THE
YELLOW FAIRY BOOK
WORKS BY ANDREW LANG.
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THE TRUE STORY BOOK. Edited by ANDREW LANG.
With 8 Plates and 58 Illustrations in the Text by H. J.
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London: LONGMANS, GREEN, & CO.
New York: 15 East 16th Street.
[Illustration: The Swineherd Takes the Ten Kisses]
THE
Yellow Fairy Book
EDITED BY
ANDREW LANG
[Illustration]
_WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS BY H. J. FORD_
LONDON
LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO.
AND NEW YORK: 15 EAST 16th STREET
1894
_All rights reserved_
Dedication
TO
JOAN, TODDLES, AND TINY
Books Yellow, Red, and Green and Blue,
All true, or just as good as true,
And here’s the Yellow Book for _you_!
Hard is the path from A to Z,
And puzzling to a curly head,
Yet leads to Books—Green, Blue, and Red
For every child should understand
That letters from the first were planned
To guide us into Fairy Land
So labour at your Alphabet,
For by that learning shall you get
To lands where Fairies may be met.
And going where this pathway goes,
You too, at last, may find, who knows?
The Garden of the Singing Rose.
_PREFACE_
The Editor thinks that children will readily forgive him for
publishing another Fairy Book. We have had the Blue, the Red, the
Green, and here is the Yellow. If children are pleased, and they are
so kind as to say that they _are_ pleased, the Editor does not care
very much for what other people may say. Now, there is one gentleman
who seems to think that it is not quite right to print so many fairy
tales, with pictures, and to publish them in red and blue covers. He
is named Mr. G. Laurence Gomme, and he is president of a learned body
called the Folk Lore Society. Once a year he makes his address to his
subjects, of whom the Editor is one, and Mr. Joseph Jacobs (who has
published many delightful fairy tales with pretty pictures)[1] is
another. Fancy, then, the dismay of Mr. Jacobs, and of the Editor,
when they heard their president say that he did not think it very nice
in them to publish fairy books, above all, red, green, and blue fairy
books! They said that they did not see any harm in it, and they were
ready to ‘put themselves on their country,’ and be tried by a jury of
children. And, indeed, they still see no harm in what they have done;
nay, like Father William in the poem, they are ready ‘to do it again
and again.’
[Footnote 1: You may buy them from Mr. Nutt, in the Strand.]
Where is the harm? The truth is that the Folk Lore Society—made up of
the most clever, learned, and beautiful men and women of the
country—is fond of studying the history and geography of Fairy Land.
This is contained in very old tales, such as country people tell, and
savages:
‘Little Sioux and little Crow,
Little frosty Eskimo.’
These people are thought to know most about fairyland and its
inhabitants. But, in the Yellow Fairy Book, and the rest, are many
tales by persons who are neither savages nor rustics, such as Madame
D’Aulnoy and Herr Hans Christian Andersen. The Folk Lore Society, or
its president, say that _their_ tales are not so true as the rest, and
should not be published with the rest. But _we_ say that all the
stories which are pleasant to read are quite true enough for us; so
here they are, with pictures by Mr. Ford, and we do not think that
either the pictures or the stories are likely to mislead children.
As to whether there are really any fairies or not, that is a difficult
question. Professor Huxley thinks there are none. The Editor never saw
any himself, but he knows several people who have seen them—in the
Highlands—and heard their music. If ever you are in Nether Lochaber,
go to the Fairy Hill, and you may hear the music yourself, as grown-up
people have done, but you must go on a fine day. Again, if there are
really no fairies, why do people believe in them, all over the world?
The ancient Greeks believed, so did the old Egyptians, and the
Hindoos, and the Red Indians, and is it likely, if there are no
fairies, that so many different peoples would have seen and heard
them? The Rev. Mr. Baring-Gould saw several fairies when he was a boy,
and was travelling in the land of the Troubadours. For these reasons,
the Editor thinks that there are certainly fairies, but they never do
anyone any harm; and, in England, they have been frightened away by
smoke and schoolmasters. As to Giants, they have died out, but real
Dwarfs are common in the forests of Africa. Probably a good many
stories not perfectly true have been told about fairies, but such
stories have also been told about Napoleon, Claverhouse, Julius Cæsar,
and Joan of Arc, all of whom certainly existed. A wise child will,
therefore, remember that, if he grows up and becomes a member of the
Folk Lore Society, _all_ the tales in this book were not offered to
him as absolutely truthful, but were printed merely for his
entertainment. The exact facts he can learn later, or he can leave
them alone.
There are Russian, German, French, Icelandic, Red Indian, and other
stories here. They were translated by Miss Cheape, Miss Alma, and Miss
Thyra Alleyne, Miss Sellar, Mr. Craigie (he did the Icelandic tales),
Miss Blackley, Mrs. Dent, and Mrs. Lang, but the Red Indian stories
are copied from English versions published by the Smithsonian Bureau
of Ethnology, in America. Mr. Ford did the pictures, and it is hoped
that children will find the book not less pleasing than those which
have already been submitted to their consideration. The Editor cannot
say ‘good-bye’ without advising them, as they pursue their studies, to
read _The Rose and the Ring_, by the late Mr. Thackeray, with pictures
by the author. This book he thinks quite indispensable in every
child’s library, and parents should be urged to purchase it at the
first opportunity, as without it no education is complete.
A. LANG.
_CONTENTS_
PAGE
_The Cat and the Mouse in Partnership_ 1
_The Six Swans_ 4
_The Dragon of the North_ 9
_Story of the Emperor’s New Clothes_ 21
_The Golden Crab_ 26
_The Iron Stove_ 32
_The Dragon and his Grandmother_ 38
_The Donkey Cabbage_ 42
_The Little Green Frog_ 50
_The Seven-headed Serpent_ 60
_The Grateful Beasts_ 64
_The Giants and the Herd-boy_ 75
_The Invisible Prince_ 78
_The Crow_ 92
_How Six Men travelled through the Wide World_ 95
_The Wizard King_ 100
_The Nixy_ 108
_The Glass Mountain_ 114
_Alphege, or the Green Monkey_ 119
_Fairer-than-a-Fairy_ 126
_The Three Brothers_ 134
_The Boy and the Wolves, or the Broken Promise_ 138
_The Glass Axe_ 141
_The Dead Wife_ 149
_In the Land of Souls_ 152
_The White Duck_ 155
_The Witch and her Servants_ 161
_The Magic Ring_ 178
_The Flower Queen’s Daughter_ 192
_The Flying Ship_ 198
_The Snow-daughter and the Fire-son_ 206
_The Story of King Frost_ 209
_The Death of the Sun-hero_ 213
_The Witch_ 216
_The Hazel-nut Child_ 222
_The Story of Big Klaus and Little Klaus_ 225
_Prince Ring_ 237
_The Swineherd_ 249
_How to tell a True Princess_ 254
_The Blue Mountains_ 256
_The Tinder-box_ 265
_The Witch in the Stone Boat_ 274
_Thumbelina_ 279
_The Nightingale_ 291
_Hermod and Hadvor_ 301
_The Steadfast Tin-soldier_ 308
_Blockhead-Hans_ 313
_A Story about a Darning-needle_ 319
_LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS_
_PLATES_
_The Swineherd takes the Ten Kisses_ _Frontispiece_
_The Six Brothers changed into Swans
by their Stepmother_ _To face page_ 8
_The Witch-maiden sees the Young Man
under a Tree_ „ 12
‘_Here you shall remain chained up until you die_’ „ 20
_The Prince throws the Apple to the Princess_ „ 30
_The Iron Stove_ „ 32
‘_Standing in the doorway a charming maiden at whose
sight his mind seemed to give way_’ „ 58
_The Seven-headed Serpent_ „ 62
_The Mirror of the Present_ „ 84
_Prince Gnome learns the Name of his Rival at the
Golden Fountain_ „ 88
_The Black Girl stops the Witch with a Bit of the Rock_ „ 144
_Militza and her Maidens in the Garden_ „ 168
_Iwanich casts the Fish into the Water_ „ 172
‘_In winter, when everything is dead, she must come and
live with me in my palace underground_’ „ 196
_Simpleton’s Army appears before the King_ „ 204
_The Snow Maiden_ „ 206
‘_Gee-up, my five horses_’ „ 226
_The Swineherd takes the Ten Kisses_ „ 250
_The Irishman arrives at the Blue Mountains_ „ 262
_The Witch comes on Board_ „ 274
_Sigurd hews the Chain asunder_ „ 276
_The King finds the Queen of Hetland_ „ 302
_WOODCUTS IN TEXT_
PAGE
_The Partnership_ 1
_At Home in the Church_ 2
_Protestation_ 3
_The Way of the World_ 3
‘_And then her dress_’ 7
_The Youth secures the Dragon_ 17
_The Emperor comes to see his New Clothes_ 24
‘_Let down, let down thy petticoat
that lets thy feet be seen_’ 27
_The Fisherman brings the Crab on the Golden Cushion_ 28
‘_Then she reached the three cutting swords, and got on
her plough-wheel and rolled over them_’ 35
_The Dragon carries off the Three Soldiers_ 39
_The Fiend defeated_ 41
_The Maiden obtains the Bird-heart_ 44
_The Hunter is transformed into a Donkey_ 46
_The Young Man gives the Donkeys to the Miller_ 48
_The Prince looks into the Magic Mirror_ 51
_Prince Saphir Steals the Horse and Harness_ 55
_Ferko healed by Magic Waters_ 67
_Ferko before the King_ 68
_Ferko leads the Wolves on_ 73
_The Herd-boy binds up the Giant’s Foot_ 75
_Rosalie_ 82
_In the Labyrinth of Despair_ 85
_The Evil Spirits drag the Girl to the Cauldron_ 93
_My Enemy is given into my Hands_ 97
_The Princess and the Eagle in the Flowery Meadow_ 102
_The Wizard King pays a Visit to the Princess_ 105
_The Miller sees the Nixy of the Mill-pond_ 109
_A Wave swept the Spinning-wheel from the Bank_ 112
_The Boy attacked by the Eagle on the Glass Mountain_ 116
_The King makes Friends with the Green Monkey_ 121
_The Green Monkey in the Bath_ 123
_Lagree gives the Two Bottles to Fairer-than-a-Fairy_ 127
_Fairer-than-a-Fairy summons the Rainbow_ 130
‘_Then the youth swung his mighty sword in the air,
and with one blow cut off the serpent’s head_’ 136
‘_My brother, my brother, I am becoming a wolf!_’ 139
‘_But the waters seized her chariot and sunk it in the
lowest depths_’ 147
_The Indian finds his Wife sitting by the Fire_ 150
_The Witch persuades the Queen to bathe_ 156
_The King catches the White Duck_ 159
_Iwanich holds fast the Swan_ 163
_Militza leaves Iwanich in the Tree_ 164
_The Prickly Man with his Attendants_ 168
_Iwanich seizes the Magician by his Beard and dashes
him to the Ground_ 176
_Martin extinguishes the Flames_ 181
_The Princess summons the twelve Young Men_ 186
_Schurka upsets the Baker_ 187
_The Mouse steals the Ring from the Princess_ 189
_The Dragons dancing_ 195
_The Simpleton awakes and sees the Flying Ship_ 199
_The Comrades in the Flying Ship meet the Drinker_ 201
‘_Maiden, are you warm?_’ 211
_The Sun-hero guards the Apples of the Sun_ 214
‘_Who’s there?_’ 217
_The Comb grows into a Forest_ 220
_The Black King’s Gift_ 224
_The Farmer thinks he sees the Devil in the Chest_ 229
_The Shoemakers and Tanners drive Big Klaus out of the Town_ 231
‘_Open the sack_,’ _said Little Klaus_ 234
_The Woman pushes Prince Ring into the Cask_ 238
_Snati and Prince Ring fight with the Oxen_ 242
_Prince Ring and Snati overthrow the Troll’s Ghost_ 246
_A True Princess_ 255
_The Princess revives the Irishman_ 258
_The Soldier fills his Knapsack with Money_ 267
_The Dog brings in the Princess_ 269
‘_He was skipping along so merrily_’ 271
‘“_Croak, croak, croak!_” _was all he could say_’ 280
_Thumbelina rides on the Water-lily Leaf_ 281
_Thumbelina brings Thistle-down for the Swallow_ 285
_Thumbelina has to spin_ 287
‘_We will call you May blossom_’ 289
_The Kitchenmaid listens to the Nightingale_ 293
_The Present from the Emperor of Japan_ 295
_The True Nightingale sings to the Emperor_ 299
_Hadvor burns the Lion’s Skin_ 306
‘_Don’t look at things that aren’t intended for
the likes of you_’ 309
_Down the Drain_ 310
_And that was the End_ 312
‘_Then they oiled the corners of their mouths_’ 314
_Hans fills his Pocket with the Mud_ 315
‘_The reporters giggled,’ &c._ 317
_THE CAT AND THE MOUSE IN PARTNERSHIP_
[Illustration: The Partnership]
A cat had made acquaintance with a mouse, and had spoken so much of
the great love and friendship she felt for her, that at last the Mouse
consented to live in the same house with her, and to go shares in the
housekeeping. ‘But we must provide for the winter or else we shall
suffer hunger,’ said the Cat. ‘You, little Mouse, cannot venture
everywhere in case you run at last into a trap.’ This good counsel was
followed, and a little pot of fat was bought. But they did not know
where to put it. At length, after long consultation, the Cat said, ‘I
know of no place where it could be better put than in the church. No
one will trouble to take it away from there. We will hide it in a
corner, and we won’t touch it till we are in want.’ So the little pot
was placed in safety; but it was not long before the Cat had a great
longing for it, and said to the Mouse, ‘I wanted to tell you, little
Mouse, that my cousin has a little son, white with brown spots, and
she wants me to be godmother to it. Let me go out to-day, and do you
take care of the house alone.’
‘Yes, go certainly,’ replied the Mouse, ‘and when you eat anything
good, think of me; I should very much like a drop of the red
christening wine.’
But it was all untrue. The Cat had no cousin, and had not been asked
to be godmother. She went straight to the church, slunk to the little
pot of fat, began to lick it, and licked the top off. Then she took a
walk on the roofs of the town, looked at the view, stretched herself
out in the sun, and licked her lips whenever she thought of the little
pot of fat. As soon as it was evening she went home again.
‘Ah, here you are again!’ said the Mouse; ‘you must certainly have had
an enjoyable day.’
‘It went off very well,’ answered the Cat.
‘What was the child’s name?’ asked the Mouse.
‘Top Off,’ said the Cat drily.
‘Topoff!’ echoed the Mouse, ‘it is indeed a wonderful and curious
name. Is it in your family?’
‘What is there odd about it?’ said the Cat. ‘It is not worse than
Breadthief, as your godchild is called.’
[Illustration: AT HOME—IN THE CHURCH]
Not long after this another great longing came over the Cat. She said
to the Mouse, ‘You must again be kind enough to look after the house
alone, for I have been asked a second time to stand godmother, and as
this child has a white ring round its neck, I cannot refuse.’
The kind Mouse agreed, but the Cat slunk under the town wall to the
church, and ate up half of the pot of fat. ‘Nothing tastes better,’
said she, ‘than what one eats by oneself,’ and she was very much
pleased with her day’s work. When she came home the Mouse asked, ‘What
was this child called?’
‘Half Gone,’ answered the Cat.
‘Halfgone! what a name! I have never heard it in my life. I don’t
believe it is in the calendar.’
Soon the Cat’s mouth began to water once more after her licking
business. ‘All good things in threes,’ she said to the Mouse; ‘I have
again to stand godmother. The child is quite black, and has very white
paws, but not a single white hair on its body. This only happens once
in two years, so you will let me go out?’
‘Topoff! Halfgone!’ repeated the Mouse, ‘they are such curious names;
they make me very thoughtful.’
‘Oh, you sit at home in your dark grey coat and your long tail,’ said
the Cat, ‘and you get fanciful. That comes of not going out in the
day.’
The Mouse had a good cleaning out while the Cat was gone, and made the
house tidy; but the greedy Cat ate the fat every bit up. ‘When it is
all gone one can be at rest,’ she said to herself, and at night she
came home sleek and satisfied. The Mouse asked at once after the third
child’s name.
‘It won’t please you any better,’ said the Cat, ‘he was called Clean
Gone.’
‘Cleangone!’ repeated the Mouse. ‘I do not believe that name has been
printed any more than the others. Cleangone! What can it mean?’ She
shook her head, curled herself up, and went to sleep.
From this time on no one asked the Cat to stand godmother; but when
the winter came and there was nothing to be got outside, the Mouse
remembered their provision and said, ‘Come, Cat, we will go to our pot
of fat which we have stored away; it will taste very good.’
[Illustration: Protestation]
[Illustration: The Way of the World]
‘Yes, indeed,’ answered the Cat; ‘it will taste as good to you as if
you stretched your thin tongue out of the window.’
They started off, and when they reached it they found the pot in its
place, but quite empty!
‘Ah,’ said the Mouse, ‘now I know what has happened! It has all come
out! You are a true friend to me! You have eaten it all when you stood
godmother; first the top off, then half of it gone, then——’
‘Will you be quiet!’ screamed the Cat. ‘Another word and I will eat
you up.’
‘Cleangone’ was already on the poor Mouse’s tongue, and scarcely was
it out than the Cat made a spring at her, seized and swallowed her.
You see that is the way of the world.
_THE SIX SWANS_
A King was once hunting in a great wood, and he hunted the game so
eagerly that none of his courtiers could follow him. When evening came
on he stood still and looked round him, and he saw that he had quite
lost himself. He sought a way out, but could find none. Then he saw an
old woman with a shaking head coming towards him; but she was a witch.
‘Good woman,’ he said to her, ‘can you not show me the way out of the
wood?’
‘Oh, certainly, Sir King,’ she replied, ‘I can quite well do that, but
on one condition, which if you do not fulfil you will never get out of
the wood, and will die of hunger.’
‘What is the condition?’ asked the King.
‘I have a daughter,’ said the old woman, ‘who is so beautiful that she
has not her equal in the world, and is well fitted to be your wife; if
you will make her lady-queen I will show you the way out of the wood.’
The King in his anguish of mind consented, and the old woman led him
to her little house where her daughter was sitting by the fire. She
received the King as if she were expecting him, and he saw that she
was certainly very beautiful; but she did not please him, and he could
not look at her without a secret feeling of horror. As soon as he had
lifted the maiden on to his horse the old woman showed him the way,
and the King reached his palace, where the wedding was celebrated.
The King had already been married once, and had by his first wife
seven children, six boys and one girl, whom he loved more than
anything in the world. And now, because he was afraid that their
step-mother might not treat them well and might do them harm, he put
them in a lonely castle that stood in the middle of a wood. It lay so
hidden, and the way to it was so hard to find, that he himself could
not have found it out had not a wise-woman given him a reel of thread
which possessed a marvellous property: when he threw it before him it
unwound itself and showed him the way. But the King went so often to
his dear children that the Queen was offended at his absence. She grew
curious, and wanted to know what he had to do quite alone in the wood.
She gave his servants a great deal of money, and they betrayed the
secret to her, and also told her of the reel which alone could point
out the way. She had no rest now till she had found out where the King
guarded the reel, and then she made some little white shirts, and, as
she had learnt from her witch-mother, sewed an enchantment in each of
them.
And when the King had ridden off she took the little shirts and went
into the wood, and the reel showed her the way. The children, who saw
someone coming in the distance, thought it was their dear father
coming to them, and sprang to meet him very joyfully. Then she threw
over each one a little shirt, which when it had touched their bodies
changed them into swans, and they flew away over the forest. The Queen
went home quite satisfied, and thought she had got rid of her
step-children; but the girl had not run to meet her with her brothers,
and she knew nothing of her.
The next day the King came to visit his children, but he found no one
but the girl.
‘Where are your brothers?’ asked the King.
‘Alas! dear father,’ she answered, ‘they have gone away and left me
all alone.’ And she told him that looking out of her little window she
had seen her brothers flying over the wood in the shape of swans, and
she showed him the feathers which they had let fall in the yard, and
which she had collected. The King mourned, but he did not think that
the Queen had done the wicked deed, and as he was afraid the maiden
would also be taken from him, he wanted to take her with him. But she
was afraid of the step-mother, and begged the King to let her stay
just one night more in the castle in the wood. The poor maiden
thought, ‘My home is no longer here; I will go and seek my brothers.’
And when night came she fled away into the forest. She ran all through
the night and the next day, till she could go no farther for
weariness. Then she saw a little hut, went in, and found a room with
six little beds. She was afraid to lie down on one, so she crept under
one of them, lay on the hard floor, and was going to spend the night
there. But when the sun had set she heard a noise, and saw six swans
flying in at the window. They stood on the floor and blew at one
another, and blew all their feathers off, and their swan-skin came off
like a shirt. Then the maiden recognised her brothers, and overjoyed
she crept out from under the bed. Her brothers were not less delighted
than she to see their little sister again, but their joy did not last
long.
‘You cannot stay here,’ they said to her. ‘This is a den of robbers;
if they were to come here and find you they would kill you.’
‘Could you not protect me?’ asked the little sister.
‘No,’ they answered, ‘for we can only lay aside our swan skins for a
quarter of an hour every evening. For this time we regain our human
forms, but then we are changed into swans again.’
Then the little sister cried and said, ‘Can you not be freed?’
‘Oh, no,’ they said, ‘the conditions are too hard. You must not speak
or laugh for six years, and must make in that time six shirts for us
out of star-flowers. If a single word comes out of your mouth, all
your labour is vain.’ And when the brothers had said this the quarter
of an hour came to an end, and they flew away out of the window as
swans.
But the maiden had determined to free her brothers even if it should
cost her her life. She left the hut, went into the forest, climbed a
tree, and spent the night there. The next morning she went out,
collected star-flowers, and began to sew. She could speak to no one,
and she had no wish to laugh, so she sat there, looking only at her
work.
When she had lived there some time, it happened that the King of the
country was hunting in the forest, and his hunters came to the tree on
which the maiden sat. They called to her and said ‘Who are you?’
But she gave no answer.
‘Come down to us,’ they said, ‘we will do you no harm.’
But she shook her head silently. As they pressed her further with
questions, she threw them the golden chain from her neck. But they did
not leave off, and she threw them her girdle, and when this was no
use, her garters, and then her dress. The hunts-men would not leave
her alone, but climbed the tree, lifted the maiden down, and led her
to the King. The King asked, ‘Who are you? What are you doing up that
tree?’
But she answered nothing.
[Illustration: ‘And then her dress’]
He asked her in all the languages he knew, but she remained as dumb
as a fish. Because she was so beautiful, however, the King’s heart was
touched, and he was seized with a great love for her. He wrapped her
up in his cloak, placed her before him on his horse, and brought her
to his castle. There he had her dressed in rich clothes, and her
beauty shone out as bright as day, but not a word could be drawn from
her. He set her at table by his side, and her modest ways and
behaviour pleased him so much that he said, ‘I will marry this maiden
and none other in the world,’ and after some days he married her. But
the King had a wicked mother who was displeased with the marriage, and
said wicked things of the young Queen. ‘Who knows who this girl is?’
she said; ‘she cannot speak, and is not worthy of a king.’
After a year, when the Queen had her first child, the old mother took
it away from her. Then she went to the King and said that the Queen
had killed it. The King would not believe it, and would not allow any
harm to be done her. But she sat quietly sewing at the shirts and
troubling herself about nothing. The next time she had a child the
wicked mother did the same thing, but the King could not make up his
mind to believe her. He said, ‘She is too sweet and good to do such a
thing as that. If she were not dumb and could defend herself, her
innocence would be proved.’ But when the third child was taken away,
and the Queen was again accused, and could not utter a word in her own
defence, the King was obliged to give her over to the law, which
decreed that she must be burnt to death. When the day came on which
the sentence was to be executed, it was the last day of the six years
in which she must not speak or laugh, and now she had freed her dear
brothers from the power of the enchantment. The six shirts were done;
there was only the left sleeve wanting to the last.
When she was led to the stake, she laid the shirts on her arm, and as
she stood on the pile and the fire was about to be lighted, she looked
around her and saw six swans flying through the air. Then she knew
that her release was at hand and her heart danced for joy. The swans
fluttered round her, and hovered low so that she could throw the
shirts over them. When they had touched them the swan-skins fell off,
and her brothers stood before her living, well and beautiful. Only the
youngest had a swan’s wing instead of his left arm. They embraced and
kissed each other, and the Queen went to the King, who was standing by
in great astonishment, and began to speak to him, saying, ‘Dearest
husband, now I can speak and tell you openly that I am innocent and
have been falsely accused.’
She told him of the old woman’s deceit, and how she had taken the
three children away and hidden them. Then they were fetched, to the
great joy of the King, and the wicked mother came to no good end.
But the King and the Queen with their six brothers lived many years in
happiness and peace.
[Illustration: The Six Brothers Changed Into Swans by Their Stepmother.]
_THE DRAGON OF THE NORTH_[2]
Very long ago, as old people have told me, there lived a terrible
monster, who came out of the North, and laid waste whole tracts of
country, devouring both men and beasts; and this monster was so
destructive that it was feared that unless help came no living
creature would be left on the face of the earth. It had a body like an
ox, and legs like a frog, two short fore-legs, and two long ones
behind, and besides that it had a tail like a serpent, ten fathoms in
length. When it moved it jumped like a frog, and with every spring it
covered half a mile of ground. Fortunately its habit was to remain for
several years in the same place, and not to move on till the whole
neighbourhood was eaten up. Nothing could hunt it, because its whole
body was covered with scales, which were harder than stone or metal;
its two great eyes shone by night, and even by day, like the brightest
lamps, and anyone who had the ill luck to look into those eyes became
as it were bewitched, and was obliged to rush of his own accord into
the monster’s jaws. In this way the Dragon was able to feed upon both
men and beasts without the least trouble to itself, as it needed not
to move from the spot where it was lying. All the neighbouring kings
had offered rich rewards to anyone who should be able to destroy the
monster, either by force or enchantment, and many had tried their
luck, but all had miserably failed. Once a great forest in which the
Dragon lay had been set on fire; the forest was burnt down, but the
fire did not do the monster the least harm. However, there was a
tradition amongst the wise men of the country that the Dragon might be
overcome by one who possessed King Solomon’s signet-ring, upon which a
secret writing was engraved. This inscription would enable anyone who
was wise enough to interpret it to find out how the Dragon could be
destroyed. Only no one knew where the ring was hidden, nor was there
any sorcerer or learned man to be found who would be able to explain
the inscription.
[Footnote 2: ‘Der Norlands Drache,’ from _Esthnische Mährchen_.
Kreutzwald.]
At last a young man, with a good heart and plenty of courage, set out
to search for the ring. He took his way towards the sun-rising,
because he knew that all the wisdom of old time comes from the East.
After some years he met with a famous Eastern magician, and asked for
his advice in the matter. The magician answered:
‘Mortal men have but little wisdom, and can give you no help, but the
birds of the air would be better guides to you if you could learn
their language. I can help you to understand it if you will stay with
me a few days.’
The youth thankfully accepted the magician’s offer, and said, ‘I
cannot now offer you any reward for your kindness, but should my
undertaking succeed your trouble shall be richly repaid.’
Then the magician brewed a powerful potion out of nine sorts of herbs
which he had gathered himself all alone by moonlight, and he gave the
youth nine spoonfuls of it daily for three days, which made him able
to understand the language of birds.
At parting the magician said to him, ‘If you ever find Solomon’s ring
and get possession of it, then come back to me, that I may explain the
inscription on the ring to you, for there is no one else in the world
who can do this.’
From that time the youth never felt lonely as he walked along; he
always had company, because he understood the language of birds; and
in this way he learned many things which mere human knowledge could
never have taught him. But time went on, and he heard nothing about
the ring. It happened one evening, when he was hot and tired with
walking, and had sat down under a tree in a forest to eat his supper,
that he saw two gaily-plumaged birds, that were strange to him,
sitting at the top of the tree talking to one another about him. The
first bird said:
‘I know that wandering fool under the tree there, who has come so far
without finding what he seeks. He is trying to find King Solomon’s
lost ring.’
The other bird answered, ‘He will have to seek help from the
_Witch-maiden_,[3] who will doubtless be able to put him on the right
track. If she has not got the ring herself, she knows well enough who
has it.’
[Footnote 3: Höllenmädchen.]
‘But where is he to find the Witch-maiden?’ said the first bird. ‘She
has no settled dwelling, but is here to-day and gone to-morrow. He
might as well try to catch the wind.’
The other replied, ‘I do not know, certainly, where she is at present,
but in three nights from now she will come to the spring to wash her
face, as she does every month when the moon is full, in order that she
may never grow old nor wrinkled, but may always keep the bloom of
youth.’
‘Well,’ said the first bird, ‘the spring is not far from here. Shall
we go and see how it is she does it?’
‘Willingly, if you like,’ said the other.
The youth immediately resolved to follow the birds to the spring, only
two things made him uneasy: first, lest he might be asleep when the
birds went, and secondly, lest he might lose sight of them, since he
had not wings to carry him along so swiftly. He was too tired to keep
awake all night, yet his anxiety prevented him from sleeping soundly,
and when with the earliest dawn he looked up to the tree-top, he was
glad to see his feathered companions still asleep with their heads
under their wings. He ate his breakfast, and waited until the birds
should start, but they did not leave the place all day. They hopped
about from one tree to another looking for food, all day long until
the evening, when they went back to their old perch to sleep. The next
day the same thing happened, but on the third morning one bird said to
the other, ‘To-day we must go to the spring to see the Witch-maiden
wash her face.’ They remained on the tree till noon; then they flew
away and went towards the south. The young man’s heart beat with
anxiety lest he should lose sight of his guides, but he managed to
keep the birds in view until they again perched upon a tree. The young
man ran after them until he was quite exhausted and out of breath, and
after three short rests the birds at length reached a small open space
in the forest, on the edge of which they placed themselves on the top
of a high tree. When the youth had overtaken them, he saw that there
was a clear spring in the middle of the space. He sat down at the foot
of the tree upon which the birds were perched, and listened
attentively to what they were saying to each other.
‘The sun is not down yet,’ said the first bird; ‘we must wait yet
awhile till the moon rises and the maiden comes to the spring. Do you
think she will see that young man sitting under the tree?’
‘Nothing is likely to escape her eyes, certainly not a young man,’ said
the other bird. ‘Will the youth have the sense not to let himself be
caught in her toils?’
‘We will wait,’ said the first bird, ‘and see how they get on
together.’
The evening light had quite faded, and the full moon was already
shining down upon the forest, when the young man heard a slight
rustling sound. After a few moments there came out of the forest a
maiden, gliding over the grass so lightly that her feet seemed
scarcely to touch the ground, and stood beside the spring. The youth
could not turn away his eyes from the maiden, for he had never in his
life seen a woman so beautiful. Without seeming to notice anything,
she went to the spring, looked up to the full moon, then knelt down
and bathed her face nine times, then looked up to the moon again and
walked nine times round the well, and as she walked she sang this
song:
‘Full-faced moon with light unshaded,
Let my beauty ne’er be faded.
Never let my cheek grow pale!
While the moon is waning nightly,
May the maiden bloom more brightly,
May her freshness never fail!’
Then she dried her face with her long hair, and was about to go away,
when her eye suddenly fell upon the spot where the young man was
sitting, and she turned towards the tree. The youth rose and stood
waiting. Then the maiden said, ‘You ought to have a heavy punishment
because you have presumed to watch my secret doings in the moonlight.
But I will forgive you this time, because you are a stranger and knew
no better. But you must tell me truly who you are and how you came to
this place, where no mortal has ever set foot before.’
The youth answered humbly: ‘Forgive me, beautiful maiden, if I have
unintentionally offended you. I chanced to come here after long
wandering, and found a good place to sleep under this tree. At your
coming I did not know what to do, but stayed where I was, because I
thought my silent watching could not offend you.’
The maiden answered kindly, ‘Come and spend this night with us. You
will sleep better on a pillow than on damp moss.’
[Illustration: The Witch-Maiden Sees the Young Man Under a Tree]
The youth hesitated for a little, but presently he heard the birds
saying from the top of the tree, ‘Go where she calls you, but take
care to give no blood, or you will sell your soul.’ So the youth went
with her, and soon they reached a beautiful garden, where stood a
splendid house, which glittered in the moonlight as if it was all
built out of gold and silver. When the youth entered he found many
splendid chambers, each one finer than the last. Hundreds of tapers
burnt upon golden candlesticks, and shed a light like the brightest
day. At length they reached a chamber where a table was spread with
the most costly dishes. At the table were placed two chairs, one of
silver, the other of gold. The maiden seated herself upon the golden
chair, and offered the silver one to her companion. They were served
by maidens dressed in white, whose feet made no sound as they moved
about, and not a word was spoken during the meal. Afterwards the youth
and the Witch-maiden conversed pleasantly together, until a woman,
dressed in red, came in to remind them that it was bedtime. The youth
was now shown into another room, containing a silken bed with down
cushions, where he slept delightfully, yet he seemed to hear a voice
near his bed which repeated to him, ‘Remember to give no blood!’
The next morning the maiden asked him whether he would not like to
stay with her always in this beautiful place, and as he did not answer
immediately, she continued: ‘You see how I always remain young and
beautiful, and I am under no one’s orders, but can do just what I
like, so that I have never thought of marrying before. But from the
moment I saw you I took a fancy to you, so if you agree, we might be
married and might live together like princes, because I have great
riches.’
The youth could not but be tempted with the beautiful maiden’s offer,
but he remembered how the birds had called her the witch, and their
warning always sounded in his ears. Therefore he answered cautiously,
‘Do not be angry, dear maiden, if I do not decide immediately on this
important matter. Give me a few days to consider before we come to an
understanding.’
‘Why not?’ answered the maiden. ‘Take some weeks to consider if you
like, and take counsel with your own heart.’ And to make the time pass
pleasantly, she took the youth over every part of her beautiful
dwelling, and showed him all her splendid treasures. But these
treasures were all produced by enchantment, for the maiden could make
anything she wished appear by the help of King Solomon’s signet ring;
only none of these things remained fixed; they passed away like the
wind without leaving a trace behind. But the youth did not know this;
he thought they were all real.
One day the maiden took him into a secret chamber, where a little gold
box was standing on a silver table. Pointing to the box, she said,
‘Here is my greatest treasure, whose like is not to be found in the
whole world. It is a precious gold ring. When you marry me, I will
give you this ring as a marriage gift, and it will make you the
happiest of mortal men. But in order that our love may last for ever,
you must give me for the ring three drops of blood from the little
finger of your left hand.’
When the youth heard these words a cold shudder ran over him, for he
remembered that his soul was at stake. He was cunning enough, however,
to conceal his feelings and to make no direct answer, but he only
asked the maiden, as if carelessly, what was remarkable about the
ring?
She answered, ‘No mortal is able entirely to understand the power of
this ring, because no one thoroughly understands the secret signs
engraved upon it. But even with my half-knowledge I can work great
wonders. If I put the ring upon the little finger of my left hand,
then I can fly like a bird through the air wherever I wish to go. If I
put it on the third finger of my left hand I am invisible, and I can
see everything that passes around me, though no one can see me. If I
put the ring upon the middle finger of my left hand, then neither fire
nor water nor any sharp weapon can hurt me. If I put it on the
forefinger of my left hand, then I can with its help produce whatever
I wish. I can in a single moment build houses or anything I desire.
Finally, as long as I wear the ring on the thumb of my left hand, that
hand is so strong that it can break down rocks and walls. Besides
these, the ring has other secret signs which, as I said, no one can
understand. No doubt it contains secrets of great importance. The ring
formerly belonged to King Solomon, the wisest of kings, during whose
reign the wisest men lived. But it is not known whether this ring was
ever made by mortal hands: it is supposed that an angel gave it to the
wise King.’
When the youth heard all this he determined to try and get possession
of the ring, though he did not quite believe in all its wonderful
gifts. He wished the maiden would let him have it in his hand, but he
did not quite like to ask her to do so, and after a while she put it
back into the box. A few days after they were again speaking of the
magic ring, and the youth said, ‘I do not think it possible that the
ring can have all the power you say it has.’
Then the maiden opened the box and took the ring out, and it
glittered as she held it like the clearest sunbeam. She put it on the
middle finger of her left hand, and told the youth to take a knife and
try as hard as he could to cut her with it, for he would not be able
to hurt her. He was unwilling at first, but the maiden insisted. Then
he tried, at first only in play, and then seriously, to strike her
with the knife, but an invisible wall of iron seemed to be between
them, and the maiden stood before him laughing and unhurt. Then she
put the ring on her third finger, and in an instant she had vanished
from his eyes. Presently she was beside him again laughing, and
holding the ring between her fingers.
‘Do let me try,’ said the youth, ‘whether I can do these wonderful
things.’
The maiden, suspecting no treachery, gave him the magic ring.
The youth pretended to have forgotten what to do, and asked what
finger he must put the ring on so that no sharp weapon could hurt him?
‘Oh, the middle finger of your left hand,’ the maiden answered,
laughing.
She took the knife and tried to strike the youth, and he even tried to
cut himself with it, but found it impossible. Then he asked the maiden
to show him how to split stones and rocks with the help of the ring.
So she led him into a courtyard where stood a great boulder-stone.
‘Now,’ she said, ‘put the ring upon the thumb of your left hand, and
you will see how strong that hand has become. The youth did so, and
found to his astonishment that with a single blow of his fist the
stone flew into a thousand pieces. Then the youth bethought him that
he who does not use his luck when he has it is a fool, and that this
was a chance which once lost might never return. So while they stood
laughing at the shattered stone he placed the ring, as if in play,
upon the third finger of his left hand.
‘Now,’ said the maiden, ‘you are invisible to me until you take the
ring off again.’
But the youth had no mind to do that; on the contrary, he went farther
off, then put the ring on the little finger of his left hand, and
soared into the air like a bird.
When the maiden saw him flying away she thought at first that he was
still in play, and cried, ‘Come back, friend, for now you see I have
told you the truth.’ But the young man never came back.
Then the maiden saw she was deceived, and bitterly repented that she
had ever trusted him with the ring.
The young man never halted in his flight until he reached the dwelling
of the wise magician who had taught him the speech of birds. The
magician was delighted to find that his search had been successful,
and at once set to work to interpret the secret signs engraved upon
the ring, but it took him seven weeks to make them out clearly. Then
he gave the youth the following instructions how to overcome the
Dragon of the North: ‘You must have an iron horse cast, which must
have little wheels under each foot. You must also be armed with a
spear two fathoms long, which you will be able to wield by means of
the magic ring upon your left thumb. The spear must be as thick in the
middle as a large tree, and both its ends must be sharp. In the middle
of the spear you must have two strong chains ten fathoms in length. As
soon as the Dragon has made himself fast to the spear, which you must
thrust through his jaws, you must spring quickly from the iron horse
and fasten the ends of the chains firmly to the ground with iron
stakes, so that he cannot get away from them. After two or three days
the monster’s strength will be so far exhausted that you will be able
to come near him. Then you can put Solomon’s ring upon your left thumb
and give him the finishing stroke, but keep the ring on your third
finger until you have come close to him, so that the monster cannot
see you, else he might strike you dead with his long tail. But when
all is done, take care you do not lose the ring, and that no one takes
it from you by cunning.’
[Illustration: The youth secures the dragon]
The young man thanked the magician for his directions, and promised,
should they succeed, to reward him. But the magician answered, ‘I have
profited so much by the wisdom the ring has taught me that I desire no
other reward.’ Then they parted, and the youth quickly flew home
through the air. After remaining in his own home for some weeks, he
heard people say that the terrible Dragon of the North was not far
off, and might shortly be expected in the country. The King announced
publicly that he would give his daughter in marriage, as well as a
large part of his kingdom, to whosoever should free the country from
the monster. The youth then went to the King and told him that he had
good hopes of subduing the Dragon, if the King would grant him all he
desired for the purpose. The King willingly agreed, and the iron
horse, the great spear, and the chains were all prepared as the youth
requested. When all was ready, it was found that the iron horse was so
heavy that a hundred men could not move it from the spot, so the youth
found there was nothing for it but to move it with his own strength
by means of the magic ring. The Dragon was now so near that in a
couple of springs he would be over the frontier. The youth now began
to consider how he should act, for if he had to push the iron horse
from behind he could not ride upon it as the sorcerer had said he
must. But a raven unexpectedly gave him this advice: ‘Ride upon the
horse, and push the spear against the ground, as if you were pushing
off a boat from the land.’ The youth did so, and found that in this
way he could easily move forwards. The Dragon had his monstrous jaws
wide open, all ready for his expected prey. A few paces nearer, and
man and horse would have been swallowed up by them! The youth trembled
with horror, and his blood ran cold, yet he did not lose his courage;
but, holding the iron spear upright in his hand, he brought it down
with all his might right through the monster’s lower jaw. Then quick
as lightning he sprang from his horse before the Dragon had time to
shut his mouth. A fearful clap like thunder, which could be heard for
miles around, now warned him that the Dragon’s jaws had closed upon
the spear. When the youth turned round he saw the point of the spear
sticking up high above the Dragon’s upper jaw, and knew that the other
end must be fastened firmly to the ground; but the Dragon had got his
teeth fixed in the iron horse, which was now useless. The youth now
hastened to fasten down the chains to the ground by means of the
enormous iron pegs which he had provided. The death struggle of the
monster lasted three days and three nights; in his writhing he beat
his tail so violently against the ground, that at ten miles’ distance
the earth trembled as if with an earthquake. When he at length lost
power to move his tail, the youth with the help of the ring took up a
stone which twenty ordinary men could not have moved, and beat the
Dragon so hard about the head with it that very soon the monster lay
lifeless before him.