The Violet Fairy Book (7 page)

So the prince went back, and brought some more water, and again a
hoop sprang.

And for the third time the voice still called for water; and when
water was given it the last hoop was rent, the cask fell in
pieces, and out flew a dragon, who snatched up the empress just
as she was returning from her walk, and carried her off. Some
servants who saw what had happened came rushing to the prince,
and the poor young man went nearly mad when he heard the result
of his own folly, and could only cry out that he would follow the
dragon to the ends of the earth, until he got his wife again.

For months and months he wandered about, first in this direction
and then in that, without finding any traces of the dragon or his
captive. At last he came to a stream, and as he stopped for a
moment to look at it he noticed a little fish lying on the bank,
beating its tail convulsively, in a vain effort to get back into
the water.

'Oh, for pity's sake, my brother,' shrieked the little creature,
'help me, and put me back into the river, and I will repay you
some day. Take one of my scales, and when you are in danger
twist it in your fingers, and I will come!'

The prince picked up the fish and threw it into the water; then
he took off one of its scales, as he had been told, and put it in
his pocket, carefully wrapped in a cloth. Then he went on his
way till, some miles further down the road, he found a fox caught
in a trap.

'Oh! be a brother to me!' called the fox, 'and free me from this
trap, and I will help you when you are in need. Pull out one of
my hairs, and when you are in danger twist it in your fingers,
and I will come.'

So the prince unfastened the trap, pulled out one of the fox's
hairs, and continued his journey. And as he was going over the
mountain he passed a wolf entangled in a snare, who begged to be
set at liberty.

'Only deliver me from death,' he said, 'and you will never be
sorry for it. Take a lock of my fur, and when you need me twist
it in your fingers.' And the prince undid the snare and let the
wolf go.

For a long time he walked on, without having any more adventures,
till at length he met a man travelling on the same road.

'Oh, brother!' asked the prince, 'tell me, if you can, where the
dragon-emperor lives?'

The man told him where he would find the palace, and how long it
would take him to get there, and the prince thanked him, and
followed his directions, till that same evening he reached the
town where the dragon-emperor lived. When he entered the
palace, to his great joy he found his wife sitting alone in a
vast hall, and they began hastily to invent plans for her escape.

There was no time to waste, as the dragon might return directly,
so they took two horses out of the stable, and rode away at
lightning speed. Hardly were they out of sight of the palace
than the dragon came home and found that his prisoner had flown.
He sent at once for his talking horse, and said to him:

'Give me your advice; what shall I do—have my supper as usual,
or set out in pursuit of them?'

'Eat your supper with a free mind first,' answered the horse,
'and follow them afterwards.'

So the dragon ate till it was past mid-day, and when he could eat
no more he mounted his horse and set out after the fugitives. In
a short time he had come up with them, and as he snatched the
empress out of her saddle he said to the prince:

'This time I will forgive you, because you brought me the water
when I was in the cask; but beware how you return here, or you
will pay for it with your life.'

Half mad with grief, the prince rode sadly on a little further,
hardly knowing what he was doing. Then he could bear it no
longer and turned back to the palace, in spite of the dragon's
threats. Again the empress was sitting alone, and once more they
began to think of a scheme by which they could escape the
dragon's power.

'Ask the dragon when he comes home,' said the prince, 'where he
got that wonderful horse from, and then you can tell me, and I
will try to find another like it.'

Then, fearing to meet his enemy, he stole out of the castle.

Soon after the dragon came home, and the empress sat down near
him, and began to coax and flatter him into a good humour, and at
last she said:

'But tell me about that wonderful horse you were riding
yesterday. There cannot be another like it in the whole world.
Where did you get it from?'

And he answered:

'The way I got it is a way which no one else can take. On the
top of a high mountain dwells an old woman, who has in her
stables twelve horses, each one more beautiful than the other.
And in one corner is a thin, wretched-looking animal whom no one
would glance at a second time, but he is in reality the best of
the lot. He is twin brother to my own horse, and can fly as high
as the clouds themselves. But no one can ever get this horse
without first serving the old woman for three whole days. And
besides the horses she has a foal and its mother, and the man who
serves her must look after them for three whole days, and if he
does not let them run away he will in the end get the choice of
any horse as a present from the old woman. But if he fails to
keep the foal and its mother safe on any one of the three nights
his head will pay.'

The next day the prince watched till the dragon left the house,
and then he crept in to the empress, who told him all she had
learnt from her gaoler. The prince at once determined to seek
the old woman on the top of the mountain, and lost no time in
setting out. It was a long and steep climb, but at last he found
her, and with a low bow he began:

'Good greeting to you, little mother!'

'Good greeting to you, my son! What are you doing here?'

'I wish to become your servant,' answered he.

'So you shall,' said the old woman. 'If you can take care of my
mare for three days I will give you a horse for wages, but if you
let her stray you will lose your head'; and as she spoke she led
him into a courtyard surrounded with palings, and on every post a
man's head was stuck. One post only was empty, and as they
passed it cried out:

'Woman, give me the head I am waiting for!'

The old woman made no answer, but turned to the prince and said:

'Look! all those men took service with me, on the same
conditions as you, but not one was able to guard the mare!'

But the prince did not waver, and declared he would abide by his
words.

When evening came he led the mare out of the stable and mounted
her, and the colt ran behind. He managed to keep his seat for a
long time, in spite of all her efforts to throw him, but at
length he grew so weary that he fell fast asleep, and when he
woke he found himself sitting on a log, with the halter in his
hands. He jumped up in terror, but the mare was nowhere to be
seen, and he started with a beating heart in search of her. He
had gone some way without a single trace to guide him, when he
came to a little river. The sight of the water brought back to
his mind the fish whom he had saved from death, and he hastily
drew the scale from his pocket. It had hardly touched his
fingers when the fish appeared in the stream beside him.

'What is it, my brother?' asked the fish anxiously.

'The old woman's mare strayed last night, and I don't know where
to look for her.'

'Oh, I can tell you that: she has changed herself into a big
fish, and her foal into a little one. But strike the water with
the halter and say, "Come here, O mare of the mountain witch!"
and she will come.'

The prince did as he was bid, and the mare and her foal stood
before him. Then he put the halter round her neck, and rode her
home, the foal always trotting behind them. The old woman was at
the door to receive them, and gave the prince some food while she
led the mare back to the stable.

'You should have gone among the fishes,' cried the old woman,
striking the animal with a stick.

'I did go among the fishes,' replied the mare; 'but they are no
friends of mine, for they betrayed me at once.'

'Well, go among the foxes this time,' said she, and returned to
the house, not knowing that the prince had overheard her.

So when it began to grow dark the prince mounted the mare for the
second time and rode into the meadows, and the foal trotted
behind its mother. Again he managed to stick on till midnight:
then a sleep overtook him that he could not battle against, and
when he woke up he found himself, as before, sitting on the log,
with the halter in his hands. He gave a shriek of dismay, and
sprang up in search of the wanderers. As he went he suddenly
remembered the words that the old woman had said to the mare, and
he drew out the fox hair and twisted it in his fingers.

'What is it, my brother?' asked the fox, who instantly appeared
before him.

'The old witch's mare has run away from me, and I do not know
where to look for her.'

'She is with us,' replied the fox, 'and has changed herself into
a big fox, and her foal into a little one, but strike the ground
with a halter and say, "Come here, O mare of the mountain
witch!"'

The prince did so, and in a moment the fox became a mare and
stood before him, with the little foal at her heels. He mounted
and rode back, and the old woman placed food on the table, and
led the mare back to the stable.

'You should have gone to the foxes, as I told you,' said she,
striking the mare with a stick.

'I did go to the foxes,' replied the mare, 'but they are no
friends of mine and betrayed me.'

'Well, this time you had better go to the wolves,' said she, not
knowing that the prince had heard all she had been saying.

The third night the prince mounted the mare and rode her out to
the meadows, with the foal trotting after. He tried hard to keep
awake, but it was of no use, and in the morning there he was
again on the log, grasping the halter. He started to his feet,
and then stopped, for he remembered what the old woman had said,
and pulled out the wolf's grey lock.

'What is it, my brother?' asked the wolf as it stood before him.

'The old witch's mare has run away from me,' replied the prince,
'and I don't know where to find her.'

'Oh, she is with us,' answered the wolf, 'and she has changed
herself into a she-wolf, and the foal into a cub; but strike the
earth here with the halter, and cry, "Come to me, O mare of the
mountain witch." '

The prince did as he was bid, and as the hair touched his fingers
the wolf changed back into a mare, with the foal beside her. And
when he had mounted and ridden her home the old woman was on the
steps to receive them, and she set some food before the prince,
but led the mare back to her stable.

'You should have gone among the wolves,' said she, striking her
with a stick.

'So I did,' replied the mare, 'but they are no friends of mine
and betrayed me.'

The old woman made no answer, and left the stable, but the prince
was at the door waiting for her.

'I have served you well,' said he, 'and now for my reward.'

'What I promised that will I perform,' answered she. 'Choose one
of these twelve horses; you can have which you like.'

'Give me, instead, that half-starved creature in the corner,'
asked the prince. 'I prefer him to all those beautiful animals.'

'You can't really mean what you say?' replied the woman.

'Yes, I do,' said the prince, and the old woman was forced to let
him have his way. So he took leave of her, and put the halter
round his horse's neck and led him into the forest, where he
rubbed him down till his skin was shining like gold. Then he
mounted, and they flew straight through the air to the dragon's
palace. The empress had been looking for him night and day, and
stole out to meet him, and he swung her on to his saddle, and the
horse flew off again.

Not long after the dragon came home, and when he found the
empress was missing he said to his horse, 'What shall we do?
Shall we eat and drink, or shall we follow the runaways?' and the
horse replied, 'Whether you eat or don't eat, drink or don't
drink, follow them or stay at home, matters nothing now, for you
can never, never catch them.'

But the dragon made no reply to the horse's words, but sprang on
his back and set off in chase of the fugitives. And when they
saw him coming they were frightened, and urged the prince's horse
faster and faster, till he said, 'Fear nothing; no harm can
happen to us,' and their hearts grew calm, for they trusted his
wisdom.

Soon the dragon's horse was heard panting behind, and he cried
out, 'Oh, my brother, do not go so fast! I shall sink to the
earth if I try to keep up with you.'

And the prince's horse answered, 'Why do you serve a monster like
that? Kick him off, and let him break in pieces on the ground,
and come and join us.'

And the dragon's horse plunged and reared, and the dragon fell on
a rock, which broke him in pieces. Then the empress mounted his
horse, and rode back with her husband to her kingdom, over which
they ruled for many years.

(Volksmarchen der Serben.)

Once upon a time there was a king and queen who lived happily and
comfortably together. They were very fond of each other and had
nothing to worry them, but at last the king grew restless. He
longed to go out into the world, to try his strength in battle
against some enemy and to win all kinds of honour and glory.

So he called his army together and gave orders to start for a
distant country where a heathen king ruled who ill-treated or
tormented everyone he could lay his hands on. The king then gave
his parting orders and wise advice to his ministers, took a
tender leave of his wife, and set off with his army across the
seas.