Produced by Sankar Viswanathan, Chris Curnow, and the
Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
(This file was produced from images generously made
available by The Internet Archive)
FAIRY TALES FROM
ALL NATIONS.
BY
ANTHONY R. MONTALBA.
WITH TWENTY-FOUR ILLUSTRATIONS BY RICHARD DOYLE.
LONDON:
CHAPMAN & HALL, 186, STRAND.
MDCCCXLIX.
* * * * *
TO
THE ILLUSTRIOUS PATRON OF LETTERS
THE RIGHT HON. THE EARL FITZWILLIAM,
This Little Book
IS HUMBLY INSCRIBED,
AS A MARK OF SINCEREST GRATITUDE AND RESPECT,
BY HIS MOST OBEDIENT AND DEVOTED SERVANT,
A. R. MONTALBA.
* * * * *
PREFACE.
The time has been, but happily exists no longer, when it would have
been necessary to offer an apology for such a book as this. In those
days it was not held that
Beauty is its own excuse for being;
on the contrary, a spurious utilitarianism reigned supreme in
literature, and fancy and imagination were told to fold their wings,
and travel only in the dusty paths of every-day life. Fairy tales, and
all such flights into the region of the supernatural, were then
condemned as merely idle things, or as pernicious occupations for
faculties that should be always directed to serious and profitable
concerns. But now we have cast off that pedantic folly, let us hope
for ever. We now acknowledge that innocent amusement is good for its
own sake, and we do not affect to prove our advance in civilisation by
our incapacity to relish those sportive creations of unrestricted
fancy that have been the delight of every generation in every land
from times beyond the reach of history.
The materials of the following Collection have been carefully chosen
from more than a hundred volumes of the fairy lore of all nations; and
none of them, so far as the Editor is aware, have been previously
translated into English.
The Editor cannot close this brief Preface without expressing his
grateful acknowledgments of the enhanced attraction imparted to his
little work by Mr. Richard Doyle's admirable Illustrations.
CONTENTS.
TALE. LANGUAGE. AUTHOR. PAGE.
BIRTH OF THE FAIRY TALE 1
SNOW-WHITE AND ROSY-RED _Danish_ TORGEN MOE AND
P. ASBIORNSON 9
THE STORY OF ARGILIUS AND
THE FLAME KING _Slavonic_ COUNT MAYLATH 20
PERSEVERE AND PROSPER _Arabic_ DR. G. WEIL 38
PRINCE OF THE GLOW-WORMS _German_ FRIEDRICH VON SALLET 41
THE TWO MISERS _Hebrew_ 71
PRINCE CHAFFINCH _French_ 73
THE WOLF AND THE NIGHTINGALE _Swedish_ E. M. ANNDT 105
THE ENCHANTED CROW _Polish_ K. W. WOYCICKY 132
THE DRAGON-GIANT AND HIS
STONE STEED _Russian_ O. L. B. WOLFF 153
THE STORY OF SIVA AND MADHAVA _Sanskrit_ SOMADEVA BHATTA 185
THE GOBLIN BIRD _Betschuanian_ CASALIS 201
THE SHEPHERD AND THE SERPENT _German_ 209
THE EXPEDITIOUS FROG _Wendian_ LEOPOLD HAUSST AND
J. E. SCHMALER 215
EASTWARD OF THE SUN, AND
WESTWARD OF THE MOON _Norwegian_ P. ASBIORNSON 217
THE LITTLE MAN IN GREY _Upper Lusatian_ MONTZ HAUSST 236
RED, WHITE, AND BLACK _Norman_ L'HERITIER 243
THE TWELVE LOST PRINCESSES _African_
AND THE WIZARD KING. 249
THE STUDY OF MAGIC UNDER
DIFFICULTIES _Italian_ STRAPPAROLA 268
FORTUNE'S FAVOURITE _Hungarian_ G. VON GALL 281
THE LUCKY DAYS _Italian_ STRAPPAROLA 309
THE FEAST OF THE DWARFS _Icelandish_ 313
THE THREE DOGS _Frieslandish_ L. BECKSTEIN 329
THE COURAGEOUS FLUTE-PLAYER _Franconian_ 339
THE GLASS HATCHET _Hungarian_ G. VON GALL 345
THE GOLDEN DUCK _Bohemian_ WOLFGARD A. GERLE 360
GOLDY _German_ JUSTINUS KERNER 377
THE SERPENT PRINCE _Italian_ BASILE 384
THE PROPHETIC DREAM 398
The Illustrations drawn by RICHARD DOYLE, and engraved by G. DALZIEL,
E. DALZIEL, ISABEL THOMPSON, C. T. THOMPSON, RICHARD THOMPSON, and W.
T. GREEN.
FAIRY TALES FROM ALL NATIONS
THE BIRTH OF THE FAIRY TALE.
[Illustration]
When nursery tales and entertaining stories did not yet exist--and
those were dull times for children, for then their youthful paradise
wanted its gayest butterfly--there lived two royal children, a brother
and sister. They played with each other in a garden allotted to them
by their royal sire. This garden was full of the most beautiful and
fragrant flowers; its paths were over-spread with golden sands and
many-coloured stones, which vied in brilliancy with the dew which
glistened on the flowers, illuminated by the splendour of an eastern
sun. There were in it cool grottos with rippling streams; fountains
spouting high towards heaven; exquisitely chiselled marble statues;
lovely arbours and bowers inviting to repose; gold and silver fish
swam in the reservoirs, and the most beautiful birds flitted about in
gilded cages so spacious that they scarcely felt that they were
confined, whilst others at full liberty flew from tree to tree,
filling the air with their sweet song. Yet the children who possessed
all these delights, and saw them daily, were satiated with them and
felt weary. They looked without pleasure on the brilliancy of the
stones; the fragrance of the flowers and the dancing water of the
fountains no longer attracted them; they cared not for the fish which
were mute to them, nor for the birds whose warbling they did not
comprehend. They sat mournful and listless beside each other; having
everything that children could desire--kind parents, costly toys, the
richest clothing, every delicacy the land could furnish, with liberty
to roam from morning until evening in the beautiful garden,--still
they were unsatisfied and they knew not why!--they could not tell what
else they wanted.
Then came to them the queen, their mother, beautiful and majestic,
with a countenance expressive of love and gentleness. She grieved to
see her children so mournful, meeting her with melancholy smiles,
instead of gaily bounding to her embrace. Her heart was sorrowful
because her children were not happy as she thought they ought to be,
for as yet they knew not care; and, thanks to an all-good Providence,
the heaven of childhood is usually bright and cloudless.
The queen placed herself between her two children. She threw her full
white arms round their necks, and said to them with endearing maternal
tenderness, "What ails you, my beloved children?"--"We know not, dear
mother!" replied the boy.--"We do not feel happy!" said the girl.
"Yet everything is fair in this garden, and you have everything that
can give you pleasure. Do all these things then afford you no
enjoyment?" demanded the queen, whilst tears filled her eyes, through
which beamed a soul of goodness.
"What we have and enjoy seems not to be the one thing which we want,"
answered the girl.--"We wish for something else, but we know not what
it is," added the boy.
The queen sat silent and sad, pondering what that might be for which
her children pined. What could possibly afford them greater pleasure
than that splendid garden, the richness of their clothing, the variety
of their toys, the delicacy of their food, the flavour of their
beverage? But in vain; she could not divine the unknown object of
their desire.
"Oh, that I myself were again a child!" said the queen to herself with
a deep sigh. "I should then perhaps discover what would impart
cheerfulness to my children. To comprehend the wish of a child, one
should be a child oneself. But I have already wandered too far beyond
the boundaries of childhood where fly the golden birds of paradise;
those beautiful birds without feet, that never require the repose of
which all earthly creatures stand in need. Oh, that such a bird would
come to my assistance, and bring to my dear children that precious
gift which should dispel their gloom and make them happy!"
And, behold, the queen had scarcely formed this wish, when a
wondrously beautiful bird, whose splendour surpassed all that can be
imagined, bent its flight from the ethereal sky, and wheeled round and
round until it attracted the gaze of the queen and her children, who
on beholding it were filled with astonishment, and with one voice
exclaimed: "Oh, how wonderful is that bird!" And wonderful indeed it
was, and gorgeous to behold as it gradually descended towards them.
Like burnished gold blended with sparkling jewels shone its plumage,
reflecting the seven colours of the rainbow, and dazzling the eye
which it still rivetted anew by its indescribable charms. Beautiful as
it was, the aspect of the bird inspired them with a kind of awe,
which, though not unpleasing, increased when they felt the wafting of
its wings, and suddenly beheld it rest in the lap of the queen. It
looked on them with its full eyes, which, though they resembled the
friendly smiling eyes of a child, had yet in them something strange
and almost unearthly; an expression the children could not comprehend,
and therefore feared to consider. They now observed also, that mingled
with the bright coloured plumage of this unearthly bird, were some
black feathers which they had not before perceived. But scarcely was a
moment permitted to them for these observations, ere the wonder-bird
again arose, soared aloft higher and higher till it was lost to the
sight in the blue and cloudless ether. The queen and her children
watched its flight in amazement until it had entirely vanished, and
when they again looked down, lo, a new wonder! The bird had deposited
in the mother's lap an egg which beamed like the precious opal with
many-coloured brilliancy. With one voice, the royal children
exclaimed: "Oh, the beautiful egg!" whilst the mother smiled in an
ecstasy of joy; for a voice within her predicted to her that this was
the jewel which alone was wanting to complete the happiness of her
children. This egg, she thought, within its thousand-coloured shell,
must contain the treasure that would ensure to her children that which
has ever been, and ever will be withheld from age--Contentment;--the
longing for that treasure and the anticipation of it would charm away
their childish melancholy.
The children could not gaze their fill on the splendid egg, and soon
in admiring it, forgot the bird that had bestowed it on them. At first
they hardly ventured to touch their treasure, but after a while, the
maiden first took courage to lay upon it one of her rosy fingers,
exclaiming whilst a purple blush of delight over-spread her innocent
face: "The egg is warm!" then the royal youth, to try the truth of his
sister's words, cautiously touched it also, and lastly the mother
placed her beautifully white and taper finger on the costly egg,
which then separated into two parts, and there came out from it a
being most marvellous to behold. It had wings, and yet it was no bird,
nor yet butterfly nor bee, though it was a combination of all these
infinitely and indescribably blended. It was in short, that multiform
many-coloured childish Ideal, the _Fairy Tale_, dispensing pleasure,
and happiness, and inspiration to infancy and youth. The mother
thenceforth no longer beheld her children pining with melancholy, for
the Fairy Tale became their constant companion, and remained with them
till the sun which shone on their last day of childhood had set. The
possession of this wondrous being from that day endeared to them
garden and flowers, bowers and grottos, forests and valleys; for it
gave new life and charms to all around them. Borne on its wings they
flew far and wide through the great measureless world, and yet, ever
at their wish, they were in a moment wafted back to their own home.
Those royal children were mankind in their youthful paradise, and
nature was their lovely serene and mild mother. Their wishes drew down
from heaven the wonder-bird, PHANTASY, most brilliant of plumage
although intermingled with its feathers, were some of the deepest
black: the egg deposited by this bright bird, contained the GOLDEN
FAIRY TALES: and as the affection of the children for Fairy Lore grew
stronger from day to day, enlivening and making happy the time of
their childhood, the stories themselves wandered forth, and were
welcomed alike in hall and palace, castle and cottage, ever growing in
charms and novelty, till they at length received the mission of
pleasing manhood also. The grave, the toil-worn, and the aged, would
listen with pleased ear to their wonderful relations, and dwell with
fond recollection on the golden birth of those Fairy charms.
SNOW-WHITE AND ROSY-RED.
[Danish.]
In a far-distant land, there reigned a queen, who was one day driving
in a sledge over the new fallen snow, when, as it chanced, she was
seized with a bleeding at her nose, which obliged her to alight. As
she stood leaning against the stump of a tree, and gazed on her
crimson blood that fell on the snow, she thought to herself, "I have
now twelve sons, and not one daughter; could I but have a daughter
fair as that snow and rosy as that blood, I should no longer care
about my sons." She had scarcely murmured the wish, before a sorceress
stood beside her. "Thou shalt have a daughter," said she, "and she
shall be fair as this snow and rosy as thy blood; but thy twelve sons
shall then be mine; thou may'st, however, retain them with thee, until
thy daughter shall be baptized."
Now, at the appointed time the queen brought into the world a
daughter, who was fair as snow and rosy as blood, just as the
sorceress had promised, and on that account she was called Snow-white
and Rosy-red; and there was great joy throughout all the royal
household, but the queen rejoiced more than all the rest. But when she
remembered her promise to the sorceress, a strange sensation oppressed
her heart, and she sent for a silversmith, and commanded him to make
twelve silver spoons, one for each of the princes; she had one made
for the princess also. On the day that the princess was baptized, the
twelve princes were transformed into twelve wild ducks, and flew away,
and were no more seen. The princess, however, grew up, and became
wonderfully beautiful; but she was always wrapped in her own thoughts,
and so melancholy, that no one could guess what was the matter with
her.
One evening, when the queen was also in a very melancholy mood,
thinking on her lost sons, she said to Snow-white and Rosy-red, "Why
are you always so sad, my daughter? If there is anything the matter
with you, tell it me. If there is anything you wish for, you shall
have it."
"Oh, dear mother," she replied, "all around me seems so desolate;
other children have brothers and sisters, but I have none, and that is
why I am so sad."
"My daughter," said the queen, "you also once had brothers, for I had
twelve sons, but I gave them all up in order to have you;" and
thereupon she related to her all that had occurred.
When the princess heard what had befallen her brothers, she could no
longer remain at home in peace, and notwithstanding all her mother's
tears and entreaties, nothing would satisfy her but she must and would
set off in search of her brothers, for she thought that she alone was
guilty of causing their misfortune; so she secretly left the palace.
She wandered about the world, and went so far that you would not
believe it possible that such a delicate maiden could have gone to
such a distance. Once she strayed about a whole night in a great
forest, and towards the morning she was so tired that she lay down on
a bank and slept. Then she dreamed that she penetrated still farther
into the forest, till she came to a little wooden hut, and therein she
found her brothers. When she awoke, she saw before her a little beaten
path through the moss, and she followed it till in the thickest of the
forest she saw a little wooden hut, just like that she had dreamed
of.
She entered it, but saw no one. There were, however, twelve beds and
twelve chairs, and on the table lay twelve spoons, and, in fact, there
were twelve of every article she saw there. The princess was
overjoyed, for she could not but fancy that her twelve brethren dwelt
there, and that it was to them that the beds, and the chairs, and the
spoons belonged. Then she made a fire on the hearth, swept the room,
and made the beds; afterwards she cooked a meal for them, and set
everything out in the best order possible. And when she had finished
her cooking and had prepared everything for her brothers, she sat down
and ate something for herself, laid her spoon on the table, and crept
under the bed belonging to her youngest brother.
She had scarcely concealed herself there, when she heard a great
rustling in the air, and presently in flew twelve wild ducks; but the
moment they crossed the threshold, they were instantly transformed
into the princes, her brothers!
"Ah, how nicely everything is arranged here, and how delightfully warm
it is already," they exclaimed.
"Heaven reward the person who has warmed our room so nicely, and
prepared such an excellent repast for us;" and hereupon each took his
silver spoon in order to begin eating. But when each prince had taken
his own, there was still one remaining, so like the others that they
could not distinguish it. Then the princes looked at each other, and
were very much astonished.
"That must be our sister's spoon," said they; "and since the spoon is
here, she herself cannot be far off."
"If it is our sister, and if she is here," said the eldest, "she shall
be killed, for she is the cause of our misfortune."
"Nay," said the youngest, "it would be a sin to kill her; she is not
guilty of what we suffer; if any one is in fault, it is no other than
our own mother."
Then they all began to search high and low, and at last they looked
under all the beds, and when they came to the bed of the youngest
prince, they found the princess, and drew her from under it.
The eldest prince was now again for killing her, but she entreated
them earnestly to spare her life, and said, "Ah, do not kill me; I
have wandered about so long seeking for you, and I would willingly
give my life if that would disenchant you."
"Nay, but if you will disenchant us," said they, "we will spare your
life; for you can do it if you will."
"Indeed; only tell me then what I am to do, for I will do anything you
wish," said the princess.
"You must collect the down of the dandelion flowers, and you must
card, and spin, and weave it; and of that material you must cut out
and make twelve caps, and twelve shirts, and twelve cravats, a set for
each of us; but during the time that you are occupied in doing so, you
must neither speak, nor weep, nor smile. If you can do that, we shall
be disenchanted."
"But where shall I be able to find sufficient down for all the caps,
and shirts, and cravats?" asked she.
"That you shall soon see," said the princes; and then they led her out
into a great meadow, where were so many dandelions with their white
down waving in the wind and glittering in the sun, that the glitter of
them could be seen at a very great distance. The princess had never in
all her life seen so many dandelions, and she began directly to pluck
and collect them, and she brought home as many as she could carry; and
in the evening she began to card and spin them into yarn. Thus she
continued doing for a very long time; every day she gathered the down
from the dandelions, and she attended on the princes also; she cooked
for them, and made their beds; and every evening they flew home as
wild ducks, became princes again during the night, and in the morning
flew away again, as wild ducks.
Now it happened one day when Snow-white and Rosy-red had gone to the
meadow to collect the dandelion-down--if I do not mistake, that was
the last time that she required to collect them--that the young king
of the country was hunting, and rode towards the meadow where
Snow-white and Rosy-red was collecting her material. The king was
astonished to see such a beautiful maiden walking there, and gathering
the dandelion-down. He stopped his horse and addressed her; but when
he could get no answer from her, he was still more astonished, and as
the maiden pleased him so well, he resolved to carry her to his royal
residence, and make her his wife. He commanded his attendants,
therefore, to lift her upon his horse; but Snow-white and Rosy-red
wrung her hands, and pointed to the bag wherein she had her work. So
the king understood at last what she meant, and bade his attendants
put the bag also on his horse. That being done, the princess, by
degrees, yielded to his wish that she should go with him, for the king
was a very handsome man, and spoke so gently, and kindly, to her. But
when they arrived at the palace, and the old queen, who was the
king's step-mother, saw how beautiful Snow-white and Rosy-red was, she
became quite jealous and angry; and she said to the king:--"Do you not
see, then, that you have brought home a sorceress with you? for she
can neither speak, nor laugh, nor cry." The king, however, heeded not
his step-mother's words, but celebrated his nuptials with the fair
maiden, and lived very happily with her. She, however, did not cease
to work continually at the shirts.
Before the year was out, Snow-white and Rosy-red brought a little
prince into the world. This made the old queen still more envious and
spiteful than before; and when night came, she slipped into the
queen's room, and whilst she slept, carried off the infant, and threw
it into a pit which was full of snakes. Then she returned, made an
incision in one of the queen's fingers, and having smeared her mouth
with the blood, she went to the king, and said:--"Come now, and see
what sort of a wife you have got; she has just devoured her own
child." Thereupon the king was so distressed that he very nearly shed
tears, and said:--"Yes, it must be true, since I see it with my own
eyes; but she surely will not do so again; this time I will spare
her." Before the year was out the queen brought into the world
another prince, and the same occurred this time, as before. The
step-mother was still more jealous and spiteful; she again slipped
into the young queen's room, during the night, and, whilst she slept,
carried off the babe, and threw it into the pit to the serpents. Then
she made an incision in the queen's finger, smeared her lips with the
blood, and told the king that his wife had again devoured her own
child. The king's distress was greater than can be imagined, and he
said:--"Yes, it must be so, since I see it with my own eyes; but
surely she will never do so again; I will spare her this once more."
Before that year was out, Snow-white and Rosy-red brought a daughter
into the world, and this also the old queen threw into the serpent
hole, as she had done the others, made an incision in the young
queen's finger, smeared her lips with the blood, and then again said
to the king: "Come and see if I do not say truly, she is a sorceress:
for she has now devoured her third child," Then the king was more
distressed than can be described, for he could no longer spare her,
but was obliged to command that she should be burnt alive. Now when
the pile of faggots was blazing, and the young queen was to ascend,
she made signs that twelve boards should be laid round the pile. This
being done she placed on them, the shirts, caps, and cravats, she had
made for her brothers; but the left sleeve of the youngest brother's
shirt was wanting, for she had not been able to finish it. No sooner
had she done this than a great rustling and fluttering was heard in
the air, and twelve wild ducks came flying from the wood, and each
took a shirt, cap, and cravat in his beak, and flew off with them.
"Are you convinced now that she is a sorceress?" said the wicked
step-mother to the king: "make haste and have her burnt before the
flames consume all the wood."
"There is no need of such haste," said the king; "we have plenty more
wood, and I am very desirous to see what will be the end of all this."
At that moment came the twelve princes riding up, all as handsome and
graceful as possible, only the youngest prince, instead of a left arm,
had a duck's wing.
"What are you going to do?" asked the princes.
"My wife is going to be burnt," said the king, "because she is a
sorceress, and has devoured her children."
"That has she not," said the princes. "Speak now, sister! You have
delivered us, now save yourself."
[Illustration: SNOW-WHITE AND ROSY-RED. P. 19.]
Then Snow-white and Rosy-red spoke, and related all that had happened,
and that each time she had a child, the old queen had slipped into the
room, taken the child, and then made an incision in her finger, and
smeared the blood upon her lips. And the princes led the king to the
serpent hole, and there lay the children, playing with the serpents
and adders, and finer children than these could not be seen. Then the
king carried them with him to his step-mother, and asked her what the
person deserved who had desired to betray an innocent queen, and three
such lovely children.
"To be torn in pieces by twelve wild horses," said the old queen.
"You have pronounced your own doom, and shall suffer the punishment,"
said the king, and forthwith the old queen was tied to twelve wild
horses, and torn to pieces. But Snow-white and Rosy-red set off with
the king, her husband, and her three children, and her twelve
brothers, and went home to her parents, and told them all that had
happened to her; and there were rejoicings throughout the kingdom,
because the princess was saved, and that she had disenchanted her
twelve brothers.
THE STORY OF ARGILIUS AND THE FLAME-KING.
[Slavonic]
In a certain distant land once reigned a king and queen, who had three
daughters and one son. As the king and queen were talking one day
together about family matters, the king said to his consort: "Whenever
our daughters happen to marry we shall be obliged to give to each of
their husbands a portion of our kingdom, which will thereby be greatly
diminished; I think therefore that we cannot do better than marry them
all three to our son, and so the kingdom will remain entire. In
another eight days, harvest will be over, and then we will celebrate
the nuptials."
The son overheard this discourse, and thought within himself, "that
shall never come to pass."
Now the king and queen having gone to a distant farm to superintend
the reapers, some one approached the window, knocked at it, and said
to the prince: "Little prince, I am come to marry your eldest sister."
The young prince replied: "Wait a moment, you shall have her
directly." He called his eldest sister, and as soon as she entered the
room, he caught her in his arms, and threw her out of the window. She
did not, however, fall to the ground, but on a golden bridge, which
was very, very long, in fact it reached to the sun. Her unknown lover
took her by the hand, and led her along the golden bridge to his
kingdom in the centre of the sun, for this unknown happened to be the
Sun-king.
About noon some one else knocked at the window and said, as the former
had done: "Little prince, I want to marry your second sister."
The little prince replied: "Wait a moment, you shall have her
directly." He went into his second sister's apartment, lifted her up,
and threw her out of the window. She did not fall to the ground
either, but into a chariot in the air. Four horses, which never ceased
snorting and prancing, were harnessed to it. The unknown placed
himself in the chariot, and as he brandished the whip, the clouds
spread themselves out so as to form a road, the rolling of the
chariot wheels was like a storm, and they disappeared in an instant.
The unknown was the Wind-king.
The little prince was right glad to think that he had already
established two sisters, and when toward evening some one else knocked
at the window, he said: "You need not speak, I know what you want:"
and out he threw his youngest sister. She fell into a silvery stream.
The unknown took her by the arm, and the waves bore her gently to the
moon, for her lover was no other than the Moon-king. The young prince
then went well pleased to bed.
When the king and queen returned the next day they were very much
surprised at hearing what their son had done; but as they had got
three such powerful sons-in-law, as the kings of the Sun, Wind, and
Moon, they were well satisfied, and said to the young prince: "See how
grand your sisters are become through their husbands. You must try
also to find some powerful queen to be your wife."
The prince answered: "I have already fixed on one Kavadiska, and no
other shall be my wife."
The king and queen were quite shocked at this audacious speech, and
endeavoured to dissuade him from the thought by all kinds of rational
arguments; as, however, they in no wise succeeded, they at length
said: "Well, then go forth, my son, and may Heaven guide thee in thy
rash enterprise."
The old king then took two bottles from his chest and gave them to his
son, with these words: "See, my son, this bottle contains the water of
life, and this the water of death. If thou sprinkle a corpse with the
water of life it will be restored to life, but if thou sprinkle a
living being with this water of death, it will immediately die. Take
these bottles, they are my greatest treasure; perhaps they may be
serviceable to thee." Now all the courtiers began to weep excessively,
especially the ladies, who were all very partial to the prince. He,
however, was very cheerful and full of hope, kissed the hands of his
royal parents, placed the bottles about his person, that of life on
the right side, and that of death on the left, girded on his sword,
and departed.
He had already wandered far when he reached a valley which was full of
slain men. The young prince took his bottle of the water of life and
sprinkled some in the eyes of one of the dead, who immediately rose
up, rubbed his eyes, and said: "Ha! how long I have been sleeping."
The king's son asked him, "What has taken place here?" to which the
dead man replied: "Yesterday we fought against Kavadiska and she cut
us all to pieces." The king's son said: "Since you were so weak as not
to be able to defend yourselves against a woman, you do not deserve to
live;" and then he sprinkled him with the water of death, on which the
man fell down again, dead, amongst the other corpses.
In the next valley lay a whole army in the same condition; the prince
again re-animated one of the dead, and inquired: "Did you also fight
against Kavadiska?" "Yes," returned the dead. "Why did you make war
upon her?" resumed the prince. "Know'st thou not," rejoined the dead,
"that our king desires to marry her, but that she will have no one for
her husband, but him who shall conquer her? We went out against her
with three armies: yesterday she destroyed one; this morning at
sunrise the second; and she is at this moment fighting against the
third?" The prince sprinkled the speaker with the water of death, and
immediately he also fell to the ground.
In the third valley lay the third host. The re-animated warrior said:
"The fight is only just now ended; Kavadiska has slain us all." "Where
shall I find her?" asked the prince. "Her castle is on the other side
of that mountain," replied the warrior, and sank down again as soon as
the prince sprinkled him.
Argilius--so was the prince called--crossed the mountain and came to
Kavadiska's castle. He entered. No one was within. In Kavadiska's
chamber hung a sword, which ceased not to spring out of its sheath and
then in again. "Ho, ho, since thou art so restless," thought Argilius,
"I will take possession of thee. Thou pleasest me better than my own
sword, which never stirs unless I wield it." So he took off his own
sword and exchanged it for the other. He had scarcely done so, when
Kavadiska suddenly stood before him. "Thou darest to intrude into my
castle?" exclaimed she; "draw then, thou must fight me." She snatched
the sword from the wall. Argilius drew the blade for which he had just
exchanged his own. They began to fight, but the first time their
swords crossed Kavadiska's broke off in the middle. Then she said
joyfully: "Thou art my bridegroom!" and fell on his neck, and kissed
and caressed him, and forthwith became his wife.
After they had lived some time happily together, Kavadiska said one
morning: "Beloved husband, I must leave thee for a short time. It is
the first and last time I shall ever separate from thee. In seven
times seven days I shall return, and thenceforth our life shall flow
on in uninterrupted happiness. Everything in the castle is at thy
command, only do not enter the furthest room; great misfortunes may
befall us if you do." Having said these words she vanished.
The time passed very heavily for Argilius after his wife had left him;
he wandered through the whole castle, till at last he came to the
furthest chamber. Being young and thoughtless he opened it. He saw
therein an old man, whose beard was fire; this was the Flame-king
Holofernes, but Argilius did not know who he was. The old man had
three iron hoops round his body, which bound him fast to the wall.
"Hail to thee, young man," said he; "see, my beard is flame; I am very
hot, give me a goblet of wine." Now, as Argilius was very kindly
disposed, he gave him a goblet; and as soon as he had drunk it, one of
the hoops round his body gave way. He chuckled and said: "Thou hast
greatly relieved me; give me now another goblet." Argilius did so, and
when the Flame-king had emptied that, another hoop gave way. He
chuckled again and said: "Twice hast thou given me wine, now give me
a goblet of water." And when Argilius had done as he was requested,
the third hoop sprang off, and the Flame-king disappeared.
Kavadiska had not performed half of her journey before Holofernes
stood by her side. He addressed her, and his beard waved in anger:
"Thou hast rejected me for thy husband, thou hast slain three of my
armies, thou hast detained me in prison: now thou art in my power; and
now not my wife, but the lowest of my servants shalt thou be." Since
her marriage with Argilius, Kavadiska had lost all her power,
therefore her resistance was in vain. In three leaps the Flame-king
had already borne her to his realm.
Seven times seven days passed, and Kavadiska did not return. Then
Argilius became very uneasy, and he resolved to go and see his three
brothers-in-law, and inquire if they could give him any information
where Kavadiska was. He arrived first at the Sun-king's palace, who
was just then coming home.
"Welcome, little brother-in-law," began he.
"Ah! dear brother-in-law," said Argilius, "I am in search of my wife
Kavadiska; know'st thou not where she is? Hast thou not seen her?"
"No," rejoined the Sun-king, "I have not seen her. Perhaps she is only
visible by night, and in that case thou must inquire of our
brother-in-law the Moon-king."
They then took refreshments together, and sat till night came on, when
Argilius went on to the Moon-king. He reached his palace just as the
Moon-king was about to begin his night wandering, and Argilius having
told what he wanted, the Moon-king replied:--
"I have not seen her; but come, join me in my nightly pilgrimage,
perhaps we shall discover her." They wandered all night, but did not
get sight of her. Then said the Moon-king:--
"It is now time for me to go home; but yonder comes our brother-in-law
the Wind-king; speak to him; he drives about everywhere, perhaps he
may have seen her."
The Wind-king stood beside them, and when he heard his little
brother-in-law's business, he said:--
"Assuredly I know where she is. The Flame-king, Holofernes, has got
her imprisoned in a subterranean cavern, and she is obliged to wash
all his kitchen utensils in the fiery stream, and as this makes her
very hot, I often waft a cooling breeze upon her."
"I thank thee, dear brother-in-law, for having given her some relief;
pray carry me to her," said Argilius.
"Right willingly," rejoined the Wind-king: so he gave a great puff,
and he and Argilius, together with the horse of the latter, stood the
next moment in the presence of his Kavadiska. Her joy was so great
that she let all the kitchen utensils fall into the fiery stream; but
Argilius, without stopping to talk much, lifted her on his horse and
rode off.
The Flame-king was at that time in his own apartment; he heard an
extraordinary noise in the stable, and on going into it he found his
horse Taigarot prancing, neighing, biting the manger, and pawing the
ground. Taigarot was a very peculiar kind of horse; he understood
human language, and could even speak, and he had nine feet!
"What mad tricks are you playing?" cried Holofernes; "have you not had
enough hay and oats, or have they not given you drink?"
"Oats and hay I have had in plenty," said Taigarot, "and drink, too;
but they have carried off Kavadiska from you."
The Flame-king shivered with rage.
"Be calm," said Taigarot; "you may even eat, drink, and sleep, for in
three bounds I will overtake her."
Holofernes did as his horse bade him, and when he had sufficiently
rested and refreshed himself, he mounted Taigarot, and in three bounds
overtook Argilius. He tore Kavadiska from his arms and cried out, as
he was springing home again:--
"Because you set me at liberty, I do not kill thee this time; but if
thou returnest once again, thou art lost."
Argilius went back very melancholy to his three brothers-in-law, and
related what had happened. They took counsel together, and then
said:--
"Thou must find a horse which is still swifter of foot than Taigarot;
there is, however, but one such horse existing, and he is Taigarot's
younger brother. It is true he has only four feet, but still he is
decidedly swifter than Taigarot."
"Where shall I find this horse?" inquired Argilius.
The brothers-in-law replied:--
"The witch Iron-nose keeps the horse concealed under-ground; go to
her, enter into her service, and demand the horse in lieu of other
wages."
"Carry me thither, dear brothers-in-law," said Argilius.
"Immediately," said the Sun-king; "but first accept this gift from thy
brothers-in-law, who love thee dearly."
With these words he gave him a little staff, which was half gold and
half silver, and which never ceased vibrating. It was made of
sunshine, moonshine, and wind.
"Whenever thou standest in need of us, stick this staff in the ground,
and immediately we shall be by thy side."
Then the Sun-king took his little brother-in-law on one of his beams,
and carried him for one day; then the Moon-king did the same for a
whole night, and finally the Wind-king carried him for a whole day and
a whole night too, and by that time he reached the palace of the witch
Iron-nose.
The palace of the witch was constructed entirely of deaths'-heads; one
only was wanting to complete the building. When the old woman heard a
knocking at her gate, she looked out of the window, and rejoiced: "At
last another!" exclaimed she, "I have waited three hundred years in
vain for this death's-head to complete my magnificent edifice: come
in, my good youth!"
Argilius entered, and was a little startled when he first beheld the
old woman, for she was very tall, very ugly, and her nose was of iron.
"I should like to enter your service," were his words.
"Well," replied she, "what wages do you ask?"
"The horse which you keep under-ground."
"You shall have him if you serve faithfully; if you fail however once
only, you shall be put to death."
"Very well."
"With me,"--these were witch Iron-nose's last words,--"with me the
year's service consists of only three days; you may begin your service
at once. You will attend to my stud in the meadow, and if in the
evening a single one is missing, you die."
She then led him to the stable. The horses were all of metal, neighed
terribly, and made the most surprising leaps.
"Attend to your business," said Iron-nose, and then locked herself in
her apartment. Argilius opened the covered enclosure, threw himself on
one of the metal horses and rushed out with the whole troop. They were
no sooner on the meadow, when the horse on which he rode threw him
into a deep morass, where he sank up to the breast. The whole troop
scattered themselves here and there, when Argilius stuck the little
staff his brothers-in-law had given him into the ground, and at once
the sun's rays struck with such heat on the morass, that it dried up
instantly, and the metal horses began to melt, and ran terrified back
to the shed. The witch was very much surprised when she saw they were
all driven in again. "To-morrow you must tend my twelve coursers,"
said she; "if you are not home again with the last rays of the sun,
you die: they are more difficult to manage than the metal horses."
"Do your duty," said Argilius, "I shall do mine."
The twelve coursers soon ran all different ways. Argilius set his
staff in the ground, and a fearful storm arose. The wind blew against
every horse, and let them rear and prance as they would, the wind got
the better of them, and they were all obliged to return to their
stable. Argilius immediately shut the stable door, and at that moment
the last rays of the sun went down just as Witch Iron-nose reached the
stable. She was quite astonished when she saw the horses and Argilius.
"If you do your work well this night, to-morrow you shall be free. Go
and milk the metal mares, and prepare a bath of the milk, which must
be ready with the first rays of the sun."
[Illustration]
Argilius went to the metal shed, and as he had a misgiving that this
would prove the hardest task of all, he was about to set his staff in
the ground, when he was met by his brother-in-law, the Moon-king.
"I was seeking thee," said he. "I know already what thou needest.
Where my light shines, just by the metallic horses' shed, dig about
three spans deep, and thou wilt find a golden bridle, which, whilst
thou holdest in thy hand, will cause all the mares to obey thee."
Argilius did as he was desired, and all the metallic mares stood quite
still and suffered themselves to be milked. In the morning the bath
was ready, the smoke and steam rose up from the milk, which now
boiled. Witch Iron-nose said: "Place thyself in it."
"If I stand this trial," replied Argilius, "I shall ride away
immediately after; let the horse therefore be brought out for the
possession of which I bargained."
The horse instantly stood by the bath. It was small, ill-looking, and
dirty. As Argilius approached to enter the bath, the horse put his
head into the milk, and sucked out all the fire, so that Argilius
remained unhurt in it, and when he came out he was seven times
handsomer than before. Witch Iron-nose was much charmed by his
appearance, and thought within herself: "Now I in like manner will
make myself seven times handsomer than I am, and then I will marry
this youth."
She sprang into the bath. The horse, however, again put his head into
the milk, and blew back into it the fire he had previously sucked out,
and Witch Iron-nose was immediately scalded to death.
Argilius sprang on his horse and rode away. When they had got beyond
the Witch's domain, the horse said: "Wash me in this stream."
Argilius did so, and the horse became the colour of gold, and to each
hair hung a little golden bell. The horse at one leap cleared the sea,
and carried his master to the cave of the Flame-king. Kavadiska was
again standing by the side of the fiery stream, washing the kitchen
utensils.
"Come," cried Argilius, "I will rescue thee,"
"Ah!" exclaimed she, "Holofernes will slay thee if he overtakes thee."
Argilius had, however, already lifted her on his horse and ridden off.
Taigarot again set up a wonderful noise in his stable.
"What's the matter?" cried the Flame-king.
"Kavadiska has escaped," replied Taigarot.
"Well then, I will again eat, drink and sleep; in three bounds thou
wilt overtake her as before," said Holofernes.
"Not so," rejoined Taigarot, "mount me directly, and even then we
shall not overtake them. Argilius rides my younger brother, and he is
the swiftest horse in the whole world."
Holofernes buckled on his fire-spurs, and flew after the fugitives. It
is true, he got sight of them, but he could not come up with them.
Then the horse of Argilius turning back his head called out: "Why dost
thou let those fiery spurs be stuck in thy side, brother? They will
burn thy entrails, they are so long; and yet thou wilt never come up
with me. It would be much better that we should both serve one
master."
Taigarot perceived this, and the next time Holofernes stuck the spurs
in him, he threw the Flame-king. As they were very high up in the air,
(in fact, they were as high as the stars), Holofernes fell to the
ground with such force, that he broke his neck. As for Argilius, he
brought Kavadiska back to her castle, where they again celebrated
their nuptials, lived very happy; and, if they have not died since,
they live there to this very day.
PERSEVERE AND PROSPER.
[Arabic.]
"_He that seeketh shall find, and to him that knocketh shall be
opened_," says an old Arab proverb. "I will try that," said a youth
one day. To carry out his intentions he journeyed to Bagdad, where he
presented himself before the Vizier. "Lord!" said he, "for many years
I have lived a quiet and solitary life, the monotony of which wearies
me. I have never permitted myself earnestly to will anything. But as
my teacher daily repeated to me, '_He that seeketh shall find, and to
him that knocketh shall be opened_,' so have I now come to the
resolution with might and heart to _will_, and the resolution of my
_will_ is nothing less than to have the Caliph's daughter for my
wife."
The Vizier thought the poor man was mad, and told him to call again
some other time.
Perseveringly he daily returned, and never felt disconcerted at the
same often-repeated answer. One day, the Caliph called on the Vizier,
just as the youth was delivering his statement.
Full of astonishment the Caliph listened to the strange demand, and
being in no peculiar humour for having the poor youth's head taken
off, but on the contrary, rather inclined for pleasantry, his
Mightiness condescendingly said: "For the great, the wise, or the
brave, to request a princess for wife, is a moderate demand; but what
are your claims? To be the possessor of my daughter you must
distinguish yourself by one of these attributes, or else by some great
undertaking. Ages ago a carbuncle of inestimable value was lost in the
Tigris; he who finds it shall have the hand of my daughter."
The youth, satisfied with the promise of the Caliph, went to the
shores of the Tigris. With a small vessel he every morning went to the
river, scooping out the water and throwing it on the land; and after
having for hours thus employed himself, he knelt down and prayed. The
fishes became at last uneasy at his perseverance; and being fearful
that, in course of time, he might exhaust the waters, they assembled
in great council.
"What is the purpose of this man?" demanded the monarch of the fishes.
"The possession of the carbuncle that lies buried in the sluice of the
Tigris," was the reply.
"I advise you, then," said the aged monarch, "to give it up to him;
for if he has the steady will, and has positively resolved to find it,
he will drain the last drop of water from the Tigris, rather than
deviate a hair's breadth from his purpose."
The fishes, out of fear, threw the carbuncle into the vessel of the
youth; and the latter, as a reward, received the daughter of the
Caliph for his wife.
"He who earnestly _wills_, can do _much_!"
THE PRINCE OF THE GLOW-WORMS.
[German.]
"No! I'll bear it no longer, you good-for-nothing vagabond!" screamed
the old woman to little Julius. "When you should be sitting with your
book in your hand trying to learn somewhat, if I do but turn my back
off goes the dunce to the wood, and stays there for whole days,
frightening me out of my wits! What business have you in the wood,
pray? You ought to stay at home and learn your book or help me in my
work. And then you let one have no peace by night either. What's the
use of my telling you ten times over all the stories I know about the
black man and the grim wolf? You godless child you! You care for none
of the things that frighten good pious children almost to death; but
in the dead of the night off you go into the dark forest, through
hedges and brambles, making me fine work to wash and patch your
clothes. This is the last day I'll put up with it. The very next time
I'll turn you out of doors; and then you may go far enough before
you'll find anybody to take pity on you, you lazy foundling, and feed
you, as I have done, out of sheer humanity!"
"I cannot say much for your food," replied the boy shortly and
carelessly, as he sat dreamily in a corner playing with a wild flower.