and at a cock's crow even beyond them--an immense, tall, quivering
poplar tree. This tree had seven times seventy-seven branches; on each
branch there were seven times seventy-seven crow-nests, and in each nest
seven times seventy-seven young crows. May those who don't listen
attentively to my tale, or who doze, have their eyes pecked out by all
those young crows; and those who listen with attention to my tale will
never behold the land of the Lord! There was once, I don't know where, a
king who had three sons who were so much like each other that not even
their mother could distinguish them from each other. The king sent his
three sons wandering; the three princes went, and went, and, on the
third day, they arrived at a vast forest, where they first met a
she-wolf with three whelps. "What are you doing here, princes, where not
even the birds ever come?" asked the wolf, "you can go no further,
because I and my whelps will tear you in pieces." "Don't harm us, wolf!"
said the princes, "but rather, let's have your whelps to go as our
servants." "I _will_ tear you to pieces," howled the wolf, and attacked
them; but the princes overcame the wolf, and took the three whelps with
them. They went and went further into the vast forest and met a bear
with three cubs, the next day. "What are you doing here, princes, where
not even a bird comes?" asked the bear; "you can go no further, because
I and my cubs will tear you in pieces." "Don't harm us, bear," said the
princes, "but rather let's have your three cubs to come as our
servants." "I _will_ tear you in pieces," roared the bear, and attacked
them, but the princes overcame the bear, and took the three cubs with
them. Again they went into the vast forest, and met a lioness and her
three cubs, on the third day. "What are you doing here, princes, where
not even a bird comes? you can go no further, because I and my cubs will
tear you in pieces." "Don't harm us, lioness," said the princes, "but
let's have your three cubs to come as our servants." "I _will_ tear you
in pieces," roared the lioness, and attacked them, but the princes
overcame the lioness, and took the three cubs as their servants: and
thus each prince had three servants, a lion, a bear, and a wolf. At last
they reached the outskirts of the vast forest, where the road divided
into three, under a tree, and here the eldest said, "Let us stick our
knives into the tree, and each start in a different direction; in a
year hence we will be back again, and whosoever's knife is covered with
blood, he is in danger, and the others must go in search of him."
"Agreed," said the others, and, sticking their knives into the tree,
started off in different directions.
After long wanderings the eldest came to a town which was wholly covered
with black cloth, and here he took lodgings with an old woman. "Why is
this town hung with black?" asked the prince. "Alas, we live in great
danger here!" said the old woman, "in the lake near the town lives the
dragon with seven heads, who vomits fire, and to him we have to give a
virgin every week, and to-morrow it is the king's daughter's turn, and
she has to go, and this is the reason why our town is covered with
black." "And is there no man who can help?" inquired the prince. "We
have not found one yet," said the old woman, "although our king has
promised his daughter, and after his death his realm, to the one who
kills the dragon." The prince did not say another word, but took a rest
and, afterwards, went towards the lake, and as he passed the royal
palace he saw the princess in the window weeping. The royal princess was
so beautiful that even the sun stopped before the window, in his course,
to admire her beauty. At last he reached the lake, and could already
hear, even at a distance, the dragon with seven heads roaring, so loudly
that the ground trembled. "How dare you approach me? You must die, even
had you seven souls!" roared the dragon, but instead of an answer the
prince threw his mace at him, with such force that it smashed one of his
heads on the spot, thereupon he attacked him with his sword, and also
set his dogs at him, and while he cut the dragon's heads off one by one,
his servants bit him to pieces, and thus killed the dragon, whose blood
formed a brook seven miles long. After this he drew a tooth out of each
head of the dragon and put them into his sabretache, and, as he was very
tired, he lay down amongst the bulrushes and went fast asleep with his
dogs. The Red Knight was watching the whole light from amongst the
bulrushes, and, seeing that the prince was asleep, he crept to him and
killed him, and quartered him, so that he might not revive, and, picking
up the dragon's seven heads, went off towards the town. As soon as the
Red Knight had gone the three dogs woke, and, seeing that their master
had been murdered, began to howl in their sorrow. "If we only had a
rope, so that we could tie him together. I know of a weed which would
bring him to life again," said the wolf. "If we only knew how to tie him
together, I would soon get a rope," said the lion. "I would tie him
together if I had a rope," said the bear; whereupon the lion ran to the
town, the wolf went in search of the weed, and the bear remained behind
to guard his master's body. The lion rushed into a ropemaker's and
roared, "Give me a rope, or I will tear you in pieces." The ropemaker,
in his fright, produced all the rope he had, and the lion rushed off
with a coil. In the meantime the wolf also returned with the weed, and
the bear tied the prince's body together, and the wolf anointed him.
When, all at once, the prince woke, and, rubbing his eyes, stood up.
"Well, I have slept a long time," said the prince, and as he saw that
the sun was setting he returned to the town with his servants, and, as
he again passed in front of the royal palace, he saw the princess once
more, who looked at him, smiling this time. The prince again took his
night's lodging with the old woman, and, as he got up next morning, the
whole town was covered with red cloth. "Why is the whole town covered
with red, now?" asked the prince. "Because the Red Knight killed the
dragon, and saved the royal princess, and he is to be married to her
to-day," replied the old woman. The prince thereupon went into the
palace, into which crowds of people were streaming. The king was just
leading the Red Knight to his daughter, and said, "Here, my daughter,
this is the hero who killed the dragon, and only the hoe and the spade
will separate him from you from this day." "My royal father," said the
princess, "that isn't the man that killed the dragon, and therefore I
cannot be his wife." "He did kill him," shouted the king, "and, in proof
of it, he brought the dragon's seven heads with him, and therefore you
have to be his wife, according to my promise." And there was a great
feast after this, but the princess sat crying at the table, and the
prince went home very downcast. "Give me some food, master, I'm hungry,"
said the wolf, when his master came home. "Go to the king and get some
food from his table," and the wolf went. The Red Knight sat on seven red
pillows, between the king and his daughter, but when he saw the wolf
enter, in his fright a pillow dropped from under him, and the wolf took
a full dish, and went away, and told his master what had happened. "Give
me some food, master. I'm hungry too," said the bear; and his master
sent him also to the palace, and as he entered the Red Knight in his
fright again dropped a pillow from under him. When the bear arrived at
home with the food, he told this to his master. And as the lion got
hungry too, he had to go for his food; and this time the Red Knight
dropped a third pillow, and could hardly be seen above the table. Now
the prince went to the palace himself, and as he entered every one of
the pillows dropped from under the Red Knight in his fright. "Majesty,"
said the prince, "do you believe that the Red Knight has killed the
dragon with seven heads?" "Yes," answered the king, "and he brought the
seven heads with him, they are here." "But look, majesty, whether there
is anything missing out of every head." The king examined the dragon's
heads, and exclaimed in astonishment: "Upon my word there is a tooth
missing from every head." "Quite so," said the prince, "and the seven
dragon teeth are here," and, taking them from his sabretache, he handed
the teeth to the king. "Your Majesty, if the Red Knight has killed the
dragon, how could I have obtained the teeth?" "What's the meaning of
this?" inquired the king, in anger, of the Red Knight; "who killed the
dragon?" "Pardon!" implored the knight. In his fear he confessed all,
and the king had him horsewhipped out of the palace, and sent the dogs
after him.
He bade the prince sit down at once by the side of his daughter, as her
bridegroom; and in joyful commemoration of the event they celebrated
such a wedding that the yellow juice flowed from Henczida to Bonczida.
And the prince and princess lived happily afterwards as man and wife.
However, it happened once that as the prince went hunting with his three
servants, and after a long walk strolled into the wood, he became tired
and hungry; so he made a fire under a tree, and sat down at it, and
fried some bacon; when suddenly he heard some one call out with a
trembling voice in the tree: "Oh! how cold I am." The prince looked up,
and saw an old woman on the top of the tree shivering. "Come down, old
mother," said he. But the old woman said, still shivering with cold,
"I'm afraid to come down, because your dogs will kill me; but if you
will strike them with this rod, which I throw down to you, they will not
touch me." And the good prince, never thinking that the old woman was a
witch, struck his servants with the rod, who, without him noticing it,
turned into stone. Seeing this, the old woman came down from the tree,
and, having prepared a branch as a spit, she caught a toad. She drew it
on the spit, and held it to the fire, close to the bacon; and when the
prince remonstrated and tried to drive the old woman away, she threw the
toad into his face, whereupon the prince fainted. As his servants could
not assist him, the witch killed him, cut him up in pieces, salted him,
and put him into a cask. The princess was waiting for her husband in
great sorrow; but days passed, and still he did not come, and the poor
princess bewailed him day and night.
In the meantime, the second prince returned to the tree in which they
had stuck their knives; and, finding that his elder brother's knife was
covered with blood, started in search of him. When he came to the town,
it was again covered with black. He also took lodgings for the night
with the old woman, and on inquiring she told him the whole story of
the first prince, and also informed him that the town was draped in
black because the prince was lost while hunting. The second prince at
once came to the conclusion that it could be no one else but his elder
brother, and went to the palace. The princess, mistaking him for her
husband in her joy, threw her arms round his neck. "Charming princess, I
am not your husband," said the prince, "but your husband's younger
brother." The princess, however, would not believe him, as she could not
imagine how one man could so resemble another; therefore she chatted
with him the whole day, as if with her husband, and, night having set
in, he had to get into the same bed with her. The prince, however,
placed his unsheathed sword between himself and his sister-in-law,
saying: "If you touch me, this sword will at once cut off your hand."
The princess was very sorry on hearing this, but, in order to try, she
threw her handkerchief over the prince, and the sword cut it in two at
once, whereupon the princess burst out crying, and cried the whole
night. Next morning the prince went out in search of his brother, and
went out hunting in the same wood where he had heard his brother was
lost. But, unfortunately, he met the witch, and was treated in the same
way as his brother. She killed and salted him also.
After this the youngest prince returned to the tree in which the knives
were, and, finding both his brothers' knives covered with blood, went in
the direction in which his eldest brother had gone. He came to the town,
which was still draped in black, and learned all from the old woman; he
went to the palace, where the princess mistook him too for her husband.
He had to sleep with her, but, like his brother, placed a sword between
them, and, to the great sorrow of the princess, he, too, went out
hunting the next morning. Having become tired, he made a fire, and began
to fry some bacon, when the witch threw him the rod; but the prince
luckily discovered in the thicket the six petrified dogs, and instead of
touching his own dogs with the rod, he touched those which had been
turned into stone, and all six came to life again. The witch was not
aware of this and came down from the tree, and the brutes seized her on
the spot, and compelled her to bring their masters to life again. Then
the two princes came to life again. In their joy all three embraced each
other, and their servants tore the witch in pieces. Whereupon they went
home, and now the joy of the princess was full, because her husband and
her brothers-in-law had all returned, and she had no longer any fear
that the sword would be placed in the bed. On account of the joyful
event the town was again draped in red cloth. The eldest prince lived
happily with his wife for a long time, and later on became king. His two
brothers went home safely.
THE THREE DREAMS.
There was once, I don't know where, even beyond the Operencziás Sea, a
poor man, who had three sons. Having got up one morning, the father
asked the eldest one, "What have you dreamt, my son?" "Well, my dear
father," said he, "I sat at a table covered with many dishes, and I ate
so much that when I patted my belly all the sparrows in the whole
village were startled by the sound." "Well, my son," said the father,
"if you had so much to eat, you ought to be satisfied; and, as we are
rather short of bread, you shall not have anything to eat to-day." Then
he asked the second one, "What have you dreamt, my son?" "Well, my dear
father, I bought such splendid boots with spurs, that when I put them on
and knocked my heels together I could be heard over seven countries."
"Well, my good son," answered the father, "you have got good boots at
last, and you won't want any for the winter." At last he asked the
youngest as to what he had dreamt, but this one was reticent, and did
not care to tell; his father ordered him to tell what it was he had
dreamt, but he was silent. As fair words were of no avail the old man
tried threats, but without success. Then he began to beat the lad. "To
flee is shameful, but very useful," they say. The lad followed this good
advice, and ran away, his father after him with a stick. As they reached
the street the king was just passing down the high road, in a carriage
drawn by six horses with golden hair and diamond shoes. The king
stopped, and asked the father why he was ill-treating the lad. "Your
Majesty, because he won't tell me his dream." "Don't hurt him, my good
man," said the monarch; "I'll tell you what, let the lad go with me, and
take this purse; I am anxious to know his dream, and will take him with
me." The father consented, and the king continued his journey, taking
the lad with him. Arriving at home, he commanded the lad to appear
before him, and questioned him about his dream, but the lad would not
tell him. No imploring, nor threatening, would induce him to disclose
his dream. The king grew angry with the lad's obstinacy, and said, in a
great rage, "You good-for-nothing fellow, to disobey your king, you must
know, is punishable by death! You shall die such a lingering death that
you will have time to think over what disobedience to the king means."
He ordered the warders to come, and gave them orders to take the lad
into the tower of the fortress, and to immure him alive in the wall. The
lad listened to the command in silence, and only the king's pretty
daughter seemed pale, who was quite taken by the young fellow's
appearance, and gazed upon him in silent joy. The lad was tall, with
snow-white complexion, and had dark eyes and rich raven locks. He was
carried away, but the princess was determined to save the handsome lad's
life, with whom she had fallen in love at first sight; and she bribed
one of the workmen to leave a stone loose, without its being noticed, so
that it could be easily taken out and replaced; and so it was done!
And the pretty girl fed her sweetheart in his cell in secret. One day
after this, it happened that the powerful ruler of the dog-headed
Tartars gave orders that seven white horses should be led into the other
king's courtyard; the animals were so much alike that there was not a
hair to choose between them, and each of the horses was one year older
than another; at the same time the despot commanded that he should
choose the youngest from among them, and the others in the order of
their ages, including the oldest; if he could not do this, his country
should be filled with as many Tartars as there were blades of grass in
the land; that he should be impaled; and his daughter become the
Tartar-chief's wife. The king on hearing this news was very much
alarmed, held a council of all the wise men in his realm, but all in
vain: and the whole court was in sorrow and mourning. The princess, too,
was sad, and when she took the food to her sweetheart she did not smile
as usual, but her eyes were filled with tears: he seeing this inquired
the cause; the princess told him the reason of her grief, but he
consoled her, and asked her to tell her father that he was to get seven
different kinds of oats put into seven different dishes, the oats to be
the growths of seven different years; the horses were to be let in and
they would go and eat the oats according to their different ages, and
while they were feeding they must put a mark on each of the horses. And
so it was done, The horses were sent back and the ages of them given,
and the Tartar monarch found the solution to be right.
But then it happened again that a rod was sent by him both ends of which
were of equal thickness; the same threat was again repeated in case the
king should not find out which end had grown nearest the trunk of the
tree. The king was downcast and the princess told her grief to the lad,
but he said, "Don't worry yourself, princess, but tell your father to
measure carefully the middle of the rod and to hang it up by the middle
on a piece of twine, the heavier end of it will swing downwards, that
end will be the one required." The king did so and sent the rod back
with the end marked as ordered. The Tartar monarch shook his head but
was obliged to admit that it was right. "I will give them another
trial," said he in a great rage; "and, as I see that there must be some
one at the king's court who wishes to defy me, we will see who is the
stronger." Not long after this, an arrow struck the wall of the royal
palace, which shook it to its very foundation, like an earthquake; and
great was the terror of the people, which was still more increased when
they found that the Tartar monarch's previous threats were written on
the feathers of the arrow, which threats were to be carried out if the
king had nobody who could draw out the arrow and shoot it back. The king
was more downcast than ever, and never slept a wink: he called together
all the heroes of his realm, and every child born under a lucky star,
who was born either with a caul or with a tooth, or with a grey lock; he
promised to the successful one, half of his realm and his daughter, if
he fulfilled the Tartar king's wish. The princess told the lad, in sad
distress, the cause of her latest grief, and he asked her to have the
secret opening closed, so that their love might not be found out, and
that no trace be left; and then she was to say, that she dreamt that the
lad was still alive, and that he would be able to do what was needed,
and that they were to have the wall opened. The princess did as she was
told; the king was very much astonished, but at the same time treated
the matter as an idle dream in the beginning. He had almost entirely
forgotten the lad, and thought that he had gone to dust behind the walls
long ago. _But in times of perplexity, when there is no help to be found
in reality, one is apt to believe dreams_, and in his fear about his
daughter's safety, the king at last came to the conclusion that the
dream was not altogether impossible. He had the wall opened; and a
gallant knight stepped from the hole. "You have nothing more to fear, my
king," said the lad, who was filled with hope, and, dragging out the
arrow with his right hand, he shot it towards Tartary with such force
that all the finials of the royal palace dropped down with the force of
the shock.
Seeing this, the Tartar monarch was not only anxious to see, but also to
make the acquaintance of him who did all these things. The lad at once
offered to go, and started on the journey with twelve other knights,
disguising himself so that he could not be distinguished from his
followers; his weapons, his armour, and everything on him was exactly
like those around him. This was done in order to test the magic power of
the Tartar chief. The lad and his knights were received with great pomp
by the monarch, who, seeing that all were attired alike, at once
discovered the ruse; but, in order that he might not betray his
ignorance, did not dare to inquire who the wise and powerful knight was,
but trusted to his mother, who had magic power, to find him out. For
this reason the magic mother put them all in the same bedroom for the
night, she concealing herself in the room. The guests lay down, when one
of them remarked, with great satisfaction, "By Jove! what a good cellar
the monarch has!" "His wine is good, indeed," said another, "because
there is human blood mixed with it." The magic mother noted from which
bed the sound had come; and, when all were asleep, she cut off a lock
from the knight in question, and crept out of the room unnoticed, and
informed her son how he could recognise the true hero. The guests got up
next morning, but our man soon noticed that he was marked, and in order
to thwart the design, every one of the knights cut off a lock. They sat
down to dinner, and the monarch was not able to recognise the hero.
The next night the monarch's mother again stole into the bedroom, and
this time a knight exclaimed, "By Jove! what good bread the Tartar
monarch has!" "It's very good, indeed," said another, "because there is
woman's milk in it." When they went to sleep, she cut off the end of the
moustache from the knight who slept in the bed where the voice came
from, and made this sign known to her son; but the knights were more on
their guard than before, and having discovered what the sign was, each
of them cut off as much from their moustache as the knight's who was
marked; and so once more the monarch could not distinguish between them.
The third night the old woman again secreted herself, when one of the
knights remarked, "By Jove! what a handsome man the monarch is!" "He is
handsome, indeed, because he is a love-child," said another. When they
went to sleep, she made a scratch on the visor of the knight who spoke
last, and told her son. Next morn the monarch saw that all visors were
marked alike. At last the monarch took courage and spoke thus: "I can
see there is a cleverer man amongst you than I; and this is why I am so
much more anxious to know him. I pray, therefore, that he make himself
known, so that I may see him, and make the acquaintance of the only
living man who wishes to be wiser and more powerful than myself." The
lad stepped forward and said, "I do not wish to be wiser or more
powerful than you; but I have only carried out what you bade me do; and
I am the one who has been marked for the last three nights." "Very well,
my lad, now I wish you to prove your words. Tell me, then, how is it
possible there can be human blood in my wine?" "Call your cupbearer,
your majesty, and he will explain it to you," said the lad. The official
appeared hastily, and told the king how, when filling the tankards with
the wine in question, he cut his finger with his knife, and thus the
blood got into the wine. "Then how is it that there is woman's milk in
my bread?" asked the monarch. "Call the woman who baked the bread, and
she will tell," said the lad. The woman was questioned, and narrated
that she was nursing a baby, and that milk had collected in her breasts;
and as she was kneading the dough, the breast began to run, and some
milk dropped into it. The magic mother had previously informed her son,
when telling him what happened the three nights, and now confirmed her
previous confession that it was true that the monarch was a love-child.
The monarch was not able to keep his temper any longer, and spoke in a
great rage and very haughtily, "I cannot tolerate the presence of a man
who is my equal: either he or I will die. Defend yourself, lad!" and
with these words he flashed his sword, and dashed at the lad. But in
doing so, he accidentally slipped and fell, and the lad's life was
saved. Before the former had time to get on his feet, the lad pierced
him through, cut off his head, and presented it on the point of his
sword to the king at home. "These things that have happened to me are
what I dreamt," said the victorious lad; "but I could not divulge my
secret beforehand, or else it would not have been fulfilled." The king
embraced the lad, and presented to him his daughter and half his realm;
and they perhaps still live in happiness to-day, if they have not died
since.
CSABOR UR.