There was once upon a time a country, sad and gloomy as the grave,
on which God's sun never shone. But there was a king there, and this
king possessed a horse with a sun on his forehead; and this
sun-horse of his the king caused to be led up and down the dark
country, from one end to the other, that the people might be able to
exist there; and light came from him on all sides wherever he was
led, just as in the most beautiful day.
All at once the sun-horse disappeared. A darkness worse than that of
night prevailed over the whole country, and nothing could disperse
it. Unheard-of terror spread among the subjects; frightful misery
began to afflict them, for they could neither manufacture anything
nor earn anything, and such confusion arose among them that
everything was turned topsy-turvy. The king, therefore, in order to
liberate his realm and prevent universal destruction, made ready to
seek the sun-horse with his whole army.
Through thick darkness he made his way as best he could to the
frontier of his realm. Over dense mountains thousands of ages old
God's light began now to break from another country, as if the sun
were rising in the morning out of thick fogs. On such a mountain the
king came with his army to a poor lonely cottage. He went in to
inquire where he was, what it was, and how to get further. At a
table sat a peasant, diligently reading in an open book. When the
king bowed to him he raised his eyes, thanked him, and stood up. His
whole person announced that he was not a man like another man, but a
seer.
'I was just reading about you,' said he to the king, 'how that you
are going to seek the sun-horse. Journey no further, for you will
not obtain him; but rely on me: I will find him for you.' 'I promise
you, good man, I will recompense you royally,' replied the king,
'if you bring him here to me.' 'I require no recompense; return home
with your army--you're wanted there; only leave me one servant.'
The next day the seer set out with the servant. The way was far and
long, for they passed through six countries, and had still further
to go, till in the seventh country they stopped at the royal palace.
In this seventh country ruled three own brothers, who had to wife
three own sisters, whose mother was a witch. When they stopped in
front of the palace, the seer said to his servant: 'Do you hear? you
stay here, and I will go in to ascertain whether the kings are at
home; for the horse with the sun is in their possession--the
youngest rides upon him.' Therewith he transformed himself into a
green bird, and, flying on the gable of the eldest queen's roof,
flew up and down and pecked at it until she opened the window and
let him into her chamber. And when she let him in he perched on her
white hand, and the queen was as delighted with him as a little
child. 'Ah, what a dear creature you are!' said she, as she played
with him; 'if my husband were at home he would indeed be delighted
with you; but he won't come till evening; he has gone to visit the
third part of his country.'
All at once the old witch came into the room, and, seeing the bird,
screamed to her daughter, 'Wring the accursed bird's neck, for it's
making you bleed!' 'Well, what if it should make me bleed? it's such
a dear; it's such an innocent dear!' answered the daughter. But the
witch said: 'Dear innocent mischief! here with him! let me wring his
neck!' and dashed at it. But the bird cunningly transformed itself
into a man, and, pop! out through the door, and they didn't know
whither he had betaken himself.
Afterwards he again transformed himself into a green bird, flew on
the gable of the middle sister, and pecked at it till she opened
the window for him. And when she let him in he flew on to her white
hand, and fluttered from one hand to the other. 'Oh, what a dear
creature you are!' cried the queen, smiling; 'my husband would
indeed be delighted with you if he were at home; but he won't come
till to-morrow evening; he has gone to visit two thirds of his
kingdom.'
Thereupon the witch burst into the room. 'Wring the accursed bird's
neck! wring its neck, for it's making you bleed!' cried she as soon
as she espied it. 'Well, what if it should make me bleed? it's such
a dear, such an innocent dear!' replied the daughter. But the witch
said: 'Dear innocent mischief! here with it! let me wring its neck!'
and was already trying to seize it. But at that moment the green
bird changed itself into a man, ran out through the door, and
disappeared, as it were, in the clap of a hand, so that they didn't
know whither he had gone.
A little while afterwards he changed himself again into a green bird
and flew on the gable of the youngest queen's roof, and flew up and
down, and pecked at it until she opened the window to him. And when
she had let him in he flew straight on to her white hand, and made
himself so agreeable to her that she played with him with the
delight of a child. 'Ah, what a dear creature you are!' said the
queen; 'if my husband were at home he would certainly be delighted
with you, but he won't come till the day after to-morrow at even; he
has gone to visit all three parts of his kingdom.'
At that moment the old witch came into the room. 'Wring, wring the
accursed bird's neck!' screamed she in the doorway, 'for it is
making you bleed.' 'Well, what if it should make me bleed, mother?
it is so beautiful, so innocent,' answered the daughter. The witch
said, 'Beautiful innocent mischief! here with him! let me wring his
neck!' But at that moment the bird changed itself into a man, and
pop! out through the door, so that none of them saw him more.
Now the seer knew where the kings were, and when they would arrive.
He went to his servant and ordered him to follow him out of the
town. On they went with rapid step till they came to a bridge, over
which the kings were obliged to pass.
Under this bridge they stayed waiting till the evening. When at even
the sun was sinking behind the mountains, the clatter of a horse was
heard near the bridge. It was the eldest king returning home. Close
to the bridge his horse stumbled over a log of wood, which the seer
had thrown across the bridge. 'Ha! what scoundrel was that who threw
this log across the road?' exclaimed the king in anger. Thereat the
seer sprang out from under the bridge and rushed upon the king for
'daring to call him a scoundrel,' and, drawing his sword, attacked
him. The king, too, drew his sword to defend himself, but after a
short combat fell dead from his horse. The seer bound the dead king
on the horse, and gave the horse a lash with the whip to make him
carry his dead master home. He then withdrew under the bridge, and
they waited there till the next evening.
When day a second time declined towards evening, the middle king
came to the bridge, and, seeing the ground sprinkled with blood,
cried out, 'Somebody's been killed here! Who has dared to perpetrate
such a crime in my kingdom?' At these words the seer sprang out from
under the bridge and rushed upon the king with drawn sword,
exclaiming, 'How dare you insult me? Defend yourself as best you
can!' The king did defend himself, but after a brief struggle
yielded up his life under the sword of the seer. The seer again
fastened his corpse upon the horse, and gave the horse a lash with
the whip to make him carry his dead master home. They then withdrew
under the bridge and waited till the third evening came.
The third evening, at the very setting of the sun, up darted the
youngest king on the sun-horse, darted up with speed, for he was
somewhat late; but when he saw the red blood in front of the bridge,
he stopped, and gazing at it exclaimed, 'It is an unheard-of villain
who has dared to murder a man in my kingdom!' Scarcely had these
words issued from his mouth when the seer placed himself before him
with drawn sword, sternly bidding him defend himself, 'for he had
wounded his honour.' 'I don't know how,' answered the king, 'unless
it is you that are the villain.' But as his adversary attacked him
with a sword, he, too, drew his, and defended himself manfully.
It had been mere play to the seer to overcome the first two kings,
but it was not so with this one. Long time they fought, and broke
their swords, yet victory didn't show itself either on the one side
or on the other. 'We shall effect nothing with swords,' said the
seer, 'but do you know what? Let us turn ourselves into wheels and
start down from the hill; the wheel which breaks shall be the
conquered.' 'Good!' said the king; 'I'll be a cart-wheel, and you
shall be a lighter wheel.' 'Not so,' cunningly said the seer; 'you
shall be the lighter wheel, and I will be the cart-wheel;' and the
king agreed to it. Then they went up the hill, turned themselves
into wheels, and started downwards. The cart-wheel flew to pieces,
and bang! right into the lighter wheel, so that it all smashed up.
Immediately the seer arose out of the cart-wheel and joyfully
exclaimed, 'There you are, the victory is mine!' 'Not a bit of it,
sir brother!' cried the king, placing himself in front of the seer;
'you have only broken my fingers. But do you know what? Let us make
ourselves into flames, and the flame which burns up the other shall
be the victor. I will make myself into a red flame, and do you make
yourself into a bluish one.' 'Not so!' interrupted the seer; 'you
make yourself into a bluish flame, and I will make myself into a red
one.' The king agreed to this also. They went into the road to the
bridge, and, changing themselves into flames, began to burn each
other unmercifully. Long did they burn each other, but nothing came
of it. Thereupon, by coincidence, up came an old beggar with a long
gray beard, a bald head, a large scrip at his side, leaning upon a
thick staff. 'Old father!' said the bluish flame, 'bring some water
and quench this red flame; I'll give you a penny for it.' The red
flame cunningly exclaimed, 'Old father! I'll give you a shilling if
you'll pour the water on this bluish flame.' The old beggar liked
the shilling better than the penny, brought water and quenched the
bluish flame. Then it was all over with the king. The red flame
turned itself into a man, took the sun-horse by the bridle, mounted
on his back, called the servant, thanked the beggar for the service
he had rendered, and went off.
In the royal palaces there was deep grief at the murder of the two
kings; the entire palaces were draped with black cloth, and the
people crowded into them from all quarters to gaze at the cut and
slashed bodies of the two elder brothers, whose horses had brought
them home. The old witch, exasperated at the death of her
sons-in-law, devised a plan of vengeance on their murderer, the
seer. She seated herself with speed on an iron rake, took her three
daughters under her arms, and pop! off with them into the air.
The seer and his servant had already got through a good part of
their journey, and were then crossing desert mountains, a treeless
waste. Here a terrible hunger seized the servant, and there wasn't
even a wild plum to assuage it. All of a sudden they came to an
apple-tree. Apples were hanging on it; the branches were all but
breaking under their weight; their scent was beautiful; they were
delightfully ruddy, so that they almost offered themselves to be
eaten. 'Praise be to God!' cried the delighted servant; 'I shall eat
one of those apples with an excellent appetite.' 'Don't attempt to
gather one of them!' cried the seer to him; 'wait, I'll gather some
for you myself.' But instead of plucking an apple, he drew his sword
and thrust it mightily into the apple-tree; red blood spouted out of
it. 'There,' said he, 'you would have come to harm if you had eaten
any of those apples, for the apple-tree was the eldest queen, whose
mother placed her there to put us out of this world.'
After a time they came to a spring; water clear as crystal bubbled
up in it, all but running over the brim and thus attracting
wayfarers. 'Ah!' said the servant, 'if we can't get anything better,
let us at any rate have a drink of this good water.' 'Don't venture
to drink of it!' shouted the seer; 'but stay, I'll get you some of
it.' Yet he didn't get him any water, but thrust his drawn sword
into the midst of it; it was immediately discoloured with blood,
which began to flow from it in mighty waves. 'That is the middle
queen, whose mother placed her here to put us out of this world,'
said the seer, and the servant thanked him for his warning, and went
on, would he, nould he, in hunger and thirst, whithersoever the seer
led him.
After a time they came to a rose-bush, which was red with delightful
roses, and filled the air round about with their scent. 'Oh, what
beautiful roses!' said the servant; 'I never saw such beauties in
all my life. I'll go and gather a few of them; I will at any rate
comfort myself with them if I can't assuage my hunger and thirst.'
'Don't venture to gather one of them!' cried the seer; 'I will
gather them for you.' With that he cut into the bush with his sword;
red blood spurted out, as if he had cut the vein of a human being.
'That is the youngest queen,' said the seer to his servant, 'whom
her mother, the witch, placed here with the intention of taking
vengeance upon us for the death of her sons-in-law.' They then went
on.
When they crossed the frontier of the dark realm, flashes flew in
all directions from the horse's forehead, and everything came to
life again, beautiful regions rejoiced and blossomed with the
flowers of spring. The king didn't know how to thank the seer
sufficiently, and offered him the half of his kingdom as a reward,
but he declined it. 'You are king,' said he; 'rule over the whole
realm, and I will return to my cottage in peace.' He took leave and
departed.