Andrew Lang_Fairy Book 08 (3 page)

'Because the miller keeps everything for himself, and does not give
to those who need it.'

The prince wrote down the answers to his questions, took a friendly
leave of Lucky Luck, and set off for home.

When he reached the stream it asked if he brought it any good
news. 'When I get across I will tell you,' said he. So the stream
parted; he walked through and on to the highest part of the bank.
He stopped and shouted out:

'Listen, oh stream! Lucky Luck says you will never have any living
creature in your waters until someone is drowned in you.'

The words were hardly out of his mouth when the stream swelled
and overflowed till it reached the rock up which he had climbed,
and dashed so far up it that the spray flew over him. But he clung
on tight, and after failing to reach him three times the stream
returned to its proper course. Then the prince climbed down, dried
himself in the sun, and set out on his march home.

He spent the night once more at the mill and gave the miller his
answer, and by-and-by he told the three sisters not to throw out all
their sweepings in the face of the sun.

The prince had hardly arrived at home when some thieves tried to
ford the stream with a fine horse they had stolen. When they were
half-way across, the stream rose so suddenly that it swept them all
away. From that time it became the best fishing stream in the
country-side.

The miller, too, began to give alms and became a very good man,
and in time grew so rich that he hardly knew how much he had.

And the three sisters, now that they no longer insulted the sun, had
each a wooer within a week.

When the prince got home he found that his wife had just got a fine
little boy. He did not lose a moment in pricking the baby's finger till
the blood ran, and he brushed it on the wrists of the stone figure,
which shuddered all over and split with a loud noise in seven parts
and there was the faithful servant alive and well.

When the old king saw this he foamed with rage, stared wildly
about, flung himself on the ground and died.

The servant stayed on with his royal master and served him
faithfully all the rest of his life; and, if neither of them is dead, he is
serving him still.

(From Ungarische Mahrchen.)

Somewhere or other, but I don't know where, there lived a king
who owned two remarkably fine fields of rape, but every night two
of the rape heaps were burnt down in one of the fields. The king
was extremely angry at this, and sent out soldiers to catch whoever
had set fire to the ricks; but it was all of no use—not a soul could
they see. Then he offered nine hundred crowns to anyone who
caught the evil-doer, and at the same time ordered that whoever did
not keep proper watch over the fields should be killed; but though
there were a great many people, none seemed able to protect the
fields.

The king had already put ninety-nine people to death, when a little
swineherd came to him who had two dogs; one was called 'Psst,'
and the other 'Hush'; and the boy told the king that he would watch
over the ricks.

When it grew dark he climbed up on the top of the fourth rick, from
where he could see the whole field. About eleven o'clock he
thought he saw someone going to a rick and putting a light to it.
'Just you wait,' thought he, and called out to his dogs: 'Hi! Psst,
Hush, catch him! ' But Psst and Hush had not waited for orders,
and in five minutes the man was caught.

Next morning he was brought bound before the king, who was so
pleased with the boy that he gave him a thousand crowns at once.
The prisoner was all covered with hair, almost like an animal; and
altogether he was so curious to look at that the king locked him up
in a strong room and sent out letters of invitation to all the other
kings and princes asking them to come and see this wonder.

That was all very well; but the king had a little boy of ten years old
who went to look at the hairy man also, and the man begged so
hard to be set free that the boy took pity on him. He stole the key
of the strong room from his mother and opened the door. Then he
took the key back, but the hairy man escaped and went off into the
world.

Then the kings and princes began to arrive one after another, and all
were most anxious to see the hairy man; but he was gone! The king
nearly burst with rage and with the shame he felt. He questioned
his wife sharply, and told her that if she could not find and bring
back the hairy man he would put her in a hut made of rushes and
burn her there. The queen declared she had had nothing to do with
the matter; if her son had happened to take the key it had not been
with her knowledge.

So they fetched the little prince and asked him all sorts of questions,
and at last he owned that he had let the hairy man out. The king
ordered his servants to take the boy into the forest and to kill him
there, and to bring back part of his liver and lungs.

There was grief all over the palace when the king's command was
known, for he was a great favourite. But there was no help for it,
and they took the boy out into the forest. But the man was sorry
for him, and shot a dog and carried pieces of his lungs and liver to
the king, who was satisfied, and did not trouble himself any more.

The prince wandered about in the forest and lived as best he could
for five years. One day he came upon a poor little cottage in which
was an old man. They began to talk, and the prince told his story
and sad fate. Then they recognised each other, for the old fellow
was no other than the hairy man whom the prince had set free, and
who had lived ever since in the forest.

The prince stayed here for two years; then he wished to go further.
The old man begged him hard to stay, but he would not, so his
hairy friend gave him a golden apple out of which came a horse
with a golden mane, and a golden staff with which to guide the
horse. The old man also gave him a silver apple out of which came
the most beautiful hussars and a silver staff; and a copper apple
from which he could draw as many foot soldiers as ever he wished,
and a copper staff. He made the prince swear solemnly to take the
greatest care of these presents, and then he let him go.

The boy wandered on and on till he came to a large town. Here he
took service in the king's palace, and as no one troubled themselves
about him he lived quietly on.

One day news was brought to the king that he must go out to war.
He was horribly frightened for he had a very small army, but he had
to go all the same.

When they had all left, the prince said to the housekeeper:

'Give me leave to go to the next village—I owe a small bill there,
and I want to go and pay it'; and as there was nothing to be done in
the palace the housekeeper gave him leave.

When he got beyond the town he took out his golden apple, and
when the horse sprang out he swung himself into the saddle. Then
he took the silver and the copper apples, and with all these fine
soldiers he joined the king's army.

The king saw them approach with fear in his heart, for he did not
know if it might not be an enemy; but the prince rode up, and
bowed low before him. 'I bring your Majesty reinforcements,' said
he.

The king was delighted, and all dread of his enemy at once
disappeared. The princesses were there too, and they were very
friendly with the prince and begged him to get into their carriage so
as to talk to them. But he declined, and remained on horseback, as
he did not know at what moment the battle might begin; and whilst
they were all talking together the youngest princess, who was also
the loveliest, took off her ring, and her sister tore her handkerchief
in two pieces, and they gave these gifts to the prince.

Suddenly the enemy came in sight. The king asked whether his
army or the prince's should lead the way; but the prince set off first
and with his hussars he fought so bravely that only two of the
enemy were left alive, and these two were only spared to act as
messengers.

The king was overjoyed and so were his daughters at this brilliant
victory. As they drove home they begged the prince to join them,
but he would not come, and galloped off with his hussars.

When he got near the town he packed his soldiers and his fine horse
all carefully into the apple again, and then strolled into the town.
On his return to the palace he was well scolded by the housekeeper
for staying away so long.

Well, the whole matter might have ended there; but it so happened
that the younger princess had fallen in love with the prince, as he
had with her. And as he had no jewels with him, he gave her the
copper apple and staff.

One day, as the princesses were talking with their father, the
younger one asked him whether it might not have been their servant
who had helped him so much. The king was quite angry at the idea;
but, to satisfy her, he ordered the servant's room to be searched.
And there, to everyone's surprise, they found the golden ring and
the half of the handkerchief. When these were brought to the king
he sent for the prince at once and asked if it had been he who had
come to their rescue.

'Yes, your Majesty, it was I,' answered the prince.

'But where did you get your army?'

'If you wish to see it, I can show it you outside the city walls.'

And so he did; but first he asked for the copper apple from the
younger princess, and when all the soldiers were drawn up there
were such numbers that there was barely room for them.

The king gave him his daughter and kingdom as a reward for his
aid, and when he heard that the prince was himself a king's son his
joy knew no bounds. The prince packed all his soldiers carefully
up once more, and they went back into the town.

Not long after there was a grand wedding; perhaps they may all be
alive still, but I don't know.

Long, long ago there lived a king who was such a mighty monarch
that whenever he sneezed every one in the whole country had to say
'To your good health!' Every one said it except the shepherd with
the staring eyes, and he would not say it.

The king heard of this and was very angry, and sent for the
shepherd to appear before him.

The shepherd came and stood before the throne, where the king sat
looking very grand and powerful. But however grand or powerful
he might be the shepherd did not feel a bit afraid of him.

'Say at once, "To my good health!"' cried the king.

'To my good health!' replied the shepherd.

'To mine—to mine, you rascal, you vagabond!' stormed the king.

'To mine, to mine, your Majesty,' was the answer.

'But to mine—to my own,' roared the king, and beat on his breast in
a rage.

'Well, yes; to mine, of course, to my own,' cried the shepherd, and
gently tapped his breast.

The king was beside himself with fury and did not know what to
do, when the Lord Chamberlain interfered:

'Say at once—say this very moment: "To your health, your
Majesty"; for if you don't say it you'll lose your life, whispered he.

'No, I won't say it till I get the princess for my wife,' was the
shepherd's answer. Now the princess was sitting on a little throne
beside the king, her father, and she looked as sweet and lovely as a
little golden dove. When she heard what the shepherd said she
could not help laughing, for there is no denying the fact that this
young shepherd with the staring eyes pleased her very much; indeed
he pleased her better than any king's son she had yet seen.

But the king was not as pleasant as his daughter, and he gave
orders to throw the shepherd into the white bear's pit.

The guards led him away and thrust him into the pit with the white
bear, who had had nothing to eat for two days and was very
hungry. The door of the pit was hardly closed when the bear
rushed at the shepherd; but when it saw his eyes it was so
frightened that it was ready to eat itself. It shrank away into a
corner and gazed at him from there, and, in spite of being so
famished, did not dare to touch him, but sucked its own paws from
sheer hunger. The shepherd felt that if he once removed his eyes
off the beast he was a dead man, and in order to keep himself
awake he made songs and sang them, and so the night went by.

Next morning the Lord Chamberlain came to see the shepherd's
bones, and was amazed to find him alive and well. He led him to
the king, who fell into a furious passion, and said: 'Well, you have
learned what it is to be very near death, and now will you say "To
my good health"?'

But the shepherd answered: 'I am not afraid of ten deaths! I will
only say it if I may have the princess for my wife.'

'Then go to your death,' cried the king; and ordered him to be
thrown into the den with the wild boars. The wild boars had not
been fed for a week, and when the shepherd was thrust into their
don they rushed at him to tear him to pieces. But the shepherd
took a little flute out of the sleeve of his jacket and began to play a
merry tune, on which the wild boars first of all shrank shyly away,
and then got up on their hind legs and danced gaily. The shepherd
would have given anything to be able to laugh, they looked so
funny; but he dared not stop playing, for he knew well enough that
the moment he stopped they would fall upon him and tear him to
pieces. His eyes were of no use to him here, for he could not have
stared ten wild boars in the face at once; so he kept on playing, and
the wild boars danced very slowly, as if in a minuet, then by degrees
he played faster and faster till they could hardly twist and turn
quickly enough, and ended by all falling over each other in a heap,
quite exhausted and out of breath.

Then the shepherd ventured to laugh at last; and he laughed so long
and so loud that when the Lord Chamberlain came early in the
morning, expecting to find only his bones, the tears were still
running down his cheeks from laughter.