poles, with cross-bars between them, upon which he hung dresses of
various colours, scarves, and ribbons, gold chains, and diamond earrings
and pins, shoes, and looking-glasses, and then hid himself, with his
wonderful hook and line ready.
As soon as the morning rose from the sea, there appeared far away on the
smooth waters a silvery boat, in which stood a beautiful maiden, with a
golden oar in one hand, while with the other she gathered together her
long golden hair, all the while singing so beautifully to the rising
sun, that, if the ferry-man had not quickly stopped his ears, he would
have fallen into a delicious reverie, and then asleep.
She sailed along a long time in her silver boat, and round her leaped
and played golden fishes with rainbow wings and diamond eyes. But all at
once she perceived the rich clothes and ornaments, hung up on the poles,
and as she came nearer, the ferry-man called out:
"Storm-wind! Storm-wind! come with speed!
Help me in my sudden need!"
"What do you want?" asked the Storm-wind.
The ferry-man without answering him, called out:
"Frost, I call thee; come with speed,
Help me in my sudden need!"
"What do you want?" asked the Frost.
"I want to capture the sea-maiden."
Then the wind blew and blew, so that the silver boat was capsized,
and the frost breathed on the sea till it was frozen over.
[Illustration: THE MEETING OF THE SISTERS]
Then the ferryman rushed up to the sea-maiden, entangling his hook in
her golden hair; lifted her on his horse, and rode off as swift as the
wind after his wonderful ball of thread.
She kept weeping and lamenting all the way; but as soon as they reached
the ferry-man's home, and saw his wife, all her sorrow changed into joy;
she laughed with delight, and threw herself into her arms.
And then it turned out that the two were sisters.
Next morning the ferry-man went to court with both his wife and
sister-in-law, and the king was so delighted with the beauty of the
latter, that he at once offered to marry her. But she could give him no
answer until he had the Self-playing Guitar.
So the king ordered the ferry-man to procure him this wonderful guitar,
or be put to death.
His wife told him what to do, and gave him a handkerchief of hers,
embroidered with gold, telling him to use this in case of need.
Following the ball of thread he came at last to a great lake, in the
midst of which was a green island.
He began to wonder how he was to get there, when he saw a boat
approaching, in which was an old man, with a long white beard, and he
recognized him with delight, as his former benefactor.
"How are you, ferry-man?" he asked. "Where are you going?"
"I am going wherever the ball of thread leads me, for I must fetch the
Self-playing Guitar."
"This guitar," said the old man, "belongs to Goldmore, the lord of that
island. It is a difficult matter to have to do with him; but perhaps you
may succeed. You have often ferried me over the water; I will ferry you
now."
The old man pushed off, and they reached the island.
On arriving the ball of thread went straight into a palace, where
Goldmore came out to meet the traveller, and asked him where he was
going and what he wanted.
He explained:
"I am come for the Self-playing Guitar."
"I will only let you have it on condition that you do not go to sleep
for three days and nights. And if you do, you will not only lose all
chance of the Self-playing Guitar; but you must die."
What could the poor man do, but agree to this?
So Goldmore conducted him to a great room, and locked him in. The floor
was strewn with sleepy-grass, so he fell asleep directly.
Next morning in came Goldmore, and on waking him up said:
"So you went to sleep! Very well, you shall die!"
And he touched a spring in the floor, and the unhappy ferry-man fell
down into an apartment beneath, where the walls were of looking-glass,
and there were great heaps of gold and precious stones lying about.
For three days and nights he lay there; he was fearfully hungry. And
then it dawned upon him that he was to be starved to death!
He called out, and entreated in vain; nobody answered, and though he had
piles of gold and jewels about him, they could not purchase him a morsel
of food.
He sought in vain for any means of exit. There was a window, of clearest
crystal, but it was barred by a heavy iron grating. But the window
looked into a garden whence he could hear nightingales singing, doves
cooing, and the murmur of a brook. But inside he saw only heaps of
useless gold and jewels, and his own face, worn and haggard, reflected a
thousand times.
He could now only pray for a speedy death, and took out a little iron
cross, which he had kept by him since his boyhood. But in doing so he
also drew out the gold-embroidered handkerchief, given him by his wife,
and which he had quite forgotten till now.
Goldmore had been looking on, as he often did, from an opening in the
ceiling to enjoy the sight of his prisoner's sufferings. All at once he
recognized the handkerchief, as belonging to his own sister, the
ferry-man's wife.
He at once changed his treatment of his brother-in-law, as he had
discovered him to be; took him out of prison, led him to his own
apartments, gave him food and drink, and the Self-playing Guitar into
the bargain.
Coming home, the ferry-man met his wife half-way.
"The ball of thread came home alone," she explained; "so I judged that
some misfortune had befallen you, and I was coming to help you."
He told her all his adventures, and they returned home together.
The king was all eagerness to see and hear the Self-playing Guitar; so
he ordered the ferry-man, his wife, and her sister to come with it to
the palace at once.
Now the property of this Self-playing Guitar was such that wherever its
music was heard, the sick became well, those who were sad merry, ugly
folks became handsome, sorceries were dissolved, and those who had been
murdered rose from the dead, and slew their murderers.
So when the king, having been told the charm to set the guitar playing,
said the words, all the court began to be merry, and dance--except the
king himself!... For all at once the door opened, the music ceased, and
the figure of the late king stood up in his shroud, and said:
"I was the rightful possessor of the throne! and you, wicked brother,
who caused me to be murdered, shall now reap your reward!"
So saying he breathed upon him, and the king fell dead--on which the
phantom vanished.
But as soon as they recovered from their fright, all the nobility who
were present acclaimed the ferry-man as their king.
The next day, after the burial of the late king, the beautiful
sea-maiden, the beloved of the Sun, went back to the sea, to float about
in her silvery canoe, in the company of the rainbow fishes, and to
rejoice in the sunbeams.
But the good ferry-man and his wife lived happily ever after, as king
and queen. And they gave a grand ball to the nobility and to the
people.... The Self-playing Guitar furnished the music, the wonderful
purse scattered gold all the time, and the king entertained all the
guests right royally.
[Illustration: THE FIGHT FOR THE MAGIC BOOTS]
THE PRINCESS OF THE BRAZEN MOUNTAIN
There was a young prince, who was not only most handsome and well-grown,
but also most kind-hearted and good. Now sooner or later kindness always
meets its reward, though it may not seem so at first.
One summer's evening the prince was walking on the banks of a lake, when
he looked up, and saw to his great surprise, in the air, against the
rosy clouds of the sunset, three beautiful beings with wings--not
angels, nor birds--but three beautiful damsels.
And having alighted on the ground they dropped their wings and their
garments, and left them lying on the shore and leaped into the cool
water, and began splashing and playing about in it, like so many
waterfowl.
As soon as the prince saw this he came out from his hiding-place in the
bushes, picked up one pair of wings and hid himself again.
When they had been long enough in the water, the beautiful damsels came
again to land, and dressed themselves quickly.
Two of them soon had on both their white dresses and their wings; but
the youngest could not find hers.
They held a short consultation, and the result was, that the two elder
flew away in the shape of birds, as fast as they could, to fetch another
pair of wings for their younger sister.
They soon vanished in the blue sky; but she remained alone, wringing her
hands, and crying.
"What are you crying for, you lovely maiden?" asked the prince, emerging
from the bushes.
"Oh! I am so unhappy!" she replied. "I am a princess of the Brazen
Mountain; my sisters and I came here to bathe in the lake; and somebody
has stolen my wings; so I must wait here, until they bring me another
pair."
"I am a prince," he replied; "this is my father's kingdom; be my wife,
and I will give you back your wings."
"Very well," she said; "I consent, only you must give me back my wings
at once."
"Let us first go to church, and get married," he answered, and taking
the lovely princess by the hand, he brought her to his father and
mother, and asked their permission to marry her.
[Illustration: THE PRINCE STEALS THE WINGS]
The king and queen were delighted with their beautiful daughter-in-law,
gave them their blessing, and all was got ready for the wedding.
And directly they came back from church the prince, overcome with joy,
kissed his bride, and gave her back her wings.
She took them joyfully, fastened them to her shoulders; then flew out of
the window, and vanished.
All the wedding-guests were in consternation; the king looked very
serious; the queen wept bitterly; but the prince so grieved after his
bride, that, having obtained his parents' consent, he went out into the
wide world to search for that Brazen Mountain, where he hoped to find
her.
He travelled for a long time, inquiring about it of every one he met;
but nobody had ever heard of such a mountain; and he began to give up
all hope of ever finding it.
Late one evening he saw a twinkling light before him, which he followed,
in the hope of coming to some habitation. It led him on a long way,
across level plains, through deep defiles, and at length some way into a
dark forest. But at last he came to whence the light proceeded--from a
solitary hermitage.
He went in; but found the hermit lying dead, with six wax candles
burning around him. He had evidently been dead for some time. Yet there
seemed to be nobody near him, nor any inhabitants at all in this
desolate region.
The prince's first thought was how to get him buried, and with proper
rites, when there was no priest--nor indeed any people at all--to be
found in the neighbourhood.
While he was thinking over this, something fell from a peg in the wall,
close beside him; it was a leather whip.
The prince took it up, and read on the handle these words:
"The Magic Whip."
As he knew its virtue, he called out:
"Ho! Magical Whip!
To right and left skip!
And do what I will!"
The whip jumped from his hand, became invisible, and flew away.
In a short time there was the hum of a multitude through the forest; and
the head-forester entered, breathless, followed by a crowd of
under-keepers, and many more people with them.
Some set about making a coffin, others began digging a grave, and the
head-keeper rode off to fetch a priest.
And as soon as it was dawn mass was said; the bells began ringing from
several far-distant churches; and at sunrise the corpse was decently
buried. When the funeral was over all the people dispersed to their
homes, and the Magical Whip returned of itself to the prince's hand.
He stuck it into his girdle, and went on, till after an hour or two he
came to a clearing in the forest, where twelve men were fighting
desperately among themselves.
"Stop, you fellows!" exclaimed the prince. "Who are you? and what are
you fighting about?"
"We are robbers," they replied, "and we are fighting for these boots,
which were the property of our deceased leader. Whoever has them can go
seven leagues at one step; and he who gets them will be our leader. As
you are a stranger we will abide by your decision, as to whom this pair
of boots shall belong, and give you a heap of gold into the bargain for
your trouble."
The prince drew on the boots, took the Magical Whip from his girdle, and
said:
"Ho! Magical Whip!
To right and left skip!
And do what I will!"
The whip jumped from his hand, became invisible, and well thrashed the
robbers. In the midst of the confusion the prince made his escape, and
having the boots on he went seven miles at every step, and was soon far
enough away from the robbers' den.
But as he was no nearer to finding out where the Brazen Mountain was, he
had no need to go quite so fast; so he took off the seven-league boots,
put them under his arm, and the Magic Whip in his girdle, and went at
his ordinary pace, till he came to a narrow path between some rocks,
where again he came upon twelve men fighting.
They explained that they were fighting for an invisible cap, which had
belonged to their late leader; and asked him, as a stranger, to decide
who should have it.
So he set the Magical Whip, as before, to work; and there was a nice
confusion among these robbers, for not seeing where the blows came from
they fell upon one another; and at last, frightened out of their senses,
they took flight, and scattered in all directions. The prince, having
put on the invisible cap, was able to walk among them, and talk to them;
and they all heard, though they could not see him.
He now began to consider whether he could not use all these treasures to
help him to find the Brazen Mountain. So he drew on the seven-league
boots, settled the invisible cap on his forehead, and taking the Magical
Whip from his girdle, said:
"Oh! thou wondrous Magic Whip!
Lead me on; I'll follow thee!
Onward to the Brazen Mountain
Lead me, where I fain would be!"
The whip sprang from his hand. It did not become invisible this time,
but glided rapidly a little above the ground, like a boat over a calm
sea. Though it flew like a bird, the prince was quite able to keep pace
with it, because he had on the seven-league boots. He was scarcely
aware of the fact, when in less than a quarter of an hour they came to a
standstill--at the Brazen Mountain.
At first the prince was overjoyed at having reached the goal of his
wishes; but when he looked more closely at its smooth perpendicular
sides, hard as adamant--its summit lost in the clouds--he was in
despair; for how was he ever to get to the top of it?
However, he thought there must be some way up after all; so taking off
his boots and cap, he set off to walk round the base of the mountain.
In half an hour he came to a mill, with twelve millstones. The miller
was an old wizard, with a long beard down to the ground. He stood beside
a stove--whereupon a kettle was boiling--stirring the contents with a
long iron spoon, and piling wood on the fire.
The prince looked into the kettle.
"Good morning to you, gaffer. What are you doing there?"
"That's my own business," replied the miller gruffly.
"What mill is this?" the prince next asked.
"That's no business of yours," replied the miller.
The prince was not going to be satisfied with this; so he gave his usual
orders to the Magical Whip, which forthwith became invisible, and began
to lash the miller soundly. He tried to run away; but it was no use;
till the prince took pity on him, and called the whip back again. He
put it up, and then said:
"Whose mill is this?"
"It belongs to the three princesses of the Brazen Mountain," replied the
miller. "They let down a rope here every day, and draw up all the flour
they want by the rope."
As he said this a thick silken rope came down, with a loop at the end,
which struck the threshold of the mill.
The prince made ready; and when the usual sack of wheat flour was bound
fast in the loop, he climbed upon it, having first put on his invisible
cap, and was thus drawn up to the top of the Brazen Mountain.
The three princesses, having drawn up their supply of flour, put it into
their storehouse, and went back to their dwelling.
Their palace was most beautiful, all silver without, and all gold
within. All the windows were of crystal; the chairs and tables were made
of diamonds, and the floors of looking-glass. The ceilings were like the
sky, with mimic stars and moon shining therein; and in the principal
saloon there was a sun, with rays all round; beautiful birds were
singing, monkeys were telling fairy tales; and in their midst amongst
all this sat three most beautiful princesses.
The two eldest were weaving golden threads in their looms; but the
youngest, the prince's wife, sat silently apart from her sisters,
listening to the murmur of a fountain, her head leaning on her hand,
in deep thought. And as she sat there two pearly tears coursed down her
lovely face.
[Illustration: THE TRUANT WIFE IS CAPTURED]
"What are you thinking of, sister?" asked the two elder princesses.
"I am thinking of the prince, my husband. I love to think of him, and I
am so sorry for him, poor fellow! To think I left him for no fault at
all; and when we loved one another so dearly! Oh! sisters! I shall have
to leave you, and go back to him; only I fear he will never forgive me,
however I entreat him, for having behaved so unkindly to him."
"I forgive you, I forgive you everything, darling!" exclaimed the prince
throwing off the invisible cap, and embracing her rapturously.
Then she gave him wings like her own, and they flew away together. In an
hour or two they arrived in his father's kingdom.
The king and queen welcomed them joyfully, and all was greatest joy and
happiness henceforward.
[Illustration: THE MOUSE SAVES THE GOOD LITTLE GIRL]
THE BEAR IN THE FOREST HUT.
There was once an old man, who was a widower, and he had married an old
woman, who was a widow. Both had had children by their first marriage;
and now the old man had a daughter of his own still living, and the old
woman also had a daughter.
The old man was an honest, hard-working, and good-natured old fellow,
but too much under his wife's thumb. This was very unfortunate, because
she was wicked, cunning, and sly, and a bad old witch.
Her daughter was only too like her in disposition; but she was her
mother's darling.
But the old man's daughter was a very good sweet girl; nevertheless her
stepmother hated her; she was always tormenting her, and wishing her
dead.
One day she had beaten her very cruelly, and pushed her out of doors;
then she said to the old man:
"Your wretched daughter is always giving me trouble; she is such an
ill-tempered, spoilt hussy, that I cannot do anything with her. So if
you wish for peace in the house, you must put her into your waggon,
drive her away into the forest, and come back without her."
The old man was very sorry to have to do this; for he loved his own
little daughter most dearly. But he was so afraid of his wife that he
dared not refuse; so he put the poor girl into his waggon, drove a long
way into the forest, took her out, and left her there alone.
She wandered about a long time, gathering wild strawberries, to eat with
a little piece of bread, which her father had given her. Towards evening
she came to the door of a hut in the forest, and knocked at the door.
Nobody answered her knock. So she lifted the latch, went in, and looked
round--there was nobody there.
But there was a table in one corner, and benches all round the walls,
and an oven by the door. And near the table, close to the window, was a
spinning-wheel, and a quantity of flax.
The girl sat down to the spinning-wheel, and opened the window, looked
out, and listened; but nobody came.
[Illustration: THE GOOD LITTLE GIRL IS SENT AWAY]
But as it grew dusk she heard a rustle not far off, and from somewhere
not far from the hut, a voice was heard, singing:
"Wanderer, outcast, forsaken!
Whom the night has overtaken;
If no crime your conscience stain,
In this hut to-night remain."
When the voice ceased, she answered:
"I am outcast and forsaken;
Yet unstained by crime am I:
Be you rich, or be you poor;
For this night here let me lie!"
Once more there was a rustle in the branches; the door opened, and there
came into the room--a bear!
The girl started up, very frightened; but the bear only said:
"Good evening, pretty maiden!"
"Good evening to you, whoever you are," she replied, somewhat reassured.
"How did you come here?" he asked. "Was it of your own free will, or by
compulsion?"
The maiden told him all, weeping; but the bear sat down beside her, and
stroking her face with his paw, replied:
"Do not cry, pretty one; you shall be happy yet. But in the meantime you
must do just what I tell you. Do you see that flax? You must spin it
into thread; of that thread you must weave cloth, and of that cloth you
must make me a shirt. I shall come here to-morrow at this same time, and
if the shirt is ready I will reward you. Good-bye!"
So saying the bear made her a parting bow, and went out. At first the
girl began to cry, and said to herself:
"How can I do this in only twenty-four hours--spin all that flax, weave
it into cloth, and make a shirt out of it? Well! I must set to work! and
do what I can.... He will at least see that my will was good, though I
was unable to perform the task."
Thus saying, she dried her tears, ate some of her bread and
strawberries, sat down to the spinning-wheel, and began to spin by the
light of the moon.
The time went by quickly, as she worked, and it was daylight before she
knew.
And there was no more flax left; she had spun out the last distaff-full.
She was astonished to see how fast the work had gone, and began to
wonder how she was to weave the thread without any loom.
Thinking, she fell asleep.
When she woke the sun was already high in the heavens. There was
breakfast ready on the table, and a loom under the window.
She ran down to the neighbouring brook, washed her face and hands, came
back, said grace, and ate her breakfast; then she sat down to the loom.
The shuttle flew so fast that the cloth was all ready by noon.
She took it out into a meadow, sprinkled it from the brook, spread it
out in the sun, and in one hour the cloth was bleached.
She came back with it to the hut, cut out the shirt, and began to stitch
at it diligently.
The twilight was falling, and she was just putting in the last stitch,
when the door opened, and the bear came in, and asked:
"Is the shirt ready?"
She gave it to him.
"Thank you, my good girl; now I must reward you. You told me you had a
bad stepmother; if you like, I will send my bears to tear her and her
daughter in pieces."
"Oh! don't do that! I don't want to be revenged; let them live!"
"Let it be so then! Meanwhile make yourself useful in the kitchen; get
me some porridge for supper. You will find everything you want in the
cupboard in the wall; but I will go and fetch my bedding, for I shall
spend to-night at home."
The bear left the room, and the maiden made up the fire in the oven, and
began to get the porridge ready.
Just then she heard a sound under the bench, and there ran out a poor,
lean little mouse, which stood up on its hind-legs, and said in human
tones:
"Mistress! help me lest I die
A poor weak, little mouse am I!
I am hungry, give me food;
And to you will I be good."
The girl was sorry for the mouse, and threw it a spoonful of porridge.
The mouse ate it, thanked her, and ran away to its hole.
The bear soon came in, with a load of wood and stones; these he laid
upon the stove, and having eaten a basin of porridge, he climbed upon
the stove, and said:
"Here, girl, is a bunch of keys on a steel ring. Put out the fire; but
you must walk about the room all night, and keep on jingling these keys,
till I get up; and if I find you alive in the morning you shall be
happy."
The bear began snoring directly, and the old man's daughter kept walking
about the hut, jingling the keys.
Soon the mouse ran out of its hole, and said:
"Give me the keys, mistress, I will jingle them for you; but you must
hide yourself behind the stove, for the stones will soon be flying
about."
So the mouse began to run up and down by the wall, under the bench. The
maiden hid behind the oven, and about midnight the bear woke up, and
threw out a stone into the middle of the room.
But the mouse kept running about, and jingling the keys. And the bear
asked:
"Are you alive?"
"I am," replied the girl, from behind the oven.
The bear began to throw stones and billets of wood, thick and fast from
the stove, and every time he did so, he asked:
"Are you alive?"
"I am," replied the girl's voice from behind the oven; and the mouse
still ran up and down, jingling the keys.