The next day the Prince arose early and took leave of his host.
‘The wood that you saw in your dream is not far from here,’ said the
old man. ‘It is in the depth of the forest, and this road will lead you
there. You will come to a vast park surrounded by high walls. In the
middle of the park is a castle, where dwells a horrible witch who
allows no living being to enter the doors. Behind the castle is the
orange grove. Follow the wall till you come to a heavy iron gate. Don’t
try to press it open, but oil the hinges with this,’ and the old man
gave him a small bottle.
‘The gate will open of itself,’ he continued, ‘and a huge dog which
guards the castle will come to you with his mouth wide open, but just
throw him this oat cake. Next, you will see a baking woman leaning over
her heated oven. Give her this brush. Lastly, you will find a well on
your left; do not forget to take the cord of the bucket and spread it
in the sun. When you have done this, do not enter the castle, but go
round it and enter the orange grove. Then gather three oranges, and get
back to the gate as fast as you can. Once out of the gate, leave the
forest by the opposite side.
‘Now, attend to this: whatever happens, do not open your oranges till
you reach the bank of a river, or a fountain. Out of each orange will
come a princess, and you can choose which you like for your wife. Your
choice once made, be very careful never to leave your bride for an
instant, and remember that the danger which is most to be feared is
never the danger we are most afraid of.’
V
Désiré thanked his host warmly, and took the road he pointed out. In
less than an hour he arrived at the wall, which was very high indeed.
He sprang to the ground, fastened his horse to a tree, and soon found
the iron gate. Then he took out his bottle and oiled the hinges, when
the gate opened of itself, and he saw an old castle standing inside.
The Prince entered boldly into the courtyard.
Suddenly he heard fierce howls, and a dog as tall as a donkey, with
eyes like billiard balls, came towards him, showing his teeth, which
were like the prongs of a fork. Désiré flung him the oat cake, which
the great dog instantly snapped up, and the young Prince passed quietly
on.
A few yards further he saw a huge oven, with a wide, red-hot gaping
mouth. A woman as tall as a giant was leaning over the oven. Désiré
gave her the brush, which she took in silence.
Then he went on to the well, drew up the cord, which was half rotten,
and stretched it out in the sun.
Lastly he went round the castle, and plunged into the orange grove.
There he gathered the three most beautiful oranges he could find, and
turned to go back to the gate.
But just at this moment the sun was darkened, the earth trembled, and
Désiré heard a voice crying:
‘Baker, baker, take him by his feet, and throw him into the oven!’
‘No,’ replied the baker; ‘a long time has passed since I first began to
scour this oven with my own flesh. _You_ never cared to give me a
brush; but he has given me one, and he shall go in peace.’
‘Rope, O rope!’ cried the voice again, ‘twine yourself round his neck
and strangle him.’
‘No,’ replied the rope; ‘you have left me for many years past to fall
to pieces with the damp. He has stretched me out in the sun. Let him go
in peace.’
‘Dog, my good dog,’ cried the voice, more and more angry, ‘jump at his
throat and eat him up.’
‘No,’ replied the dog; ‘though I have served you long, you never gave
me any bread. He has given me as much as I want. Let him go in peace.’
‘Iron gate, iron gate,’ cried the voice, growling like thunder, ‘fall
on him and grind him to powder.’
‘No,’ replied the gate; ‘it is a hundred years since you left me to
rust, and he has oiled me. Let him go in peace.’