Andrew Lang_Fairy Book 06 (33 page)

Then, as Scioravante was hurrying past, the king shouted out to
him: 'Just stop a minute, brother, and don't be in such desperate
haste. If you will step in here you shall have my daughter for a
wife, and I will send attendants with her, and as many horses and
servants as you wish.'

'A thousand thanks,' returned Scioravante; 'I shall be delighted
to marry your daughter, but it is quite unnecessary to send
anyone to accompany her. Give me a horse and I will carry off the
princess in front of my saddle, and will bring her to my own
kingdom, where there is no lack of courtiers or servants, or,
indeed, of anything your daughter can desire.'

At first the king was very much against Cannetella's departing in
this fashion; but finally Scioravante got his way, and placing
the princess before him on his horse, he set out for his own
country.

Towards evening he dismounted, and entering a stable he placed
Cannetella in the same stall as his horse, and said to her: 'Now
listen to what I have to say. I am going to my home now, and that
is a seven years' journey from here; you must wait for me in this
stable, and never move from the spot, or let yourself be seen by
a living soul. If you disobey my commands, it will be the worse
for you.'

The princess answered meekly: 'Sir, I am your servant, and will
do exactly as you bid me; but I should like to know what I am to
live on till you come back?'

'You can take what the horses leave,' was Scioravante's reply.

When the magician had left her Cannetella felt very miserable,
and bitterly cursed the day she was born. She spent all her time
weeping and bemoaning the cruel fate that had driven her from a
palace into a stable, from soft down cushions to a bed of straw,
and from the dainties of her father's table to the food that the
horses left.

She led this wretched life for a few months, and during that time
she never saw who fed and watered the horses, for it was all done
by invisible hands.

One day, when she was more than usually unhappy, she perceived a
little crack in the wall, through which she could see a beautiful
garden, with all manner of delicious fruits and flowers growing
in it. The sight and smell of such delicacies were too much for
poor Cannetella, and she said to herself, 'I will slip quietly
out, and pick a few oranges and grapes, and I don't care what
happens. Who is there to tell my husband what I do? and even if
he should hear of my disobedience, he cannot make my life more
miserable than it is already.'

So she slipped out and refreshed her poor, starved body with the
fruit she plucked in the garden.

But a short time afterwards her husband returned unexpectedly,
and one of the horses instantly told him that Cannetella had gone
into the garden, in his absence, and had stolen some oranges and
grapes.

Scioravante was furious when he heard this, and seizing a huge
knife from his pocket he threatened to kill his wife for her
disobedience. But Cannetella threw herself at his feet and
implored him to spare her life, saying that hunger drove even the
wolf from the wood. At last she succeeded in so far softening her
husband's heart that he said, 'I will forgive you this time, and
spare your life; but if you disobey me again, and I hear, on my
return, that you have as much as moved out of the stall, I will
certainly kill you. So, beware; for I am going away once more,
and shall be absent for seven years.'

With these words he took his departure, and Cannetella burst into
a flood of tears, and, wringing her hands, she moaned: 'Why was I
ever born to such a hard fate? Oh! father, how miserable you have
made your poor daughter! But, why should I blame my father? for I
have only myself to thank for all my sufferings. I got the cursed
head of gold, and it has brought all this misery on me. I am
indeed punished for not doing as my father wished!'

When a year had gone by, it chanced, one day, that the king's
cooper passed the stables where Cannetella was kept prisoner. She
recognised the man, and called him to come in. At first he did
not know the poor princess, and could not make out who it was
that called him by name. But when he heard Cannetella's tale of
woe, he hid her in a big empty barrel he had with him, partly
because he was sorry for the poor girl, and, even more, because
he wished to gain the king's favour. Then he slung the barrel on
a mule's back, and in this way the princess was carried to her
own home. They arrived at the palace about four o'clock in the
morning, and the cooper knocked loudly at the door. When the
servants came in haste and saw only the cooper standing at the
gate, they were very indignant, and scolded him soundly for
coming at such an hour and waking them all out of their sleep.

The king hearing the noise and the cause of it, sent for the
cooper, for he felt certain the man must have some important
business, to have come and disturbed the whole palace at such an
early hour.

The cooper asked permission to unload his mule, and Cannetella
crept out of the barrel. At first the king refused to believe
that it was really his daughter, for she had changed so terribly
in a few years, and had grown so thin and pale, that it was
pitiful to see her. At last the princess showed her father a mole
she had on her right arm, and then he saw that the poor girl was
indeed his long-lost Cannetella. He kissed her a thousand times,
and instantly had the choicest food and drink set before her.

After she had satisfied her hunger, the king said to her: 'Who
would have thought, my dear daughter, to have found you in such a
state? What, may I ask, has brought you to this pass?'

Cannetella replied: 'That wicked man with the gold head and teeth
treated me worse than a dog, and many a time, since I left you,
have I longed to die. But I couldn't tell you all that I have
suffered, for you would never believe me. It is enough that I am
once more with you, and I shall never leave you again, for I
would rather be a slave in your house than queen in any other.'

In the meantime Scioravante had returned to the stables, and one
of the horses told him that Cannetella had been taken away by a
cooper in a barrel.

When the wicked magician heard this he was beside himself with
rage, and, hastening to the kingdom of Bello Puojo, he went
straight to an old woman who lived exactly opposite the royal
palace, and said to her: 'If you will let me see the king's
daughter, I will give you whatever reward you like to ask for.'

The woman demanded a hundred ducats of gold, and Scioravante
counted them out of his purse and gave them to her without a
murmur. Then the old woman led him to the roof of the house,
where he could see Cannetella combing out her long hair in a room
in the top story of the palace.

The princess happened to look out of the window, and when she saw
her husband gazing at her, she got such a fright that she flew
downstairs to the king, and said: 'My lord and father, unless you
shut me up instantly in a room with seven iron doors, I am lost.'

'If that's all,' said the king, 'it shall be done at once.' And
he gave orders for the doors to be closed on the spot.

When Scioravante saw this he returned to the old woman, and said:
'I will give you whatever you like if you will go into the
palace, hide under the princess's bed, and slip this little piece
of paper beneath her pillow, saying, as you do so: "May everyone
in the palace, except the princess, fall into a sound sleep."'

The old woman demanded another hundred golden ducats, and then
proceeded to carry out the magician's wishes. No sooner had she
slipped the piece of paper under Cannetella's pillow, than all
the people in the palace fell fast asleep, and only the princess
remained awake.

Then Scioravante hurried to the seven doors and opened them one
after the other. Cannetella screamed with terror when she saw her
husband, but no one came to her help, for all in the palace lay
as if they were dead. The magician seized her in the bed on which
she lay, and was going to carry her off with him, when the little
piece of paper which the old woman had placed under her pillow
fell on the floor.

In an instant all the people in the palace woke up, and as
Cannetella was still screaming for help, they rushed to her
rescue. They seized Scioravante and put him to death; so he was
caught in the trap which he had laid for the princess—and, as is
so often the case in this world, the biter himself was bit.

(From the Italian, Kletke.)

There lived, once upon a time, in the land of Marigliano, a poor
woman called Masella, who had six pretty daughters, all as
upright as young fir-trees, and an only son called Antonio, who
was so simple as to be almost an idiot. Hardly a day passed
without his mother saying to him, 'What are you doing, you
useless creature? If you weren't too stupid to look after
yourself, I would order you to leave the house and never to let
me see your face again.'

Every day the youth committed some fresh piece of folly, till at
last Masella, losing all patience, gave him a good beating, which
so startled Antonio that he took to his heels and never stopped
running till it was dark and the stars were shining in the
heavens. He wandered on for some time, not knowing where to go,
and at last he came to a cave, at the mouth of which sat an ogre,
uglier than anything you can conceive.

He had a huge head and wrinkled brow—eyebrows that met,
squinting eyes, a flat broad nose, and a great gash of a mouth
from which two huge tusks stuck out. His skin was hairy, his arms
enormous, his legs like sword blades, and his feet as flat as
ducks'. In short, he was the most hideous and laughable object in
the world.

But Antonio, who, with all his faults, was no coward, and was
moreover a very civil-spoken lad, took off his hat, and said:
'Good-day, sir; I hope you are pretty well. Could you kindly tell
me how far it is from here to the place where I wish to go?'

When the ogre heard this extraordinary question he burst out
laughing, and as he liked the youth's polite manners he said to
him: 'Will you enter my service?'

'What wages do you give?' replied Antonio.

'If you serve me faithfully,' returned the ogre, 'I'll be bound
you'll get enough wages to satisfy you.'

So the bargain was struck, and Antonio agreed to become the
ogre's servant. He was very well treated, in every way, and he
had little or no work to do, with the result that in a few days
he became as fat as a quail, as round as a barrel, as red as a
lobster, and as impudent as a bantam-cock.

But, after two years, the lad got weary of this idle life, and
longed desperately to visit his home again. The ogre, who could
see into his heart and knew how unhappy he was, said to him one
day: 'My dear Antonio, I know how much you long to see your
mother and sisters again, and because I love you as the apple of
my eye, I am willing to allow you to go home for a visit.
Therefore, take this donkey, so that you may not have to go on
foot; but see that you never say "Bricklebrit" to him, for if you
do you'll be sure to regret it.'

Antonio took the beast without as much as saying thank you, and
jumping on its back he rode away in great haste; but he hadn't
gone two hundred yards when he dismounted and called out
'Bricklebrit.'

No sooner had he pronounced the word than the donkey opened its
mouth and poured forth rubies, emeralds, diamonds and pearls, as
big as walnuts.

Antonio gazed in amazement at the sight of such wealth, and
joyfully filling a huge sack with the precious stones, he mounted
the donkey again and rode on till he came to an inn. Here he got
down, and going straight to the landlord, he said to him: 'My
good man, I must ask you to stable this donkey for me. Be sure
you give the poor beast plenty of oats and hay, but beware of
saying the word "Bricklebrit" to him, for if you do I can promise
you will regret it. Take this heavy sack, too, and put it
carefully away for me.'

The landlord, who was no fool, on receiving this strange warning,
and seeing the precious stones sparkling through the canvas of
the sack, was most anxious to see what would happen if he used
the forbidden word. So he gave Antonio an excellent dinner, with
a bottle of fine old wine, and prepared a comfortable bed for
him. As soon as he saw the poor simpleton close his eyes and had
heard his lusty snores, he hurried to the stables and said to the
donkey 'Bricklebrit,' and the animal as usual poured out any
number of precious stones.

When the landlord saw all these treasures he longed to get
possession of so valuable an animal, and determined to steal the
donkey from his foolish guest. As soon as it was light next
morning Antonio awoke, and having rubbed his eyes and stretched
himself about a hundred times he called the landlord and said to
him: 'Come here, my friend, and produce your bill, for short
reckonings make long friends.'

When Antonio had paid his account he went to the stables and took
out his donkey, as he thought, and fastening a sack of gravel,
which the landlord had substituted for his precious stones, on
the creature's back, he set out for his home.

No sooner had he arrived there than he called out: 'Mother, come
quickly, and bring table-cloths and sheets with you, and spread
them out on the ground, and you will soon see what wonderful
treasures I have brought you.'

His mother hurried into the house, and opening the linen-chest
where she kept her daughters' wedding outfits, she took out
table-cloths and sheets made of the finest linen, and spread them
flat and smooth on the ground. Antonio placed the donkey on them,
and called out 'Bricklebrit.' But this time he met with no
success, for the donkey took no more notice of the magic word
than he would have done if a lyre had been twanged in his ear.
Two, three, and four times did Antonio pronounce 'Bricklebrit,'
but all in vain, and he might as well have spoken to the wind.