palace when it was discovered that the Prince's beautiful bride-to-be
had disappeared. The Prince was utterly grief-stricken and refused to
eat. The King and all the ladies of the court tried their best to
comfort him but he turned away from them declaring he would die if his
bride were not restored to him.
The rascally Chamberlain put his handkerchief to his eyes and pretended
to weep he was so affected by the sight of the Prince's grief.
"My dear boy," he said, "I would that I could find this maiden for you!
It breaks my heart to see you sad and unhappy! But I'm sorry to tell you
that I hear she was a Vila and not a human maiden at all. You know how
mysteriously she came, and now she's gone just as mysteriously. So put
the thought of her out of your mind and I'm sure you'll soon find a
human maiden who is worthy of your love. Come here, my daughter, and
tell the Prince how sorry you are that he is in grief."
But the sight of the Chamberlain's ugly daughter only made the Prince
long the more for the beautiful girl who was gone.
She meantime had found refuge in the hut of an old woman who had heard
her groan in the early dawn when she lay among the nettles and had taken
compassion on her.
"You may stay with me until you're well," the old woman said.
The girl was young and healthy and in a day or two had recovered the ill
treatment she had suffered at the hands of the Blackamoor.
"Won't you let me live with you awhile, granny?" she said to the old
woman. "I'll cook and scrub and work and you won't have to regret the
little I eat."
"Can you cook? Because if you can perhaps you know a dish that would
tempt the appetite of our poor young Prince," the old woman said. "You
know the poor boy has had a terrible disappointment in love and he
refuses to eat. The heralds were out this morning proclaiming that the
King would richly reward any one who could prepare a dish that would
tempt the Prince's appetite."
"Granny!" the girl said, "I know a wonderful way to prepare beans! Let
me cook a dish of beans and do you carry them to the palace."
So the girl cooked the beans and placed them prettily in a dish and on
one side of the dish she put a tiny little ringlet of her own golden
hair.
"If he sees the hair," she thought to herself, "he'll know the beans are
from me."
And that's exactly what happened. To please his father the Prince had
consented to look at every dish as it came. He had already looked at
hundreds of them before the old woman arrived and turned away from them
all. Then the old woman came. As she passed before the Prince, she
lifted the cover of the dish, held it towards him, and curtsied. The
Prince was just about to turn away when he saw the tiny ringlet of hair.
"Oh!" he said. "Wait a minute! Those beans look good!"
To the King's delight he took the dish out of the old woman's hand,
examined it carefully, and when no one was looking slipped the ringlet
into his pocket. Then he ate the beans--every last one of them!
The King gave the old woman some golden ducats and begged her to prepare
another dish for the Prince on the morrow.
So the next day the girl again sent a tiny ringlet of her hair on the
side of the plate and again the Prince after scorning all the other food
offered him took the old woman's dish and ate it clean.
On the third day the Prince engaged the old woman in conversation.
"Where do you live, granny?"
"In a little tumble-down house beside the nettles," she told him.
"Do you live alone?"
"Just now," the old woman said, "I have a dear girl living with me. I
found her one morning lying in the nettles where some ruffians had left
her for dead. She's a good girl and she scrubs and bakes and cooks for
me and lets me rest my poor old bones."
Now the Prince knew what he wanted to know.
"Granny," he said, "to-morrow's Sunday. Now I want you to stay home in
the afternoon because I'm coming to see you."
In great excitement the old woman hurried home and told the girl that
the Prince was coming to see them on Sunday afternoon.
"He mustn't see me!" the girl said. "I'll hide in the bread trough under
a cloth and if he goes looking for me you tell him that I've gone out."
"Foolish child!" the old woman said. "Why should you hide from a
handsome young man like the Prince?"
But the girl insisted and at last when Sunday afternoon came the old
woman was forced to let her lie down in the bread trough and cover her
with a cloth.
The Prince arrived and when he found the old woman there alone he was
mightily disappointed.
"Where's that girl who lives with you?" he asked.
"She's gone out," the old woman said.
"Then I think I'll wait till she comes back."
This made the old woman feel nervous.
"But, my Prince, I don't know when she's coming back."
Just then the Prince thought he saw something move in the bread trough.
"What's that lumpy thing in the bread trough, granny?"
"That? Oh, that's just dough that's rising, my Prince. I'm baking
to-day."
"Then make me a loaf, granny. I'll wait for it until it rises and until
you bake it. Then I'll eat it hot out of the oven."
What was the old woman to say to that? She fussed and fidgeted and
thought again what a foolish young girl that was to be hiding in the
bread trough when there was a handsome young Prince in the room.
"I don't know why that dough doesn't rise," she remarked at last.
"Perhaps there's something the matter with it," the Prince said.
Before the old woman could stop him, he jumped up, tossed the cloth
aside, and there was his lovely bride!
"Why are you hiding from me?" he asked as he lifted her up and kissed
her tenderly.
"Because I knew if you really loved me you would find me," she said.
"Now that I have found you," the Prince declared, "I shall never let you
leave me again."
Then the girl told the Prince about the wicked Chamberlain and the
Blackamoor and it was all she and the old woman could do to keep the
Prince from drawing his sword and rushing out instantly to kill both of
them.
The old woman begged the Prince to take the girl secretly to the King
and have the King hear her story, and then let him pass judgment on the
Chamberlain according to the laws of the land. At last the Prince agreed
to this.
So they covered the girl's head with a veil and took her to the King.
When the King heard her story he called the court together at once and
told them the outrage that had been committed against his son's promised
bride. He commanded that the murderous Blackamoor be executed the next
day and he decreed that the Chamberlain and his wicked daughter be
stripped of their lands and riches and sent into exile.
Let us hope that exile taught them the evil of their ways and made them
repent.
As for the girl, she married the Prince and they lived together in great
happiness. And she deserved to be happy, too, for she was a brave girl
and a good girl and God loves people who are brave and good and blesses
them.
[Illustration]
THE WONDERFUL HAIR
[Illustration]
_The Story of a Poor Man Who Dreamed of an Angel_
THE WONDERFUL HAIR
There was once a poor man who had so many children that he was at his
wit's end how to feed them all and clothe them.
"Unless something turns up soon," he thought to himself, "we shall all
starve to death. Poor youngsters--I'm almost tempted to kill them with
my own hands to save them from suffering the pangs of hunger!"
That night before he went to sleep he prayed God to give him help. God
heard his prayer and sent an angel to him in a dream.
The angel said to him:
"To-morrow morning when you wake, put your hand under your pillow and
you will find a mirror, a red handkerchief, and an embroidered scarf.
Without saying a word to any one hide these things in your shirt and go
out to the woods that lie beyond the third hill from the village. There
you will find a brook. Follow it until you come to a beautiful maiden
who is bathing in its waters. You will know her from the great masses of
golden hair that fall down over her shoulders. She will speak to you
but do you be careful not to answer. If you say a word to her she will
be able to bewitch you. She will hold out a comb to you and ask you to
comb her hair. Take the comb and do as she asks. Then part her back hair
carefully and you will see one hair that is coarser than the others and
as red as blood. Wrap this firmly around one of your fingers and jerk it
out. Then flee as fast as you can. She will pursue you and each time as
she is about to overtake you drop first the embroidered scarf, then the
red handkerchief, and last the mirror. If you reach the hill nearest
your own village you are safe for she can pursue you no farther. Take
good care of the single hair for it great value and you can sell it for
many golden ducats."
In the morning when the poor man awoke and put his hand under his pillow
he found the mirror and the handkerchief and the scarf just as the angel
had said he would. So he hid them carefully in his shirt and without
telling any one where he was going he went to the woods beyond the third
hill from the village. Here he found the brook and followed it until he
came to a pool where he saw a lovely maiden bathing.
"Good day to you!" she said politely.
The poor man remembering the angel's warning made no answer.
[Illustration: _The Mirror, the Handkerchief, and the Embroidered
Scarf_]
The maiden held out a golden comb.
"Please comb my hair for me, won't you?"
The man nodded and took the comb. Then he parted the long tresses behind
and searched here and there and everywhere until he found the one hair
that was blood-red in color and coarser than the others. He twisted this
firmly around his finger, jerked it quickly out, and fled.
"Oh!" cried the maiden. "What are you doing? Give me back my one red
hair!"
She jumped to her feet and ran swiftly after him. As she came close to
him, he dropped behind him the embroidered scarf. She stooped and picked
it up and examined it awhile. Then she saw the man was escaping, so she
tossed the scarf aside and again ran after him. This time he dropped the
red handkerchief. Its bright color caught the maiden's eye and she
picked it up and lost a few more minutes admiring it while the man raced
on. Then the maiden remembered him, threw away the handkerchief, and
started off again in pursuit.
This time the man dropped the mirror and the maiden who of course was a
Vila and had never seen a mirror before picked it up and looked at it
and when she saw the lovely reflection of herself she was so amazed that
she kept on looking and looking. She was still looking in it and still
admiring her own beauty when the man reached the third hill beyond which
the maiden couldn't follow him.
So the poor man got home with the hair safely wound about his finger.
"It must be of great value," he thought to himself. "I'll take it to the
city and offer it for sale there."
So the next day he went to the city and went about offering his
wonderful hair to the merchants.
"What's so wonderful about it?" they asked him.
"I don't know, but I do know it's of great value," he told them.
"Well," said one of them, "I'll give you one golden ducat for it."
He was a shrewd buyer and the others hearing his bid of one golden ducat
decided that he must know that the hair was of much greater value. So
they began to outbid him until the price offered the poor man reached
one hundred golden ducats. But the poor man insisted that this was not
enough.
"One hundred golden ducats not enough for one red hair!" cried the
merchants.
They pretended to be disgusted that any one would refuse such a price
for one red hair, but in reality they were all firmly convinced by this
time that it was a magic hair and probably worth any amount of money in
the world.
The whole city became excited over the wonderful hair for which all the
merchants were bidding and for a time nothing else was talked about. The
matter was reported to the Tsar and at once he said that he himself
would buy the hair for one thousand golden ducats.
One thousand golden ducats! After that there was no danger of the poor
man's many children dying of starvation.
And what do you suppose the Tsar did with the hair? He had it split open
very carefully and inside he found a scroll of great importance to
mankind for on it were written many wonderful secrets of nature.
[Illustration]
THE BEST WISH
[Illustration]
_The Story of Three Brothers and an Angel_
THE BEST WISH
There were once three brothers whose only possession was a pear tree.
They took turns guarding it. That is to say while two of them went to
work the third stayed at home to see that no harm came to the pear tree.
Now it happened that an Angel from heaven was sent down to test the
hearts of the three brothers. The Angel took the form of a beggar and
approaching the pear tree on a day when the oldest brother was guarding
it, he held out his hand and said:
"In heaven's name, brother, give me a ripe pear."
The oldest brother at once handed him a pear, saying:
"This one I can give you because it is mine, but none of the others
because they belong to my brothers."
The Angel thanked him and departed.
The next day when the second brother was on guard he returned in the
same guise and again begged the charity of a ripe pear.
"Take this one," the second brother said. "It is mine and I can give it
away. I can't give away any of the others because they belong to my
brothers."
The Angel thanked the second brother and departed.
The third day he had exactly the same experience with the youngest
brother.
On the following day the Angel, in the guise of a monk, came to the
brothers' house very early while they were still all at home.
"My sons," he said, "come with me and perhaps I can find you something
better to do than guard a single pear tree."
The brothers agreed and they all started out together. After walking
some time they came to the banks of a broad deep river.
"My son," the Angel said, addressing the oldest brother, "if I were to
grant you one wish, what you ask?"
"I'd be happy," the oldest brother said, "if all this water was turned
into wine and belonged to me."
[Illustration: _The Angel Took the Form of a Beggar_]
The Angel lifted his staff and made the sign of the cross and lo! the
water became wine from great wine-presses. At once numbers of casks
appeared and men filling them and rolling them about. A huge industry
sprang up with sheds and storehouses and wagons and men running
hither and thither and addressing the oldest brother respectfully as
"Master!"
"You have your wish," the Angel said. "See that you do not forget God's
poor now that you are rich. Farewell."
So they left the oldest brother in the midst of his wine and went on
farther until they came to a broad field where flocks of pigeons were
feeding.
"If I were to grant you one wish," the Angel said to the second brother,
"what would you ask?"
"I'd be happy, father, if all the pigeons in this field were turned to
sheep and belonged to me."
The Angel lifted his staff, made the sign of the cross, and lo! the
field was covered with sheep. Sheds appeared and houses and women, some
of them milking the ewes and others skimming the milk and making
cheeses. In one place men were busy preparing meat for the market and in
another cleaning wool. And all of them as they came and went spoke
respectfully to the second brother and called him, "Master!"
"You have your wish," the Angel said. "Stay here and enjoy prosperity
and see that you do not forget God's poor!"
Then he and the youngest brother went on their way.
"Now, my son," the Angel said, "you, too, may make one wish."
"I want but one thing, father. I pray heaven to grant me a truly pious
wife. That is my only wish."
"A truly pious wife!" the Angel cried. "My boy, you have asked the
hardest thing of all! Why, there are only three truly pious women in all
the world! Two of them are already married and the third is a princess
who is being sought in marriage at this very moment by two kings!
However, your brothers have received their wishes and you must have
yours, too. Let us go at once to the father of this virtuous princess
and present your suit."
So just as they were they trudged to the city where the princess lived
and presented themselves at the palace looking shabby and
travel-stained.
The king received them and when he heard their mission he looked at them
in amazement.
"This makes three suitors for my daughter's hand! Two kings and now this
young man all on the same day! How am I going to decide among them?"
"Let heaven decide!" the Angel said. "Cut three branches of grape-vine
and let the princess mark each branch with the name of a different
suitor. Then let her plant the three branches to-night in the garden
and to-morrow do you give her in marriage to the man whose branch has
blossomed during the night and by morning is covered with ripe clusters
of grapes."
The king and the two other suitors agreed to this and the princess named
and planted three branches of grape-vine. In the morning two of the
branches were bare and dry, but the third, the one which was marked with
the name of the youngest brother, was covered with green leaves and ripe
clusters of grapes. The king accepted heaven's ruling and at once led
his daughter to church where he had her married to the stranger and sent
her off with his blessing.
The Angel led the young couple to a forest and left them there.
A year went by and the Angel was sent back to earth to see how the three
brothers were faring. Assuming the form of an old beggar, he went to the
oldest brother who was busy among his wine-presses and begged the
charity of a cup of wine.
"Be off with you, you old vagabond!" the oldest brother shouted angrily.
"If I gave a cup of wine to every beggar that comes along I'd soon be a
beggar myself!"
The Angel lifted his staff, made the sign of the cross, and lo! the
wine and all the wine-presses disappeared and in their place flowed a
broad deep river.
"In your prosperity you have forgotten God's poor," the Angel said. "Go
back to your pear tree."
Then the Angel went to the second brother who was busy in his dairy.
"Brother," the Angel said, "in heaven's name, I pray you, give me a
morsel of cheese."
"A morsel of cheese, you lazy good-for-nothing!" the second brother
cried. "Be off with you or I'll call the dogs!"
The Angel lifted his staff, made the sign of the cross, and lo! the
sheep and the dairy and all the busy laborers disappeared and he and the
second brother were standing there alone in a field where flocks of
pigeons were feeding.
"In your prosperity you have forgotten God's poor," the Angel said. "Go
back to your pear tree!"
Then the Angel made his way to the forest where he had left the youngest
brother and his wife. He found them in great poverty living in a mean
little hut.
"God be with you!" said the Angel still in the guise of an old beggar.
"I pray you in heaven's name give me shelter for the night and a bite of
supper."
"We are poor ourselves," the youngest brother said.
"But come in, you are welcome to share what we have."
They put the old beggar to rest at the most comfortable place beside the
fire and the wife set three places for the evening meal. They were so
poor that the loaf that was baking in the oven was not made of grain
ground at the mill but of pounded bark gathered from the trees.
"Alas," the wife murmured to herself, "it shames me that we have no real
bread to put before our guest."
Imagine then her surprise when she opened the oven and saw a browned
loaf of wheaten bread.
"God be praised!" she cried.
She drew a pitcher of water at the spring but when she began pouring it
into the cups she found to her joy that it was changed to wine.
"In your happiness," the Angel said, "you have not forgotten God's poor
and God will reward you!"
He raised his staff, made the sign of the cross, and lo! the mean little
hut disappeared and in its place arose a stately palace full of riches
and beautiful things. Servants passed hither and thither and addressed
the poor man respectfully as "My lord!" and his wife as "My lady!"
The old beggar arose and as he went he blessed them both, saying:
"God gives you these riches and they will be yours to enjoy so long as
you share them with others."
They must have remembered the Angel's words for all their lives long
they were happy and prosperous.
[Illustration]
THE VILAS' SPRING
[Illustration]
_The Story of the Brother Who Knew That Good Was Stronger Than Evil_
THE VILAS' SPRING
There was once a rich man who had two sons. The older son was
overbearing, greedy, and covetous. He was dishonest, too, and thought
nothing of taking things that belonged to others. The younger brother
was gentle and kind. He was always ready to share what he had and he was
never known to cheat or to steal.
"He's little better than a fool!" the older brother used to say of him
scornfully.
When the brothers grew to manhood the old father died leaving directions
that they divide his wealth between them, share and share alike.
"Nonsense!" the older brother said. "That fool would only squander his
inheritance! To every poor beggar that comes along he'd give an alms
until soon my poor father's savings would be all gone! No! I'll give him
three golden ducats and a horse and tell him to get out and if he makes
a fuss I won't give him that much!"
So he said to his younger brother:
"You're a fool and you oughtn't to have a penny from our father's
estate. However, I'll give you three golden ducats and a horse on
condition that you clear out and never come back."
"Brother," the younger one said quietly, "you are doing me a wrong."
"What if I am?" sneered the older. "Wrong is stronger than Right just as
I am stronger than you. Be off with you now or I'll take from you even
these three golden ducats and the horse!"
Without another word the younger brother mounted the horse and rode
away.
Time went by and at last the brothers chanced to meet on the highway.
"God bless you, brother!" the younger one said.
"Don't you go God-blessing me, you fool!" the older one shouted. "It
isn't God who is powerful in this world but the Devil!"
"No, brother," the other said, "you are wrong. God is stronger than the
Devil just as Good is stronger than Evil."
"Are you sure of that?"
"Yes, brother, I'm sure."
"Well, then, let us make a wager. I'll wager you a golden ducat that
Evil is stronger than Good and we'll let the first man we meet on this
road decide which of us is right. Do you agree?"
"Yes, brother, I agree."
They rode a short distance and overtook a man who seemed to be a monk.
He wasn't really a monk but the Devil himself disguised in the habit of
a monk. The older brother put the case to him and the false monk at once
answered:
"That's an easy question to decide. Of course Evil is stronger than Good
in this world."
Without a word the younger brother took out one of his golden ducats and
handed it over.
"Now," sneered the older one, "are you convinced?"
"No, brother, I am not. No matter what this monk says I know that Good
is stronger than Evil."
"You do, do you? Then suppose we repeat the wager and ask the next man
we meet to decide between us."
"Very well, brother, I'm willing."
The next man they overtook looked like an old farmer, but in reality he
was the Devil again who had taken the guise of a farmer. They put the
question to him and of course the Devil made the same answer:
"Evil is stronger than Good in this world."
So again the younger brother paid his wager but insisted that he still
believed Good to be stronger than Evil.
"Then we'll make a third wager," the other said.
With the Devil's help the older brother won the third golden ducat which
was all the money the younger one had. Then the older brother suggested
that they wager their horses and the Devil, disguised in another form,
again acted as umpire and the younger one of course lost his horse.
"Now I have nothing more to lose," he said, "but I am still so sure that
Good is stronger than Evil that I am willing to wager the very eyes out
of my head!"
"The more fool you!" the other one cried brutally.
Without another word he knocked his younger brother down and gouged out
his eyes.
"Now let God take care of you if He can! As for me I put my trust in the
Devil!"
"May God forgive you for speaking so!" the younger one said.
"I don't care whether He does or not! Nothing can harm me! I'm strong
and I'm rich and I know how to take care of myself. As for you, you poor
blind beggar, is there anything you would like me to do for you before I
ride away?"
[Illustration: _Vilas at Play_]
"All I ask of you, brother, is that you lead me to the spring that is
under the fir tree not far from here. There I can bathe my wounds and
sit in the shade."
"I'll do that much for you," the older one said, taking the blinded man
by the hand. "For the rest, God will have to take care of you."