Andrew Lang_Fairy Book 06 (5 page)

'Dschemila! Dschemila!' cried they; but nobody answered.

'If we make a fire, perhaps she will see it,' said one of the
men. And they lit a fire, and then went, one this way, and one
that, through the forest, to look for her, whispering to each
other that if she had been killed by a lion they would be sure to
find some trace of it; or if she had fallen asleep, the sound of
their voices would wake her; or if a snake had bitten her, they
would at least come on her corpse.

All night they searched, and when morning broke and they knew no
more than before what had become of the maiden, they grew weary,
and said to the mother: 'It is no use. Let us go home, nothing
has happened to your daughter, except that she has run away with
a man.'

'Yes, I will come,' answered she, 'but I must first look in the
river. Perhaps some one has thrown her in there.' But the maiden
was not in the river.

For four days the father and mother waited and watched for their
child to come back; then they gave up hope, and said to each
other: 'What is to be done? What are we to say to the man to whom
Dschemila is betrothed? Let us kill a goat, and bury its head in
the grave, and when the man returns we must tell him Dschemila is
dead.'

Very soon the bridegroom came back, bringing with him carpets and
soft cushions for the house of his bride. And as he entered the
town Dschemila's father met him, saying, 'Greeting to you. She is
dead.'

At these words the young man broke into loud cries, and it was
some time before he could speak. Then he turned to one of the
crowd who had gathered round him, and asked: 'Where have they
buried her?'

'Come to the churchyard with me,' answered he; and the young man
went with him, carrying with him some of the beautiful things he
had brought. These he laid on the grass and then began to weep
afresh. All day he stayed, and at nightfall he gathered up his
stuffs and carried them to his own house. But when the day dawned
he took them in his arms and returned to the grave, where he
remained as long as it was light, playing softly on his flute.
And this he did daily for six months.

One morning, a man who was wandering through the desert, having
lost his way, came upon a lonely castle. The sun was very hot,
and the man was very tired, so he said to himself, 'I will rest a
little in the shadow of this castle.' He stretched himself out
comfortably, and was almost asleep, when he heard a voice calling
to him softly:

'Are you a ghost,' it said, 'or a man?'

He looked up, and saw a girl leaning out of a window, and he
answered:

'I am a man, and a better one, too, than your father or your
grandfather.'

'May all good luck be with you,' said she; 'but what has brought
you into this land of ogres and horrors?'

'Does an ogre really live in this castle?' asked he.

'Certainly he does,' replied the girl, 'and as night is not far
off he will be here soon. So, dear friend, depart quickly, lest
he return and snap you up for supper.'

'But I am so thirsty! ' said the man. 'Be kind, and give me some
drink, or else I shall die! Surely, even in this desert there
must be some spring?'

'Well, I have noticed that whenever the ogre brings back water he
always comes from that side; so if you follow the same direction
perhaps you may find some.'

The man jumped up at once and was about to start, when the maiden
spoke again: 'Tell me, where are you going?'

'Why do you want to know?'

'I have an errand for you; but tell me first whether you go east
or west.'

'I travel to Damascus.'

'Then do this for me. As you pass through our village, ask for a
man called Dschemil, and say to him: "Dschemila greets you, from
the castle, which lies far away, and is rocked by the wind. In my
grave lies only a goat. So take heart." '

And the man promised, and went his way, till he came to a spring
of water. And he drank a great draught and then lay on the bank
and slept quietly. When he woke he said to himself, 'The maiden
did a good deed when she told me where to find water. A few hours
more, and I should have been dead. So I will do her bidding, and
seek out her native town and the man for whom the message was
given.'

For a whole month he travelled, till at last he reached the town
where Dschemil dwelt, and as luck would have it, there was the
young man sitting before his door with his beard unshaven and his
shaggy hair hanging over his eyes.

'Welcome, stranger,' said Dschemil, as the man stopped. 'Where
have you come from?'

'I come from the west, and go towards the east,' he answered.

'Well, stop with us awhile, and rest and eat!' said Dschemil. And
the man entered; and food was set before him, and he sat down
with the father of the maiden and her brothers, and Dschemil.
Only Dschemil himself was absent, squatting on the threshold.

'Why do you not eat too?' asked the stranger. But one of the
young men whispered hastily: 'Leave him alone. Take no notice! It
is only at night that he ever eats.'

So the stranger went on silently with his food. Suddenly one of
Dschemil's brothers called out and said: 'Dschemil, bring us some
water! ' And the stranger remembered his message and said:

'Is there a man here named "Dschemil"? I lost my way in the
desert, and came to a castle, and a maiden looked out of the
window and . . . '

'Be quiet,' they cried, fearing that Dschemil might hear. But
Dschemil had heard, and came forward and said:

'What did you see? Tell me truly, or I will cut off your head
this instant!'

'My lord,' replied the stranger, 'as I was wandering, hot and
tired, through the desert, I saw near me a great castle, and I
said aloud, "I will rest a little in its shadow." And a maiden
looked out of a window and said, "Are you a ghost or a man? "And
I answered, "I am a man, and a better one, too, than your father
or your grandfather." And I was thirsty and asked for water, but
she had none to give me, and I felt like to die. Then she told me
that the ogre, in whose castle she dwelt, brought in water always
from the same side, and that if I too went that way most likely I
should come to it. But before I started she begged me to go to
her native town, and if I met a man called Dschemil I was to say
to him, "Dschemila greets you, from the castle which lies far
away, and is rocked by the wind. In my grave lies only a goat. So
take heart."'

Then Dschemil turned to his family and said: 'Is this true? and
is Dschemila not dead at all, but simply stolen from her home?'

'No, no,' replied they, 'his story is a pack of lies. Dschemila
is really dead. Everybody knows it.'

'That I shall see for myself,' said Dschemil, and, snatching up a
spade, hastened off to the grave where the goat's head lay
buried.

And they answered, 'Then hear what really happened. When you were
away, she went with the other maidens to the forest to gather
wood. And there she found an iron mortar, which she wished to
bring home; but she could not carry it, neither would she leave
it. So the maidens returned without her, and as night was come,
we all set out to look for her, but found nothing. And we said,
"The bridegroom will be here to- morrow, and when he learns that
she is lost, he will set out to seek her, and we shall lose him
too. Let us kill a goat, and bury it in her grave, and tell him
she is dead." Now you know, so do as you will. Only, if you go to
seek her, take with you this man with whom she has spoken that he
may show you the way.' 'Yes; that is the best plan,' replied
Dschemil; 'so give me food, and hand me my sword, and we will set
out directly.'

But the stranger answered: 'I am not going to waste a whole month
in leading you to the castle! If it were only a day or two's
journey I would not mind; but a month—no!'

'Come with me then for three days,' said Dschemil, 'and put me in
the right road, and I will reward you richly.'

'Very well,' replied the stranger, 'so let it be.'

For three days they travelled from sunrise to sunset, then the
stranger said: 'Dschemil?'

'Yes,' replied he.

'Go straight on till you reach a spring, then go on a little
farther, and soon you will see the castle standing before you.'

'So I will,' said Dschemil.

'Farewell, then,' said the stranger, and turned back the way he
had come.

It was six and twenty days before Dschemil caught sight of a
green spot rising out of the sandy desert, and knew that the
spring was near at last. He hastened his steps, and soon was
kneeling by its side, drinking thirstily of the bubbling water.
Then he lay down on the cool grass, and began to think. 'If the
man was right, the castle must be somewhere about. I had better
sleep here to-night, and to-morrow I shall be able to see where
it is.' So he slept long and peacefully. When he awoke the sun
was high, and he jumped up and washed his face and hands in the
spring, before going on his journey. He had not walked far, when
the castle suddenly appeared before him, though a moment before
not a trace of it could be seen. 'How am I to get in?' he
thought. 'I dare not knock, lest the ogre should hear me. Perhaps
it would be best for me to climb up the wall, and wait to see
what will happen. So he did, and after sitting on the top for
about an hour, a window above him opened, and a voice said:
'Dschemil!' He looked up, and at the sight of Dschemila, whom he
had so long believed to be dead, he began to weep.

'Dear cousin,' she whispered, 'what has brought you here?'

'My grief at losing you.'

'Oh! go away at once. If the ogre comes back he will kill you.'

'I swear by your head, queen of my heart, that I have not found
you only to lose you again! If I must die, well, I must!'

'Oh, what can I do for you?'

'Anything you like!'

'If I let you down a cord, can you make it fast under your arms,
and climb up?'

'Of course I can,' said he.

So Dschemila lowered the cord, and Dschemil tied it round him,
and climbed up to her window. Then they embraced each other
tenderly, and burst into tears of joy.

'But what shall I do when the ogre returns?' asked she.

'Trust to me,' he said.

Now there was a chest in the room, where Dschemila kept her
clothes. And she made Dschemil get into it, and lie at the
bottom, and told him to keep very still.

He was only hidden just in time, for the lid was hardly closed
when the ogre's heavy tread was heard on the stairs. He flung
open the door, bringing men's flesh for himself and lamb's flesh
for the maiden. 'I smell the smell of a man!' he thundered. 'What
is he doing here?'

'How could any one have come to this desert place?' asked the
girl, and burst into tears.

'Do not cry,' said the ogre; 'perhaps a raven has dropped some
scraps from his claws.'

'Ah, yes, I was forgetting,' answered she. 'One did drop some
bones about.'

'Well, burn them to powder,' replied the ogre, 'so that I may
swallow it.'

So the maiden took some bones and burned them, and gave them to
the ogre, saying, ' Here is the powder, swallow it.'

And when he had swallowed the powder the ogre stretched himself
out and went to sleep.

In a little while the man's flesh, which the maiden was cooking
for the ogre's supper, called out and said:

'Hist! Hist!
A man lies in the kist! '

And the lamb's flesh answered:

'He is your brother,
And cousin of the other.'

The ogre moved sleepily, and asked, 'What did the meat say,
Dschemila?'

'Only that I must be sure to add salt.'

'Well, add salt.'

'Yes, I have done so,' said she.

The ogre was soon sound asleep again, when the man's flesh called
out a second time:

'Hist! Hist!
A man lies in the kist!'

And the lamb's flesh answered:

'He is your brother,
And cousin of the other.'

'What did it say, Dschemila?' asked the ogre.

'Only that I must add pepper.'

'Well, add pepper.'

'Yes, I have done so,' said she.

The ogre had had a long day's hunting, and could not keep himself
awake. In a moment his eyes were tight shut, and then the man's
flesh called out for the third time:

'Hist! Hist
A man lies in the kist,'

And the lamb's flesh answered:

'He is your brother,
And cousin of the other.'

'What did it say, Dschemila?' asked the ogre.

'Only that it was ready, and that I had better take it off the
fire.'

'Then if it is ready, bring it to me, and I will eat it.'

So she brought it to him, and while he was eating she supped off
the lamb's flesh herself, and managed to put some aside for her
cousin.

When the ogre had finished, and had washed his hands, he said to
Dschemila: 'Make my bed, for I am tired.'

So she made his bed, and put a nice soft pillow for his head, and
tucked him up.

'Father,' she said suddenly.

'Well, what is it?'

'Dear father, if you are really asleep, why are your eyes always
open?'

'Why do you ask that, Dschemila? Do you want to deal
treacherously with me?'

'No, of course not, father. How could I, and what would be the
use of it?'

'Well, why do you want to know?'

'Because last night I woke up and saw the whole place shining in
a red light, which frightened me.'

'That happens when I am fast asleep.'

'And what is the good of the pin you always keep here so
carefully?'

'If I throw that pin in front of me, it turns into an iron
mountain.'

'And this darning needle?'

'That becomes a sea.'

'And this hatchet?'

'That becomes a thorn hedge, which no one can pass through. But
why do you ask all these questions? I am sure you have something
in your head.'