years old, tall, and his slim figure was like a pine tree; his forehead
was sorrowful, like the dark pine; his thunder-like voice made his eyes
flash; his dress and his armour were black, because the prince, who was
known all over the world simply as Csabor Ur (Mr. Csabor), was serving
with the picked heroes of the grand king, and who had no other ornaments
besides his black suit but a gold star, which the grand king had
presented to him in the German camp for having saved his life. The fame
of Csabor Ur's bravery was great, and also of his benevolence, because
he was kind to the poor, and the grand king very often had to scold him
for distributing his property in a careless way. The priests, however,
could not boast of Csabor Ur's alms, because he never gave any to them,
nor did he ever give them any money for masses, and for this reason the
whole hierarchy was angry with him, especially the head priest at the
great king's court; but Csabor Ur being a great favourite of the great
king, not even a priest dared to offend him openly, but in secret the
pot was boiling for him. One cold autumn the great king arrived at the
royal palace from the camp with Csabor Ur, the palace standing on the
bank of a large sheet of water, and before they had taken the saddles
off the stallions the great king thus addressed Csabor Ur: "My lad, rest
yourself during the night, and at dawn, as soon as day breaks, hurry off
with your most trusty men into Roumania beyond the snow-covered
mountains to old Demeter, because I hear that my Roumanian neighbours
are not satisfied with my friendship, and are intriguing with the Turks:
find out, my lad, how many weeks the world will last there (what's the
news?) and warn the old fox to mind his tail, because I may perhaps send
him a rope instead of the archiepiscopal pallium." Csabor Ur received
the grand king's order with great joy, and, having taken leave of Dame
Margit (Margaret), dashed off on his bay stallion over the sandy plains
to the banks of the Olt, and from there he crossed over during a severe
frost beyond the snow-covered mountains; he arrived at the house of
Jordán Boer, the king's confidential man, whose guest he was, and here
he heard of old Demeter's cunning in all its details, and also that he
was secretly encouraged by the great king's head priest to plot against
the sovereign; hearing this, Csabor Ur started on his journey, and
arrived on the fourth day in Roumania, where he became the bishop's
guest, by whom he was apparently received cordially; the old dog being
anxious to mislead with his glib tongue Csabor Ur, about the events
there, but it was very difficult to hoodwink the great king's man.
Csabor Ur never gave any answer to the bishop's many words, and
therefore made the bishop believe that he had succeeded in deceiving
Csabor Ur; but he was more on his guard than ever and soon discovered
that every night crowds of people gathered into the cathedral; therefore
one night he also stole in there dressed in the costume of the country,
and to his horror heard how the people were conspiring with the bishop
against the great king, and how they were plotting an attack with the
aid of the Turkish army.
Csabor Ur listened to these things in great silence and sent one of his
servants with a letter to the great king next day, in which he described
minutely the whole state of affairs. The spies, however, laid in ambush
for the servant, attacked and killed him, took Csabor Ur's letter from
him, and handed it to the bishop, who learnt from its contents that
Csabor Ur had stolen into the cathedral every night. He, therefore, had
the large oak doors closed as soon as the congregation had assembled on
the same night, and in an infuriated sermon he informed the people that
there was a traitor among them. Hearing this everybody demanded his
death, and they were ready to take their oath on the Holy Cross that
they were not traitors. Whereupon the bishop ordered a stool to be
placed on the steps of the altar, sat down, and administered the oath to
all present. Only one man, in a brown fur-cloak, did not budge from the
side of the stoup. The bishop, therefore, addressed him thus: "Then who
are you? Why don't you come to me?" But the dark cloak did not move, and
the bishop at once knew who it was and ordered the man to be bound;
whereupon the multitude rushed forward to carry out his command.
Thereupon the man dropped his brown cloak; and, behold, Csabor Ur stood
erect--like a dark pine--with knitted brows and flashing eyes, holding
in his right hand a copper mace with a gilt handle, his left resting on
a broad two-edged sword. The multitude stopped, shuddering, like the
huntsman, who in pursuit of hares suddenly finds a bear confronting him;
but in the next moment the crowd rushed at their prey. Csabor Ur, after
cutting down about thirty of them, dropped down dead himself. His blood
spurted up high upon the column, where it can still be seen in the
cathedral--to the left of the entrance--although the Roumanian priests
tried their best to whitewash it. The great king heard of this, had the
head priest imprisoned, and went with an immense army to revenge Csabor
Ur's murder. With his army came also Dame Margit, dressed in men's
clothes, who wept at the foot of the blood-bespurt column till one day
after mass they picked her up dead from the flags.
THE DEVIL AND THE THREE SLOVÁK LADS.
There was once, I don't know where, in Slavonia, a man who had three
sons. "Well, my sons," said he one day to them, "go to see the land; to
see the world. There is a country where even the yellow-hammer bathes in
wine, and where even the fence of the yards is made of strings of
sausages; but if you wish to get on there you must first learn the
language of the country." The three lads were quite delighted with the
description of the wonderful country, and were ready to start off at
once. The father accompanied them as far as the top of a high mountain;
it took them three days to get to the top, and when they reached the
summit they were on the border of the happy land: here the father slung
an empty bag on every one of the lads' shoulders, and, pointing out to
the eldest one the direction, exclaimed, "Ah! can you see Hungary?" and
with this he took leave of them quite as satisfied as if he had then
handed them the key of happiness. The three lads went on and walked into
Hungary; and their first desire was to learn Hungarian, in accord with
their father's direction. The moment they stepped over the border they
met a man, who inquired where they were going? They informed him, "to
learn Hungarian." "Don't go any further, my lads," said the man, "the
school year consists of three days with me, at the end of which you will
have acquired the requisite knowledge." The three lads stayed; and at
the end of the three days one of them had happily learned by heart the
words "we three"; the other, "for a cheese"; and the third, "that's
right." The three Slovák lads were delighted, and wouldn't learn any
more; and so they continued on their journey. They walked till they came
to a forest, where they found a murdered man by the road-side; they
looked at him, and to their astonishment they recognised the murdered
man as their late master whom they had just left; and while they were
sighing, not knowing what to do, the rural policeman arrived on the
spot. He began to question them about the murdered man, saying, "Who
killed him?" The first, not knowing anything else, answered, "We three."
"Why?" asked the policeman. "For a cheese," replied the second. "If this
is so," growled the policeman, "I shall have to put you in irons."
Whereupon the third said, "That's right." The lads were escorted by the
policeman, who also intended to get assistance to carry away the dead
man; but the moment they left, the dead man jumped up, shook himself,
and regained his ordinary appearance, and became a sooty devil, with
long ears and tail, who stood laughing at the lads, being highly amused
at their stupidity, which enabled him to deceive them so easily.
THE COUNT'S DAUGHTER.
There was once, I don't know where, an old tumble-down oven, there was
nothing left of its sides; there was also once a town in which a
countess lived, with an immense fortune. This countess had an
exceedingly pretty daughter, who was her sole heiress. The fame of her
beauty and her riches being very great the marrying magnates swarmed
about her. Among others the three sons of a count used to come to the
house, whose castle stood outside the town in a pretty wood. These
young men appeared to be richer than one would have supposed from their
property, but no one knew where and how the money came to them. The
three young men were invited almost every day to the house, but the
countess and her daughter never visited them in return, although the
young lady was continually asked by them. For a long time the girl did
not accept their invitation, till one day she was preparing for a walk
into the wood, in which the young counts' castle was supposed to be: her
mother was surprised to hear that she intended to go into the wood, but
as the young lady didn't say exactly where she was going her mother
raised no objection. The girl went, and the prettiness of the wood, and
also her curiosity enticed her to go in further and further till at last
she discovered the turrets of a splendid castle; being so near to it her
curiosity grew stronger, and at last she walked into the courtyard.
Everything seemed to show that the castle was inhabited, but still she
did not see a living soul; the girl went on till she came to the main
entrance, the stairs were of white marble, and the girl, quite dazzled
at the splendour she beheld, went up, counting the steps; "one hundred,"
said the girl, in a half whisper, when she reached the first flight, and
tarried on the landing. Here she looked round when her attention fell on
a bird in a cage. "Girl, beware!" said the bird. But the girl, dazzled
by the glitter, and drawn on by her curiosity, again began to mount the
stairs, counting them, without heeding the bird's words. "One hundred,"
again said the girl, as she tarried on the next landing, but still no
one was to be seen, but thinking that she might find some one she opened
the first door, which revealed a splendour quite beyond all she had ever
imagined, a sight such as she had never seen before, but still no one
appeared. She went into another room and there amongst other furniture
she also found three bedsteads, "this is the three young men's bedroom,"
she thought, and went on. The next room into which she stepped was full
of weapons of every possible description; the girl stared and went on,
and then she came to a large hall which was full of all sorts of
garments, clerical, military, civilian, and also women's dresses. She
went on still further and in the next room she found a female figure,
made up of razors, which, with extended arms as it seemed, was placed
above a deep hole. The girl was horror-struck at the sight and her fear
drove her back; trembling she went back through the rooms again, but
when she came into the bedroom she heard male voices. Her courage fled
and she could go no further, but hearing some footsteps approach she
crept under one of the beds. The men entered, whom she recognised as the
three sons of the count, bringing with them a beautiful girl, whom the
trembling girl recognised by her voice as a dear friend; they stripped
her of all, and as they could not take off a diamond ring from her
little finger, one of the men chopped it off and the finger rolled under
the bed where the girl lay concealed. One of the men began to look for
the ring when another said "You will find it some other time," and so he
left off looking for it. Having quite undressed the girl they took her
to the other room, when after a short lapse of time she heard some faint
screaming, and it appeared to her as if the female figure of razors had
snapped together, and the mangled remains of the unfortunate victim were
heard to drop down into the deep hole. The three brothers came back and
one of them began to look for the ring: the cold sweat broke out on the
poor girl hiding under the bed. "Never mind, it is ours new and you can
find it in the morning," said one of the men, and bade the others go to
bed; and so it happened: the search for the ring was put off till next
day. They went to bed and the girl began to breathe more freely in her
hiding-place; she began to grope about in silence and found the ring and
secreted it in her dress, and hearing that the three brothers were fast
asleep, she stole out noiselessly leaving the door half ajar. The next
day the three brothers again visited the countess when the daughter
told them that she had a dream as if she had been to their castle. She
told them how she went up a flight of marble stairs till she counted
100, and up the next flight when she again counted 100. The brothers
were charmed and very much surprised at the dream and assured her that
it was exactly like their home. Then she told them how she went from one
room to another and what she saw, but when she came in her dream as far
as the razor-maid they began to feel uneasy and grew suspicious, and
when she told them the scene with the girl, and in proof of her tale
produced the finger with the ring, the brothers were terrified and
exclaiming, "We are betrayed!" took flight; but everything was arranged,
and the servants, who were ordered to watch, caught them. After an
investigation all their numberless horrible deeds were brought to light
and they were beheaded.
THE SPEAKING GRAPES, THE SMILING APPLE, AND THE TINKLING APRICOT.
There was once, I don't know where, beyond seven times seven countries,
a king who had three daughters. One day the king was going to the
market, and thus inquired of his daughters: "What shall I bring you from
the market, my dear daughters?" The eldest said, "A golden dress, my
dear royal father;" the second said, "A silver dress for me;" the third
said, "Speaking grapes, a smiling apple, and a tinkling apricot for me."
"Very well, my daughters," said the king, and went. He bought the
dresses for his two elder daughters in the market, as soon as he
arrived; but, in spite of all exertions and inquiries, he could not find
the speaking grapes, the smiling apple, and tinkling apricot. He was
very sad that he could not get what his youngest daughter wished, for
she was his favourite; and he went home. It happened, however, that the
royal carriage stuck fast on the way home, although his horses were of
the best breed, for they were such high steppers that they kicked the
stars. So he at once sent for extra horses to drag out the carriage; but
all in vain, the horses couldn't move either way. He gave up all hope,
at last, of getting out of the position, when a dirty, filthy pig came
that way, and grunted, "Grumph! grumph! grumph! King, give me your
youngest daughter, and I will help you out of the mud." The king, never
thinking what he was promising, and over-anxious to get away, consented,
and the pig gave the carriage a push with its nose, so that carriage and
horses at once moved out of the mud. Having arrived at home the king
handed the dresses to his two daughters, and was now sadder than ever
that he had brought nothing for his favourite daughter; the thought also
troubled him that he had promised her to an unclean animal.
After a short time the pig arrived in the courtyard of the palace
dragging a wheelbarrow after it, and grunted, "Grumph! grumph! grumph!
King, I've come for your daughter." The king was terrified, and, in
order to save his daughter, he had a peasant girl dressed in rich
garments, embroidered with gold, sent her down and had her seated in the
wheelbarrow: the pig again grunted, "Grumph! grumph! grumph! King, this
is not your daughter;" and, taking the barrow, it tipped her out. The
king, seeing that deceit was of no avail, sent down his daughter, as
promised, but dressed in ragged, dirty tatters, thinking that she would
not please the pig; but the animal grunted in great joy, seized the
girl, and placed her in the wheelbarrow. Her father wept that, through a
careless promise, he had brought his favourite daughter to such a fate.
The pig went on and on with the sobbing girl, till, after a long
journey, it stopped before a dirty pig-stye and grunted, "Grumph!
grumph! grumph! Girl, get out of the wheelbarrow." The girl did as she
was told. "Grumph! grumph! grumph!" grunted the pig again; "go into
your new home." The girl, whose tears, now, were streaming like a brook,
obeyed; the pig then offered her some Indian corn that it had in a
trough, and also its litter which consisted of some old straw, for a
resting-place. The girl had not a wink of sleep for a long time, till at
last, quite worn out with mental torture, she fell asleep.
Being completely exhausted with all her trials, she slept so soundly
that she did not wake till next day at noon. On awaking, she looked
round, and was very much astonished to find herself in a beautiful
fairy-like palace, her bed being of white silk with rich purple curtains
and golden fringes. At the first sign of her waking maids appeared all
round her, awaiting her orders, and bringing her costly dresses. The
girl, quite enchanted with the scene, dressed without a word, and the
maids accompanied her to her breakfast in a splendid hall, where a young
man received her with great affection. "I am your husband, if you accept
me, and whatever you see here belongs to you," said he; and after
breakfast led her into a beautiful garden. The girl did not know
_whether it was a dream she saw or reality_, and answered all the
questions put to her by the young man with evasive and chaffing replies.
At this moment they came to that part of the garden which was laid out
as an orchard, and the bunches of grapes began to speak "Our beautiful
queen, pluck some of us." The apples smiled at her continuously, and the
apricots tinkled a beautiful silvery tune. "You see, my love," said the
handsome youth, "here you have what you wished for--what your father
could not obtain. You may know now, that once I was a monarch but I was
bewitched into a pig, and I had to remain in that state till a girl
wished for speaking grapes, a smiling apple, and a tinkling apricot. You
are the girl, and I have been delivered; and if I please you, you can be
mine for ever." The girl was enchanted with the handsome youth and the
royal splendour, and consented. They went with great joy to carry the
news to their father, and to tell him of their happiness.
THE THREE ORANGES.
There was once, I don't know where, a king, who had three sons. They had
reached a marriageable age, but could not find any one who suited them,
or who pleased their father. "Go, my sons, and look round in the world,"
said the king, "and try to find wives somewhere else." The three sons
went away, and at bed-time they came to a small cottage, in which a
very, very old woman lived. She asked them about the object of their
journey, which the princes readily communicated to her. The old woman
provided them with the necessaries for the journey as well as she could,
and before taking leave of her guests, gave them an orange each, with
instructions to cut them open only in the neighbourhood of water, else
they would suffer great, very great damage. The three princes started on
their way again, and the eldest not being able to restrain his curiosity
as to what sort of fruit it could be, or to conceive what harm could
possibly happen if he cut it open in a place where there was no water
near: cut into the orange; and lo! a beautiful girl, such as he had
never seen before, came out of it, and exclaimed, "Water! let me have
some water, or I shall die on the spot." The prince ran in every
direction to get water, but could not find any, and the beautiful girl
died in a short time, as the old woman had said. The princes went on,
and now the younger one began to be inquisitive as to what could be in
his orange.
They had just sat down to luncheon on a plain, under a tall, leafy tree,
when it appeared to them that they could see a lake not very far off.
"Supposing there is a girl in the fruit, I can fulfil her wish," he
thought to himself, and not being able to restrain his curiosity any
longer, as to what sort of girl there could be inside, he cut his
orange; and lo! a girl, very much more beautiful than the first, stepped
out of it, and called out for water, in order to save her life. He had
previously sent his brother to what he thought was a lake; and, as he
could not wait for his return with the water, he ran off himself, quite
out of breath, but the further he ran the further the lake appeared to
be off, because it was only a mirage. He rushed back to the tree nearly
beside himself, in order to see whether the girl was yet alive, but only
found her body lifeless, and quite cold.
The two elder brothers, seeing that they had lost what they had been
searching for, and having given up all hope of finding a prettier one,
returned in great sorrow to their father's house, and the youngest
continued his journey alone. He wandered about until, after much
fatigue, he came to the neighbourhood of some town, where he found a
well. He had no doubt that there was a girl in his orange also, so he
took courage, and cut it; and, indeed, a girl, who was a hundred times
prettier than the first two, came out of it. She called out for water,
and the prince gave her some at once, and death had no power over her.
The prince now hurried into the town to purchase rich dresses for his
love; and that no harm might happen to her during his absence, he made
her sit up in a tree with dense foliage, the boughs of which overhung
the well.
As soon as the prince left, a gipsy woman came to the well for water.
She looked into the well, and saw in the water the beautiful face of
the girl in the tree. At first she fancied that she saw the image of her
own face, and felt very much flattered; but soon found out her mistake,
and looking about discovered the pretty girl in the tree. "What are you
waiting for, my pretty maid?" inquired the gipsy woman with a cunning
face. The girl told her her story, whereupon the gipsy woman, shamming
kindness, climbed up the tree, and pushed the pretty girl into the well,
taking her place in the tree, when the pretty girl sank. The next moment
a beautiful little gold fish appeared swimming in the water; the gipsy
woman recognised it as the girl, and, being afraid that it might be
dangerous to her, tried to catch it, when suddenly the prince appeared
with the costly dresses, so she at once laid her plans to deceive him:
the prince immediately noticed the difference between her and the girl
he had left; but she succeeded in making him believe that for a time
after having left the fairy world, she had to lose her beauty, but that
she would recover it the sooner the more he loved her: so the prince was
satisfied and went home to his father's house with the woman he found,
and actually loved her in hopes of her regaining her former beauty. The
good food and happy life, and also the pretty dresses, improved the
sunburnt woman's looks a little: the prince imagining that his wife's
prediction was going to be fulfilled, felt still more attached to her,
and was anxious to carry out all her wishes.
The woman, however, could not forget the little gold fish, and therefore
feigned illness, saying that she would not get better till she had eaten
of the liver of a gold fish, which was to be found in such and such a
well: the prince had the fish caught at once, and the princess having
partaken of the liver, got better, and felt more cheerful than before.
It happened, however, that one scale of the fish had been cast out in
the courtyard with the water, and from it a beautiful tree began to
grow; the princess noticed it and found out the reason, how the tree
got there, and again fell ill, and said that she could not get better
until they burnt the tree, and cooked her something by the flames. This
wish also was fulfilled, and she got better; it happened, however that
one of the woodcutters took a square piece of the timber home to his
wife, who used it as a lid for a milk jug: these people lived not very
far from the royal palace, and were poor, the woman herself keeping the
house, and doing all servants' work.