of curiosity as to what the room in the tower contained. For two days
he resisted the temptation to go and look, but on the third he could
stand it no longer, and taking a torch in his hand he hurried to the
tower, and unfastened one lock after the other of the little iron door
until it burst open.
What an unexpected sight met his gaze! The Prince perceived a small
room black with smoke, lit up feebly by a fire from which issued long
blue flames. Over the fire hung a huge cauldron full of boiling pitch,
and fastened into the cauldron by iron chains stood a wretched man
screaming with agony.
Iwanich was much horrified at the sight before him, and asked the man
what terrible crime he had committed to be punished in this dreadful
fashion.
‘I will tell you everything,’ said the man in the cauldron; ‘but first
relieve my torments a little, I implore you.’
‘And how can I do that?’ asked the Prince.
‘With a little water,’ replied the man; ‘only sprinkle a few drops
over me and I shall feel better.’
The Prince, moved by pity, without thinking what he was doing, ran to
the courtyard of the castle, and filled a jug with water, which he
poured over the man in the cauldron.
In a moment a most fearful crash was heard, as if all the pillars of
the palace were giving way, and the palace itself, with towers and
doors, windows and the cauldron, whirled round the bewildered Prince’s
head. This continued for a few minutes, and then everything vanished
into thin air, and Iwanich found himself suddenly alone upon a
desolate heath covered with rocks and stones.
The Prince, who now realised what his heedlessness had done, cursed
too late his spirit of curiosity. In his despair he wandered on over
the heath, never looking where he put his feet, and full of sorrowful
thoughts. At last he saw a light in the distance, which came from a
miserable-looking little hut.
The owner of it was none other than the kind-hearted gaunt grey beggar
who had given the Prince the bag of bread-crumbs and the hare. Without
recognising Iwanich, he opened the door when he knocked and gave him
shelter for the night.
On the following morning the Prince asked his host if he could get him
any work to do, as he was quite unknown in the neighbourhood, and had
not enough money to take him home.
‘My son,’ replied the old man, ‘all this country round here is
uninhabited; I myself have to wander to distant villages for my
living, and even then I do not very often find enough to satisfy my
hunger. But if you would like to take service with the old witch
Corva, go straight up the little stream which flows below my hut for
about three hours, and you will come to a sand-hill on the left-hand
side; that is where she lives.’
Iwanich thanked the gaunt grey beggar for his information, and went on
his way.
After walking for about three hours the Prince came upon a
dreary-looking grey stone wall; this was the back of the building and
did not attract him; but when he came upon the front of the house he
found it even less inviting, for the old witch had surrounded her
dwelling with a fence of spikes, on every one of which a man’s skull
was stuck. In this horrible enclosure stood a small black house, which
had only two grated windows, all covered with cobwebs, and a battered
iron door.
The Prince knocked, and a rasping woman’s voice told him to enter.
Iwanich opened the door, and found himself in a smoke-begrimed
kitchen, in the presence of a hideous old woman who was warming her
skinny hands at a fire. The Prince offered to become her servant, and
the old hag told him she was badly in want of one, and he seemed to be
just the person to suit her.
When Iwanich asked what his work, and how much his wages would be, the
witch bade him follow her, and led the way through a narrow damp
passage into a vault, which served as a stable. Here he perceived two
pitch-black horses in a stall.
‘You see before you,’ said the old woman, ‘a mare and her foal; you
have nothing to do but to lead them out to the fields every day, and
to see that neither of them runs away from you. If you look after them
both for a whole year I will give you anything you like to ask; but
if, on the other hand, you let either of the animals escape you, your
last hour is come, and your head shall be stuck on the last spike of
my fence. The other spikes, as you see, are already adorned, and the
skulls are all those of different servants I have had who have failed
to do what I demanded.’
Iwanich, who thought he could not be much worse off than he was
already, agreed to the witch’s proposal.
At daybreak next morning he drove his horses to the field, and brought
them back in the evening without their ever having attempted to break
away from him. The witch stood at her door and received him kindly,
and set a good meal before him.
So it continued for some time, and all went well with the Prince.
Early every morning he led the horses out to the fields, and brought
them home safe and sound in the evening.
One day, while he was watching the horses, he came to the banks of a
river, and saw a big fish, which through some mischance had been cast
on the land, struggling hard to get back into the water.
Iwanich, who felt sorry for the poor creature, seized it in his arms
and flung it into the stream. But no sooner did the fish find itself
in the water again, than, to the Prince’s amazement, it swam up to the
bank and said:
‘My kind benefactor, how can I reward you for your goodness?’
‘I desire nothing,’ answered the Prince. ‘I am quite content to have
been able to be of some service to you.’
‘You must do me the favour,’ replied the fish, ‘to take a scale from
my body, and keep it carefully. If you should ever need my help, throw
it into the river, and I will come to your aid at once.’
Iwanich bowed, loosened a scale from the body of the grateful beast,
put it carefully away, and returned home.
A short time after this, when he was going early one morning to the
usual grazing place with his horses, he noticed a flock of birds
assembled together making a great noise and flying wildly backwards
and forwards.
Full of curiosity, Iwanich hurried up to the spot, and saw that a
large number of ravens had attacked an eagle, and although the eagle
was big and powerful and was making a brave fight, it was overpowered
at last by numbers, and had to give in.
But the Prince, who was sorry for the poor bird, seized the branch of
a tree and hit out at the ravens with it; terrified at this unexpected
onslaught they flew away, leaving many of their number dead or wounded
on the battlefield.
As soon as the eagle saw itself free from its tormentors it plucked a
feather from its wing, and, handing it to the Prince, said: ‘Here, my
kind benefactor, take this feather as a proof of my gratitude; should
you ever be in need of my help blow this feather into the air, and I
will help you as much as is in my power.’
Iwanich thanked the bird, and placing the feather beside the scale he
drove the horses home.
Another day he had wandered farther than usual, and came close to a
farmyard; the place pleased the Prince, and as there was plenty of
good grass for the horses he determined to spend the day there. Just
as he was sitting down under a tree he heard a cry close to him, and
saw a fox which had been caught in a trap placed there by the farmer.
[Illustration: IWANICH CASTS THE FISH INTO THE WATER]
In vain did the poor beast try to free itself; then the good-natured
Prince came once more to the rescue, and let the fox out of the trap.
The fox thanked him heartily, tore two hairs out of his bushy tail,
and said: ‘Should you ever stand in need of my help throw these two
hairs into the fire, and in a moment I shall be at your side ready to
obey you.’
Iwanich put the fox’s hairs with the scale and the feather, and as it
was getting dark he hastened home with his horses.
In the meantime his service was drawing near to an end, and in three
more days the year was up, and he would be able to get his reward and
leave the witch.
On the first evening of these last three days, when he came home and
was eating his supper, he noticed the old woman stealing into the
stables.
The Prince followed her secretly to see what she was going to do. He
crouched down in the doorway and heard the wicked witch telling the
horses to wait next morning till Iwanich was asleep, and then to go
and hide themselves in the river, and to stay there till she told them
to return; and if they didn’t do as she told them the old woman
threatened to beat them till they bled.
When Iwanich heard all this he went back to his room, determined that
nothing should induce him to fall asleep next day. On the following
morning he led the mare and foal to the fields as usual, but bound a
cord round them both which he kept in his hand.
But after a few hours, by the magic arts of the old witch, he was
overpowered by sleep, and the mare and foal escaped and did as they
had been told to do. The Prince did not awake till late in the
evening; and when he did, he found, to his horror, that the horses had
disappeared. Filled with despair, he cursed the moment when he had
entered the service of the cruel witch, and already he saw his head
sticking up on the sharp spike beside the others.
Then he suddenly remembered the fish’s scale, which, with the eagle’s
feather and the fox’s hairs, he always carried about with him. He drew
the scale from his pocket, and hurrying to the river he threw it in.
In a minute the grateful fish swam towards the bank on which Iwanich
was standing, and said: ‘What do you command, my friend and
benefactor?’
The Prince replied: ‘I had to look after a mare and foal, and they
have run away from me and have hidden themselves in the river; if you
wish to save my life drive them back to the land.’
‘Wait a moment,’ answered the fish, ‘and I and my friends will soon
drive them out of the water.’ With these words the creature
disappeared into the depths of the stream.
Almost immediately a rushing hissing sound was heard in the waters,
the waves dashed against the banks, the foam was tossed into the air,
and the two horses leapt suddenly on to the dry land, trembling and
shaking with fear.
Iwanich sprang at once on to the mare’s back, seized the foal by its
bridle, and hastened home in the highest spirits.
When the witch saw the Prince bringing the horses home she could
hardly conceal her wrath, and as soon as she had placed Iwanich’s
supper before him she stole away again to the stables. The Prince
followed her, and heard her scolding the beasts harshly for not having
hidden themselves better. She bade them wait next morning till Iwanich
was asleep and then to hide themselves in the clouds, and to remain
there till she called. If they did not do as she told them she would
beat them till they bled.
The next morning, after Iwanich had led his horses to the fields, he
fell once more into a magic sleep. The horses at once ran away and hid
themselves in the clouds, which hung down from the mountains in soft
billowy masses.
When the Prince awoke and found that both the mare and the foal had
disappeared, he bethought him at once of the eagle, and taking the
feather out of his pocket he blew it into the air.
In a moment the bird swooped down beside him and asked: ‘What do you
wish me to do?’
‘My mare and foal,’ replied the Prince, ‘have run away from me, and
have hidden themselves in the clouds; if you wish to save my life,
restore both animals to me.’
‘Wait a minute,’ answered the eagle; ‘with the help of my friends I
will soon drive them back to you.’
With these words the bird flew up into the air and disappeared among
the clouds.
Almost directly Iwanich saw his two horses being driven towards him by
a host of eagles of all sizes. He caught the mare and foal, and having
thanked the eagle he drove them cheerfully home again.
The old witch was more disgusted than ever when she saw him appearing,
and having set his supper before him she stole into the stables, and
Iwanich heard her abusing the horses for not having hidden themselves
better in the clouds. Then she bade them hide themselves next morning,
as soon as Iwanich was asleep, in the King’s hen-house, which stood on
a lonely part of the heath, and to remain there till she called. If
they failed to do as she told them she would certainly beat them this
time till they bled.
On the following morning the Prince drove his horses as usual to the
fields. After he had been overpowered by sleep, as on the former days,
the mare and foal ran away and hid themselves in the royal hen-house.
When the Prince awoke and found the horses gone he determined to
appeal to the fox; so, lighting a fire, he threw the two hairs into
it, and in a few moments the fox stood beside him and asked: ‘In what
way can I serve you?’
‘I wish to know,’ replied Iwanich, ‘where the King’s hen-house is.’
‘Hardly an hour’s walk from here,’ answered the fox, and offered to
show the Prince the way to it.
While they were walking along the fox asked him what he wanted to do
at the royal hen-house. The Prince told him of the misfortune that had
befallen him, and of the necessity of recovering the mare and foal.
‘That is no easy matter,’ replied the fox. ‘But wait a moment. I have
an idea. Stand at the door of the hen-house, and wait there for your
horses. In the meantime I will slip in among the hens through a hole
in the wall and give them a good chase, so that the noise they make
will arouse the royal henwives, and they will come to see what is the
matter. When they see the horses they will at once imagine them to be
the cause of the disturbance, and will drive them out. Then you must
lay hands on the mare and foal and catch them.
All turned out exactly as the sly fox had foreseen. The Prince swung
himself on the mare, seized the foal by its bridle, and hurried home.
While he was riding over the heath in the highest of spirits the mare
suddenly said to her rider: ‘You are the first person who has ever
succeeded in outwitting the old witch Corva, and now you may ask what
reward you like for your service. If you promise never to betray me I
will give you a piece of advice which you will do well to follow.’
The Prince promised never to betray her confidence, and the mare
continued: ‘Ask nothing else as a reward than my foal, for it has not
its like in the world, and is not to be bought for love or money; for
it can go from one end of the earth to another in a few minutes. Of
course the cunning Corva will do her best to dissuade you from taking
the foal, and will tell you that it is both idle and sickly; but do
not believe her, and stick to your point.’
[Illustration: Iwanich seizes the Magician by his beard and dashes him
to the ground]
Iwanich longed to possess such an animal, and promised the mare to
follow her advice.
This time Corva received him in the most friendly manner, and set a
sumptuous repast before him. As soon as he had finished she asked him
what reward he demanded for his year’s service.
‘Nothing more nor less,’ replied the Prince, ‘than the foal of your
mare.’
The witch pretended to be much astonished at his request, and said
that he deserved something much better than the foal, for the beast
was lazy and nervous, blind in one eye, and, in short, was quite
worthless.
But the Prince knew what he wanted, and when the old witch saw that he
had made up his mind to have the foal, she said, ‘I am obliged to keep
my promise and to hand you over the foal; and as I know who you are
and what you want, I will tell you in what way the animal will be
useful to you. The man in the cauldron of boiling pitch, whom you set
free, is a mighty magician; through your curiosity and thoughtlessness
Militza came into his power, and he has transported her and her castle
and belongings into a distant country.
‘You are the only person who can kill him; and in consequence he fears
you to such an extent that he has set spies to watch you, and they
report your movements to him daily.
‘When you have reached him, beware of speaking a single word to him,
or you will fall into the power of his friends. Seize him at once by
the beard and dash him to the ground.’
Iwanich thanked the old witch, mounted his foal, put spurs to its
sides, and they flew like lightning through the air.
Already it was growing dark, when Iwanich perceived some figures in
the distance; they soon came up to them, and then the Prince saw that
it was the magician and his friends who were driving through the air
in a carriage drawn by owls.
When the magician found himself face to face with Iwanich, without
hope of escape, he turned to him with false friendliness and said:
‘Thrice my kind benefactor!’
But the Prince, without saying a word, seized him at once by his beard
and dashed him to the ground. At the same moment the foal sprang on
the top of the magician and kicked and stamped on him with his hoofs
till he died.
Then Iwanich found himself once more in the palace of his bride, and
Militza herself flew into his arms.
From this time forward they lived in undisturbed peace and happiness
till the end of their lives.
_THE MAGIC RING_
Once upon a time there lived an old couple who had one son called
Martin. Now when the old man’s time had come, he stretched himself out
on his bed and died. Though all his life long he had toiled and
moiled, he only left his widow and son two hundred florins. The old
woman determined to put by the money for a rainy day; but alas! the
rainy day was close at hand, for their meal was all consumed, and who
is prepared to face starvation with two hundred florins at their
disposal? So the old woman counted out a hundred of her florins, and
giving them to Martin, told him to go into the town and lay in a store
of meal for a year.
So Martin started off for the town. When he reached the meat-market he
found the whole place in turmoil, and a great noise of angry voices
and barking of dogs. Mixing in the crowd, he noticed a stag-hound
which the butchers had caught and tied to a post, and which was being
flogged in a merciless manner. Overcome with pity, Martin spoke to the
butchers, saying:
‘Friends, why are you beating the poor dog so cruelly?’
‘We have every right to beat him,’ they replied; ‘he has just devoured
a newly-killed pig.’
‘Leave off beating him,’ said Martin, ‘and sell him to me instead.’
‘If you choose to buy him,’ answered the butchers derisively; ‘but for
such a treasure we won’t take a penny less than a hundred florins.’
‘A hundred!’ exclaimed Martin. ‘Well, so be it, if you will not take
less;’ and, taking the money out of his pocket, he handed it over in
exchange for the dog, whose name was Schurka.
When Martin got home, his mother met him with the question:
‘Well, what have you bought?’
‘Schurka, the dog,’ replied Martin, pointing to his new possession.
Whereupon his mother became very angry, and abused him roundly. He
ought to be ashamed of himself, when there was scarcely a handful of
meal in the house, to have spent the money on a useless brute like
that. On the following day she sent him back to the town, saying,
‘Here, take our last hundred florins, and buy provisions with them. I
have just emptied the last grains of meal out of the chest, and baked
a bannock; but it won’t last over to-morrow.’
Just as Martin was entering the town he met a rough-looking peasant
who was dragging a cat after him by a string which was fastened round
the poor beast’s neck.
‘Stop,’ cried Martin; ‘where are you dragging that poor cat?’
‘I mean to drown him,’ was the answer.
‘What harm has the poor beast done?’ said Martin.
‘It has just killed a goose,’ replied the peasant.
‘Don’t drown him, sell him to me instead,’ begged Martin.
‘Not for a hundred florins,’ was the answer.
‘Surely for a hundred florins you’ll sell it?’ said Martin. ‘See! here
is the money;’ and, so saying, he handed him the hundred florins,
which the peasant pocketed, and Martin took possession of the cat,
which was called Waska.
When he reached his home his mother greeted him with the question:
‘Well, what have you brought back?’
‘I have brought this cat, Waska,’ answered Martin.
‘And what besides?’
‘I had no money over to buy anything else with,’ replied Martin.
‘You useless ne’er-do-weel!’ exclaimed his mother in a great passion.
‘Leave the house at once, and go and beg your bread among strangers;’
and as Martin did not dare to contradict her, he called Schurka and
Waska and started off with them to the nearest village in search of
work. On the way he met a rich peasant, who asked him where he was
going.
‘I want to get work as a day labourer,’ he answered.
‘Come along with me, then. But I must tell you I engage my labourers
without wages. If you serve me faithfully for a year, I promise you it
shall be for your advantage.’
So Martin consented, and for a year he worked diligently, and served
his master faithfully, not sparing himself in any way. When the day of
reckoning had come the peasant led him into a barn, and pointing to
two full sacks, said: ‘Take whichever of these you choose.’
Martin examined the contents of the sacks, and seeing that one was
full of silver and the other of sand, he said to himself:
‘There must be some trick about this; I had better take the sand.’ And
throwing the sack over his shoulders he started out into the world, in
search of fresh work. On and on he walked, and at last he reached a
great gloomy wood. In the middle of the wood he came upon a meadow,
where a fire was burning, and in the midst of the fire, surrounded by
flames, was a lovely damsel, more beautiful than anything that Martin
had ever seen, and when she saw him she called to him:
‘Martin, if you would win happiness, save my life. Extinguish the
flames with the sand that you earned in payment of your faithful
service.’
‘Truly,’ thought Martin to himself, ‘it would be more sensible to save
a fellow-being’s life with this sand than to drag it about on one’s
back, seeing what a weight it is.’ And forthwith he lowered the sack
from his shoulders and emptied its contents on the flames, and
instantly the fire was extinguished; but at the same moment lo! and
behold the lovely damsel turned into a Serpent, and, darting upon him,
coiled itself round his neck, and whispered lovingly in his ear:
‘Do not be afraid of me, Martin; I love you, and will go with you
through the world. But first you must follow me boldly into my
Father’s Kingdom, underneath the earth; and when we get there,
remember this—he will offer you gold and silver, and dazzling gems,
but do not touch them. Ask him, instead, for the ring which he wears
on his little finger, for in that ring lies a magic power; you have
only to throw it from one hand to the other, and at once twelve young
men will appear, who will do your bidding, no matter how difficult, in
a single night.’
So they started on their way, and after much wandering they reached a
spot where a great rock rose straight up in the middle of the road.
Instantly the Serpent uncoiled itself from his neck, and, as it
touched the damp earth, it resumed the shape of the lovely damsel.
Pointing to the rock, she showed him an opening just big enough for a
man to wriggle through. Passing into it, they entered a long
underground passage, which led out on to a wide field, above which
spread a blue sky. In the middle of the field stood a magnificent
castle, built out of porphyry, with a roof of gold and with glittering
battlements. And his beautiful guide told him that this was the palace
in which her father lived and reigned over his kingdom in the
Under-world.
[Illustration: Martin extinguishes the flames]
Together they entered the palace, and were received by the King with
great kindness. Turning to his daughter, he said:
‘My child, I had almost given up the hope of ever seeing you again.
Where have you been all these years?’
‘My father,’ she replied, ‘I owe my life to this youth, who saved me
from a terrible death.’
Upon which the King turned to Martin with a gracious smile, saying: ‘I
will reward your courage by granting you whatever your heart desires.
Take as much gold, silver, and precious stones as you choose.’
‘I thank you, mighty King, for your gracious offer,’ answered Martin,
‘but I do not covet either gold, silver, or precious stones; yet if
you will grant me a favour, give me, I beg, the ring from off the
little finger of your royal hand. Every time my eye falls on it I
shall think of your gracious Majesty, and when I marry I shall present
it to my bride.’
So the King took the ring from his finger and gave it to Martin,
saying: ‘Take it, good youth; but with it I make one condition—you
are never to confide to anyone that this is a magic ring. If you do,
you will straightway bring misfortune on yourself.’