promised him that she would help him again if ever he needed her. Then
she turned and trotted off into the woods and Janko rode homewards
without her.
When he reached the crossroads where he had parted from his brothers
just one year before he came upon a crowd of angry farmers belaboring
two men who had been robbing their barns. Janko found that the two men
were his own brothers who since he had seen them had fallen into bad
company, lost all their money at cards, and had finally taken to
thieving. Janko paid the farmers for the damage his brothers had done
them and took his brothers home with him.
You can imagine the old farmer's happiness at seeing all three of his
sons after a whole year's absence. It was even greater than his delight
at getting back his Magic Grape-Vine. But that doesn't mean that he
wasn't delighted to have back the Grape-Vine. At the first cup of wine
that the Vine poured him, his left eye ceased weeping and it was never
known to weep again.
He was delighted, too, at having the Golden Maiden in the house and
pleased when people came from far and near to see the Maiden's Golden
Horse and Golden Apple-Tree and Golden Cradle. He even began to hope
that she might marry one of his sons before some prince came along and
snatched her away. He thought the Maiden would make a wonderful bride
for the oldest. Unfortunately Janko had not told him what reprobates the
two older sons were, and the older brothers themselves had given their
father to understand that it was really they who had found the Magic
Grape-Vine and rescued the Golden Maiden. You see instead of being
grateful to Janko for having saved their necks from the angry farmers,
they hated him worse than ever.
"That Booby!" the older brother growled. "Just because he took the
left-hand road and found the Magic Grape-Vine he thinks himself so much
better than us! It was just luck--that's all it was! Any one who took
the left-hand road could have found the old Grape-Vine!"
"And do you notice the way the Golden Maiden always smiles on him?" the
other said. "The first thing we know she'll be marrying him and giving
him the Golden Horse and the Golden Apple-Tree and the Golden Cradle!
Then where will we be?"
"Brother," whispered the first, "let us make away with him!"
So they plotted together and they asked Janko to go hunting with them
the next day. Suspecting nothing Janko went. When they came to a deep
well in the woods they asked Janko to reach them a cup of water. As he
stooped over into the well they pushed him all the way in and drowned
him. That's the kind of brothers they were! Then they went home and
pretended to be surprised that Janko hadn't come home before them.
He didn't come that night or the next day either, and the Golden Maiden
grew sad and quiet, the Magic Grape-Vine no longer poured out its
precious wine every hour, the Golden Apple-Tree stopped putting forth
its buds and blossoms and golden fruit, and the Golden Horse languished
and drooped its lovely head.
"Everything goes wrong when Janko isn't here!" the farmer said. "Where
can he be?"
On the third day the Golden Maiden suddenly began to laugh and sing, the
Magic Grape-Vine again poured forth a bucket of precious wine every
hour, the Golden Apple-Tree put out buds and blossoms and golden fruit,
and the Golden Horse lifted its beautiful head and neighed loud and
happily. And do you know why? Because the Little Lame Fox had just
rescued Janko and brought him back to life! She pulled him out of the
well, and rolled him about on the ground, and worked over him until all
the water was emptied from his lungs and he was able to breathe again.
Then as he opened his eyes the Little Fox said:
"I told you, brother, I'd come again if you needed my help. I was just
in time for a little longer and I could never have brought you back to
life. And now, brother, the enchantment that held me is broken and I
need no longer go about as a Little Lame Fox. My mother was a wicked
witch and she enchanted me because she was angry with me for saving a
man whom she wanted to kill. So she turned me into a little fox and she
said I should have to remain a fox forever unless I succeeded in
bringing back to life my benefactor. You are my benefactor, Janko, for
you shared your bread and cheese with me the first time we met, and now
I have been able to bring you back to life."
As she spoke she changed into a lovely maiden.
"Good-by, Janko," she said. "Go home now and tell your father how your
evil brothers have treated you. Unless you do this they will plot
against the Golden Maiden and you may not be able to protect her."
So Janko and the maiden kissed each other as a brother and sister might
and the maiden went her way and Janko returned to his father's house.
The Golden Maiden and the old farmer were not in the least surprised to
see him for things were so happy again that they just knew it must be
because Janko was coming back. But his two brothers when they caught
sight of him alive and well were so frightened that they took to their
heels and ran off as fast as they could go and what's more they've never
shown themselves since. And good riddance, too, I say, for they were
wicked evil fellows and would only have injured Janko further if they
could.
When Janko told his father all the wicked things they had done, the old
farmer could scarcely believe his ears.
"And to think," he said, "I had been hoping the Golden Maiden would
marry one of them! Mercy me! Mercy me!"
"But, father," the Golden Maiden said--she called him _father_ now and
it pleased him mightily; "father, I should rather marry Janko!"
"Marry Janko!" the farmer cried. "Why, my dear, Janko is a stupid lad,
not nearly so clever as his two brothers!"
"I don't care if he is stupid. He's got a good heart and that's more
than the other two have. And besides that he's got a brave heart for he
rescued me from the dark cavern and he faced the awful ghost that stood
over my Golden Cradle. Why, father, I'd rather marry Janko than any
prince in the world!"
You can imagine Janko's feelings when he heard this!
"I'd feel like a prince if you did marry me, dear Golden One!" he cried.
Well, she did marry him, and sure enough he did feel like a prince. What
prince, I'd like to know, had a lovelier bride? None! And was there any
prince in the world whose bride brought him greater riches than the
Golden Apple-Tree, the Golden Horse, and Golden Cradle? No, not one! And
furthermore the farmer promised that, when he died, he would leave him
the Magic Grape-Vine.
So Janko lived happy and prosperous. And it all came about through his
having a good honest heart.
[Illustration]
THE ENCHANTED PEAFOWL
[Illustration]
_The Story of the Golden Apples, the Wicked Dragon, and the Magic
Horse_
THE ENCHANTED PEAFOWL
_Have you ever heard the story of the Peafowl who became a Queen and of
the Tsar's Youngest Son who married her? Well, here it is:_
There was once a Tsar who took great delight in his garden. Every
morning you could see him bending over his flowers or picking the fruit
of his favorite tree. This was an apple-tree that had the magic property
of bearing buds, blossoms, and golden fruit every twenty-four hours. It
was known as the golden apple-tree. In the morning the first thing when
he woke up the Tsar would look out his bedroom window to see that all
was well with his beloved tree.
One morning when as usual he looked out he was grieved to see that the
tree had been stripped of all the golden fruit which had ripened during
the night.
"Who has stolen my golden apples?" he cried.
The palace guards looked everywhere for some trace of the thief but
found nothing.
The next morning the same thing had happened and every morning
thereafter when the Tsar looked out of his bedroom window he saw that
the tree had again been stripped of its golden fruit.
He called his three sons to him and said:
"Is it seemly that a Tsar who has three able-bodied sons should be
robbed night after night of his golden apples? Are you willing that this
should happen and you do nothing about it?"
The eldest son who was a braggart said:
"My father, you need say no more. I myself will watch to-night and when
the thief appears I will overpower him and bring him to you."
So the eldest son watched that night, standing on guard under the
apple-tree and leaning against its trunk.
As midnight approached his eyes grew heavy and he fell asleep. While he
slept the golden apples ripened and were stolen and the next morning, as
usual, the branches were bare.
The second son who was a crafty youth laughed at his brother and said:
"To-night I will watch. I will pretend to be asleep and when the thief
appears I will jump upon him and overpower him."
So when night came the second son went on guard under the tree and in
order to deceive the thief he lay down on the ground and closed his
eyes. At first he stayed wide awake but as the hours dragged by he grew
tired and then, because he was in such a comfortable position, he too
fell soundly asleep. Midnight came and the apples ripened but the next
morning, when the second prince awoke, the tree had again been stripped
of its golden fruit.
The Tsar's Youngest Son now said:
"Father, let me go on guard to-night."
His brothers jeered and the Tsar shook his head.
"Nay, nay, my boy, why should you succeed where your older brothers have
failed? It is God's will that my golden apples should be stolen and I
must submit."
But the Youngest Son insisted that he, too, be given a chance to capture
the thief and at last the Tsar consented.
"I will sleep soundly the first part of the night," the Youngest Prince
thought to himself, "and with God's help wake up at midnight."
As soon as it was dark he had his bed carried outdoors and placed under
the apple-tree. Then after commending his undertaking to God he lay down
and fell soundly to sleep. Just before midnight he awoke. The apples
had ripened and were shining among the leaves like golden lanterns.
On the stroke of midnight there was a whirr of wings and nine beautiful
peafowl came flying down from the sky. Eight of them settled on the
branches of the apple-tree and began eating the golden fruit. The ninth
alighted beside the Young Prince and as she touched the ground changed
into a lovely maiden.
She was so beautiful and gentle that the Young Prince fell madly in love
with her and at once began wooing her with kisses and caresses. She
responded to his love and they spent the night together in great
happiness.
At the first streak of dawn she jumped up, saying:
"My dear one, I must leave you now!"
"But you will come again, won't you?" the Prince asked.
"Yes," she promised him. "To-night."
Suddenly the Prince remembered the golden apples. The peafowl in the
tree were about to eat the last of them.
"Can't you make them leave just one apple for my father?" the Prince
begged.
The maiden spoke to the birds and they flew down with two of the golden
apples, one for the Tsar and one for the Prince himself.
Then the maiden lifted her arms above her head, changed into a peafowl,
and with the other eight flew off into the morning sky.
The Prince carried the two apples to his father and the Tsar was so
delighted that he forgot to ask the Prince the particulars of his
adventure.
The next night the Prince again slept under the apple-tree and awoke
just before midnight to hear the whirr of wings and see the nine peafowl
come flying down from the sky. Eight of them settled on the branches of
the apple-tree and the ninth, as before, alighted beside him and as she
touched the earth changed into the lovely maiden of his heart. Again
they passed the night together in great happiness and in the early dawn
before she flew away the maiden gave him the last two of the golden
apples.
This went on night after night until the Prince's two elder brothers
were mad with jealousy and consumed with curiosity to know what happened
every night under the apple-tree. At last they went to an evil old woman
and bribed her to spy on the Young Prince.
"Find out what happens every night at the apple-tree," they told her,
"and we will reward you richly."
So the evil old woman hid herself near the apple-tree and that night
when the prince fell asleep she crept under his bed. Midnight came and
she heard the whirr of wings and presently she saw the white feet of a
lovely maiden touch the ground and she heard the prince say: "My love,
is it you?"
Then as the Prince and the maiden began kissing each other and
exchanging vows of love very slowly and cautiously she reached up her
hand from under the bed and groped around until she felt the maiden's
hair. Then with a scissors she snipped off a lock.
"Oh!" the maiden cried in terror. She jumped up, lifted her arms above
her head, changed into a peafowl, and without another word flew off with
the other eight and vanished in the sky.
In a fury the Prince searched about to see what had frightened his loved
one. He found the old woman under the bed and dragging her out by the
hair he struck her dead with his sword. And good riddance it was, too,
for she was an evil old thing and only caused mischief in the world.
But putting the evil old woman out of the way did not, alas, bring back
the lovely maiden. The Prince waited for her the next night and the next
and many following nights but she nevermore returned.
The magic apple-tree of course was no longer robbed of its golden fruit,
so the Tsar was happy once again and never tired of praising the valor
of his youngest son. But as for the prince, in spite of his father's
praise he grew sadder and sadder.
Finally he went to the Tsar and said:
"Father, I have lost the maiden whom I love and life without her is not
worth the living. Unless I go out in the world and find her I shall
die."
The Tsar tried to dissuade him but when he could not he mounted him on a
fine horse, gave him a serving man to accompany him, and sent him off
with his blessing.
The Prince and his man wandered hither and thither over the world
inquiring everywhere for news of nine peafowl one of whom was a lovely
maiden. They came at last to a lake on the shore of which lived an ugly
old woman with an only daughter.
"Nine peafowl," she repeated, "and one of them a lovely maiden! You must
mean the nine sisters, the enchanted princesses, who fly about as
peafowl. They come here every morning to bathe in the lake. What can you
want with them?"
The Prince told the old woman that one of them was his love and that
unless he married her he would die.
"Die, indeed!" scoffed the old woman. "That's no way for a handsome
young man to talk! I'll tell you what you ought to do: give up thought
of this peafowl princess and marry my daughter. Then I'll make you heir
to all my riches."
She called out her daughter who was as ugly as herself and cross and
ill-natured in the bargain. Just one look at her and the Prince said
firmly:
"No! If I can't marry my own dear love I won't marry any one!"
"Very well!" said the old woman shortly.
When the Prince's back was turned she called the serving man aside and
whispered:
"Will you do what I tell you if I pay you well?"
The serving man who was a mean greedy fellow nodded his head and the old
woman handed him a small bellows.
"Hide this in your shirt," she told him, "and don't let your master see
it. Then to-morrow morning when you go down to the lake with him to see
the nine peafowl slip it out and blow it on the back of his neck. Do
this and I'll give you a golden ducat."
The serving man took the bellows and did as the old woman directed. The
next morning down at the lake just as the nine peafowl came flying into
sight he crept up behind the Prince and blew the bellows on the back of
his neck. Instantly sleep overcame the Prince. His eyes closed, his head
drooped, and the reins fell from his hands.
Eight of the peafowl alighted on the water's edge, changed into lovely
maidens and went bathing in the lake, but the ninth flew straight down
to the Prince, fluttered her wings in his face and uttering sad cries
tried hard to arouse him.
The eight finished their baths, changed back into birds, and calling
their sister they all flew off together. Then and not till then did the
Prince awaken.
"Ah!" he cried, "how could I have fallen asleep just when the peafowl
appeared? Where are they now? Are they gone?"
"Yes," his man told him, "they're gone. Eight of them changed into
lovely maidens and went bathing in the lake but the ninth fluttered
about your head and tried in every way to arouse you. I tried to arouse
you, too, but you kept on sleeping."
"Strange!" thought the Prince. "How could I have fallen asleep at such a
time? I'll have to try again to-morrow morning."
The next morning the same thing happened. The treacherous serving man
again blew the bellows on the back of the Prince's neck and instantly
the Prince sank into a deep sleep from which the ninth peafowl was
unable to arouse him.
As she rose to join her sisters she said to the serving man:
"When your master awakens tell him that to-morrow is the last day we
shall come here to bathe in the lake."
The peafowl were no sooner gone than the Prince rubbed his eyes and
looked about.
"What! Where are they? Have I been asleep again?"
The serving man pretended to be deeply grieved.
"I tried hard to awaken you, master, but I couldn't. The ninth peafowl
as she flew away said to tell you that to-morrow is the last day they'll
come to the lake."
The next day as the Prince waited for the appearance of the nine peafowl
he galloped madly along the shore of the lake hoping in this way to ward
off the strange sleep. But the moment the nine peafowl appeared in the
sky he was so delighted that he drew rein and the treacherous serving
man was able to slip up behind him and blow the magic bellows on his
neck. So again he slept soundly while the ninth peafowl fluttered about
his head and tried vainly to arouse him.
As she was flying away she said to the serving man:
"Tell your master that now he will never find me unless he strikes off
the head from the nail."
When the Prince awoke the serving man delivered this message.
"What can she mean?" the Prince said.
He looked hard at the serving man and something in the fellow's
appearance made him suspect treachery.
"You know more than you're telling me!" the Prince cried, and taking the
cowardly fellow by the throat he shook him and choked him until he had
got the truth out of him.
"Ha!" cried the Prince. "Now I understand! You are the nail of which my
dear love warns me!"
The fellow whined and begged for mercy but the Prince with one blow of
his sword struck off his head. Then, leaving the body where it fell for
the old woman to bury, he mounted his horse and again set forth on his
quest.
Everywhere he went he made inquiries about the nine enchanted peafowl
and everywhere people shook their heads and said they had never heard of
them. At last high up in a wild mountain he found an old hermit who
knew all about them.
"Ah," he said, "you mean the nine princesses. Eight of them have broken
the enchantment that held them and are now happily married. The ninth
awaits you. She is living in the royal palace of a beautiful city that
lies three days' journey to the north of this mountain. When you find
her, if you do just as she says she, too, will soon be free of all
enchantment. Then she will be made queen."
The Prince thanked the hermit and rode on. After three days he came to
the city of which the hermit had told him. He made his way to the palace
and into the Princess's presence. Sure enough the Princess was his own
dear love. She received him with joy, promised soon to marry him, and
gave over to him the keys of the palace.
"You shall now be master here," she told him, "to go where you like and
do as you like. There is only one thing that you must not do, only one
place where you must not go. Under the palace are twelve cellars. Here
are the keys to them all. Go into eleven of them whenever you will but
you must never open the door of the twelfth one. If you do a heavy
misfortune may fall upon both of us."
One day while the Princess was walking in the garden, the young Prince
thought he would go through the cellars. So, taking the keys, he
unlocked the cellars one after another until he had seen eleven of them.
Then he stood before the door of the twelfth wondering why the Princess
had warned him not to open it.
"I'll open it just a little," he thought to himself. "If there's
something inside that tries to get out, I'll close it quickly."
So he took the twelfth key, unlocked the twelfth door, and peeped inside
the twelfth cellar. It was empty except for one huge cask with an open
bunghole.
"I don't see anything in here to be afraid of," he said.
Just then he heard a groan from inside the cask and a voice called out
in a begging, whining tone:
"A cup of water, brother! A cup of water! I am dying of thirst!"
Now the Prince thought to himself that it was a terrible thing for any
living creature to be dying of thirst. So he hurried out, got a cup of
water, and poured it into the open bunghole. Instantly one of the three
iron hoops that bound the cask burst asunder and the voice inside the
cask said:
"Thank you, brother! Thank you! Now give me another cup! I am dying of
thirst!"
So the Prince poured in a second cup and the second iron hoop snapped
apart and when the voice still begged for more water he poured in a
third cup. The third hoop broke, the staves of the cask fell in, and a
horrid dragon sprang out. Before the Prince could move, he had flown
through the door of the twelfth cellar into the eleventh cellar, then
into the tenth cellar, the ninth cellar, the eight cellar, the seventh
cellar, the sixth, the fifth, the fourth, the third, the second, the
first, and so out into the garden. The Prince reached the garden just in
time to see the monster overpower the Princess.
"Alas, my dear one, what have you done?" cried the poor Princess as the
dragon carried her off. "The enchantment would soon have been broken and
I could have married you if only you had not gone into the twelfth
cellar!"
Heartbroken at what had happened, the Prince mounted his horse and
started off in pursuit of the dragon.
"I must do what I can to rescue my loved one," he said, "even if it
costs me my life."
He rode many days until he came to the castle of the dragon. The dragon
was out and the Princess received him with tears of joy.
"Come," he said to her, "let us escape before the dragon returns."
The Princess sighed and shook her head.
"How, my loved one, can we escape? The dragon rides a magic horse and
however fast we go he will be able to overtake us."
But the Prince insisted that they make the attempt. So she mounted with
him and off they went.
When the dragon arrived home and found her gone, he laughed a brutal
laugh and said to his horse:
"I suppose that foolish young Prince has been here and is trying to
carry her off. Shall we start after them now or wait till we've had our
supper?"
"We might as well eat," the horse said, "for we'll overtake them
anyway."
So they both ate and then the dragon mounted the magic horse and in no
time at all they had overtaken the fugitives.
"I ought to tear you to pieces," the dragon said to the Prince, "but I
won't this time because you gave me a cup of water. However, I warn you
not to try this foolishness again!"
With that he clutched the poor weeping Princess in his scaly arms and
carried her back to the castle.
What was the Prince to do now? He tried to plan some other way of
rescuing the Princess but he could think of none. In spite of the
dragon's threat he went back the next day and tried the same thing
again. Again the dragon overtook him and snatched back the Princess.
"I have spared you one time," he said to the Prince, "and I will spare
you this one time more for the sake of the water you gave me. But I warn
you if you come again I will tear you to pieces."
But what man worthy the name will accept such a warning when the safety
and happiness of his loved one is concerned? The next day while the
dragon was out the Prince again returned to the castle.
"It is plain," he said to the Princess, "that we can never escape until
we, too, get a magic horse. We must find out where the dragon got his.
To-night when he comes home, speak him fair and caress his head and when
he is in fine humor ask him about his horse--what kind of a horse it is
and where he got it. Then I will come back to-morrow at this same hour
and you can tell me."
So that night when the dragon came home the Princess allowed him to put
his head in her lap and she scratched him softly behind the ears and
petted him until he was purring like a giant cat.