly reward that he would have for what he had done for her, she could\ndo no otherwise. So though she thought it very cruel, she slaved on and\ncut at the great animal with the knife till she had cut off his head\nand hide, and then she folded up the hide and laid it beneath the\nmountain wall, and put the copper leaf, and the silver leaf, and the\ngolden apple inside it.\n\nWhen she had done that she went away to the pig-sty, but all the way as\nshe went she wept, and was very sorrowful. Then she put on the wooden\ngown, and walked to the King\u2019s palace. When she got there she went into\nthe kitchen and begged for a place, saying that her name was Kari\nWoodengown.\n\nThe cook told her that she might have a place and leave to stay there\nat once and wash up, for the girl who had done that before had just\ngone away. \u2018And as soon as you get tired of being here you will take\nyourself off too,\u2019 said he.\n\n\u2018No,\u2019 said she, \u2018that I shall certainly not.\u2019\n\nAnd then she washed up, and did it very tidily.\n\nOn Sunday some strangers were coming to the King\u2019s palace, so Kari\nbegged to have leave to carry up the water for the Prince\u2019s bath, but\nthe others laughed at her and said, \u2018What do you want there? Do you\nthink the Prince will ever look at such a fright as you?\u2019\n\nShe would not give it up, however, but went on begging until at last\nshe got leave. When she was going upstairs her wooden gown made such a\nclatter that the Prince came out and said, \u2018What sort of a creature may\nyou be?\u2019\n\n\u2018I was to take this water to you,\u2019 said Kari.\n\n\u2018Do you suppose that I will have any water that you bring?\u2019 said the\nPrince, and emptied it over her.\n\nShe had to bear that, but then she asked permission to go to church.\nShe got that, for the church was very near. But first she went to the\nrock and knocked at it with the stick which was standing there, as the\nBull had told her to do. Instantly a man came forth and asked what she\nwanted. The King\u2019s daughter said that she had got leave to go to church\nand listen to the priest, but that she had no clothes to go in. So he\nbrought her a gown that was as bright as the copper wood, and she got a\nhorse and saddle too from him. When she reached the church she was so\npretty and so splendidly dressed that every one wondered who she could\nbe, and hardly anyone listened to what the priest was saying, for they\nwere all looking far too much at her, and the Prince himself liked her\nso well that he could not take his eyes off her for an instant. As she\nwas walking out of church the Prince followed her and shut the church\ndoor after her, and thus he kept one of her gloves in his hand. Then\nshe went away and mounted her horse again; the Prince again followed\nher, and asked her whence she came.\n\n\u2018Oh! I am from Bathland,\u2019 said Kari. And when the Prince took out the\nglove and wanted to give it back to her, she said:\n\n\u2018Darkness behind me, but light on my way,\nThat the Prince may not see where I\u2019m going to-day!\u2019\n\n\nThe Prince had never seen the equal of that glove, and he went far and\nwide, asking after the country which the proud lady, who rode away\nwithout her glove, had said that she came from, but there was no one\nwho could tell him where it lay.\n\nNext Sunday some one had to take up a towel to the Prince.\n\n\u2018Ah! may I have leave to go up with that?\u2019 said Kari.\n\n\u2018What would be the use of that?\u2019 said the others who were in the\nkitchen; \u2018you saw what happened last time.\u2019\n\nKari would not give in, but went on begging for leave till she got it,\nand then she ran up the stairs so that her wooden gown clattered again.\nOut came the Prince, and when he saw that it was Kari, he snatched the\ntowel from her and flung it right in her eyes.\n\n\u2018Be off at once, you ugly Troll,\u2019 said he; \u2018do you think that I will\nhave a towel that has been touched by your dirty fingers?\u2019\n\nAfter that the Prince went to church, and Kari also asked leave to go.\nThey all asked how she could want to go to church when she had nothing\nto wear but that wooden gown, which was so black and hideous. But Kari\nsaid she thought the priest was such a good man at preaching that she\ngot so much benefit from what he said, and at last she got leave.\n\nShe went to the rock and knocked, whereupon out came the man and gave\nher a gown which was much more magnificent than the first. It was\nembroidered with silver all over it, and it shone like the silver wood,\nand he gave her also a most beautiful horse, with housings embroidered\nwith silver, and a bridle of silver too.\n\nWhen the King\u2019s daughter got to church all the people were standing\noutside upon the hillside, and all of them wondered who on earth she\ncould be, and the Prince was on the alert in a moment, and came and\nwanted to hold her horse while she alighted. But she jumped off and\nsaid that there was no need for that, for the horse was so well broken\nin that it stood still when she bade it and came when she called it. So\nthey all went into the church together, but there was scarcely any one\nwho listened to what the priest was saying, for they were all looking\nfar too much at her, and the Prince fell much more deeply in love with\nher than he had been before.\n\nWhen the sermon was over and she went out of the church, and was just\ngoing to mount her horse, the Prince again came and asked her where she\ncame from.\n\n\u2018I am from Towelland,\u2019 said the King\u2019s daughter, and as she spoke she\ndropped her riding-whip, and while the Prince was stooping to pick it\nup she said:\n\n\u2018Darkness behind me, but light on my way,\nThat the Prince may not see where I\u2019m going to-day!\u2019\n\n\nAnd she was gone again, neither could the Prince see what had become of\nher. He went far and wide to inquire for that country from whence she\nhad said that she came, but there was no one who could tell him where\nit lay, so he was forced to have patience once more.\n\nNext Sunday some one had to go to the Prince with a comb. Kari begged\nfor leave to go with it, but the others reminded her of what had\nhappened last time, and scolded her for wanting to let the Prince see\nher when she was so black and so ugly in her wooden gown, but she would\nnot give up asking until they gave her leave to go up to the Prince\nwith the comb. When she went clattering up the stairs again, out came\nthe Prince and took the comb and flung it at her, and ordered her to be\noff as fast as she could. After that the Prince went to church, and\nKari also begged for leave to go. Again they all asked what she would\ndo there, she who was so black and ugly, and had no clothes that she\ncould be seen in by other people. The Prince or some one else might\nvery easily catch sight of her, they said, and then both she and they\nwould suffer for it; but Kari said that they had something else to do\nthan to look at her, and she never ceased begging until she got leave\nto go.\n\nAnd now all happened just as it had happened twice already. She went\naway to the rock and knocked at it with the stick, and then the man\ncame out and gave her a gown which was very much more magnificent than\neither of the others. It was almost entirely made of pure gold and\ndiamonds, and she also got a noble horse with housings embroidered with\ngold, and a golden bridle.\n\nWhen the King\u2019s daughter came to the church the priest and people were\nall standing on the hillside waiting for her, and the Prince ran up and\nwanted to hold the horse, but she jumped off, saying:\n\n\u2018No, thank you, there is no need; my horse is so well broken in that it\nwill stand still when I bid it.\u2019\n\nSo they all hastened into the church together and the priest got into\nthe pulpit, but no one listened to what he said, for they were looking\nfar too much at her and wondering whence she came; and the Prince was\nfar more in love than he had been on either of the former occasions,\nand he was mindful of nothing but of looking at her.\n\nWhen the sermon was over and the King\u2019s daughter was about to leave the\nchurch, the Prince had caused a firkin of tar to be emptied out in the\nporch in order that he might go to help her over it; she, however, did\nnot trouble herself in the least about the tar, but set her foot down\nin the middle of it and jumped over it, and thus one of her gold shoes\nwas left sticking in it. When she had seated herself on the horse the\nPrince came running out of the church and asked her whence she came.\n\n\u2018From Combland,\u2019 said Kari. But when the Prince wanted to reach her her\ngold shoe, she said:\n\n\u2018Darkness behind me, but light on my way,\nThat the Prince may not see where I\u2019m going to-day!\u2019\n\n\nThe Prince did not know what had become of her, so he travelled for a\nlong and wearisome time all over the world, asking where Combland was;\nbut when no one could tell him where that country was, he caused it to\nbe made known everywhere that he would marry any woman who could put on\nthe gold shoe. So fair maidens and ugly maidens came thither from all\nregions, but there was none who had a foot so small that she could put\non the gold shoe. After a long, long while came Kari Woodengown\u2019s\nwicked stepmother, with her daughter too, and the shoe fitted her. But\nshe was so ugly and looked so loathsome that the Prince was very\nunwilling to do what he had promised. Nevertheless all was got ready\nfor the wedding, and she was decked out as a bride, but as they were\nriding to church a little bird sat upon a tree and sang:\n\n\u2018A slice off her heel\nAnd a slice off her toes,\nKari Woodengown\u2019s shoe\nFills with blood as she goes!\u2019\n\n\nAnd when they looked to it the bird had spoken the truth, for blood was\ntrickling out of the shoe. So all the waiting-maids, and all the\nwomenkind in the castle had to come and try on the shoe, but there was\nnot one whom it would fit.\n\n\u2018But where is Kari Woodengown, then?\u2019 asked the Prince, when all the\nothers had tried on the shoe, for he understood the song of birds and\nit came to his mind what the bird had said.\n\n\u2018Oh! that creature!\u2019 said the others; \u2018it\u2019s not the least use for her\nto come here, for she has feet like a horse!\u2019\n\n\u2018That may be,\u2019 said the Prince, \u2018but as all the others have tried it,\nKari may try it too.\u2019\n\n\u2018Kari!\u2019 he called out through the door, and Kari came upstairs, and her\nwooden gown clattered as if a whole regiment of dragoons were coming\nup.\n\n\u2018Now, you are to try on the gold shoe and be a Princess,\u2019 said the\nother servants, and they laughed at her and mocked her. Kari took up\nthe shoe, put her foot into it as easily as possible, and then threw\noff her wooden gown, and there she stood in the golden gown which\nflashed like rays of sunshine, and on her other foot she had the fellow\nto the gold shoe. The Prince knew her in a moment, and was so glad that\nhe ran and took her in his arms and kissed her, and when he heard that\nshe was a King\u2019s daughter he was gladder still, and then they had the\nwedding.[14]\n\n [14] From P. C. Asbj\u00f8rnsen.\n\n\n\n\nDRAKESTAIL\n\n\nDrakestail was very little, that is why he was called Drakestail; but\ntiny as he was he had brains, and he knew what he was about, for having\nbegun with nothing he ended by amassing a hundred crowns. Now the King\nof the country, who was very extravagant and never kept any money,\nhaving heard that Drakestail had some, went one day in his own person\nto borrow his hoard, and, my word, in those days Drakestail was not a\nlittle proud of having lent money to the King. But after the first and\nsecond year, seeing that they never even dreamed of paying the\ninterest, he became uneasy, so much so that at last he resolved to go\nand see His Majesty himself, and get repaid. So one fine morning\nDrakestail, very spruce and fresh, takes the road, singing: \u2018Quack,\nquack, quack, when shall I get my money back?\u2019\n\nHe had not gone far when he met friend Fox, on his rounds that way.\n\n\u2018Good-morning, neighbour,\u2019 says the friend, \u2018where are you off to so\nearly?\u2019\n\n\u2018I am going to the King for what he owes me.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh! take me with thee!\u2019\n\nDrakestail said to himself: \u2018One can\u2019t have too many friends.\u2019 ... \u2018I\nwill,\u2019 says he, \u2018but going on all-fours you will soon be tired. Make\nyourself quite small, get into my throat\u2014go into my gizzard and I will\ncarry you.\u2019\n\n\u2018Happy thought!\u2019 says friend Fox.\n\nHe takes bag and baggage, and, presto! is gone like a letter into the\npost.\n\nAnd Drakestail is off again, all spruce and fresh, still singing:\n\u2018Quack, quack, quack, when shall I have my money back?\u2019\n\nHe had not gone far when he met his lady-friend Ladder, leaning on her\nwall.\n\n\u2018Good morning, my duckling,\u2019 says the lady friend, \u2018whither away so\nbold?\u2019\n\n\u2018I am going to the King for what he owes me.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh! take me with thee!\u2019\n\nDrakestail said to himself: \u2018One can\u2019t have too many friends.\u2019 ... \u2018I\nwill,\u2019 says he, \u2018but with your wooden legs you will soon be tired. Make\nyourself quite small, get into my throat\u2014go into my gizzard and I will\ncarry you.\u2019\n\n\u2018Happy thought!\u2019 says my friend Ladder, and nimble, bag and baggage,\ngoes to keep company with friend Fox.\n\nAnd \u2018Quack, quack, quack.\u2019 Drakestail is off again, singing and spruce\nas before. A little farther he meets his sweetheart, my friend River,\nwandering quietly in the sunshine.\n\n\u2018Thou, my cherub,\u2019 says she, \u2018whither so lonesome, with arching tail,\non this muddy road?\u2019\n\n\u2018I am going to the King, you know, for what he owes me.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh! take me with thee!\u2019\n\nDrakestail said to himself: \u2018We can\u2019t be too many friends.\u2019... \u2018I\nwill,\u2019 says he, \u2018but you who sleep while you walk will soon be tired.\nMake yourself quite small, get into my throat\u2014go into my gizzard and I\nwill carry you.\u2019\n\n\u2018Ah! happy thought!\u2019 says my friend River.\n\nShe takes bag and baggage, and glou, glou, glou, she takes her place\nbetween friend Fox and my friend Ladder.\n\nAnd \u2018Quack, quack, quack.\u2019 Drakestail is off again singing.\n\nA little farther on he meets comrade Wasp\u2019s-nest, manoeuvring his\nwasps.\n\n\u2018Well, good-morning, friend Drakestail,\u2019 said comrade Wasp\u2019s-nest,\n\u2018where are we bound for so spruce and fresh?\u2019\n\n\u2018I am going to the King for what he owes me.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh! take me with thee!\u2019\n\nDrakestail said to himself, \u2018One can\u2019t have too many friends.\u2019... \u2018I\nwill,\u2019 says he, \u2018but with your battalion to drag along, you will soon\nbe tired. Make yourself quite small, go into my throat\u2014get into my\ngizzard and I will carry you.\u2019\n\n\u2018By Jove! that\u2019s a good idea!\u2019 says comrade Wasp\u2019s-nest.\n\nAnd left file! he takes the same road to join the others with all his\nparty. There was not much more room, but by closing up a bit they\nmanaged.... And Drakestail is off again singing.\n\nHe arrived thus at the capital, and threaded his way straight up the\nHigh Street, still running and singing \u2018Quack, quack, quack, when shall\nI get my money back?\u2019 to the great astonishment of the good folks, till\nhe came to the King\u2019s palace.\n\nHe strikes with the knocker: \u2018Toc! toc!\u2019\n\n\u2018Who is there?\u2019 asks the porter, putting his head out of the wicket.\n\n\u2018\u2019Tis I, Drakestail. I wish to speak to the King.\u2019\n\n\u2018Speak to the King!... That\u2019s easily said. The King is dining, and will\nnot be disturbed.\u2019\n\n\u2018Tell him that it is I, and I have come he well knows why.\u2019\n\nThe porter shuts his wicket and goes up to say it to the King, who was\njust sitting down to dinner with a napkin round his neck, and all his\nministers.\n\n\u2018Good, good!\u2019 said the King laughing. \u2018I know what it is! Make him come\nin, and put him with the turkeys and chickens.\u2019\n\nThe porter descends.\n\n\u2018Have the goodness to enter.\u2019\n\n\u2018Good!\u2019 says Drakestail to himself, \u2018I shall now see how they eat at\ncourt.\u2019\n\n\u2018This way, this way,\u2019 says the porter. \u2018One step further.... There,\nthere you are.\u2019\n\n\u2018How? what? in the poultry yard?\u2019\n\nFancy how vexed Drakestail was!\n\n\u2018Ah! so that\u2019s it,\u2019 says he. \u2018Wait! I will compel you to receive me.\nQuack, quack, quack, when shall I get my money back?\u2019 But turkeys and\nchickens are creatures who don\u2019t like people that are not as\nthemselves. When they saw the new-comer and how he was made, and when\nthey heard him crying too, they began to look black at him.\n\n\u2018What is it? what does he want?\u2019\n\nFinally they rushed at him all together, to overwhelm him with pecks.\n\n\u2018I am lost!\u2019 said Drakestail to himself, when by good luck he remembers\nhis comrade friend Fox, and he cries:\n\n\u2018Reynard, Reynard, come out of your earth,\nOr Drakestail\u2019s life is of little worth.\u2019\n\n\nThen friend Fox, who was only waiting for these words, hastens out,\nthrows himself on the wicked fowls, and quick! quack! he tears them to\npieces; so much so that at the end of five minutes there was not one\nleft alive. And Drakestail, quite content, began to sing again, \u2018Quack,\nquack, quack, when shall I get my money back?\u2019\n\nWhen the King who was still at table heard this refrain, and the\npoultry woman came to tell him what had been going on in the yard, he\nwas terribly annoyed.\n\nHe ordered them to throw this tail of a drake into the well, to make an\nend of him.\n\nAnd it was done as he commanded. Drakestail was in despair of getting\nhimself out of such a deep hole, when he remembered his lady friend,\nthe Ladder.\n\n\u2018Ladder, Ladder, come out of thy hold,\nOr Drakestail\u2019s days will soon be told.\u2019\n\n\nMy friend Ladder, who was only waiting for these words, hastens out,\nleans her two arms on the edge of the well, then Drakestail climbs\nnimbly on her back, and hop! he is in the yard, where he begins to sing\nlouder than ever.\n\nWhen the King, who was still at table and laughing at the good trick he\nhad played his creditor, heard him again reclaiming his money, he\nbecame livid with rage.\n\nHe commanded that the furnace should be heated, and this tail of a\ndrake thrown into it, because he must be a sorcerer.\n\nThe furnace was soon hot, but this time Drakestail was not so afraid;\nhe counted on his sweetheart, my friend River.\n\n\u2018River, River, outward flow,\nOr to death Drakestail must go.\u2019\n\n\nMy friend River hastens out, and errouf! throws herself into the\nfurnace, which she floods, with all the people who had lighted it;\nafter which she flowed growling into the hall of the palace to the\nheight of more than four feet.\n\nAnd Drakestail, quite content, begins to swim, singing deafeningly,\n\u2018Quack, quack, quack, when shall I get my money back?\u2019\n\nThe King was still at table, and thought himself quite sure of his\ngame; but when he heard Drakestail singing again, and when they told\nhim all that had passed, he became furious and got up from table\nbrandishing his fists.\n\n\u2018Bring him here, and I\u2019ll cut his throat! bring him here quick!\u2019 cried\nhe.\n\nAnd quickly two footmen ran to fetch Drakestail.\n\n\u2018At last,\u2019 said the poor chap, going up the great stairs, \u2018they have\ndecided to receive me.\u2019\n\nImagine his terror when on entering he sees the King as red as a turkey\ncock, and all his ministers attending him standing sword in hand. He\nthought this time it was all up with him. Happily, he remembered that\nthere was still one remaining friend, and he cried with dying accents:\n\n\u2018Wasp\u2019s-nest, Wasp\u2019s-nest, make a sally,\nOr Drakestail nevermore may rally.\u2019\n\n\nHereupon the scene changes.\n\n\u2018Bs, bs, bayonet them!\u2019 The brave Wasp\u2019s-nest rushes out with all his\nwasps. They threw themselves on the infuriated King and his ministers,\nand stung them so fiercely in the face that they lost their heads, and\nnot knowing where to hide themselves they all jumped pell-mell from the\nwindow and broke their necks on the pavement.\n\nBehold Drakestail much astonished, all alone in the big saloon and\nmaster of the field. He could not get over it.\n\nNevertheless, he remembered shortly what he had come for to the palace,\nand improving the occasion, he set to work to hunt for his dear money.\nBut in vain he rummaged in all the drawers; he found nothing; all had\nbeen spent.\n\nAnd ferreting thus from room to room he came at last to the one with\nthe throne in it, and feeling fatigued, he sat himself down on it to\nthink over his adventure. In the meanwhile the people had found their\nKing and his ministers with their feet in the air on the pavement, and\nthey had gone into the palace to know how it had occurred. On entering\nthe throne-room, when the crowd saw that there was already someone on\nthe royal seat, they broke out in cries of surprise and joy:\n\n\u2018The King is dead, long live the King!\nHeaven has sent us down this thing.\u2019\n\n\nDrakestail, who was no longer surprised at anything, received the\nacclamations of the people as if he had never done anything else all\nhis life.\n\nA few of them certainly murmured that a Drakestail would make a fine\nKing; those who knew him replied that a knowing Drakestail was a more\nworthy King than a spendthrift like him who was lying on the pavement.\nIn short, they ran and took the crown off the head of the deceased, and\nplaced it on that of Drakestail, whom it fitted like wax.\n\nThus he became King.\n\n\u2018And now,\u2019 said he after the ceremony, \u2018ladies and gentlemen, let\u2019s go\nto supper. I am so hungry!\u2019[15]\n\n [15] _Contes_ of Ch. Marelles.\n\n\n\n\nTHE RATCATCHER\n\n\nA very long time ago the town of Hamel in Germany was invaded by bands\nof rats, the like of which had never been seen before nor will ever be\nagain.\n\nThey were great black creatures that ran boldly in broad daylight\nthrough the streets, and swarmed so, all over the houses, that people\nat last could not put their hand or foot down anywhere without touching\none. When dressing in the morning they found them in their breeches and\npetticoats, in their pockets and in their boots; and when they wanted a\nmorsel to eat, the voracious horde had swept away everything from\ncellar to garret. The night was even worse. As soon as the lights were\nout, these untiring nibblers set to work. And everywhere, in the\nceilings, in the floors, in the cupboards, at the doors, there was a\nchase and a rummage, and so furious a noise of gimlets, pincers, and\nsaws, that a deaf man could not have rested for one hour together.\n\nNeither cats nor dogs, nor poison nor traps, nor prayers nor candles\nburnt to all the saints\u2014nothing would do anything. The more they killed\nthe more came. And the inhabitants of Hamel began to go to the dogs\n(not that _they_ were of much use), when one Friday there arrived in\nthe town a man with a queer face, who played the bagpipes and sang this\nrefrain:\n\n\u2018Qui vivra verra:\n    Le voil\u00e0,\nLe preneur des rats.\u2019\n\n\nHe was a great gawky fellow, dry and bronzed, with a crooked nose, a\nlong rat-tail moustache, two great yellow piercing and mocking eyes,\nunder a large felt hat set off by a scarlet cock\u2019s feather. He was\ndressed in a green jacket with a leather belt and red breeches, and on\nhis feet were sandals fastened by thongs passed round his legs in the\ngipsy fashion.\n\nThat is how he may be seen to this day, painted on a window of the\ncathedral of Hamel.\n\nHe stopped on the great market-place before the town hall, turned his\nback on the church and went on with his music, singing:\n\n\u2018Who lives shall see:\nThis is he,\nThe ratcatcher.\u2019\n\n\nThe town council had just assembled to consider once more this plague\nof Egypt, from which no one could save the town.\n\nThe stranger sent word to the counsellors that, if they would make it\nworth his while, he would rid them of all their rats before night, down\nto the very last.\n\n\u2018Then he is a sorcerer!\u2019 cried the citizens with one voice; \u2018we must\nbeware of him.\u2019\n\nThe Town Counsellor, who was considered clever, reassured them.\n\nHe said: \u2018Sorcerer or no, if this bagpiper speaks the truth, it was he\nwho sent us this horrible vermin that he wants to rid us of to-day for\nmoney. Well, we must learn to catch the devil in his own snares. You\nleave it to me.\u2019\n\n\u2018Leave it to the Town Counsellor,\u2019 said the citizens one to another.\n\nAnd the stranger was brought before them.\n\n\u2018Before night,\u2019 said he, \u2018I shall have despatched all the rats in Hamel\nif you will but pay me a _gros_ a head.\u2019\n\n\u2018A _gros_ a head!\u2019 cried the citizens, \u2018but that will come to millions\nof florins!\u2019\n\nThe Town Counsellor simply shrugged his shoulders and said to the\nstranger:\n\n\u2018A bargain! To work; the rats will be paid one _gros_ a head as you\nask.\u2019\n\nThe bagpiper announced that he would operate that very evening when the\nmoon rose. He added that the inhabitants should at that hour leave the\nstreets free, and content themselves with looking out of their windows\nat what was passing, and that it would be a pleasant spectacle. When\nthe people of Hamel heard of the bargain, they too exclaimed: \u2018A _gros_\na head! but this will cost us a deal of money!\u2019\n\n\u2018Leave it to the Town Counsellor,\u2019 said the town council with a\nmalicious air. And the good people of Hamel repeated with their\ncounsellors, \u2018Leave it to the Town Counsellor.\u2019\n\nTowards nine at night the bagpiper re-appeared on the market place. He\nturned, as at first, his back to the church, and the moment the moon\nrose on the horizon, \u2018Trarira, trari!\u2019 the bagpipes resounded.\n\nIt was first a slow, caressing sound, then more and more lively and\nurgent, and so sonorous and piercing that it penetrated as far as the\nfarthest alleys and retreats of the town.\n\nSoon from the bottom of the cellars, the top of the garrets, from under\nall the furniture, from all the nooks and corners of the houses, out\ncome the rats, search for the door, fling themselves into the street,\nand trip, trip, trip, begin to run in file towards the front of the\ntown hall, so squeezed together that they covered the pavement like the\nwaves of flooded torrent.\n\nWhen the square was quite full the bagpiper faced about, and, still\nplaying briskly, turned towards the river that runs at the foot of the\nwalls of Hamel.\n\nArrived there he turned round; the rats were following.\n\n\u2018Hop! hop!\u2019 he cried, pointing with his finger to the middle of the\nstream, where the water whirled and was drawn down as if through a\nfunnel. And hop! hop! without hesitating, the rats took the leap, swam\nstraight to the funnel, plunged in head foremost and disappeared.\n\nThe plunging continued thus without ceasing till midnight.\n\nAt last, dragging himself with difficulty, came a big rat, white with\nage, and stopped on the bank.\n\nIt was the king of the band.\n\n\u2018Are they all there, friend Blanchet?\u2019 asked the bagpiper.\n\n\u2018They are all there,\u2019 replied friend Blanchet.\n\n\u2018And how many were they?\u2019\n\n\u2018Nine hundred and ninety thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well reckoned?\u2019\n\n\u2018Well reckoned.\u2019\n\n\u2018Then go and join them, old sire, and au revoir.\u2019\n\nThen the old white rat sprang in his turn into the river, swam to the\nwhirlpool and disappeared.\n\nWhen the bagpiper had thus concluded his business he went to bed at his\ninn. And for the first time during three months the people of Hamel\nslept quietly through the night.\n\nThe next morning, at nine o\u2019clock, the bagpiper repaired to the town\nhall, where the town council awaited him.\n\n\u2018All your rats took a jump into the river yesterday,\u2019 said he to the\ncounsellors, \u2018and I guarantee that not one of them comes back. They\nwere nine hundred and ninety thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine, at\none _gros_ a head. Reckon!\u2019\n\n\u2018Let us reckon the heads first. One _gros_ a head is one head the\n_gros_. Where are the heads?\u2019\n\nThe ratcatcher did not expect this treacherous stroke. He paled with\nanger and his eyes flashed fire.\n\n\u2018The heads!\u2019 cried he, \u2018if you care about them, go and find them in the\nriver.\u2019\n\n\u2018So,\u2019 replied the Town Counsellor, \u2018you refuse to hold to the terms of\nyour agreement? We ourselves could refuse you all payment. But you have\nbeen of use to us, and we will not let you go without a recompense,\u2019\nand he offered him fifty crowns.\n\n\u2018Keep your recompense for yourself,\u2019 replied the ratcatcher proudly.\n\u2018If you do not pay me I will be paid by your heirs.\u2019\n\nThereupon he pulled his hat down over his eyes, went hastily out of the\nhall, and left the town without speaking to a soul.\n\nWhen the Hamel people heard how the affair had ended they rubbed their\nhands, and with no more scruple than their Town Counsellor, they\nlaughed over the ratcatcher, who, they said, was caught in his own\ntrap. But what made them laugh above all was his threat of getting\nhimself paid by their heirs. Ha! they wished that they only had such\ncreditors for the rest of their lives.\n\nNext day, which was a Sunday, they all went gaily to church, thinking\nthat after Mass they would at last be able to eat some good thing that\nthe rats had not tasted before them.\n\nThey never suspected the terrible surprise that awaited them on their\nreturn home. No children anywhere, they had all disappeared!\n\n\u2018Our children! where are our poor children?\u2019 was the cry that was soon\nheard in all the streets.\n\nThen through the east door of the town came three little boys, who\ncried and wept, and this is what they told:\n\nWhile the parents were at church a wonderful music had resounded. Soon\nall the little boys and all the little girls that had been left at home\nhad gone out, attracted by the magic sounds, and had rushed to the\ngreat market-place. There they found the ratcatcher playing his\nbagpipes at the same spot as the evening before. Then the stranger had\nbegun to walk quickly, and they had followed, running, singing and\ndancing to the sound of the music, as far as the foot of the mountain\nwhich one sees on entering Hamel. At their approach the mountain had\nopened a little, and the bagpiper had gone in with them, after which it\nhad closed again. Only the three little ones who told the adventure had\nremained outside, as if by a miracle. One was bandy-legged and could\nnot run fast enough; the other, who had left the house in haste, one\nfoot shod the other bare, had hurt himself against a big stone and\ncould not walk without difficulty; the third had arrived in time, but\nin harrying to go in with the others had struck so violently against\nthe wall of the mountain that he fell backwards at the moment it closed\nupon his comrades.\n\nAt this story the parents redoubled their lamentations. They ran with\npikes and mattocks to the mountain, and searched till evening to find\nthe opening by which their children had disappeared, without being able\nto find it. At last, the night falling, they returned desolate to\nHamel.\n\nBut the most unhappy of all was the Town Counsellor, for he lost three\nlittle boys and two pretty little girls, and to crown all, the people\nof Hamel overwhelmed him with reproaches, forgetting that the evening\nbefore they had all agreed with him.\n\nWhat had become of all these unfortunate children?\n\nThe parents always hoped they were not dead, and that the rat-catcher,\nwho certainly must have come out of the mountain, would have taken them\nwith him to his country. That is why for several years they sent in\nsearch of them to different countries, but no one ever came on the\ntrace of the poor little ones.\n\nIt was not till much later that anything was to be heard of them.\n\nAbout one hundred and fifty years after the event, when there was no\nlonger one left of the fathers, mothers, brothers or sisters of that\nday, there arrived one evening in Hamel some merchants of Bremen\nreturning from the East, who asked to speak with the citizens. They\ntold that they, in crossing Hungary, had sojourned in a mountainous\ncountry called Transylvania, where the inhabitants only spoke German,\nwhile all around them nothing was spoken but Hungarian. These people\nalso declared that they came from Germany, but they did not know how\nthey chanced to be in this strange country. \u2018Now,\u2019 said the merchants\nof Bremen, \u2018these Germans cannot be other than the descendants of the\nlost children of Hamel.\u2019\n\nThe people of Hamel did not doubt it; and since that day they regard it\nas certain that the Transylvanians of Hungary are their country folk,\nwhose ancestors, as children, were brought there by the ratcatcher.\nThere are more difficult things to believe than that.[16]\n\n [16] Ch. Marelles.\n\n\n\n\nTHE TRUE HISTORY OF LITTLE GOLDEN HOOD\n\n\nYou know the tale of poor Little Red Riding-hood, that the Wolf\ndeceived and devoured, with her cake, her little butter can, and her\nGrandmother; well, the true story happened quite differently, as we\nknow now. And first of all the little girl was called and is still\ncalled Little Golden-hood; secondly, it was not she, nor the good\ngrand-dame, but the wicked Wolf who was, in the end, caught and\ndevoured.\n\nOnly listen.\n\nThe story begins something like the tale.\n\nThere was once a little peasant girl, pretty and nice as a star in its\nseason. Her real name was Blanchette, but she was more often called\nLittle Golden-hood, on account of a wonderful little cloak with a hood,\ngold- and fire-coloured, which she always had on. This little hood was\ngiven her by her Grandmother, who was so old that she did not know her\nage; it ought to bring her good luck, for it was made of a ray of\nsunshine, she said. And as the good old woman was considered something\nof a witch, everyone thought the little hood rather bewitched too.\n\nAnd so it was, as you will see.\n\nOne day the mother said to the child: \u2018Let us see, my little\nGolden-hood, if you know now how to find your way by yourself. You\nshall take this good piece of cake to your Grandmother for a Sunday\ntreat to-morrow. You will ask her how she is, and come back at once,\nwithout stopping to chatter on the way with people you don\u2019t know. Do\nyou quite understand?\u2019\n\n\u2018I quite understand,\u2019 replied Blanchette gaily. And off she went with\nthe cake, quite proud of her errand.\n\nBut the Grandmother lived in another village, and there was a big wood\nto cross before getting there. At a turn of the road under the trees,\nsuddenly \u2018Who goes there?\u2019\n\n\u2018Friend Wolf.\u2019\n\nHe had seen the child start alone, and the villain was waiting to\ndevour her; when at the same moment he perceived some wood-cutters who\nmight observe him, and he changed his mind. Instead of falling upon\nBlanchette he came frisking up to her like a good dog.\n\n\u2018\u2019Tis you! my nice Little Golden-hood,\u2019 said he. So the little girl\nstops to talk with the Wolf, who, for all that, she did not know in the\nleast.\n\n\u2018You know me, then!\u2019 said she; \u2018what is your name?\u2019\n\n\u2018My name is friend Wolf. And where are you going thus, my pretty one,\nwith your little basket on your arm?\u2019\n\n\u2018I am going to my Grandmother, to take her a good piece of cake for her\nSunday treat to-morrow.\u2019\n\n\u2018And where does she live, your Grandmother?\u2019\n\n\u2018She lives at the other side of the wood, in the first house in the\nvillage, near the windmill, you know.\u2019\n\n\u2018Ah! yes! I know now,\u2019 said the Wolf. \u2018Well, that\u2019s just where I\u2019m\ngoing; I shall get there before you, no doubt, with your little bits of\nlegs, and I\u2019ll tell her you\u2019re coming to see her; then she\u2019ll wait for\nyou.\u2019\n\nThereupon the Wolf cuts across the wood, and in five minutes arrives at\nthe Grandmother\u2019s house.\n\nHe knocks at the door: toc, toc.\n\nNo answer.\n\nHe knocks louder.\n\nNobody.\n\nThen he stands up on end, puts his two fore-paws on the latch and the\ndoor opens.\n\nNot a soul in the house.\n\nThe old woman had risen early to sell herbs in the town, and she had\ngone off in such haste that she had left her bed unmade, with her great\nnight-cap on the pillow.\n\n\u2018Good!\u2019 said the Wolf to himself, \u2018I know what I\u2019ll do.\u2019\n\nHe shuts the door, pulls on the Grandmother\u2019s night-cap down to his\neyes, then he lies down all his length in the bed and draws the\ncurtains.\n\nIn the meantime the good Blanchette went quietly on her way, as little\ngirls do, amusing herself here and there by picking Easter daisies,\nwatching the little birds making their nests, and running after the\nbutterflies which fluttered in the sunshine.\n\nAt last she arrives at the door.\n\nKnock, knock.\n\n\u2018Who is there?\u2019 says the Wolf, softening his rough voice as best he\ncan.\n\n\u2018It\u2019s me, Granny, your little Golden-hood. I\u2019m bringing you a big piece\nof cake for your Sunday treat to-morrow.\u2019\n\n\u2018Press your finger on the latch, then push and the door opens.\u2019\n\n\u2018Why, you\u2019ve got a cold, Granny,\u2019 said she, coming in.\n\n\u2018Ahem! a little, a little...\u2019 replies the Wolf, pretending to cough.\n\u2018Shut the door well, my little lamb. Put your basket on the table, and\nthen take off your frock and come and lie down by me: you shall rest a\nlittle.\u2019\n\nThe good child undresses, but observe this! She kept her little hood\nupon her head. When she saw what a figure her Granny cut in bed, the\npoor little thing was much surprised.\n\n\u2018Oh!\u2019 cries she, \u2018how like you are to friend Wolf, Grandmother!\u2019\n\n\u2018That\u2019s on account of my night-cap, child,\u2019 replies the Wolf.\n\n\u2018Oh! what hairy arms you\u2019ve got, Grandmother!\u2019\n\n\u2018All the better to hug you, my child.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh! what a big tongue you\u2019ve got, Grandmother!\u2019\n\n\u2018All the better for answering, child.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh! what a mouthful of great white teeth you have, Grandmother!\u2019\n\n\u2018That\u2019s for crunching little children with!\u2019 And the Wolf opened his\njaws wide to swallow Blanchette.\n\nBut she put down her head crying:\n\n\u2018Mamma! Mamma!\u2019 and the Wolf only caught her little hood.\n\nThereupon, oh dear! oh dear! he draws back, crying and shaking his jaw\nas if he had swallowed red-hot coals.\n\nIt was the little fire-coloured hood that had burnt his tongue right\ndown his throat.\n\nThe little hood, you see, was one of those magic caps that they used to\nhave in former times, in the stories, for making oneself invisible or\ninvulnerable.\n\nSo there was the Wolf with his throat burnt, jumping off the bed and\ntrying to find the door, howling and howling as if all the dogs in the\ncountry were at his heels.\n\nJust at this moment the Grandmother arrives, returning from the town\nwith her long sack empty on her shoulder.\n\n\u2018Ah, brigand!\u2019 she cries, \u2018wait a bit!\u2019 Quickly she opens her sack wide\nacross the door, and the maddened Wolf springs in head downwards.\n\nIt is he now that is caught, swallowed like a letter in the post.\n\nFor the brave old dame shuts her sack, so; and she runs and empties it\nin the well, where the vagabond, still howling, tumbles in and is\ndrowned.\n\n\u2018Ah, scoundrel! you thought you would crunch my little grandchild!\nWell, to-morrow we will make her a muff of your skin, and you yourself\nshall be crunched, for we will give your carcass to the dogs.\u2019\n\nThereupon the Grandmother hastened to dress poor Blanchette, who was\nstill trembling with fear in the bed.\n\n\u2018Well,\u2019 she said to her, \u2018without my little hood where would you be\nnow, darling?\u2019 And, to restore heart and legs to the child, she made\nher eat a good piece of her cake, and drink a good draught of wine,\nafter which she took her by the hand and led her back to the house.\n\nAnd then, who was it who scolded her when she knew all that had\nhappened?\n\nIt was the mother.\n\nBut Blanchette promised over and over again that she would never more\nstop to listen to a Wolf, so that at last the mother forgave her.\n\nAnd Blanchette, the Little Golden-hood, kept her word. And in fine\nweather she may still be seen in the fields with her pretty little\nhood, the colour of the sun.\n\nBut to see her you must rise early.[17]\n\n [17] Ch. Marelles.\n\n\n\n\nTHE GOLDEN BRANCH\n\n\nOnce upon a time there was a King who was so morose and disagreeable\nthat he was feared by all his subjects, and with good reason, as for\nthe most trifling offences he would have their heads cut off. This King\nGrumpy, as he was called, had one son, who was as different from his\nfather as he could possibly be. No prince equalled him in cleverness\nand kindness of heart, but unfortunately he was most terribly ugly. He\nhad crooked legs and squinting eyes, a large mouth all on one side, and\na hunchback. Never was there a beautiful soul in such a frightful\nlittle body, but in spite of his appearance everybody loved him. The\nQueen, his mother, called him Curlicue, because it was a name she\nrather liked, and it seemed to suit him.\n\nKing Grumpy, who cared a great deal more for his own grandeur than for\nhis son\u2019s happiness, wished to betroth the Prince to the daughter of a\nneighbouring King, whose great estates joined his own, for he thought\nthat this alliance would make him more powerful than ever, and as for\nthe Princess she would do very well for Prince Curlicue, for she was as\nugly as himself. Indeed, though she was the most amiable creature in\nthe world, there was no concealing the fact that she was frightful, and\nso lame that she always went about with a crutch, and people called her\nPrincess Cabbage-Stalk.\n\nThe King, having asked for and received a portrait of this Princess,\nhad it placed in his great hall under a canopy, and sent for Prince\nCurlicue, to whom he said that as this was the portrait of his future\nbride, he hoped the Prince found it charming.\n\nThe Prince after one glance at it turned away with a disdainful air,\nwhich greatly offended his father.\n\n\u2018Am I to understand that you are not pleased?\u2019 he said very sharply.\n\n\u2018No, sire,\u2019 replied the Prince. \u2018How could I be pleased to marry an\nugly, lame Princess?\u2019\n\n\u2018Certainly it is becoming in _you_ to object to that,\u2019 said King\nGrumpy, \u2018since you are ugly enough to frighten anyone yourself.\u2019\n\n\u2018That is the very reason,\u2019 said the Prince, \u2018that I wish to marry\nsomeone who is not ugly. I am quite tired enough of seeing myself.\u2019\n\n\u2018I tell you that you shall marry her,\u2019 cried King Grumpy angrily.\n\nAnd the Prince, seeing that it was of no use to remonstrate, bowed and\nretired.\n\nAs King Grumpy was not used to being contradicted in anything, he was\nvery much displeased with his son, and ordered that he should be\nimprisoned in the tower that was kept on purpose for rebellious\nPrinces, but had not been used for about two hundred years, because\nthere had not been any. The Prince thought all the rooms looked\nstrangely old-fashioned, with their antique furniture, but as there was\na good library he was pleased, for he was very fond of reading, and he\nsoon got permission to have as many books as he liked. But when he\nlooked at them he found that they were written in a forgotten language,\nand he could not understand a single word, though he amused himself\nwith trying.\n\nKing Grumpy was so convinced that Prince Curlicue would soon get tired\nof being in prison, and so consent to marry the Princess Cabbage-Stalk,\nthat he sent ambassadors to her father proposing that she should come\nand be married to his son, who would make her perfectly happy.\n\nThe King was delighted to receive so good an offer for his unlucky\ndaughter, though, to tell the truth, he found it impossible to admire\nthe Prince\u2019s portrait which had been sent to him. However, he had it\nplaced in as favourable a light as possible, and sent for the Princess,\nbut the moment she caught sight of it she looked the other way and\nbegan to cry. The King, who was very much annoyed to see how greatly\nshe disliked it, took a mirror, and holding it up before the unhappy\nPrincess, said:\n\n\u2018I see you do not think the Prince handsome, but look at yourself, and\nsee if you have any right to complain about that.\u2019\n\n\u2018Sire,\u2019 she answered, \u2018I do not wish to complain, only I beg of you do\nnot make me marry at all. I had rather be the unhappy Princess\nCabbage-Stalk all my life than inflict the sight of my ugliness on\nanyone else.\u2019\n\nBut the King would not listen to her, and sent her away with the\nambassadors.\n\nIn the meantime the Prince was kept safely locked up in his tower, and,\nthat he might be as dull as possible, King Grumpy ordered that no one\nshould speak to him, and that they should give him next to nothing to\neat. But all the Prince\u2019s guards were so fond of him that they did\neverything they dared, in spite of the King, to make the time pass\npleasantly.\n\nOne day, as the Prince was walking up and down the great gallery,\nthinking how miserable it was to be so ugly, and to be forced to marry\nan equally frightful Princess, he looked up suddenly and noticed that\nthe painted windows were particularly bright and beautiful, and for the\nsake of doing something that would change his sad thoughts he began to\nexamine them attentively. He found that the pictures seemed to be\nscenes from the life of a man who appeared in every window, and the\nPrince, fancying that he saw in this man some resemblance to himself,\nbegan to be deeply interested. In the first window there was a picture\nof him in one of the turrets of the tower, farther on he was seeking\nsomething in a chink in the wall, in the next picture he was opening an\nold cabinet with a golden key, and so it went on through numbers of\nscenes, and presently the Prince noticed that another figure occupied\nthe most important place in each scene, and this time it was a tall\nhandsome young man: poor Prince Curlicue found it a pleasure to look at\nhim, he was so straight and strong. By this time it had grown dark, and\nthe Prince had to go back to his own room, and to amuse himself he took\nup a quaint old book and began to look at the pictures. But his\nsurprise was great to find that they represented the same scenes as the\nwindows of the gallery, and what was more, that they seemed to be\nalive. In looking at pictures of musicians he saw their hands move and\nheard sweet sounds; there was a picture of a ball, and the Prince could\nwatch the little dancing people come and go. He turned a page, and\nthere was an excellent smell of a savoury dinner, and one of the\nfigures who sat at the feast looked at him and said:\n\n\u2018We drink your health, Curlicue. Try to give us our Queen again, for if\nyou do you will be rewarded; if not, it will be the worse for you.\u2019\n\nAt these words the Prince, who had been growing more and more\nastonished, was fairly terrified, and dropping the book with a crash he\nsank back insensible. The noise he made brought his guards to his aid,\nand as soon as he revived they asked him what was the matter. He\nanswered that he was so faint and giddy with hunger that he had\nimagined he saw and heard all sorts of strange things. Thereupon, in\nspite of the King\u2019s orders, the guards gave him an excellent supper,\nand when he had eaten it he again opened his book, but could see none\nof the wonderful pictures, which convinced him that he must have been\ndreaming before.\n\nHowever, when he went into he gallery next day and looked at the\npainted windows again, he found that they moved, and the figures came\nand went as if they had been alive, and after watching the one who was\nlike himself find the key in the crack of the turret wall and open the\nold cabinet, he determined to go and examine the place himself, and try\nto find out what the mystery was. So he went up into the turret and\nbegan to search about and tap upon the walls, and all at once he came\nupon a place that sounded hollow. Taking a hammer he broke away a bit\nof the stone, and found behind it a little golden key. The next thing\nto do was to find the cabinet, and the Prince soon came to it, hidden\naway in a dark corner, though indeed it was so old and battered-looking\nthat he would never have noticed it of his own accord. At first he\ncould not see any keyhole, but after a careful search he found one\nhidden in the carving, and the golden key just fitted it; so the Prince\ngave it a vigorous turn and the doors flew open.\n\nUgly and old as the cabinet was outside, nothing could have been more\nrich and beautiful than what met the Prince\u2019s astonished eyes. Every\ndrawer was made of crystal, of amber, or of some precious stone, and\nwas quite full of every kind of treasure. Prince Curlicue was\ndelighted; he opened one after another, until at last he came to one\ntiny drawer which contained only an emerald key.\n\n\u2018I believe that this must open that little golden door in the middle,\u2019\nsaid the Prince to himself. And he fitted in the little key and turned\nit. The tiny door swung back, and a soft crimson light gleamed over the\nwhole cabinet. The Prince found that it proceeded from an immense\nglowing carbuncle, made into a box, which lay before him. He lost no\ntime in opening it, but what was his horror when he found that it\ncontained a man\u2019s hand, which was holding a portrait. His first thought\nwas to put back the terrible box and fly from the turret; but a voice\nin his ear said, \u2018This hand belonged to one whom you can help and\nrestore. Look at this beautiful portrait, the original of which was the\ncause of all my misfortunes, and if you wish to help me, go without a\nmoment\u2019s delay to the great gallery, notice where the sun\u2019s rays fall\nmost brightly, and if you seek there you will find my treasure.\u2019\n\nThe voice ceased, and though the Prince in his bewilderment asked\nvarious questions, he received no answer. So he put back the box and\nlocked the cabinet up again, and, having replaced the key in the crack\nin the wall, hastened down to the gallery.\n\nWhen he entered it all the windows shook and clattered in the strangest\nway, but the Prince did not heed them; he was looking so carefully for\nthe place where the sun shone most brightly, and it seemed to him that\nit was upon the portrait of a most splendidly handsome young man.\n\nHe went up and examined it, and found that it rested against the ebony\nand gold panelling, just like any of the other pictures in the gallery.\nHe was puzzled, not knowing what to do next, until it occurred to him\nto see if the windows would help him, and, looking at the nearest, he\nsaw a picture of himself lifting the picture from the wall.\n\nThe Prince took the hint, and lifting aside the picture without\ndifficulty, found himself in a marble hall adorned with statues; from\nthis he passed on through numbers of splendid rooms, until at last he\nreached one all hung with blue gauze. The walls were of turquoises, and\nupon a low couch lay a lovely lady, who seemed to be asleep. Her hair,\nblack as ebony, was spread across the pillows, making her face look\nivory white, and the Prince noticed that she was unquiet; and when he\nsoftly advanced, fearing to wake her, he could hear her sigh, and\nmurmur to herself:\n\n\u2018Ah! how dared you think to win my love by separating me from my\nbeloved Florimond, and in my presence cutting off that dear hand that\neven you should have feared and honoured?\u2019\n\nAnd then the tears rolled slowly down the lovely lady\u2019s cheeks, and\nPrince Curlicue began to comprehend that she was under an enchantment,\nand that it was the hand of her lover that he had found.\n\nAt this moment a huge Eagle flew into the room, holding in its talons a\nGolden Branch, upon which were growing what looked like clusters of\ncherries, only every cherry was a single glowing ruby.\n\nThis he presented to the Prince, who guessed by this time that he was\nin some way to break the enchantment that surrounded the sleeping lady.\nTaking the branch he touched her lightly with it, saying:\n\n\u2018Fair one, I know not by what enchantment thou art bound, but in the\nname of thy beloved Florimond I conjure thee to come back to the life\nwhich thou hast lost, but not forgotten.\u2019\n\nInstantly the lady opened her lustrous eyes, and saw the Eagle hovering\nnear.\n\n\u2018Ah! stay, dear love, stay,\u2019 she cried. But the Eagle, uttering a\ndolorous cry, fluttered his broad wings and disappeared. Then the lady\nturned to Prince Curlicue, and said:\n\n\u2018I know that it is to you I owe my deliverance from an enchantment\nwhich has held me for two hundred years. If there is anything that I\ncan do for you in return, you have only to tell me, and all my fairy\npower shall be used to make you happy.\u2019\n\n\u2018Madam,\u2019 said Prince Curlicue, \u2018I wish to be allowed to restore your\nbeloved Florimond to his natural form, since I cannot forget the tears\nyou shed for him.\u2019\n\n\u2018That is very amiable of you, dear Prince,\u2019 said the Fairy, \u2018but it is\nreserved for another person to do that. I cannot explain more at\npresent. But is there nothing you wish for yourself?\u2019\n\n\u2018Madam,\u2019 cried the Prince, flinging himself down at her feet, \u2018only\nlook at my ugliness. I am called Curlicue, and am an object of\nderision; I entreat you to make me less ridiculous.\u2019\n\n\u2018Rise, Prince,\u2019 said the Fairy, touching him with the Golden Branch.\n\u2018Be as accomplished as you are handsome, and take the name of Prince\nPeerless, since that is the only title which will suit you now.\u2019\n\nSilent from joy, the Prince kissed her hand to express his thanks, and\nwhen he rose and saw his new reflection in the mirrors which surrounded\nhim, he understood that Curlicue was indeed gone for ever.\n\n\u2018How I wish,\u2019 said the Fairy, \u2018that I dared to tell you what is in\nstore for you, and warn you of the traps which lie in your path, but I\nmust not. Fly from the tower, Prince, and remember that the Fairy\nDouceline will be your friend always.\u2019\n\nWhen she had finished speaking, the Prince, to his great astonishment,\nfound himself no longer in the tower, but set down in a thick forest at\nleast a hundred leagues away from it. And there we must leave him for\nthe present, and see what was happening elsewhere.\n\nWhen the guards found that the Prince did not ask for his supper as\nusual, they went into his room, and not finding him there, were very\nmuch alarmed, and searched the tower from turret to dungeon, but\nwithout success. Knowing that the King would certainly have their heads\ncut off for allowing the Prince to escape, they then agreed to say that\nhe was ill, and after making the smallest among them look as much like\nPrince Curlicue as possible, they put him into his bed and sent to\ninform the King.\n\nKing Grumpy was quite delighted to hear that his son was ill, for he\nthought that he would all the sooner be brought to do as he wished, and\nmarry the Princess. So he sent back to the guards to say that the\nPrince was to be treated as severely as before, which was just what\nthey had hoped he would say. In the meantime the Princess Cabbage-Stalk\nhad reached the palace, travelling in a litter.\n\nKing Grumpy went out to meet her, but when he saw her, with a skin like\na tortoise\u2019s, her thick eyebrows meeting above her large nose, and her\nmouth from ear to ear, he could not help crying out:\n\n\u2018Well, I must say Curlicue is ugly enough, but I don\u2019t think _you_ need\nhave thought twice before consenting to marry him.\u2019\n\n\u2018Sire,\u2019 she replied, \u2018I know too well what I am like to be hurt by what\nyou say, but I assure you that I have no wish to marry your son I had\nrather be called Princess Cabbage-Stalk than Queen Curlicue.\u2019\n\nThis made King Grumpy very angry.\n\n\u2018Your father has sent you here to marry my son,\u2019 he said, \u2018and you may\nbe sure that I am not going to offend him by altering his\narrangements.\u2019 So the poor Princess was sent away in disgrace to her\nown apartments, and the ladies who attended upon her were charged to\nbring her to a better mind.\n\nAt this juncture the guards, who were in great fear that they would be\nfound out, sent to tell the King that his son was dead, which annoyed\nhim very much. He at once made up his mind that it was entirely the\nPrincess\u2019s fault, and gave orders that she should be imprisoned in the\ntower in Prince Curlicue\u2019s place. The Princess Cabbage-Stalk was\nimmensely astonished at this unjust proceeding, and sent many messages\nof remonstrance to King Grumpy, but he was in such a temper that no one\ndared to deliver them, or to send the letters which the Princess wrote\nto her father. However, as she did not know this, she lived in hope of\nsoon going back to her own country, and tried to amuse herself as well\nas she could until the time should come. Every day she walked up and\ndown the long gallery, until she too was attracted and fascinated by\nthe ever-changing pictures in the windows, and recognised herself in\none of the figures. \u2018They seem to have taken a great delight in\npainting me since I came to this country,\u2019 she said to herself. \u2018One\nwould think that I and my crutch were put in on purpose to make that\nslim, charming young shepherdess in the next picture look prettier by\ncontrast. Ah! how nice it would be to be as pretty as that.\u2019 And then\nshe looked at herself in a mirror, and turned away quickly with tears\nin her eyes from the doleful sight. All at once she became aware that\nshe was not alone, for behind her stood a tiny old woman in a cap, who\nwas as ugly again as herself and quite as lame.\n\n\u2018Princess,\u2019 she said, \u2018your regrets are so piteous that I have come to\noffer you the choice of goodness or beauty. If you wish to be pretty\nyou shall have your way, but you will also be vain, capricious, and\nfrivolous. If you remain as you are now, you shall be wise and amiable\nand modest.\u2019\n\n\u2018Alas! madam,\u2019 cried the Princess, \u2018is it impossible to be at once\nwise and beautiful?\u2019\n\n\u2018No, child,\u2019 answered the old woman, \u2018only to you it is decreed that\nyou must choose between the two. See, I have brought with me my white\nand yellow muff. Breathe upon the yellow side and you will become like\nthe pretty shepherdess you so much admire, and you will have won the\nlove of the handsome shepherd whose picture I have already seen you\nstudying with interest. Breathe upon the white side and your looks will\nnot alter, but you will grow better and happier day by day. Now you may\nchoose.\u2019\n\n\u2018Ah well,\u2019 said the Princess, \u2018I suppose one can\u2019t have everything, and\nit\u2019s certainly better to be good than pretty.\u2019\n\nAnd so she breathed upon the white side of the muff and thanked the old\nfairy, who immediately disappeared. The Princess Cabbage-Stalk felt\nvery forlorn when she was gone, and began to think that it was quite\ntime her father sent an army to rescue her.\n\n\u2018If I could but get up into the turret,\u2019 she thought, \u2018to see if any\none is coming.\u2019 But to climb up there seemed impossible. Nevertheless\nshe presently hit upon a plan. The great clock was in the turret, as\nshe knew, though the weights hung down into the gallery. Taking one of\nthem off the rope, she tied herself on in its place, and when the clock\nwas wound, up she went triumphantly into the turret. She looked out\nover the country the first thing, but seeing nothing she sat down to\nrest a little, and accidentally leant back against the wall which\nCurlicue, or rather Prince Peerless, had so hastily mended. Out fell\nthe broken stone, and with it the golden key. The clatter it made upon\nthe floor attracted the Princess Cabbage-Stalk\u2019s attention.\n\nShe picked it up, and after a moment\u2019s consideration decided that it\nmust belong to the curious old cabinet in the corner, which had no\nvisible keyhole. And then it was not long before she had it open, and\nwas admiring the treasures it contained as much as Prince Peerless had\ndone before her, and at last she came to the carbuncle box. No sooner\nhad she opened it than with a shudder of horror she tried to throw it\ndown, but found that some mysterious power compelled her to hold it\nagainst her will. And at this moment a voice in her ear said softly:\n\n\u2018Take courage, Princess; upon this adventure your future happiness\ndepends.\u2019\n\n\u2018What am I to do?\u2019 said the Princess trembling.\n\n\u2018Take the box,\u2019 replied the voice, \u2018and hide it under your pillow, and\nwhen you see an Eagle, give it to him without losing a moment.\u2019\n\nTerrified as the Princess was, she did not hesitate to obey, and\nhastened to put back all the other precious things precisely as she had\nfound them. By this time her guards were seeking her everywhere, and\nthey were amazed to find her up in the turret, for they said she could\nonly have got there by magic. For three days nothing happened, but at\nlast in the night the Princess heard something flutter against her\nwindow, and drawing back her curtains she saw in the moonlight that it\nwas an Eagle.\n\nLimping across at her utmost speed she threw the window open, and the\ngreat Eagle sailed in beating with his wings for joy. The Princess lost\nno time in offering it the carbuncle box, which it grasped in its\ntalons, and instantly disappeared, leaving in its place the most\nbeautiful Prince she had ever seen, who was splendidly dressed, and\nwore a diamond crown.\n\n\u2018Princess,\u2019 said he, \u2018for two hundred years has a wicked enchanter kept\nme here. We both loved the same Fairy, but she preferred me. However,\nhe was more powerful than I, and succeeded, when for a moment I was off\nmy guard, in changing me into an Eagle, while my Queen was left in an\nenchanted sleep. I knew that after two hundred years a Prince would\nrecall her to the light of day, and a Princess, in restoring to me the\nhand which my enemy had cut off, would give me back my natural form.\nThe Fairy who watches over your destiny told me this, and it was she\nwho guided you to the cabinet in the turret, where she had placed my\nhand. It is she also who permits me to show my gratitude to you by\ngranting whatever favour you may ask of me. Tell me, Princess, what is\nit that you wish for most? Shall I make you as beautiful as you deserve\nto be?\u2019\n\n\u2018Ah, if you only would!\u2019 cried the Princess, and at the same moment she\nheard a crick-cracking in all her bones. She grew tall and straight and\npretty, with eyes like shining stars, and a skin as white as milk.\n\n\u2018Oh, wonderful! can this really be my poor little self?\u2019 she exclaimed,\nlooking down in amazement at her tiny worn-out crutch as it lay upon\nthe floor.\n\n\u2018Indeed, Princess,\u2019 replied Florimond, \u2018it is yourself, but you must\nhave a new name, since the old one does not suit you now. Be called\nPrincess Sunbeam, for you are bright and charming enough to deserve the\nname.\u2019\n\nAnd so saying he disappeared, and the Princess, without knowing how she\ngot there, found herself walking under shady trees by a clear river. Of\ncourse, the first thing she did was to look at her own reflection in\nthe water, and she was extremely surprised to find that she was exactly\nlike the shepherdess she had so much admired, and wore the same white\ndress and flowery wreath that she had seen in the painted windows. To\ncomplete the resemblance, her flock of sheep appeared, grazing round\nher, and she found a gay crook adorned with flowers upon the bank of\nthe river. Quite tired out by so many new and wonderful experiences,\nthe Princess sat down to rest at the foot of a tree, and there she fell\nfast asleep. Now it happened that it was in this very country that\nPrince Peerless had been set down, and while the Princess Sunbeam was\nstill sleeping peacefully, he came strolling along in search of a shady\npasture for his sheep.\n\nThe moment he caught sight of the Princess he recognised her as the\ncharming shepherdess whose picture he had seen so often in the tower,\nand as she was far prettier than he had remembered her, he was\ndelighted that chance had led him that way.\n\nHe was still watching her admiringly when the Princess opened her eyes,\nand as she also recognised him they were soon great friends. The\nPrincess asked Prince Peerless, as he knew the country better than she\ndid, to tell her of some peasant who would give her a lodging, and he\nsaid he knew of an old woman whose cottage would be the very place for\nher, it was so nice and so pretty. So they went there together, and the\nPrincess was charmed with the old woman and everything belonging to\nher. Supper was soon spread for her under a shady tree, and she invited\nthe Prince to share the cream and brown bread which the old woman\nprovided. This he was delighted to do, and having first fetched from\nhis own garden all the strawberries, cherries, nuts and flowers he\ncould find, they sat down together and were very merry. After this they\nmet every day as they guarded their flocks, and were so happy that\nPrince Peerless begged the Princess to marry him, so that they might\nnever be parted again. Now though the Princess Sunbeam appeared to be\nonly a poor shepherdess, she never forgot that she was a real Princess,\nand she was not at all sure that she ought to marry a humble shepherd,\nthough she knew she would like to do so very much.\n\nSo she resolved to consult an Enchanter of whom she had heard a great\ndeal since she had been a shepherdess, and without saying a word to\nanybody she set out to find the castle in which he lived with his\nsister, who was a powerful Fairy. The way was long, and lay through a\nthick wood, where the Princess heard strange voices calling to her from\nevery side, but she was in such a hurry that she stopped for nothing,\nand at last she came to the courtyard of the Enchanter\u2019s castle.\n\nThe grass and briers were growing as high as if it were a hundred years\nsince anyone had set foot there, but the Princess got through at last,\nthough she gave herself a good many scratches by the way, and then she\nwent into a dark, gloomy hall, where there was but one tiny hole in the\nwall through which the daylight could enter. The hangings were all of\nbats\u2019 wings, and from the ceiling hung twelve cats, who filled the hall\nwith their ear piercing yells. Upon the long table twelve mice were\nfastened by the tail, and just in front of each one\u2019s nose, but quite\nbeyond its reach, lay a tempting morsel of fat bacon. So the cats could\nalways see the mice, but could not touch them, and the hungry mice were\ntormented by the sight and smell of the delicious morsels which they\ncould never seize.\n\nThe Princess was looking at the poor creatures in dismay, when the\nEnchanter suddenly entered, wearing a long black robe and with a\ncrocodile upon his head. In his hand he carried a whip made of twenty\nlong snakes, all alive and writhing, and the Princess was so terrified\nat the sight that she heartily wished she had never come. Without\nsaying a word she ran to the door, but it was covered with a thick\nspider\u2019s web, and when she broke it she found another, and another, and\nanother. In fact, there was no end to them; the Princess\u2019s arms ached\nwith tearing them down, and yet she was no nearer to getting out, and\nthe wicked Enchanter behind her laughed maliciously. At last he said:\n\n\u2018You might spend the rest of your life over that without doing any\ngood, but as you are young, and quite the prettiest creature I have\nseen for a long time, I will marry you if you like, and I will give you\nthose cats and mice that you see there for your own. They are princes\nand princesses who have happened to offend me. They used to love one\nanother as much as they now hate one another. Aha! It\u2019s a pretty little\nrevenge to keep them like that.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh! If you would only change me into a mouse too,\u2019 cried the Princess.\n\n\u2018Oh! so you won\u2019t marry me?\u2019 said he. \u2018Little simpleton, you should\nhave everything heart can desire.\u2019\n\n\u2018No, indeed; nothing should make me marry you; in fact, I don\u2019t think I\nshall ever love anyone,\u2019 cried the Princess.\n\n\u2018In that case,\u2019 said the Enchanter, touching her, \u2018you had better\nbecome a particular kind of creature that is neither fish nor fowl; you\nshall be light and airy, and as green as the grass you live in. Off\nwith you, Madam Grasshopper.\u2019 And the Princess, rejoicing to find\nherself free once more, skipped out into the garden, the prettiest\nlittle green Grasshopper in the world. But as soon as she was safely\nout she began to be rather sorry for herself.\n\n\u2018Ah! Florimond,\u2019 she sighed, \u2018is this the end of your gift? Certainly\nbeauty is short-lived, and this funny little face and a green crape\ndress are a comical end to it. I had better have married my amiable\nshepherd. It must be for my pride that I am condemned to be a\nGrasshopper, and sing day and night in the grass by this brook, when I\nfeel far more inclined to cry.\u2019\n\nIn the meantime Prince Peerless had discovered the Princess\u2019s absence,\nand was lamenting over it by the river\u2019s brim, when he suddenly became\naware of the presence of a little old woman. She was quaintly dressed\nin a ruff and farthingale, and a velvet hood covered her snow-white\nhair.\n\n\u2018You seem sorrowful, my son,\u2019 she said. \u2018What is the matter?\u2019\n\n\u2018Alas! mother,\u2019 answered the Prince, \u2018I have lost my sweet shepherdess,\nbut I am determined to find her again, though I should have to traverse\nthe whole world in search of her.\u2019\n\n\u2018Go that way, my son,\u2019 said the old woman, pointing towards the path\nthat led to the castle. \u2018I have an idea that you will soon overtake\nher.\u2019\n\nThe Prince thanked her heartily and set out. As he met with no\nhindrance, he soon reached the enchanted wood which surrounded the\ncastle, and there he thought he saw the Princess Sunbeam gliding before\nhim among the trees. Prince Peerless hastened after her at the top of\nhis speed, but could not get any nearer; then he called to her:\n\n\u2018Sunbeam, my darling\u2014only wait for me a moment.\u2019\n\nBut the phantom did but fly the faster, and the Prince spent the whole\nday in this vain pursuit. When night came he saw the castle before him\nall lighted up, and as he imagined that the Princess must be in it, he\nmade haste to get there too. He entered without difficulty, and in the\nhall the terrible old Fairy met him. She was so thin that the light\nshone through her, and her eyes glowed like lamps; her skin was like a\nshark\u2019s, her arms were thin as laths, and her fingers like spindles.\nNevertheless she wore rouge and patches, a mantle of silver brocade and\na crown of diamonds, and her dress was covered with jewels, and green\nand pink ribbons.\n\n\u2018At last you have come to see me, Prince,\u2019 said she. \u2018Don\u2019t waste\nanother thought upon that little shepherdess, who is unworthy of your\nnotice. I am the Queen of the Comets, and can bring you to great honour\nif you will marry me.\u2019\n\n\u2018Marry you, Madam,\u2019 cried the Prince, in horror. \u2018No, I will never\nconsent to that.\u2019\n\nThereupon the Fairy, in a rage, gave two strokes of her wand and filled\nthe gallery with horrible goblins, against whom the Prince had to fight\nfor his life. Though he had only his dagger, he defended himself so\nwell that he escaped without any harm, and presently the old Fairy\nstopped the fray and asked the Prince if he was still of the same mind.\nWhen he answered firmly that he was, she called up the appearance of\nthe Princess Sunbeam to the other end of the gallery, and said:\n\n\u2018You see your beloved there? Take care what you are about, for if you\nagain refuse to marry me she shall be torn in pieces by two tigers.\u2019\n\nThe Prince was distracted, for he fancied he heard his dear shepherdess\nweeping and begging him to save her. In despair he cried:\n\n\u2018Oh, Fairy Douceline, have you abandoned me after so many promises of\nfriendship? Help, help us now!\u2019\n\nImmediately a soft voice said in his ear:\n\n\u2018Be firm, happen what may, and seek the Golden Branch.\u2019\n\nThus encouraged, the Prince persevered in his refusal, and at length\nthe old Fairy in a fury cried:\n\n\u2018Get out of my sight, obstinate Prince. Become a Cricket!\u2019\n\nAnd instantly the handsome Prince Peerless became a poor little black\nCricket, whose only idea would have been to find himself a cosy cranny\nbehind some blazing hearth, if he had not luckily remembered the Fairy\nDouceline\u2019s injunction to seek the Golden Branch.\n\nSo he hastened to depart from the fatal castle, and sought shelter in a\nhollow tree, where he found a forlorn looking little Grasshopper\ncrouching in a corner, too miserable to sing.\n\nWithout in the least expecting an answer, the Prince asked it:\n\n\u2018And where may you be going, Gammer Grasshopper?\u2019\n\n\u2018Where are you going yourself, Gaffer Cricket?\u2019 replied the\nGrasshopper.\n\n\u2018What! can you speak?\u2019 said he.\n\n\u2018Why should I not speak as well as you? Isn\u2019t a Grasshopper as good as\na Cricket?\u2019 said she.\n\n\u2018I can talk because I was a Prince,\u2019 said the Cricket.\n\n\u2018And for that very same reason I ought to be able to talk more than\nyou, for I was a Princess,\u2019 replied the Grasshopper.\n\n\u2018Then you have met with the same fate as I have,\u2019 said he. \u2018But where\nare you going now? Cannot we journey together?\u2019\n\n\u2018I seemed to hear a voice in the air which said: \u201cBe firm, happen what\nmay, and seek the Golden Branch,\u201d\u2019 answered the Grasshopper, \u2018and I\nthought the command must be for me, so I started at once, though I\ndon\u2019t know the way.\u2019\n\nAt this moment their conversation was interrupted by two mice, who,\nbreathless from running, flung themselves headlong through the hole\ninto the tree, nearly crushing the Grasshopper and the Cricket, though\nthey got out of the way as fast as they could and stood up in a dark\ncorner.\n\n\u2018Ah, Madam,\u2019 said the fatter of the two, \u2018I have such a pain in my side\nfrom running so fast. How does your Highness find yourself?\u2019\n\n\u2018I have pulled my tail off,\u2019 replied the younger Mouse, \u2018but as I\nshould still be on the sorcerer\u2019s table unless I had, I do not regret\nit. Are we pursued, think you? How lucky we were to escape!\u2019\n\n\u2018I only trust that we may escape cats and traps, and reach the Golden\nBranch soon,\u2019 said the fat Mouse.\n\n\u2018You know the way then?\u2019 said the other.\n\n\u2018Oh dear, yes! as well as the way to my own house, Madam. This Golden\nBranch is indeed a marvel, a single leaf from it makes one rich for\never. It breaks enchantments, and makes all who approach it young and\nbeautiful. We must set out for it at the break of day.\u2019\n\n\u2018May we have the honour of travelling with you\u2014this respectable Cricket\nand myself?\u2019 said the Grasshopper, stepping forward. \u2018We also are on a\npilgrimage to the Golden Branch.\u2019\n\nThe Mice courteously assented, and after many polite speeches the whole\nparty fell asleep. With the earliest dawn they were on their way, and\nthough the Mice were in constant fear of being overtaken or trapped,\nthey reached the Golden Branch in safety.\n\nIt grew in the midst of a wonderful garden, all the paths of which were\nstrewn with pearls as big as peas. The roses were crimson diamonds,\nwith emerald leaves. The pomegranates were garnets, the marigolds\ntopazes, the daffodils yellow diamonds, the violets sapphires, the\ncorn-flowers turquoises, the tulips amethysts, opals and diamonds, so\nthat the garden borders blazed like the sun. The Golden Branch itself\nhad become as tall as a forest tree, and sparkled with ruby cherries to\nits topmost twig. No sooner had the Grasshopper and the Cricket touched\nit than they were restored to their natural forms, and their surprise\nand joy were great when they recognised each other. At this moment\nFlorimond and the Fairy Douceline appeared in great splendour, and the\nFairy, as she descended from her chariot, said with a smile:\n\n\u2018So you two have found one another again, I see, but I have still a\nsurprise left for you. Don\u2019t hesitate, Princess, to tell your devoted\nshepherd how dearly you love him, as he is the very Prince your father\nsent you to marry. So come here both of you and let me crown you, and\nwe will have the wedding at once.\u2019\n\nThe Prince and Princess thanked her with all their hearts, and declared\nthat to her they owed all their happiness, and then the two Princesses,\nwho had so lately been Mice, came and begged that the Fairy would use\nher power to release their unhappy friends who were still under the\nEnchanter\u2019s spell.\n\n\u2018Really,\u2019 said the Fairy Douceline, \u2018on this happy occasion I cannot\nfind it in my heart to refuse you anything.\u2019 And she gave three strokes\nof her wand upon the Golden Branch, and immediately all the prisoners\nin the Enchanter\u2019s castle found themselves free, and came with all\nspeed to the wonderful garden, where one touch of the Golden Branch\nrestored each one to his natural form, and they greeted one another\nwith many rejoicings. To complete her generous work the Fairy presented\nthem with the wonderful cabinet and all the treasures it contained,\nwhich were worth at least ten kingdoms. But to Prince Peerless and the\nPrincess Sunbeam she gave the palace and garden of the Golden Branch,\nwhere, immensely rich and greatly beloved by all their subjects, they\nlived happily ever after.[18]\n\n [18] _Le Rameau d\u2019Or_. Par Madame d\u2019Aulnoy.\n\n\n\n\nTHE THREE DWARFS\n\n\nThere was once upon a time a man who lost his wife, and a woman who\nlost her husband; and the man had a daughter and so had the woman. The\ntwo girls were great friends and used often to play together. One day\nthe woman turned to the man\u2019s daughter and said:\n\n\u2018Go and tell your father that I will marry him, and then you shall wash\nin milk and drink wine, but my own daughter shall wash in water and\ndrink it too.\u2019\n\nThe girl went straight home and told her father what the woman had\nsaid.\n\n\u2018What am I to do?\u2019 he answered. \u2018Marriage is either a success or it is\na failure.\u2019\n\nAt last, being of an undecided character and not being able to make up\nhis mind, he took off his boot, and handing it to his daughter, said:\n\n\u2018Take this boot which has a hole in the sole, hang it up on a nail in\nthe hayloft, and pour water into it. If it holds water I will marry\nagain, but if it doesn\u2019t I won\u2019t.\u2019 The girl did as she was bid, but the\nwater drew the hole together and the boot filled up to the very top. So\nshe went and told her father the result. He got up and went to see for\nhimself, and when he saw that it was true and no mistake, he accepted\nhis fate, proposed to the widow, and they were married at once.\n\nOn the morning after the wedding, when the two girls awoke, milk was\nstanding for the man\u2019s daughter to wash in and wine for her to drink;\nbut for the woman\u2019s daughter, only water to wash in and only water to\ndrink. On the second morning, water to wash in and water to drink was\nstanding for the man\u2019s daughter as well. And on the third morning,\nwater to wash in and water to drink was standing for the man\u2019s\ndaughter, and milk to wash in and wine to drink for the woman\u2019s\ndaughter; and so it continued ever after. The woman hated her\nstepdaughter from the bottom of her heart, and did all she could to\nmake her life miserable. She was as jealous as she could possibly be,\nbecause the girl was so beautiful and charming, while her own daughter\nwas both ugly and repulsive.\n\nOne winter\u2019s day when there was a hard frost, and mountain and valley\nwere covered with snow, the woman made a dress of paper, and calling\nthe girl to her said:\n\n\u2018There, put on this dress and go out into the wood and fetch me a\nbasket of strawberries!\u2019\n\n\u2018Now Heaven help us,\u2019 replied her stepdaughter; \u2018strawberries don\u2019t\ngrow in winter; the earth is all frozen and the snow has covered up\neverything; and why send me in a paper dress? it is so cold outside\nthat one\u2019s very breath freezes; the wind will whistle through my dress,\nand the brambles tear it from my body.\u2019\n\n\u2018How dare you contradict me!\u2019 said her stepmother; \u2018be off with you at\nonce, and don\u2019t show your face again till you have filled the basket\nwith strawberries.\u2019\n\nThen she gave her a hard crust of bread, saying:\n\n\u2018That will be enough for you to-day,\u2019 and she thought to herself: \u2018The\ngirl will certainly perish of hunger and cold outside, and I shan\u2019t be\nbothered with her any more.\u2019\n\nThe girl was so obedient that she put on the paper dress and set out\nwith her little basket. There was nothing but snow far and near, and\nnot a green blade of grass to be seen anywhere. When she came to the\nwood she saw a little house, and out of it peeped three little dwarfs.\nShe wished them good-day, and knocked modestly at the door. They called\nout to her to enter, so she stepped in and sat down on a seat by the\nfire, wishing to warm herself and eat her breakfast. The Dwarfs said at\nonce: \u2018Give us some of your food!\u2019\n\n\u2018Gladly,\u2019 she said, and breaking her crust in two, she gave them the\nhalf.\n\nThen they asked her what she was doing in the depths of winter in her\nthin dress.\n\n\u2018Oh,\u2019 she answered, \u2018I have been sent to get a basketful of\nstrawberries, and I daren\u2019t show my face again at home till I bring\nthem with me.\u2019\n\nWhen she had finished her bread they gave her a broom and told her to\nsweep away the snow from the back door. As soon as she left the room to\ndo so, the three little men consulted what they should give her as a\nreward for being so sweet and good, and for sharing her last crust with\nthem.\n\nThe first said: \u2018Every day she shall grow prettier.\u2019\n\nThe second: \u2018Every time she opens her mouth a piece of gold shall fall\nout.\u2019\n\nAnd the third: \u2018A King shall come and marry her.\u2019\n\nThe girl in the meantime was doing as the Dwarfs had bidden her, and\nwas sweeping the snow away from the back door, and what do you think\nshe found there?\u2014heaps of fine ripe strawberries that showed out dark\nred against the white snow. She joyfully picked enough to fill her\nbasket, thanked the little men for their kindness, shook hands with\nthem, and ran home to bring her stepmother what she had asked for. When\nshe walked in and said; Good evening,\u2019 a piece of gold fell out of her\nmouth. Then she told what had happened to her in the wood, and at every\nword pieces of gold dropped from her mouth, so that the room was soon\ncovered with them.\n\n\u2018She\u2019s surely more money than wit to throw gold about like that,\u2019 said\nher stepsister, but in her secret heart she was very jealous, and\ndetermined that she too would go to the wood and look for strawberries.\nBut her mother refused to let her go, saying:\n\n\u2018My dear child, it is far too cold; you might freeze to death.\u2019\n\nThe girl however left her no peace, so she was forced at last to give\nin, but she insisted on her putting on a beautiful fur cloak, and she\ngave her bread and butter and cakes to eat on the way.\n\nThe girl went straight to the little house in the wood, and as before\nthe three little men were looking out of the window. She took no notice\nof them, and without as much as \u2018By your leave,\u2019 or \u2018With your leave,\u2019\nshe flounced into the room, sat herself down at the fire, and began to\neat her bread and butter and cakes.\n\n\u2018Give us some,\u2019 cried the Dwarfs.\n\nBut she answered: \u2018No, I won\u2019t, it\u2019s hardly enough for myself; so catch\nme giving you any.\u2019\n\nWhen she had finished eating they said:\n\n\u2018There\u2019s a broom for you, go and clear up our back door.\u2019\n\n\u2018I\u2019ll see myself further,\u2019 she answered rudely. \u2018Do it yourselves; I\u2019m\nnot your servant.\u2019\n\nWhen she saw that they did not mean to give her anything, she left the\nhouse in no amiable frame of mind. Then the three little men consulted\nwhat they should do to her, because she was so bad and had such an\nevil, covetous heart, that she grudged everybody their good fortune.\n\nThe first said: \u2018She shall grow uglier every day.\u2019\n\nThe second: \u2018Every time she speaks a toad shall jump out of her mouth.\u2019\n\nAnd the third: \u2018She shall die a most miserable death.\u2019\n\nThe girl searched for strawberries, but she found none, and returned\nhome in a very bad temper. When she opened her mouth to tell her mother\nwhat had befallen her in the wood, a toad jumped out, so that everyone\nwas quite disgusted with her.\n\nThen the stepmother was more furious than ever, and did nothing but\nplot mischief against the man\u2019s daughter, who was daily growing more\nand more beautiful. At last, one day the wicked woman took a large pot,\nput it on the fire and boiled some yarn in it. When it was well scalded\nshe hung it round the poor girl\u2019s shoulder, and giving her an axe, she\nbade her break a hole in the frozen river, and rinse the yarn in it.\nHer stepdaughter obeyed as usual, and went and broke a hole in the ice.\nWhen she was in the act of wringing out the yarn a magnificent carriage\npassed, and the King sat inside. The carriage stood still, and the King\nasked her:\n\n\u2018My child, who are you, and what in the wide world are you doing here?\u2019\n\n\u2018I am only a poor girl,\u2019 she answered, \u2018and am rinsing out my yarn in\nthe river.\u2019 Then the King was sorry for her, and when he saw how\nbeautiful she was he said:\n\n\u2018Will you come away with me?\u2019\n\n\u2018Most gladly,\u2019 she replied, for she knew how willingly she would leave\nher stepmother and sister, and how glad they would be to be rid of her.\n\nSo she stepped into the carriage and drove away with the King, and when\nthey reached his palace the wedding was celebrated with much splendour.\nSo all turned out just as the three little Dwarfs had said. After a\nyear the Queen gave birth to a little son. When her stepmother heard of\nher good fortune she came to the palace with her daughter by way of\npaying a call, and took up her abode there. Now one day, when the King\nwas out and nobody else near, the bad woman took the Queen by her head,\nand the daughter took her by her heels, and they dragged her from her\nbed, and flung her out of the window into the stream which flowed\nbeneath it. Then the stepmother laid her ugly daughter in the Queen\u2019s\nplace, and covered her up with the clothes, so that nothing of her was\nseen. When the King came home and wished to speak to his wife the woman\ncalled out:\n\n\u2018Quietly, quietly! this will never do; your wife is very ill, you must\nlet her rest all to-day.\u2019 The King suspected no evil, and didn\u2019t come\nagain till next morning. When he spoke to his wife and she answered\nhim, instead of the usual piece of gold a toad jumped out of her mouth.\nThen he asked what it meant, and the old woman told him it was nothing\nbut weakness, and that she would soon be all right again.\n\nBut that same evening the scullion noticed a duck swimming up the\ngutter, saying as it passed:\n\n\u2018What does the King, I pray you tell,\nIs he awake or sleeps he well?\u2019\n\n\nand receiving no reply, it continued:\n\n\u2018And all my guests, are they asleep?\u2019\n\n\nand the Scullion answered:\n\n\u2018Yes, one and all they slumber deep.\u2019\n\n\nThen the Duck went on:\n\n\u2018And what about my baby dear?\u2019\n\n\nand he answered:\n\n\u2018Oh, it sleeps soundly, never fear.\u2019\n\n\nThen the Duck assumed the Queen\u2019s shape, went up to the child\u2019s room,\ntucked him up comfortably in his cradle, and then swam back down the\ngutter again, in the likeness of a Duck. This was repeated for two\nnights, and on the third the Duck said to the Scullion:\n\n\u2018Go and tell the King to swing his sword three times over me on the\nthreshold.\u2019\n\nThe Scullion did as the creature bade him, and the King came with his\nsword and swung it three times over the bird, and lo and behold! his\nwife stood before him once more, alive, and as blooming as ever.\n\nThe King rejoiced greatly, but he kept the Queen in hiding till the\nSunday on which the child was to be christened. After the christening\nhe said:\n\n\u2018What punishment does that person deserve who drags another out of bed,\nand throws him or her, as the case may be, into the water?\u2019\n\nThen the wicked old stepmother answered:\n\n\u2018No better fate than to be put into a barrel lined with sharp nails,\nand to be rolled in it down the hill into the water.\u2019\n\n\u2018You have pronounced your own doom,\u2019 said the King; and he ordered a\nbarrel to be made lined with sharp nails, and in it he put the bad old\nwoman and her daughter. Then it was fastened down securely, and the\nbarrel was rolled down the hill till it fell into the river.[19]\n\n [19] Grimm.\n\n\n\n\nDAPPLEGRIM\n\n\nThere was once upon a time a couple of rich folks who had twelve sons,\nand when the youngest was grown up he would not stay at home any\nlonger, but would go out into the world and seek his fortune. His\nfather and mother said that they thought he was very well off at home,\nand that he was welcome to stay with them; but he could not rest, and\nsaid that he must and would go, so at last they had to give him leave.\nWhen he had walked a long way, he came to a King\u2019s palace. There he\nasked for a place and got it.\n\nNow the daughter of the King of that country had been carried off into\nthe mountains by a Troll, and the King had no other children, and for\nthis cause both he and all his people were full of sorrow and\naffliction, and the King had promised the Princess and half his kingdom\nto anyone who could set her free; but there was no one who could do it,\nthough a great number had tried. So when the youth had been there for\nthe space of a year or so, he wanted to go home again to pay his\nparents a visit; but when he got there his father and mother were dead,\nand his brothers had divided everything that their parents possessed\nbetween themselves, so that there was nothing at all left for him.\n\n\u2018Shall I, then, receive nothing at all of my inheritance?\u2019 asked the\nyouth.\n\n\u2018Who could know that you were still alive\u2014you who have been a wanderer\nso long?\u2019 answered the brothers. \u2018However, there are twelve mares upon\nthe hills which we have not yet divided among us, and if you would like\nto have them for your share, you may take them.\u2019\n\nSo the youth, well pleased with this, thanked them, and at once set off\nto the hill where the twelve mares were at pasture. When he got up\nthere and found them, each mare had her foal, and by the side of one of\nthem was a big dapple-grey foal as well, which was so sleek that it\nshone again.\n\n\u2018Well, my little foal, you are a fine fellow!\u2019 said the youth.\n\n\u2018Yes, but if you will kill all the other little foals so that I can\nsuck all the mares for a year, you shall see how big and handsome I\nshall be then!\u2019 said the Foal.\n\nSo the youth did this\u2014he killed all the twelve foals, and then went\nback again.\n\nNext year, when he came home again to look after his mares and the\nfoal, it was as fat as it could be, and its coat shone with brightness,\nand it was so big that the lad had the greatest difficulty in getting\non its back, and each of the mares had another foal.\n\n\u2018Well, it\u2019s very evident that I have lost nothing by letting you suck\nall my mares,\u2019 said the lad to the yearling; \u2018but now you are quite big\nenough, and must come away with me.\u2019\n\n\u2018No,\u2019 said the Colt, \u2018I must stay here another year; kill the twelve\nlittle foals, and then I can suck all the mares this year also, and you\nshall see how big and handsome I shall be by summer.\u2019\n\nSo the youth did it again, and when he went up on the hill next year to\nlook after his colt and the mares, each of the mares had her foal\nagain; but the dappled colt was so big that when the lad wanted to feel\nits neck to see how fat it was, he could not reach up to it, it was so\nhigh, and it was so bright that the light glanced off its coat.\n\n\u2018Big and handsome you were last year, my colt, but this year you are\never so much handsomer,\u2019 said the youth; \u2018in all the King\u2019s court no\nsuch horse is to be found. But now you shall come away with me.\u2019\n\n\u2018No,\u2019 said the dappled Colt once more; \u2018here I must stay for another\nyear. Just kill the twelve little foals again, so that I can suck the\nmares this year also, and then come and look at me in the summer.\u2019\n\nSo the youth did it\u2014he killed all the little foals, and then went home\nagain.\n\nBut next year, when he returned to look after the dappled colt and the\nmares, he was quite appalled. He had never imagined that any horse\ncould become so big and overgrown, for the dappled horse had to lie\ndown on all fours before the youth could get on his back, and it was\nvery hard to do that even when it was lying down, and it was so plump\nthat its coat shone and glistened just as if it had been a\nlooking-glass. This time the dappled horse was not unwilling to go away\nwith the youth, so he mounted it, and when he came riding home to his\nbrothers they all smote their hands together and crossed themselves,\nfor never in their lives had they either seen or heard tell of such a\nhorse as that.\n\n\u2018If you will procure me the best shoes for my horse, and the most\nmagnificent saddle and bridle that can be found,\u2019 said the youth, \u2018you\nmay have all my twelve mares just as they are standing out on the hill,\nand their twelve foals into the bargain.\u2019 For this year also each mare\nhad her foal. The brothers were quite willing to do this; so the lad\ngot such shoes for his horse that the sticks and stones flew high up\ninto the air as he rode away over the hills, and such a gold saddle and\nsuch a gold bridle that they could be seen glittering and glancing from\nafar.\n\n\u2018And now we will go to the King\u2019s palace,\u2019 said Dapplegrim\u2014that was the\nhorse\u2019s name, \u2018but bear in mind that you must ask the King for a good\nstable and excellent fodder for me.\u2019\n\nSo the lad promised not to forget to do that. He rode to the palace,\nand it will be easily understood that with such a horse as he had he\nwas not long on the way.\n\nWhen he arrived there, the King was standing out on the steps, and how\nhe did stare at the man who came riding up!\n\n\u2018Nay,\u2019 said he, \u2018never in my whole life have I seen such a man and such\na horse.\u2019\n\nAnd when the youth inquired if he could have a place in the King\u2019s\npalace, the King was so delighted that he could have danced on the\nsteps where he was standing, and there and then the lad was told that\nhe should have a place.\n\n\u2018Yes; but I must have a good stable and most excellent fodder for my\nhorse,\u2019 said he.\n\nSo they told him that he should have sweet hay and oats, and as much of\nthem as the dappled horse chose to have, and all the other riders had\nto take their horses out of the stable that Dapplegrim might stand\nalone and really have plenty of room.\n\nBut this did not last long, for the other people in the King\u2019s Court\nbecame envious of the lad, and there was no bad thing that they would\nnot have done to him if they had but dared. At last they bethought\nthemselves of telling the King that the youth had said that, if he\nchose, he was quite able to rescue the Princess who had been carried\noff into the mountain a long time ago by the Troll.\n\nThe King immediately summoned the lad into his presence, and said that\nhe had been informed that he had said that it was in his power to\nrescue the Princess, so he was now to do it. If he succeeded in this,\nhe no doubt knew that the King had promised his daughter and half the\nkingdom to anyone who set her free, which promise should be faithfully\nand honourably kept, but if he failed he should be put to death. The\nyouth denied that he had said this, but all to no purpose, for the King\nwas deaf to all his words; so there was nothing to be done but say that\nhe would make the attempt.\n\nHe went down into the stable, and very sad and full of care he was.\nThen Dapplegrim inquired why he was so troubled, and the youth told\nhim, and said that he did not know what to do, \u2018for as to setting the\nPrincess free, that was downright impossible.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, but it might be done,\u2019 said Dapplegrim. \u2018I will help you; but you\nmust first have me well shod. You must ask for ten pounds of iron and\ntwelve pounds of steel for the shoeing, and one smith to hammer and one\nto hold.\u2019\n\nSo the youth did this, and no one said him nay. He got both the iron\nand the steel, and the smiths, and thus was Dapplegrim shod strongly\nand well, and when the youth went out of the King\u2019s palace a cloud of\ndust rose up behind him. But when he came to the mountain into which\nthe Princess had been carried, the difficulty was to ascend the\nprecipitous wall of rock by which he was to get on to the mountain\nbeyond, for the rock stood right up on end, as steep as a house side\nand as smooth as a sheet of glass. The first time the youth rode at it\nhe got a little way up the precipice, but then both Dapplegrim\u2019s fore\nlegs slipped, and down came horse and rider with a sound like thunder\namong the mountains. The next time that he rode at it he got a little\nfarther up, but then one of Dapplegrim\u2019s fore legs slipped, and down\nthey went with the sound of a landslip. But the third time Dapplegrim\nsaid: \u2018Now we must show what we can do,\u2019 and went at it once more till\nthe stones sprang up sky high, and thus they got up. Then the lad rode\ninto the mountain cleft at full gallop and caught up the Princess on\nhis saddle-bow, and then out again before the Troll even had time to\nstand up, and thus the Princess was set free.\n\nWhen the youth returned to the palace the King was both happy and\ndelighted to get his daughter back again, as may easily be believed,\nbut somehow or other the people about the Court had so worked on him\nthat he was angry with the lad too. \u2018Thou shalt have my thanks for\nsetting my Princess free,\u2019 he said, when the youth came into the palace\nwith her, and was then about to go away.\n\nShe ought to be just as much my Princess as she is yours now, for you\nare a man of your word,\u2019 said the youth.\n\n\u2018Yes, yes,\u2019 said the King. \u2018Have her thou shalt, as I have said it; but\nfirst of all thou must make the sun shine into my palace here.\u2019\n\nFor there was a large and high hill outside the windows which\novershadowed the palace so much that the sun could not shine in.\n\n\u2018That was no part of our bargain,\u2019 answered the youth. \u2018But as nothing\nthat I can say will move you, I suppose I shall have to try to do my\nbest, for the Princess I will have.\u2019\n\nSo he went down to Dapplegrim again and told him what the King desired,\nand Dapplegrim thought that it might easily be done; but first of all\nhe must have new shoes, and ten pounds of iron and twelve pounds of\nsteel must go to the making of them, and two smiths were also\nnecessary, one to hammer and one to hold, and then it would be very\neasy to make the sun shine into the King\u2019s palace.\n\nThe lad asked for these things and obtained them instantly, for the\nKing thought that for very shame he could not refuse to give them, and\nso Dapplegrim got new shoes, and they were good ones. The youth seated\nhimself on him, and once more they went their way, and for each hop\nthat Dapplegrim made, down went the hill fifteen ells into the earth,\nand so they went on until there was no hill left for the King to see.\n\nWhen the youth came down again to the King\u2019s palace he asked the King\nif the Princess should not at last be his, for now no one could say\nthat the sun was not shining into the palace. But the other people in\nthe palace had again stirred up the King, and he answered that the\nyouth should have her, and that he had never intended that he should\nnot; but first of all he must get her quite as good a horse to ride to\nthe wedding on as that which he had himself. The youth said that the\nKing had never told him he was to do that, and it seemed to him that he\nhad now really earned the Princess; but the King stuck to what he had\nsaid, and if the youth were unable to do it he was to lose his life,\nthe King said. The youth went down to the stable again, and very sad\nand sorrowful he was, as anyone may well imagine. Then he told\nDapplegrim that the King had now required that he should get the\nPrincess as good a bridal horse as that which the bridegroom had, or he\nshould lose his life. \u2018But that will be no easy thing to do,\u2019 said he,\n\u2018for your equal is not to be found in all the world.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh yes, there is one to match me,\u2019 said Dapplegrim. \u2018But it will not\nbe easy to get him, for he is underground. However, we will try. Now\nyou must go up to the King and ask for new shoes for me, and for them\nwe must again have ten pounds of iron, twelve pounds of steel, and two\nsmiths, one to hammer and one to hold, but be very particular to see\nthat the hooks are very sharp. And you must also ask for twelve barrels\nof rye, and twelve slaughtered oxen must we have with us, and all the\ntwelve ox-hides with twelve hundred spikes set in each of them; all\nthese things must we have, likewise a barrel of tar with twelve tons of\ntar in it. The youth went to the King and asked for all the things that\nDapplegrim had named, and once more, as the King thought that it would\nbe disgraceful to refuse them to him, he obtained them all.\n\nSo he mounted Dapplegrim and rode away from the Court, and when he had\nridden for a long, long time over hills and moors, Dapplegrim asked:\n\u2018Do you hear anything?\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes; there is such a dreadful whistling up above in the air that I\nthink I am growing alarmed,\u2019 said the youth.\n\n\u2018That is all the wild birds in the forest flying about; they are sent\nto stop us,\u2019 said Dapplegrim. \u2018But just cut a hole in the corn sacks,\nand then they will be so busy with the corn that they will forget us.\u2019\n\nThe youth did it. He cut holes in the corn sacks so that barley and rye\nran out on every side, and all the wild birds that were in the forest\ncame in such numbers that they darkened the sun. But when they caught\nsight of the corn they could not refrain from it, but flew down and\nbegan to scratch and pick at the corn and rye, and at last they began\nto fight among themselves, and forgot all about the youth and\nDapplegrim, and did them no harm.\n\nAnd now the youth rode onwards for a long, long time, over hill and\ndale, over rocky places and morasses, and then Dapplegrim began to\nlisten again, and asked the youth if he heard anything now.\n\n\u2018Yes; now I hear such a dreadful crackling and crashing in the forest\non every side that I think I shall be really afraid,\u2019 said the youth.\n\n\u2018That is all the wild beasts in the forest,\u2019 said Dapplegrim; \u2018they are\nsent out to stop us. But just throw out the twelve carcasses of the\noxen, and they will be so much occupied with them that they will quite\nforget us.\u2019 So the youth threw out the carcasses of the oxen, and then\nall the wild beasts in the forest, both bears and wolves, and lions,\nand grim beasts of all kinds, came. But when they caught sight of the\ncarcasses of the oxen they began to fight for them till the blood\nflowed, and they entirely forgot Dapplegrim and the youth.\n\nSo the youth rode onwards again, and many and many were the new scenes\nthey saw, for travelling on Dapplegrim\u2019s back was not travelling\nslowly, as may be imagined, and then Dapplegrim neighed.\n\n\u2018Do you hear anything?\u2019 he said.\n\n\u2018Yes; I heard something like a foal neighing quite plainly a long, long\nway off,\u2019 answered the youth.\n\n\u2018That\u2019s a full-grown colt,\u2019 said Dapplegrim, \u2018if you hear it so plainly\nwhen it is so far away from us.\u2019\n\nSo they travelled onwards a long time, and saw one new scene after\nanother once more. Then Dapplegrim neighed again.\n\n\u2018Do you hear anything now?\u2019 said he.\n\n\u2018Yes; now I heard it quite distinctly, and it neighed like a full-grown\nhorse,\u2019 answered the youth.\n\n\u2018Yes, and you will hear it again very soon,\u2019 said Dapplegrim; \u2018and then\nyou will hear what a voice it has.\u2019 So they travelled on through many\nmore different kinds of country, and then Dapplegrim neighed for the\nthird time; but before he could ask the youth if he heard anything,\nthere was such a neighing on the other side of the heath that the youth\nthought that hills and rocks would be rent in pieces.\n\n\u2018Now he is here!\u2019 said Dapplegrim. \u2018Be quick, and fling over me the\nox-hides that have the spikes in them, throw the twelve tons of tar\nover the field, and climb up into that great spruce fir tree. When he\ncomes, fire will spurt out of both his nostrils, and then the tar will\ncatch fire. Now mark what I say\u2014if the flame ascends I conquer, and if\nit sinks I fail; but if you see that I am winning, fling the bridle,\nwhich you must take off me, over his head, and then he will become\nquite gentle.\u2019\n\nJust as the youth had flung all the hides with the spikes over\nDapplegrim, and the tar over the field, and had got safely up into the\nspruce fir, a horse came with flame spouting from his nostrils, and the\ntar caught fire in a moment; and Dapplegrim and the horse began to\nfight until the stones leapt up to the sky. They bit, and they fought\nwith their fore legs and their hind legs, and sometimes the youth\nlooked at them. And sometimes he looked at the tar, but at last the\nflames began to rise, for wheresoever the strange horse bit or\nwheresoever he kicked he hit upon the spikes in the hides, and at\nlength he had to yield. When the youth saw that, he was not long in\ngetting down from the tree and flinging the bridle over the horse\u2019s\nhead, and then he became so tame that he might have been led by a thin\nstring.\n\nThis horse was dappled too, and so like Dapplegrim that no one could\ndistinguish the one from the other. The youth seated himself on the\ndappled horse which he had captured, and rode home again to the King\u2019s\npalace, and Dapplegrim ran loose by his side. When he got there, the\nKing was standing outside in the courtyard.\n\n\u2018Can you tell me which is the horse I have caught, and which is the one\nI had before?\u2019 said the youth. \u2018If you can\u2019t, I think your daughter is\nmine.\u2019\n\nThe King went and looked at both the dappled horses; he looked high and\nhe looked low, he looked before and he looked behind, but there was not\na hair\u2019s difference between the two.\n\n\u2018No,\u2019 said the King; \u2018that I cannot tell thee, and as thou hast\nprocured such a splendid bridal horse for my daughter thou shalt have\nher; but first we must have one more trial, just to see if thou art\nfated to have her. She shall hide herself twice, and then thou shalt\nhide thyself twice. If thou canst find her each time that she hides\nherself, and if she cannot find thee in thy hiding-places, then it is\nfated, and thou shalt have the Princess.\u2019\n\n\u2018That, too, was not in our bargain,\u2019 said the youth. \u2018But we will make\nthis trial since it must be so.\u2019\n\nSo the King\u2019s daughter was to hide herself first.\n\nThen she changed herself into a duck, and lay swimming in a lake that\nwas just outside the palace. But the youth went down into the stable\nand asked Dapplegrim what she had done with herself.\n\n\u2018Oh, all that you have to do is to take your gun, and go down to the\nwater and aim at the duck which is swimming about there, and she will\nsoon discover herself,\u2019 said Dapplegrim.\n\nThe youth snatched up his gun and ran to the lake. \u2018I will just have a\nshot at that duck,\u2019 said he, and began to aim at it.\n\n\u2018Oh, no, dear friend, don\u2019t shoot! It is I,\u2019 said the Princess. So he\nhad found her once.\n\nThe second time the Princess changed herself into a loaf, and laid\nherself on the table among four other loaves; and she was so like the\nother loaves that no one could see any difference between them.\n\nBut the youth again went down to the stable to Dapplegrim, and told him\nthat the Princess had hidden herself again, and that he had not the\nleast idea what had become of her.\n\n\u2018Oh, just take a very large bread-knife, sharpen it, and pretend that\nyou are going to cut straight through the third of the four loaves\nwhich are lying on the kitchen table in the King\u2019s palace\u2014count them\nfrom right to left\u2014and you will soon find her,\u2019 said Dapplegrim.\n\nSo the youth went up to the kitchen, and began to sharpen the largest\nbread-knife that he could find; then he caught hold of the third loaf\non the left-hand side, and put the knife to it as if he meant to cut it\nstraight in two. \u2018I will have a bit of this bread for myself,\u2019 said he.\n\n\u2018No, dear friend, don\u2019t cut, it is I!\u2019 said the Princess again; so he\nhad found her the second time.\n\nAnd now it was his turn to go and hide himself; but Dapplegrim had\ngiven him such good instructions that it was not easy to find him.\nFirst he turned himself into a horse-fly, and hid himself in\nDapplegrim\u2019s left nostril. The Princess went poking about and searching\neverywhere, high and low, and wanted to go into Dapplegrim\u2019s stall too,\nbut he began to bite and kick about so that she was afraid to go there,\nand could not find the youth. \u2018Well,\u2019 said she, \u2018as I am unable to find\nyou, you must show yourself; \u2018whereupon the youth immediately appeared\nstanding there on the stable floor.\n\nDapplegrim told him what he was to do the second time, and he turned\nhimself into a lump of earth, and stuck himself between the hoof and\nthe shoe on Dapplegrim\u2019s left fore foot. Once more the King\u2019s daughter\nwent and sought everywhere, inside and outside, until at last she came\ninto the stable, and wanted to go into the stall beside Dapplegrim. So\nthis time he allowed her to go into it, and she peered about high and\nlow, but she could not look under his hoofs, for he stood much too\nfirmly on his legs for that, and she could not find the youth.\n\n\u2018Well, you will just have to show where you are yourself, for I can\u2019t\nfind you,\u2019 said the Princess, and in an instant the youth was standing\nby her side on the floor of the stable.\n\n\u2018Now you are mine!\u2019 said he to the Princess.\n\n\u2018Now you can see that it is fated that she should be mine,\u2019 he said to\nthe King.\n\n\u2018Yes, fated it is,\u2019 said the King. \u2018So what must be, must.\u2019\n\nThen everything was made ready for the wedding with great splendour and\npromptitude, and the youth rode to church on Dapplegrim, and the King\u2019s\ndaughter on the other horse. So everyone must see that they could not\nbe long on their way thither.[20]\n\n [20] From J. Moe.\n\n\n\n\nTHE ENCHANTED CANARY\n\n\nI\n\nOnce upon a time, in the reign of King Cambrinus, there lived at\nAvesnes one of his lords, who was the finest man\u2014by which I mean the\nfattest\u2014in the whole country of Flanders. He ate four meals a day,\nslept twelve hours out of the twenty-four, and the only thing he ever\ndid was to shoot at small birds with his bow and arrow.\n\nStill, with all his practice he shot very badly, he was so fat and\nheavy, and as he grew daily fatter, he was at last obliged to give up\nwalking, and be dragged about in a wheel-chair, and the people made fun\nof him, and gave him the name of my Lord Tubby.\n\nNow, the only trouble that Lord Tubby had was about his son, whom he\nloved very much, although they were not in the least alike, for the\nyoung Prince was as thin as a cuckoo. And what vexed him more than all\nwas, that though the young ladies throughout all his lands did their\nbest to make the Prince fall in love with them, he would have nothing\nto say to any of them, and told his father he did not wish to marry.\n\nInstead of chatting with them in the dusk, he wandered about the woods,\nwhispering to the moon. No wonder the young ladies thought him very\nodd, but they liked him all the better for that; and as he had received\nat his birth the name of D\u00e9sir\u00e9, they all called him d\u2019Amour D\u00e9sir\u00e9.\n\n\u2018What is the matter with you?\u2019 his father often said to him. \u2018You have\neverything you can possibly wish for: a good bed, good food, and tuns\nfull of beer. The only thing you want, in order to become as fat as a\npig, is a wife that can bring you broad, rich lands. So marry, and you\nwill be perfectly happy.\u2019\n\n\u2018I ask nothing better than to marry,\u2019 replied D\u00e9sir\u00e9, \u2018but I have never\nseen a woman that pleases me. All the girls here are pink and white,\nand I am tired to death of their eternal lilie and roses.\n\n\u2018My faith!\u2019 cried Tubby; \u2018do you want to marry a negress, and give me\ngrandchildren as ugly as monkeys and as stupid as owls?\u2019\n\n\u2018No, father, nothing of the sort. But there must be women somewhere in\nthe world who are neither pink nor white, and I tell you, once for all,\nthat I will never marry until I have found one exactly to my taste.\u2019\n\nII\n\nSome time afterwards, it happened that the Prior of the Abbey of Saint\nAmand sent to the Lord of Avesnes a basket of oranges, with a\nbeautifully-written letter saying that these golden fruit, then unknown\nin Flanders, came straight from a land where the sun always shone.\n\nThat evening Tubby and his son ate the golden apples at supper, and\nthought them delicious.\n\nNext morning as the day dawned, D\u00e9sir\u00e9 went down to the stable and\nsaddled his pretty white horse. Then he went, all dressed for a\njourney, to the bedside of Tubby, and found him smoking his first pipe.\n\n\u2018Father,\u2019 he said gravely, \u2018I have come to bid you farewell. Last night\nI dreamed that I was walking in a wood, where the trees were covered\nwith golden apples. I gathered one of them, and when I opened it there\ncame out a lovely princess with a golden skin. That is the wife I want,\nand I am going to look for her.\u2019\n\nThe Lord of Avesnes was so much astonished that he let his pipe fall to\nthe ground; then he became so diverted at the notion of his son\nmarrying a yellow woman, and a woman shut up inside an orange, that he\nburst into fits of laughter.\n\nD\u00e9sir\u00e9 waited to bid him good-bye until he was quiet again; but as his\nfather went on laughing and showed no signs of stopping, the young\nman took his hand, kissed it tenderly, opened the door, and in the\ntwinkling of an eye was at the bottom of the staircase. He jumped\nlightly on his horse, and was a mile from home before Tubby had ceased\nlaughing.\n\n\u2018A yellow wife! He must be mad! fit for a strait waistcoat!\u2019 cried the\ngood man, when he was able to speak. \u2018Here! quick! bring him back to\nme.\u2019\n\nThe servants mounted their horses and rode after the Prince; but as\nthey did not know which road he had taken, they went all ways except\nthe right one, and instead of bringing him back they returned\nthemselves when it grew dark, with their horses worn out and covered\nwith dust.\n\nIII\n\nWhen D\u00e9sir\u00e9 thought they could no longer catch him, he pulled his horse\ninto a walk, like a prudent man who knows he has far to go. He\ntravelled in this way for many weeks, passing by villages, towns,\nmountains, valleys, and plains, but always pushing south, where every\nday the sun seemed hotter and more brilliant.\n\nAt last one day at sunset D\u00e9sir\u00e9 felt the sun so warm, that he thought\nhe must now be near the place of his dream. He was at that moment close\nto the corner of a wood where stood a little hut, before the door of\nwhich his horse stopped of his own accord. An old man with a white\nbeard was sitting on the doorstep enjoying the fresh air. The Prince\ngot down from his horse and asked leave to rest.\n\n\u2018Come in, my young friend,\u2019 said the old man; \u2018my house is not large,\nbut it is big enough to hold a stranger.\u2019\n\nThe traveller entered, and his host put before him a simple meal. When\nhis hunger was satisfied the old man said to him:\n\n\u2018If I do not mistake, you come from far. May I ask where you are\ngoing?\u2019\n\n\u2018I will tell you,\u2019 answered D\u00e9sir\u00e9, \u2018though most likely you will laugh\nat me. I dreamed that in the land of the sun there was a wood full of\norange trees, and that in one of the oranges I should find a beautiful\nprincess who is to be my wife. It is she I am seeking.\u2019\n\n\u2018Why should I laugh?\u2019 asked the old man. \u2018Madness in youth is true\nwisdom. Go, young man, follow your dream, and if you do not find the\nhappiness that you seek, at any rate you will have had the happiness of\nseeking it.\u2019\n\nIV\n\nThe next day the Prince arose early and took leave of his host.\n\n\u2018The wood that you saw in your dream is not far from here,\u2019 said the\nold man. \u2018It is in the depth of the forest, and this road will lead you\nthere. You will come to a vast park surrounded by high walls. In the\nmiddle of the park is a castle, where dwells a horrible witch who\nallows no living being to enter the doors. Behind the castle is the\norange grove. Follow the wall till you come to a heavy iron gate. Don\u2019t\ntry to press it open, but oil the hinges with this,\u2019 and the old man\ngave him a small bottle.\n\n\u2018The gate will open of itself,\u2019 he continued, \u2018and a huge dog which\nguards the castle will come to you with his mouth wide open, but just\nthrow him this oat cake. Next, you will see a baking woman leaning over\nher heated oven. Give her this brush. Lastly, you will find a well on\nyour left; do not forget to take the cord of the bucket and spread it\nin the sun. When you have done this, do not enter the castle, but go\nround it and enter the orange grove. Then gather three oranges, and get\nback to the gate as fast as you can. Once out of the gate, leave the\nforest by the opposite side.\n\n\u2018Now, attend to this: whatever happens, do not open your oranges till\nyou reach the bank of a river, or a fountain. Out of each orange will\ncome a princess, and you can choose which you like for your wife. Your\nchoice once made, be very careful never to leave your bride for an\ninstant, and remember that the danger which is most to be feared is\nnever the danger we are most afraid of.\u2019\n\nV\n\nD\u00e9sir\u00e9 thanked his host warmly, and took the road he pointed out. In\nless than an hour he arrived at the wall, which was very high indeed.\nHe sprang to the ground, fastened his horse to a tree, and soon found\nthe iron gate. Then he took out his bottle and oiled the hinges, when\nthe gate opened of itself, and he saw an old castle standing inside.\nThe Prince entered boldly into the courtyard.\n\nSuddenly he heard fierce howls, and a dog as tall as a donkey, with\neyes like billiard balls, came towards him, showing his teeth, which\nwere like the prongs of a fork. D\u00e9sir\u00e9 flung him the oat cake, which\nthe great dog instantly snapped up, and the young Prince passed quietly\non.\n\nA few yards further he saw a huge oven, with a wide, red-hot gaping\nmouth. A woman as tall as a giant was leaning over the oven. D\u00e9sir\u00e9\ngave her the brush, which she took in silence.\n\nThen he went on to the well, drew up the cord, which was half rotten,\nand stretched it out in the sun.\n\nLastly he went round the castle, and plunged into the orange grove.\nThere he gathered the three most beautiful oranges he could find, and\nturned to go back to the gate.\n\nBut just at this moment the sun was darkened, the earth trembled, and\nD\u00e9sir\u00e9 heard a voice crying:\n\n\u2018Baker, baker, take him by his feet, and throw him into the oven!\u2019\n\n\u2018No,\u2019 replied the baker; \u2018a long time has passed since I first began to\nscour this oven with my own flesh. _You_ never cared to give me a\nbrush; but he has given me one, and he shall go in peace.\u2019\n\n\u2018Rope, O rope!\u2019 cried the voice again, \u2018twine yourself round his neck\nand strangle him.\u2019\n\n\u2018No,\u2019 replied the rope; \u2018you have left me for many years past to fall\nto pieces with the damp. He has stretched me out in the sun. Let him go\nin peace.\u2019\n\n\u2018Dog, my good dog,\u2019 cried the voice, more and more angry, \u2018jump at his\nthroat and eat him up.\u2019\n\n\u2018No,\u2019 replied the dog; \u2018though I have served you long, you never gave\nme any bread. He has given me as much as I want. Let him go in peace.\u2019\n\n\u2018Iron gate, iron gate,\u2019 cried the voice, growling like thunder, \u2018fall\non him and grind him to powder.\u2019\n\n\u2018No,\u2019 replied the gate; \u2018it is a hundred years since you left me to\nrust, and he has oiled me. Let him go in peace.\u2019\n\nVI\n\nOnce outside, the young adventurer put his oranges into a bag that hung\nfrom his saddle, mounted his horse, and rode quickly out of the forest.\n\nNow, as he was longing to see the princesses, he was very anxious to\ncome to a river or a fountain, but, though he rode for hours, a river\nor fountain was nowhere to be seen. Still his heart was light, for he\nfelt that he had got through the most difficult part of his task, and\nthe rest was easy.\n\nAbout mid-day he reached a sandy plain, scorching in the sun. Here he\nwas seized with dreadful thirst; he took his gourd and raised it to his\nlips.\n\nBut the gourd was empty; in the excitement of his joy he had forgotten\nto fill it. He rode on, struggling with his sufferings, but at last he\ncould bear it no longer.\n\nHe let himself slide to the earth, and lay down beside his horse, his\nthroat burning, his chest heaving, and his head going round. Already he\nfelt that death was near him, when his eyes fell on the bag where the\noranges peeped out.\n\nPoor D\u00e9sir\u00e9, who had braved so many dangers to win the lady of his\ndreams, would have given at this moment all the princesses in the\nworld, were they pink or golden, for a single drop of water.\n\n\u2018Ah!\u2019 he said to himself. \u2018If only these oranges were real fruit\u2014fruit\nas refreshing as what I ate in Flanders! And, after all, who knows?\u2019\n\nThis idea put some life into him. He had the strength to lift himself\nup and put his hand into his bag. He drew out an orange and opened it\nwith his knife.\n\nOut of it flew the prettiest little female canary that ever was seen.\n\n\u2018Give me something to drink, I am dying of thirst,\u2019 said the golden\nbird.\n\n\u2018Wait a minute,\u2019 replied D\u00e9sir\u00e9, so much astonished that he forgot his\nown sufferings; and to satisfy the bird he took a second orange, and\nopened it without thinking what he was doing. Out of it flew another\ncanary, and she too began to cry:\n\n\u2018I am dying of thirst; give me something to drink.\u2019\n\nThen Tubby\u2019s son saw his folly, and while the two canaries flew away he\nsank on the ground, where, exhausted by his last effort, he lay\nunconscious.\n\nVII\n\nWhen he came to himself, he had a pleasant feeling of freshness all\nabout him. It was night, the sky was sparkling with stars, and the\nearth was covered with a heavy dew.\n\nThe traveller having recovered, mounted his horse, and at the first\nstreak of dawn he saw a stream dancing in front of him, and stooped\ndown and drank his fill.\n\nHe hardly had courage to open his last orange. Then he remembered that\nthe night before he had disobeyed the orders of the old man. Perhaps\nhis terrible thirst was a trick of the cunning witch, and suppose, even\nthough he opened the orange on the banks of the stream, that he did not\nfind in it the princess that he sought?\n\nHe took his knife and cut it open. Alas! out of it flew a little\ncanary, just like the others, who cried:\n\n\u2018I am thirsty; give me something to drink.\u2019\n\nGreat was the disappointment of D\u00e9sir\u00e9. However, he was determined not\nto let this bird fly away; so he took up some water in the palm of his\nhand and held it to its beak.\n\nScarcely had the canary drunk when she became a beautiful girl, tall\nand straight as a poplar tree, with black eyes and a golden skin.\nD\u00e9sir\u00e9 had never seen anyone half so lovely, and he stood gazing at her\nin delight.\n\nOn her side she seemed quite bewildered, but she looked about her with\nhappy eyes, and was not at all afraid of her deliverer.\n\nHe asked her name. She answered that she was called the Princess Zizi;\nshe was about sixteen years old, and for ten years of that time the\nwitch had kept her shut up in an orange, in the shape of a canary.\n\n\u2018Well, then, my charming Zizi,\u2019 said the young Prince, who was longing\nto marry her, \u2018let us ride away quickly so as to escape from the wicked\nwitch.\u2019\n\nBut Zizi wished to know where he meant to take her.\n\n\u2018To my father\u2019s castle,\u2019 he said.\n\nHe mounted his horse and took her in front of him, and, holding her\ncarefully in his arms, they began their journey.\n\nVIII\n\nEverything the Princess saw was new to her, and in passing through\nmountains, valleys, and towns, she asked a thousand questions. D\u00e9sir\u00e9\nwas charmed to answer them. It is so delightful to teach those one\nloves!\n\nOnce she inquired what the girls in his country were like.\n\n\u2018They are pink and white,\u2019 he replied, \u2018and their eyes are blue.\u2019\n\n\u2018Do you like blue eyes?\u2019 said the Princess; but D\u00e9sir\u00e9 thought it was a\ngood opportunity to find out what was in her heart, so he did not\nanswer.\n\n\u2018And no doubt,\u2019 went on the Princess, \u2018one of them is your intended\nbride?\u2019\n\nStill he was silent, and Zizi drew herself up proudly.\n\n\u2018No,\u2019 he said at last. \u2018None of the girls of my own country are\nbeautiful in my eyes, and that is why I came to look for a wife in the\nland of the sun. Was I wrong, my lovely Zizi?\u2019\n\nThis time it was Zizi\u2019s turn to be silent.\n\nIX\n\nTalking in this way they drew near to the castle. When they were about\nfour stone-throws from the gates they dismounted in the forest, by the\nedge of a fountain.\n\n\u2018My dear Zizi,\u2019 said Tubby\u2019s son, \u2018we cannot present ourselves before\nmy father like two common people who have come back from a walk. We\nmust enter the castle with more ceremony. Wait for me here, and in an\nhour I will return with carriages and horses fit for a princess.\u2019\n\n\u2018Don\u2019t be long,\u2019 replied Zizi, and she watched him go with wistful\neyes.\n\nWhen she was left by herself the poor girl began to feel afraid. She\nwas alone for the first time in her life, and in the middle of a thick\nforest.\n\nSuddenly she heard a noise among the trees. Fearing lest it should be a\nwolf, she hid herself in the hollow trunk of a willow tree which hung\nover the fountain. It was big enough to hold her altogether, but she\npeeped out, and her pretty head was reflected in the clear water.\n\nThen there appeared, not a wolf, but a creature quite as wicked and\nquite as ugly. Let us see who this creature was.\n\nX\n\nNot far from the fountain there lived a family of bricklayers. Now,\nfifteen years before this time, the father in walking through the\nforest found a little girl, who had been deserted by the gypsies. He\ncarried her home to his wife, and the good woman was sorry for her, and\nbrought her up with her own sons. As she grew older, the little gypsy\nbecame much more remarkable for strength and cunning than for sense or\nbeauty. She had a low forehead, a flat nose, thick lips, coarse hair,\nand a skin not golden like that of Zizi, but the colour of clay.\n\nAs she was always being teased about her complexion, she got as noisy\nand cross as a titmouse. So they used to call her Titty.\n\nTitty was often sent by the bricklayer to fetch water from the\nfountain, and as she was very proud and lazy the gypsy disliked this\nvery much.\n\nIt was she who had frightened Zizi by appearing with her pitcher on her\nshoulder. Just as she was stooping to fill it, she saw reflected in the\nwater the lovely image of the Princess.\n\n\u2018What a pretty face!\u2019 she exclaimed, \u2018Why, it must be mine! How in the\nworld can they call me ugly? I am certainly much too pretty to be their\nwater carrier!\u2019\n\nSo saying, she broke her pitcher and went home.\n\n\u2018Where is your pitcher?\u2019 asked the bricklayer.\n\n\u2018Well, what do you expect? The pitcher may go many times to the\nwell....\u2019\n\n\u2018But at last it is broken. Well, here is a bucket that will not break.\u2019\n\nThe gypsy returned to the fountain, and addressing once more the image\nof Zizi, she said:\n\n\u2018No; I don\u2019t mean to be a beast of burden any longer.\u2019 And she flung\nthe bucket so high in the air that it stuck in the branches of an oak.\n\n\u2018I met a wolf,\u2019 she told the bricklayer, \u2018and I broke the bucket across\nhis nose.\u2019\n\nThe bricklayer asked her no more questions, but took down a broom and\ngave her such a beating that her pride was humbled a little.\n\nThen he handed to her an old copper milk-can, and said:\n\n\u2018If you don\u2019t bring it back full, your bones shall suffer for it.\u2019\n\nXI\n\nTitty went off rubbing her sides; but this time she did not dare to\ndisobey, and in a very bad temper stooped down over the well. It was\nnot at all easy to fill the milk-can, which was large and round. It\nwould not go down into the well, and the gypsy had to try again and\nagain.\n\nAt last her arms grew so tired that when she did manage to get the can\nproperly under the water she had no strength to pull it up, and it\nrolled to the bottom.\n\nOn seeing the can disappear, she made such a miserable face that Zizi,\nwho had been watching her all this time, burst into fits of laughter.\n\nTitty turned round and perceived the mistake she had made; and she felt\nso angry that she made up her mind to be revenged at once.\n\n\u2018What are you doing there, you lovely creature?\u2019 she said to Zizi.\n\n\u2018I am waiting for my lover,\u2019 Zizi replied; and then, with a simplicity\nquite natural in a girl who so lately had been a canary, she told all\nher story.\n\nThe gypsy had often seen the young Prince pass by, with his gun on his\nshoulder, when he was going after crows. She was too ugly and ragged\nfor him ever to have noticed her, but Titty on her side had admired\nhim, though she thought he might well have been a little fatter.\n\n\u2018Dear, dear!\u2019 she said to herself. \u2018So he likes yellow women! Why, I am\nyellow too, and if I could only think of a way\u2014\u2014\u2019\n\nIt was not long before she did think of it.\n\n\u2018What!\u2019 cried the sly Titty, \u2018they are coming with great pomp to fetch\nyou, and you are not afraid to show yourself to so many fine lords and\nladies with your hair down like that? Get down at once, my poor child,\nand let me dress your hair for you!\u2019\n\nThe innocent Zizi came down at once, and stood by Titty. The gypsy\nbegan to comb her long brown locks, when suddenly she drew a pin from\nher stays, and, just as the titmouse digs its beak into the heads of\nlinnets and larks, Titty dug the pin into the head of Zizi.\n\nNo sooner did Zizi feel the prick of the pin than she became a bird\nagain, and, spreading her wings, she flew away.\n\n\u2018That was neatly done,\u2019 said the gypsy. \u2018The Prince will be clever if\nhe finds his bride.\u2019 And, arranging her dress, she seated herself on\nthe grass to await D\u00e9sir\u00e9.\n\nXII\n\nMeanwhile the Prince was coming as fast as his horse could carry him.\nHe was so impatient that he was always full fifty yards in front of the\nlords and ladies sent by Tubby to bring back Zizi.\n\nAt the sight of the hideous gypsy he was struck dumb with surprise and\nhorror.\n\n\u2018Ah me!\u2019 said Titty, \u2018so you don\u2019t know your poor Zizi? While you were\naway the wicked witch came, and turned me into this. But if you only\nhave the courage to marry me I shall get back my beauty.\u2019 And she began\nto cry bitterly.\n\nNow the good-natured D\u00e9sir\u00e9 was as soft-hearted as he was brave.\n\n\u2018Poor girl,\u2019 he thought to himself. \u2018It is not her fault, after all,\nthat she has grown so ugly, it is mine. Oh! why did I not follow the\nold man\u2019s advice? Why did I leave her alone? And besides, it depends on\nme to break the spell, and I love her too much to let her remain like\nthis.\u2019\n\nSo he presented the gypsy to the lords and ladies of the Court,\nexplaining to them the terrible misfortune which had befallen his\nbeautiful bride.\n\nThey all pretended to believe it, and the ladies at once put on the\nfalse princess the rich dresses they had brought for Zizi.\n\nShe was then perched on the top of a magnificent ambling palfrey, and\nthey set forth to the castle.\n\nBut unluckily the rich dress and jewels only made Titty look uglier\nstill, and D\u00e9sir\u00e9 could not help feeling hot and uncomfortable when he\nmade his entry with her into the city.\n\nBells were pealing, chimes ringing, and the people filling the streets\nand standing at their doors to watch the procession go by, and they\ncould hardly believe their eyes as they saw what a strange bride their\nPrince had chosen.\n\nIn order to do her more honour, Tubby came to meet her at the foot of\nthe great marble staircase. At the sight of the hideous creature he\nalmost fell backwards.\n\n\u2018What!\u2019 he cried. \u2018Is this the wonderful beauty?\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes, father, it is she,\u2019 replied D\u00e9sir\u00e9 with a sheepish look. \u2018But she\nhas been bewitched by a wicked sorceress, and will not regain her\nbeauty until she is my wife.\u2019\n\n\u2018Does she say so? Well, if you believe that, you may drink cold water\nand think it bacon,\u2019 the unhappy Tubby answered crossly.\n\nBut all the same, as he adored his son, he gave the gypsy his hand and\nled her to the great hall, where the bridal feast was spread.\n\nXIII\n\nThe feast was excellent, but D\u00e9sir\u00e9 hardly touched anything. However,\nto make up, the other guests ate greedily, and, as for Tubby, nothing\never took away his appetite.\n\nWhen the moment arrived to serve the roast goose, there was a pause,\nand Tubby took the opportunity to lay down his knife and fork for a\nlittle. But as the goose gave no sign of appearing, he sent his head\ncarver to find out what was the matter in the kitchen.\n\nNow this was what had happened.\n\nWhile the goose was turning on the spit, a beautiful little canary\nhopped on to the sill of the open window.\n\n\u2018Good-morning, my fine cook,\u2019 she said in a silvery voice to the man\nwho was watching the roast.\n\n\u2018Good-morning, lovely golden bird,\u2019 replied the chief of the scullions,\nwho had been well brought up.\n\n\u2018I pray that Heaven may send you to sleep,\u2019 said the golden bird, \u2018and\nthat the goose may burn, so that there may be none left for Titty.\u2019\n\nAnd instantly the chief of the scullions fell fast asleep, and the\ngoose was burnt to a cinder.\n\nWhen he awoke he was horrified, and gave orders to pluck another goose,\nto stuff it with chestnuts, and put it on the spit.\n\nWhile it was browning at the fire, Tubby inquired for his goose a\nsecond time. The Master Cook himself mounted to the hall to make his\nexcuses, and to beg his lord to have a little patience. Tubby showed\nhis patience by abusing his son.\n\n\u2018As if it wasn\u2019t enough,\u2019 he grumbled between his teeth, \u2018that the boy\nshould pick up a hag without a penny, but the goose must go and burn\nnow. It isn\u2019t a wife he has brought me, it is Famine herself.\u2019\n\nXIV\n\nWhile the Master Cook was upstairs, the golden bird came again to perch\non the window-sill, and called in his clear voice to the head scullion,\nwho was watching the spit:\n\n\u2018Good-morning, my fine Scullion!\u2019\n\n\u2018Good-morning, lovely Golden Bird,\u2019 replied the Scullion, whom the\nMaster Cook had forgotten in his excitement to warn.\n\n\u2018I pray Heaven,\u2019 went on the Canary, \u2018that it will send you to sleep,\nand that the goose may burn, so that there may be none left for Titty.\u2019\n\nAnd the Scullion fell fast asleep, and when the Master Cook came back\nhe found the goose as black as the chimney.\n\nIn a fury he woke the Scullion, who in order to save himself from blame\ntold the whole story.\n\n\u2018That accursed bird,\u2019 said the Cook; \u2018it will end by getting me sent\naway. Come, some of you, and hide yourselves, and if it comes again,\ncatch it and wring its neck.\u2019\n\nHe spitted a third goose, lit a huge fire, and seated himself by it.\n\nThe bird appeared a third time, and said: \u2018Good-morning, my fine Cook.\u2019\n\n\u2018Good-morning, lovely Golden Bird,\u2019 replied the Cook, as if nothing had\nhappened, and at the moment that the Canary was beginning, \u2018I pray\nHeaven that it may send,\u2019 a scullion who was hidden outside rushed out\nand shut the shutters. The bird flew into the kitchen. Then all the\ncooks and scullions sprang after it, knocking at it with their aprons.\nAt length one of them caught it just at the very moment that Tubby\nentered the kitchen, waving his sceptre. He had come to see for himself\nwhy the goose had never made its appearance.\n\nThe Scullion stopped at once, just as he was about to wring the\nCanary\u2019s neck.\n\nXV\n\n\u2018Will some one be kind enough to tell me the meaning of all this?\u2019\ncried the Lord of Avesnes.\n\n\u2018Your Excellency, it is the bird,\u2019 replied the Scullion, and he placed\nit in his hand.\n\n\u2018Nonsense! What a lovely bird!\u2019 said Tubby, and in stroking its head he\ntouched a pin that was sticking between its feathers. He pulled it out,\nand lo! the Canary at once became a beautiful girl with a golden skin\nwho jumped lightly to the ground.\n\n\u2018Gracious! what a pretty girl!\u2019 said Tubby.\n\n\u2018Father! it is she! it is Zizi!\u2019 exclaimed D\u00e9sir\u00e9, who entered at this\nmoment.\n\nAnd he took her in his arms, crying: \u2018My darling Zizi, how happy I am\nto see you once more!\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, and the other one?\u2019 asked Tubby.\n\nThe other one was stealing quietly to the door.\n\n\u2018Stop her! called Tubby. \u2018We will judge her cause at once.\u2019\n\nAnd he seated himself solemnly on the oven, and condemned Titty to be\nburned alive. After which the lords and cooks formed themselves in\nlines, and Tubby betrothed D\u00e9sir\u00e9 to Zizi.\n\nXVI\n\nThe marriage took place a few days later. All the boys in the country\nside were there, armed with wooden swords, and decorated with epaulets\nmade of gilt paper.\n\nZizi obtained Titty\u2019s pardon, and she was sent back to the\nbrick-fields, followed and hooted at by all the boys. And this is why\nto-day the country boys always throw stones at a titmouse.\n\nOn the evening of the wedding-day all the larders, cellars, cupboards\nand tables of the people, whether rich or poor, were loaded as if by\nenchantment with bread, wine, beer, cakes and tarts, roast larks, and\neven geese, so that Tubby could not complain any more that his son had\nmarried Famine.\n\nSince that time there has always been plenty to eat in that country,\nand since that time, too, you see in the midst of the fair-haired\nblue-eyed women of Flanders a few beautiful girls, whose eyes are black\nand whose skins are the colour of gold. They are the descendants of\nZizi.[21]\n\n [21] Charles Deulin, _Contes du Roi Gambrinus_.\n\n\n\n\nTHE TWELVE BROTHERS\n\n\nThere were once upon a time a King and a Queen who lived happily\ntogether, and they had twelve children, all of whom were boys. One day\nthe King said to his wife:\n\n\u2018If our thirteenth child is a girl, all her twelve brothers must die,\nso that she may be very rich and the kingdom hers alone.\u2019\n\nThen he ordered twelve coffins to be made, and filled them with\nshavings, and placed a little pillow in each. These he put away in an\nempty room, and, giving the key to his wife, he bade her tell no one of\nit.\n\nThe Queen grieved over the sad fate of her sons and refused to be\ncomforted, so much so that the youngest boy, who was always with her,\nand whom she had christened Benjamin, said to her one day:\n\n\u2018Dear mother, why are you so sad?\u2019\n\n\u2018My child,\u2019 she answered, \u2018I may not tell you the reason.\u2019\n\nBut he left her no peace, till she went and unlocked the room and\nshowed him the twelve coffins filled with shavings, and with the little\npillow laid in each.\n\nThen she said: \u2018My dearest Benjamin, your father has had these coffins\nmade for you and your eleven brothers, because if I bring a girl into\nthe world you are all to be killed and buried in them.\u2019\n\nShe wept bitterly as she spoke, but her son comforted her and said:\n\n\u2018Don\u2019t cry, dear mother; we\u2019ll manage to escape somehow, and will fly\nfor our lives.\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes,\u2019 replied his mother, \u2018that is what you must do\u2014go with your\neleven brothers out into the wood, and let one of you always sit on the\nhighest tree you can find, keeping watch on the tower of the castle. If\nI give birth to a little son I will wave a white flag, and then you may\nsafely return; but if I give birth to a little daughter I will wave a\nred flag, which will warn you to fly away as quickly as you can, and\nmay the kind Heaven have pity on you. Every night I will get up and\npray for you, in winter that you may always have a fire to warm\nyourselves by, and in summer that you may not languish in the heat.\u2019\n\nThen she blessed her sons and they set out into the wood. They found a\nvery high oak tree, and there they sat, turn about, keeping their eyes\nalways fixed on the castle tower. On the twelfth day, when the turn\ncame to Benjamin, he noticed a flag waving in the air, but alas! it was\nnot white, but blood red, the sign which told them they must all die.\nWhen the brothers heard this they were very angry, and said:\n\n\u2018Shall we forsooth suffer death for the sake of a wretched girl? Let us\nswear vengeance, and vow that wherever and whenever we shall meet one\nof her sex, she shall die at our hands.\u2019\n\nThen they went their way deeper into the wood, and in the middle of it,\nwhere it was thickest and darkest, they came upon a little enchanted\nhouse which stood empty.\n\n\u2018Here,\u2019 they said, \u2018let us take up our abode, and you, Benjamin, you\nare the youngest and weakest, you shall stay at home and keep house for\nus; we others will go out and fetch food.\u2019 So they went forth into the\nwood, and shot hares and roe-deer, birds and wood-pigeons, and any\nother game they came across. They always brought their spoils home to\nBenjamin, who soon learnt to make them into dainty dishes. So they\nlived for ten years in this little house, and the time slipped merrily\naway.\n\nIn the meantime their little sister at home was growing up quickly. She\nwas kind-hearted and of a fair countenance, and she had a gold star\nright in the middle of her forehead. One day a big washing was going on\nat the palace, and the girl looking down from her window saw twelve\nmen\u2019s shirts hanging up to dry, and asked her mother:\n\n\u2018Who in the world do these shirts belong to? Surely they are far too\nsmall for my father?\u2019\n\nAnd the Queen answered sadly: \u2018Dear child, they belong to your twelve\nbrothers.\u2019\n\n\u2018But where are my twelve brothers?\u2019 said the girl. \u2018I have never even\nheard of them.\u2019\n\n\u2018Heaven alone knows in what part of the wide world they are wandering,\u2019\nreplied her mother.\n\nThen she took the girl and opened the locked-up room; she showed her\nthe twelve coffins filled with shavings, and with the little pillow\nlaid in each.\n\n\u2018These coffins,\u2019 she said, \u2018were intended for your brothers, but they\nstole secretly away before you were born.\u2019\n\nThen she proceeded to tell her all that had happened, and when she had\nfinished her daughter said:\n\n\u2018Do not cry, dearest mother; I will go and seek my brothers till I find\nthem.\u2019\n\nSo she took the twelve shirts and went on straight into the middle of\nthe big wood. She walked all day long, and came in the evening to the\nlittle enchanted house. She stepped in and found a youth who,\nmarvelling at her beauty, at the royal robes she wore, and at the\ngolden star on her forehead, asked her where she came from and whither\nshe was going.\n\n\u2018I am a Princess,\u2019 she answered, \u2018and am seeking for my twelve\nbrothers. I mean to wander as far as the blue sky stretches over the\nearth till I find them.\u2019\n\nThen she showed him the twelve shirts which she had taken with her, and\nBenjamin saw that it must be his sister, and said:\n\n\u2018I am Benjamin, your youngest brother.\u2019\n\nSo they wept for joy, and kissed and hugged each other again and again.\nAfter a time Benjamin said:\n\n\u2018Dear sister, there is still a little difficulty, for we had all agreed\nthat any girl we met should die at our hands, because it was for the\nsake of a girl that we had to leave our kingdom.\u2019\n\n\u2018But,\u2019 she replied, \u2018I will gladly die if by that means I can restore\nmy twelve brothers to their own.\u2019\n\n\u2018No,\u2019 he answered, \u2018there is no need for that; only go and hide under\nthat tub till our eleven brothers come in, and I\u2019ll soon make matters\nright with them.\u2019\n\nShe did as she was bid, and soon the others came home from the chase\nand sat down to supper.\n\n\u2018Well, Benjamin, what\u2019s the news?\u2019 they asked. But he replied, \u2018I like\nthat; have you nothing to tell me?\u2019\n\n\u2018No,\u2019 they answered.\n\nThen he said: \u2018Well, now, you\u2019ve been out in the wood all the day and\nI\u2019ve stayed quietly at home, and all the same I know more than you do.\u2019\n\n\u2018Then tell us,\u2019 they cried.\n\nBut he answered: \u2018Only on condition that you promise faithfully that\nthe first girl we meet shall not be killed.\u2019\n\n\u2018She shall be spared,\u2019 they promised, \u2018only tell us the news.\u2019\n\nThen Benjamin said: \u2018Our sister is here!\u2019 and he lifted up the tub and\nthe Princess stepped forward, with her royal robes and with the golden\nstar on her forehead, looking so lovely and sweet and charming that\nthey all fell in love with her on the spot.\n\nThey arranged that she should stay at home with Benjamin and help him\nin the house work, while the rest of the brothers went out into the\nwood and shot hares and roe-deer, birds and wood-pigeons. And Benjamin\nand his sister cooked their meals for them. She gathered herbs to cook\nthe vegetables in, fetched the wood, and watched the pots on the fire,\nand always when her eleven brothers returned she had their supper ready\nfor them. Besides this, she kept the house in order, tidied all the\nrooms, and made herself so generally useful that her brothers were\ndelighted, and they all lived happily together.\n\nOne day the two at home prepared a fine feast, and when they were all\nassembled they sat down and ate and drank and made merry.\n\nNow there was a little garden round the enchanted house, in which grew\ntwelve tall lilies. The girl, wishing to please her brothers, plucked\nthe twelve flowers, meaning to present one to each of them as they sat\nat supper. But hardly had she plucked the flowers when her brothers\nwere turned into twelve ravens, who flew croaking over the wood, and\nthe house and garden vanished also.\n\nSo the poor girl found herself left all alone in the wood, and as she\nlooked round her she noticed an old woman standing close beside her,\nwho said:\n\n\u2018My child, what have you done? Why didn\u2019t you leave the flowers alone?\nThey were your twelve brothers. Now they are changed for ever into\nravens.\u2019\n\nThe girl asked, sobbing: \u2018Is there no means of setting them free?\u2019\n\n\u2018No,\u2019 said the old woman, \u2018there is only one way in the whole world,\nand that is so difficult that you won\u2019t free them by it, for you would\nhave to be dumb and not laugh for seven years, and if you spoke a\nsingle word, though but an hour were wanting to the time, your silence\nwould all have been in vain, and that one word would slay your\nbrothers.\u2019\n\nThen the girl said to herself: \u2018If that is all I am quite sure I can\nfree my brothers.\u2019 So she searched for a high tree, and when she had\nfound one she climbed up it and spun all day long, never laughing or\nspeaking one word.\n\nNow it happened one day that a King who was hunting in the wood had a\nlarge greyhound, who ran sniffing to the tree on which the girl sat,\nand jumped round it, yelping and barking furiously. The King\u2019s\nattention was attracted, and when he looked up and beheld the beautiful\nPrincess with the golden star on her forehead, he was so enchanted by\nher beauty that he asked her on the spot to be his wife. She gave no\nanswer, but nodded slightly with her head. Then he climbed up the tree\nhimself, lifted her down, put her on his horse and bore her home to his\npalace.\n\nThe marriage was celebrated with much pomp and ceremony, but the bride\nneither spoke nor laughed.\n\nWhen they had lived a few years happily together, the King\u2019s mother,\nwho was a wicked old woman, began to slander the young Queen, and said\nto the King:\n\n\u2018She is only a low-born beggar maid that you have married; who knows\nwhat mischief she is up to? If she is deaf and can\u2019t speak, she might\nat least laugh; depend upon it, those who don\u2019t laugh have a bad\nconscience.\u2019 At first the King paid no heed to her words, but the old\nwoman harped so long on the subject, and accused the young Queen of so\nmany bad things, that at last he let himself be talked over, and\ncondemned his beautiful wife to death.\n\nSo a great fire was lit in the courtyard of the palace, where she was\nto be burnt, and the King watched the proceedings from an upper window,\ncrying bitterly the while, for he still loved his wife dearly. But just\nas she had been bound to the stake, and the flames were licking her\ngarments with their red tongues, the very last moment of the seven\nyears had come. Then a sudden rushing sound was heard in the air, and\ntwelve ravens were seen flying overhead. They swooped downwards, and as\nsoon as they touched the ground they turned into her twelve brothers,\nand she knew that she had freed them.\n\nThey quenched the flames and put out the fire, and, unbinding their\ndear sister from the stake, they kissed and hugged her again and again.\nAnd now that she was able to open her mouth and speak, she told the\nKing why she had been dumb and not able to laugh.\n\nThe King rejoiced greatly when he heard she was innocent, and they all\nlived happily ever afterwards.[22]\n\n [22] Grimm.\n\n\n\n\nRAPUNZEL\n\n\nOnce upon a time there lived a man and his wife who were very unhappy\nbecause they had no children. These good people had a little window at\nthe back of their house, which looked into the most lovely garden, full\nof all manner of beautiful flowers and vegetables; but the garden was\nsurrounded by a high wall, and no one dared to enter it, for it\nbelonged to a witch of great power, who was feared by the whole world.\nOne day the woman stood at the window overlooking the garden, and saw\nthere a bed full of the finest rampion: the leaves looked so fresh and\ngreen that she longed to eat them. The desire grew day by day, and just\nbecause she knew she couldn\u2019t possibly get any, she pined away and\nbecame quite pale and wretched. Then her husband grew alarmed and said:\n\n\u2018What ails you, dear wife?\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh,\u2019 she answered, \u2018if I don\u2019t get some rampion to eat out of the\ngarden behind the house, I know I shall die.\u2019\n\nThe man, who loved her dearly, thought to himself, \u2018Come! rather than\nlet your wife die you shall fetch her some rampion, no matter the\ncost.\u2019 So at dusk he climbed over the wall into the witch\u2019s garden,\nand, hastily gathering a handful of rampion leaves, he returned with\nthem to his wife. She made them into a salad, which tasted so good that\nher longing for the forbidden food was greater than ever. If she were\nto know any peace of mind, there was nothing for it but that her\nhusband should climb over the garden wall again, and fetch her some\nmore. So at dusk over he got, but when he reached the other side he\ndrew back in terror, for there, standing before him, was the old witch.\n\n\u2018How dare you,\u2019 she said, with a wrathful glance, \u2018climb into my garden\nand steal my rampion like a common thief? You shall suffer for your\nfoolhardiness.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh!\u2019 he implored, \u2018pardon my presumption; necessity alone drove me to\nthe deed. My wife saw your rampion from her window, and conceived such\na desire for it that she would certainly have died if her wish had not\nbeen gratified.\u2019 Then the Witch\u2019s anger was a little appeased, and she\nsaid:\n\n\u2018If it\u2019s as you say, you may take as much rampion away with you as you\nlike, but on one condition only\u2014that you give me the child your wife\nwill shortly bring into the world. All shall go well with it, and I\nwill look after it like a mother.\u2019\n\nThe man in his terror agreed to everything she asked, and as soon as\nthe child was born the Witch appeared, and having given it the name of\nRapunzel, which is the same as rampion, she carried it off with her.\n\nRapunzel was the most beautiful child under the sun. When she was\ntwelve years old the Witch shut her up in a tower, in the middle of a\ngreat wood, and the tower had neither stairs nor doors, only high up at\nthe very top a small window. When the old Witch wanted to get in she\nstood underneath and called out:\n\n\u2018Rapunzel, Rapunzel,\nLet down your golden hair,\u2019\n\n\nfor Rapunzel had wonderful long hair, and it was as fine as spun gold.\nWhenever she heard the Witch\u2019s voice she unloosed her plaits, and let\nher hair fall down out of the window about twenty yards below, and the\nold Witch climbed up by it.\n\nAfter they had lived like this for a few years, it happened one day\nthat a Prince was riding through the wood and passed by the tower. As\nhe drew near it he heard someone singing so sweetly that he stood still\nspell-bound, and listened. It was Rapunzel in her loneliness trying to\nwhile away the time by letting her sweet voice ring out into the wood.\nThe Prince longed to see the owner of the voice, but he sought in vain\nfor a door in the tower. He rode home, but he was so haunted by the\nsong he had heard that he returned every day to the wood and listened.\nOne day, when he was standing thus behind a tree, he saw the old Witch\napproach and heard her call out:\n\n\u2018Rapunzel, Rapunzel,\nLet down your golden hair.\u2019\n\n\nThen Rapunzel let down her plaits, and the Witch climbed up by them.\n\n\u2018So that\u2019s the staircase, is it?\u2019 said the Prince. \u2018Then I too will\nclimb it and try my luck.\u2019\n\nSo on the following day, at dusk, he went to the foot of the tower and\ncried:\n\n\u2018Rapunzel, Rapunzel,\nLet down your golden hair,\u2019\n\n\nand as soon as she had let it down the Prince climbed up.\n\nAt first Rapunzel was terribly frightened when a man came in, for she\nhad never seen one before; but the Prince spoke to her so kindly, and\ntold her at once that his heart had been so touched by her singing,\nthat he felt he should know no peace of mind till he had seen her. Very\nsoon Rapunzel forgot her fear, and when he asked her to marry him she\nconsented at once. \u2018For,\u2019 she thought, \u2018he is young and handsome, and\nI\u2019ll certainly be happier with him than with the old Witch.\u2019 So she put\nher hand in his and said:\n\n\u2018Yes, I will gladly go with you, only how am I to get down out of the\ntower? Every time you come to see me you must bring a skein of silk\nwith you, and I will make a ladder of them, and when it is finished I\nwill climb down by it, and you will take me away on your horse.\u2019\n\nThey arranged that till the ladder was ready, he was to come to her\nevery evening, because the old woman was with her during the day. The\nold Witch, of course, knew nothing of what was going on, till one day\nRapunzel, not thinking of what she was about, turned to the Witch and\nsaid:\n\n\u2018How is it, good mother, that you are so much harder to pull up than\nthe young Prince? He is always with me in a moment.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh! you wicked child,\u2019 cried the Witch. \u2018What is this I hear? I\nthought I had hidden you safely from the whole world, and in spite of\nit you have managed to deceive me.\u2019\n\nIn her wrath she seized Rapunzel\u2019s beautiful hair, wound it round and\nround her left hand, and then grasping a pair of scissors in her right,\nsnip snap, off it came, and the beautiful plaits lay on the ground.\nAnd, worse than this, she was so hard-hearted that she took Rapunzel to\na lonely desert place, and there left her to live in loneliness and\nmisery.\n\nBut on the evening of the day in which she had driven poor Rapunzel\naway, the Witch fastened the plaits on to a hook in the window, and\nwhen the Prince came and called out:\n\n\u2018Rapunzel, Rapunzel,\nLet down your golden hair,\u2019\n\n\nshe let them down, and the Prince climbed up as usual, but instead of\nhis beloved Rapunzel he found the old Witch, who fixed her evil,\nglittering eyes on him, and cried mockingly:\n\n\u2018Ah, ah! you thought to find your lady love, but the pretty bird has\nflown and its song is dumb; the cat caught it, and will scratch out\nyour eyes too. Rapunzel is lost to you for ever\u2014you will never see her\nmore.\u2019\n\nThe Prince was beside himself with grief, and in his despair he jumped\nright down from the tower, and, though he escaped with his life, the\nthorns among which he fell pierced his eyes out. Then he wandered,\nblind and miserable, through the wood, eating nothing but roots and\nberries, and weeping and lamenting the loss of his lovely bride. So he\nwandered about for some years, as wretched and unhappy as he could well\nbe, and at last he came to the desert place where Rapunzel was living.\nOf a sudden he heard a voice which seemed strangely familiar to him. He\nwalked eagerly in the direction of the sound, and when he was quite\nclose, Rapunzel recognised him and fell on his neck and wept. But two\nof her tears touched his eyes, and in a moment they became quite clear\nagain, and he saw as well as he had ever done. Then he led her to his\nkingdom, where they were received and welcomed with great joy, and they\nlived happily ever after.[23]\n\n [23] Grimm.\n\n\n\n\nTHE NETTLE SPINNER\n\n\nI\n\nOnce upon a time there lived at Quesnoy, in Flanders, a great lord\nwhose name was Burchard, but whom the country people called Burchard\nthe Wolf. Now Burchard had such a wicked, cruel heart, that it was\nwhispered how he used to harness his peasants to the plough, and force\nthem by blows from his whip to till his land with naked feet.\n\nHis wife, on the other hand, was always tender and pitiful to the poor\nand miserable.\n\nEvery time that she heard of another misdeed of her husband\u2019s she\nsecretly went to repair the evil, which caused her name to be blessed\nthroughout the whole country-side. This Countess was adored as much as\nthe Count was hated.\n\nII\n\nOne day when he was out hunting the Count passed through a forest, and\nat the door of a lonely cottage he saw a beautiful girl spinning hemp.\n\n\u2018What is your name?\u2019 he asked her.\n\n\u2018Renelde, my lord.\u2019\n\n\u2018You must get tired of staying in such a lonely place?\u2019\n\n\u2018I am accustomed to it, my lord, and I never get tired of it.\u2019\n\n\u2018That may be so; but come to the castle, and I will make you lady\u2019s\nmaid to the Countess.\u2019\n\n\u2018I cannot do that, my lord. I have to look after my grandmother, who is\nvery helpless.\u2019\n\n\u2018Come to the castle, I tell you. I shall expect you this evening,\u2019 and\nhe went on his way.\n\nBut Renelde, who was betrothed to a young wood-cutter called Guilbert,\nhad no intention of obeying the Count, and she had, besides, to take\ncare of her grandmother.\n\nThree days later the Count again passed by.\n\n\u2018Why didn\u2019t you come?\u2019 he asked the pretty spinner.\n\n\u2018I told you, my lord, that I have to look after my grandmother.\u2019\n\n\u2018Come to-morrow, and I will make you lady-in-waiting to the Countess,\u2019\nand he went on his way.\n\nThis offer produced no more effect than the other, and Renelde did not\ngo to the castle.\n\n\u2018If you will only come,\u2019 said the Count to her when next he rode by, \u2018I\nwill send away the Countess, and will marry you.\u2019\n\nBut two years before, when Renelde\u2019s mother was dying of a long\nillness, the Countess had not forgotten them, but had given help when\nthey sorely needed it. So even if the Count had really wished to marry\nRenelde, she would always have refused.\n\nIII\n\nSome weeks passed before Burchard appeared again.\n\nRenelde hoped she had got rid of him, when one day he stopped at the\ndoor, his duck-gun under his arm and his game-bag on his shoulder. This\ntime Renelde was spinning not hemp, but flax.\n\n\u2018What are you spinning?\u2019 he asked in a rough voice.\n\n\u2018My wedding shift, my lord.\u2019\n\n\u2018You are going to be married, then?\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes, my lord, by your leave.\u2019\n\nFor at that time no peasant could marry without the leave of his\nmaster.\n\n\u2018I will give you leave on one condition. Do you see those tall nettles\nthat grow on the tombs in the churchyard? Go and gather them, and spin\nthem into two fine shifts. One shall be your bridal shift, and the\nother shall be my shroud. For you shall be married the day that I am\nlaid in my grave.\u2019 And the Count turned away with a mocking laugh.\n\nRenelde trembled. Never in all Locquignol had such a thing been heard\nof as the spinning of nettles.\n\nAnd besides, the Count seemed made of iron and was very proud of his\nstrength, often boasting that he should live to be a hundred.\n\nEvery evening, when his work was done, Guilbert came to visit his\nfuture bride. This evening he came as usual, and Renelde told him what\nBurchard had said.\n\n\u2018Would you like me to watch for the Wolf, and split his skull with a\nblow from my axe?\u2019\n\n\u2018No,\u2019 replied Renelde, \u2018there must be no blood on my bridal bouquet.\nAnd then we must not hurt the Count. Remember how good the Countess was\nto my mother.\u2019\n\nAn old, old woman now spoke: she was the mother of Renelde\u2019s\ngrandmother, and was more than ninety years old. All day long she sat\nin her chair nodding her head and never saying a word.\n\n\u2018My children,\u2019 she said, \u2018all the years that I have lived in the world,\nI have never heard of a shift spun from nettles. But what God commands,\nman can do. Why should not Renelde try it?\u2019\n\nIV\n\nRenelde did try, and to her great surprise the nettles when crushed and\nprepared gave a good thread, soft and light and firm. Very soon she had\nspun the first shift, which was for her own wedding. She wove and cut\nit out at once, hoping that the Count would not force her to begin the\nother. Just as she had finished sewing it, Burchard the Wolf passed by.\n\n\u2018Well,\u2019 said he, \u2018how are the shifts getting on?\u2019\n\n\u2018Here, my lord, is my wedding garment,\u2019 answered Renelde, showing him\nthe shift, which was the finest and whitest ever seen.\n\nThe Count grew pale, but he replied roughly, \u2018Very good. Now begin the\nother.\u2019\n\nThe spinner set to work. As the Count returned to the castle, a cold\nshiver passed over him, and he felt, as the saying is, that some one\nwas walking over his grave. He tried to eat his supper, but could not;\nhe went to bed shaking with fever. But he did not sleep, and in the\nmorning could not manage to rise.\n\nThis sudden illness, which every instant became worse, made him very\nuneasy. No doubt Renelde\u2019s spinning-wheel knew all about it. Was it not\nnecessary that his body, as well as his shroud, should be ready for the\nburial?\n\nThe first thing Burchard did was to send to Renelde and to stop her\nwheel.\n\nRenelde obeyed, and that evening Guilbert asked her:\n\n\u2018Has the Count given his consent to our marriage?\u2019\n\n\u2018No,\u2019 said Renelde.\n\n\u2018Continue your work, sweetheart. It is the only way of gaining it. You\nknow he told you so himself.\u2019\n\nV\n\nThe following morning, as soon as she had put the house in order, the\ngirl sat down to spin. Two hours after there arrived some soldiers, and\nwhen they saw her spinning they seized her, tied her arms and legs, and\ncarried her to the bank of the river, which was swollen by the late\nrains.\n\nWhen they reached the bank they flung her in, and watched her sink,\nafter which they left her. But Renelde rose to the surface, and though\nshe could not swim she struggled to land.\n\nDirectly she got home she sat down and began to spin.\n\nAgain came the two soldiers to the cottage and seized the girl, carried\nher to the river bank, tied a stone to her neck and flung her into the\nwater.\n\nThe moment their backs were turned the stone untied itself. Renelde\nwaded the ford, returned to the hut, and sat down to spin.\n\nThis time the Count resolved to go to Locquignol himself; but, as he\nwas very weak and unable to walk, he had himself borne in a litter. And\nstill the spinner spun.\n\nWhen he saw her he fired a shot at her, as he would have fired at a\nwild beast. The bullet rebounded without harming the spinner, who still\nspun on.\n\nBurchard fell into such a violent rage that it nearly killed him. He\nbroke the wheel into a thousand pieces, and then fell fainting on the\nground. He was carried back to the castle, unconscious.\n\nThe next day the wheel was mended, and the spinner sat down to spin.\nFeeling that while she was spinning he was dying, the Count ordered\nthat her hands should be tied, and that they should not lose sight of\nher for one instant.\n\nBut the guards fell asleep, the bonds loosed themselves, and the\nspinner spun on.\n\nBurchard had every nettle rooted up for three leagues round. Scarcely\nhad they been torn from the soil when they sowed themselves afresh, and\ngrew as you were looking at them.\n\nThey sprung up even in the well-trodden floor of the cottage, and as\nfast as they were uprooted the distaff gathered to itself a supply of\nnettles, crushed, prepared, and ready for spinning.\n\nAnd every day Burchard grew worse, and watched his end approaching.\n\nVI\n\nMoved by pity for her husband, the Countess at last found out the cause\nof his illness, and entreated him to allow himself to be cured. But the\nCount in his pride refused more than ever to give his consent to the\nmarriage.\n\nSo the lady resolved to go without his knowledge to pray for mercy from\nthe spinner, and in the name of Renelde\u2019s dead mother she besought her\nto spin no more. Renelde gave her promise, but in the evening Guilbert\narrived at the cottage. Seeing that the cloth was no farther advanced\nthan it was the evening before, he inquired the reason. Renelde\nconfessed that the Countess had prayed her not to let her husband die.\n\n\u2018Will he consent to our marriage?\u2019\n\n\u2018No.\u2019\n\n\u2018Let him die then.\u2019\n\n\u2018But what will the Countess say?\u2019\n\n\u2018The Countess will understand that it is not your fault; the Count\nalone is guilty of his own death.\u2019\n\n\u2018Let us wait a little. Perhaps his heart may be softened.\u2019\n\nSo they waited for one month, for two, for six, for a year. The spinner\nspun no more. The Count had ceased to persecute her, but he still\nrefused his consent to the marriage. Guilbert became impatient.\n\nThe poor girl loved him with her whole soul, and she was more unhappy\nthan she had been before, when Burchard was only tormenting her body.\n\n\u2018Let us have done with it,\u2019 said Guilbert.\n\n\u2018Wait a little still,\u2019 pleaded Renelde.\n\nBut the young man grew weary. He came more rarely to Locquignol, and\nvery soon he did not come at all. Renelde felt as if her heart would\nbreak, but she held firm.\n\nOne day she met the Count. She clasped her hands as if in prayer, and\ncried:\n\n\u2018My lord, have mercy!\u2019\n\nBurchard the Wolf turned away his head and passed on.\n\nShe might have humbled his pride had she gone to her spinning-wheel\nagain, but she did nothing of the sort.\n\nNot long after she learnt that Guilbert had left the country. He did\nnot even come to say good-bye to her, but, all the same, she knew the\nday and hour of his departure, and hid herself on the road to see him\nonce more.\n\nWhen she came in she put her silent wheel into a corner, and cried for\nthree days and three nights.\n\nVII\n\nSo another year went by. Then the Count fell ill, and the Countess\nsupposed that Renelde, weary of waiting, had begun her spinning anew;\nbut when she came to the cottage to see, she found the wheel silent.\n\nHowever, the Count grew worse and worse till he was given up by the\ndoctors. The passing bell was rung, and he lay expecting Death to come\nfor him. But Death was not so near as the doctors thought, and still he\nlingered.\n\nHe seemed in a desperate condition, but he got neither better nor\nworse. He could neither live nor die; he suffered horribly, and called\nloudly on Death to put an end to his pains.\n\nIn this extremity he remembered what he had told the little spinner\nlong ago. If Death was so slow in coming, it was because he was not\nready to follow him, having no shroud for his burial.\n\nHe sent to fetch Renelde, placed her by his bedside, and ordered her at\nonce to go on spinning his shroud.\n\nHardly had the spinner begun to work when the Count began to feel his\npains grow less.\n\nThen at last his heart melted; he was sorry for all the evil he had\ndone out of pride, and implored Renelde to forgive him. So Renelde\nforgave him, and went on spinning night and day.\n\nWhen the thread of the nettles was spun she wove it with her shuttle,\nand then cut the shroud and began to sew it.\n\nAnd as before, when she sewed the Count felt his pains grow less, and\nthe life sinking within him, and when the needle made the last stitch\nhe gave his last sigh.\n\nVIII\n\nAt the same hour Guilbert returned to the country, and, as he had never\nceased to love Renelde, he married her eight days later.\n\nHe had lost two years of happiness, but comforted himself with thinking\nthat his wife was a clever spinner, and, what was much more rare, a\nbrave and good woman.[24]\n\n [24] Ch. Deulin.\n\n\n\n\nFARMER WEATHERBEARD\n\n\nThere was once upon a time a man and a woman who had an only son, and\nhe was called Jack. The woman thought that it was his duty to go out to\nservice, and told her husband that he was to take him somewhere.\n\n\u2018You must get him such a good place that he will become master of all\nmasters,\u2019 she said, and then she put some food and a roll of tobacco\ninto a bag for them.\n\nWell, they went to a great many masters, but all said that they could\nmake the lad as good as they were themselves, but better than that they\ncould not make him. When the man came home to the old woman with this\nanswer, she said, \u2018I shall be equally well pleased whatever you do with\nhim; but this I do say, that you are to have him made a master over all\nmasters.\u2019 Then she once more put some food and a roll of tobacco into\nthe bag, and the man and his son had to set out again.\n\nWhen they had walked some distance they got upon the ice, and there\nthey met a man in a carriage who was driving a black horse.\n\n\u2018Where are you going?\u2019 he said.\n\n\u2018I have to go and get my son apprenticed to someone who will be able to\nteach him a trade, for my old woman comes of such well-to-do folk that\nshe insists on his being taught to be master of all masters,\u2019 said the\nman.\n\n\u2018We are not ill met, then,\u2019 said the man who was driving, \u2018for I am the\nkind of man who can do that, and I am just looking out for such an\napprentice. Get up behind with you,\u2019 he said to the boy, and off the\nhorse went with them straight up into the air.\n\n\u2018No, no, wait a little!\u2019 screamed the father of the boy. \u2018I ought to\nknow what your name is and where you live.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, I am at home both in the north and the south and the east and the\nwest, and I am called Farmer Weatherbeard,\u2019 said the master. \u2018You may\ncome here again in a year\u2019s time, and then I will tell you if the lad\nsuits me.\u2019 And then they set off again and were gone.\n\nWhen the man got home the old woman inquired what had become of the\nson.\n\n\u2018Ah! Heaven only knows what has become of him!\u2019 said the man. \u2018They\nwent up aloft.\u2019 And then he told her what had happened.\n\nBut when the woman heard that, and found that the man did not at all\nknow either when their son would be out of his apprentice-ship, or\nwhere he had gone, she packed him off again to find out, and gave him a\nbag of food and a roll of tobacco to take away with him.\n\nWhen he had walked for some time he came to a great wood, and it\nstretched before him all day long as he went on, and when night began\nto fall he saw a great light, and went towards it. After a long, long\ntime he came to a small hut at the foot of a rock, outside which an old\nwoman was standing drawing water up from a well with her nose, it was\nso long.\n\n\u2018Good-evening, mother,\u2019 said the man.\n\n\u2018Good-evening to you too,\u2019 said the old woman. \u2018No one has called me\nmother this hundred years.\u2019\n\n\u2018Can I lodge here to-night?\u2019 said the man.\n\n\u2018No,\u2019 said the old woman. But the man took out his roll of tobacco,\nlighted a little of it, and then gave her a whiff. Then she was so\ndelighted that she began to dance, and thus the man got leave to stay\nthe night there. It was not long before he asked about Farmer\nWeatherbeard.\n\nShe said that she knew nothing about him, but that she ruled over all\nthe four-footed beasts, and some of them might know him. So she\ngathered them all together by blowing a whistle which she had, and\nquestioned them, but there was not one of them which knew anything\nabout Farmer Weatherbeard.\n\n\u2018Well,\u2019 said the old woman, \u2018there are three of us sisters; it may be\nthat one of the other two knows where he is to be found. You shall have\nthe loan of my horse and carriage, and then you will get there by\nnight; but her house is three hundred miles off, go the nearest way you\nwill.\u2019\n\nThe man set out and got there at night. When he arrived, this old woman\nalso was standing drawing water out of the well with her nose.\n\n\u2018Good-evening, mother,\u2019 said the man.\n\n\u2018Good-evening to you,\u2019 said the old woman. \u2018No one has ever called me\nmother this hundred years.\u2019\n\n\u2018Can I lodge here to-night?\u2019 said the man.\n\n\u2018No,\u2019 said the old woman.\n\nThen he took out the roll of tobacco, took a whiff, and gave the old\nwoman some snuff on the back of her hand. Then she was so delighted\nthat she began to dance, and the man got leave to stay all night. It\nwas not long before he began to ask about Farmer Weatherbeard.\n\nShe knew nothing about him, but she ruled over all the fishes, she\nsaid, and perhaps some of them might know something. So she gathered\nthem all together by blowing a whistle which she had, and questioned\nthem, but there was not one of them which knew anything about Farmer\nWeatherbeard.\n\n\u2018Well,\u2019 said the old woman, \u2018I have another sister; perhaps she may\nknow something about him. She lives six hundred miles off, but you\nshall have my horse and carriage, and then you will get there by\nnightfall.\u2019\n\nSo the man set off and he got there by nightfall. The old woman was\nstanding raking the fire, and she was doing it with her nose, so long\nit was.\n\n\u2018Good-evening, mother,\u2019 said the man.\n\n\u2018Good-evening to you,\u2019 said the old woman. \u2018No one has called me mother\nthis hundred years.\u2019\n\n\u2018Can I lodge here to-night?\u2019 said the man.\n\n\u2018No,\u2019 said the old woman. But the man pulled out his roll of tobacco\nagain, and filled his pipe with some of it, and gave the old woman\nenough snuff to cover the back of her hand. Then she was so delighted\nthat she began to dance, and the man got leave to stay in her house. It\nwas not long before he asked about Farmer Weatherbeard. She knew\nnothing at all about him, she said, but she governed all the birds; and\nshe gathered them together with her whistle. When she questioned them\nall, the eagle was not there, but it came soon afterwards, and when\nasked, it said that it had just come from Farmer Weatherbeard\u2019s. Then\nthe old woman said that it was to guide the man to him. But the eagle\nwould have something to eat first, and then it wanted to wait until the\nnext day, for it was so tired with the long journey that it was\nscarcely able to rise from the earth.\n\nWhen the eagle had had plenty of food and rest, the old woman plucked a\nfeather out of its tail, and set the man in the feather\u2019s place, and\nthen the bird flew away with him, but they did not get to Farmer\nWeatherbeard\u2019s before midnight.\n\nWhen they got there the Eagle said: \u2018There are a great many dead bodies\nlying outside the door, but you must not concern yourself about them.\nThe people who are inside the house are all so sound asleep that it\nwill not be easy to awake them; but you must go straight to the\ntable-drawer, and take out three bits of bread, and if you hear anyone\nsnoring, pluck three feathers from his head; he will not waken for\nthat.\u2019\n\nThe man did this; when he had got the bits of bread he first plucked\nout one feather.\n\n\u2018Oof!\u2019 screamed Farmer Weatherbeard.\n\nSo the man plucked out another, and then Farmer Weatherbeard shrieked\n\u2018Oof!\u2019 again; but when the man had plucked the third, Farmer\nWeatherbeard screamed so loudly that the man thought that brick and\nmortar would be rent in twain, but for all that he went on sleeping.\nAnd now the Eagle told the man what he was to do next, and he did it.\nHe went to the stable door, and there he stumbled against a hard stone,\nwhich he picked up, and beneath it lay three splinters of wood, which\nhe also picked up. He knocked at the stable door and it opened at once.\nHe threw down the three little bits of bread and a hare came out and\nate them. He caught the hare. Then the Eagle told him to pluck three\nfeathers out of its tail, and put in the hare, the stone, the splinters\nof wood and himself instead of them, and then he would be able to carry\nthem all home.\n\nWhen the Eagle had flown a long way it alighted on a stone.\n\n\u2018Do you see anything?\u2019 it asked.\n\n\u2018Yes; I see a flock of crows coming flying after us,\u2019 said the man.\n\n\u2018Then we shall do well to fly on a little farther,\u2019 said the Eagle, and\noff it set.\n\nIn a short time it asked again, \u2018Do you see anything now?\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes; now the crows are close behind us,\u2019 said the man.\n\n\u2018Then throw down the three feathers which you plucked out of his head,\u2019\nsaid the Eagle.\n\nSo the man did this, and no sooner had he flung them down than the\nfeathers became a flock of ravens, which chased the crows home again.\nThen the Eagle flew on much farther with the man, but at length it\nalighted on a stone for a while.\n\n\u2018Do you see anything?\u2019 it said.\n\n\u2018I am not quite certain,\u2019 said the man, \u2018but I think I see something\ncoming in the far distance.\u2019\n\n\u2018Then we shall do well to fly on a little farther,\u2019 said the Eagle, and\naway it went.\n\n\u2018Do you see anything now?\u2019 it said, after some time had gone by.\n\n\u2018Yes; now they are close behind us,\u2019 said the man.\n\n\u2018Then throw down the splinters of wood which you took from beneath the\ngray stone by the stable door,\u2019 said the Eagle. The man did this, and\nno sooner had he flung them down than they grew up into a great thick\nwood, and Farmer Weatherbeard had to go home for an axe to cut his way\nthrough it. So the Eagle flew on a long, long way, but then it grew\ntired and sat down on a fir tree.\n\n\u2018Do you see anything?\u2019 it asked.\n\n\u2018Yes; I am not quite certain,\u2019 said the man, \u2018but I think I can catch a\nglimpse of something far, far away.\u2019\n\n\u2018Then we shall do well to fly on a little farther,\u2019 said the Eagle, and\nit set off again.\n\n\u2018Do you see anything now?\u2019 it said after some time had gone by.\n\n\u2018Yes; he is close behind us now,\u2019 said the man.\n\n\u2018Then you must fling down the great stone which you took away from the\nstable door,\u2019 said the Eagle.\n\nThe man did so, and it turned into a great high mountain of stone,\nwhich Farmer Weatherbeard had to break his way through before he could\nfollow them. But when he had got to the middle of the mountain he broke\none of his legs, so he had to go home to get it put right.\n\nWhile he was doing this the Eagle flew off to the man\u2019s home with him,\nand with the hare, and when they had got home the man went to the\nchurchyard, and had some Christian earth laid upon the hare, and then\nit turned into his son Jack.\n\nWhen the time came for the fair the youth turned himself into a\nlight-coloured horse, and bade his father go to the market with him.\n\u2018If anyone should come who wants to buy me,\u2019 said he, \u2018you are to tell\nhim that you want a hundred dollars for me; but you must not forget to\ntake off the halter, for if you do I shall never be able to get away\nfrom Farmer Weatherbeard, for he is the man who will come and bargain\nfor me.\u2019\n\nAnd thus it happened. A horse-dealer came who had a great fancy to\nbargain for the horse, and the man got a hundred dollars for it, but\nwhen the bargain was made, and Jack\u2019s father had got the money, the\nhorse-dealer wanted to have the halter.\n\n\u2018That was no part of our bargain,\u2019 said the man, \u2018and the halter you\nshall not have, for I have other horses which I shall have to sell.\u2019\n\nSo each of them went his way. But the horse dealer had not got very far\nwith Jack before he resumed his own form again, and when the man got\nhome he was sitting on the bench by the stove.\n\nThe next day he changed himself into a brown horse and told his father\nthat he was to set off to market with him. \u2018If a man should come who\nwants to buy me,\u2019 said Jack, \u2018you are to tell him that you want two\nhundred dollars, for that he will give, and treat you besides; but\nwhatsoever you drink, and whatsoever you do, don\u2019t forget to take the\nhalter off me, or you will never see me more.\u2019\n\nAnd thus it happened. The man got his two hundred dollars for the\nhorse, and was treated as well, and when they parted from each other it\nwas just as much as he could do to remember to take off the halter. But\nthe buyer had not got far on his way before the youth took his own form\nagain, and when the man reached home Jack was already sitting on the\nbench by the stove.\n\nOn the third day all happened in the same way. The youth changed\nhimself into a great black horse, and told his father that if a man\ncame and offered him three hundred dollars, and treated him well and\nhandsomely into the bargain, he was to sell him, but whatsoever he did,\nor how much soever he drank, he must not forget to take off the halter,\nor else he himself would never get away from Farmer Weatherbeard as\nlong as he lived.\n\n\u2018No,\u2019 said the man, \u2018I will not forget.\u2019\n\nWhen he got to the market, he received the three hundred dollars, but\nFarmer Weatherbeard treated him so handsomely that he quite forgot to\ntake off the halter; so Farmer Weatherbeard went away with the horse.\n\nWhen he had got some distance he had to go into an inn to get some more\nbrandy; so he set a barrel full of red-hot nails under his horse\u2019s\nnose, and a trough filled with oats beneath its tail, and then he tied\nthe halter fast to a hook and went away into the inn. So the horse\nstood there stamping, and kicking, and snorting, and rearing, and out\ncame a girl who thought it a sin and a shame to treat a horse so ill.\n\n\u2018Ah, poor creature, what a master you must have to treat you thus!\u2019 she\nsaid, and pushed the halter off the hook so that the horse might turn\nround and eat the oats.\n\n\u2018I am here!\u2019 shrieked Farmer Weatherbeard, rushing out of doors. But\nthe horse had already shaken off the halter and flung himself into a\ngoose-pond, where he changed himself into a little fish. Farmer\nWeatherbeard went after him, and changed himself into a great pike. So\nJack turned himself into a dove, and Farmer Weatherbeard turned himself\ninto a hawk, and flew after the dove and struck it. But a Princess was\nstanding at a window in the King\u2019s palace watching the struggle.\n\n\u2018If thou didst but know as much as I know, thou wouldst fly in to me\nthrough the window,\u2019 said the Princess to the dove.\n\nSo the dove came flying in through the window and changed itself into\nJack again, and told her all as it had happened.\n\n\u2018Change thyself into a gold ring, and set thyself on my finger,\u2019 said\nthe Princess.\n\n\u2018No, that will not do,\u2019 said Jack, \u2018for then Farmer Weatherbeard will\nmake the King fall sick, and there will be no one who can make him well\nagain before Farmer Weatherbeard comes and cures him, and for that he\nwill demand the gold ring.\u2019\n\n\u2018I will say that it was my mother\u2019s, and that I will not part with it,\u2019\nsaid the Princess.\n\nSo Jack changed himself into a gold ring, and set himself on the\nPrincess\u2019s finger, and Farmer Weatherbeard could not get at him there.\nBut then all that the youth had foretold came to pass.\n\nThe King became ill, and there was no doctor who could cure him till\nFarmer Weatherbeard arrived, and he demanded the ring which was on the\nPrincess\u2019s finger as a reward.\n\nSo the King sent a messenger to the Princess for the ring. She,\nhowever, refused to part with it, because she had inherited it from her\nmother. When the King was informed of this he fell into a rage, and\nsaid that he would have the ring, let her have inherited it from whom\nshe might.\n\n\u2018Well, it\u2019s of no use to be angry about it,\u2019 said the Princess, \u2018for I\ncan\u2019t get it off. If you want the ring you will have to take the finger\ntoo!\u2019\n\n\u2018I will try, and then the ring will very soon come off,\u2019 said Farmer\nWeatherbeard.\n\n\u2018No, thank you, I will try myself,\u2019 said the Princess, and she went\naway to the fireplace and put some ashes on the ring.\n\nSo the ring came off and was lost among the ashes.\n\nFarmer Weatherbeard changed himself into a hare, which scratched and\nscraped about in the fireplace after the ring until the ashes were up\nto its ears. But Jack changed himself into a fox, and bit the hare\u2019s\nhead off, and if Farmer Weatherbeard was possessed by the evil one all\nwas now over with him.[25]\n\n [25] From P. C. Asbj\u00f8rnsen.\n\n\n\n\nMOTHER HOLLE\n\n\nOnce upon a time there was a widow who had two daughters; one of them\nwas pretty and clever, and the other ugly and lazy. But as the ugly one\nwas her own daughter, she liked her far the best of the two, and the\npretty one had to do all the work of the house, and was in fact the\nregular maid of all work. Every day she had to sit by a well on the\nhigh road, and spin till her fingers were so sore that they often bled.\nOne day some drops of blood fell on her spindle, so she dipped it into\nthe well meaning to wash it, but, as luck would have it, it dropped\nfrom her hand and fell right in. She ran weeping to her stepmother, and\ntold her what had happened, but she scolded her harshly, and was so\nmerciless in her anger that she said:\n\n\u2018Well, since you\u2019ve dropped the spindle down, you must just go after it\nyourself, and don\u2019t let me see your face again until you bring it with\nyou.\u2019\n\nThen the poor girl returned to the well, and not knowing what she was\nabout, in the despair and misery of her heart she sprang into the well\nand sank to the bottom. For a time she lost all consciousness, and when\nshe came to herself again she was lying in a lovely meadow, with the\nsun shining brightly overhead, and a thousand flowers blooming at her\nfeet. She rose up and wandered through this enchanted place, till she\ncame to a baker\u2019s oven full of bread, and the bread called out to her\nas she passed:\n\n\u2018Oh! take me out, take me out, or I shall be burnt to a cinder. I am\nquite done enough.\u2019\n\nSo she stepped up quickly to the oven and took out all the loaves one\nafter the other. Then she went on a little farther and came to a tree\nladen with beautiful rosy-cheeked apples, and as she passed by it\ncalled out:\n\n\u2018Oh! shake me, shake me, my apples are all quite ripe.\u2019\n\nShe did as she was asked, and shook the tree till the apples fell like\nrain and none were left hanging. When she had gathered them all up into\na heap she went on her way again, and came at length to a little house,\nat the door of which sat an old woman. The old dame had such large\nteeth that the girl felt frightened and wanted to run away, but the old\nwoman called after her:\n\n\u2018What are you afraid of, dear child? Stay with me and be my little\nmaid, and if you do your work well I will reward you handsomely; but\nyou must be very careful how you make my bed\u2014you must shake it well\ntill the feathers fly; then people in the world below say it snows, for\nI am Mother Holle.\u2019\n\nShe spoke so kindly that the girl took heart and agreed readily to\nenter her service. She did her best to please the old woman, and shook\nher bed with such a will that the feathers flew about like snow-flakes;\nso she led a very easy life, was never scolded, and lived on the fat of\nthe land. But after she had been some time with Mother Holle she grew\nsad and depressed, and at first she hardly knew herself what was the\nmatter. At last she discovered that she was homesick, so she went to\nMother Holle and said:\n\n\u2018I know I am a thousand times better off here than I ever was in my\nlife before, but notwithstanding, I have a great longing to go home, in\nspite of all your kindness to me. I can remain with you no longer, but\nmust return to my own people.\u2019\n\n\u2018Your desire to go home pleases me,\u2019 said Mother Holle, \u2018and because\nyou have served me so faithfully, I will show you the way back into the\nworld myself.\u2019\n\nSo she took her by the hand and led her to an open door, and as the\ngirl passed through it there fell a heavy shower of gold all over her,\ntill she was covered with it from top to toe.\n\n\u2018That\u2019s a reward for being such a good little maid,\u2019 said Mother Holle,\nand she gave her the spindle too that had fallen into the well. Then\nshe shut the door, and the girl found herself back in the world again,\nnot far from her own house; and when she came to the courtyard the old\nhen, who sat on the top of the wall, called out:\n\n\u2018Click, clock, clack,\nOur golden maid\u2019s come back.\u2019\n\n\nThen she went in to her stepmother, and as she had returned covered\nwith gold she was welcomed home.\n\nShe proceeded to tell all that had happened to her, and when the mother\nheard how she had come by her riches, she was most anxious to secure\nthe same luck for her own idle, ugly daughter; so she told her to sit\nat the well and spin. In order to make her spindle bloody, she stuck\nher hand into a hedge of thorns and pricked her finger. Then she threw\nthe spindle into the well, and jumped in herself after it. Like her\nsister she came to the beautiful meadow, and followed the same path.\nWhen she reached the baker\u2019s oven the bread called out as before:\n\n\u2018Oh! take me out, take me out, or I shall be burnt to a cinder. I am\nquite done enough.\u2019\n\nBut the good-for-nothing girl answered:\n\n\u2018A pretty joke, indeed; just as if I should dirty my hands for you!\u2019\n\nAnd on she went. Soon she came to the apple tree, which cried:\n\n\u2018Oh! shake me, shake me, my apples are all quite ripe.\u2019\n\n\u2018I\u2019ll see myself farther,\u2019 she replied, \u2018one of them might fall on my\nhead.\u2019\n\nAnd so she pursued her way. When she came to Mother Holle\u2019s house she\nwasn\u2019t the least afraid, for she had been warned about her big teeth,\nand she readily agreed to become her maid. The first day she worked\nvery hard, and did all her mistress told her, for she thought of the\ngold she would give her; but on the second day she began to be lazy,\nand on the third she wouldn\u2019t even get up in the morning. She didn\u2019t\nmake Mother Holle\u2019s bed as she ought to have done, and never shook it\nenough to make the feathers fly. So her mistress soon grew weary of\nher, and dismissed her, much to the lazy creature\u2019s delight.\n\n\u2018For now,\u2019 she thought, \u2018the shower of golden rain will come.\u2019\n\nMother Holle led her to the same door as she had done her sister, but\nwhen she passed through it, instead of the gold rain a kettle full of\npitch came showering over her.\n\n\u2018That\u2019s a reward for your service,\u2019 said Mother Holle, and she closed\nthe door behind her.\n\nSo the lazy girl came home all covered with pitch, and when the old hen\non the top of the wall saw her, it called out:\n\n\u2018Click, clock, clack,\nOur dirty slut\u2019s come back.\u2019\n\n\nBut the pitch remained sticking to her, and never as long as she lived\ncould it be got off.[26]\n\n [26] Grimm.\n\n\n\n\nMINNIKIN\n\n\nThere was once upon a time a couple of needy folk who lived in a\nwretched hut, in which there was nothing but black want; so they had\nneither food to eat nor wood to burn. But if they had next to nothing\nof all else they had the blessing of God so far as children were\nconcerned, and every year brought them one more. The man was not\noverpleased at this. He was always going about grumbling and growling,\nand saying that it seemed to him that there might be such a thing as\nhaving too many of these good gifts; so shortly before another baby was\nborn he went away into the wood for some firewood, saying that he did\nnot want to see the new child; he would hear him quite soon enough when\nhe began to squall for some food.\n\nAs soon as this baby was born it began to look about the room. \u2018Ah, my\ndear mother!\u2019 said he, \u2018give me some of my brothers\u2019 old clothes, and\nfood enough for a few days, and I will go out into the world and seek\nmy fortune, for, so far as I can see, you have children enough.\u2019\n\n\u2018Heaven help thee, my son!\u2019 said the mother, \u2018that will never do; thou\nart still far too little.\u2019\n\nBut the little creature was determined to do it, and begged and prayed\nso long that the mother was forced to let him have some old rags, and\ntie up a little food for him, and then gaily and happily he went out\ninto the world.\n\nBut almost before he was out of the house another boy was born, and he\ntoo looked about him, and said, \u2018Ah, my dear mother! give me some of my\nbrothers\u2019 old clothes, and food for some days, and then I will go out\ninto the world and find my twin brother, for you have children enough.\u2019\n\n\u2018Heaven help thee, little creature! thou art far too little for that,\u2019\nsaid the woman; \u2018it would never do.\u2019\n\nBut she spoke to no purpose, for the boy begged and prayed until he had\ngot some old rags and a bundle of provisions, and then he set out\nmanfully into the world to find his twin brother.\n\nWhen the younger had walked for some time he caught sight of his\nbrother a short distance in front of him, and called to him and bade\nhim to stop.\n\n\u2018Wait a minute,\u2019 he said; \u2018you are walking as if for a wager, but you\nought to have stayed to see your younger brother before you hurried off\ninto the world.\u2019\n\nSo the elder stood still and looked back, and when the younger had got\nup to him, and had told him that he was his brother, he said: \u2018But now,\nlet us sit down and see what kind of food our mother has given us,\u2019 and\nthat they did.\n\nWhen they had walked on a little farther they came to a brook which ran\nthrough a green meadow, and there the younger said that they ought to\nchristen each other. \u2018As we had to make such haste, and had no time to\ndo it at home, we may as well do it here,\u2019 said he.\n\n\u2018What will you be called?\u2019 asked the elder.\n\n\u2018I will be called Minnikin,\u2019 answered the second; \u2018and you, what will\nyou be called?\u2019\n\n\u2018I will be called King Pippin,\u2019 answered the elder.\n\nThey christened each other and then went onwards. When they had walked\nfor some time they came to a crossway, and there they agreed to part,\nand each take his own road. This they did, but no sooner had they\nwalked a short distance than they met again. So they parted once more,\nand each took his own road, but in a very short time the same thing\nhappened again\u2014they met each other before they were at all aware, and\nso it happened the third time also. Then they arranged with each other\nthat each should choose his own quarter, and one should go east and the\nother west.\n\n\u2018But if ever you fall into any need or trouble,\u2019 said the elder, \u2018call\nme thrice, and I will come and help you; only you must not call me\nuntil you are in the utmost need.\u2019\n\n\u2018In that case we shall not see each other for some time,\u2019 said\nMinnikin; so they bade farewell to each other, and Minnikin went east\nand King Pippin went west.\n\nWhen Minnikin had walked a long way alone, he met an old, old\ncrook-backed hag, who had only one eye. Minnikin stole it.\n\n\u2018Oh! oh!\u2019 cried the old hag, \u2018what has become of my eye?\u2019\n\n\u2018What will you give me to get your eye back?\u2019 said Minnikin.\n\n\u2018I will give thee a sword which is such a sword that it can conquer a\nwhole army, let it be ever so great,\u2019 replied the woman.\n\n\u2018Let me have it, then,\u2019 said Minnikin.\n\nThe old hag gave him the sword, so she got her eye back. Then Minnikin\nwent onwards, and when he had wandered on for some time he again met an\nold, old crook-backed hag, who had only one eye. Minnikin stole it\nbefore she was aware.\n\n\u2018Oh! oh! what has become of my eye?\u2019 cried the old hag.\n\n\u2018What will you give me to get your eye back?\u2019 said Minnikin.\n\n\u2018I will give thee a ship which can sail over fresh water and salt\nwater, over high hills and deep dales,\u2019 answered the old woman.\n\n\u2018Let me have it then,\u2019 said Minnikin.\n\nSo the old woman gave him a little bit of a ship which was no bigger\nthan he could put in his pocket, and then she got her eye back, and she\nwent her way and Minnikin his. When he had walked on for a long time,\nhe met for the third time an old, old crook-backed hag, who had only\none eye. This eye also Minnikin stole, and when the woman screamed and\nlamented, and asked what had become of her eye, Minnikin said, \u2018What\nwill you give me to get your eye back?\u2019\n\n\u2018I will give thee the art to brew a hundred lasts of malt in one\nbrewing.\u2019\n\nSo, for teaching that art, the old hag got her eye back, and they both\nwent away by different roads.\n\nBut when Minnikin had walked a short distance, it seemed to him that it\nmight be worth while to see what his ship could do; so he took it out\nof his pocket, and first he put one foot into it, and then the other,\nand no sooner had he put one foot into the ship than it became much\nlarger, and when he set the other foot into it, it grew as large as\nships that sail on the sea.\n\nThen Minnikin said: \u2018Now go over fresh water and salt water, over high\nhills and deep dales, and do not stop until thou comest to the King\u2019s\npalace.\u2019\n\nAnd in an instant the ship went away as swiftly as any bird in the air\ntill it got just below the King\u2019s palace, and there it stood still.\n\nFrom the windows of the King\u2019s palace many persons had seen Minnikin\ncome sailing thither, and had stood to watch him; and they were all so\nastounded that they ran down to see what manner of man this could be\nwho came sailing in a ship through the air. But while they were running\ndown from the King\u2019s palace, Minnikin had got out of the ship and had\nput it in his pocket again; for the moment he got out of it, it once\nmore became as small as it had been when he got it from the old woman,\nand those who came from the King\u2019s palace could see nothing but a\nragged little boy who was standing down by the sea-shore. The King\nasked where he had come from, but the boy said he did not know, nor yet\ncould he tell them how he had got there, but he begged very earnestly\nand prettily for a place in the King\u2019s palace. If there was nothing\nelse for him to do, he said he would fetch wood and water for the\nkitchen-maid, and that he obtained leave to do.\n\nWhen Minnikin went up to the King\u2019s palace he saw that everything there\nwas hung with black both outside and inside, from the bottom to the\ntop; so he asked the kitchen-maid what that meant.\n\n\u2018Oh, I will tell you that,\u2019 answered the kitchen-maid. \u2018The King\u2019s\ndaughter was long ago promised away to three Trolls, and next Thursday\nevening one of them is to come to fetch her. Ritter Red has said that\nhe will be able to set her free, but who knows whether he will be able\nto do it? so you may easily imagine what grief and distress we are in\nhere.\u2019\n\nSo when Thursday evening came, Ritter Red accompanied the Princess to\nthe sea-shore; for there she was to meet the Troll, and Ritter Red was\nto stay with her and protect her. He, however, was very unlikely to do\nthe Troll much injury, for no sooner had the Princess seated herself by\nthe sea-shore than Ritter Red climbed up into a great tree which was\nstanding there, and hid himself as well as he could among the branches.\n\nThe Princess wept, and begged him most earnestly not to go and leave\nher; but Ritter Red did not concern himself about that. \u2018It is better\nthat one should die than two,\u2019 said he.\n\nIn the meantime Minnikin begged the kitchen-maid very prettily to give\nhim leave to go down to the strand for a short time.\n\n\u2018Oh, what could you do down at the strand?\u2019 said the kitchen-maid. \u2018You\nhave nothing to do there.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh yes, my dear, just let me go,\u2019 said Minnikin. \u2018I should so like to\ngo and amuse myself with the other children.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, well, go then!\u2019 said the kitchen-maid, \u2018but don\u2019t let me find\nyou staying there over the time when the pan has to be set on the fire\nfor supper, and the roast put on the spit; and mind you bring back a\ngood big armful of wood for the kitchen.\u2019\n\nMinnikin promised this, and ran down to the sea-shore.\n\nJust as he got to the place where the King\u2019s daughter was sitting, the\nTroll came rushing up with a great whistling and whirring, and he was\nso big and stout that he was terrible to see, and he had five heads.\n\n\u2018Fire!\u2019 screeched the Troll.\n\n\u2018Fire yourself!\u2019 said Minnikin.\n\n\u2018Can you fight?\u2019 roared the Troll.\n\n\u2018If not, I can learn,\u2019 said Minnikin.\n\nSo the Troll struck at him with a great thick iron bar which he had in\nhis fist, till the sods flew five yards up into the air.\n\n\u2018Fie!\u2019 said Minnikin. \u2018That was not much of a blow. Now you shall see\none of mine.\u2019\n\nSo he grasped the sword which he had got from the old crook-backed\nwoman, and slashed at the Troll so that all five heads went flying away\nover the sands.\n\nWhen the Princess saw that she was delivered she was so delighted that\nshe did not know what she was doing, and skipped and danced.\n\n\u2018Come and sleep a bit with your head in my lap,\u2019 she said to Minnikin,\nand as he slept she put a golden dress on him.\n\nBut when Ritter Red saw that there was no longer any danger afoot, he\nlost no time in creeping down from the tree. He then threatened the\nPrincess, until at length she was forced to promise to say that it was\nhe who had rescued her, for he told her that if she did not he would\nkill her. Then he took the Troll\u2019s lungs and tongue and put them in his\npocket-handkerchief, and led the Princess back to the King\u2019s palace;\nand whatsoever had been lacking to him in the way of honour before was\nlacking no longer, for the King did not know how to exalt him enough,\nand always set him on his own right hand at table.\n\nAs for Minnikin, first he went out on the Troll\u2019s ship and took a great\nquantity of gold and silver hoops away with him, and then he trotted\nback to the King\u2019s palace.\n\nWhen the kitchen-maid caught sight of all this gold and silver she was\nquite amazed, and said: \u2018My dear friend Minnikin, where have you got\nall that from?\u2019 for she was half afraid that he had not come by it\nhonestly.\n\n\u2018Oh,\u2019 answered Minnikin, \u2018I have been home a while, and these hoops had\nfallen off some of our buckets, so I brought them away with me for\nyou.\u2019\n\nSo when the kitchen-maid heard that they were for her, she asked no\nmore questions about the matter. She thanked Minnikin, and everything\nwas right again at once.\n\nNext Thursday evening all went just the same, and everyone was full of\ngrief and affliction, but Ritter Red said that he had been able to\ndeliver the King\u2019s daughter from one Troll, so that he could very\neasily deliver her from another, and he led her down to the sea-shore.\nBut he did not do much harm to this Troll either, for when the time\ncame when the Troll might be expected, he said as he had said before:\n\u2018It is better that one should die than two,\u2019 and then climbed up into\nthe tree again.\n\nMinnikin once more begged the cook\u2019s leave to go down to the sea-shore\nfor a short time.\n\n\u2018Oh, what can you do there?\u2019 said the cook.\n\n\u2018My dear, do let me go!\u2019 said Minnikin; \u2018I should so like to go down\nthere and amuse myself a little with the other children.\u2019\n\nSo this time also she said that he should have leave to go, but he must\nfirst promise that he would be back by the time the joint was turned\nand that he would bring a great armful of wood with him.\n\nNo sooner had Minnikin got down to the strand than the Troll came\nrushing along with a great whistling and whirring, and he was twice as\nbig as the first Troll, and he had ten heads.\n\n\u2018Fire!\u2019 shrieked the Troll.\n\n\u2018Fire yourself!\u2019 said Minnikin.\n\n\u2018Can you fight?\u2019 roared the Troll.\n\n\u2018If not, I can learn,\u2019 said Minnikin.\n\nSo the Troll struck at him with his iron club\u2014which was still bigger\nthan that which the first Troll had had\u2014so that the earth flew ten\nyards up in the air.\n\n\u2018Fie!\u2019 said Minnikin. \u2018That was not much of a blow. Now you shall see\none of my blows.\u2019\n\nThen he grasped his sword and struck at the Troll, so that all his ten\nheads danced away over the sands.\n\nAnd again the King\u2019s daughter said to him, \u2018Sleep a while on my lap,\u2019\nand while Minnikin lay there she drew some silver raiment over him.\n\nAs soon as Ritter Red saw that there was no longer any danger afoot, he\ncrept down from the tree and threatened the Princess, until at last she\nwas again forced to promise to say that it was he who had rescued her;\nafter which he took the tongue and the lungs of the Troll and put them\nin his pocket-handkerchief, and then he conducted the Princess back to\nthe palace. There was joy and gladness in the palace, as may be\nimagined, and the King did not know how to show enough honour and\nrespect to Ritter Red.\n\nMinnikin, however, took home with him an armful of gold and silver\nhoops from the Troll\u2019s ship. When he came back to the King\u2019s palace the\nkitchen-maid clapped her hands and wondered where he could have got all\nthat gold and silver; but Minnikin answered that he had been home for a\nshort time, and that it was only the hoops which had fallen off some\npails, and that he had brought them away for the kitchen-maid.\n\nWhen the third Thursday evening came, everything happened exactly as it\nhad happened on the two former occasions. Everything in the King\u2019s\npalace was hung with black, and everyone was sorrowful and distressed;\nbut Ritter Red said that he did not think that they had much reason to\nbe afraid\u2014he had delivered the King\u2019s daughter from two Trolls, so he\ncould easily deliver her from the third as well.\n\nHe led her down to the strand, but when the time drew near for the\nTroll to come, he climbed up into the tree again and hid himself.\n\nThe Princess wept and entreated him to stay, but all to no purpose. He\nstuck to his old speech, \u2018It is better that one life should be lost\nthan two.\u2019\n\nThis evening also, Minnikin begged for leave to go down to the\nsea-shore.\n\n\u2018Oh, what can you do there?\u2019 answered the kitchen-maid.\n\nHowever, he begged until at last he got leave to go, but he was forced\nto promise that he would be back again in the kitchen when the roast\nhad to be turned.\n\nAlmost immediately after he had got down to the sea-shore the Troll\ncame with a great whizzing and whirring, and he was much, much bigger\nthan either of the two former ones, and he had fifteen heads.\n\n\u2018Fire!\u2019 roared the Troll.\n\n\u2018Fire yourself!\u2019 said Minnikin.\n\n\u2018Can you fight?\u2019 screamed the Troll.\n\n\u2018If not, I can learn,\u2019 said Minnikin.\n\n\u2018I will teach you,\u2019 yelled the Troll, and struck at him with his iron\nclub so that the earth flew up fifteen yards high into the air.\n\n\u2018Fie!\u2019 said Minnikin. \u2018That was not much of a blow. Now I will let you\nsee one of my blows.\u2019\n\nSo saying he grasped his sword, and cut at the Troll in such a way that\nall his fifteen heads danced away over the sands.\n\nThen the Princess was delivered, and she thanked Minnikin and blessed\nhim for saving her.\n\n\u2018Sleep a while now on my lap,\u2019 said she, and while he lay there she put\na garment of brass upon him.\n\n\u2018But now, how shall we have it made known that it was you who saved\nme?\u2019 said the King\u2019s daughter.\n\n\u2018That I will tell you,\u2019 answered Minnikin. \u2018When Ritter Red has taken\nyou home again, and given out that it was he who rescued you, he will,\nas you know, have you to wife, and half the kingdom. But when they ask\nyou on your wedding-day whom you will have to be your cup-bearer, you\nmust say, \u201cI will have the ragged boy who is in the kitchen, and\ncarries wood and water for the kitchen-maid;\u201d and when I am filling\nyour cups for you, I will spill a drop upon his plate but none upon\nyours, and then he will be angry and strike me, and this will take\nplace thrice. But the third time you must say, \u201cShame on you thus to\nsmite the beloved of mine heart. It is he who delivered me from the\nTroll, and he is the one whom I will have.\u201d\u2019\n\nThen Minnikin ran back to the King\u2019s palace as he had done before, but\nfirst he went on board the Troll\u2019s ship and took a great quantity of\ngold and silver and other precious things, and out of these he once\nmore gave to the kitchen-maid a whole armful of gold and silver hoops.\n\nNo sooner did Ritter Red see that all danger was over than he crept\ndown from the tree, and threatened the King\u2019s daughter till he made her\npromise to say that he had rescued her. Then he conducted her back to\nthe King\u2019s palace, and if honour enough had not been done him before it\nwas certainly done now, for the King had no other thought than how to\nmake much of the man who had saved his daughter from the three Trolls;\nand it was settled then that Ritter Red should marry her, and receive\nhalf the kingdom.\n\nOn the wedding-day, however, the Princess begged that she might have\nthe little boy who was in the kitchen, and carried wood and water for\nthe kitchen-maid, to fill the wine-cups at the wedding feast.\n\n\u2018Oh, what can you want with that dirty, ragged boy, in here?\u2019 said\nRitter Red, but the Princess said that she insisted on having him as\ncup-bearer and would have no one else; and at last she got leave, and\nthen everything was done as had been agreed on between the Princess and\nMinnikin. He spilt a drop on Ritter Red\u2019s plate but none upon hers, and\neach time that he did it Ritter Red fell into a rage and struck him. At\nthe first blow all the ragged garments which he had worn in the kitchen\nfell from off Minnikin, at the second blow the brass garments fell off,\nand at the third the silver raiment, and there he stood in the golden\nraiment, which was so bright and splendid that light flashed from it.\n\nThen the King\u2019s daughter said: \u2018Shame on you thus to smite the beloved\nof my heart. It is he who delivered me from the Troll, and he is the\none whom I will have.\u2019\n\nRitter Red swore that he was the man who had saved her, but the King\nsaid: \u2018He who delivered my daughter must have some token in proof of\nit.\u2019\n\nSo Ritter Red ran off at once for his handkerchief with the lungs and\ntongue, and Minnikin went and brought all the gold and silver and\nprecious things which he had taken out of the Trolls\u2019 ships; and they\neach of them laid these tokens before the King.\n\n\u2018He who has such precious things in gold and silver and diamonds,\u2019 said\nthe King, \u2018must be the one who killed the Troll, for such things are\nnot to be had anywhere else.\u2019 So Ritter Red was thrown into the\nsnake-pit, and Minnikin was to have the Princess, and half the kingdom.\n\nOne day the King went out walking with Minnikin, and Minnikin asked him\nif he had never had any other children.\n\n\u2018Yes,\u2019 said the King, \u2018I had another daughter, but the Troll carried\nher away because there was no one who could deliver her. You are going\nto have one daughter of mine, but if you can set free the other, who\nhas been taken by the Troll, you shall willingly have her too, and the\nother half of the kingdom as well.\u2019\n\n\u2018I may as well make the attempt,\u2019 said Minnikin, \u2018but I must have an\niron rope which is five hundred ells long, and then I must have five\nhundred men with me, and provisions for five weeks, for I have a long\nvoyage before me.\u2019\n\nSo the King said he should have these things, but the King was afraid\nthat he had no ship large enough to carry them all.\n\n\u2018But I have a ship of my own,\u2019 said Minnikin, and he took the one which\nthe old woman had given him out of his pocket. The King laughed at him\nand thought that it was only one of his jokes, but Minnikin begged him\njust to give him what he had asked for, and then he should see\nsomething. Then all that Minnikin had asked for was brought; and first\nhe ordered them to lay the cable in the ship, but there was no one who\nwas able to lift it, and there was only room for one or two men at a\ntime in the little bit of a ship. Then Minnikin himself took hold of\nthe cable, and laid one or two links of it into the ship, and as he\nthrew the links into it the ship grew bigger and bigger, and at last it\nwas so large that the cable, and the five hundred men, and provisions,\nand Minnikin himself, had room enough.\n\n\u2018Now go over fresh water and salt water, over hill and dale, and do not\nstop until thou comest to where the King\u2019s daughter is,\u2019 said Minnikin\nto the ship, and off it went in a moment over land and water till the\nwind whistled and moaned all round about it.\n\nWhen they had sailed thus a long, long way, the ship stopped short in\nthe middle of the sea.\n\n\u2018Ah, now we have got there,\u2019 said Minnikin, \u2018but how we are to get back\nagain is a very different thing.\u2019\n\nThen he took the cable and tied one end of it round his body. \u2018Now I\nmust go to the bottom,\u2019 he said, \u2018but when I give a good jerk to the\ncable and want to come up again, you must all pull like one man, or\nthere will be an end of all life both for you and for me.\u2019 So saying he\nsprang into the water, and yellow bubbles rose up all around him. He\nsank lower and lower, and at last he came to the bottom. There he saw a\nlarge hill with a door in it, and in he went. When he had got inside he\nfound the other Princess sitting sewing, but when she saw Minnikin she\nclapped her hands.\n\n\u2018Ah, heaven be praised!\u2019 she cried, \u2018I have not seen a Christian man\nsince I came here.\u2019\n\n\u2018I have come for you,\u2019 said Minnikin.\n\n\u2018Alas! you will not be able to get me,\u2019 said the King\u2019s daughter. \u2018It\nis no use even to think of that; if the Troll catches sight of you he\nwill take your life.\u2019\n\n\u2018You had better tell me about him,\u2019 said Minnikin. \u2018Where is he gone?\nIt would be amusing to see him.\u2019\n\nSo the King\u2019s daughter told Minnikin that the Troll was out trying to\nget hold of someone who could brew a hundred lasts of malt at one\nbrewing, for there was to be a feast at the Troll\u2019s, at which less than\nthat would not be drunk.\n\n\u2018I can do that,\u2019 said Minnikin.\n\n\u2018Ah! if only the Troll were not so quick-tempered I might have told him\nthat,\u2019 answered the Princess, \u2018but he is so ill-natured that he will\ntear you to pieces, I fear, as soon as he comes in. But I will try to\nfind some way of doing it. Can you hide yourself here in the cupboard?\nand then we will see what happens.\u2019\n\nMinnikin did this, and almost before he had crept into the cupboard and\nhidden himself, came the Troll.\n\n\u2018Huf! What a smell of Christian man\u2019s blood!\u2019 said the Troll.\n\n\u2018Yes, a bird flew over the roof with a Christian man\u2019s bone in his\nbill, and let it fall down our chimney,\u2019 answered the Princess. \u2018I made\nhaste enough to get it away again, but it must be that which smells so,\nnotwithstanding.\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes, it must be that,\u2019 said the Troll.\n\nThen the Princess asked if he had got hold of anyone who could brew a\nhundred lasts of malt at one brewing.\n\n\u2018No, there is no one who can do it,\u2019 said the Troll.\n\n\u2018A short time since there was a man here who said he could do it,\u2019 said\nthe King\u2019s daughter.\n\n\u2018How clever you always are!\u2019 said the Troll. \u2018How could you let him go\naway? You must have known that I was just wanting a man of that kind.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, but I didn\u2019t let him go, after all,\u2019 said the Princess; \u2018but\nfather is so quick-tempered, so I hid him in the cupboard, but if\nfather has not found any one then the man is still here.\u2019\n\n\u2018Let him come in,\u2019 said the Troll.\n\nWhen Minnikin came, the Troll asked if it were true that he could brew\na hundred lasts of malt at one brewing.\n\n\u2018Yes,\u2019 said Minnikin, \u2018it is.\u2019\n\n\u2018It is well then that I have lighted on thee,\u2019 said the Troll. \u2018Fall to\nwork this very minute, but Heaven help thee if thou dost not brew the\nale strong.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, it shall taste well,\u2019 said Minnikin, and at once set himself to\nwork to brew.\n\n\u2018But I must have more trolls to help to carry what is wanted,\u2019 said\nMinnikin; \u2018these that I have are good for nothing.\u2019\n\nSo he got more and so many that there was a swarm of them, and then the\nbrewing went on. When the sweet-wort was ready they were all, as a\nmatter of course, anxious to taste it, first the Troll himself and then\nthe others; but Minnikin had brewed the wort so strong that they all\nfell down dead like so many flies as soon as they had drunk any of it.\nAt last there was no one left but one wretched old hag who was lying\nbehind the stove.\n\n\u2018Oh, poor old creature!\u2019 said Minnikin, \u2018you shall have a taste of the\nwort too like the rest.\u2019 So he went away and scooped up a little from\nthe bottom of the brewing vat in a milk pan, and gave it to her, and\nthen he was quit of the whole of them.\n\nWhile Minnikin was now standing there looking about him, he cast his\neye on a large chest. This he took and filled it with gold and silver,\nand then he tied the cable round himself and the Princess and the\nchest, and tugged at the rope with all his might, whereupon his men\ndrew them up safe and sound.\n\nAs soon as Minnikin had got safely on his ship again, he said: \u2018Now go\nover salt water and fresh water, over hill and dale, and do not stop\nuntil thou comest unto the King\u2019s palace.\u2019 And in a moment the ship\nwent off so fast that the yellow foam rose up all round about it.\n\nWhen those who were in the King\u2019s palace saw the ship, they lost no\ntime in going to meet him with song and music, and thus they marched up\ntowards Minnikin with great rejoicings; but the gladdest of all was the\nKing, for now he had got his other daughter back again.\n\nBut now Minnikin was not happy, for both the Princesses wanted to have\nhim, and he wanted to have none other than the one whom he had first\nsaved, and she was the younger. For this cause he was continually\nwalking backwards and forwards, thinking how he could contrive to get\nher, and yet do nothing that was unkind to her sister. One day when he\nwas walking about and thinking of this, it came into his mind that if\nhe only had his brother, King Pippin, with him, who was so like himself\nthat no one could distinguish the one from the other, he could let him\nhave the elder Princess and half the kingdom; as for himself, he\nthought, the other half was quite enough. As soon as this thought\noccurred to him he went outside the palace and called for King Pippin,\nbut no one came. So he called a second time, and a little louder, but\nno! still no one came. So Minnikin called for the third time, and with\nall his might, and there stood his brother by his side.\n\n\u2018I told you that you were not to call me unless you were in the utmost\nneed,\u2019 he said to Minnikin, \u2018and there is not even so much as a midge\nhere who can do you any harm!\u2019 and with that he gave Minnikin such a\nblow that he rolled over on the grass.\n\n\u2018Shame on you to strike me!\u2019 said Minnikin. \u2018First have I won one\nPrincess and half the kingdom, and then the other Princess and the\nother half of the kingdom; and now, when I was just thinking that I\nwould give you one of the Princesses and one of the halves of the\nkingdom, do you think you have any reason to give me such a blow?\u2019\n\nWhen King Pippin heard that he begged his brother\u2019s pardon, and they\nwere reconciled at once and became good friends.\n\n\u2018Now, as you know,\u2019 said Minnikin, \u2018we are so like each other that no\none can tell one of us from the other; so just change clothes with me\nand go up to the palace, and then the Princesses will think that I am\ncoming in, and the one who kisses you first shall be yours, and I will\nhave the other.\u2019 For he knew that the elder Princess was the stronger,\nso he could very well guess how things would go.\n\nKing Pippin at once agreed to this. He changed clothes with his\nbrother, and went into the palace. When he entered the Princess\u2019s\napartments they believed that he was Minnikin, and both of them ran up\nto him at once; but the elder, who was bigger and stronger, pushed her\nsister aside, and threw her arms round King Pippin\u2019s neck and kissed\nhim; so he got her to wife, and Minnikin the younger sister. It will be\neasy to understand that two weddings took place, and they were so\nmagnificent that they were heard of and talked about all over seven\nkingdoms.[27]\n\n [27] From J. Moe.\n\n\n\n\nBUSHY BRIDE\n\n\nThere was once on a time a widower who had a son and a daughter by his\nfirst wife. They were both good children, and loved each other with all\ntheir hearts. After some time had gone by the man married again, and he\nchose a widow with one daughter who was ugly and wicked, and her mother\nwas ugly and wicked too. From the very day that the new wife came into\nthe house there was no peace for the man\u2019s children, and not a corner\nto be found where they could get any rest; so the boy thought that the\nbest thing he could do was to go out into the world and try to earn his\nown bread.\n\nWhen he had roamed about for some time he came to the King\u2019s palace,\nwhere he obtained a place under the coachman; and very brisk and active\nhe was, and the horses that he looked after were so fat and sleek, that\nthey shone again.\n\nBut his sister, who was still at home, fared worse and worse. Both her\nstep-mother and her step-sister were always finding fault with her,\nwhatsoever she did and whithersoever she went, and they scolded her and\nabused her so that she never had an hour\u2019s peace. They made her do all\nthe hard work, and hard words fell to her lot early and late, but\nlittle enough food accompanied them.\n\nOne day they sent her to the brook to fetch some water home, and an\nugly and horrible head rose up out of the water, and said, \u2018Wash me,\ngirl!\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes, I will wash you with pleasure,\u2019 said the girl, and began to wash\nand scrub the ugly face, but she couldn\u2019t help thinking that it was a\nvery unpleasant piece of work. When she had done it, and done it well,\nanother head rose up out of the water, and this one was uglier still.\n\n\u2018Brush me, girl!\u2019 said the head.\n\n\u2018Yes, I will brush you with pleasure,\u2019 said the girl, and set to work\nwith the tangled hair, and, as may be easily imagined, this too was by\nno means pleasant work.\n\nWhen she had got it done, another and a much more ugly and\nhorrible-looking head rose up out of the water.\n\n\u2018Kiss me, girl!\u2019 said the head.\n\n\u2018Yes, I will kiss you,\u2019 said the man\u2019s daughter, and she did it, but\nshe thought it was the worst bit of work that she had ever had to do in\nher life.\n\nSo the heads all began to talk to each other, and to ask what they\nshould do for this girl who was so full of kindliness.\n\n\u2018She shall be the prettiest girl that ever was, and fair and bright as\nthe day,\u2019 said the first head.\n\n\u2018Gold shall drop from her hair whenever she brushes it,\u2019 said the\nsecond.\n\n\u2018Gold shall drop from her mouth whenever she speaks,\u2019 said the third\nhead.\n\nSo when the man\u2019s daughter went home, looking as beautiful and bright\nas day, the step-mother and her daughter grew much more ill-tempered,\nand it was worse still when she began to talk, and they saw that golden\ncoins dropped from her mouth. The step-mother fell into such a towering\npassion that she drove the man\u2019s daughter into the pig-stye\u2014she might\nstay there with her fine show of gold, the step-mother said, but she\nshould not be permitted to set foot in the house.\n\nIt was not long before the mother wanted her own daughter to go to the\nstream to fetch some water.\n\nWhen she got there with her pails, the first head rose up out of the\nwater close to the bank. \u2018Wash me, girl!\u2019 it said.\n\n\u2018Wash yourself!\u2019 answered the woman\u2019s daughter.\n\nThen the second head appeared.\n\n\u2018Brush me, girl!\u2019 said the head.\n\n\u2018Brush yourself!\u2019 said the woman\u2019s daughter.\n\nSo down it went to the bottom, and the third head came up.\n\n\u2018Kiss me, girl!\u2019 said the head.\n\n\u2018As if I would kiss your ugly mouth!\u2019 said the girl.\n\nSo again the heads talked together about what they should do for this\ngirl who was so ill-tempered and full of her own importance, and they\nagreed that she should have a nose that was four ells long, and a jaw\nthat was three ells, and a fir bush in the middle of her forehead, and\nevery time she spoke ashes should fall from her mouth.\n\nWhen she came back to the cottage door with her pails, she called to\nher mother who was inside, \u2018Open the door!\u2019\n\n\u2018Open the door yourself, my own dear child!\u2019 said the mother.\n\n\u2018I can\u2019t get near, because of my nose,\u2019 said the daughter.\n\nWhen the mother came and saw her you may imagine what a state of mind\nshe was in, and how she screamed and lamented, but neither the nose nor\nthe jaw grew any the less for that.\n\nNow the brother, who was in service in the King\u2019s palace, had taken a\nportrait of his sister, and he had carried the picture away with him,\nand every morning and evening he knelt down before it and prayed for\nhis sister, so dearly did he love her.\n\nThe other stable-boys had heard him doing this, so they peeped through\nthe key-hole into his room, and saw that he was kneeling there before a\npicture; so they told everyone that every morning and evening the youth\nknelt down and prayed to an idol which he had; and at last they went to\nthe King himself, and begged that he too would peep through the\nkey-hole, and see for himself what the youth did. At first the King\nwould not believe this, but after a long, long time, they prevailed\nwith him, and he crept on tip-toe to the door, peeped through, and saw\nthe youth on his knees, with his hands clasped together before a\npicture which was hanging on the wall.\n\n\u2018Open the door!\u2019 cried the King, but the youth did not hear.\n\nSo the King called to him again, but the youth was praying so fervently\nthat he did not hear him this time either.\n\n\u2018Open the door, I say!\u2019 cried the King again. \u2018It is I! I want to come\nin.\u2019\n\nSo the youth sprang to the door and unlocked it, but in his haste he\nforgot to hide the picture.\n\nWhen the King entered and saw it, he stood still as if he were in\nfetters, and could not stir from the spot, for the picture seemed to\nhim so beautiful.\n\n\u2018There is nowhere on earth so beautiful a woman as this!\u2019 said the\nKing.\n\nBut the youth told him that she was his sister, and that he had painted\nher, and that if she was not prettier than the picture she was at all\nevents not uglier.\n\n\u2018Well, if she is as beautiful as that, I will have her for my Queen,\u2019\nsaid the King, and he commanded the youth to go home and fetch her\nwithout a moment\u2019s delay, and to lose no time in coming back. The youth\npromised to make all the haste he could, and set forth from the King\u2019s\npalace.\n\nWhen the brother arrived at home to fetch his sister, her stepmother\nand step-sister would go too. So they all set out together, and the\nman\u2019s daughter took with her a casket in which she kept her gold, and a\ndog which was called Little Snow. These two things were all that she\nhad inherited from her mother. When they had travelled for some time\nthey had to cross the sea, and the brother sat down at the helm, and\nthe mother and the two half-sisters went to the fore-part of the\nvessel, and they sailed a long, long way. At last they came in sight of\nland.\n\n\u2018Look at that white strand there; that is where we shall land,\u2019 said\nthe brother, pointing across the sea.\n\n\u2018What is my brother saying?\u2019 inquired the man\u2019s daughter.\n\n\u2018He says that you are to throw your casket out into the sea,\u2019 answered\nthe step-mother.\n\n\u2018Well, if my brother says so, I must do it,\u2019 said the man\u2019s daughter,\nand she flung her casket into the sea.\n\nWhen they had sailed for some time longer, the brother once more\npointed over the sea. \u2018There you may see the palace to which we are\nbound,\u2019 said he.\n\n\u2018What is my brother saying?\u2019 asked the man\u2019s daughter.\n\n\u2018Now he says that you are to throw your dog into the sea,\u2019 answered the\nstep-mother.\n\nThe man\u2019s daughter wept, and was sorely troubled, for Little Snow was\nthe dearest thing she had on earth, but at last she threw him\noverboard.\n\n\u2018If my brother says that, I must do it, but Heaven knows how unwilling\nI am to throw thee out, Little Snow!\u2019 said she.\n\nSo they sailed onwards a long way farther.\n\n\u2018There may\u2019st thou see the King coming out to meet thee,\u2019 said the\nbrother, pointing to the sea-shore.\n\n\u2018What is my brother saying?\u2019 asked his sister again.\n\n\u2018Now he says that you are to make haste and throw yourself overboard,\u2019\nanswered the step-mother.\n\nShe wept and she wailed, but as her brother had said that, she thought\nshe must do it; so she leaped into the sea.\n\nBut when they arrived at the palace, and the King beheld the ugly bride\nwith a nose that was four ells long, a jaw that was three ells, and a\nforehead that had a bush in the middle of it, he was quite terrified;\nbut the wedding feast was all prepared, as regarded brewing and baking,\nand all the wedding guests were sitting waiting, so, ugly as she was,\nthe King was forced to take her.\n\nBut he was very wroth, and none can blame him for that; so he caused\nthe brother to be thrown into a pit full of snakes.\n\nOn the first Thursday night after this, a beautiful maiden came into\nthe kitchen of the palace, and begged the kitchen-maid, who slept\nthere, to lend her a brush. She begged very prettily, and got it, and\nthen she brushed her hair, and the gold dropped from it.\n\nA little dog was with her, and she said to it, \u2018Go out, Little Snow,\nand see if it will soon be day!\u2019\n\nThis she said thrice, and the third time that she sent out the dog to\nsee, it was very near dawn. Then she was forced to depart, but as she\nwent she said:\n\n\u2018Out on thee, ugly Bushy Bride,\nSleeping so soft by the young King\u2019s side,\nOn sand and stones my bed I make,\nAnd my brother sleeps with the cold snake,\n        Unpitied and unwept.\u2019\n\n\nI shall come twice more, and then never again,\u2019 said she.\n\nIn the morning the kitchen-maid related what she had seen and heard,\nand the King said that next Thursday night he himself would watch in\nthe kitchen and see if this were true, and when it had begun to grow\ndark he went out into the kitchen to the girl. But though he rubbed his\neyes and did everything he could to keep himself awake it was all in\nvain, for the Bushy Bride crooned and sang till his eyes were fast\nclosed, and when the beautiful young maiden came he was sound asleep\nand snoring.\n\nThis time also, as before, she borrowed a brush and brushed her hair\nwith it, and the gold dropped down as she did it; and again she sent\nthe dog out three times, and when day dawned she departed, but as she\nwas going she said as she had said before, \u2018I shall come once more, and\nthen never again.\u2019\n\nOn the third Thursday night the King once more insisted on keeping\nwatch. Then he set two men to hold him; each of them was to take an\narm, and shake him and jerk him by the arm whenever he seemed to be\ngoing to fall asleep; and he set two men to watch his Bushy Bride. But\nas the night wore on the Bushy Bride again began to croon and to sing,\nso that his eyes began to close and his head to droop on one side. Then\ncame the lovely maiden, and got the brush and brushed her hair till the\ngold dropped from it, and then she sent her Little Snow out to see if\nit would soon be day, and this she did three times. The third time it\nwas just beginning to grow light, and then she said:\n\n\u2018Out on thee, ugly Bushy Bride,\nSleeping so soft by the young King\u2019s side,\nOn sand and stones my bed I make,\nAnd my brother sleeps with the cold snake,\n        Unpitied and unwept.\u2019\n\n\n\u2018Now I shall never come again,\u2019 she said, and then she turned to go.\nBut the two men who were holding the King by the arms seized his hands\nand forced a knife into his grasp, and then made him cut her little\nfinger just enough to make it bleed.\n\nThus the true bride was freed. The King then awoke, and she told him\nall that had taken place, and how her step-mother and step-sister had\nbetrayed her. Then the brother was at once taken out of the\nsnake-pit\u2014the snakes had never touched him\u2014and the step-mother and\nstep-sister were flung down into it instead of him.\n\nNo one can tell how delighted the King was to get rid of that hideous\nBushy Bride, and get a Queen who was bright and beautiful as day\nitself.\n\nAnd now the real wedding was held, and held in such a way that it was\nheard of and spoken about all over seven kingdoms. The King and his\nbride drove to church, and Little Snow was in the carriage too. When\nthe blessing was given they went home again, and after that I saw no\nmore of them.[28]\n\n [28] From J. Moe.\n\n\n\n\nSNOWDROP\n\n\nOnce upon a time, in the middle of winter when the snow-flakes were\nfalling like feathers on the earth, a Queen sat at a window framed in\nblack ebony and sewed. And as she sewed and gazed out to the white\nlandscape, she pricked her finger with the needle, and three drops of\nblood fell on the snow outside, and because the red showed out so well\nagainst the white she thought to herself:\n\n\u2018Oh! what wouldn\u2019t I give to have a child as white as snow, as red as\nblood, and as black as ebony!\u2019\n\nAnd her wish was granted, for not long after a little daughter was born\nto her, with a skin as white as snow, lips and cheeks as red as blood,\nand hair as black as ebony. They called her Snowdrop, and not long\nafter her birth the Queen died.\n\nAfter a year the King married again. His new wife was a beautiful\nwoman, but so proud and overbearing that she couldn\u2019t stand any rival\nto her beauty. She possessed a magic mirror, and when she used to stand\nbefore it gazing at her own reflection and ask:\n\n\u2018Mirror, mirror, hanging there,\nWho in all the land\u2019s most fair?\u2019\n\n\nit always replied:\n\n\u2018You are most fair, my Lady Queen,\nNone fairer in the land, I ween.\u2019\n\n\nThen she was quite happy, for she knew the mirror always spoke the\ntruth.\n\nBut Snowdrop was growing prettier and prettier every day, and when she\nwas seven years old she was as beautiful as she could be, and fairer\neven than the Queen herself. One day when the latter asked her mirror\nthe usual question, it replied:\n\n\u2018My Lady Queen, you are fair, \u2018tis true,\nBut Snowdrop is fairer far than you.\u2019\n\n\nThen the Queen flew into the most awful passion, and turned every shade\nof green in her jealousy. From this hour she hated poor Snowdrop like\npoison, and every day her envy, hatred, and malice grew, for envy and\njealousy are like evil weeds which spring up and choke the heart. At\nlast she could endure Snowdrop\u2019s presence no longer, and, calling a\nhuntsman to her, she said:\n\n\u2018Take the child out into the wood, and never let me see her face again.\nYou must kill her, and bring me back her lungs and liver, that I may\nknow for certain she is dead.\u2019\n\nThe Huntsman did as he was told and led Snowdrop out into the wood, but\nas he was in the act of drawing out his knife to slay her, she began to\ncry, and said:\n\n\u2018Oh, dear Huntsman, spare my life, and I will promise to fly forth into\nthe wide wood and never to return home again.\u2019\n\nAnd because she was so young and pretty the Huntsman had pity on her,\nand said:\n\n\u2018Well, run along, poor child.\u2019 For he thought to himself: \u2018The wild\nbeasts will soon eat her up.\u2019\n\nAnd his heart felt lighter because he hadn\u2019t had to do the deed\nhimself. And as he turned away a young boar came running past, so he\nshot it, and brought its lungs and liver home to the Queen as a proof\nthat Snowdrop was really dead. And the wicked woman had them stewed in\nsalt, and ate them up, thinking she had made an end of Snowdrop for\never.\n\nNow when the poor child found herself alone in the big wood the very\ntrees around her seemed to assume strange shapes, and she felt so\nfrightened she didn\u2019t know what to do. Then she began to run over the\nsharp stones, and through the bramble bushes, and the wild beasts ran\npast her, but they did her no harm. She ran as far as her legs would\ncarry her, and as evening approached she saw a little house, and she\nstepped inside to rest. Everything was very small in the little house,\nbut cleaner and neater than anything you can imagine. In the middle of\nthe room there stood a little table, covered with a white tablecloth,\nand seven little plates and forks and spoons and knives and tumblers.\nSide by side against the wall there were seven little beds, covered\nwith snow-white counterpanes. Snowdrop felt so hungry and so thirsty\nthat she ate a bit of bread and a little porridge from each plate, and\ndrank a drop of wine out of each tumbler. Then feeling tired and sleepy\nshe lay down on one of the beds, but it wasn\u2019t comfortable; then she\ntried all the others in turn, but one was too long, and another too\nshort, and it was only when she got to the seventh that she found one\nto suit her exactly. So she lay down upon it, said her prayers like a\ngood child, and fell fast asleep.\n\nWhen it got quite dark the masters of the little house returned. They\nwere seven dwarfs who worked in the mines, right down deep in the heart\nof the mountain. They lighted their seven little lamps, and as soon as\ntheir eyes got accustomed to the glare they saw that someone had been\nin the room, for all was not in the same order as they had left it.\n\nThe first said:\n\n\u2018Who\u2019s been sitting on my little chair?\u2019\n\nThe second said:\n\n\u2018Who\u2019s been eating my little loaf?\u2019\n\nThe third said:\n\n\u2018Who\u2019s been tasting my porridge?\u2019\n\nThe fourth said:\n\n\u2018Who\u2019s been eating out of my little plate?\u2019\n\nThe fifth said:\n\n\u2018Who\u2019s been using my little fork?\u2019\n\nThe sixth said:\n\n\u2018Who\u2019s been cutting with my little knife?\u2019\n\nThe seventh said:\n\n\u2018Who\u2019s been drinking out of my little tumbler?\u2019\n\nThen the first Dwarf looked round and saw a little hollow in his bed,\nand he asked again:\n\n\u2018Who\u2019s been lying on my bed?\u2019\n\nThe others came running round, and cried when they saw their beds:\n\n\u2018Somebody has lain on ours too.\u2019\n\nBut when the seventh came to his bed, he started back in amazement, for\nthere he beheld Snowdrop fast asleep. Then he called the others, who\nturned their little lamps full on the bed, and when they saw Snowdrop\nlying there they nearly fell down with surprise.\n\n\u2018Goodness gracious!\u2019 they cried, \u2018what a beautiful child!\u2019\n\nAnd they were so enchanted by her beauty that they did not wake her,\nbut let her sleep on in the little bed. But the seventh Dwarf slept\nwith his companions one hour in each bed, and in this way he managed to\npass the night.\n\nIn the morning Snowdrop awoke, but when she saw the seven little Dwarfs\nshe felt very frightened. But they were so friendly and asked her what\nher name was in such a kind way, that she replied:\n\n\u2018I am Snowdrop.\u2019\n\n\u2018Why did you come to our house?\u2019 continued the Dwarfs.\n\nThen she told them how her stepmother had wished her put to death, and\nhow the Huntsman had spared her life, and how she had run the whole day\ntill she had come to their little house. The Dwarfs, when they had\nheard her sad story, asked her:\n\n\u2018Will you stay and keep house for us, cook, make the beds, the washing,\nsew and knit? and if you give satisfaction and keep everything neat and\nclean, you shall want for nothing.\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes,\u2019 answered Snowdrop, \u2018I will gladly do all you ask.\u2019\n\nAnd so she took up her abode with them. Every morning the Dwarfs went\ninto the mountain to dig for gold, and in the evening, when they\nreturned home, Snowdrop always had their supper ready for them. But\nduring the day the girl was left quite alone, so the good Dwarfs warned\nher, saying:\n\n\u2018Beware of your step-mother. She will soon find out you are here, and\nwhatever you do don\u2019t let anyone into the house.\u2019\n\nNow the Queen, after she thought she had eaten Snowdrop\u2019s lungs and\nliver, never dreamed but that she was once more the most beautiful\nwoman in the world; so stepping before her mirror one day she said:\n\n\u2018Mirror, mirror, hanging there,\nWho in all the land\u2019s most fair?\u2019\n\n\nand the mirror replied:\n\n\u2018My Lady Queen, you are fair, \u2018tis true,\nBut Snowdrop is fairer far than you.\nSnowdrop, who dwells with the seven little men,\nIs as fair as you, as fair again.\u2019\n\n\nWhen the Queen heard these words she was nearly struck dumb with\nhorror, for the mirror always spoke the truth, and she knew now that\nthe Huntsman must have deceived her, and that Snowdrop was still alive.\nShe pondered day and night how she might destroy her, for as long as\nshe felt she had a rival in the land her jealous heart left her no\nrest. At last she hit upon a plan. She stained her face and dressed\nherself up as an old peddler wife, so that she was quite\nunrecognisable. In this guise she went over the seven hills till she\ncame to the house of the seven Dwarfs. There she knocked at the door,\ncalling out at the same time:\n\n\u2018Fine wares to sell, fine wares to sell!\u2019\n\nSnowdrop peeped out of the window, and called out:\n\n\u2018Good-day, mother, what have you to sell?\u2019\n\n\u2018Good wares, fine wares,\u2019 she answered; \u2018laces of every shade and\ndescription,\u2019 and she held one up that was made of some gay coloured\nsilk.\n\n\u2018Surely I can let the honest woman in,\u2019 thought Snowdrop; so she\nunbarred the door and bought the pretty lace.\n\n\u2018Good gracious! child,\u2019 said the old woman, \u2018what a figure you\u2019ve got.\nCome! I\u2019ll lace you up properly for once.\u2019\n\nSnowdrop, suspecting no evil, stood before her and let her lace her\nbodice up, but the old woman laced her so quickly and so tightly that\nit took Snowdrop\u2019s breath away, and she fell down dead.\n\n\u2018Now you are no longer the fairest,\u2019 said the wicked old woman, and\nthen she hastened away.\n\nIn the evening the seven Dwarfs came home, and you may think what a\nfright they got when they saw their dear Snowdrop lying on the floor,\nas still and motionless as a dead person. They lifted her up tenderly,\nand when they saw how tightly laced she was they cut the lace in two,\nand she began to breathe a little and gradually came back to life. When\nthe Dwarfs heard what had happened, they said:\n\n\u2018Depend upon it, the old peddler wife was none other than the old\nQueen. In future you must be sure to let no one in, if we are not at\nhome.\u2019\n\nAs soon as the wicked old Queen got home she went straight to her\nmirror, and said:\n\n\u2018Mirror, mirror, hanging there,\nWho in all the land\u2019s most fair?\u2019\n\n\nand the mirror answered as before:\n\n\u2018My Lady Queen, you are fair, \u2018tis true,\nBut Snowdrop is fairer far than you.\nSnowdrop, who dwells with the seven little men,\nIs as fair as you, as fair again.\u2019\n\n\nWhen she heard this she became as pale as death, because she saw at\nonce that Snowdrop must be alive again.\n\n\u2018This time,\u2019 she said to herself, \u2018I will think of something that will\nmake an end of her once and for all.\u2019\n\nAnd by the witchcraft which she understood so well she made a poisonous\ncomb; then she dressed herself up and assumed the form of another old\nwoman. So she went over the seven hills till she reached the house of\nthe seven Dwarfs, and knocking at the door she called out:\n\n\u2018Fine wares for sale.\u2019\n\nSnowdrop looked out of the window and said:\n\n\u2018You must go away, for I may not let anyone in.\u2019\n\n\u2018But surely you are not forbidden to look out?\u2019 said the old woman, and\nshe held up the poisonous comb for her to see.\n\nIt pleased the girl so much that she let herself be taken in, and\nopened the door. When they had settled their bargain the old woman\nsaid:\n\n\u2018Now I\u2019ll comb your hair properly for you, for once in the way.\u2019\n\nPoor Snowdrop thought no evil, but hardly had the comb touched her hair\nthan the poison worked and she fell down unconscious.\n\n\u2018Now, my fine lady, you\u2019re really done for this time,\u2019 said the wicked\nwoman, and she made her way home as fast as she could.\n\nFortunately it was now near evening, and the seven Dwarfs returned\nhome. When they saw Snowdrop lying dead on the ground, they at once\nsuspected that her wicked step-mother had been at work again; so they\nsearched till they found the poisonous comb, and the moment they pulled\nit out of her head Snowdrop came to herself again, and told them what\nhad happened. Then they warned her once more to be on her guard, and to\nopen the door to no one.\n\nAs soon as the Queen got home she went straight to her mirror, and\nasked:\n\n\u2018Mirror, mirror, hanging there,\nWho in all the land\u2019s most fair?\u2019\n\n\nand it replied as before:\n\n\u2018My Lady Queen, you are fair, \u2018tis true,\nBut Snowdrop is fairer far than you.\nSnowdrop, who dwells with the seven little men,\nIs as fair as you, as fair again.\u2019\n\n\nWhen she heard these words she literally trembled and shook with rage.\n\n\u2018Snowdrop shall die,\u2019 she cried; \u2018yes, though it cost me my own life.\u2019\n\nThen she went to a little secret chamber, which no one knew of but\nherself, and there she made a poisonous apple. Outwardly it looked\nbeautiful, white with red cheeks, so that everyone who saw it longed to\neat it, but anyone who might do so would certainly die on the spot.\nWhen the apple was quite finished she stained her face and dressed\nherself up as a peasant, and so she went over the seven hills to the\nseven Dwarfs\u2019. She knocked at the door, as usual, but Snowdrop put her\nhead out of the window and called out:\n\n\u2018I may not let anyone in, the seven Dwarfs have forbidden me to do so.\u2019\n\n\u2018Are you afraid of being poisoned?\u2019 asked the old woman. \u2018See, I will\ncut this apple in half. I\u2019ll eat the white cheek and you can eat the\nred.\u2019\n\nBut the apple was so cunningly made that only the red cheek was\npoisonous. Snowdrop longed to eat the tempting fruit, and when she saw\nthat the peasant woman was eating it herself, she couldn\u2019t resist the\ntemptation any longer, and stretching out her hand she took the\npoisonous half. But hardly had the first bite passed her lips than she\nfell down dead on the ground. Then the eyes of the cruel Queen sparkled\nwith glee, and laughing aloud she cried:\n\n\u2018As white as snow, as red as blood, and as black as ebony, this time\nthe Dwarfs won\u2019t be able to bring you back to life.\u2019\n\nWhen she got home she asked the mirror:\n\n\u2018Mirror, mirror, hanging there,\nWho in all the land\u2019s most fair?\u2019\n\n\nand this time it replied:\n\n\u2018You are most fair, my Lady Queen,\nNone fairer in the land, I ween.\u2019\n\n\nThen her jealous heart was at rest\u2014at least, as much at rest as a\njealous heart can ever be.\n\nWhen the little Dwarfs came home in the evening they found Snowdrop\nlying on the ground, and she neither breathed nor stirred. They lifted\nher up, and looked round everywhere to see if they could find anything\npoisonous about. They unlaced her bodice, combed her hair, washed her\nwith water and wine, but all in vain; the child was dead and remained\ndead. Then they placed her on a bier, and all the seven Dwarfs sat\nround it, weeping and sobbing for three whole days. At last they made\nup their minds to bury her, but she looked as blooming as a living\nbeing, and her cheeks were still such a lovely colour, that they said:\n\n\u2018We can\u2019t hide her away in the black ground.\u2019\n\nSo they had a coffin made of transparent glass, and they laid her in\nit, and wrote on the lid in golden letters that she was a royal\nPrincess. Then they put the coffin on the top of the mountain, and one\nof the Dwarfs always remained beside it and kept watch over it. And the\nvery birds of the air came and bewailed Snowdrop\u2019s death, first an owl,\nand then a raven, and last of all a little dove.\n\nSnowdrop lay a long time in the coffin, and she always looked the same,\njust as if she were fast asleep, and she remained as white as snow, as\nred as blood, and her hair as black as ebony.\n\nNow it happened one day that a Prince came to the wood and passed by\nthe Dwarfs\u2019 house. He saw the coffin on the hill, with the beautiful\nSnowdrop inside it, and when he had read what was written on it in\ngolden letters, he said to the Dwarf:\n\n\u2018Give me the coffin. I\u2019ll give you whatever you like for it.\u2019\n\nBut the Dwarf said: \u2018No; we wouldn\u2019t part with it for all the gold in\nthe world.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, then,\u2019 he replied, \u2018give it to me, because I can\u2019t live without\nSnowdrop. I will cherish and love it as my dearest possession.\u2019\n\nHe spoke so sadly that the good Dwarfs had pity on him, and gave him\nthe coffin, and the Prince made his servants bear it away on their\nshoulders. Now it happened that as they were going down the hill they\nstumbled over a bush, and jolted the coffin so violently that the\npoisonous bit of apple Snowdrop had swallowed fell out of her throat.\nShe gradually opened her eyes, lifted up the lid of the coffin, and sat\nup alive and well.\n\n\u2018Oh! dear me, where am I?\u2019 she cried.\n\nThe Prince answered joyfully, \u2018You are with me,\u2019 and he told her all\nthat had happened, adding, \u2018I love you better than anyone in the whole\nwide world. Will you come with me to my father\u2019s palace and be my\nwife?\u2019\n\nSnowdrop consented, and went with him, and the marriage was celebrated\nwith great pomp and splendour.\n\nNow Snowdrop\u2019s wicked step-mother was one of the guests invited to the\nwedding feast. When she had dressed herself very gorgeously for the\noccasion, she went to the mirror, and said:\n\n\u2018Mirror, mirror, hanging there,\nWho in all the land\u2019s most fair?\u2019\n\n\nand the mirror answered:\n\n\u2018My Lady Queen, you are fair, \u2018tis true,\nBut Snowdrop is fairer far than you.\u2019\n\n\nWhen the wicked woman heard these words she uttered a curse, and was\nbeside herself with rage and mortification. At first she didn\u2019t want to\ngo to the wedding at all, but at the same time she felt she would never\nbe happy till she had seen the young Queen. As she entered Snowdrop\nrecognised her, and nearly fainted with fear; but red-hot iron shoes\nhad been prepared for the wicked old Queen, and she was made to get\ninto them and dance till she fell down dead.[29]\n\n [29] Grimm.\n\n\n\n\nTHE GOLDEN GOOSE\n\n\nThere was once a man who had three sons. The youngest of them was\ncalled Dullhead, and was sneered and jeered at and snubbed on every\npossible opportunity.\n\nOne day it happened that the eldest son wished to go into the forest to\ncut wood, and before he started his mother gave him a fine rich cake\nand a bottle of wine, so that he might be sure not to suffer from\nhunger or thirst.\n\nWhen he reached the forest he met a little old grey man who wished him\n\u2018Good-morning,\u2019 and said: \u2018Do give me a piece of that cake you have got\nin your pocket, and let me have a draught of your wine\u2014I am so hungry\nand thirsty.\u2019\n\nBut this clever son replied: \u2018If I give you my cake and wine I shall\nhave none left for myself; you just go your own way;\u2019 and he left the\nlittle man standing there and went further on into the forest. There he\nbegan to cut down a tree, but before long he made a false stroke with\nhis axe, and cut his own arm so badly that he was obliged to go home\nand have it bound up.\n\nThen the second son went to the forest, and his mother gave him a good\ncake and a bottle of wine as she had to his elder brother. He too met\nthe little old grey man, who begged him for a morsel of cake and a\ndraught of wine.\n\nBut the second son spoke most sensibly too, and said: \u2018Whatever I give\nto you I deprive myself of. Just go your own way, will you?\u2019 Not long\nafter his punishment overtook him, for no sooner had he struck a couple\nof blows on a tree with his axe, than he cut his leg so badly that he\nhad to be carried home.\n\nSo then Dullhead said: \u2018Father, let me go out and cut wood.\u2019\n\nBut his father answered: \u2018Both your brothers have injured themselves.\nYou had better leave it alone; you know nothing about it.\u2019\n\nBut Dullhead begged so hard to be allowed to go that at last his father\nsaid: \u2018Very well, then\u2014go. Perhaps when you have hurt yourself, you may\nlearn to know better.\u2019 His mother only gave him a very plain cake made\nwith water and baked in the cinders, and a bottle of sour beer.\n\nWhen he got to the forest, he too met the little grey old man, who\ngreeted him and said: \u2018Give me a piece of your cake and a draught from\nyour bottle; I am so hungry and thirsty.\u2019\n\nAnd Dullhead replied: \u2018I\u2019ve only got a cinder-cake and some sour beer,\nbut if you care to have that, let us sit down and eat.\u2019\n\nSo they sat down, and when Dullhead brought out his cake he found it\nhad turned into a fine rich cake, and the sour beer into excellent\nwine. Then they ate and drank, and when they had finished the little\nman said: \u2018Now I will bring you luck, because you have a kind heart and\nare willing to share what you have with others. There stands an old\ntree; cut it down, and amongst its roots you\u2019ll find something.\u2019 With\nthat the little man took leave.\n\nThen Dullhead fell to at once to hew down the tree, and when it fell he\nfound amongst its roots a goose, whose feathers were all of pure gold.\nHe lifted it out, carried it off, and took it with him to an inn where\nhe meant to spend the night.\n\nNow the landlord of the inn had three daughters, and when they saw the\ngoose they were filled with curiosity as to what this wonderful bird\ncould be, and each longed to have one of its golden feathers.\n\nThe eldest thought to herself: \u2018No doubt I shall soon find a good\nopportunity to pluck out one of its feathers,\u2019 and the first time\nDullhead happened to leave the room she caught hold of the goose by its\nwing. But, lo and behold! her fingers seemed to stick fast to the\ngoose, and she could not take her hand away.\n\nSoon after the second daughter came in, and thought to pluck a golden\nfeather for herself too; but hardly had she touched her sister than she\nstuck fast as well. At last the third sister came with the same\nintentions, but the other two cried out: \u2018Keep off! for Heaven\u2019s sake,\nkeep off!\u2019\n\nThe younger sister could not imagine why she was to keep off, and\nthought to herself: \u2018If they are both there, why should not I be there\ntoo?\u2019\n\nSo she sprang to them; but no sooner had she touched one of them than\nshe stuck fast to her. So they all three had to spend the night with\nthe goose.\n\nNext morning Dullhead tucked the goose under his arm and went off,\nwithout in the least troubling himself about the three girls who were\nhanging on to it. They just had to run after him right or left as best\nthey could. In the middle of a field they met the parson, and when he\nsaw this procession he cried: \u2018For shame, you bold girls! What do you\nmean by running after a young fellow through the fields like that? Do\nyou call that proper behaviour?\u2019 And with that he caught the youngest\ngirl by the hand to try and draw her away. But directly he touched her\nhe hung on himself, and had to run along with the rest of them.\n\nNot long after the clerk came that way, and was much surprised to see\nthe parson following the footsteps of three girls. \u2018Why, where is your\nreverence going so fast?\u2019 cried he; \u2018don\u2019t forget there is to be a\nchristening to-day;\u2019 and he ran after him, caught him by the sleeve,\nand hung on to it himself: As the five of them trotted along in this\nfashion one after the other, two peasants were coming from their work\nwith their hoes. On seeing them the parson called out and begged them\nto come and rescue him and the clerk. But no sooner did they touch the\nclerk than they stuck on too, and so there were seven of them running\nafter Dullhead and his goose.\n\nAfter a time they all came to a town where a King reigned whose\ndaughter was so serious and solemn that no one could ever manage to\nmake her laugh. So the King had decreed that whoever should succeed in\nmaking her laugh should marry her.\n\nWhen Dullhead heard this he marched before the Princess with his goose\nand its appendages, and as soon as she saw these seven people\ncontinually running after each other she burst out laughing, and could\nnot stop herself. Then Dullhead claimed her as his bride, but the King,\nwho did not much fancy him as a son-in-law, made all sorts of\nobjections, and told him he must first find a man who could drink up a\nwhole cellarful of wine.\n\nDullhead bethought him of the little grey man, who could, he felt sure,\nhelp him; so he went off to the forest, and on the very spot where he\nhad cut down the tree he saw a man sitting with a most dismal\nexpression of face.\n\nDullhead asked him what he was taking so much to heart, and the man\nanswered: \u2018I don\u2019t know how I am ever to quench this terrible thirst I\nam suffering from. Cold water doesn\u2019t suit me at all. To be sure I\u2019ve\nemptied a whole barrel of wine, but what is one drop on a hot stone?\u2019\n\n\u2018I think I can help you,\u2019 said Dullhead. \u2018Come with me, and you shall\ndrink to your heart\u2019s content.\u2019 So he took him to the King\u2019s cellar,\nand the man sat down before the huge casks and drank and drank till he\ndrank up the whole contents of the cellar before the day closed.\n\nThen Dullhead asked once more for his bride, but the King felt vexed at\nthe idea of a stupid fellow whom people called \u2018Dullhead\u2019 carrying off\nhis daughter, and he began to make fresh conditions. He required\nDullhead to find a man who could eat a mountain of bread. Dullhead did\nnot wait to consider long but went straight off to the forest, and\nthere on the same spot sat a man who was drawing in a strap as tight as\nhe could round his body, and making a most woeful face the while. Said\nhe: \u2018I\u2019ve eaten up a whole oven full of loaves, but what\u2019s the good of\nthat to anyone who is as hungry as I am? I declare my stomach feels\nquite empty, and I must draw my belt tight if I\u2019m not to die of\nstarvation.\u2019\n\nDullhead was delighted, and said: \u2018Get up and come with me, and you\nshall have plenty to eat,\u2019 and he brought him to the King\u2019s Court.\n\nNow the King had given orders to have all the flour in his kingdom\nbrought together, and to have a huge mountain baked of it. But the man\nfrom the wood just took up his stand before the mountain and began to\neat, and in one day it had all vanished.\n\nFor the third time Dullhead asked for his bride, but again the King\ntried to make some evasion, and demanded a ship \u2018which could sail on\nland or water! When you come sailing in such a ship,\u2019 said he, \u2018you\nshall have my daughter without further delay.\u2019\n\nAgain Dullhead started off to the forest, and there he found the little\nold grey man with whom he had shared his cake, and who said: \u2018I have\neaten and I have drunk for you, and now I will give you the ship. I\nhave done all this for you because you were kind and merciful to me.\u2019\n\nThen he gave Dullhead a ship which could sail on land or water, and\nwhen the King saw it he felt he could no longer refuse him his\ndaughter.\n\nSo they celebrated the wedding with great rejoicings; and after the\nKing\u2019s death Dullhead succeeded to the kingdom, and lived happily with\nhis wife for many years after.[30]\n\n [30] Grimm.\n\n\n\n\nTHE SEVEN FOALS\n\n\nThere was once upon a time a couple of poor folks who lived in a\nwretched hut, far away from everyone else, in a wood. They only just\nmanaged to live from hand to mouth, and had great difficulty in doing\neven so much as that, but they had three sons, and the youngest of them\nwas called Cinderlad, for he did nothing else but lie and poke about\namong the ashes.\n\nOne day the eldest lad said that he would go out to earn his living; he\nsoon got leave to do that, and set out on his way into the world. He\nwalked on and on for the whole day, and when night was beginning to\nfall he came to a royal palace. The King was standing outside on the\nsteps, and asked where he was going.\n\n\u2018Oh, I am going about seeking a place, my father,\u2019 said the youth.\n\n\u2018Wilt thou serve me, and watch my seven foals?\u2019 asked the King. \u2018If\nthou canst watch them for a whole day and tell me at night what they\neat and drink, thou shalt have the Princess and half my kingdom, but if\nthou canst not, I will cut three red stripes on thy back.\u2019\n\nThe youth thought that it was very easy work to watch the foals, and\nthat he could do it well enough.\n\nNext morning, when day was beginning to dawn, the King\u2019s Master of the\nHorse let out the seven foals; and they ran away, and the youth after\nthem just as it chanced, over hill and dale, through woods end bogs.\nWhen the youth had run thus for a long time he began to be tired, and\nwhen he had held on a little longer he was heartily weary of watching\nat all, and at the same moment he came to a cleft in a rock where an\nold woman was sitting spinning with her distaff in her hand.\n\nAs soon as she caught sight of the youth, who was running after the\nfoals till the perspiration streamed down his face, she cried:\n\n\u2018Come hither, come hither, my handsome son, and let me comb your hair\nfor you.\u2019\n\nThe lad was willing enough, so he sat down in the cleft of the rock\nbeside the old hag, and laid his head on her knees, and she combed his\nhair all day while he lay there and gave himself up to idleness.\n\nWhen evening was drawing near, the youth wanted to go.\n\n\u2018I may just as well go straight home again,\u2019 said he, \u2018for it is no use\nto go to the King\u2019s palace.\u2019\n\n\u2018Wait till it is dusk,\u2019 said the old hag, \u2018and then the King\u2019s foals\nwill pass by this place again, and you can run home with them; no one\nwill ever know that you have been lying here all day instead of\nwatching the foals.\u2019\n\nSo when they came she gave the lad a bottle of water and a bit of moss,\nand told him to show these to the King and say that this was what his\nseven foals ate and drank.\n\n\u2018Hast thou watched faithfully and well the whole day long?\u2019 said the\nKing, when the lad came into his presence in the evening.\n\n\u2018Yes, that I have!\u2019 said the youth.\n\n\u2018Then you are able to tell me what it is that my seven foals eat and\ndrink,\u2019 said the King.\n\nSo the youth produced the bottle of water and the bit of moss which he\nhad got from the old woman, saying:\n\n\u2018Here you see their meat, and here you see their drink.\u2019\n\nThen the King knew how his watching had been done, and fell into such a\nrage that he ordered his people to chase the youth back to his own home\nat once; but first they were to cut three red stripes in his back, and\nrub salt into them.\n\nWhen the youth reached home again, anyone can imagine what a state of\nmind he was in. He had gone out once to seek a place, he said, but\nnever would he do such a thing again.\n\nNext day the second son said that he would now go out into the world to\nseek his fortune. His father and mother said \u2018No,\u2019 and bade him look at\nhis brother\u2019s back, but the youth would not give up his design, and\nstuck to it, and after a long, long time he got leave to go, and set\nforth on his way. When he had walked all day he too came to the King\u2019s\npalace, and the King was standing outside on the steps, and asked where\nhe was going; and when the youth replied that he was going about in\nsearch of a place, the King said that he might enter into his service\nand watch his seven foals. Then the King promised him the same\npunishment and the same reward that he had promised his brother.\n\nThe youth at once consented to this and entered into the King\u2019s\nservice, for he thought he could easily watch the foals and inform the\nKing what they ate and drank.\n\nIn the grey light of dawn the Master of the Horse let out the seven\nfoals, and off they went again over hill and dale, and off went the lad\nafter them. But all went with him as it had gone with his brother. When\nhe had run after the foals for a long, long time and was hot and tired,\nhe passed by a cleft in the rock where an old woman was sitting\nspinning with a distaff, and she called to him:\n\n\u2018Come hither, come hither, my handsome son, and let me comb your hair.\u2019\n\nThe youth liked the thought of this, let the foals run where they\nchose, and seated himself in the cleft of the rock by the side of the\nold hag. So there he sat with his head on her lap, taking his ease the\nlivelong day.\n\nThe foals came back in the evening, and then he too got a bit of moss\nand a bottle of water from the old hag, which things he was to show to\nthe King. But when the King asked the youth: \u2018Canst thou tell me what\nmy seven foals eat and drink?\u2019 and the youth showed him the bit of moss\nand the bottle of water, and said: \u2018Yes here may you behold their meat,\nand here their drink,\u2019 the King once more became wroth, and commanded\nthat three red stripes should be cut on the lad\u2019s back, that salt\nshould be strewn upon them, and that he should then be instantly chased\nback to his own home. So when the youth got home again he too related\nall that had happened to him, and he too said that he had gone out in\nsearch of a place once, but that never would he do it again.\n\nOn the third day Cinderlad wanted to set out. He had a fancy to try to\nwatch the seven foals himself, he said.\n\nThe two others laughed at him, and mocked him. \u2018What! when all went so\nill with us, do you suppose that you are going to succeed? You look\nlike succeeding\u2014you who have never done anything else but lie and poke\nabout among the ashes!\u2019 said they.\n\n\u2018Yes, I will go too,\u2019 said Cinderlad, \u2018for I have taken it into my\nhead.\u2019\n\nThe two brothers laughed at him, and his father and mother begged him\nnot to go, but all to no purpose, and Cinderlad set out on his way. So\nwhen he had walked the whole day, he too came to the King\u2019s palace as\ndarkness began to fall.\n\nThere stood the King outside on the steps, and he asked whither he was\nbound.\n\n\u2018I am walking about in search of a place,\u2019 said Cinderlad.\n\n\u2018From whence do you come, then?\u2019 inquired the King, for by this time he\nwanted to know a little more about the men before he took any of them\ninto his service.\n\nSo Cinderlad told him whence he came, and that he was brother to the\ntwo who had watched the seven foals for the King, and then he inquired\nif he might be allowed to try to watch them on the following day.\n\n\u2018Oh, shame on them!\u2019 said the King, for it enraged him even to think of\nthem. \u2018If thou art brother to those two, thou too art not good for\nmuch. I have had enough of such fellows.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, but as I have come here, you might just give me leave to make\nthe attempt,\u2019 said Cinderlad.\n\n\u2018Oh, very well, if thou art absolutely determined to have thy back\nflayed, thou may\u2019st have thine own way if thou wilt,\u2019 said the King.\n\n\u2018I would much rather have the Princess,\u2019 said Cinderlad.\n\nNext morning, in the grey light of dawn, the Master of the Horse let\nout the seven foals again, and off they set over hill and dale, through\nwoods and bogs, and off went Cinderlad after them. When he had run thus\nfor a long time, he too came to the cleft in the rock. There the old\nhag was once more sitting spinning from her distaff, and she cried to\nCinderlad;\n\n\u2018Come hither, come hither, my handsome son, and let me comb your hair\nfor you.\u2019\n\n\u2018Come to me, then; come to me!\u2019 said Cinderlad, as he passed by jumping\nand running, and keeping tight hold of one of the foals\u2019 tails.\n\nWhen he had got safely past the cleft in the rock, the youngest foal\nsaid:\n\n\u2018Get on my back, for we have still a long way to go.\u2019 So the lad did\nthis.\n\nAnd thus they journeyed onwards a long, long way.\n\n\u2018Dost thou see anything now?\u2019 said the Foal.\n\n\u2018No,\u2019 said Cinderlad.\n\nSo they journeyed onwards a good bit farther.\n\n\u2018Dost thou see anything now?\u2019 asked the Foal.\n\n\u2018Oh, no,\u2019 said the lad.\n\nWhen they had gone thus for a long, long way, the Foal again asked:\n\n\u2018Dost thou see anything now?\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes, now I see something that is white,\u2019 said Cinderlad. \u2018It looks\nlike the trunk of a great thick birch tree.\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes, that is where we are to go in,\u2019 said the Foal.\n\nWhen they got to the trunk, the eldest foal broke it down on one side,\nand then they saw a door where the trunk had been standing, and inside\nthis there was a small room, and in the room there was scarcely\nanything but a small fire-place and a couple of benches, but behind the\ndoor hung a great rusty sword and a small pitcher.\n\n\u2018Canst thou wield that sword?\u2019 asked the Foal.\n\nCinderlad tried, but could not do it; so he had to take a draught from\nthe pitcher, and then one more, and after that still another, and then\nhe was able to wield the sword with perfect ease.\n\n\u2018Good,\u2019 said the Foal; \u2018and now thou must take the sword away with\nthee, and with it shalt thou cut off the heads of all seven of us on\nthy wedding-day, and then we shall become princes again as we were\nbefore. For we are brothers of the Princess whom thou art to have when\nthou canst tell the King what we eat and drink, but there is a mighty\nTroll who has cast a spell over us. When thou hast cut off our heads,\nthou must take the greatest care to lay each head at the tail of the\nbody to which it belonged before, and then the spell which the Troll\nhas cast upon us will lose all its power.\u2019\n\nCinderlad promised to do this, and then they went on farther.\n\nWhen they had travelled a long, long way, the Foal said:\n\n\u2018Dost thou see anything?\u2019\n\n\u2018No,\u2019 said Cinderlad.\n\nSo they went on a great distance farther.\n\n\u2018And now?\u2019 inquired the Foal, \u2018seest thou nothing now?\u2019\n\n\u2018Alas! no,\u2019 said Cinderlad.\n\nSo they travelled onwards again, for many and many a mile, over hill\nand dale.\n\n\u2018Now, then,\u2019 said the Foal, \u2018dost thou not see anything now?\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes,\u2019 said Cinderlad; \u2018now I see something like a bluish streak, far,\nfar away.\u2019\n\n\u2018That is a river,\u2019 said the Foal, \u2018and we have to cross it.\u2019\n\nThere was a long, handsome bridge over the river, and when they had got\nto the other side of it they again travelled on a long, long way, and\nthen once more the Foal inquired if Cinderlad saw anything. Yes, this\ntime he saw something that looked black, far, far away, and was rather\nlike a church tower.\n\n\u2018Yes,\u2019 said the Foal, \u2018we shall go into that.\u2019\n\nWhen the Foals got into the churchyard they turned into men and looked\nlike the sons of a king, and their clothes were so magnificent that\nthey shone with splendour, and they went into the church and received\nbread and wine from the priest, who was standing before the altar, and\nCinderlad went in too. But when the priest had laid his hands on the\nprinces and read the blessing, they went out of the church again, and\nCinderlad went out too, but he took with him a flask of wine and some\nconsecrated bread. No sooner had the seven princes come out into the\nchurchyard than they became foals again, and Cinderlad got upon the\nback of the youngest, and they returned by the way they had come, only\nthey went much, much faster.\n\nFirst they went over the bridge, and then past the trunk of the birch\ntree, and then past the old hag who sat in the cleft of the rock\nspinning, and they went by so fast that Cinderlad could not hear what\nthe old hag screeched after him, but just heard enough to understand\nthat she was terribly enraged.\n\nIt was all but dark when they got back to the King at nightfall, and he\nhimself was standing in the courtyard waiting for them.\n\n\u2018Hast thou watched well and faithfully the whole day?\u2019 said the King to\nCinderlad.\n\n\u2018I have done my best,\u2019 replied Cinderlad.\n\n\u2018Then thou canst tell me what my seven foals eat and drink?\u2019 asked the\nKing.\n\nSo Cinderlad pulled out the consecrated bread and the flask of wine,\nand showed them to the King. \u2018Here may you behold their meat, and here\ntheir drink,\u2019 said he.\n\n\u2018Yes, diligently and faithfully hast thou watched,\u2019 said the King, \u2018and\nthou shalt have the Princess and half the kingdom.\u2019\n\nSo all was made ready for the wedding, and the King said that it was to\nbe so stately and magnificent that everyone should hear of it, and\neveryone inquire about it.\n\nBut when they sat down to the marriage-feast, the bridegroom arose and\nwent down to the stable, for he said that he had forgotten something\nwhich he must go and look to. When he got there, he did what the foals\nhad bidden him, and cut off the heads of all the seven. First the\neldest, and then the second, and so on according to their age, and he\nwas extremely careful to lay each head at the tail of the foal to which\nit had belonged, and when that was done, all the foals became princes\nagain. When he returned to the marriage-feast with the seven princes,\nthe King was so joyful that he both kissed Cinderlad and clapped him on\nthe back, and his bride was still more delighted with him than she had\nbeen before.\n\n\u2018Half my kingdom is thine already,\u2019 said the King, \u2018and the other half\nshall be thine after my death, for my sons can get countries and\nkingdoms for themselves now that they have become princes again.\u2019\n\nTherefore, as all may well believe, there was joy and merriment at that\nwedding.[31]\n\n [31] From J. Moe.\n\n\n\n\nTHE MARVELLOUS MUSICIAN\n\n\nThere was once upon a time a marvellous musician. One day he was\nwandering through a wood all by himself, thinking now of one thing, now\nof another, till there was nothing else left to think about. Then he\nsaid to himself:\n\n\u2018Time hangs very heavily on my hands when I\u2019m all alone in the wood. I\nmust try and find a pleasant companion.\u2019\n\nSo he took his fiddle out, and fiddled till he woke the echoes round.\nAfter a time a wolf came through the thicket and trotted up to the\nmusician.\n\n\u2018Oh! it\u2019s a Wolf, is it?\u2019 said he. \u2018I\u2019ve not the smallest wish for his\nsociety.\u2019\n\nBut the Wolf approached him and said:\n\n\u2018Oh, my dear musician, how beautifully you play! I wish you\u2019d teach me\nhow it\u2019s done.\u2019\n\n\u2018That\u2019s easily learned,\u2019 answered the fiddler; \u2018you must only do\nexactly as I tell you.\u2019\n\n\u2018Of course I will,\u2019 replied the Wolf. \u2018I can promise that you will find\nme a most apt pupil.\u2019\n\nSo they joined company and went on their way together, and after a time\nthey came to an old oak tree, which was hollow and had a crack in the\nmiddle of the trunk.\n\n\u2018Now,\u2019 said the Musician, \u2018if you want to learn to fiddle, here\u2019s your\nchance. Lay your front paws in this crack.\u2019\n\nThe Wolf did as he was told, and the Musician quickly seized a stone,\nand wedged both his fore paws so firmly into the crack that he was held\nthere, a fast prisoner.\n\n\u2018Wait there till I return,\u2019 said the Fiddler, and he went on his way.\n\nAfter a time he said to himself again:\n\n\u2018Time hangs very heavily on my hands when I\u2019m all alone in the wood; I\nmust try and find a companion.\u2019\n\nSo he drew out his fiddle, and fiddled away lustily. Presently a fox\nslunk through the trees.\n\n\u2018Aha! what have we here?\u2019 said the Musician. \u2018A fox; well, I haven\u2019t\nthe smallest desire for his company.\u2019\n\nThe Fox came straight up to him and said:\n\n\u2018My dear friend, how beautifully you play the fiddle; I would like to\nlearn how you do it.\u2019\n\n\u2018Nothing easier,\u2019 said the Musician, \u2018if you\u2019ll promise to do exactly\nas I tell you.\u2019\n\n\u2018Certainly,\u2019 answered the Fox, \u2018you have only to say the word.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, then, follow me,\u2019 replied the Fiddler.\n\nWhen they had gone a bit of the way, they came to a path with high\ntrees on each side. Here the Musician halted, bent a stout hazel bough\ndown to the ground from one side of the path, and put his foot on the\nend of it to keep it down. Then he bent a branch down from the other\nside and said:\n\n\u2018Give me your left front paw, my little Fox, if you really wish to\nlearn how it\u2019s done.\u2019\n\nThe Fox did as he was told, and the Musician tied his front paw to the\nend of one of the branches.\n\n\u2018Now, my friend,\u2019 he said, \u2018give me your right paw.\u2019\n\nThis he bound to the other branch, and having carefully seen that his\nknots were all secure, he stepped off the ends of the branches, and\nthey sprang back, leaving the poor Fox suspended in mid-air.\n\n\u2018Just you wait where you are till I return,\u2019 said the Musician, and he\nwent on his way again.\n\nOnce more he said to himself:\n\n\u2018Time hangs heavily on my hands when I\u2019m all alone in the wood; I must\ntry and find another companion.\u2019\n\nSo he took out his fiddle and played as merrily as before. This time a\nlittle hare came running up at the sound.\n\n\u2018Oh! here comes a hare,\u2019 said the Musician; \u2018I\u2019ve not the smallest\ndesire for his company.\u2019\n\n\u2018How beautifully you play, dear Mr. Fiddler,\u2019 said the little Hare. \u2018I\nwish I could learn how you do it.\u2019\n\n\u2018It\u2019s easily learnt,\u2019 answered the Musician; \u2018just do exactly as I tell\nyou.\u2019\n\n\u2018That I will,\u2019 said the Hare, \u2018you will find me a most attentive\npupil.\u2019\n\nThey went on a bit together, till they came to a thin part of the wood,\nwhere they found an aspen tree growing. The Musician bound a long cord\nround the little Hare\u2019s neck, the other end of which he fastened to the\ntree.\n\n\u2018Now, my merry little friend,\u2019 said the Musician, \u2018run twenty times\nround the tree.\u2019\n\nThe little Hare obeyed, and when it had run twenty times round the\ntree, the cord had twisted itself twenty times round the trunk, so that\nthe poor little beast was held a fast prisoner, and it might bite and\ntear as much as it liked, it couldn\u2019t free itself, and the cord only\ncut its tender neck.\n\n\u2018Wait there till I return,\u2019 said the Musician, and went on his way.\n\nIn the meantime the Wolf had pulled and bitten and scratched at the\nstone, till at last he succeeded in getting his paws out. Full of\nanger, he hurried after the Musician, determined when he met him to\ntear him to pieces. When the Fox saw him running by, he called out as\nloud as he could:\n\n\u2018Brother Wolf, come to my rescue, the Musician has deceived me too.\u2019\n\nThe Wolf pulled the branches down, bit the cord in two, and set the Fox\nfree. So they went on their way together, both vowing vengeance on the\nMusician. They found the poor imprisoned little Hare, and having set\nhim free also, they all set out to look for their enemy.\n\nDuring this time the Musician had once more played his fiddle, and had\nbeen more fortunate in the result. The sounds pierced to the ears of a\npoor woodman, who instantly left his work, and with his hatchet under\nhis arm came to listen to the music.\n\n\u2018At last I\u2019ve got a proper sort of companion,\u2019 said the Musician, \u2018for\nit was a human being I wanted all along, and not a wild animal.\u2019\n\nAnd he began playing so enchantingly that the poor man stood there as\nif bewitched, and his heart leapt for joy as he listened.\n\nAnd as he stood thus, the Wolf and Fox and little Hare came up, and the\nwoodman saw at once that they meant mischief. He lifted his glittering\naxe and placed himself in front of the Musician, as much as to say: \u2018If\nyou touch a hair of his head, beware, for you will have to answer for\nit to me.\u2019\n\nThen the beasts were frightened, and they all three ran back into the\nwood, and the Musician played the woodman one of his best tunes, by way\nof thanks, and then continued his way.[32]\n\n [32] Grimm.\n\n\n\n\nTHE STORY OF SIGURD\n\n\n(This is a very old story: the Danes who used to fight with the English\nin King Alfred\u2019s time knew this story. They have carved on the rocks\npictures of some of the things that happen in the tale, and those\ncarvings may still be seen. Because it is so old and so beautiful the\nstory is told here again, but it has a sad ending\u2014indeed it is all sad,\nand all about fighting and killing, as might be expected from the\nDanes.)\n\nOnce upon a time there was a King in the North who had won many wars,\nbut now he was old. Yet he took a new wife, and then another Prince,\nwho wanted to have married her, came up against him with a great army.\nThe old King went out and fought bravely, but at last his sword broke,\nand he was wounded and his men fled. But in the night, when the battle\nwas over, his young wife came out and searched for him among the slain,\nand at last she found him, and asked whether he might be healed. But he\nsaid \u2018No,\u2019 his luck was gone, his sword was broken, and he must die.\nAnd he told her that she would have a son, and that son would be a\ngreat warrior, and would avenge him on the other King, his enemy. And\nhe bade her keep the broken pieces of the sword, to make a new sword\nfor his son, and that blade should be called Gram.\n\nThen he died. And his wife called her maid to her and said, \u2018Let us\nchange clothes, and you shall be called by my name, and I by yours,\nlest the enemy finds us.\u2019\n\nSo this was done, and they hid in a wood, but there some strangers met\nthem and carried them off in a ship to Denmark. And when they were\nbrought before the King, he thought the maid looked like a Queen, and\nthe Queen like a maid. So he asked the Queen, \u2018How do you know in the\ndark of night whether the hours are wearing to the morning?\u2019\n\nAnd she said:\n\n\u2018I know because, when I was younger, I used to have to rise and light\nthe fires, and still I waken at the same time.\u2019\n\n\u2018A strange Queen to light the fires,\u2019 thought the King.\n\nThen he asked the Queen, who was dressed like a maid, \u2018How do you know\nin the dark of night whether the hours are wearing near the dawn?\u2019\n\n\u2018My father gave me a gold ring,\u2019 said she, \u2018and always, ere the\ndawning, it grows cold on my finger.\u2019\n\n\u2018A rich house where the maids wore gold,\u2019 said the King. \u2018Truly you are\nno maid, but a King\u2019s daughter.\u2019\n\nSo he treated her royally, and as time went on she had a son called\nSigurd, a beautiful boy and very strong. He had a tutor to be with him,\nand once the tutor bade him go to the King and ask for a horse.\n\n\u2018Choose a horse for yourself,\u2019 said the King; and Sigurd went to the\nwood, and there he met an old man with a white beard, and said, \u2018Come!\nhelp me in horse-choosing.\u2019\n\nThen the old man said, \u2018Drive all the horses into the river, and choose\nthe one that swims across.\u2019\n\nSo Sigurd drove them, and only one swam across. Sigurd chose him: his\nname was Grani, and he came of Sleipnir\u2019s breed, and was the best horse\nin the world. For Sleipnir was the horse of Odin, the God of the North,\nand was as swift as the wind.\n\nBut a day or two later his tutor said to Sigurd, \u2018There is a great\ntreasure of gold hidden not far from here, and it would become you to\nwin it.\u2019\n\nBut Sigurd answered, \u2018I have heard stories of that treasure, and I know\nthat the dragon Fafnir guards it, and he is so huge and wicked that no\nman dares to go near him.\u2019\n\n\u2018He is no bigger than other dragons,\u2019 said the tutor, \u2018and if you were\nas brave as your father you would not fear him.\u2019\n\n\u2018I am no coward,\u2019 says Sigurd; \u2018why do you want me to fight with this\ndragon?\u2019\n\nThen his tutor, whose name was Regin, told him that all this great\nhoard of red gold had once belonged to his own father. And his father\nhad three sons\u2014the first was Fafnir, the Dragon; the next was Otter,\nwho could put on the shape of an otter when he liked; and the next was\nhimself, Regin, and he was a great smith and maker of swords.\n\nNow there was at that time a dwarf called Andvari, who lived in a pool\nbeneath a waterfall, and there he had hidden a great hoard of gold. And\none day Otter had been fishing there, and had killed a salmon and eaten\nit, and was sleeping, like an otter, on a stone. Then someone came by,\nand threw a stone at the otter and killed it, and flayed off the skin,\nand took it to the house of Otter\u2019s father. Then he knew his son was\ndead, and to punish the person who had killed him he said he must have\nthe Otter\u2019s skin filled with gold, and covered all over with red gold,\nor it should go worse with him. Then the person who had killed Otter\nwent down and caught the Dwarf who owned all the treasure and took it\nfrom him.\n\nOnly one ring was left, which the Dwarf wore, and even that was taken\nfrom him.\n\nThen the poor Dwarf was very angry, and he prayed that the gold might\nnever bring any but bad luck to all the men who might own it, for ever.\n\nThen the otter skin was filled with gold and covered with gold, all but\none hair, and that was covered with the poor Dwarf\u2019s last ring.\n\nBut it brought good luck to nobody. First Fafnir, the Dragon, killed\nhis own father, and then he went and wallowed on the gold, and would\nlet his brother have none, and no man dared go near it.\n\nWhen Sigurd heard the story he said to Regin:\n\n\u2018Make me a good sword that I may kill this Dragon.\u2019\n\nSo Regin made a sword, and Sigurd tried it with a blow on a lump of\niron, and the sword broke.\n\nAnother sword he made, and Sigurd broke that too.\n\nThen Sigurd went to his mother, and asked for the broken pieces of his\nfather\u2019s blade, and gave them to Regin. And he hammered and wrought\nthem into a new sword, so sharp that fire seemed to burn along its\nedges.\n\nSigurd tried this blade on the lump of iron, and it did not break, but\nsplit the iron in two. Then he threw a lock of wool into the river, and\nwhen it floated down against the sword it was cut into two pieces. So\nSigurd said that sword would do. But before he went against the Dragon\nhe led an army to fight the men who had killed his father, and he slew\ntheir King, and took all his wealth, and went home.\n\nWhen he had been at home a few days, he rode out with Regin one morning\nto the heath where the Dragon used to lie. Then he saw the track which\nthe Dragon made when he went to a cliff to drink, and the track was as\nif a great river had rolled along and left a deep valley.\n\nThen Sigurd went down into that deep place, and dug many pits in it,\nand in one of the pits he lay hidden with his sword drawn. There he\nwaited, and presently the earth began to shake with the weight of the\nDragon as he crawled to the water. And a cloud of venom flew before him\nas he snorted and roared, so that it would have been death to stand\nbefore him.\n\nBut Sigurd waited till half of him had crawled over the pit, and then\nhe thrust the sword Gram right into his very heart.\n\nThen the Dragon lashed with his tail till stones broke and trees\ncrashed about him.\n\nThen he spoke, as he died, and said:\n\n\u2018Whoever thou art that hast slain me this gold shall be thy ruin, and\nthe ruin of all who own it.\u2019\n\nSigurd said:\n\n\u2018I would touch none of it if by losing it I should never die. But all\nmen die, and no brave man lets death frighten him from his desire. Die\nthou, Fafnir,\u2019 and then Fafnir died.\n\nAnd after that Sigurd was called Fafnir\u2019s Bane, and Dragonslayer.\n\nThen Sigurd rode back, and met Regin, and Regin asked him to roast\nFafnir\u2019s heart and let him taste of it.\n\nSo Sigurd put the heart of Fafnir on a stake, and roasted it. But it\nchanced that he touched it with his finger, and it burned him. Then he\nput his finger in his mouth, and so tasted the heart of Fafnir.\n\nThen immediately he understood the language of birds, and he heard the\nWoodpeckers say:\n\n\u2018There is Sigurd roasting Fafnir\u2019s heart for another, when he should\ntaste of it himself and learn all wisdom.\u2019\n\nThe next bird said:\n\n\u2018There lies Regin, ready to betray Sigurd, who trusts him.\u2019\n\nThe third bird said:\n\n\u2018Let him cut off Regin\u2019s head, and keep all the gold to himself.\u2019\n\nThe fourth bird said:\n\n\u2018That let him do, and then ride over Hindfell, to the place where\nBrynhild sleeps.\u2019\n\nWhen Sigurd heard all this, and how Regin was plotting to betray him,\nhe cut off Regin\u2019s head with one blow of the sword Gram.\n\nThen all the birds broke out singing:\n\n\u2018We know a fair maid,\nA fair maiden sleeping;\nSigurd, be not afraid,\nSigurd, win thou the maidv Fortune is keeping.\n\n\u2018High over Hindfell\nRed fire is flaming,\nThere doth the maiden dwell\nShe that should love thee well,\nMeet for thy taming.\n\n\u2018There must she sleep till thou\nComest for her waking\nRise up and ride, for now\nSure she will swear the vow\nFearless of breaking.\u2019\n\n\nThen Sigurd remembered how the story went that somewhere, far away,\nthere was a beautiful lady enchanted. She was under a spell, so that\nshe must always sleep in a castle surrounded by flaming fire; there she\nmust sleep for ever till there came a knight who would ride through the\nfire and waken her. There he determined to go, but first he rode right\ndown the horrible trail of Fafnir. And Fafnir had lived in a cave with\niron doors, a cave dug deep down in the earth, and full of gold\nbracelets, and crowns, and rings; and there, too, Sigurd found the Helm\nof Dread, a golden helmet, and whoever wears it is invisible. All these\nhe piled on the back of the good horse Grani, and then he rode south to\nHindfell.\n\nNow it was night, and on the crest of the hill Sigurd saw a red fire\nblazing up into the sky, and within the flame a castle, and a banner on\nthe topmost tower. Then he set the horse Grani at the fire, and he\nleaped through it lightly, as if it had been through the heather. So\nSigurd went within the castle door, and there he saw someone sleeping,\nclad all in armour. Then he took the helmet off the head of the\nsleeper, and behold, she was a most beautiful lady. And she wakened and\nsaid, \u2018Ah! is it Sigurd, Sigmund\u2019s son, who has broken the curse, and\ncomes here to waken me at last?\u2019\n\nThis curse came upon her when the thorn of the tree of sleep ran into\nher hand long ago as a punishment because she had displeased Odin the\nGod. Long ago, too, she had vowed never to marry a man who knew fear,\nand dared not ride through the fence of flaming fire. For she was a\nwarrior maid herself, and went armed into the battle like a man. But\nnow she and Sigurd loved each other, and promised to be true to each\nother, and he gave her a ring, and it was the last ring taken from the\ndwarf Andvari. Then Sigurd rode away, and he came to the house of a\nKing who had a fair daughter. Her name was Gudrun, and her mother was a\nwitch. Now Gudrun fell in love with Sigurd, but he was always talking\nof Brynhild, how beautiful she was and how dear. So one day Gudrun\u2019s\nwitch mother put poppy and forgetful drugs in a magical cup, and bade\nSigurd drink to her health, and he drank, and instantly he forgot poor\nBrynhild and he loved Gudrun, and they were married with great\nrejoicings.\n\nNow the witch, the mother of Gudrun, wanted her son Gunnar to marry\nBrynhild, and she bade him ride out with Sigurd and go and woo her. So\nforth they rode to her father\u2019s house, for Brynhild had quite gone out\nof Sigurd\u2019s mind by reason of the witch\u2019s wine, but she remembered him\nand loved him still. Then Brynhild\u2019s father told Gunnar that she would\nmarry none but him who could ride the flame in front of her enchanted\ntower, and thither they rode, and Gunnar set his horse at the flame,\nbut he would not face it. Then Gunnar tried Sigurd\u2019s horse Grani, but\nhe would not move with Gunnar on his back. Then Gunnar remembered\nwitchcraft that his mother had taught him, and by his magic he made\nSigurd look exactly like himself, and he looked exactly like Gunnar.\nThen Sigurd, in the shape of Gunnar and in his mail, mounted on Grani,\nand Grani leaped the fence of fire, and Sigurd went in and found\nBrynhild, but he did not remember her yet, because of the forgetful\nmedicine in the cup of the witch\u2019s wine.\n\nNow Brynhild had no help but to promise she would be his wife, the wife\nof Gunnar as she supposed, for Sigurd wore Gunnar\u2019s shape, and she had\nsworn to wed whoever should ride the flames. And he gave her a ring,\nand she gave him back the ring he had given her before in his own shape\nas Sigurd, and it was the last ring of that poor dwarf Andvari. Then he\nrode out again, and he and Gunnar changed shapes, and each was himself\nagain, and they went home to the witch Queen\u2019s, and Sigurd gave the\ndwarf\u2019s ring to his wife, Gudrun. And Brynhild went to her father, and\nsaid that a King had come called Gunnar, and had ridden the fire, and\nshe must marry him. \u2018Yet I thought,\u2019 she said, \u2018that no man could have\ndone this deed but Sigurd, Fafnir\u2019s bane, who was my true love. But he\nhas forgotten me, and my promise I must keep.\u2019\n\nSo Gunnar and Brynhild were married, though it was not Gunnar but\nSigurd in Gunnar\u2019s shape, that had ridden the fire.\n\nAnd when the wedding was over and all the feast, then the magic of the\nwitch\u2019s wine went out of Sigurd\u2019s brain, and he remembered all. He\nremembered how he had freed Brynhild from the spell, and how she was\nhis own true love, and how he had forgotten and had married another\nwoman, and won Brynhild to be the wife of another man.\n\nBut he was brave, and he spoke not a word of it to the others to make\nthem unhappy. Still he could not keep away the curse which was to come\non every one who owned the treasure of the dwarf Andvari, and his fatal\ngolden ring.\n\nAnd the curse soon came upon all of them. For one day, when Brynhild\nand Gudrun were bathing, Brynhild waded farthest out into the river,\nand said she did that to show she was Gudrun\u2019s superior. For her\nhusband, she said, had ridden through the flame when no other man dared\nface it.\n\nThen Gudrun was very angry, and said that it was Sigurd, not Gunnar,\nwho had ridden the flame, and had received from Brynhild that fatal\nring, the ring of the dwarf Andvari.\n\nThen Brynhild saw the ring which Sigurd had given to Gudrun, and she\nknew it and knew all, and she turned as pale as a dead woman, and went\nhome. All that evening she never spoke. Next day she told Gunnar, her\nhusband, that he was a coward and a liar, for he had never ridden the\nflame, but had sent Sigurd to do it for him, and pretended that he had\ndone it himself. And she said he would never see her glad in his hall,\nnever drinking wine, never playing chess, never embroidering with the\ngolden thread, never speaking words of kindness. Then she rent all her\nneedlework asunder and wept aloud, so that everyone in the house heard\nher. For her heart was broken, and her pride was broken in the same\nhour. She had lost her true love, Sigurd, the slayer of Fafnir, and she\nwas married to a man who was a liar.\n\nThen Sigurd came and tried to comfort her, but she would not listen,\nand said she wished the sword stood fast in his heart.\n\n\u2018Not long to wait,\u2019 he said, \u2018till the bitter sword stands fast in my\nheart, and thou will not live long when I am dead. But, dear Brynhild,\nlive and be comforted, and love Gunnar thy husband, and I will give\nthee all the gold, the treasure of the dragon Fafnir.\u2019\n\nBrynhild said:\n\n\u2018It is too late.\u2019\n\nThen Sigurd was so grieved and his heart so swelled in his breast that\nit burst the steel rings of his shirt of mail.\n\nSigurd went out and Brynhild determined to slay him. She mixed\nserpent\u2019s venom and wolf\u2019s flesh, and gave them in one dish to her\nhusband\u2019s younger brother, and when he had tasted them he was mad, and\nhe went into Sigurd\u2019s chamber while he slept and pinned him to the bed\nwith a sword. But Sigurd woke, and caught the sword Gram into his hand,\nand threw it at the man as he fled, and the sword cut him in twain.\nThus died Sigurd, Fafnir\u2019s bane, whom no ten men could have slain in\nfair fight. Then Gudrun wakened and saw him dead, and she moaned aloud,\nand Brynhild heard her and laughed; but the kind horse Grani lay down\nand died of very grief. And then Brynhild fell a-weeping till her heart\nbroke. So they attired Sigurd in all his golden armour, and built a\ngreat pile of wood on board his ship, and at night laid on it the dead\nSigurd and the dead Brynhild, and the good horse, Grani, and set fire\nto it, and launched the ship. And the wind bore it blazing out to sea,\nflaming into the dark. So there were Sigurd and Brynhild burned\ntogether, and the curse of the dwarf Andvari was fulfilled.[33]\n\n [33] The _Volsunga Saga_.","title":"The Red Fairy Book","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":124673}