increased, and he was more ready than ever to believe the two
brothers, who kept on repeating that Ferko was nothing more nor less
than a wicked magician. Only the beautiful Princess rejoiced over
Ferko’s success, and looked on him with friendly glances, which the
youth returned.
The more the cruel King gazed on the wonder before him, the more angry
he became, for he could not, in the face of his promise, put the
stranger to death. He turned once more to the two brothers and said,
‘His diabolical magic has helped him again, but now what third task
shall we set him to do? No matter how impossible it is, he must do it
or die.’
The eldest answered quickly, ‘Let him drive all the wolves of the
kingdom on to this hill before to-morrow night. If he does this he may
go free; if not he shall be hung as you have said.’
At these words the Princess burst into tears, and when the King saw
this he ordered her to be shut up in a high tower and carefully
guarded till the dangerous magician should either have left the
kingdom or been hung on the nearest tree.
Ferko wandered out into the fields again, and sat down on the stump of
a tree wondering what he should do next. Suddenly a big wolf ran up to
him, and standing still said, ‘I’m very glad to see you again, my kind
benefactor. What are you thinking about all alone by yourself? If I
can help you in any way only say the word, for I would like to give
you a proof of my gratitude.’
Ferko at once recognised the wolf whose broken leg he had healed, and
told him what he had to do the following day if he wished to escape
with his life. ‘But how in the world,’ he added, ‘am I to collect all
the wolves of the kingdom on to that hill over there?’
‘If that’s all you want done,’ answered the wolf, ‘you needn’t worry
yourself. I’ll undertake the task, and you’ll hear from me again
before sunset to-morrow. Keep your spirits up.’ And with these words
he trotted quickly away.
Then the youth rejoiced greatly, for now he felt that his life was
safe; but he grew very sad when he thought of the beautiful Princess,
and that he would never see her again if he left the country. He lay
down once more on the grass and soon fell fast asleep.
All the next day he spent wandering about the fields, and toward
evening the wolf came running to him in a great hurry and said, ‘I
have collected together all the wolves in the kingdom, and they are
waiting for you in the wood. Go quickly to the King, and tell him to
go to the hill that he may see the wonder you have done with his own
eyes. Then return at once to me and get on my back, and I will help
you to drive all the wolves together.’
Then Ferko went straight to the palace and told the King that he was
ready to perform the third task if he would come to the hill and see
it done. Ferko himself returned to the fields, and mounting on the
wolf’s back he rode to the wood close by.
Quick as lightning the wolf flew round the wood, and in a minute many
hundred wolves rose up before him, increasing in number every moment,
till they could be counted by thousands. He drove them all before him
on to the hill, where the King and his whole Court and Ferko’s two
brothers were standing. Only the lovely Princess was not present, for
she was shut up in her tower weeping bitterly.
The wicked brothers stamped and foamed with rage when they saw the
failure of their wicked designs. But the King was overcome by a sudden
terror when he saw the enormous pack of wolves approaching nearer and
nearer, and calling out to Ferko he said, ‘Enough, enough, we don’t
want any more.’
[Illustration: Ferko leads the wolves on.]
But the wolf on whose back Ferko sat, said to its rider, ‘Go on! go
on!’ and at the same moment many more wolves ran up the hill, howling
horribly and showing their white teeth.
The King in his terror called out, ‘Stop a moment; I will give you
half my kingdom if you will drive all the wolves away.’ But Ferko
pretended not to hear, and drove some more thousands before him, so
that everyone quaked with horror and fear.
Then the King raised his voice again and called out, ‘Stop! you shall
have my whole kingdom, if you will only drive these wolves back to the
places they came from.’
But the wolf kept on encouraging Ferko, and said, ‘Go on! go on!’ So
he led the wolves on, till at last they fell on the King and on the
wicked brothers, and ate them and the whole Court up in a moment.
Then Ferko went straight to the palace and set the Princess free, and
on the same day he married her and was crowned King of the country.
And the wolves all went peacefully back to their own homes, and Ferko
and his bride lived for many years in peace and happiness together,
and were much beloved by great and small in the land.
_THE GIANTS AND THE HERD-BOY_[12]
[Illustration: The Herd-boy binds up the Giant’s foot.]
There was once upon a time a poor boy who had neither father nor
mother. In order to gain a living he looked after the sheep of a great
Lord. Day and night he spent out in the open fields, and only when it
was very wet and stormy did he take refuge in a little hut on the edge
of a big forest. Now one night, when he was sitting on the grass
beside his flocks, he heard not very far from him the sound as of some
one crying. He rose up and followed the direction of the noise. To his
dismay and astonishment he found a Giant lying at the entrance of the
wood; he was about to run off as fast as his legs could carry him,
when the Giant called out: ‘Don’t be afraid, I won’t harm you. On the
contrary, I will reward you handsomely if you will bind up my foot. I
hurt it when I was trying to root up an oak-tree.’ The Herd-boy took
off his shirt, and bound up the Giant’s wounded foot with it. Then the
Giant rose up and said, ‘Now come and I will reward you. We are going
to celebrate a marriage to-day, and I promise you we shall have plenty
of fun. Come and enjoy yourself, but in order that my brothers mayn’t
see you, put this band round your waist and then you’ll be invisible.’
With these words he handed the Herd-boy a belt, and walking on in
front he led him to a fountain where hundreds of Giants and Giantesses
were assembled preparing to hold a wedding. They danced and played
different games till midnight; then one of the Giants tore up a plant
by its roots, and all the Giants and Giantesses made themselves so
thin that they disappeared into the earth through the hole made by the
uprooting of the plant. The wounded Giant remained behind to the last
and called out, ‘Herd-boy, where are you?’ ‘Here I am, close to you,’
was the reply. ‘Touch me,’ said the Giant, ‘so that you too may come
with us under ground.’ The Herd-boy did as he was told, and before he
could have believed it possible he found himself in a big hall, where
even the walls were made of pure gold. Then to his astonishment he saw
that the hall was furnished with the tables and chairs that belonged
to his master. In a few minutes the company began to eat and drink.
The banquet was a very gorgeous one, and the poor youth fell to and
ate and drank lustily. When he had eaten and drunk as much as he could
he thought to himself, ‘Why shouldn’t I put a loaf of bread in my
pocket? I shall be glad of it to-morrow.’ So he seized a loaf when no
one was looking and stowed it away under his tunic. No sooner had he
done so than the wounded Giant limped up to him and whispered softly,
‘Herd-boy, where are you?’ ‘Here I am,’ replied the youth. ‘Then hold
on to me,’ said the Giant, ‘so that I may lead you up above again.’ So
the Herd-boy held on to the Giant, and in a few moments he found
himself on the earth once more, but the Giant had vanished. The
Herd-boy returned to his sheep, and took off the invisible belt which
he hid carefully in his bag.
[Footnote 12: From the _Bukowniaer_. Von Wliolocki.]
The next morning the lad felt hungry, and thought he would cut off a
piece of the loaf he had carried away from the Giants’ wedding feast,
and eat it. But although he tried with all his might, he couldn’t cut
off the smallest piece. Then in despair he bit the loaf, and what was
his astonishment when a piece of gold fell out of his mouth and rolled
at his feet. He bit the bread a second and third time, and each time a
piece of gold fell out of his mouth; but the bread remained untouched.
The Herd-boy was very much delighted over his stroke of good fortune,
and, hiding the magic loaf in his bag, he hurried off to the nearest
village to buy himself something to eat, and then returned to his
sheep.
Now the Lord whose sheep the Herd-boy looked after had a very lovely
daughter, who always smiled and nodded to the youth when she walked
with her father in his fields. For a long time the Herd-boy had made
up his mind to prepare a surprise for this beautiful creature on her
birthday. So when the day approached he put on his invisible belt,
took a sack of gold pieces with him, and slipping into her room in the
middle of the night, he placed the bag of gold beside her bed and
returned to his sheep. The girl’s joy was great, and so was her
parents’ next day when they found the sack full of gold pieces. The
Herd-boy was so pleased to think what pleasure he had given that the
next night he placed another bag of gold beside the girl’s bed. And
this he continued to do for seven nights, and the girl and her parents
made up their minds that it must be a good Fairy who brought the gold
every night. But one night they determined to watch, and see from
their hiding-place who the bringer of the sack of gold really was.
On the eighth night a fearful storm of wind and rain came on while the
Herd-boy was on his way to bring the beautiful girl another bag of
gold. Then for the first time he noticed, just as he reached his
master’s house, that he had forgotten the belt which made him
invisible. He didn’t like the idea of going back to his hut in the
wind and wet, so he just stepped as he was into the girl’s room, laid
the sack of gold beside her, and was turning to leave the room, when
his master confronted him and said, ‘You young rogue, so you were
going to steal the gold that a good Fairy brings every night, were
you?’ The Herd-boy was so taken aback by his words, that he stood
trembling before him, and did not dare to explain his presence. Then
his master spoke. ‘As you have hitherto always behaved well in my
service I will not send you to prison; but leave your place instantly
and never let me see your face again.’ So the Herd-boy went back to
his hut, and taking his loaf and belt with him, he went to the nearest
town. There he bought himself some fine clothes, and a beautiful coach
with four horses, hired two servants, and drove back to his master.
You may imagine how astonished he was to see his Herd-boy returning to
him in this manner! Then the youth told him of the piece of good luck
that had befallen him, and asked him for the hand of his beautiful
daughter. This was readily granted, and the two lived in peace and
happiness to the end of their lives.
_THE INVISIBLE PRINCE_
Once upon a time there lived a Fairy who had power over the earth, the
sea, fire, and the air; and this Fairy had four sons. The eldest, who
was quick and lively, with a vivid imagination, she made Lord of Fire,
which was in her opinion the noblest of all the elements. To the
second son, whose wisdom and prudence made amends for his being rather
dull, she gave the government of the earth. The third was wild and
savage, and of monstrous stature; and the Fairy, his mother, who was
ashamed of his defects, hoped to hide them by creating him King of the
Seas. The youngest, who was the slave of his passions and of a very
uncertain temper, became Prince of the Air.
Being the youngest, he was naturally his mother’s favourite; but this
did not blind her to his weaknesses, and she foresaw that some day he
would suffer much pain through falling in love. So she thought the
best thing she could do was to bring him up with a horror of women;
and, to her great delight, she saw this dislike only increased as he
grew older. From his earliest childhood he heard nothing but stories
of princes who had fallen into all sorts of troubles through love; and
she drew such terrible pictures of poor little Cupid that the young
man had no difficulty in believing that he was the root of all evil.
All the time that this wise mother could spare from filling her son
with hatred for all womenkind she passed in giving him a love of the
pleasures of the chase, which henceforth became his chief joy. For his
amusement she had made a new forest, planted with the most splendid
trees, and turned loose in it every animal that could be found in any
of the four quarters of the globe. In the midst of this forest she
built a palace which had not its equal for beauty in the whole world,
and then she considered that she had done enough to make any prince
happy.
Now it is all very well to abuse the God of Love, but a man cannot
struggle against his fate. In his secret heart the Prince got tired of
his mother’s constant talk on this subject; and when one day she
quitted the palace to attend to some business, begging him never to go
beyond the grounds, he at once jumped at the chance of disobeying her.
Left to himself the Prince soon forgot the wise counsels of his
mother, and feeling very much bored with his own company, he ordered
some of the spirits of the air to carry him to the court of a
neighbouring sovereign. This kingdom was situated in the Island of
Roses, where the climate is so delicious that the grass is always
green and the flowers always sweet. The waves, instead of beating on
the rocks, seemed to die gently on the shore; clusters of golden
bushes covered the land, and the vines were bent low with grapes.
The King of this island had a daughter named Rosalie, who was more
lovely than any girl in the whole world. No sooner had the eyes of the
Prince of the Air rested on her than he forgot all the terrible woes
which had been prophesied to him ever since he was born, for in one
single moment the plans of years are often upset. He instantly began
to think how best to make himself happy, and the shortest way that
occurred to him was to have Rosalie carried off by his attendant
spirits.
It is easy to imagine the feelings of the King when he found that his
daughter had vanished. He wept her loss night and day, and his only
comfort was to talk over it with a young and unknown prince, who had
just arrived at the Court. Alas! he did not know what a deep interest
the stranger had in Rosalie, for he too had seen her, and had fallen a
victim to her charms.
One day the King, more sorrowful than usual, was walking sadly along
the seashore, when after a long silence the unknown Prince, who was
his only companion, suddenly spoke. ‘There is no evil without a
remedy,’ he said to the unhappy father; ‘and if you will promise me
your daughter in marriage, I will undertake to bring her back to you.’
‘You are trying to soothe me by vain promises,’ answered the King.
‘Did I not see her caught up into the air, in spite of cries which
would have softened the heart of any one but the barbarian who has
robbed me of her? The unfortunate girl is pining away in some unknown
land, where perhaps no foot of man has ever trod, and I shall see her
no more. But go, generous stranger; bring back Rosalie if you can, and
live happy with her ever after in this country, of which I now declare
you heir.’
Although the stranger’s name and rank were unknown to Rosalie’s
father, he was really the son of the King of the Golden Isle, which
had for capital a city that extended from one sea to another. The
walls, washed by the quiet waters, were covered with gold, which made
one think of the yellow sands. Above them was a rampart of orange and
lemon trees, and all the streets were paved with gold.
The King of this beautiful island had one son, for whom a life of
adventure had been foretold at his birth. This so frightened his
father and mother that in order to comfort them a Fairy, who happened
to be present at the time, produced a little pebble which she told
them to keep for the Prince till he grew up, as by putting it in his
mouth he would become invisible, as long as he did not try to speak,
for if he did the stone would lose all its virtue. In this way the
good fairy hoped that the Prince would be protected against all
dangers.
No sooner did the Prince begin to grow out of boyhood than he longed
to see if the other countries of the world were as splendid as the one
in which he lived. So, under pretence of visiting some small islands
that belonged to his father, he set out. But a frightful storm drove
his ship on to unknown shores, where most of his followers were put to
death by the savages, and the Prince himself only managed to escape by
making use of his magic pebble. By this means he passed through the
midst of them unseen, and wandered on till he reached the coast, where
he re-embarked on board his ship.
The first land he sighted was the Island of Roses, and he went at once
to the court of the King, Rosalie’s father. The moment his eyes beheld
the Princess, he fell in love with her like everyone else.
He had already spent several months in this condition when the Prince
of the Air whirled her away, to the grief and despair of every man on
the island. But sad though everybody was, the Prince of the Golden
Isle was perfectly inconsolable, and he passed both days and nights in
bemoaning his loss.
‘Alas!’ he cried; ‘shall I never see my lovely Princess again? Who
knows where she may be, and what fairy may have her in his keeping? I
am only a man, but I am strong in my love, and I will seek the whole
world through till I find her.’
So saying, he left the court, and made ready for his journey.
He travelled many weary days without hearing a single word of the lost
Princess, till one morning, as he was walking through a thick forest,
he suddenly perceived a magnificent palace standing at the end of a
pine avenue, and his heart bounded to think that he might be gazing on
Rosalie’s prison. He hastened his steps, and quickly arrived at the
gate of the palace, which was formed of a single agate. The gate swung
open to let him through, and he next passed successively three courts,
surrounded by deep ditches filled with running water, with birds of
brilliant plumage flying about the banks. Everything around was rare
and beautiful, but the Prince scarcely raised his eyes to all these
wonders. He thought only of the Princess and where he should find her,
but in vain he opened every door and searched in every corner; he
neither saw Rosalie nor anyone else. At last there was no place left
for him to search but a little wood, which contained in the centre a
sort of hall built entirely of orange-trees, with four small rooms
opening out of the corners. Three of these were empty except for
statues and wonderful things, but in the fourth the Invisible Prince
caught sight of Rosalie. His joy at beholding her again was, however,
somewhat lessened by seeing that the Prince of the Air was kneeling at
her feet, and pleading his own cause. But it was in vain that he
implored her to listen; she only shook her head. ‘No,’ was all she
would say; ‘you snatched me from my father whom I loved, and all the
splendour in the world can never console me. Go! I can never feel
anything towards you but hate and contempt.’ With these words she
turned away and entered her own apartments.
Unknown to herself the Invisible Prince had followed her, but fearing
to be discovered by the Princess in the presence of others, he made up
his mind to wait quietly till dark; and employed the long hours in
writing a poem to the Princess, which he laid on the bed beside her.
This done, he thought of nothing but how best to deliver Rosalie, and
he resolved to take advantage of a visit which the Prince of the Air
paid every year to his mother and brothers in order to strike the
blow.
One day Rosalie was sitting alone in her room thinking of her troubles
when she suddenly saw a pen get up from off the desk and begin to
write all by itself on a sheet of white paper. As she did not know
that it was guided by an invisible hand she was very much astonished,
and the moment that the pen had ceased to move she instantly went over
to the table, where she found some lovely verses, telling her that
another shared her distresses, whatever they might be, and loved her
with all his heart; and that he would never rest until he had
delivered her from the hands of the man she hated. Thus encouraged,
she told him all her story, and of the arrival of a young stranger in
her father’s palace, whose looks had so charmed her that since that
day she had thought of no one else. At these words the Prince could
contain himself no longer. He took the pebble from his mouth, and
flung himself at Rosalie’s feet.
[Illustration: The Pen Got Up and Wrote All By Itself—Rosalie]
When they had got over the first rapture of meeting they began to make
plans to escape from the power of the Prince of the Air. But this did
not prove easy, for the magic stone would only serve for one person at
a time, and in order to save Rosalie the Prince of the Golden Isle
would have to expose himself to the fury of his enemy. But Rosalie
would not hear of this.
‘No, Prince,’ she said; ‘since you are here this island no longer
feels a prison. Besides, you are under the protection of a Fairy, who
always visits your father’s court at this season. Go instantly and
seek her, and when she is found implore the gift of another stone with
similar powers. Once you have that, there will be no further
difficulty in the way of escape.’
The Prince of the Air returned a few days later from his mother’s
palace, but the Invisible Prince had already set out. He had, however,
entirely forgotten the road by which he had come, and lost himself for
so long in the forest, that when at last he reached home the Fairy had
already left, and, in spite of all his grief, there was nothing for it
but to wait till the Fairy’s next visit, and allow Rosalie to suffer
three months longer. This thought drove him to despair, and he had
almost made up his mind to return to the place of her captivity, when
one day, as he was strolling along an alley in the woods, he saw a
huge oak open its trunk, and out of it step two Princes in earnest
conversation. As our hero had the magic stone in his mouth they
imagined themselves alone, and did not lower their voices.
‘What!’ said one, ‘are you always going to allow yourself to be
tormented by a passion which can never end happily, and in your whole
kingdom can you find nothing else to satisfy you?’
‘What is the use,’ replied the other, ‘of being Prince of the Gnomes,
and having a mother who is queen over all the four elements, if I
cannot win the love of the Princess Argentine? From the moment that I
first saw her, sitting in the forest surrounded by flowers, I have
never ceased to think of her night and day, and, although I love her,
I am quite convinced that she will never care for me. You know that I
have in my palace the cabinets of the years. In the first, great
mirrors reflect the past; in the second, we contemplate the present;
in the third, the future can be read. It was here that I fled after I
had gazed on the Princess Argentine, but instead of love I only saw
scorn and contempt. Think how great must be my devotion, when, in
spite of my fate, I still love on!’
Now the Prince of the Golden Isle was enchanted with this
conversation, for the Princess Argentine was his sister, and he hoped,
by means of her influence over the Prince of the Gnomes, to obtain
from his brother the release of Rosalie. So he joyfully returned to
his father’s palace, where he found his friend the Fairy, who at once
presented him with a magic pebble like his own. As may be imagined, he
lost no time in setting out to deliver Rosalie, and travelled so fast
that he soon arrived at the forest, in the midst of which she lay a
captive. But though he found the palace he did not find Rosalie. He
hunted high and low, but there was no sign of her, and his despair was
so great that he was ready, a thousand times over, to take his own
life. At last he remembered the conversation of the two Princes about
the cabinets of the years, and that if he could manage to reach the
oak-tree, he would be certain to discover what had become of Rosalie.
Happily, he soon found out the secret of the passage and entered the
cabinet of the present, where he saw reflected in the mirrors the
unfortunate Rosalie sitting on the floor weeping bitterly, and
surrounded with genii, who never left her night or day.
[Illustration: Guarded by the Genii—The Mirror of the Present]