Once upon a time there was a lord on the Danube who had a fisherman
to catch fish for him. This lord was preparing a great banquet, and
ordered his fisherman to catch three hundredweight of fish in three
days. On the first day the fisherman went early in the morning to
catch the fish. But he could not obtain any. The second day he went
again very early in the morning. He made the round of the water, but
again took none. The third day came. The fisherman went to catch
fish, and went on till mid-day, but could not net any. In the
afternoon he determined to go home by the waterside, and carried
himself as if he were very much out of sorts. Suddenly up sailed a
striped boat. In the boat sat a gentleman clad in green. He
questioned the fisherman saying: 'Man, why are you so sorrowful here
by the water?' The fisherman said: 'How should I not be sorrowful?
My lord ordered me to catch three hundredweight of fish in three
days; to-day is the last day, and I have not obtained any.' Then
said the gentleman: 'Promise me that which you don't know that you
have, and you shall to-day catch plenty.' The fisherman thought to
himself: 'What I don't know that I have, I shall easily do without,
if I do promise him.' And the gentleman at the same time added: 'And
I will wait twenty years. In twenty years you will be able to fulfil
your promise.' 'Agreed,' said the fisherman. He cast his nets and
drew them out full of fish. He cast them a second time, and it was
just the same. He cast them once more. The gentleman said to him:
'Only send home for them to come with a waggon and four horses.'
They came with four horses. They packed the fish in, so that they
scarcely drew them with the four horses. But before they went home
the gentleman asked the fisherman: 'But do you know what you have
promised me?' The fisherman said: 'My lord, I do not. What I don't
know that I have, I have promised you, be it what it may.' The
gentleman smiled, and said: 'You don't know that your wife will be
the mother of a son, and this son you have promised to me. When
twenty years have elapsed, you must just bring him here.' Then the
fisherman took the fish home. On the one hand he was glad, on the
other very downcast. When he brought them home his lord began to
grumble, saying: 'You're a thorough fool! Why did a messenger come
to me to say that you could not obtain any? Now you have brought me
such a quantity that I hardly know where to stow them.' The
fisherman excused himself, and related to his lord the whole series
of occurrences from beginning to end. Afterwards he put a question
to his lord: 'God only knows how it will be now, since I have done
such an evil thing, that I have promised him my son.' His lord said:
'What of that? Twenty years is a long time. By then all may be
changed.'
It came to pass. The fisherman's wife became the mother of a boy. He
grew up right handsome. When he became a little older they sent him
to school. At school he learnt so well, that at sixteen he had
learnt enough to be ordained a priest. But his father and mother
said: 'Not a priest, for he is promised. Let us rather place him for
four years more in the black school.' When he had completed the
course of the black school, he came back to the Danube, with all
before him in the future, as if he were about to succeed, and behind
in the past, because he had already been successful. Then said he to
his father: 'Father, now it is time for us to go.' The father: 'To
go? whither?' The son: 'Whither you promised me.' The father: 'Who
promised you any whither?' The son: 'What? don't you know to whom
you promised me twenty years ago? Let us go to that piece of water,
where you then went to catch fish.' The father became very
sorrowful. The son then said: 'Don't be afraid. Only quickly coat
over arm and follow me. Only you must do what I instruct you to do.
If you obey me, no harm will happen to you and me.' On the way he
also instructed his father as follows: 'When we come to that piece
of water, the striped boat will sail up just as when you caught the
fish. In it will sit the gentleman in green to whom you promised me.
The gentleman will push the boat to the shore in shallow water. I
shall step on it with one foot, and stand on dry land with the
other. Then say: "My son, I commend you to God the Father, and the
Son, and the Holy Ghost. May these three always be with you!" When
you have uttered these holy words I shall spring into the boat.'
Everything happened exactly as the son told his father and
instructed him on the way. The striped boat sailed up on the water.
In it was the gentleman dressed in green. The son stepped with one
foot on the boat, and stood with the other on dry land. His father
commended him to God the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
The son sprang on board the boat, and the gentleman pushed it from
the shore. All at once all sank, the boat, the gentleman, and the
son. The father was terribly frightened, and cried out at the top of
his voice: 'Jesus, Maria! my son has gone down to hell!' He then
crept home very sorrowful.
His son passed through the water into a town which is called
Perdonkorten.[20] In this town all the population was enchanted. He
walked and walked about the town, but nowhere was there anybody.
Hunger took possession of him, but he could get nothing to eat. He
bethought himself of going to catch some fish. He went to the water,
caught some, lit a fire, cooked them, and ate his fill. He then went
into the shade, laid himself down, and fell asleep. He dreamt that
he was told to go to pass the night in a lordly castle, to seat
himself at table, to light a taper on each side of him, and wait. He
did according as he had dreamt. The clock struck midnight, when
suddenly the door opened outside of itself. A huge snake glided into
the house. It came up opposite the young man, and besought him:
'Kiss me.' He cursed it, and said: 'Take thyself off from me, Satan!
Thou hast no power over me.' The snake retired through the door.
Thereupon day broke. The young man walked and walked again about the
town. He saw here and there carriages ready harnessed, but no human
being. In the afternoon he went again to the water to catch fish.
When he had eaten his fill, he went into the shade. He lay down, and
soon fell asleep. Erelong he dreamt what would have happened, if he
had kissed the snake. He woke up, and thought: 'This evening I will
go back, and will kiss it if it comes.' In fact, he went again into
the same house, seated himself at table, lit two tapers, and waited.
The clock struck twelve. The door opened. Through it glided a very
much larger snake, with two heads. It came up the room opposite him,
and besought him again: 'Kiss me!' Terror seized him, for it was
much more horrible than the one he had seen the preceding night.
Therefore he cursed it again: 'Take thyself off from me, Satan! Thou
hast no power over me.' The snake again quitted the house.
Afterwards day broke. He went again into the town, caught fish, and
ate his fill. When he had eaten, he went into the shade, lay down,
and fell asleep. Ere long he dreamt again: 'Thou wouldst,
nevertheless, have only done rightly if thou hadst kissed the
snake.' He woke up, and said: 'This evening I will kiss it, even if
it appears still more terrible.' In the evening he went into the
same house. He seated himself at table, lit two tapers, and waited.
When the tower clock struck twelve, the door opened. A terrible
snake glided in. It had three heads, and was still larger than the
one he saw the preceding evening. It came puffing opposite him. It
began to twine round him, and beseech him: 'Kiss me!' He pressed his
lips to it, and kissed it.
[20] German, 'Wundergarten.'
As soon as he had kissed it, the snake turned into a beautiful
maiden, as beautiful as a damsel could be. The snake was the
enchanted daughter of the lord of the castle. After the kiss, all
belonging to the castle, and the whole town, were disenchanted.
Erelong the father and mother of the disenchanted daughter came into
the room. They welcomed him with the greatest joy. The father said
to him: 'Friend, I give you my kingdom and my daughter, if she
pleases you.' He replied: 'Let us wait a bit, that we may make a
little acquaintance with each other.' Thereupon they prepared a
grand supper. They supped, and did not go to bed till late. In the
morning they got up. The young man and the damsel went a walk in the
town. The whole town rejoiced over him, and pointed at him, saying:
'That is our deliverer.'
Now the young man was content with all. Only he still felt sorry,
when he bethought himself: 'Here am I in such good fortune, while my
father on the Danube is thinking that I have fallen into the abyss
of hell. If I could only just go to my father on the Danube, to tell
him of my luck, I should then be completely content.' Thereupon the
damsel said to him: 'I have something such that you could easily go
to your father, if you would but be sure to come back.' He said:
'You know that I shall come. Nowhere have I had such good fortune as
here.' Now they agreed that she would wait for him seven years, if
he did not return before. The damsel gave him a certain ring, and
said: 'Here is this ring, look through it, and think to yourself
that you would like to be with your father by the Danube, and you
will find yourself there. When you wish to come back to me, look
again through the ring, and think to yourself that you would like to
be with me, and you will find yourself here with me. But you must
not show it to anybody, lest you lose it. If you lose it, it will be
very difficult for you ever to come to us.' The young man looked
through the ring, thought to himself that he would like to be with
his father by the Danube, and in a moment there he was. His father
and mother were very, very glad to see him safe and sound once more.
They asked him all manner of questions. He related to them how he
had darted through the water into an enchanted city, and what had
been his hap afterwards. The whole household jumped for joy at
hearing how fortunate he had been. Especially rejoiced was his
mother, who walked continually on tiptoe for joy. Afterwards his
father took him to his lord, for whom he still caught fish. There,
again, the whole household rejoiced greatly over him. The lord had
two daughters. Erelong he said to him: 'Stay with us. I will give
you a portion of my kingdom and one daughter, if it pleases you.' He
thought to himself: 'There there awaits me a whole kingdom, and a
larger one than this. The lady, too, there, is handsomer than this
one.' Nevertheless he said within himself: 'Suppose I stay here a
day or two. I shall easily go back before the time is out. Seven
years don't pass so quickly.'
It came to pass that he went a walk one day with the two daughters.
On the road the silly fellow showed them the ring, and told them how
he had come back into that country. They thought to themselves:
'Behold! if we could but take that ring from him, then he would be
glad to stay with us.' They went a little farther on, and one of
them said: 'Let us sit down a bit here in the shade.' They sat down
on the grass under a tree. They had not sat there long when one of
them said to him: 'Listen! listen! What have you got in your hair?'
He: 'I don't know that I've anything.' She: 'You have something; you
have indeed. Let me look at your head.' Now she began to examine and
stroke his head till he fell fast asleep. The other, on seeing this,
put her hand quickly into his pocket, and took out his ring. They
rose up, and prolonged their walk. They walked and walked about the
country, when he put his hand into his pocket, and found that the
ring was no longer there. He said: 'I've lost my ring. What shall I
do now?' They said: 'Let us go back. We will look for it. Maybe we
shall find it.' They went back to the self-same place where they had
been sitting. They helped him to look for it carefully. They looked
for it in vain, for one of them had got it in her own pocket.
After this, he remained five years more in that house. When the
fifth year had elapsed, he said: 'This won't do. If I remain here,
I shall never get to Perdonkorten. Now go I must. There will be two
years for me, eventually, to get there.' Once upon a time he was
benighted. He went through thickets, where there was no living soul.
He espied a light on another hill. He said: 'Thither I must go.
There will be people there.' He went thither. There was nobody at
home but a woman. He asked whether they would take him in for the
night. The woman said to him: 'I would willingly take you in for the
night, but I do not advise you to stay here. My three brothers are
three thieves. When night is over, they will come home, and will
soon put you to death.' He said: 'Never fear! Only bring me a pint
of wine, that I may drink and wait for them here at the table.' When
night was over, up came the three brothers home. He sat in the house
at the table, and busied himself with the wine. They asked him: 'Who
are you?' He replied: 'I don't know who I am. I'm a poor fellow who
roams hither and thither in the world, wheresoever I must.' They
said: 'But to what family do you belong?' He said: 'That also I
don't know. All through I am knocking about in the world. Nowhere am
I at home.' They said: 'What is your name? How do you write
yourself?' He had gone through the course of study at the black
school; therefore he knew how they wrote their names, and that they
had lost a brother. He therefore told them their surname, and the
name of their lost brother. They said: 'You are indeed our own
brother, whom we lost many years ago.' He said: 'It is easy to see
that I am.' They asked him: 'But are you willing to take up our
business?' He said: 'Why not, if your business is honest, and one
can easily get one's living from it?' They said: 'From our
handicraft a living is got right easily. At home we do nothing at
all, and have always plenty to eat and plenty to drink.' He
inquired: 'What have you gained to-day?' They replied: 'To-day we
have gained more than we ever gained before. We have obtained shoes:
whoever puts them on will fly two hundred miles in half an hour. We
have obtained a mantle: whoever wraps himself in it, nobody sees
him. We have obtained a hat: whoever puts it on his head, and throws
it before him, hills open themselves to him, so that he follows it
whithersoever he will.' He: 'But is this true?' They: 'It is.' He:
'Now, then, let's try this dress on me. We'll see how it will fit
me.' He put on the shoes, wrapped himself in the mantle, clapped the
hat on his head, and stepped a little way from them. He asked them:
'But don't you really see me?' They said: 'Nobody sees you.' Then he
gave a jump, so that the earth quaked. They hurried after him, as it
were, in the dark; but he escaped them, for nobody saw him.
He then flew to the place where the sun rises. He thought to
himself: 'The sun gives light in all regions; he will therefore know
the way to Perdonkorten.' When he came to the sun's house, he asked
the servant: 'Is my lord the sun at home?' The servant: 'He is not;
he is gone to give light on the earth. He will come home in the
evening. You must wait for him if you want to speak with him. Only I
tell you that when he comes home, there will be such a heat, that
you will curl up like a rasher of bacon, if you don't hide
yourself.' The traveller: 'If it is so, I will bury myself in the
ground. When the sun comes home, come and call me.' He went, and did
bury himself deep in the ground. When the sun came home and flew
down, the servant came to call him. 'Now, then, my lord the sun is
at home.' He got up and went to the sun. When he came into the house
the sun asked him: 'What have you got to say?' He said: 'I have come
to ask you the road to the city of Perdonkorten. You enlighten all
lands; surely you know the way thither.' The sun: 'I don't know the
way thither. It must be somewhere among hills and narrow dales,
where I never go. The moon gives light more in hollow places; you
must go where she rises.'
He went. He leaped, and was at once at the place where the moon
rises. Neither was she at home. He asked her lady's maid: 'Whither
has my lady moon gone that she is not at home?' The maid: 'She is
gone to give light on the earth.' He: 'I will wait, then.' The maid:
'It is dangerous to wait. When she flies faintly shining home, such
a frost will be caused that you will stiffen like an icicle.' He:
'I'll bury myself therefore in the ashes. When she returns home,
come and call me.' Towards morning the moon came freezing home. He
shivered in the ashes, but didn't stiffen. When the moon had put
herself to rights, her maid went to call him, and said: 'Now come;
the moon is at home.' He rose out of the ashes, shivered a little,
and went to the moon. When he entered the house, the moon asked him:
'What do you want? What have you got to say?' He said: 'Nothing
wrong, my lady moon--nothing wrong. I have come to ask you the road
to the city of Perdonkorten. You throw light into all dark holes;
therefore, you surely know which way to go thither.' The moon: 'I
don't know that. It must be among such hills that I never get there.
If you wish to learn it, you must go where the wind rises. He flies
over all abysses, therefore he will surely be able to indicate you
the way thither.'
In a jiffy he was there. The wind was just then at home. He asked
him: 'My lord the wind, do you know the way to the city of
Perdonkorten?' The wind: 'Of course I do. Anyhow, I'm going thither
to-morrow morning at three. The king's daughter there is betrothed,
and I am going to blow for them at the wedding, that it may not be
too warm. But I shall go through such abysses and such rocks, that I
don't know whether you will be able to follow me.' The traveller:
'My lord the wind, never fear. No rock will stop me. I have such a
hat, that if I throw it, the ground opens and I go after it
whithersoever I will.' The wind: 'Well, then, let us go.' They went
at three. They came to a terrible rock. The wind roared, and made
his way by a hole through the terrible rock. He could not follow
him. Therefore he took off his hat and threw it against the rock.
The rock opened. The wind glided on in front and he followed quickly
behind.
When it was half-past four in the morning, they had made their way
to the city of Perdonkorten. The wind went to blow at the wedding
that it mightn't be too warm for them. _He_ went into the church,
seated himself on a bench, and waited for the wedding-party. At
eleven music was heard, and fifty couples of wedding guests came
into the church. One was more handsomely dressed than the rest. His
reverence the chaplain proceeded to say mass for them. After mass he
began to take the marriage service. _He_ was sitting on a bench, but
nobody saw him, because he had that mantle on. Suddenly he rose from
the bench, and gave a thump on the chaplain's books, so that they
fell with a bang on the floor. The chaplain said: 'One of you two
must have such a sin upon him, that you are unfit to receive this
sacrament.' Now the bride began to relate how someone had once come
to deliver them. With this person a mutual engagement had been made
that she would wait for him seven years, etc. The chaplain: 'How
much time has elapsed?' She: 'Five years and a half.' The chaplain:
'Now you two must wait a year and a half more. If in that time
nothing is heard of him, then you may marry.' The chaplain,
moreover, asked her: 'Which would you rather have, this one or that
other?' The lady: 'I should prefer the other, should he come. But I
know that I shall never see him again.'
_He_ heard these words, and they pleased him. Now they went home
from the church. He who had thumped the books walked amidst the
wedding-party, but nobody saw him, because he had the mantle on. The
damsel's father thought it hard thus to send the wedding guests away
home, therefore he gave them several cups of wine. The guests drank
the wine, and _he_ went up and down in the house, but nobody saw
him. When all the wedding guests had taken themselves off home, he
doffed his mantle, hung it on a peg, and they recognised him as
their deliverer. The beautiful damsel met him in the middle of the
house. She threw her arms round his neck, and said: 'Behold! to-day
I should have been married to another husband, if God had not
protected me.'
Hereupon they soon prepared a marriage with this new bridegroom.
They went to the wedding. The wedding passed off successfully. They
got ready a right handsome wedding-feast for them. They had plenty
of everything--plenty to drink, and plenty to eat. Moreover, they
gave me wine to drink out of a sieve, and bread to eat out of a
glass, and one on the back with a shovel. After that I took myself
off.