There was once a lad whose face was so badly pitted by the smallpox
that everybody called him Sponsken, which means little sponge. From
the very day of his birth Sponsken had been a great cause of anxiety
to his parents, and as he grew older he became more trouble still, for
he was so full of whims and mischief that one never knew where one had
him. He would not learn his lessons, nor work at any serious task for
ten minutes on end. All he seemed to think of was cutting capers and
playing practical jokes on people. At last, in despair, his parents
told their trouble to the village sexton, who was a great friend of the
family, and often came to smoke his pipe with Sponsken's father in the
chimney corner.
"Don't worry, my friends," said the sexton. "I've seen young men like
your son before, and they are quite easy to manage if one only goes
about it the right way. Just leave him to me. What he wants is a good
fright, and I'll make it my business to see that he gets it."
So far so good. Sponsken's parents were only too glad to fall in with
any plan which seemed likely to reform their unruly son, so the sexton
went off to make his arrangements. That night he whitened his face with
flour, covered himself in a white sheet, and hid behind a tree on a
road along which he knew Sponsken would have to pass.
It was the dark of the moon, and the place the sexton had chosen was
very lonely. For a long time he waited; then, hearing Sponsken coming
along whistling a merry tune, he sprang out suddenly from behind his
tree and waved his arms in a terrifying manner.
"Hallo!" said Sponsken. "Who are you?"
The sexton uttered a hollow groan.
"What's the matter?" said the boy. "Are you ill? If you can't speak,
get out of my way, for I am in a hurry."
The sexton groaned again, louder than before, and waved his arms wildly.
"Come, come," cried Sponsken, "I can't stay here all night. Tell me
what you want at once and let me pass." Then, as the ghostly figure
made no answer, he struck it a blow with the stout ash-stick which he
carried, and the poor sexton fell, stunned, to the ground. Sponsken
stayed long enough to take a glimpse of the ghost's face and to
recognize the features of the sexton beneath the flour; then he went on
his way homeward, whistling as merrily as before.
When he reached home his parents gazed at him uneasily. They were very
anxious about the success of their friend's plan, but Sponsken did not
look at all like a lad who had been frightened--quite the contrary in
fact, for he drew his chair up to the table and set to work upon his
supper with an excellent appetite.
"A funny thing happened to me to-night," he said carelessly between
two bites of an onion. "As I was walking along the lonely road by the
cemetery a white figure jumped out at me."
"A wh-white figure!" stammered his father. "How terrifying! And what
did you do, my son?"
"Do?" said Sponsken cheerfully. "Why, I fetched him a crack on the
skull with my staff. He went down like a ninepin, and I warrant he
won't try to frighten travellers again!"
"Base, ungrateful boy!" cried his father, rising to his feet. "It was
my dear friend Jan the sexton you struck. All I hope is that you have
not killed him."
"Well, if I have, it is his own fault," answered Sponsken. "He should
not play tricks on me." But his father continued to rage and grumble so
long that Sponsken got tired of hearing him at last, and flung off to
bed in a sulk.
"I'll stand no more of this," he said to himself. "Since my own people
do not appreciate me, I'll go out and seek my own fortune in the world,
and they may go on as best they can."
The next morning, therefore, having packed a loaf of bread and a piece
of cheese in a bag, Sponsken set off on his travels, telling nobody
where he was going, and taking nothing else with him except a sparrow
which he had tamed and kept since it was a fledgling. After walking for
a long time he came to a forest, and feeling rather tired he sat down
on the trunk of a fallen tree to rest.
Now in this forest lived a giant who was the most hideous creature
one could possibly imagine. From his forehead jutted a pair of horns;
his features were more like those of a beast than a man, and his
finger-nails grew long and curved like the claws of a wild animal. The
giant considered himself lord of the whole wood, and was very jealous
lest anybody should enter his domain. When, therefore, he saw Sponsken
he was very angry, and having pulled up a young tree by the roots to
serve him as a club, he approached the young man, who was sitting with
his eyes closed, and struck him a heavy blow on the shoulder.
[Illustration: SPONSKEN, THE GIANT, AND THE PRINCESS]
In spite of appearances, Sponsken was not asleep; he was far too wary
a person to be caught napping under such conditions. As a matter of
fact, he had seen the giant before the giant saw him, and he knew that
his only chance of escape was to remain unperturbed and calm. When,
therefore, the giant struck him on the shoulder, he opened his eyes
sleepily, rubbed the place, and said with a yawn: "A pest on these
flies! They bite so hard that a fellow can't sleep for them."
"You shall sleep soundly enough in a minute!" muttered the giant, who
was enraged at Sponsken's nonchalance. "See how you like this!" And he
gave the lad a blow on the other shoulder, harder than before.
"There they are again!" cried Sponsken, rubbing the place. "My word!
They bite even harder on this side than on the other. It is time I was
going!" And he rose from his seat, starting back with surprise as he
affected to see the giant for the first time.
"So it's you, is it?" he cried. "What do you mean by tickling me when I
am trying to sleep? If I were not so kind-hearted I'd break your neck
for you!"
"Have a care what you say," cried the giant. "Do you know that I have
the strength of twenty men and could crush you between my hands like a
kitten?"
"Pooh!" said Sponsken. "Words are windy things. I have no doubt you
could kill a whole regiment with your breath. But words won't go with
me, my man; you must give me some proof of your prowess."
"Proof!" roared the giant. "See here! I can throw a stone so high into
the air that it will not come down for a quarter of an hour." And he
was as good as his word, for, picking up a large stone, he flung it
with all his strength, and it was more than a quarter of an hour before
it fell again at their feet.
"Can you match that?" asked the giant with a grin.
"Easily," said Sponsken. "I will throw a stone so high that it will
not come down at all!" Bending to the ground he picked up a pebble and
showed it to the giant, but very cleverly he managed at the last moment
to exchange it for the sparrow which he carried in his pocket, and
this he was able to do because the giant was rather short-sighted, and,
if truth be told, slow-witted as well.
[Illustration: HE TOSSED THE BIRD INTO THE AIR]
"One, two, three!" cried Sponsken, and he tossed the bird into the air,
and of course it flew up and up and never came down at all.
"Well, well," said the giant, "I never saw such a thing as that in my
life before. You are certainly a wonderful stone-thrower, little man.
But can you do this?" And picking up another stone, he squeezed it so
hard between his immense fists that he crushed it into a fine powder.
"Yes, that is hard to do," said Sponsken, "but I think I can go one
better. Any oaf, if he be strong enough, can crush a stone to powder,
but it requires skill as well as strength to wring the juice out of
one. Watch me!" So saying, Sponsken adroitly slipped out his piece of
cheese, and squeezed it until the whey dripped from between his fingers.
[Illustration: "THE THREE ANIMALS ARE A BEAR, A UNICORN, AND A WILD
BOAR"]
"Marvellous!" said the giant. "I confess myself beaten. Let us go into
partnership, for there cannot be two others like us in the whole world."
"Willingly," answered Sponsken, "but what are we to do?"
"Why, as for that," said the giant, "the King of this country has
promised his daughter's hand in marriage, and a great treasure besides,
to anybody who can destroy three ferocious beasts which are devastating
his realm. It seems to me that this is a task we can quite well do
together. You, with your quickness and skill, can trap the beasts, and
I can kill them with my club. That done, we will divide the spoils."
So it was agreed, and without wasting a moment the two took the wood
together. Before very long they reached the King's palace, and sent up
a message by one of the lords in waiting that they would like to see
His Majesty.
"And do you mean to tell me," asked the King, when he had heard the
giant's tale, "that you can overcome the three fierce animals by the
help of this ugly little pock-marked fellow."
"Hush! Not so loud, for the love of heaven!" whispered the giant. "My
friend is very touchy about his appearance, and if he hears you making
such slighting remarks it is very likely he will bring the whole of
your palace down about your head!"
[Illustration: THE BEAR FOLLOWED HIM INTO THE HOLLOW TRUNK]
"You don't say so!" whispered the King in reply, glancing fearfully
at the terrible little man. "Well, you are at liberty to try your
luck. The three animals are a bear, a unicorn, and a wild boar, and at
present they are hidden in the wood close by. There you will find them,
but take care of yourselves, for they have already killed scores of my
men."
"Don't be afraid," answered the giant, "for us this is as easy as
playing a game."
After having partaken of a good meal the two made their way towards the
wood in which the animals were hidden.
"We must make a plan," said Sponsken. "Listen to what I propose. You go
into the middle of the wood while I remain here on the outskirts; then
when you drive the beasts out I will see that they do not escape."
So it was arranged. The giant went forward into the wood, while
Sponsken remained outside, waiting to see what would happen. He had
not to wait long, for presently there was a crashing and a tearing of
undergrowth and a great bear came lumbering towards him. Sponsken did
not like the look of the creature at all, and decided to put as much
space between them as possible. Looking here and there for a refuge,
he spied a big oak-tree, and quickly climbed its trunk and ensconced
himself among the branches. Unfortunately the bear had already seen
him, and, raising himself on his hind legs with a dreadful roar, he
rushed to the tree and began to climb. In another moment Sponsken would
have been lost, but by good chance the tree happened to be hollow, so
without hesitation the lad let himself down into the trunk, and finding
at the bottom a small hole which led to the open air, he was just able
to wriggle through it and escape. The bear followed him into the hollow
trunk, but the hole at the bottom was too small for him to get out
by, and as there was hardly room to move inside the trunk, the angry
creature had to stay where he was, waking all the echoes in the forest
with his growling.
The next minute the giant came running out of the forest. "Have you
seen the bear?" he cried. "I drove him towards you!"
"Don't worry," answered Sponsken coolly; "I've shut him up in the tree
there to keep him safe."
The giant rushed to the tree and dispatched the bear with one blow
of his great club. Then, pulling out the carcass, he shouldered it,
and the two went back to the palace, congratulating each other on the
excellent beginning of their enterprise.
There remained now the unicorn and the wild boar. Next day Sponsken and
the giant went to the forest again, and since their first plan had been
so successful, it was arranged that they should follow exactly the same
course. The giant went into the depths of the wood to find the unicorn
and drive him out, while Sponsken remained on the borders to capture
the animal when he came.
This time the period of waiting was longer, and Sponsken, leaning
against the oak-tree, had almost fallen asleep when a clattering of
hoofs awakened him, and he sprang aside just in time to escape the
unicorn, who, breathing fire from his nostrils, charged down upon
him. So great was the impetus of the beast's charge that he could not
stop himself, and with a mighty crash he ran full tilt into the tree,
driving his horn so far into the trunk that, although he pulled and
struggled, he could not wrench himself free.
[Illustration: WITH A MIGHTY CRASH HE RAN FULL TILT INTO THE TREE]
When the giant came up, Sponsken showed him the animal, which was
quickly killed with a single blow of the club.
"Didn't I manage that affair well?" asked Sponsken as they went back to
the palace.
"You are a wonder!" answered the giant, and he really believed what he
said.
Now only the wild boar remained, and on the following day the two
went to the forest to capture him also. Once again the same plan was
followed, but this time Sponsken kept his eyes wide open, and when the
ferocious beast broke cover he ran as fast as he could in the direction
of the royal chapel. The wild boar followed him, and a fearsome
creature he looked, I assure you, with his wicked little eyes and his
great curved tusks and the hair on his back bristling like the quills
of a porcupine.
Through the open door of the chapel Sponsken ran, and the boar,
snorting with fury, followed him. Then began a fine chase, round and
round the aisles, over the pews, and in and out of the vestries. At
last Sponsken seized a chair, and dashing it against a window broke
several panes, and so made good his escape. While the boar was still
standing stupidly staring at the hole through which he had gone out,
Sponsken ran round to the door, which he closed and locked. Then,
having broken one or two more panes of glass, he sat down quietly by
the chapel wall and began to pare his nails.
A short time afterwards the giant came rushing up.
"Where is the boar? Have you let him get away?" he cried.
"Don't get so excited," answered Sponsken. "The boar is safe enough.
He's in the chapel there. I had no other place to put him, so I flung
him through the window!"
"What a wonderful little man you are!" said the giant gleefully, and
he ran off to kill the boar with one blow of his club. This done,
he hoisted the carcass on to his shoulders and took the road to the
palace. Half-way there the weight of the boar began to tell, for it
was a massive beast, and the giant was forced to stay and rest.
"It is all very well," said he, mopping his streaming brow, "but I
think you ought to take a turn with me in carrying this carcass."
"Not I," answered Sponsken. "We made an agreement that my work was done
when I captured the beast, and I intend to keep to it."
[Illustration: SPONSKEN THE PRINCESS THE GIANT]
So the giant had to struggle on as best he could for the rest of the
way, grumbling at every step, while Sponsken followed, laughing up his
sleeve, and exceedingly thankful that he had escaped the task.
When they reached the palace the two presented themselves before the
King and claimed the promised reward. But now a difficulty arose. It
was quite easy to divide the treasure, but which of them was to have
the Princess?
"I think it should be I," said the giant, "for I killed the three
animals."
"Not at all," said Sponsken. "The Princess should be given to me, for I
captured the beasts."
"A lot of good your capturing them would have been if I had not killed
them!" said the giant.
"How could you have killed them if I had not caught them first?"
answered Sponsken. And so the two began to quarrel, and neither would
give way, and high words passed between them. Truth to tell, the King
was not at all sorry that the dispute had arisen, for he did not very
much relish the idea of his daughter marrying either the bestial giant
or the pock-marked, ugly little fellow who was his companion.
"There is only one way out of the difficulty," said the King at last.
"We must let fate decide. Listen to the plan I propose. You shall both
of you sleep in the Princess's chamber to-night--the giant in a bed on
one side of her couch, and Sponsken on the other. I also will remain in
her chamber and watch her carefully. If she spends most of the night
with her face turned towards Sponsken, it shall be a sign that she is
to marry him; if, on the other hand, she favours the giant, he shall be
her husband; but if she sleeps all night with her face towards neither
of you, then you must both give her up, and be satisfied with the
treasure."
So it was agreed, and that night the trial took place. Sponsken,
however, did not by any means intend that blind chance should settle so
important a matter, and he spent the intervening time in making certain
preparations. First of all he went to the palace gardens, from which
he gathered certain herbs having an aromatic and beautiful perfume;
these he placed in a bag and hid under his clothes. Then from the
woods he gathered all the herbs he could find which had a disagreeable
smell, such as garlic and stinkwort and poisonous fungus; these also
he placed in a bag, and seized an early opportunity, when they came to
the Princess's chamber, of hiding the bag under the pillow on which the
giant's head was to rest.
The Princess well knew the fateful issue which was to be decided in the
night, and as she had firmly made up her mind not to marry either the
one or the other of her suitors, she determined to remain awake all
night and to take care to keep her face turned towards the ceiling. For
a time she managed to do so, but before long drowsiness overcame her,
and she slept. Presently she turned over on her left side and lay with
her face turned towards the giant, who began to chuckle to himself.
"Wait a minute," thought Sponsken. "I don't think the Princess will
keep that position long!" And sure enough, the horrible stench of the
herbs in the bag beneath the giant's pillow penetrated even to her
dreams, and the Princess turned over hurriedly on the other side. What
a change was there! Instead of a disgusting smell which made her dream
of gloomy caverns and noisome things, she found now a delicious perfume
that brought pictures of sunlit gardens all glowing with flowers and
bright-winged butterflies flitting over them. The Princess gave a
little sigh of content, and for the rest of the night she remained with
her face turned towards Sponsken, so that the King had no choice but to
declare the little man the winner.
The Princess, however, refused to abide by the judgment. "I will _not_
marry that vulgar fellow," she cried. "I will die first! Oh, father, if
you love me, think of a means of escape!"
"Do not be afraid, my child," answered the King. "I will arrange
something." And the next day he took the giant aside and proposed to
him that he should rid him of Sponsken, promising a rich reward for the
service. The giant's greed was aroused, and being very jealous of his
companion's success, he was the more ready to fall in with the King's
suggestion.
Fortunately for himself, Sponsken's quick wits made him suspicious. He
guessed that some treachery was afoot, and in order to be prepared for
emergencies he took a heavy hammer with him when he retired to bed at
night. His suspicions were justified, for towards midnight the door of
his room opened and the giant entered on tiptoe, carrying a heavy axe
with which he intended to dispatch our friend. No sooner was his foot
inside the door, however, than Sponsken jumped out of bed and sprang
at him, looking so fierce that the giant, who was a coward at heart,
and had besides a healthy respect for his companion's powers, turned
and fled in dismay. Then Sponsken lifted his heavy hammer and struck
three resounding blows upon the floor. The noise awoke everybody in
the palace, and servants, guards, and lords in waiting came flocking
to the room to discover the cause. The King came last of all, a little
anxious about the success of his fine plot, and when he found Sponsken
sitting up in bed, quite unharmed, his face fell.
"What is the matter?" he stammered.
"Matter?" answered Sponsken. "Nothing very much! Some person wandered
into my room, so I just gave three taps with my fingers on the wall. It
is lucky for you all that I did not strike the blows with my fist, for
had I done so I am afraid there would have been nothing left of your
palace but a heap of dust!"
At these words everybody turned pale, and the King made haste to
protest his undying friendship for his terrible guest.
As for the giant, he was in such fear of encountering Sponsken's
resentment that he fled, and nobody ever saw him again.
Now the poor King did not know what to do, for his daughter still
persisted in her refusal to marry Sponsken, and he was torn two ways by
love and fear. Just at that time, however, a neighbouring monarch, who
was an old enemy of the King's, declared war upon him, and this offered
another opportunity for delay. Calling Sponsken before him, the King
proposed that he should prove his valour by challenging the enemy king
to mortal combat. Sponsken agreed; but his fame had already been noised
abroad, and the challenge was refused.
"Very well," said the King, who was at the end of his resources. "As my
prospective son-in-law you ought to lead my armies into battle. I will
place my own charger at your disposal, and I look to you to save my
country from defeat."
Here was a pretty kettle of fish! Sponsken had never ridden a horse in
his life, and he had not the slightest knowledge of warfare. To make
matters worse, the steed in question was a notoriously vicious brute
who would allow nobody but his own master to mount him. Already he had
accounted for several grooms and stablemen, whom he had kicked to death.
[Illustration: ALL THE ATTENDANTS FLED AT ONCE]
Sponsken commanded that the steed should be led to the borders of the
forest and tied by the bridle to a tree. He had not the slightest
intention of trying to mount the brute, and his plan was to wait until
the attendants had gone away and then to slip off unobserved. Fate,
however, was too much for him, for hardly was the horse safely tied up
than couriers came spurring along the road to say that the enemy king
was advancing at the head of his army, and was at that very moment less
than half a mile away.
All the attendants fled at once, and Sponsken himself was so overcome
by terror that, without thinking what he was doing, he jumped upon
the back of the steed, and, forgetting that it was tied to the tree,
dug his sharp spurs into its side. The horse plunged and reared,
champing at the bit and doing its best to dislodge Sponsken from the
saddle, but the lad clung on for dear life. At last, finding all its
efforts unavailing, the horse dragged the tree up by the roots and
charged forward in a straight line towards the advancing enemy. Almost
dislodged from his seat by the sudden jerk, Sponsken stretched out his
hand and grasped the branches of the tree, which swung in a terrifying
manner at his side, promising every moment to hurl him from the saddle,
and the result was that to the enemy army it appeared as though he
were charging down upon them at full speed, bearing a tree as a club.
Filled with dismay at the terrifying sight, the soldiers of the enemy
king fled in all directions and hid themselves in the woods and in the
crevices of the rocks. Sponsken rode on for the simple reason that he
could do nothing else, right into the enemy's camp, where the steed
came to a standstill and our hero was able to jump down from its back.
Entering the king's tent, he helped himself to all the documents and
articles of value he could find; then, having cut the tree from the
bridle, he remounted the horse, which was now quite tame and docile,
and rode back to the palace.
When the King heard that the enemy was routed he was overjoyed, and
he recognized that a man who could perform such a feat single-handed
was not to be treated lightly. His daughter, however, was still firm
in her refusal to marry Sponsken, and so the King made him an offer of
half his kingdom if he would release him from his promise and allow the
Princess to go free. Sponsken accepted his terms and married a girl
who, although she was not a princess, was nevertheless very pretty.
Their wedding was celebrated with great pomp and they lived together
very happily for the rest of their lives.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: THE CAT AND THE SPARROW]