frightened; they shall not come home again.’ He said to them, ‘You
must now make merry together, and eat and drink,’ and he led them into
a room which had a floor of iron; the doors were also of iron, and the
windows were barred with iron. In the room was a table spread with
delicious food. The King said to them, ‘Go in and enjoy yourselves,’
and as soon as they were inside he had the doors shut and bolted. Then
he made the cook come, and ordered him to keep up a large fire under
the room until the iron was red-hot. The cook did so, and the Six
sitting round the table felt it grow very warm, and they thought this
was because of their good fare; but when the heat became still greater
and they wanted to go out, but found the doors and windows fastened,
then they knew that the King meant them harm and was trying to
suffocate them.
‘But he shall not succeed,’ cried he of the little hat, ‘I will make a
frost come which shall make the fire ashamed and die out!’ So he put
his hat on straight, and at once there came such a frost that all the
heat disappeared and the food on the dishes began to freeze. When a
couple of hours had passed, and the King thought they must be quite
dead from the heat, he had the doors opened and went in himself to
see.
But when the doors were opened, there stood all Six, alive and well,
saying they were glad they could come out to warm themselves, for the
great cold in the room had frozen all the food hard in the dishes.
Then the King went angrily to the cook, and scolded him, and asked him
why he had not done what he was told.
But the cook answered, ‘There is heat enough there; see for yourself.’
Then the King saw a huge fire burning under the iron room, and
understood that he could do no harm to the Six in this way. The King
now began again to think how he could free himself from his unwelcome
guests. He commanded the master to come before him, and said, ‘If you
will take gold, and give up your right to my daughter, you shall have
as much as you like.’
‘Oh, yes, your Majesty,’ answered he, ‘give me as much as my servant
can carry, and I will give up your daughter.’
The King was delighted, and the man said, ‘I will come and fetch it in
fourteen days.’
[Illustration]
Then he called all the tailors in the kingdom together, and made them
sit down for fourteen days sewing at a sack. When it was finished, he
made the strong man who had uprooted the trees take the sack on his
shoulder and go with him to the King. Then the King said, ‘What a
powerful fellow that is, carrying that bale of linen as large as a
house on his shoulder!’ and he was much frightened, and thought ‘What
a lot of gold he will make away with!’ Then he had a ton of gold
brought, which sixteen of the strongest men had to carry; but the
strong man seized it with one hand, put it in the sack, saying, ‘Why
don’t you bring me more? That scarcely covers the bottom!’ Then the
King had to send again and again to fetch his treasures, which the
strong man shoved into the sack, and the sack was only half full.
‘Bring more,’ he cried, ‘these crumbs don’t fill it.’ So seven
thousand waggons of the gold of the whole kingdom were driven up;
these the strong man shoved into the sack, oxen and all.
‘I will no longer be particular,’ he said, ‘and will take what comes,
so that the sack shall be full.’
When everything was put in and there was not yet enough, he said, ‘I
will make an end of this; it is easy to fasten a sack when it is not
full.’ Then he threw it on his back and went with his companions.
Now, when the King saw how a single man was carrying away the wealth
of the whole country he was very angry, and made his cavalry mount and
pursue the Six, and bring back the strong man with the sack. Two
regiments soon overtook them, and called to them, ‘You are prisoners!
lay down the sack of gold or you shall be cut down.’
‘What do you say?’ said the blower, ‘we are prisoners? Before that,
you shall dance in the air!’ And he held one nostril and blew with the
other at the two regiments; they were separated and blown away in the
blue sky over the mountains, one this way, and the other that. A
sergeant-major cried for mercy, saying he had nine wounds, and was a
brave fellow, and did not deserve this disgrace. So the blower let him
off, and he came down without hurt. Then he said to him, ‘Now go home
to the King, and say that if he sends any more cavalry I will blow
them all into the air.’
When the King received the message, he said, ‘Let the fellows go; they
are bewitched.’ Then the Six brought the treasure home, shared it
among themselves, and lived contentedly till the end of their days.
_THE WIZARD KING_[14]
In very ancient times there lived a King, whose power lay not only in
the vast extent of his dominions, but also in the magic secrets of
which he was master. After spending the greater part of his early
youth in pleasure, he met a Princess of such remarkable beauty that he
at once asked her hand in marriage, and, having obtained it,
considered himself the happiest of men.
After a year’s time a son was born, worthy in every way of such
distinguished parents, and much admired by the whole Court. As soon as
the Queen thought him strong enough for a journey she set out with him
secretly to visit her Fairy godmother. I said _secretly_, because the
Fairy had warned the Queen that the King was a magician; and as from
time immemorial there had been a standing feud between the Fairies and
the Wizards, he might not have approved of his wife’s visit.
The Fairy godmother, who took the deepest interest in all the Queen’s
concerns, and who was much pleased with the little Prince, endowed him
with the power of pleasing everybody from his cradle, as well as with
a wonderful ease in learning everything which could help to make him a
perfectly accomplished Prince. Accordingly, to the delight of his
teachers, he made the most rapid progress in his education, constantly
surpassing everyone’s expectations. Before he was many years old,
however, he had the great sorrow of losing his mother, whose last
words were to advise him never to undertake anything of importance
without consulting the Fairy under whose protection she had placed
him.
[Footnote 14: From _Les Fées illustres_.]
The Prince’s grief at the death of his mother was great, but it was
nothing compared to that of the King, his father, who was quite
inconsolable for the loss of his dear wife. Neither time nor reason
seemed to lighten his sorrow, and the sight of all the familiar faces
and things about him only served to remind him of his loss.
He therefore resolved to travel for change, and by means of his magic
art was able to visit every country he came to see under different
shapes, returning every few weeks to the place where he had left a few
followers.
Having travelled from land to land in this fashion without finding
anything to rivet his attention, it occurred to him to take the form
of an eagle, and in this shape he flew across many countries and
arrived at length in a new and lovely spot, where the air seemed
filled with the scent of jessamine and orange flowers with which the
ground was thickly planted. Attracted by the sweet perfume he flew
lower, and perceived some large and beautiful gardens filled with the
rarest flowers, and with fountains throwing up their clear waters into
the air in a hundred different shapes. A wide stream flowed through
the garden, and on it floated richly ornamented barges and gondolas
filled with people dressed in the most elegant manner and covered with
jewels.
In one of these barges sat the Queen of that country with her only
daughter, a maiden more beautiful than the Day Star, and attended by
the ladies of the Court. No more exquisitely lovely mortal was ever
seen than this Princess, and it needed all an eagle’s strength of
sight to prevent the King being hopelessly dazzled. He perched on the
top of a large orange tree, whence he was able to survey the scene and
to gaze at pleasure on the Princess’s charms.
Now, an eagle with a King’s heart in his breast is apt to be bold, and
accordingly he instantly made up his mind to carry off the lovely
damsel, feeling sure that having once seen her he could not live
without her.
He waited till he saw her in the act of stepping ashore, when,
suddenly swooping down, he carried her off before her equerry in
attendance had advanced to offer her his hand. The Princess, on
finding herself in an eagle’s talons, uttered the most heart-breaking
shrieks and cries; but her captor, though touched by her distress,
would not abandon his lovely prey, and continued to fly through the
air too fast to allow of his saying anything to comfort her.
At length, when he thought they had reached a safe distance, he began
to lower his flight, and gradually descending to earth, deposited his
burden in a flowery meadow. He then entreated her pardon for his
violence, and told her that he was about to carry her to a great
kingdom over which he ruled, and where he desired she should rule with
him, adding many tender and consoling expressions.
For some time the Princess remained speechless; but recovering herself
a little, she burst into a flood of tears. The King, much moved, said,
‘Adorable Princess, dry your tears. I implore you. My only wish is to
make you the happiest person in the world.’
‘If you speak truth, my lord,’ replied the Princess, ‘restore to me
the liberty you have deprived me of. Otherwise I can only look on you
as my worst enemy.’
[Illustration: The Princess and the eagle in the flowery meadow]
The King retorted that her opposition filled him with despair, but
that he hoped to carry her to a place where all around would respect
her, and where every pleasure would surround her. So saying, he seized
her once more, and in spite of all her cries he rapidly bore her off
to the neighbourhood of his capital. Here he gently placed her on a
lawn, and as he did so she saw a magnificent palace spring up at her
feet. The architecture was imposing, and in the interior the rooms
were handsome and furnished in the best possible taste.
The Princess, who expected to be quite alone, was pleased at finding
herself surrounded by a number of pretty girls, all anxious to wait on
her, whilst a brilliantly-coloured parrot said the most agreeable
things in the world.
On arriving at this palace the King had resumed his own form, and
though no longer young, he might well have pleased any other than this
Princess, who had been so prejudiced against him by his violence that
she could only regard him with feelings of hatred, which she was at no
pains to conceal. The King hoped, however, that time might not only
soften her anger, but accustom her to his sight. He took the
precaution of surrounding the palace with a dense cloud, and then
hastened to his Court, where his prolonged absence was causing much
anxiety.
The Prince and all the courtiers were delighted to see their beloved
King again, but they had to submit themselves to more frequent
absences than ever on his part. He made business a pretext for
shutting himself up in his study, but it was really in order to spend
the time with the Princess, who remained inflexible.
Not being able to imagine what could be the cause of so much obstinacy
the King began to fear, lest, in spite of all his precautions, she
might have heard of the charms of the Prince his son, whose goodness,
youth and beauty, made him adored at Court. This idea made him
horribly uneasy, and he resolved to remove the cause of his fears by
sending the Prince on his travels escorted by a magnificent retinue.
The Prince, after visiting several Courts, arrived at the one where
the lost Princess was still deeply mourned. The King and Queen
received him most graciously, and some festivities were revived to do
him honour.
One day when the Prince was visiting the Queen in her own apartments
he was much struck by a most beautiful portrait. He eagerly inquired
whose it was, and the Queen, with many tears, told him it was all that
was left her of her beloved daughter, who had suddenly been carried
off, she knew neither where nor how.
The Prince was deeply moved, and vowed that he would search the world
for the Princess, and take no rest till he had found and restored her
to her mother’s arms. The Queen assured him of her eternal gratitude,
and promised, should he succeed, to give him her daughter in marriage,
together with all the estates she herself owned.
The Prince, far more attracted by the thoughts of possessing the
Princess than her promised dower, set forth in his quest after taking
leave of the King and Queen, the latter giving him a miniature of her
daughter which she was in the habit of wearing. His first act was to
seek the Fairy under whose protection he had been placed, and he
implored her to give him all the assistance of her art and counsel in
this important matter.
After listening attentively to the whole adventure, the Fairy asked
for time to consult her books. After due consideration she informed
the Prince that the object of his search was not far distant, but that
it was too difficult for him to attempt to enter the enchanted palace
where she was, as the King his father had surrounded it with a thick
cloud, and that the only expedient she could think of would be to gain
possession of the Princess’s parrot. This, she added, did not appear
impossible, as it often flew about to some distance in the
neighbourhood.
Having told the Prince all this, the Fairy went out in hopes of seeing
the parrot, and soon returned with the bird in her hand. She promptly
shut it up in a cage, and, touching the Prince with her wand,
transformed him into an exactly similar parrot; after which, she
instructed him how to reach the Princess.
The Prince reached the palace in safety, but was so dazzled at first
by the Princess’s beauty, which far surpassed his expectations, that
he was quite dumb for a time. The Princess was surprised and anxious,
and fearing the parrot, who was her greatest comfort, had fallen ill,
she took him in her hand and caressed him. This soon reassured the
Prince, and encouraged him to play his part well, and he began to say
a thousand agreeable things which charmed the Princess.
Presently the King appeared, and the parrot noticed with joy how much
he was disliked. As soon as the King left, the Princess retired to her
dressing-room, the parrot flew after her and overheard her
lamentations at the continued persecutions of the King, who had
pressed her to consent to their marriage. The parrot said so many
clever and tender things to comfort her that she began to doubt
whether this could indeed be her own parrot.
When he saw her well-disposed towards him, he exclaimed: ‘Madam, I
have a most important secret to confide to you, and I beg you not to
be alarmed by what I am about to say. I am here on behalf of the Queen
your mother, with the object of delivering your Highness; to prove
which, behold this portrait which she gave me herself.’ So saying he
drew forth the miniature from under his wing. The Princess’s surprise
was great, but after what she had seen and heard it was impossible not
to indulge in hope, for she had recognised the likeness of herself
which her mother always wore.
[Illustration: The Wizard King pays a visit to the princess]
The parrot, finding she was not much alarmed, told her who he was, all
that her mother had promised him and the help he had already received
from a Fairy who had assured him that she would give him means to
transport the Princess to her mother’s arms.
When he found her listening attentively to him, he implored the
Princess to allow him to resume his natural shape. She did not speak,
so he drew a feather from his wing, and she beheld before her a Prince
of such surpassing beauty that it was impossible not to hope that she
might owe her liberty to so charming a person.
Meantime the Fairy had prepared a chariot, to which she harnessed two
powerful eagles; then placing the cage, with the parrot in it, she
charged the bird to conduct it to the window of the Princess’s
dressing-room. This was done in a few minutes, and the Princess,
stepping into the chariot with the Prince, was delighted to find her
parrot again.
As they rose through the air the Princess remarked a figure mounted on
an eagle’s back flying in front of the chariot. She was rather
alarmed, but the Prince reassured her, telling her it was the good
Fairy to whom she owed so much, and who was now conducting her in
safety to her mother.
That same morning the King woke suddenly from a troubled sleep. He had
dreamt that the Princess was being carried off from him, and,
transforming himself into an eagle, he flew to the palace. When he
failed to find her he flew into a terrible rage, and hastened home to
consult his books, by which means he discovered that it was his son
who had deprived him of this precious treasure. Immediately he took
the shape of a harpy, and, filled with rage, was determined to devour
his son, and even the Princess too, if only he could overtake them.
He set out at full speed; but he started too late, and was further
delayed by a strong wind which the Fairy raised behind the young
couple so as to baffle any pursuit.
You may imagine the rapture with which the Queen received the daughter
she had given up for lost, as well as the amiable Prince who had
rescued her. The Fairy entered with them, and warned the Queen that
the Wizard King would shortly arrive, infuriated by his loss, and that
nothing could preserve the Prince and Princess from his rage and magic
unless they were actually married.
The Queen hastened to inform the King her husband, and the wedding
took place on the spot.
As the ceremony was completed the Wizard King arrived. His despair at
being so late bewildered him so entirely that he appeared in his
natural form and attempted to sprinkle some black liquid over the
bride and bridegroom, which was intended to kill them, but the Fairy
stretched out her wand and the liquid dropped on the Magician himself.
He fell down senseless, and the Princess’s father, deeply offended at
the cruel revenge which had been attempted, ordered him to be removed
and locked up in prison.
Now as magicians lose all their power as soon as they are in prison,
the King felt himself much embarrassed at being thus at the mercy of
those he had so greatly offended. The Prince implored and obtained his
father’s pardon, and the prison doors were opened.
No sooner was this done than the Wizard King was seen in the air under
the form of some unknown bird, exclaiming as he flew off that he would
never forgive either his son or the Fairy the cruel wrong they had
done him.
Everyone entreated the Fairy to settle in the kingdom where she now
was, to which she consented. She built herself a magnificent palace,
to which she transported her books and fairy secrets, and where she
enjoyed the sight of the perfect happiness she had helped to bestow on
the entire royal family.
_THE NIXY_[15]
There was once upon a time a miller who was very well off, and had as
much money and as many goods as he knew what to do with. But sorrow
comes in the night, and the miller all of a sudden became so poor that
at last he could hardly call the mill in which he sat his own. He
wandered about all day full of despair and misery, and when he lay
down at night he could get no rest, but lay awake all night sunk in
sorrowful thoughts.
One morning he rose up before dawn and went outside, for he thought
his heart would be lighter in the open air. As he wandered up and down
on the banks of the mill-pond he heard a rustling in the water, and
when he looked near he saw a white woman rising up from the waves.
He realised at once that this could be none other than the nixy of the
mill-pond, and in his terror he didn’t know if he should fly away or
remain where he was. While he hesitated the nixy spoke, called him by
his name, and asked him why he was so sad.
When the miller heard how friendly her tone was, he plucked up heart
and told her how rich and prosperous he had been all his life up till
now, when he didn’t know what he was to do for want and misery.
Then the nixy spoke comforting words to him, and promised that she
would make him richer and more prosperous than he had ever been in his
life before, if he would give her in return the youngest thing in his
house.
The miller thought she must mean one of his puppies or kittens, so
promised the nixy at once what she asked, and returned to his mill
full of hope. On the threshold he was greeted by a servant with the
news that his wife had just given birth to a boy.
[Footnote 15: From the German. Kletke.]
The poor miller was much horrified by these tidings, and went in to
his wife with a heavy heart to tell her and his relations of the fatal
bargain he had just struck with the nixy. ‘I would gladly give up all
the good fortune she promised me,’ he said, ‘if I could only save my
child.’ But no one could think of any advice to give him, beyond
taking care that the child never went near the mill-pond.
[Illustration: The miller sees the nixy of the mill-pond]
So the boy throve and grew big, and in the meantime all prospered with
the miller, and in a few years he was richer than he had ever been
before. But all the same he did not enjoy his good fortune, for he
could not forget his compact with the nixy, and he knew that sooner or
later she would demand his fulfilment of it. But year after year went
by, and the boy grew up and became a great hunter, and the lord of the
land took him into his service, for he was as smart and bold a hunter
as you would wish to see. In a short time he married a pretty young
wife, and lived with her in great peace and happiness.
One day when he was out hunting a hare sprang up at his feet, and ran
for some way in front of him in the open field. The hunter pursued it
hotly for some time, and at last shot it dead. Then he proceeded to
skin it, never noticing that he was close to the mill-pond, which from
childhood up he had been taught to avoid. He soon finished the
skinning, and went to the water to wash the blood off his hands. He
had hardly dipped them in the pond when the nixy rose up in the water,
and seizing him in her wet arms she dragged him down with her under
the waves.
When the hunter did not come home in the evening his wife grew very
anxious, and when his game bag was found close to the mill-pond she
guessed at once what had befallen him. She was nearly beside herself
with grief, and roamed round and round the pond calling on her husband
without ceasing. At last, worn out with sorrow and fatigue, she fell
asleep and dreamt that she was wandering along a flowery meadow, when
she came to a hut where she found an old witch, who promised to
restore her husband to her.
When she awoke next morning she determined to set out and find the
witch; so she wandered on for many a day, and at last she reached the
flowery meadow and found the hut where the old witch lived. The poor
wife told her all that had happened and how she had been told in a
dream of the witch’s power to help her.
The witch counselled her to go to the pond the first time there was a
full moon, and to comb her black hair with a golden comb, and then to
place the comb on the bank. The hunter’s wife gave the witch a
handsome present, thanked her heartily, and returned home.
Time dragged heavily till the time of the full moon, but it passed at
last, and as soon as it rose the young wife went to the pond, combed
her black hair with a golden comb, and when she had finished, placed
the comb on the bank; then she watched the water impatiently. Soon she
heard a rushing sound, and a big wave rose suddenly and swept the comb
off the bank, and a minute after the head of her husband rose from the
pond and gazed sadly at her. But immediately another wave came, and
the head sank back into the water without having said a word. The pond
lay still and motionless, glittering in the moonshine, and the
hunter’s wife was not a bit better off than she had been before.
In despair she wandered about for days and nights, and at last, worn
out by fatigue, she sank once more into a deep sleep, and dreamt
exactly the same dream about the old witch. So next morning she went
again to the flowery meadow and sought the witch in her hut, and told
her of her grief. The old woman counselled her to go to the mill-pond
the next full moon and play upon a golden flute, and then to lay the
flute on the bank.