to carry, a chair was made for him on little wheels, in which he could
wander through the palace gardens without help; at other times he was
carried about on a litter, and he was always carefully watched and
guarded for fear he should at any time put his feet to the ground.
But as this sort of life was bad for his health, the doctors ordered
him horse exercise, and he soon became a first-rate rider, and used to
go out for long excursions on horseback, accompanied always by his
father’s stud-groom and a numerous retinue.
Every day he rode through the neighbouring fields and woods, and
always returned home in the evening safe and well. In this way many
years passed, and the Prince grew to manhood, and hardly anyone
remembered the Queen’s warning, though precautions were still taken,
more from use and wont than for any other reason.
[Footnote 19: From the Hungarian. Kletke.]
One day the Prince and his suite went out for a ride in a wood where
his father sometimes held a hunt. Their way led through a stream whose
banks were overgrown with thick brushwood. Just as the horsemen were
about to ford the river, a hare, startled by the sound of the horses’
hoofs, started up from the grass and ran towards the thicket. The
young Prince pursued the little creature, and had almost overtaken it,
when the girth of his saddle suddenly broke in two and he fell heavily
to the ground. No sooner had his foot touched the earth than he
disappeared before the eyes of the horrified courtiers.
They sought for him far and near, but all in vain, and they were
forced to recognise the power of the evil Fairy, against which the
Queen had warned them on her death-bed. The old King was much grieved
when they brought him the news of his son’s disappearance, but as he
could do nothing to free him from his fate, he gave himself up to an
old age of grief and loneliness, cherishing at the same time the hope
that some lucky chance might one day deliver the youth out of the
hands of his enemy.
Hardly had the Prince touched the ground than he felt himself
violently seized by an unseen power, and hurried away he knew not
whither. A whole new world stretched out before him, quite unlike the
one he had left. A splendid castle surrounded by a huge lake was the
abode of the Fairy, and the only approach to it was over a bridge of
clouds. On the other side of the lake high mountains rose up, and dark
woods stretched along the banks; over all hung a thick mist, and deep
silence reigned everywhere.
No sooner had the Fairy reached her own domain than she made herself
visible, and turning to the Prince she told him that unless he obeyed
all her commands down to the minutest detail he would be severely
punished. Then she gave him an axe made of glass, and bade him cross
the bridge of clouds and go into the wood beyond and cut down all the
trees there before sunset. At the same time she cautioned him with
many angry words against speaking to a black girl he would most likely
meet in the wood.
The Prince listened to her words meekly, and when she had finished
took up the glass axe and set out for the forest. At every step he
seemed to sink into the clouds, but fear gave wings to his feet, and
he crossed the lake in safety and set to work at once.
But no sooner had he struck the first blow with his axe than it broke
into a thousand pieces against the tree. The poor youth was so
terrified he did not know what to do, for he was in mortal dread of
the punishment the wicked old Fairy would inflict on him. He wandered
to and fro in the wood, not knowing where he was going, and at last,
worn out by fatigue and misery, he sank on the ground and fell fast
asleep.
He did not know how long he had slept when a sudden sound awoke him,
and opening his eyes he saw a black girl standing beside him. Mindful
of the Fairy’s warning he did not dare to address her, but she on her
part greeted him in the most friendly manner, and asked him at once if
he were under the power of the wicked Fairy. The Prince nodded his
head silently in answer.
Then the black girl told him that she too was in the power of the
Fairy, who had doomed her to wander about in her present guise until
some youth should take pity on her and bear her in safety to the other
side of the river which they saw in the distance, and on the other
side of which the Fairy’s domain and power ended.
The girl’s words so inspired the Prince with confidence that he told
her all his tale of woe, and ended up by asking her advice as to how
he was to escape the punishment the Fairy would be sure to inflict on
him when she discovered that he had not cut down the trees in the wood
and that he had broken her axe.
‘You must know,’ answered the black girl, ‘that the Fairy in whose
power we both are is my own mother, but you must not betray this
secret, for it would cost me my life. If you will only promise to try
and free me I will stand by you, and will accomplish for you all the
tasks which my mother sets you.’
The Prince promised joyfully all she asked; then having once more
warned him not to betray her confidence, she handed him a draught to
drink which very soon sunk his senses in a deep slumber.
His astonishment was great when he awoke to find the glass axe whole
and unbroken at his side, and all the trees of the wood lying felled
around him!
He made all haste across the bridge of clouds, and told the Fairy that
her commands were obeyed. She was much amazed when she heard that all
the wood was cut down, and saw the axe unbroken in his hand, and since
she could not believe that he had done all this by himself, she
questioned him narrowly if he had seen or spoken to the black girl.
But the Prince lied manfully, and swore he had never looked up from
his work for a moment. Seeing she could get nothing more out of him,
she gave him a little bread and water, and showing him to a small dark
cupboard she told him he might sleep there.
Morning had hardly dawned when the Fairy awoke the Prince, and giving
him the glass axe again she told him to cut up all the wood he had
felled the day before, and to put it in bundles ready for firewood; at
the same time she warned him once more against approaching or speaking
a word to the black girl if he met her in the wood.
Although his task was no easier than that of the day before, the youth
set out much more cheerfully, because he knew he could count on the
help of the black girl. With quicker and lighter step he crossed the
bridge of clouds, and hardly had he reached the other side than his
friend stood before him and greeted him cheerfully. When she heard
what the Fairy demanded this time, she answered smilingly, ‘Never
fear,’ and handed him another draught, which very soon caused the
Prince to sink into a deep sleep.
When he awoke everything was done. All the trees of the wood were cut
up into firewood and arranged in bundles ready for use.
He returned to the castle as quickly as he could, and told the Fairy
that her commands were obeyed. She was even more amazed than she had
been before, and asked him again if he had either seen or spoken to
the black girl; but the Prince knew better than to betray his word,
and once more lied freely.
On the following day the Fairy set him a third task to do, even harder
than the other two. She told him he must build a castle on the other
side of the lake, made of nothing but gold, silver, and precious
stones, and unless he could accomplish this within an hour, the most
frightful doom awaited him.
The Prince heard her words without anxiety, so entirely did he rely on
the help of his black friend. Full of hope he hurried across the
bridge, and recognised at once the spot where the castle was to stand,
for spades, hammers, axes, and every other building implement lay
scattered on the ground ready for the workman’s hand, but of gold,
silver, and precious stones there was not a sign. But before the
Prince had time to feel despondent the black girl beckoned to him in
the distance from behind a rock, where she had hidden herself for fear
her mother should catch sight of her. Full of joy the youth hurried
towards her, and begged her aid and counsel in the new piece of work
he had been given to do.
[Illustration: The Black Girl Stops the Witch with a Bit of the Rock]
But this time the Fairy had watched the Prince’s movements from her
window, and she saw him hiding himself behind the rock with her
daughter. She uttered a piercing shriek so that the mountains
re-echoed with the sound of it, and the terrified pair had hardly
dared to look out from their hiding-place when the enraged woman, with
her dress and hair flying in the wind, hurried over the bridge of
clouds. The Prince at once gave himself up for lost, but the girl told
him to be of good courage and to follow her as quickly as he could.
But before they left their shelter she broke off a little bit of the
rock, spoke some magic words over it, and threw it in the direction
her mother was coming from. In a moment a glittering palace arose
before the eyes of the Fairy which blinded her with its dazzling
splendour, and with its many doors and passages prevented her for some
time from finding her way out of it.
In the meantime the black girl hurried on with the Prince, hastening
to reach the river, where once on the other side they would for ever
be out of the wicked Fairy’s power. But before they had accomplished
half the way they heard again the rustle of her garments and her
muttered curses pursuing them closely.
The Prince was terrified; he dared not look back, and he felt his
strength giving way. But before he had time to despair the girl
uttered some more magic words, and immediately she herself was changed
into a pond, and the Prince into a duck swimming on its surface.
When the Fairy saw this her rage knew no bounds, and she used all her
magic wits to make the pond disappear; she caused a hill of sand to
arise at her feet, meaning it to dry up the water at once. But the
sand hill only drove the pond a little farther away, and its waters
seemed to increase instead of diminishing. When the old woman saw that
the powers of her magic were of so little avail, she had recourse to
cunning. She threw a lot of gold nuts into the pond, hoping in this
way to catch the duck, but all her efforts were fruitless, for the
little creature refused to let itself be caught.
Then a new idea struck the wicked old woman, and hiding herself behind
the rock which had sheltered the fugitives, she waited behind it,
watching carefully for the moment when the Prince and her daughter
should resume their natural forms and continue their journey.
She had not to wait long, for as soon as the girl thought her mother
was safely out of the way, she changed herself and the Prince once
more into their human shape, and set out cheerfully for the river.
But they had not gone many steps when the wicked Fairy hurried after
them, a drawn dagger in her hand, and was close upon them, when
suddenly, instead of the Prince and her daughter, she found herself in
front of a great stone church, whose entrance was carefully guarded by
a huge monk.
Breathless with rage and passion, she tried to plunge her dagger into
the monk’s heart, but it fell shattered in pieces at her feet. In her
desperation she determined to pull down the church, and thus to
destroy her two victims for ever. She stamped three times on the
ground, and the earth trembled, and both the church and the monk began
to shake. As soon as the Fairy saw this she retreated to some distance
from the building, so as not to be hurt herself by its fall. But once
more her scheme was doomed to failure, for hardly had she gone a yard
from the church than both it and the monk disappeared, and she found
herself in a wood black as night, and full of wolves and bears and
wild animals of all sorts and descriptions.
Then her wrath gave place to terror, for she feared every moment to be
torn in pieces by the beasts who one and all seemed to defy her power.
She thought it wisest to make her way as best she could out of the
forest, and then to pursue the fugitives once more and accomplish
their destruction either by force or cunning.
In the meantime the Prince and the black girl had again assumed their
natural forms, and were hurrying on as fast as they could to reach the
river. But when they got there they found that there was no way in
which they could cross it, and the girl’s magic art seemed no longer
to have any power. Then turning to the Prince she said, ‘The hour for
my deliverance has not yet come, but as you promised to do all you
could to free me, you must do exactly as I bid you now. Take this bow
and arrow and kill every beast you see with them, and be sure you
spare no living creature.’
With these words she disappeared, and hardly had she done so than a
huge wild boar started out of the thicket near and made straight for
the Prince. But the youth did not lose his presence of mind, and
drawing his bow he pierced the beast with his arrow right through the
skull. The creature fell heavily on the ground, and out of its side
sprang a little hare, which ran like the wind along the river bank.
The Prince drew his bow once more, and the hare lay dead at his feet;
but at the same moment a dove rose up in the air, and circled round
the Prince’s head in the most confiding manner. But mindful of the
black girl’s commands, he dared not spare the little creature’s life,
and taking another arrow from his quiver he laid it as dead as the
boar and the hare. But when he went to look at the body of the bird he
found instead of the dove a round white egg lying on the ground.
While he was gazing on it and wondering what it could mean, he heard
the sweeping of wings above him, and looking up he saw a huge vulture
with open claws swooping down upon him. In a moment he seized the egg
and flung it at the bird with all his might, and lo and behold!
instead of the ugly monster the most beautiful girl he had ever seen
stood before the astonished eyes of the Prince.
[Illustration: ‘But the waters seized her chariot and sunk it in the
lowest depths’]
But while all this was going on the wicked old Fairy had managed to
make her way out of the wood, and was now using the last resource in
her power to overtake her daughter and the Prince. As soon as she was
in the open again she mounted her chariot, which was drawn by a fiery
dragon, and flew through the air in it. But just as she got to the
river she saw the two lovers in each other’s arms swimming through the
water as easily as two fishes.
Quick as lightning, and forgetful of every danger, she flew down upon
them. But the waters seized her chariot and sunk it in the lowest
depths, and the waves bore the wicked old woman down the stream till
she was caught in some thorn bushes, where she made a good meal for
all the little fishes that were swimming about.
And so at last the Prince and his lovely Bride were free. They hurried
as quickly as they could to the old King, who received them with joy
and gladness. On the following day a most gorgeous wedding feast was
held, and as far as we know the Prince and his Bride lived happily for
ever afterwards.
_THE DEAD WIFE_[20]
Once upon a time there were a man and his wife who lived in the
forest, very far from the rest of the tribe. Very often they spent the
day in hunting together, but after a while the wife found that she had
so many things to do that she was obliged to stay at home; so he went
alone, though he found that when his wife was not with him he never
had any luck. One day, when he was away hunting, the woman fell ill,
and in a few days she died. Her husband grieved bitterly, and buried
her in the house where she had passed her life; but as the time went
on he felt so lonely without her that he made a wooden doll about her
height and size for company, and dressed it in her clothes. He seated
it in front of the fire, and tried to think he had his wife back
again. The next day he went out to hunt, and when he came home the
first thing he did was to go up to the doll and brush off some of the
ashes from the fire which had fallen on its face. But he was very busy
now, for he had to cook and mend, besides getting food, for there was
no one to help him. And so a whole year passed away.
At the end of that time he came back from hunting one night and found
some wood by the door and a fire within. The next night there was not
only wood and fire, but a piece of meat in the kettle, nearly ready
for eating. He searched all about to see who could have done this, but
could find no one. The next time he went to hunt he took care not to
go far, and came in quite early. And while he was still a long way off
he saw a woman going into the house with wood on her shoulders. So he
made haste, and opened the door quickly, and instead of the wooden
doll, his wife sat in front of the fire.
Then she spoke to him and said, ‘The Great Spirit felt sorry for you,
because you would not be comforted, so he let me come back to you, but
you must not stretch out your hand to touch me till we have seen the
rest of our people. If you do, I shall die.’
[Footnote 20: From the Iroquois.]
So the man listened to her words, and the woman dwelt there, and
brought the wood and kindled the fire, till one day her husband said
to her, ‘It is now two years since you died. Let us now go back to our
tribe. Then you will be well, and I can touch you.’
[Illustration: The Indian Finds His Wife Sitting by the Fire.]
And with that he prepared food for the journey, a string of deer’s
flesh for her to carry, and one for himself; and so they started. Now
the camp of the tribe was distant six days’ journey, and when they
were yet one day’s journey off it began to snow, and they felt weary
and longed for rest. Therefore they made a fire, cooked some food, and
spread out their skins to sleep.
Then the heart of the man was greatly stirred, and he stretched out
his arms to his wife, but she waved her hands and said, ‘We have seen
no one yet; it is too soon.’
But he would not listen to her, and caught her to him, and behold! he
was clasping the wooden doll. And when he saw it was the doll he
pushed it from him in his misery and rushed away to the camp, and told
them all his story. And some doubted, and they went back with him to
the place where he and his wife had stopped to rest, and there lay the
doll, and besides, they saw in the snow the steps of two people, and
the foot of one was like the foot of the doll. And the man grieved
sore all the days of his life.
_IN THE LAND OF SOULS_[21]
Far away, in North America, where the Red Indians dwell, there lived a
long time ago a beautiful maiden, who was lovelier than any other girl
in the whole tribe. Many of the young braves sought her in marriage,
but she would listen to one only—a handsome chief, who had taken her
fancy some years before. So they were to be married, and great
rejoicings were made, and the two looked forward to a long life of
happiness together, when the very night before the wedding feast a
sudden illness seized the girl, and, without a word to her friends who
were weeping round her, she passed silently away.
The heart of her lover had been set upon her, and the thought of her
remained with him night and day. He put aside his bow, and went
neither to fight nor to hunt, but from sunrise to sunset he sat by the
place where she was laid, thinking of his happiness that was buried
there. At last, after many days, a light seemed to come to him out of
the darkness. He remembered having heard from the old, old people of
the tribe, that there was a path that led to the Land of Souls—that
if you sought carefully you could find it.
So the next morning he got up early, and put some food in his pouch
and slung an extra skin over his shoulders, for he knew not how long
his journey would take, nor what sort of country he would have to go
through. Only one thing he knew, that if the path was there, he would
find it. At first he was puzzled, as there seemed no reason he should
go in one direction more than another. Then all at once he thought he
had heard one of the old men say that the Land of Souls lay to the
south, and so, filled with new hope and courage, he set his face
southwards. For many, many miles the country looked the same as it did
round his own home. The forests, the hills, and the rivers all seemed
exactly like the ones he had left. The only thing that was different
was the snow, which had lain thick upon the hills and trees when he
started, but grew less and less the farther he went south, till it
disappeared altogether. Soon the trees put forth their buds, and
flowers sprang up under his feet, and instead of thick clouds there
was blue sky over his head, and everywhere the birds were singing.
Then he knew that he was in the right road.
[Footnote 21: From the Red Indian.]
The thought that he should soon behold his lost bride made his heart
beat for joy, and he sped along lightly and swiftly. Now his way led
through a dark wood, and then over some steep cliffs, and on the top
of these he found a hut or wigwam. An old man clothed in skins, and
holding a staff in his hand, stood in the doorway; and he said to the
young chief who was beginning to tell his story, ‘I was waiting for
you, wherefore you have come I know. It is but a short while since she
whom you seek was here. Rest in my hut, as she also rested, and I will
tell you what you ask, and whither you should go.’
On hearing these words, the young man entered the hut, but his heart
was too eager within him to suffer him to rest, and when he arose, the
old man rose too, and stood with him at the door. ‘Look,’ he said, ‘at
the water which lies far out yonder, and the plains which stretch
beyond. That is the Land of Souls, but no man enters it without
leaving his body behind him. So, lay down your body here; your bow and
arrows, your skin and your dog. They shall be kept for you safely.’
Then he turned away, and the young chief, light as air, seemed hardly
to touch the ground; and as he flew along the scents grew sweeter and
the flowers more beautiful, while the animals rubbed their noses
against him, instead of hiding as he approached, and birds circled
round him, and fishes lifted up their heads and looked as he went by.
Very soon he noticed with wonder, that neither rocks nor trees barred
his path. He passed through them without knowing it, for indeed, they
were not rocks and trees at all, but only the souls of them; for this
was the Land of Shadows.
So he went on with winged feet till he came to the shores of a great
lake, with a lovely island in the middle of it; while on the bank of
the lake was a canoe of glittering stone, and in the canoe were two
shining paddles.
The chief jumped straight into the canoe, and seizing the paddles
pushed off from the shore, when to his joy and wonder he saw following
him in another canoe exactly like his own the maiden for whose sake he
had made this long journey. But they could not touch each other, for
between them rolled great waves, which looked as if they would sink
the boats, yet never did. And the young man and the maiden shrank with
fear, for down in the depths of the water they saw the bones of those
who had died before, and in the waves themselves men and women were
struggling, and but few passed over. Only the children had no fear,
and reached the other side in safety. Still, though the chief and the
young girl quailed in terror at these horrible sights and sounds, no
harm came to them, for their lives had been free from evil, and the
Master of Life had said that no evil should happen unto them. So they
reached unhurt the shore of the Happy Island, and wandered through the
flowery fields and by the banks of rushing streams, and they knew not
hunger nor thirst; neither cold nor heat. The air fed them and the sun
warmed them, and they forgot the dead, for they saw no graves, and the
young man’s thoughts turned not to wars, neither to the hunting of
animals. And gladly would these two have walked thus for ever, but in
the murmur of the wind he heard the Master of Life saying to him,
‘Return whither you came, for I have work for you to do, and your
people need you, and for many years you shall rule over them. At the
gate my messenger awaits you, and you shall take again your body which
you left behind, and he will show you what you are to do. Listen to
him, and have patience, and in time to come you shall rejoin her whom
you must now leave, for she is accepted, and will remain ever young
and beautiful, as when I called her hence from the Land of Snows.’
_THE WHITE DUCK_