dance, again, she was the soul of the evening; but this time the young
men wanted her to stay to the end of the ball, and watched her very
closely, so that she might not escape. When, therefore, she tried to get
away, she was in such a hurry that she had no time to pick up a shoe she
accidentally dropped in the corridor; she was just in time to receive
her sisters. The shoe came into the possession of the prince, who hid
it carefully. After a few days the prince fell very ill, and the best
physicians could not find a cure for him; his father was very nearly in
despair about his only son's health, when a foreign doctor maintained
that the patient could only be cured by marrying, because he was
love-sick. His father, therefore, implored him to make him a full
confession of his love, and, whoever the person whom he wished might be,
he should have her. The prince produced the shoe, and declared that he
wanted the young lady to whom the shoe belonged. So it was announced
throughout the whole realm, that all the ladies of the country should
appear next Sunday to try on the shoe, and whosoever's foot it fitted
she should become the prince's wife. On Sunday the ladies swarmed in
crowds to the capital. Nor were the two eldest of the three sisters
missing, who had had their feet previously scraped with a knife by their
youngest sister, so that they might be smaller. The youngest sister also
got ready after their departure, and, having wrapped the mate of the
lost shoe in a handkerchief, she jumped on the pony's back in her best
dress, and rode to the appointed place. She overtook her sisters on the
road, and, jumping the pony into a puddle, splashed them all over with
mud. The moment she was seen approaching 100 cannons were fired off, and
all the bells were rung; but she wouldn't acknowledge the shoe as her
own without a trial, and, therefore, tried it on. The shoe fitted her
exactly, and when she produced its mate, 300 cannons greeted her as the
future queen. She accepted the honour upon one condition, namely, that
the king should restore her father's conquered realm. Her wish was
granted, and she became the prince's wife. Her sisters were conducted
back to their royal father, who was now rich and powerful once more;
where they live still, if they have not died since.
CINDER JACK.
A peasant had three sons. One morning he sent out the eldest to guard
the vineyard. The lad went, and was cheerfully eating a cake he had
taken with him, when a frog crept up to him, and asked him to let it
have some of his cake. "Anything else?" asked the lad angrily, and
picked up a stone to drive the frog away. The frog left without a word,
and the lad soon fell asleep, and, on awaking, found the whole vineyard
laid waste. The next day the father sent his second son into the
vineyard, but he fared like the first.
The father was very angry about it, and did not know what to do;
whereupon his youngest son spoke up, who was always sitting in a corner
amongst the ashes, and was not thought fit for anything, and whom for
this reason they nicknamed Cinder Jack. "My father, send me out, and I
will take care of the vineyard." His father and his brothers laughed at
him, but they allowed him to have a trial; so Cinder Jack went to the
vineyard, and, taking out his cake, began to eat it. The frog again
appeared, and asked for a piece of cake, which was given to him at once.
Having finished their breakfast, the frog gave the lad a copper, a
silver, and a gold rod; and told him, that three horses would appear
shortly, of copper, silver, and gold, and they would try to trample down
the vineyard; but, if he beat them with the rods he had given him they
would at once become tame, and be his servants, and could at any time be
summoned to carry out his orders. It happened as the frog foretold; and
the vineyard produced a rich vintage. But Cinder Jack never told his
master or his brothers how he had been able to preserve the vineyard; in
fact, he concealed all, and again spent his time as usual, lying about
in his favourite corner.
One Sunday the king had a high fir pole erected in front of the church,
and a golden rosemary tied to the top, and promised his daughter to him
who should be able to take it down in one jump on horseback. All the
knights of the realm tried their fortune, but not one of them was able
to jump high enough. But all of a sudden a knight clad in copper mail,
on a copper horse, appeared with his visor down, and snatched the
rosemary with an easy jump, and quickly disappeared. When his two
brothers got home they told Cinder Jack what had happened, and he
remarked, that he saw the whole proceeding much better, and on being
asked "Where from?" his answer was, "From the top of the hoarding." His
brothers had the hoarding pulled down at once, so that their younger
brother might not look on any more. Next Sunday a still higher pole,
with a golden apple at the top, was set up; and whosoever wished to
marry the king's daughter had to take the apple down. Again, hundreds
upon hundreds tried, but all in vain; till, at last, a knight in silver
mail, on a silver horse, took it, and disappeared. Cinder Jack again
told his brothers that he saw the festivities much better than they did;
he saw them, he said, from the pig-stye; so this was pulled down also.
The third Sunday a silk kerchief interwoven with gold was displayed at
the top of a still higher fir pole, and, as nobody succeeded in getting
it, a knight in gold mail, on a gold horse, appeared; snatched it down,
and galloped off. Cinder Jack again told his brothers that he saw all
from the top of the house; and his envious brothers had the roof of the
house taken off, so that the youngest brother might not look on again.
The king now had it announced that the knight who had shown himself
worthy of his daughter should report himself, and should bring with him
the gold rosemary, the apple, and the silk kerchief; but no one came. So
the king ordered every man in the realm to appear before him, and still
the knight in question could not be found; till, at last, he arrived
clad in gold mail on a gold charger; whereupon the bells were at once
rung, and hundreds and hundreds of cannons fired. The knight, having
handed to the princess the golden rosemary, the apple, and the kerchief,
respectfully demanded her hand, and, having obtained it, lifted his
visor, and the populace, to their great astonishment, recognised Cinder
Jack, whom they had even forgotten to ask to the king's presence. The
good-hearted lad had his brothers' house rebuilt, and gave them presents
as well. He took his father to his house, as the old king died soon
after. Cinder Jack is reigning still, and is respected and honoured by
all his subjects!
THE THREE BROTHERS.
There was once a poor man who had three sons. "My sons," said he to them
one day, "you have not seen anything yet, and you have no experience
whatever; it is time for you to go to different countries and try your
luck in the world; so get ready for the journey, and go as far as your
eyes can see." The three lads got ready, and, having filled their bags
with cakes specially prepared For the occasion, they left home. They
went on and on till at last they got tired and lay down,--the two elder
then proposed that, as it became good brethren, they should all share
equally, and that they should begin with the youngest's provisions, and
when they were finished should divide those of the second, and lastly
those of the eldest. And so it happened; on the first day the youngest's
bag was emptied; but the second day, when meal-time came, the two eldest
would not give the youngest anything, and when he insisted on receiving
his share, they gouged out his eyes and left him to starve. For the
present let us leave the two eldest to continue their way, and let's
see what became of the poor blind lad. He, resigning himself to God's
will, groped his way about, till, alas! he dropped into a well. There
was no water in it, but a great deal of mud; when he dropped into it the
mud splashed all over his body, and he felt quite a new man again and
ever so much better. Having besmeared his face and the hollows of his
eyes with the mud he again saw clearly, because the healing power of the
miracle-working mud had renewed his eyes once more, and his whole face
became of a beautiful complexion.
The lad took as much mud in a flower pot with him as he could carry and
continued his journey, when suddenly he noticed a little mouse quite
crushed, imploring him for help; he took pity on it, and, having
besmeared it with the miraculous mud, the mouse was cured, and gave to
his benefactor a small whistle, with the direction that if anything
happened to him he had to blow the whistle, and the mouse, who was the
king of mice, would come to his help with all his mates on earth. He
continued his way and found a bee quite crushed and cured it too with
the mud, and obtained another whistle, which he had to blow in case of
danger, and the queen of the bees would come to his aid. Again going on
he found a wolf shockingly bruised; at first he had not courage to cure
it, being afraid that it would eat him; but the wolf implored so long
that at last he cured him too, and the wolf became strong and beautiful;
the wolf, too, gave him a whistle to use in time of need.
The lad went on till at last he came to the royal town, where he was
engaged as servant to the king. His two brothers were there already in
the same service, and, having recognised him, tried in every way to
destroy him. After long deliberation as to how to carry out their plan
they went to the king and falsely accused their brother of having told
them that he was able to gather the corn of the whole land into the
king's barn in one night; the lad denied it, but all in vain. The king
declared that if all the corn was not in the barn by the morning he
would hang him. The lad wept and wailed for a long time, when suddenly
he remembered his whistles, and blew into the one that the mouse had
given him and when the mice came he told them his misfortunes: by
midnight all the corn of the country was gathered together. Next day his
brothers were more angry still, and falsely said to the king that their
brother was able to build a beautiful bridge of wax from the royal
castle to the market place in one night; the king ordered him to do this
too, and having blown his second whistle the bees, who appeared to
receive his command, did the task for him. Next morning from his window
the king very much admired the beautiful arched bridge; his brothers
nearly burst in their rage, and spread the report that their brother was
able to bring twelve of the strongest wolves into the royal courtyard by
the next morning. They firmly believed that on this occasion they were
quite sure of their victory, because either the wolves would tear their
brother in pieces, or if he could not fulfil the task the king would
have him executed; but again they were out of their reckoning: the lad
blew his third whistle and the king of wolves arrived to receive his
orders. He told him his misfortune, and the wolf ordered not only
twelve, but all his mates in the country, into the royal courtyard. The
lad now sat on the back of the king of wolves, and drove with a whip the
whole pack in front of him, who tore everything in pieces that crossed
them. There was a great deal of weeping, imploring, and wailing in the
royal palace, but all in vain; the king promised a sack full of gold,
but all in vain. The king of the wolves, heedless of any words, urged on
the pack by howling at them continually: "Drive on! Seize them!" The
king promised more; two sacks, three sacks, ten, or even twenty sacks
full of gold were offered but not accepted; the wolves tore everyone in
pieces; the two brothers perished, and so did the king and all his
servants, and only his daughter was spared; the lad married her,
occupied the king's throne, and lives happily to this day if he has not
died since. In his last letter he promised to come and see us to-morrow.
THE THREE VALUABLE THINGS.
There were once two kings who lived in great friendship; one had three
sons, the other a daughter. The two fathers made an agreement, that in
case of either of them dying, the other should become guardian of the
orphans; and that if one of the boys married the girl he should inherit
her property. Very soon after the girl's father died, and she went to
live with her guardian. After a little time the eldest boy went to his
father and asked the girl's hand, threatening to commit suicide if his
request was refused; his father promised to give him a reply in three
weeks. At the end of the first week the second son asked the girl's
hand, and threatened to blow out his brains if he could not wed her; the
king promised to reply to him in a fortnight. At the end of the second
week, the youngest asked for the girl, and his father bade him wait a
week for his answer. The day arrived when all three had to receive their
reply, and their father addressed them thus: "My sons, you all three
love the girl, but you know too well that only one can have her. I will,
therefore, give her to the one who will show himself the most worthy of
her. You had better go, wherever you please, and see the world, and
return in one year from this day, and the girl shall be his who will
bring the most valuable thing from his journey." The princes consented
to this, and started on their journey, travelling together till they
came to a tall oak in the nearest wood; the road here divided into three
branches; the eldest chose the one leading west, the second selected the
one running south, and the third son the branch turning off to the east.
Before separating, they decided to return to the same place after the
lapse of exactly one year, and to make the homeward journey together.
The eldest looked at everything that he found worthy of note during his
travels, and spared no expense to get something excellent: after a long
journey hither and thither, he at last succeeded in getting a telescope
by the aid of which he could see to the end of the world; so he decided
to take it back to his father, as the most valuable thing he had found.
The second son also endeavoured to find something so valuable that the
possession of it should make him an easy winner in the competition for
the girl's hand: after a long search he found a cloak by means of which,
when he put it on and thought of a place, he was immediately transported
there. The youngest, after long wandering, bought an orange which had
power to restore to life the dead when put under the corpse's nose,
provided death had not taken place more than twenty-four hours before.
These were the three valuable things that were to be brought home; and,
as the year was nearly up, the eldest and the youngest were already on
their way back to the oak: the second son only was still enjoying
himself in various places, as one second was enough for him to get to
the meeting place. The two having arrived at the oak, the middle one
appeared after a little while, and they then shewed each other the
valuables acquired; next they looked through the telescope, and to their
horror they saw that the lady for the possession of whom they had been
working hard for a whole year, was lying dead; so they all three slipped
hurriedly into the cloak, and as quick as thought arrived at home; the
father told them in great grief that the girl could belong to no one as
she was dead: they inquired when she died, and receiving an answer that
she had been dead not quite twenty-four hours, the youngest rushed up to
her, and restored her to life with his magic orange. Now there was a
good deal of litigation and quarrelling among the three lads: the eldest
claimed the greatest merit for himself, because, he said, had they not
seen through his telescope that the girl was dead they would have been
still lingering at the oak, and the orange would have been of no avail;
the second maintained that if they had not got home so quickly with his
cloak the orange would have been of no use; the third claimed his orange
as the best, for restoring the girl to life, without which the other two
would have been useless. In order to settle the dispute, they called all
the learned and old people of the realm together, and these awarded the
girl to the youngest, and all three were satisfied with the award, and
the two others gave up all idea about suicide. The eldest, by the aid of
his telescope, found himself a wife who was the prettiest royal princess
on earth, and married her: the second heard of one who was known for her
virtue and beauty, and got into his cloak, and went to her, and so all
three to their great satisfaction led their brides to the altar, and
became as happy as men can be.
THE LITTLE MAGIC PONY.
Once a poor man had twelve sons, and, not having sufficient means to
keep them at home, he sent them into the great world to earn their bread
by work and to try their fortunes. The brothers wandered twelve days and
nights over hills and dales till at last they came to a wealthy king,
who engaged them as grooms, and promised them each three hundred
florins a year for their wages. Among the king's horses there was a
half-starved looking, decrepit little pony; the eleven eldest boys
continually beat and ill-treated this animal on account of its ugliness,
but the youngest always took great care of it, he even saved all the
bread crumbs and other little dainties for his little invalid pony, for
which his brothers very often chaffed him, and in course of time they
treated him with silent contempt, believing him to be a lunatic; he bore
their insults patiently, and their badgering without a murmur, in the
same way as the little pony the bad treatment it received. The year of
service having come to an end, the lads received their wages, and as a
reward they were also each allowed to choose a horse from the king's
stud. The eleven eldest chose the best-looking horses, but the youngest
only begged leave to take the poor little decrepit pony with him. His
brothers tried to persuade him to give up the foolish idea, but, all in
vain, he would have no other horse.
The little pony now confessed to his keeper that it was a magic horse,
and that whenever it wanted it could change into the finest charger and
could gallop as fast as lightning. The twelve brothers then started
homewards; the eleven eldest were proudly jumping and prancing about on
their fine horses, whereas the youngest dragged his horse by its halter
along the road: at one time they came to a boggy place and the poor
little decrepit pony sank into it. The eleven brothers who had gone on
before were very angry about it, as they were obliged to return and drag
their brother's horse out of the mud: after a short journey the
youngest's again stuck in the mud, and his brothers had to drag it out
again, swearing at him all the time. When at last it stuck the third
time they would not listen any more to their brother's cries for help.
"Let them go," said the little pony, and after a short time inquired if
they had gone far? "They have," answered the lad. Again, after a short
time, the pony inquired whether he could still see them. "They look like
flying crows or black spots in the distance," replied his master. "Can
you see them now?" asked the pony in a few minutes. "No," was the reply;
thereupon the pony jumped out of the mud and, taking the lad on its
back, rushed forth like lightning, leaving the others far behind. Having
arrived at home the pony became poor and decrepit as before, and crawled
on to the dung heap, eating the straw it found there, the lad concealing
himself behind the oven. The others having arrived showed their wages
and horses to their father, and being asked about their brother they
replied that he had become an idiot, and chosen as his reward an ugly
pony, just such a one as the one on the dung heap, and that he stuck
fast in a bog, and perhaps was now dead. "It is not true," called out
the youngest from behind the oven, and stepped forth to the astonishment
of all.
Having spent a few days in enjoying themselves at their father's house,
the lads again started on a journey to find wives. They had already
journeyed over seven countries and seven villages as well, and had not
as yet been able to find twelve girls suitable for them, till at last,
as the sun was setting, they came across an old woman with an iron nose,
who was ploughing her field with twelve mares; she asked of them what
they sought, and, having learned the object of their wanderings, she
proposed that they should look at her twelve daughters: the lads having
consented, the old woman drove her twelve mares home and took the lads
into her house and introduced them to her daughters, who were none
others than the twelve mares they saw before. In the evening she bade
each lad go to bed with one of the girls; the eldest lad got into bed
with the eldest girl and so on, her youngest, who was the favourite
daughter and had golden hair, becoming the youngest lad's bedfellow.
This girl informed the lad that it was her mother's intention to kill
his eleven brothers; and so, in order to save them, on their all falling
asleep, the youngest lad got up and laid all his brothers next to the
wall, making all the girls lie outside, and having done this, quietly
crept back into his bed.
After a little while, the old woman with the iron nose got up and, with
a huge sword, cut off the heads of the eleven sleepers who were lying
outside, and then she went back to bed to sleep. Thereupon the youngest
lad again got up, and, waking his brothers, told them how he had saved
them, and urged them to flee as soon as possible. So they hurried off,
their brother remaining there till daybreak. At dawn he noticed that the
old woman was getting up, and that she was coming to examine the beds,
so he, too, got up, and sat on his pony, taking the little girl with the
golden hair with him. The old woman with the iron nose, as soon as she
found out the fraud, picked up a poker, turned it into a horse, and flew
after them; when she had nearly overtaken them, the little pony gave the
lad a currycomb, a brush, and a piece of a horse-rug, and bade him throw
first the currycomb behind him, and in case it did not answer, to throw
the brush, and as a last resource the piece of horse-rug; the lad threw
the currycomb, and in one moment it became a dense forest, with as many
trees as there were teeth in the comb; by the time that the old woman
had broken her way through the wood, the couple had travelled a long
distance. When the old woman came very near again, the lad threw the
brush behind him, and it at once became a dense forest, having as many
trees as there were bristles in the brush. The old woman had the
greatest difficulty in working her way through the wood; but again she
drew close to their heels, and very nearly caught them, when the lad
threw the horse-rug away, and it became such a dense forest between them
and the old woman, that it looked like one immense tree; with all her
perseverance, the old woman could not penetrate this wood, so she
changed into a pigeon to enable her to fly over it; but as soon as the
pony noticed this he turned into a vulture, swooped down on the pigeon,
and tore it in pieces with his claws, thus saving both the lad and the
pretty girl with the golden hair from the fury of the hateful old woman
with the iron nose.
While the eleven elder brothers were still out looking after wives, the
youngest married the pretty little girl with the golden hair, and they
still live merrily together, out of all danger, if they have not died
since.
THE BEGGAR'S PRESENTS.
There was once a very poor man, who went into the wood to fell trees for
his own use. The sweat ran down his cheeks, from his hard work, when all
at once an old beggar appeared and asked for alms. The poor man pitied
him very much, and, putting his axe on the ground, felt in his bag, and,
with sincere compassion, shared his few bits of bread with the poor old
beggar. The latter, having eaten his bread, spoke thus to the
wood-cutter: "My son, here! for your kindness accept this table-cloth,
and whenever hereafter you feel need and are hungry, say to the cloth,
'Spread thyself, little cloth,' and your table will be laid, and covered
with the best meats and drinks. I am the rewarder of all good deeds, and
I give this to you for your benevolence." Thereupon the old man
disappeared, and the wood-cutter turned homewards in great joy.