same road by which he had come down into the Under-world. When he had
regained the upper air he started for his old home, and having found
his mother still living in the old house where he had left her, they
settled down together very happily. So uneventful was their life that
it almost seemed as if it would go on in this way always, without let
or hindrance. But one day it suddenly came into his mind that he would
like to get married, and, moreover, that he would choose a very grand
wife—a King’s daughter, in short. But as he did not trust himself as
a wooer, he determined to send his old mother on the mission.
‘You must go to the King,’ he said to her, ‘and demand the hand of his
lovely daughter in marriage for me.’
‘What are you thinking of, my son?’ answered the old woman, aghast at
the idea. ‘Why cannot you marry someone in your own rank? That would
be far more fitting than to send a poor old woman like me a-wooing to
the King’s Court for the hand of a Princess. Why, it is as much as our
heads are worth. Neither my life nor yours would be worth anything if
I went on such a fool’s errand.’
‘Never fear, little mother,’ answered Martin. ‘Trust me; all will be
well. But see that you do not come back without an answer of some
kind.’
And so, obedient to her son’s behest, the old woman hobbled off to the
palace, and, without being hindered, reached the courtyard, and began
to mount the flight of steps leading to the royal presence chamber. At
the head of the landing rows of courtiers were collected in
magnificent attire, who stared at the queer old figure, and called to
her, and explained to her, with every kind of sign, that it was
strictly forbidden to mount those steps. But their stern words and
forbidding gestures made no impression whatever on the old woman, and
she resolutely continued to climb the stairs, bent on carrying out her
son’s orders. Upon this some of the courtiers seized her by the arms,
and held her back by sheer force, at which she set up such a yell that
the King himself heard it, and stepped out on to the balcony to see
what was the matter. When he beheld the old woman flinging her arms
wildly about, and heard her scream that she would not leave the place
till she had laid her case before the King, he ordered that she should
be brought into his presence. And forthwith she was conducted into the
golden presence chamber, where, leaning back amongst cushions of royal
purple, the King sat, surrounded by his counsellors and courtiers.
Courtesying low, the old woman stood silent before him. ‘Well, my good
old dame, what can I do for you?’ asked the King.
‘I have come,’ replied Martin’s mother—‘and your Majesty must not be
angry with me—I have come a-wooing.’
‘Is the woman out of her mind?’ said the King, with an angry frown.
But Martin’s mother answered boldly: ‘If the King will only listen
patiently to me, and give me a straightforward answer, he will see
that I am not out of my mind. You, O King, have a lovely daughter to
give in marriage. I have a son—a wooer—as clever a youth and as good
a son-in-law as you will find in your whole kingdom. There is nothing
that he cannot do. Now tell me, O King, plump and plain, will you give
your daughter to my son as wife?’ The King listened to the end of the
old woman’s strange request, but every moment his face grew blacker,
and his features sterner; till all at once he thought to himself, ‘Is
it worth while that I, the King, should be angry with this poor old
fool?’ And all the courtiers and counsellors were amazed when they saw
the hard lines round his mouth and the frown on his brow grow smooth,
and heard the mild but mocking tones in which he answered the old
woman, saying:
‘If your son is as wonderfully clever as you say, and if there is
nothing in the world that he cannot do, let him build a magnificent
castle, just opposite my palace windows, in four and twenty hours. The
palace must be joined together by a bridge of pure crystal. On each
side of the bridge there must be growing trees, having golden and
silver apples, and with birds of Paradise among the branches. At the
right of the bridge there must be a church, with five golden cupolas;
in this church your son shall be wedded to my daughter, and we will
keep the wedding festivities in the new castle. But if he fails to
execute this my royal command, then, as a just but mild monarch, I
shall give orders that you and he are taken, and first dipped in tar
and then in feathers, and you shall be executed in the market-place
for the entertainment of my courtiers.’
And a smile played round the King’s lips as he finished speaking, and
his courtiers and counsellors shook with laughter when they thought of
the old woman’s folly, and praised the King’s wise device, and said to
each other, ‘What a joke it will be when we see the pair of them
tarred and feathered! The son is just as able to grow a beard on the
palm of his hand as to execute such a task in twenty-four hours.’
Now the poor old woman was mortally afraid and, in a trembling voice
she asked:
‘Is that really your royal will, O King? Must I take this order to my
poor son?’
‘Yes, old dame; such is my command. If your son carries out my order,
he shall be rewarded with my daughter; but if he fails, away to the
tar-barrel and the stake with you both!’
On her way home the poor old woman shed bitter tears, and when she saw
Martin she told him what the King had said, and sobbed out:
‘Didn’t I tell you, my son, that you should marry someone of your own
rank? It would have been better for us this day if you had. As I told
you, my going to Court has been as much as our lives are worth, and
now we will both be tarred and feathered, and burnt in the public
market-place. It is terrible!’ and she moaned and cried.
‘Never fear, little mother,’ answered Martin; ‘trust me, and you will
see all will be well. You may go to sleep with a quiet mind.’
And, stepping to the front of the hut, Martin threw his ring from the
palm of one hand into the other, upon which twelve youths instantly
appeared, and demanded what he wanted them to do. Then he told them
the King’s commands, and they answered that by next morning all should
be accomplished exactly as the King had ordered.
Next morning when the King awoke, and looked out of his window, to his
amazement he beheld a magnificent castle, just opposite his own
palace, and joined to it a bridge of pure crystal.
At each side of the bridge trees were growing, from whose branches
hung golden and silver apples, among which birds of Paradise perched.
At the right, gleaming in the sun, were the five golden cupolas of a
splendid church, whose bells rang out, as if they would summon people
from all corners of the earth to come and behold the wonder. Now,
though the King would much rather have seen his future son-in-law
tarred, feathered, and burnt at the stake, he remembered his royal
oath, and had to make the best of a bad business. So he took heart of
grace, and made Martin a Duke, and gave his daughter a rich dowry, and
prepared the grandest wedding-feast that had ever been seen, so that
to this day the old people in the country still talk of it.
After the wedding Martin and his royal bride went to dwell in the
magnificent new palace, and here Martin lived in the greatest comfort
and luxury, such luxury as he had never imagined. But though he was as
happy as the day was long, and as merry as a grig, the King’s daughter
fretted all day, thinking of the indignity that had been done her in
making her marry Martin, the poor widow’s son, instead of a rich young
Prince from a foreign country. So unhappy was she that she spent all
her time wondering how she should get rid of her undesirable husband.
And first she determined to learn the secret of his power, and, with
flattering, caressing words, she tried to coax him to tell her how he
was so clever that there was nothing in the world that he could not
do. At first he would tell her nothing; but once, when he was in a
yielding mood, she approached him with a winning smile on her lovely
face, and, speaking flattering words to him, she gave him a potion to
drink, with a sweet, strong taste. And when he had drunk it Martin’s
lips were unsealed, and he told her that all his power lay in the
magic ring that he wore on his finger, and he described to her how to
use it, and, still speaking, he fell into a deep sleep. And when she
saw that the potion had worked, and that he was sound asleep, the
Princess took the magic ring from his finger, and, going into the
courtyard, she threw it from the palm of one hand into the other. On
the instant the twelve youths appeared, and asked her what she
commanded them to do. Then she told them that by the next morning they
were to do away with the castle, and the bridge, and the church, and
put in their stead the humble hut in which Martin used to live with
his mother, and that while he slept her husband was to be carried to
his old lowly room; and that they were to bear her away to the utmost
ends of the earth, where an old King lived who would make her welcome
in his palace, and surround her with the state that befitted a royal
Princess.
[Illustration: The Princess Summons the Twelve Young Men.]
‘You shall be obeyed,’ answered the twelve youths at the same moment.
And lo and behold! the following morning, when the King awoke and
looked out of his window he beheld to his amazement that the palace,
bridge, church, and trees had all vanished, and there was nothing in
their place but a bare, miserable-looking hut.
Immediately the King sent for his son-in-law, and commanded him to
explain what had happened. But Martin looked at his royal
father-in-law, and answered never a word. Then the King was very
angry, and, calling a council together, he charged Martin with having
been guilty of witchcraft, and of having deceived the King, and having
made away with the Princess; and he was condemned to imprisonment in a
high stone tower, with neither meat nor drink, till he should die of
starvation.
Then, in the hour of his dire necessity, his old friends Schurka (the
dog) and Waska (the cat) remembered how Martin had once saved them
from a cruel death; and they took counsel together as to how they
should help him. And Schurka growled, and was of opinion that he would
like to tear everyone in pieces; but Waska purred meditatively, and
scratched the back of her ear with a velvet paw, and remained lost in
thought. At the end of a few minutes she had made up her mind, and,
turning to Schurka, said: ‘Let us go together into the town, and the
moment we meet a baker you must make a rush between his legs and upset
the tray from off his head; I will lay hold of the rolls, and will
carry them off to our master.’ No sooner said than done. Together the
two faithful creatures trotted off into the town, and very soon they
met a baker bearing a tray on his head, and looking round on all
sides, while he cried:
‘Fresh rolls, sweet cake,
Fancy bread of every kind.
Come and buy, come and take,
Sure you’ll find it to your mind.’
[Illustration: Schurka upsets the baker]
At that moment Schurka made a rush between his legs—the baker
stumbled, the tray was upset, the rolls fell to the ground, and, while
the man angrily pursued Schurka, Waska managed to drag the rolls out
of sight behind a bush. And when a moment later Schurka joined her,
they set off at full tilt to the stone tower where Martin was a
prisoner, taking the rolls with them. Waska, being very agile, climbed
up by the outside to the grated window, and called in an anxious
voice:
‘Are you alive, master?’
‘Scarcely alive—almost starved to death,’ answered Martin in a weak
voice. ‘I little thought it would come to this, that I should die of
hunger.’
‘Never fear, dear master. Schurka and I will look after you,’ said
Waska. And in another moment she had climbed down and brought him back
a roll, and then another, and another, till she had brought him the
whole tray-load. Upon which she said: ‘Dear master, Schurka and I are
going off to a distant kingdom at the utmost ends of the earth to
fetch you back your magic ring. You must be careful that the rolls
last till our return.’
And Waska took leave of her beloved master, and set off with Schurka
on their journey. On and on they travelled, looking always to right
and left for traces of the Princess, following up every track, making
inquiries of every cat and dog they met, listening to the talk of
every wayfarer they passed; and at last they heard that the kingdom at
the utmost ends of the earth where the twelve youths had borne the
Princess was not very far off. And at last one day they reached that
distant kingdom, and, going at once to the palace, they began to make
friends with all the dogs and cats in the place, and to question them
about the Princess and the magic ring; but no one could tell them much
about either. Now one day it chanced that Waska had gone down to the
palace cellar to hunt for mice and rats, and seeing an especially fat,
well-fed mouse, she pounced upon it, buried her claws in its soft fur,
and was just going to gobble it up, when she was stopped by the
pleading tones of the little creature, saying, ‘If you will only spare
my life I may be of great service to you. I will do everything in my
power for you; for I am the King of the Mice, and if I perish the
whole race will die out.’
‘So be it,’ said Waska. ‘I will spare your life; but in return you
must do something for me. In this castle there lives a Princess, the
wicked wife of my dear master. She has stolen away his magic ring. You
must get it away from her at whatever cost; do you hear? Till you have
done this I won’t take my claws out of your fur.’
[Illustration: The Mouse Steals the Ring from the Princess]
‘Good!’ replied the mouse; ‘I will do what you ask.’ And, so saying,
he summoned all the mice in his kingdom together. A countless number
of mice, small and big, brown and grey, assembled, and formed a circle
round their king, who was a prisoner under Waska’s claws. Turning to
them he said: ‘Dear and faithful subjects, who ever among you will
steal the magic ring from the strange Princess will release me from a
cruel death; and I shall honour him above all the other mice in the
kingdom.’
Instantly a tiny mouse stepped forward and said: ‘I often creep about
the Princess’s bedroom at night, and I have noticed that she has a
ring which she treasures as the apple of her eye. All day she wears it
on her finger, and at night she keeps it in her mouth. I will
undertake, sire, to steal away the ring for you.’
And the tiny mouse tripped away into the bedroom of the Princess, and
waited for nightfall; then, when the Princess had fallen asleep, it
crept up on to her bed, and gnawed a hole in the pillow, through which
it dragged one by one little down feathers, and threw them under the
Princess’s nose. And the fluff flew into the Princess’s nose, and into
her mouth, and starting up she sneezed and coughed, and the ring fell
out of her mouth on to the coverlet. In a flash the tiny mouse had
seized it, and brought it to Waska as a ransom for the King of the
Mice. Thereupon Waska and Schurka started off, and travelled night and
day till they reached the stone tower where Martin was imprisoned; and
the cat climbed up the window, and called out to him:
‘Martin, dear master, are you still alive?’
‘Ah! Waska, my faithful little cat, is that you?’ replied a weak
voice. ‘I am dying of hunger. For three days I have not tasted food.’
‘Be of good heart, dear master,’ replied Waska; ‘from this day forth
you will know nothing but happiness and prosperity. If this were a
moment to trouble you with riddles, I would make you guess what
Schurka and I have brought you back. Only think, we have got you your
ring!’
At these words Martin’s joy knew no bounds, and he stroked her fondly,
and she rubbed up against him and purred happily, while below Schurka
bounded in the air, and barked joyfully. Then Martin took the ring,
and threw it from one hand into the other, and instantly the twelve
youths appeared and asked what they were to do.
‘Fetch me first something to eat and drink, as quickly as possible;
and after that bring musicians hither, and let us have music all day
long.’
Now when the people in the town and palace heard music coming from the
tower they were filled with amazement, and came to the King with the
news that witchcraft must be going on in Martin’s Tower, for, instead
of dying of starvation, he was seemingly making merry to the sound of
music, and to the clatter of plates, and glass, and knives and forks;
and the music was so enchantingly sweet that all the passers-by stood
still to listen to it. On this the King sent at once a messenger to
the Starvation Tower, and he was so astonished with what he saw that
he remained rooted to the spot. Then the King sent his chief
counsellors, and they too were transfixed with wonder. At last the
King came himself, and he likewise was spellbound by the beauty of the
music.
Then Martin summoned the twelve youths, spoke to them, saying, ‘Build
up my castle again, and join it to the King’s Palace with a crystal
bridge; do not forget the trees with the golden and silver apples, and
with the birds of Paradise in the branches; and put back the church
with the five cupolas, and let the bells ring out, summoning the
people from the four corners of the kingdom. And one thing more: bring
back my faithless wife, and lead her into the women’s chamber.’
And it was all done as he commanded, and, leaving the Starvation
Tower, he took the King, his father-in-law, by the arm, and led him
into the new palace, where the Princess sat in fear and trembling,
awaiting her death. And Martin spoke to the King, saying, ‘King and
royal father, I have suffered much at the hands of your daughter. What
punishment shall be dealt to her?’
Then the mild King answered: ‘Beloved Prince and son-in-law, if you
love me, let your anger be turned to grace—forgive my daughter, and
restore her to your heart and favour.’
And Martin’s heart was softened and he forgave his wife, and they
lived happily together ever after. And his old mother came and lived
with him, and he never parted with Schurka and Waska; and I need
hardly tell you that he never again let the ring out of his
possession.
_THE FLOWER QUEEN’S DAUGHTER_[23]
A young Prince was riding one day through a meadow that stretched for
miles in front of him, when he came to a deep open ditch. He was
turning aside to avoid it, when he heard the sound of someone crying
in the ditch. He dismounted from his horse, and stepped along in the
direction the sound came from. To his astonishment he found an old
woman, who begged him to help her out of the ditch. The Prince bent
down and lifted her out of her living grave, asking her at the same
time how she had managed to get there.
‘My son,’ answered the old woman, ‘I am a very poor woman, and soon
after midnight I set out for the neighbouring town in order to sell my
eggs in the market on the following morning; but I lost my way in the
dark, and fell into this deep ditch, where I might have remained for
ever but for your kindness.’
Then the Prince said to her, ‘You can hardly walk; I will put you on
my horse and lead you home. Where do you live?’
‘Over there, at the edge of the forest in the little hut you see in
the distance,’ replied the old woman.
The Prince lifted her on to his horse, and soon they reached the hut,
where the old woman got down, and turning to the Prince said, ‘Just
wait a moment, and I will give you something.’ And she disappeared
into her hut, but returned very soon and said, ‘You are a mighty
Prince, but at the same time you have a kind heart, which deserves to
be rewarded. Would you like to have the most beautiful woman in the
world for your wife?’
‘Most certainly I would,’ replied the Prince.
[Footnote 23: From the _Bukowinaer_. Von Wliolocki.]
So the old woman continued, ‘The most beautiful woman in the whole
world is the daughter of the Queen of the Flowers, who has been
captured by a dragon. If you wish to marry her, you must first set her
free, and this I will help you to do. I will give you this little
bell: if you ring it once, the King of the Eagles will appear; if you
ring it twice, the King of the Foxes will come to you; and if you ring
it three times, you will see the King of the Fishes by your side.
These will help you if you are in any difficulty. Now farewell, and
heaven prosper your undertaking.’ She handed him the little bell, and
there disappeared hut and all, as though the earth had swallowed her
up.
Then it dawned on the Prince that he had been speaking to a good
fairy, and putting the little bell carefully in his pocket, he rode
home and told his father that he meant to set the daughter of the
Flower Queen free, and intended setting out on the following day into
the wide world in search of the maid.
So the next morning the Prince mounted his fine horse and left his
home. He had roamed round the world for a whole year, and his horse
had died of exhaustion, while he himself had suffered much from want
and misery, but still he had come on no trace of her he was in search
of. At last one day he came to a hut, in front of which sat a very old
man. The Prince asked him, ‘Do you not know where the Dragon lives who
keeps the daughter of the Flower Queen prisoner?’
‘No, I do not,’ answered the old man. ‘But if you go straight along
this road for a year, you will reach a hut where my father lives, and
possibly he may be able to tell you.’
The Prince thanked him for his information, and continued his journey
for a whole year along the same road, and at the end of it came to the
little hut, where he found a very old man. He asked him the same
question, and the old man answered, ‘No, I do not know where the
Dragon lives. But go straight along this road for another year, and
you will come to a hut in which my father lives. I know he can tell
you.’
And so the Prince wandered on for another year, always on the same
road, and at last reached the hut where he found the third old man. He
put the same question to him as he had put to his son and grandson;
but this time the old man answered, ‘The Dragon lives up there on the
mountain, and he has just begun his year of sleep. For one whole year
he is always awake, and the next he sleeps. But if you wish to see the
Flower Queen’s daughter go up the second mountain: the Dragon’s old
mother lives there, and she has a ball every night, to which the
Flower Queen’s daughter goes regularly.’
So the Prince went up the second mountain, where he found a castle all
made of gold with diamond windows. He opened the big gate leading into
the courtyard, and was just going to walk in, when seven dragons
rushed on him and asked him what he wanted?
The Prince replied, ‘I have heard so much of the beauty and kindness
of the Dragon’s Mother, and would like to enter her service.’
This flattering speech pleased the dragons, and the eldest of them
said, ‘Well, you may come with me, and I will take you to the Mother
Dragon.’
They entered the castle and walked through twelve splendid halls, all
made of gold and diamonds. In the twelfth room they found the Mother
Dragon seated on a diamond throne. She was the ugliest woman under the
sun, and, added to it all, she had three heads. Her appearance was a
great shock to the Prince, and so was her voice, which was like the
croaking of many ravens. She asked him, ‘Why have you come here?’
The Prince answered at once, ‘I have heard so much of your beauty and
kindness, that I would very much like to enter your service.’
‘Very well,’ said the Mother Dragon; ‘but if you wish to enter my
service, you must first lead my mare out to the meadow and look after
her for three days; but if you don’t bring her home safely every
evening, we will eat you up.’
The Prince undertook the task and led the mare out to the meadow. But
no sooner had they reached the grass than she vanished. The Prince
sought for her in vain, and at last in despair sat down on a big stone
and contemplated his sad fate. As he sat thus lost in thought, he
noticed an eagle flying over his head. Then he suddenly bethought him
of his little bell, and taking it out of his pocket he rang it once.
In a moment he heard a rustling sound in the air beside him, and the
King of the Eagles sank at his feet.