Produced by Al Haines
[Illustration: Cover art]
[Frontispiece: Nothing but the Sea, Sky and Rock]
THE ISLANDS OF MAGIC
LEGENDS, FOLK AND FAIRY
TALES FROM THE AZORES
RETOLD BY
ELSIE SPICER EELLS
Illustrated by
E. L. BROCK
[Illustration: title page logo]
NEW YORK
HARCOURT, BRACE AND COMPANY
COPYRIGHT, 1922, BY
HARCOURT, BRACE AND COMPANY, INC.
PRINTED IN THE U. S. A. BY
THE QUINN & BODEN COMPANY
RAHWAY, N. J.
PREFACE
Some three-fourths of the distance between America and Europe there is
a group of nine beautiful islands called the Azores which belong to
Portugal. Their names are Flores, Corvo, Fayal, Pico, S. Jorge,
Graciosa, Terceira, S. Miguel, and Santa Maria. Many people think them
to be the mountain peaks of the submerged continent, Atlantis, which
long ago was covered by the ocean.
There are ancient records which tell of Arabian caravels driven back by
dangerous seas surrounding islands full of volcanoes. There are old
pictures which portray seas of spouting geysers and flaming volcanic
isles. In these regions islands had a habit of suddenly lifting
themselves out of the ocean and then disappearing again from view.
When the largest of the islands, S. Miguel or St. Michael as it is
called in English, was mapped, two mountain peaks were marked where
later only one could be discovered. Thus it was that the Azores gained
their reputation. Islands full of volcanoes amid seas of spouting
geysers could be nothing else but enchanted. And islands and mountain
peaks which suddenly vanished away from one's sight! Surely the Azores
must be the true land of magic.
"The day of folktales is departing from the Azores," said the wise
woman. "Public schools came with the republic, and where books of
printed stories enter folktales become confused and soon are lost."
"There is no originality among our islanders," complained the wise man
of the islands. "They have told over and over again the stories of our
mother country, Portugal, and they have made few variations."
However, when I spent December 1920 and January 1921 in the Azores in
connection with research work for the Hispanic Society, I found that
there were not only pleasant folktales there but even real fairies.
They inhabit the wooded slopes of Monte Brasil on the island of
Terceira. The fisher folk who visit the barren Ilheos de Cabras on the
Bay of Angra know that there are fairies living in those rocky isles
even yet when the boys and girls of the Azores are sailing away from
them to seek their fortunes in America. Have they not often seen the
fairy garments spread out upon the rocks in the bright sunshine?
"You are like the Holy Virgin herself," said the little maid of St.
Michael.
"Did you ever see the Virgin?" asked my friend.
"Once the white clouds parted for a moment and I caught a glimpse of
her beautiful blue mantle," replied the child reverently.
Yes, there are still fairies and simple faith and magic in the islands.
One who visits the boiling springs at Furnas does not doubt for a
moment that he is upon enchanted ground.
Folk tales are composite. No one person or group of persons can claim
credit for them. They are our inheritance from many storytellers. To
all these storytellers both of yesterday and of to-day I offer my
grateful appreciation and hearty thanks.
I have endeavored to tell the stories in a way which will be pleasing
to American children. To do this I have taken the liberty of making
occasional elaborations or omissions which I believe add to the value
of the story. Everywhere first of all I have tried to keep the spirit
of the Azores.
Thanks are due the publishers of the "Delineator" and the "Outlook" for
permission to reprint stories which have appeared in these magazines.
E. S. E.
[Illustration: Contents headpiece]
CONTENTS
Princess Bluegreen of the Seven Cities
The Islands of Flowers
Why Dogs Sniff
Longstaff, Pinepuller and Rockheaver
The Table, the Sifter and the Pinchers
Linda Branca and her Mask
Fresh Figs
Peter-of-the-Pigs
The Princess Who Lost Her Rings
The Master of Magic
St. Anthony's Godchild
Trouble When One's Young
The Little Maid Who Was Wise
Manoel Littlebean
The Necklace of Pearls
The Daughter of the King of Naples
Maria-of-the-Forest
The Seven Enchanted Princes
The Listening King
Jose the Beast Slayer
The Princess of the Lost Island
Why The Alveloa Bird Received a Blessing
Why the Codorniz Bird Received a Curse
Outside the Door Like the Mother of St. Peter
Why the Owl Flies at Night
The Laborer and His Master
'Tis Faith Which Saves
St. Brendan's Island
The Silent Cavalier
The Enchanted Palace
The Friend of the Devil
The Miller's Cloak
The Magic Mouthful
The Messengers
[Illustration: Illustrations headpiece]
Illustrations
Nothing but the Sea, Sky and Rock . . . . . . . . . _Frontispiece_
King Graywhite Struck His Royal Sword Against the Great Wall
She Could Not Hold Them All
"Will Somebody Please Pass the Pepper"
The Three Friends Journeyed on Together
"Table, Set Yourself," Said the Man
She Quietly Stole Out of the House
The Two Rabbits Came Running Up to Him
He Buried It Halfway in the Sand
The Two Old Women, The Princess, The King and Queen, and
All the Courtiers Followed
The Horse Had Changed Into a Kernel of Corn
He Climbed Up the High Wall of the Palace
"Oh, Stone From My Garden Wall," She Was Saying
They Were Big and Heavy, but Her Great Fear Gave Her Strength
He Saw the Quantities of Gold
"Take Me Home as Fast as You Can!"
Then He Sorrowfully Returned to His Waiting Ship
"We Never Have Looked So Neat and Clean"
The Miller and His Wife Were the Most Surprised People
in the Whole Country
He Frowned Down at Jose
"Alms! Alms!"
Pedro Lifted the Two Great Jars and Slowly Climbed Up the Hill
It Appeared That the Fair Maid Would Die
One Evening Just at Sunset
The Peaceful Snow-Capped Summit of Mt. Pico
The Beautiful Enchanted Palace in the Lake of Ginjal
He Bowed His Head Upon His Hands
He Wrapped Himself In the Brown Cloak And Went Out Through
the Fierce Blinding Storm
She Ran to the Water Jar
A Fierce Storm Arose
THE ISLANDS OF MAGIC
[Illustration: Headpiece]
PRINCESS BLUEGREEN OF THE SEVEN CITIES
_The Story of the Origin of the Azores_
Once upon a time in the lost kingdom of Atlantis there ruled a king
whose name was Graywhite. He had married the beautiful Queen
Rosewhite. They lived in a magnificent palace, but it was a sad place
because there were no little children in it.
"There are plenty of babies in the homes of the poor peasants who can
scarcely find food for them," mourned King Graywhite. "Why is it that
I, the ruler of this vast rich kingdom, can have no child to inherit my
wealth and my domains?"
"Women in tiny hovels have their arms full of rosy dimpled darlings,"
sighed Queen Rosewhite. "Why is it that I, the queen of this
magnificent palace, can have no baby of my own?"
Queen Rosewhite passed her days and nights in weeping, while King
Graywhite grew ugly and cruel to his subjects. Once he had been the
kindest ruler in the world.
Things went on like this for several years. Queen Rosewhite's lovely
face grew pale and wan, and her beautiful eyes became so sad that it
hurt the hearts of her faithful subjects. The king's face lost its
expression of jolly kindness and became sour and cruel. They offered
prayers and solemn vows before all the holy shrines in the whole
kingdom of Atlantis, but no child was born into the royal palace. King
Graywhite grew so harsh and ugly to his subjects that the entire
kingdom offered prayers and vows, too. As things were, life was not
worth living in the kingdom of Atlantis.
In front of the royal palace there was a beautiful terrace where King
Graywhite and Queen Rosewhite had loved to walk in the days before they
had grown cross and sad. One night when they were sitting upon the
terrace enjoying the fresh soft evening air and the bright starlight
there suddenly appeared a dazzling light which almost blinded them.
Queen Rosewhite covered her face with her hands and the king bowed his
proud head upon his breast.
"Do not fear to look at me," said a gentle voice.
King Graywhite and Queen Rosewhite glanced up. They saw a tiny fairy
standing before them with a circle of bright light dancing about her.
"King and Queen of Atlantis," said the gentle voice. "You shall have a
child, a little daughter, prettier than the sunlight. I have heard
your prayers and vows, but I have also heard the prayers and vows of
your poor subjects, too."
The glad news had brought a happy light into Queen Rosewhite's
beautiful eyes, but now it faded out and a look of fear crept in. It
had hurt the queen's loving heart to have her husband so cruel to his
subjects. She often had told him that punishment would surely come
upon him because of his harsh deeds.
"When the little princess is born," went on the fairy's voice, "I shall
take her away from you for twenty years. No harm will come to her. I
shall hide her away from you and all the world within seven beautiful
cities which I shall construct in the loveliest part of your whole
kingdom. Around these seven cities I shall place strong walls. At the
end of twenty years, if your heart, King Graywhite, is free from sin
and you have made proper restitution for all your wrongdoing, you shall
receive the princess into your arms."
"Twenty years is a long time," said King Graywhite sadly. Tears were
running down Queen Rosewhite's cheeks and she could not speak.
"You must wait until the twenty years are over," continued the fairy.
"If you attempt to enter the strong walls before that time you shall
fall dead and your kingdom shall be consumed by fire. Swear to me now
in the presence of your faithful queen that you will not try to enter
these strong walls which I shall construct about the seven cities."
"I swear it," said the king in a voice which trembled as he solemnly
lifted his right hand.
The vision disappeared as suddenly as it had come, and King Graywhite
and Queen Rosewhite sat alone in the bright starlight on the terrace
before the royal palace.
"Have I been dreaming?" asked the king.
"It was not a dream," replied the queen.
Time passed and a beautiful baby daughter was born to the king and
queen of Atlantis. They gave her the name of Princess Bluegreen.
There was great rejoicing throughout the entire kingdom. Her birth was
celebrated by lavish feasts and gay songs and dances.
When the little Princess Bluegreen was only three days old she
disappeared from the royal palace. She had been carried away by the
fairy to the seven cities which had been constructed to receive her.
Years passed. Every day the king and queen received reports from the
fairy. They heard that the little Princess Bluegreen was well, and
that each hour she grew lovelier. Sometimes there was almost joy in
the palace when King Graywhite chuckled over the quaint sayings of the
little princess which were repeated to him, and the queen heard with a
tender smile of the tiny blue slippers and the green parasol which the
fairy had given her. That day Queen Rosewhite bought new slippers for
many little maids in the city.
As time went on, however, the royal palace of Atlantis grew almost as
sad as it had been before the Princess Bluegreen had been born. Only
to receive reports of their daughter was not enough to make the king
and queen happy. They longed to see her with their own eyes and to
clasp her in their arms.
As the weeks and months and years rolled by without seeing the little
princess, King Graywhite resumed his cruel treatment of his subjects.
He was growing old and his nature grew sour with the years. Queen
Rosewhite tried to reason with him.
"We must bear this thing with patience," she told him. "We brought it
upon ourselves."
The king kept raging against the fairy and did not notice Queen
Rosewhite's politeness in saying "we" instead of "you." It was the
king who was responsible for all the cruelty. Good Queen Rosewhite had
never had a cruel thought in her whole blameless life.
At last the day of the eighteenth birthday of the Princess Bluegreen
grew near.
"Are you sure that it is not eighteen years which the fairy said,
instead of twenty years?" asked King Graywhite querulously.
Queen Rosewhite assured him that it was twenty years as he well knew.
The king's anger broke out fiercely.
"I will no longer be kept from my daughter!" he cried.
"Would you break the vow which you solemnly made to the fairy in my
presence?" asked Queen Rosewhite trembling. She had never dreamed that
he would dare to break it. Now, however, she was thoroughly frightened
at the thought which came to her.
"I'll break that foolish vow!" shouted the king savagely.
Tears rolled down the cheeks of good Queen Rosewhite.
"No good will come of this," she mourned. "Be prudent, dear king. It
is only two years more which we have to wait."
"The last two years will be the hardest ones of all!" raged King
Graywhite. "I cannot endure it!"
That very day he started to prepare the army for the expedition to the
Seven Cities, amid the queen's lamentations and in spite of her fears
and warnings.
"Be wise and patient, dear king. Give up this wild expedition," were
her last words to him; when, at length, all the preparations completed,
he set out with his great army upon the dangerous quest of the seven
cities surrounded by their strong walls in the loveliest part of the
whole kingdom of Atlantis.
King Graywhite marched on and on. It was a long and perilous journey
and the army suffered many hardships on the way. It seemed as if they
would never arrive, but at last they drew near to what everybody knew
to be the most beautiful part of the whole kingdom, where the fairy had
taken the Princess Bluegreen to conceal her.
Storms raged; lightning flashed; ominous roarings and rumblings sounded
from the depths of the earth.
"Let us hasten back to the royal palace before it is too late,"
besought the generals of King Graywhite's army.
"On! On!" cried the king. "Do you think I would abandon this
expedition now?"
The words were hardly out of his mouth when a huge rock fell from its
place near where he stood and rushed away down the mountainside. The
earth trembled violently beneath their feet. Fearful rumblings and
roarings sounded all about them.
"On! ON!" shouted the maddened king.
Before them rose the great walls which the fairy had built around the
seven cities. Within these walls was the Princess Bluegreen radiant
with the beauty of her eighteen winters and summers passed in peace and
happiness under the watchful care of the kind fairy. The thought of
her thrilled the heart of King Graywhite.
"On! On!" he shouted to the generals about him.
"On! On!" they, in turn, passed the word along to the trembling
soldiers which composed the royal army.
With the fearful sounds and shakings about them, the poor men heartily
wished they were safe at home. They rallied, however, for a final
charge and swept up to the walls which surrounded the seven cities.
King Graywhite struck his royal sword against the great wall. At that
moment the walls fell. The earth beneath their feet rose. Great
flames swept up towards the sky and rushed over the land, sweeping
everything before them. Then the sea raged over the earth in violence
until it had covered the whole kingdom of Atlantis.
[Illustration: King Graywhite struck his royal sword against the great
wall]
The fairy's curse had been fulfilled. The king was dead. His kingdom
was consumed by fire.
When at last the waters grew calm again all that remained of the great
rich kingdom of Atlantis was the group of nine rocky islands which
to-day is called the Azores. In the largest of these islands, St.
Michael, there is still an enchanted spot called Seven Cities. Great
wall-like mountains tower toward the sky. In the crater valley amid
the wall-like mountains there is a lake of green and one of blue. The
blue lake is where the beautiful Princess Bluegreen left her little
blue slippers, they say, and the green lake is where she left her
lovely green parasol.
THE ISLANDS OF FLOWERS
_Another Story of the Origin of the Islands_
Paradise is, of course, ruled by loving law. All places good to live
in are governed by laws.
Long, long ago there was a little angel who broke one of the rules of
Paradise. Of course she had to be punished. Punishment always follows
broken laws. She was banished from her heavenly home. Never again
could she join in the chorus of celestial music. Never again could she
look up into the face of the great King.
Now it happened that this little angel loved the flowers of Paradise
especially. For the last time she walked through the heavenly gardens.
"Oh, my exquisite ones, I cannot bear to leave you!" she sobbed to her
favorite blossoms. "It breaks my heart!"
The flowers lifted their fair faces to hers in loving sympathy. They
breathed out their sweetest perfume at her gentle touch. They
stretched out their hands to catch her trailing garments as she passed
them.
"My best beloveds! You are asking me to take you with me!" cried the
little angel.
She filled her arms with the lovely blossoms of Paradise. Now the
angel was a very little angel and the flowers she gathered made a very
large armful indeed. She could not bear to leave any of her favorites
behind. Slowly and sorrowfully she left the heavenly gardens. Slowly
and sorrowfully she passed outside the celestial gate.
When she had left the gates of Paradise far behind the lovely blossoms
in her grasp were all that remained of Heaven to her. They filled her
arms so full that she could not hold them all. Some of them fell.
Down, down to earth they floated. They came to rest on the smiling
blue waters of the broad Atlantic.
[Illustration: She could not hold them all]
"Oh, what shall I do! I have lost my exquisite ones!" sobbed the
little angel.
The flowers of Paradise smiled up at her from the place where they had
fallen. Never had they looked lovelier.
"My best beloveds are beautiful and happy!" she cried as she smiled
through her tears. "I still have all I can carry! I'll leave them
where they are!"
There are nine of the flowers of Paradise which the angel dropped.
They have always remained in the blue Atlantic where she left them.
After many years Portuguese mariners found them and Portugal claimed
them as her own. She named them the Azores.
To this very day, however, one of the islands is called Flores, which
means flowers.
WHY DOGS SNIFF
_The Story of the Dogs' Dinner Party_
Once upon a time the dogs gave a dinner party. All the dogs were
invited and all the dogs accepted the invitation. There were big dogs
and little dogs and middle-sized dogs. There were black dogs and white
dogs and brown dogs and gray dogs and yellow dogs and spotted dogs.
There were dogs with long tails and dogs with short tails and dogs with
no tails at all. There were dogs with little sharp-pointed ears and
dogs with big flat drooping ears. There were dogs with long slender
noses and dogs with short fat turn-up noses. All these dogs came to
the party.
Now the dinner was a most elaborate affair. Everything had been
arranged with the utmost care. All the good things to eat were spread
out upon the rocks by the sea. A gay sparkling little brook brought
water to drink. The sun was shining brightly and a soft gentle little
breeze was blowing. Everything seemed absolutely perfect.
But there was a cross fussy old dog who came to the party. She was a
yellow dog, they say. Nothing ever suited her. Whenever she went to a
party she always found fault with something. Sometimes there was too
little to eat and sometimes there was too much. Sometimes the hot
things were not hot enough and sometimes the cold things were not cold
enough. Sometimes the hot things were so hot they burned her mouth and
the cold things so cold that they gave her indigestion. There was
always something wrong.
At this party, however, there was not too much to eat and there was not
too little to eat. The hot things were all just hot enough and the
cold things were all just cold enough. Everything seemed to be exactly
as it should be.
"How good everything tastes!" remarked the big black dog between polite
mouthfuls.
"Everything is seasoned exactly right," added the black and white
spotted dog between mouthfuls which were entirely too large to be
polite.
That was an unfortunate remark. The cross fussy yellow dog heard it.
She noticed immediately that the big juicy bone she was eating had not
been seasoned with pepper.
"Will somebody please pass the pepper?" she asked.
[Illustration: "Will somebody please pass the pepper?"]
All the black dogs and white dogs and brown dogs and yellow dogs and
gray dogs and spotted dogs fell over each other trying to find the
pepper to pass. There was not a single bit of pepper at that dinner
party.
"I can't eat a mouthful until I have some pepper," whined the yellow
dog.
"I'll go into the city and get some pepper," said one of the dogs.
Nobody ever knew which dog it was.
The dog who went into the city to get the pepper never came back.
Nobody ever knew what became of him.
Whenever two dogs meet they always sniff at each other. If one of them
should happen to be the dog who went into the city to get the pepper,
he would surely smell of pepper.
LONGSTAFF, PINEPULLER AND ROCKHEAVER
_The Story of Three Friends_
Long ago there lived a blacksmith upon whose strong right arm there
swelled great muscles and whose big hairy fist was capable of
delivering so heavy a blow that all the men in the village and nearby
countryside stood in awe of him. He had a hot temper as well as a
strong right arm and his pretty young wife grew so afraid of him that
she ran away into the forest, taking her baby son with her. The
blacksmith had become crosser and crosser of late because the baby
sometimes cried at night and disturbed his rest.
In the deep forest the young wife found nuts and herbs and wild fruits
to eat. The baby boy thrived most marvelously. Soon he was big and
strong, able to kill wild beasts to add to their food. At last his
strength was so great that he could lift big rocks and pull up huge
trees.
One day he said to his mother, "Dearest one, I'd like to leave you for
a little while. I want to go back to the village where I was born.
The stories you have told me about it keep ringing in my ears. I must
see the place for myself. Do you mind, mother dear, if I take this
journey?"
His mother had long foreseen that a day would come when he would no
longer be content to live alone with her in the deep forest. Her heart
ached but she gave her consent to the expedition.
When the lad reached the village he went straight to the shop of the
blacksmith. His mother had described it to him so often that he had no
difficulty in finding it. He knew at once that the man at the forge
was his father. He looked exactly as he had always imagined his father
looked.
"Good day," said he. "I'd like you to weld an iron bar for me, a bar
as tall as the tallest tree in front of your shop."
The blacksmith glanced at the lad and then at the tree.
"You must have made a mistake in your measurements," he replied. "You
don't know what you are talking about."
The boy from the forest smiled quietly and stepped a trifle nearer to
the blacksmith.
"You are quite right," he admitted. "Thank you for pointing out to me
my mistake. I should have said that I want this iron bar made twice as
tall as the tallest tree before your door. I want it to be of good
thickness, too. I plan to use it as my staff."
The blacksmith looked the lad over more carefully. In truth he
appeared as if he might be able to use the staff after all. The
blacksmith hastily agreed to make it at once, and he didn't say a word
about arranging the price in advance according to his custom.
"Have my staff ready for me next week," commanded the boy as he bade
the blacksmith good-by.
When at last the lad was once more with his mother in the deep forest
he told her all that had passed. "When I return for my staff I want
you to go with me, dear mother," were his words when he had ended his
story.
"I!" cried the woman in alarm. "I'd be afraid to go! From your
description I am sure the blacksmith is in truth your father, and I
fear that his disposition has not improved with the years."
"Don't be afraid, dear heart," said the son. "I'll be there and I'll
take care of you. I'll see that he does you no harm."
They started out on their journey, and just a week from the day of the
lad's first visit to the blacksmith shop he stood once more in the
door. He had left his mother hidden behind the bushes and shrubs.
"Good day," he said to the blacksmith. "Is my staff ready?"
"Yes, indeed. It is entirely completed," replied the blacksmith more
politely than he was in the habit of speaking even to the parish priest
himself. "I have just sent for two yokes of oxen and enough men to
drag it out of my shop."
"That is quite unnecessary," responded the boy. "I'm sorry indeed to
hear that you have inconvenienced yourself."
He picked up the staff and tossed it about as jauntily as if it had
been a slender cane. The blacksmith stared at him in amazement, his
mouth wide open and his eyes bulging out of his head.
"May I ask who you are?" he asked as soon as he could catch his breath.
"My name from this day forth shall be Longstaff," replied the lad.
"And it so happens that I am your own son."
The blacksmith listened in surprise while the boy told the story of the
years he and his mother had lived in the deep forest. He embraced his
son tenderly.
"You are indeed a son to be proud of!" he cried. "Come and live with
me. We shall have a happy life together."
The blacksmith was thinking that a strong young man like this would be
a great help around the shop.
Longstaff shook his head. "Thank you, but I cannot tarry here," he
said. "I must go away and see the world a bit. My mother, however, is
waiting behind the bushes. I fear she will be very lonely while I am
away."
When Longstaff's mother came in response to his call her husband
embraced her lovingly and kissed her. "I've really missed you about
the house while you have been away," he told her.
"If you are not good to her you'll hear from me," said, his son as he
looked him straight in the eye.
Longstaff then set out to see the world, travelling from one country to
another. After a time he came to a place where there was a man pulling
up pine trees by the roots as easily as if they were the weeds in your
garden.
"Good day," said Longstaff. "What is your name?"
"I am called PINEPULLER," was the reply. "I'm very strong, as you can
see for yourself, but I've heard that there is somebody stronger than I
am. His name is LONGSTAFF, I am told."
Longstaff gave his iron staff a gay toss into the air and caught it
again in his hand.
"That happens to be my name," he said. "I like you. Won't you join me
in my travels about the country? We two would have a jolly time
together."
Pinepuller accepted the invitation and together they journeyed on.
Soon they came to a place where there was a man picking up great rocks
and tossing them about as lightly as if they had been rubber balls.
"Good day," said Longstaff. "What is your name?"
"My name is ROCKHEAVER," replied the other. "You can see for yourself
that I am very strong. I've heard, however, that there is somebody
stronger than I am. His name is LONGSTAFF, I am told."
"That happens to be my name," said Longstaff, "and this is my friend
Pinepuller. You are just the man to complete our little party. Won't
you join us as we travel about the country?"
Rockheaver accepted the invitation with glee and the three friends
journeyed on together from that hour. Everywhere they went they had
everything their own way because of their great strength.
[Illustration: The three friends journeyed on together]
One day Longstaff, Pinepuller and Rockheaver sat on a rock by the sea.
Suddenly they spied two pretty girls tossing glass balls back and forth
and catching them. They had not stood there on the sand a moment
before when the three friends had passed that way. Possibly they had
been bathing and had only just come out of the water. Longstaff ran to
speak to them. He put out his hand and caught their two glass balls at
once. Then a strange thing happened. The two beautiful maidens
disappeared the very minute Longstaff put their two glass balls into
his pocket, and he was left standing alone on the sand by the sea.
"That is queer," he complained as he told Pinepuller and Rockheaver
what had happened.
Not far away there was a little house. There were no signs of life
about the place and consequently the three friends entered. Inside the
house there were beds, beautiful furniture and a kitchen completely
furnished with pots and pans.
"I like this house," said Longstaff, as he seated himself in the
largest chair. "I'm going to rest a bit and you two can go hunting.
When you return I'll have the dinner cooked for you."
Accordingly, Pinepuller and Rockheaver went away to hunt for game.
Longstaff rested for a while in the big chair and then he went into the
kitchen to light the fire. Soon the fire was burning merrily and the
water in the kettle was bubbling away cozily. Longstaff cooked the
dinner exactly as his mother had taught him long ago in the deep
forest. Just for a minute he turned his back to hunt for the salt.
When he turned around the pots and the frying pan were gone from the
fire. There was a tiny dwarf with red boots disappearing through the
kitchen floor with Longstaff's good dinner.
Longstaff gasped. He was not at all accustomed to having his dinner
stolen from under his very nose, as it were.
Soon Pinepuller and Rockheaver came back with the hares they had killed
in the hunt. They looked at the dying fire, at the empty pots and
frying pan, and at the dazed expression on Longstaff's face.
"Where's the dinner?" asked Pinepuller. "I'm as hungry as a bear. You
said you'd have it ready when we got back."
"I know what he's done!" cried Rockheaver. "He has eaten all the
dinner and hasn't left a single mouthful for us!"
When Longstaff told them the story of the dwarf with red boots who had
stolen the dinner it was difficult to make them believe it.
"Very well," said he, "if you won't take my word for it, why doesn't
Pinepuller stay in the kitchen and cook these hares? Rockheaver and I
will go away and you can see what happens."
Accordingly, Longstaff and Rockheaver went away and Pinepuller made a
stew of the hares. While he was hunting for the salt the little dwarf
with red boots came out from under the table and stole the stew.
Pinepuller turned around just in time to catch him at it. He raised
his big arm to seize him, but the dwarf, in the twinkling of an eye,
vanished into the floor, taking the stew with him.
When Longstaff and Rockheaver returned Pinepuller told what had
happened. "I believe you now," said he to Longstaff. "I ask your
pardon for doubting your word."
However, Rockheaver was not convinced. "I know what has happened,"
said he. "You were so hungry you couldn't wait for us and you ate up
the stew. You and Longstaff have plotted that I shall go with an empty
stomach this day."
"Let Rockheaver, then, be the one to stay in the kitchen," suggested
Longstaff. "We have brought back other hares from the hunt. Let him
cook them and see what happens."
Longstaff and Pinepuller went away, leaving Rockheaver to cook the
hares. Again the dwarf with red boots jumped out from under the table
and stole the dinner. When his two friends returned Rockheaver begged
their pardon for his moments of distrust.
"These are surely queer doings," said Longstaff. "I'm going to make an
investigation. I'll not rest in peace until I find out where this
red-booted dwarf lives and where these three dinners have gone. Come
and help me dig up the ground under the kitchen."
At once Rockheaver dug up the floor of the kitchen and Pinepuller
pulled out the earth beneath. Soon they had a deep well-like hole
reaching down into the ground. While they had been digging, Longstaff
had made a ladder out of the branches of the trees, a ladder so long
that it could reach very far into the earth.
"I'm going to be the one to descend into this hole," remarked Longstaff
when he thought that it was quite deep enough.
Indeed his two friends were entirely willing that he should.
He lowered the ladder he had made and very cautiously he crept down
into the earth. At the foot of the ladder he came to what looked like
a heavy barred door. He had brought his big iron staff with him, of
course, and with this he knocked hard at the door.
"Who is there?" called out a voice from within.
"I am Longstaff." "Open."
"Go away as fast as you can," said the voice. "This is the home of the
seven-headed serpent. If he catches you it will be serious. You'll be
enchanted and can never get away."
"I'd like to meet this serpent for a minute or two," said Longstaff.
The heavy door swung open and Longstaff stepped inside. Immediately he
heard a rushing like a great wind. With his big iron staff he struck a
mighty blow at the seven-headed serpent. He hit him just in time to
avoid being enchanted. The huge seven-headed serpent fell to the
ground completely stunned by Longstaff's blow.
At the first drop of blood which fell from the wounded monster a
beautiful maiden appeared near the door. Longstaff recognized her at
once as one of the two girls he had seen on the seashore tossing and
catching the two glass balls. He took the balls out of his pocket.
"Do you recognize these?" he asked the maiden.
"Indeed I do," she replied. "One of these glass balls belongs to me
and the other belongs to my sister. She, too, has been enchanted and
is behind the next door you see ahead of you."
"I'll get you away from this evil place," said Longstaff, "and then
I'll see what I can do to help your sister."
He lifted her in his arms and started to carry her up the ladder.
"Wait just a minute," she said. "I think I'd better give you back this
glass ball. I'll not be able to speak a word while you have it, but I
think you need it more than I."
She gave him back the glass ball and then they hastened up the long
ladder. When Pinepuller and Rockheaver saw the lovely maiden in
Longstaff's arms they were filled with amazement.
"She is a princess who has been enchanted," explained Longstaff. "Take
good care of her while I return for her sister. Then we will restore
these fair damsels to their father, the king, who has long mourned them
as dead."
Once more Longstaff crept down the ladder into the depths of the earth.
The seven-headed serpent was still lying where he had fallen and
Longstaff stepped past him and knocked at the door which barred his way.
"Who is there?" called out a voice from within.
"This is Longstaff! Open!"
"Hurry away as fast as you can. This is the home of the dwarf with red
boots," said the voice.
"That red-booted dwarf is exactly the person I want to see," answered
Longstaff, holding fast to his heavy iron bar which his father had made
him long ago in the blacksmith's shop.
The door slowly swung open and Longstaff stepped inside. At once he
heard the footsteps of the red-booted dwarf. The tiny dwarf looked up
at him in surprise.
"We'll fight and see who is the best man," stormed he. "You fight with
the black sword and I'll use the white one."
"No indeed," said Longstaff. "I'll use the white sword and you the
black. Otherwise I'll not wait to fight with swords but will choose my
own weapon which happens to be this iron staff of mine."
The little red-booted dwarf looked up at the heavy iron staff in
Longstaff's hand. It could crush him very easily indeed.
"Very well!" said he. "Just as you like!"
Longstaff fought with the white sword and the dwarf with the black one,
and soon the dwarf had fallen, though his great agility made up for his
lack of size. With the first drop of blood which fell from the
red-booted dwarf the beautiful princess was disenchanted.
She gave her glass ball back to Longstaff after she had recognized it
as her own; and, safe in his arms, she was borne up the long ladder to
the place where her sister was awaiting her with Pinepuller and
Rockheaver.
"I've left my staff behind!" cried Longstaff in alarm. "I must go down
once more and get it."
He had never been without his staff near at hand even when he was
asleep. Hastily he again descended the ladder. There was his staff
lying where he had dropped it when he took the white sword. When he
turned around to go up the ladder again, it had disappeared. His
friends had forgotten all about him, so interested had they become in
the two beautiful maidens. Even at that moment they were on their way
to the king's palace. They had pulled up the ladder, never giving
another thought as to how Longstaff was going to get out of the hole.
Longstaff shouted in vain. Then he remembered how the dwarf had
appeared in the kitchen. Evidently the red-booted dwarf knew how to
get up to the surface of the earth. A drink from Longstaff's flask
quickly revived him. He reached for the white sword ready to fight
again.
"Wait a minute, my friend," said Longstaff. "You are now my prisoner.
I'll let you go as soon as you perform a little service for me. Just
take me up to the surface of the earth."
"That is easy," answered the dwarf. "Take hold of my hand."
As soon as Longstaff had taken the hand of the red-booted dwarf he felt
himself rise. In a moment he was safe outside the hole.
"There's another thing I want you to do for me before I let you go," he
said. "Take me to the king's palace."
Longstaff took hold of the dwarf's hand and in a moment more they were
at the palace. It was only a minute after the king's daughters had
been restored to him. The royal palace was wild with joy. Even the
fact that the two lovely maidens were dumb was almost overlooked.
When Pinepuller and Rockheaver saw Longstaff's angry eyes they ran away
as fast as they could. They were never seen near the royal palace
again.
Longstaff drew the two glass balls from his pocket and gave one to each
of the two beautiful princesses. At once they could speak, and
together they told their story to their father, the king.
"You may wed whichever princess you prefer," said the king to Longstaff
when he had heard how he had made the bold rescue.
Longstaff wedded the princess who was more beautiful than her sister,
and when the king died he reigned over the whole kingdom.
THE TABLE, THE SIFTER AND THE PINCHERS
_The Story of the King's Laborer and His Wages_
Once upon a time there was a man who was very poor. He had so many
children it was difficult to earn money enough to provide for them all.
Accordingly, he left home and hired out to the king of a distant land.
At the end of a year's time he went to the king and said: "I have
served you faithfully for a whole year. Now I wish to return to my
wife and children. Pay me, I pray you, what you owe me for my work."
The king said: "I will not reward you in money. I will give you
something better than money. Here is a table. When you are hungry all
you have to do is to say, 'Table, set yourself.' Then the table will
immediately be spread with food."
"Thank you, good king," replied the man. "With this table it will be
easy enough to provide food even for all my large family."
When the man had started home with his table he soon grew hungry. He
put it down by the roadside under a leafy tree and said, "Table, set
yourself." Immediately it was full of the most delicious food. The
man ate all he could and gave the rest away to some beggars who passed
that way.
"It is a lucky day for us," said the beggars as they thanked him.
That night the man stopped at an inn. He was so delighted with the
magic powers of his table that he foolishly told the innkeeper about it.
"That would be a most excellent table for me to possess," thought the
innkeeper. "With this in my possession I would soon be a rich man. I
could charge my guests a price in proportion to the rich food I would
serve them, and I'd never have to spend a cent of my money to buy
supplies."
That night the innkeeper stole the table and substituted another for it
which looked exactly like it. Early in the morning the man loaded the
table on his back and hurried home to his wife and children.
"We'll never be hungry again!" he cried as he embraced his wife.
"Never again shall our children call for food when we have nothing to
give them!"
"How much did the king pay you?" asked his wife in surprise. The good
woman well knew how much it cost to buy food enough to keep all their
children from going hungry.
"The king did not pay me in money. He gave me something better than
money," replied the man. "Do you see this table? Call the children.
I want to show you something."
The man's wife and children all gathered about the table, watching it
curiously.
"Table, set yourself," said the man.
[Illustration: "Table, set yourself," said the man]
The table remained standing in the center of the floor just as it was.
"What trick is this?" asked the good wife. She had been a bit
suspicious from the moment she had heard that there was no money in her
husband's pockets.
"I'll get the beggars I fed to prove to you what this table provided
yesterday," he said when he had told all the story.
"You'd better go back to the king as fast as you can," advised the
wife. "Take back this good-for-nothing table which he has imposed upon
you and ask for some real money instead."
The man did as his wife advised. The king was thoughtful for a moment.
He guessed that the man had been robbed.
At last he said: "I'll give you a sifter this time. Then when you need
money all you have to do is to say, 'Sifter, sift!' It will sift out
money as freely as if it were flour."
The man was delighted with the sifter. He sifted his pockets full of
money immediately and hurried home. On the way he again spent the
night at the inn.
"When I brought my table home it wouldn't work," he told the innkeeper.
"I took it back and got something in its place which is all right."
The innkeeper watched him sift out money.
"Why don't I get that sifter?" thought the innkeeper. "I work very
hard serving my guests even though the table provides the food for
them. If I had this sifter I wouldn't have to work. I'd close the inn
and pass the rest of my life enjoying the money I'd sift into my
pockets so easily."
That night he stole the sifter and substituted another which looked
exactly like it.
When the man reached home there was plenty of money in his pockets and
his wife and children were happy for a little while. However, he soon
wanted to display the magic gifts of his new sifter. Accordingly, he
called his family together.
"Sifter, sift," he commanded.
The sifter behaved just like any ordinary sifter.
"You have been tricked again!" cried his wife. She was very cross
indeed and told her husband exactly what she thought of him.
Home was not a comfortable place for him that day, so he decided to
hurry back to the king after he had emptied all the money in his
pockets into his wife's lap.
"This will supply you for a while," he said. "It is quite as much as
any ordinary husband would have brought home for a year's work."
"A woman hates to have her husband made a fool of," replied the woman
as she rolled up the money and tucked it away carefully.
When the king had heard the story he was entirely convinced that the
man had an enemy who had stolen both the table and the sifter.
"Where did you spend the night?" he asked.
The man told of passing the night in the inn.
"I've heard that innkeeper is going to retire from business, he has
become so rich," said the king. "You'd better hurry there as fast as
you can before he leaves town."
The laborer nodded his head thoughtfully, a wise look creeping into his
eyes.
"Take these pinchers," ordered the king. "Use them on that innkeeper
until he gives back the table and the sifter."
When the innkeeper was sore and black and blue from the pinchers he
gave back the table and the sifter.
After that there were prosperous days indeed for the king's laborer.
Whenever the children were hungry, he would say: "Table, set yourself,"
and immediately the table would be full of the most delicious food.
Whenever his wife said, "I need some money," he would call out,
"Sifter, sift," and the sifter would sift out money as freely and
easily as if it were flour.
As for the pinchers, they proved to be quite as useful as the other
gifts he received from the king. Whenever the children were naughty he
had only to glance in the direction of those pinchers. The children
would immediately behave as they should.
LINDA BRANCA AND HER MASK
_The Story of the Girl Who Did Not Like To Be Pretty_
Long ago there lived a girl who was so pretty she grew tired of being
beautiful and longed to be ugly. She was so attractive that all the
young men in the whole city wanted to marry her. Every night the
street in front of her house was full of youths who came to sing
beneath her balcony.
Linda Branca, that was the girl's name, grew tired of being kept awake
nights. It is well enough for a little while to hear songs about one's
pearly teeth and snowy arms, one's flashing eyes and waving hair, one's
rosebud mouth and fairylike feet; but a steady diet of it becomes
decidedly wearing.
"I wish I were as homely as that girl who is passing by," she remarked
one day. "Then I could sleep nights." "If I were as ugly looking as
that I'd have a chance to select a really good husband perhaps. With
so many to choose from it is terribly confusing. I'll never be able to
make any choice at all as things are now. I'm afraid I'll die
unwedded," she added as she carefully surveyed the girl's coarse hair,
her large feet and hands, her ugly big mouth and ears and small
red-lidded eyes. "That girl has a much better chance of a successful
marriage than I have, with all this tiresome crowd of suitors to drive
me distracted!"
The girl in the street heard her words and looked up. When she saw how
lovely Linda Branca was she was amazed indeed at the words she had
heard. She thought that she must have made a mistake and asked Linda
Branca to say it all over again.
"You can be exactly as homely as I am," declared the girl when at last
she had sufficiently recovered from her surprise to find her tongue.
"I am an artist. I can prepare a mask for you which will make you just
as ugly as I am."
"Go on and make it as soon as you can!" cried Linda Branca, clapping
her little hands in joy.
That evening the suitors in the street under the balcony thought that
the lovely Linda Branca had become very gracious. She was frequently
to be seen on the balcony looking eagerly up and down the street as if
she were expecting some one. Her dark eyes were sparkling and her fair
cheek had a rosy flush upon it which they had never seen before.
"The beautiful Linda Branca is more charming than ever," was the burden
of their songs that night.
Linda Branca was so excited about her new mask that she could not have
slept even if there had been no suitors to disturb her with their
songs. When at last she fell asleep towards morning it was only to
dream that the new mask had the face of a donkey.
It was not until the next week that the mask finally arrived. Linda
Branca had grown very impatient and was almost in despair lest she
should never receive it. When at last the girl brought it one could
easily see why it had taken a whole week to prepare it. So like a
human face it was that it was plain that the making of it had called
forth great patience and skill as well as necessary time.
"It is even uglier than I had hoped it would be!" cried Linda Branca in
delight when she saw it.
Surely, when she tried it on no one of her suitors would ever have
recognized the fair Linda Branca of their songs.
Now Linda Branca had no mother, and her father was away on business, so
it was an easy matter to prepare for her departure.
Linda Branca's father was a man of wealth who spared no money in giving
his daughter beautiful gowns to enhance her rare beauty. She had one
dress of blue trimmed with silver and another of blue embroidered in
gold. As she packed up a few belongings to take with her, she decided
to add these two favorite garments.
"Who knows but I may need them sometime?" she mused as she rolled them
up carefully.
With the ugly mask upon her face, and dressed in a long dark cloak, she
quietly stole out of the house. She went to the king's palace in a
neighboring city and inquired if they were in need of a maid.
[Illustration: She quietly stole out of the house]
"Ask my son. It is he who rules here," said the king's mother.
The king looked at Linda Branca with a critical eye.
"I hired my last servant because she was so pretty," he remarked. "I
think I'll hire this one because she is so ugly."