Andrew Lang_Fairy Book 06 (29 page)

'Where are you going, brother?' said the fox, when he had
finished his share of the bread; and the young man told him the
story of his father and the wonderful vine.

'Dear me, how lucky!' said the fox. 'I know what has become of
it. Follow me!' So they went on till they came to the gate of a
large garden.

'You will find here the vine that you are seeking, but it will
not be at all easy to get it. You must listen carefully to what I
am going to say. Before you reach the vine you will have to pass
twelve outposts, each consisting of two guards. If you see these
guards looking straight at you, go on without fear, for they are
asleep. But if their eyes are shut then beware, for they are wide
awake. If you once get to the vine, you will find two shovels,
one of wood and the other of iron. Be sure not to take the iron
one; it will make a noise and rouse the guards, and then you are
lost.'

The young man got safely through the garden without any
adventures till he came to the vine which yielded a tun of wine
an hour. But he thought he should find it impossible to dig the
hard earth with only a wooden shovel, so picked up the iron one
instead. The noise it made soon awakened the guards. They seized
the poor simpleton and carried him to their master.

'Why do you try to steal my vine?' demanded he; 'and how did you
manage to get past the guards?'

'The vine is not yours; it belongs to my father, and if you will
not give it to me now, I will return and get it somehow.'

'You shall have the vine if you will bring me in exchange an
apple off the golden apple-tree that flowers every twenty-four
hours, and bears fruit of gold.' So saying, he gave orders that
the simpleton should be released, and this done, the youth
hurried off to consult the fox.

'Now you see,' observed the fox, 'this comes of not following my
advice. However, I will help you to get the golden apple. It
grows in a garden that you will easily recognise from my
description. Near the apple-tree are two poles, one of gold, the
other of wood. Take the wooden pole, and you will be able to
reach the apple.'

Master Simpleton listened carefully to all that was told him, and
after crossing the garden, and escaping as before from the men
who were watching it, soon arrived at the apple-tree. But he was
so dazzled by the sight of the beautiful golden fruit, that he
quite forgot all that the fox had said. He seized the golden
pole, and struck the branch a sounding blow. The guards at once
awoke, and conducted him to their master. Then the simpleton had
to tell his story.

'I will give you the golden apple,' said the owner of the garden,
'if you will bring me in exchange a horse which can go round the
world in four-and-twenty hours.' And the young man departed, and
went to find the fox.

This time the fox was really angry, and no wonder.

'If you had listened to me, you would have been home with your
father by this time. However I am willing to help you once more.
Go into the forest, and you will find the horse with two halters
round his neck. One is of gold, the other of hemp. Lead him by
the hempen halter, or else the horse will begin to neigh, and
will waken the guards. Then all is over with you.'

So Master Simpleton searched till he found the horse, and was
struck dumb at its beauty.

'What!' he said to himself, 'put the hempen halter on an animal
like that? Not I, indeed!'

Then the horse neighed loudly; the guards seized our young friend
and conducted him before their master.

'I will give you the golden horse,' said he, 'if you will bring
me in exchange a golden maiden who has never yet seen either sun
or moon.'

'But if I am to bring you the golden maiden you must lend me
first the golden steed with which to seek for her.'

'Ah,' replied the owner of the golden horse, 'but who will
undertake that you will ever come back?'

'I swear on the head of my father,' answered the young man, 'that
I will bring back either the maiden or the horse.' And he went
away to consult the fox.

Now, the fox who was always patient and charitable to other
people's faults, led him to the entrance of a deep grotto, where
stood a maiden all of gold, and beautiful as the day. He placed
her on his horse and prepared to mount.

'Are you not sorry,' said the fox, 'to give such a lovely maiden
in exchange for a horse? Yet you are bound to do it, for you have
sworn by the head of your father. But perhaps I could manage to
take her place.' So saying, the fox transformed himself into
another golden maiden, so like the first that hardly anyone could
tell the difference between them.

The simpleton took her straight to the owner of the horse, who
was enchanted with her.

And the young man got back his father's vine and married the real
golden maiden into the bargain.

(Contes Populaires Slaves. Traduits par Louis Léger. Paris:
Ernest Leroux, éditeur.)

(Polish Story)

A long time ago there lived a king and queen who had no children,
although they both wished very much for a little son. They tried
not to let each other see how unhappy they were, and pretended to
take pleasure in hunting and hawking and all sorts of other
sports; but at length the king could bear it no longer, and
declared that he must go and visit the furthest corners of his
kingdom, and that it would be many months before he should return
to his capital.

By that time he hoped he would have so many things to think about
that he would have forgotten to trouble about the little son who
never came.

The country the king reigned over was very large, and full of
high, stony mountains and sandy deserts, so that it was not at
all easy to go from one place to another. One day the king had
wandered out alone, meaning to go only a little distance, but
everything looked so alike he could not make out the path by
which he had come. He walked on and on for hours, the sun beating
hotly on his head, and his legs trembling under him, and he might
have died of thirst if he had not suddenly stumbled on a little
well, which looked as if it had been newly dug. On the surface
floated a silver cup with a golden handle, but as it bobbed about
whenever the king tried to seize it, he was too thirsty to wait
any longer and knelt down and drank his fill.

When he had finished he began to rise from his knees, but somehow
his beard seemed to have stuck fast in the water, and with all
his efforts he could not pull it out. After two or three jerks to
his head, which only hurt him without doing any good, he called
out angrily, 'Let go at once! Who is holding me?'

'It is I, the King Kostiei,' said a voice from the well, and
looking up through the water was a little man with green eyes and
a big head. 'You have drunk from my spring, and I shall not let
you go until you promise to give me the most precious thing your
palace contains, which was not there when you left it.'

Now the only thing that the king much cared for in his palace was
the queen herself, and as she was weeping bitterly on a pile of
cushions in the great hall when he had ridden away, he knew that
Kostiei's words could not apply to her. So he cheerfully gave the
promise asked for by the ugly little man, and in the twinkling of
an eye, man, spring, and cup had disappeared, and the king was
left kneeling on the dry sand, wondering if it was all a dream.
But as he felt much stronger and better he made up his mind that
this strange adventure must really have happened, and he sprang
on his horse and rode off with a light heart to look for his
companions.

In a few weeks they began to set out on their return home, which
they reached one hot day, eight months after they had all left.
The king was greatly beloved by his people, and crowds lined the
roads, shouting and waving their hats as the procession passed
along. On the steps of the palace stood the queen, with a
splendid golden cushion in her arms, and on the cushion the most
beautiful boy that ever was seen, wrapped about in a cloud of
lace. In a moment Kostiei's words rushed into the king's mind,
and he began to weep bitterly, to the surprise of everybody, who
had expected him nearly to die of joy at the sight of his son.
But try as he would and work as hard as he might he could never
forget his promise, and every time he let the baby out of his
sight he thought that he had seen it for the last time.

However, years passed on and the prince grew first into a big
boy, and then into a fine young man. Kostiei made no sign, and
gradually even the anxious king thought less and less about him,
and in the end forgot him altogether.

There was no family in the whole kingdom happier than the king
and queen and prince, until one day when the youth met a little
old man as he was hunting in a lonely part of the woods. 'How
are you my unlooked-for Prince?' he said. 'You kept them waiting
a good long time!'

'And who are you?' asked the prince.

'You will know soon enough. When you go home give my compliments
to your father and tell him that I wish he would square accounts
with me. If he neglects to pay his debts he will bitterly repent
it.'

So saying the old man disappeared, and the prince returned to the
palace and told his father what had happened.

The king turned pale and explained to his son the terrible story.

'Do not grieve over it, father,' answered the prince. 'It is
nothing so dreadful after all! I will find some way to force
Kostiei to give up his rights over me. But if I do not come back
in a year's time, you must give up all hopes of ever seeing me.'

Then the prince began to prepare for his journey. His father gave
him a complete suit of steel armour, a sword, and a horse, while
his mother hung round his neck a cross of gold. So, kissing him
tenderly, with many tears they let him go.

He rode steadily on for three days, and at sunset on the fourth
day he found himself on the seashore. On the sand before him lay
twelve white dresses, dazzling as the snow, yet as far as his
eyes could reach there was no one in sight to whom they could
belong. Curious to see what would happen, he took up one of the
garments, and leaving his horse loose, to wander about the
adjoining fields, he hid himself among some willows and waited.
In a few minutes a flock of geese which had been paddling about
in the sea approached the shore, and put on the dresses, struck
the sand with their feet and were transformed in the twinkling of
an eye into eleven beautiful young girls, who flew away as fast
as they could. The twelfth and youngest remained in the water,
stretching out her long white neck and looking about her
anxiously. Suddenly, among the willows, she perceived the king's
son, and called out to him with a human voice:

'Oh Prince, give me back my dress, and I shall be for ever
grateful to you.'

The prince hastened to lay the dress on the sand, and walked
away. When the maiden had thrown off the goose-skin and quickly
put on her proper clothes, she came towards him and he saw that
none had ever seen or told of such beauty as hers. She blushed
and held out her hand, saying to him in a soft voice:

'I thank you, noble Prince, for having granted my request. I am
the youngest daughter of Kostiei the immortal, who has twelve
daughters and rules over the kingdoms under the earth. Long time
my father has waited for you, and great is his anger. But trouble
not yourself and fear nothing, only do as I bid you. When you see
the King Kostiei, fall straightway upon your knees and heed
neither his threats nor his cry, but draw near to him boldly.
That which will happen after, you will know in time. Now let us
go.'

At these words she struck the ground with her foot and a gulf
opened, down which they went right into the heart of the earth.
In a short time they reached Kostiei's palace, which gives light,
with a light brighter than the sun, to the dark kingdoms below.
And the prince, as he had been bidden, entered boldly into the
hall.

Kostiei, with a shining crown upon his head, sat in the centre
upon a golden throne. His green eyes glittered like glass, his
hands were as the claws of a crab. When he caught sight of the
prince he uttered piercing yells, which shook the walls of the
palace. The prince took no notice, but continued his advance on
his knees towards the throne. When he had almost reached it, the
king broke out into a laugh and said:

'It has been very lucky for you that you have been able to make
me laugh. Stay with us in our underground empire, only first you
will have to do three things. To-night it is late. Go to sleep;
to-morrow I will tell you.'

Early the following morning the prince received a message that
Kostiei was ready to see him. He got up and dressed, and hastened
to the presence chamber, where the little king was seated on his
throne. When the prince appeared, bowing low before him, Kostiei
began:

'Now, Prince, this is what you have to do. By to-night you must
build me a marble palace, with windows of crystal and a roof of
gold. It is to stand in the middle of a great park, full of
streams and lakes. If you are able to build it you shall be my
friend. If not, off with your head.'

The prince listened in silence to this startling speech, and then
returning to his room set himself to think about the certain
death that awaited him. He was quite absorbed in these thoughts,
when suddenly a bee flew against the window and tapped, saying,
'Let me come in.' He rose and opened the window, and there stood
before him the youngest princess.

'What are you dreaming about, Prince?'

'I was dreaming of your father, who has planned my death.'

'Fear nothing. You may sleep in peace, and to-morrow morning when
you awake you will find the palace all ready.'