sauce. There is no lunch I like so well as this." And he set to work
with such a good will that, in a very short time, poor Hans's crust
had vanished, and there was nothing left before the stranger but a few
crumbs of bread on the table, and a few drops of water in the cup.
These he kneaded carelessly together into a little pellet, about the
size of a pea, while Hans told him, in answer to his questions, all
about their lonely life in the forest, and the hardships which they
had to endure.
When the stranger rose to go he said, "Well, I thank you heartily for
your hospitality--now I will give you a word of advice. One of you
lads should go and seek the sparkling golden water, which turns
everything it touches into gold."
Fritz and Franz pricked up their ears at this, and both at once
demanded where this sparkling golden water was to be found. The
stranger turned toward them, courteously, although these were the
first words they had spoken since his entrance, and replied:
"The sparkling golden water is to be found in the forest of dead
trees, on the farther side of those blue mountains, which you may see
on any clear day in the far distance. It is a three weeks' journey on
foot from here."
Then, bowing to his hosts, he stepped toward the door. Hans, however,
was there first, and opened it for him. Obeying a sign from the
stranger, Hans followed him a little way from the hut. Then the
stranger, taking from his pocket the little black bread pellet, said,
"I know, because you gave me your dinner, that you will have to go
hungry. I have no money to offer you, but here is something that will
be of far greater value to you than money. Keep this pellet carefully,
and when you seek the sparkling golden water, as I know you will,
don't forget to bring it with you. Now go back: you must follow me no
farther." So saying, the stranger waved his hand to Hans, and,
plunging into the thicket, disappeared. Hans slipped the pellet into
his pocket and re-entered the hut, where he found his brothers in loud
dispute about the sparkling golden water. They were much too
interested in the matter to pay any attention to Hans or to ask him,
as he was afraid they would, whether the stranger had given him any
money before he left. As he came in, he heard Fritz saying in a loud
voice:
"I'm the eldest, and I will go first to get the sparkling golden
water. When I've got it I will buy all the land hereabouts and become
Count. I will hunt every day, and have lots of good wine; and
sometimes, if I'm passing near here, I'll just look in to see how you
all are, and to show you my fine clothes, and horses, and dogs, and
servants." Fritz was, for him, almost gracious at the bright prospect
before him.
"I don't care whether you're the eldest or not," growled Franz,
stubbornly, "I shall go, too, to find the sparkling golden water. When
I've found it I will buy the Burgomaster's office, and live in his
house in the town yonder, and wear his fur robes and gold chain; and,
best of all, walk at the head of all the grand processions. None of
your wild hunting for me--give me ease and comfort."
At last it was decided, after a great deal of squabbling, that Fritz
as the eldest should go first in search of the sparkling golden water,
and accordingly next day he set out. Hans ventured to hint that the
first thing to be done with this sparkling golden water when it was
found should be to provide a comfortable home for their mother, but
Fritz's only answer to this was a blow, and an angry order to Hans to
mind his own business.
We cannot follow Fritz all the way on his journey. As he had no money
he was forced to beg at the doors of the cottages and farmhouses which
he passed, for food and shelter for the night. Now, this proved to be
rather hard work, because nobody very much liked his looks or his
manner; and people only gave him spare scraps now and then in order to
get him to go away as soon as possible. However, he found himself, at
last, approaching the forest of dead trees. He knew that it was the
forest, although there was nobody there to tell him so. He had not, in
fact, seen any human being for the last three days, but he felt that
he could not be mistaken. A vast forest of enormous trees lifted
leafless, sapless branches to the sky, and every breath of wind
rattled them together like the bones of a skeleton. When he was about
twenty yards from the forest a terrible sound came from it. It was as
though a thousand horses were neighing and screaming all at once.
Fritz's heart stood still. He wanted to run away, but his legs refused
to move. As he stood there, shaking and quaking, there rushed out of
the forest a huge unicorn with a spiral golden horn on his forehead.
"What seek you here?" asked the unicorn, in a voice of thunder. Fritz
stammered out that he sought the sparkling golden water.
"What want you with the sparkling golden water, which is in my
charge?" thundered the unicorn.
Fritz was almost too frightened to speak. He fell on his knees, put up
his hands, and cried: "Oh, good Mr. Unicorn, oh, kind Mr. Unicorn,
pray don't hurt me!"
The unicorn stamped furiously on the ground with his right forefoot.
"Say this instant," he cried, "what it is that you want with the
sparkling golden water!"
"I want to get money to buy land and become a Count," Fritz was just
able to gasp out. The unicorn said nothing; he simply lowered his
head, and with his golden horn tossed Fritz three hundred and
forty-five feet in the air. Up went Fritz like a sky-rocket, and down
he came like its stick, turning somersaults all the way. Fortunately
for him, his fall was broken by the branches of one of the dead trees.
If it had not been for this he would probably have been seriously
hurt. Through these branches he crashed until he reached the point
where they joined the trunk. The tree was hollow here, and Fritz
tumbled down to the bottom of the trunk and found himself a prisoner.
While he was feeling his arms and legs, to find out if any bones were
broken or not, he had the satisfaction of hearing the unicorn, as he
trotted back into the forest, muttering, loud enough for his words to
pierce the bark and wood of Fritz's prison:--
"So much for you and your Countship!"
Fritz tried to get out, but in vain. The tree was too smooth and
slippery and high for him to be able to clamber up, and he only hurt
himself every time he attempted to escape. There was nothing for it,
then, but for him to lie down and howl. He had to satisfy his hunger
as best he might, by eating the stray worms and woodlice and fungi,
which he found creeping, crawling, and growing round about the roots
of the tree. We will leave him there for the present and return to the
others.
Franz, Hans, and their mother waited and waited for Fritz to come
back. Hans and his mother could not believe it possible that, when he
had secured the sparkling golden water, he would leave them in their
poverty. Franz, on the other hand, judging Fritz by himself, thought
that nothing was more likely. And Franz was most probably right. Six
weeks was the shortest time in which Fritz could be home again.
"Unless," said Hans, "he buys a horse and rides back, as he will be
very well able to do when he has got the sparkling golden water." But
six weeks passed, and two months, and three months, and no Fritz,
either on horseback or afoot. Then Franz's patience came to an end. He
must needs go, too.
"I won't wait here starving any longer," said he; "Fritz has forgotten
all about us. I'll get the sparkling golden water and become
Burgomaster." So off he set, following the same road as Fritz, and
meeting with much the same difficulties. They were, however, rather
greater in his case than in his brother's. Folk remembered the
ill-conditioned Fritz only too well, and Franz was so like him in
looks and manner, that they shut the door in his face the moment he
appeared, and ran upstairs and called out from the top windows of
their houses, "Go away! There's nothing for you here. The big dog's
loose in the yard. Go away, charcoal-burner."
However, by dint of perseverance, in which to say the truth he was not
lacking, Franz, very hungry and sulky, reached the verge of the forest
of dead trees. Out came the unicorn and asked his business. On Franz
replying that he wanted the sparkling golden water in order to buy the
house and post of Burgomaster, the unicorn tossed him into the air,
and he tumbled into the same tree as Fritz. Then the unicorn trotted
back into the forest, muttering, for Franz's benefit: "So much for you
and your Burgomastership!"
When Fritz and Franz found themselves thus closely confined in the
same prison, they, instead of making the best of each other's company,
as sensible brothers would have done, fell to quarrelling and
fighting, until at last neither would speak to the other, and that
state of sulky silence they maintained all the time of their
captivity.
The months passed by, but no news came to Hans and his mother of Fritz
and Franz. Meanwhile Hans found that it became daily more difficult
for him to earn enough money to support two people. Moreover, he saw
that his mother was growing weaker, and he feared that she would die
unless she had proper food and nourishment. At last he said:
"Mother, if there were only some one to take care of you, I would go
in search of Fritz and Franz. You may be sure they have got the
sparkling golden water by this time. They would never refuse me a few
guldern, if I were to ask them and tell them how ill you are."
But Hans's mother did not at all like the idea of his leaving her, and
she begged and prayed him not to go. He felt obliged, therefore, to
submit, and stayed on for a little longer, until at last even his
mother saw that they must either starve or do as Hans suggested. Most
fortunately at this time there dropped in to see them another
charcoal-burner, whom Hans used to call "Uncle Stoltz," although he
was no uncle at all, but only a good-natured neighbour and an old
friend of Hans's father. Uncle Stoltz strongly urged the mother to let
her boy go in search of his brothers, adding, although he was nearly
as poor as they were themselves:
"You come and live with me and my wife. While we have a crust to
divide you shan't want."
So Hans's mother gave a reluctant consent, and went to live with Uncle
Stoltz, while Hans went out in search of his brothers. By making
inquiries he easily found the road which they had taken, but nobody
ever thought of shutting the door in his face. On the contrary, his
polite manners and cheerful looks made him a welcome guest at every
cottage and farmstead at which he stopped. At last he, too, found
himself on the verge of the forest of dead trees and face to face with
the golden-horned unicorn. But Hans was not to be frightened as his
brothers had been by the terrible voice and awe-striking appearance of
the guardian of the fountain. In reply to the usual question, given in
the usual tone of thunder: "What seek you here?" Hans replied, coolly,
"I seek my brothers, Fritz and Franz."
"They are where you will never find them," said the unicorn, "so go
home again."
"If I cannot find my brothers," said Hans, firmly, "I will not go home
without the sparkling golden water."
"What want you with the sparkling golden water, which is in my
charge?" asked the unicorn, in his terrible voice.
"I want to buy food and wine and comforts for my mother; who is very
ill," answered Hans, undaunted. But his eyes filled with tears as he
thought of his mother.
The unicorn spoke more gently.
"Have you," he asked, "the crystal ball? Because without it I cannot
allow you to pass to the sparkling golden water."
"The crystal ball!" echoed Hans. "I never heard of such a thing."
"That's a pity," said the unicorn, gravely; "I'm afraid you will have
to go home without the water; but, stay, feel in your pockets. You may
have had the ball, and put it somewhere, and have forgotten all about
it."
Hans smiled at the idea of the crystal ball lying, unknown to him, in
his pockets, but he followed the suggestion of the unicorn; and found,
as he knew he should find, nothing at all, except, indeed, the pellet
of black bread which the stranger-huntsman had given him, and which he
had not thought of from that day to this. "No," he said to the
unicorn, "I have nothing in my pocket, except this pellet," and he was
about to throw it away when the unicorn called out to him to stop.
"Let me see it," he said. "Why," he went on, "this is the crystal
ball--look!"
Hans did look, and sure enough he found in his hand a tiny globe of
crystal. He examined it with amazement. "Well," he said, "all I know
is that a second ago it was a black-bread pellet."
"That may be," said the unicorn, carelessly; "anyhow, it is a crystal
ball now, and the possession of it makes me your servant. It is my
duty to carry you to the fountain of sparkling golden water, if you
wish to go. Have you brought a flask with you?"
"No," said Hans. "Fritz took the only flask we had, and Franz an old
bottle."
"Fritz, eh? Well, follow me a little way." So saying, the unicorn led
Hans to the tree in which his brothers were imprisoned and, motioning
him to be silent, cried out:
"Ho! Master Count, throw out the flask you have with you, if you
please: it is wanted."
"'Shan't," growled Fritz's voice in reply, "unless you promise to let
me out."
"Oh, you won't, won't you?" said the unicorn; "well, we'll see."
With that he drew back a few steps, and then, running forward, thrust
his sharp horn into the side of the hollow trunk from which Fritz's
voice had issued. A loud yell came from the spot, showing that the
horn had run into some tender part of Fritz's body, and at the same
instant, the flask appeared flying out of the hole in the tree by
which Fritz and Franz had entered.
"That's right," said the unicorn, "now we shall do comfortably. Get on
my back, grasp my mane tightly, hold your breath, and shut your eyes."
"If you please," said Hans, "will you set Fritz and Franz free first?"
The unicorn looked annoyed. "They are doing very well there," he said;
"why should you disturb them? But you're my master, and I must do as
you please. Only, take my word, you will be sorry for this afterward."
With that he went to the tree and, with one or two powerful blows with
his horn, made a hole large enough for the unhappy prisoners to creep
out. Two more sheepish, miserable wretches than those half-starved
brothers of his, Hans had never seen. They fell at his feet and
thanked him again and again for delivering them. They promised never
to do anything unkind or selfish again, and each assured Hans that he
had always liked him far more than he had liked the other brother.
Their protestations of affection rather disgusted Hans, only, as he
was a good-hearted boy himself, he could not help being moved by them.
He then told his brothers in what state he had left his mother, and
how he was to be taken by the unicorn to get the sparkling golden
water.
"Oh!" cried the brothers, "can't you take us, too?"
The unicorn thought it time to interfere. "No one can be taken there,
but the owner of the crystal ball," he said. "Come, master, it is time
for you to mount."
Hans clambered nimbly into his seat on the unicorn's back. "Wait for
me here," he called out to his brothers. "I shall not be long." Then
Hans shut his eyes, held his breath, and grasped the unicorn tightly
by the mane. It was as well that he did so, for the unicorn gave a
bound that carried him over the tops of the highest trees, and would
certainly have thrown him off unless he had been very firmly seated.
Three such bounds did he take, and then he paused and said to Hans,
"Now you may open your eyes." Hans found himself in a desolate, rocky
valley, without a trace of vegetation--unless the forest of dead
trees, which clothed the valley on every side, might be taken as
vegetation. In the midst of the valley there sprang up a fountain of
water, which sparked with such intense brilliancy that Hans was unable
at first to look upon it.
"There, master," said the unicorn, turning his head, "this is the
fountain of sparkling golden water. Dismount, and fill your flask. But
take care that you do not allow your hand to touch the water. If it
does it will be turned into gold, and will never become flesh and
blood again."
Hans slipped from his seat and, flask in hand, approached the
fountain. The ground on which he walked was sand, but as he drew
nearer the fountain, he noticed that the sand kept growing brighter
until he felt that he was walking upon what he guessed rightly to be
veritable gold dust Hans thrust a handful of this dust into his
pocket, and also one or two moderate-sized stones that he found,
which, like the sand, had been changed, by the spray coming from the
fountain, into pure gold. He tried to be as careful as possible in
filling the flask; but, notwithstanding all his care, the top joint of
his little finger touched the water, and in an instant became gold.
However, he had his flask full of sparkling golden water, the flask
itself now, of course, golden, and he felt that the top joint of his
little finger was a small price to pay for all this.
"Now, master," said the unicorn when Hans got back, "do you still
intend to return to those brothers of yours? Or shall I put you out of
the forest at some other point?"
"Certainly," replied Hans; "I intend to return to them. You heard them
say how sorry they were for all the unkindness they had shown to my
mother and me. I know they mean to do better for the future. Besides,
I promised them to come back."
The unicorn said nothing, but grunted in a discouraging manner, and
motioned to Hans to get on his back. When he was seated the unicorn
said:
"Since this is your wish, you must have it. I have, however, three
pieces of advice to give you. On your way home your brothers will
offer to carry the flask--do not let them do so; also do not let them
get behind you for a moment; and thirdly, guard the crystal ball with
the utmost care. I can't go with you beyond the verge of the forest of
dead trees. One visit, and only one, is permitted to the fountain. You
therefore can never come here again. But if ever you need me sorely,
crush the crystal ball, and I will be with you. Now shut your eyes, we
must be off."
Three bounds brought them to the side of Fritz and Franz; and Hans
having thanked the unicorn warmly for his kindness, the three brothers
began to retrace their steps homeward. Now, during Hans's absence at
the fountain, Fritz and Franz had been devising how they might rob him
of the flask of sparkling golden water.
"It is disgusting," they said to one another, "that this wretched
little Hans should beat us both. He will only waste the water in
buying things for his mother, while it would make us Count and
Burgomaster."
As soon, therefore, as they were out of sight of the unicorn, Fritz
and Franz begged and prayed Hans to allow one of them to carry the
flask.
"You've had all the trouble of getting the water," they said; "we
ought at least to be allowed the honour of helping you carry it.
Besides, are we not your servants now that you are so rich? It is not
suitable for you to do all the work." But Hans remembered the
unicorn's words, and held firmly to his flask.
"No," he said, "thank you; but I'll carry it myself." Then Fritz and
Franz pretended to get sulky and tried to drop behind, but Hans would
not allow this, either. The consequence was that the three made very
slow progress homeward. Toward the evening they came to a deep stream,
which they had to re-cross. It was only fordable at one point, as they
all knew, because they had, of course, already crossed it before. Hans
stood aside to allow Fritz and Franz to go on first, but each of them
went in a little way, and ran back, saying that they were afraid of
being drowned.
"What nonsense," said Hans, who was getting a little impatient at the
delay; "it's quite shallow," and, forgetting the unicorn's warning, he
entered the stream first. Fritz and Franz did not miss the
opportunity. Each took a large stone and struck Hans violently on the
head. Then as he fell back senseless into the water, Fritz snatched
the flask from off the belt to which it was attached, and Franz thrust
with his foot Hans's body farther into the river, so that the current
should carry it away, and, laughing at their own cleverness, the two
proceeded to cross the ford.
Now, naturally enough, lads like Fritz and Franz do not care to trust
each other very far. As soon, therefore, as they reached the other
side of the stream, Franz produced his bottle, and demanded of Fritz
his share of the sparkling golden water. Fritz, who intended to keep
it all to himself, proposed that they should put off sharing it till
later. Franz would not hear of this. He knew, only too well, what
Fritz intended. This led to a wrangle, which ended in a fight between
the two, in which the sparkling golden water was spilled, partly over
Fritz's right hand, and the remainder over Franz's left foot. The
brothers first realized what had happened to them by Fritz finding
that he could not close his fist to strike, and Franz finding that he
could not raise his foot to kick. The discovery sobered them in an
instant. There they stood, one with a hand and the other with a foot
of solid gold, and the golden flask with them; but the water, the
precious sparkling golden water, lost forever. Fritz was the first to
recover himself.
"Well," he said, "thank goodness I have a couple of feet left me. I
shall be off, I can't wait for you. You must hobble on as best you
can, or stay here and starve," and he was on the point of leaving
Franz to his fate, when the latter caught him by the collar.
"If I've only one foot, I have two hands," cried he, "and I don't
intend to let you leave me behind. No, no; we must go together or not
at all."
Fritz was obliged to submit, as it was a case of two hands against
one; and he and Franz, arm in arm as though they were the most
affectionate brothers, made their way slowly to the nearest town.
There they had to submit to have hand and foot cut off. The operation
hurt them very much indeed, but they sold the gold for a good sum of
money to the goldsmith. With that, and with what they got for the
flask, Fritz was able to buy his Countship, although he could never
hunt owing to the loss of his right hand, and Franz was able to buy
his Burgomastership, although the loss of his foot prevented his
walking properly in processions. Neither of them, of course, gave a
thought to their mother.
Now we must return to poor Hans, whom we left floating down the
stream--senseless, and to all appearance dead. He was not dead,
however, although the blows which his brothers had inflicted were very
severe ones. He was only stunned, and fortunately he did not float far
enough to be drowned. His body came into a back eddy of the stream
and drifted gently on to a shelving bank of white sand. The cold water
soon had the effect of bringing him to his senses so far as to enable
him to crawl on to the land. It was, however, some hours before he was
able to recall the past events. When he remembered them he gave way to
despair. All the pains he had taken to win the sparkling golden water
were thrown away. He might not return to get more--the unicorn had
told him that. His mother would be as badly off as ever. Above all, he
had the bitter disappointment of feeling that his brothers had
deceived him. Then he bethought him of the crystal ball. Taking it
from his pocket, he placed it on a large stone, and taking another
stone struck it with all his force. A report like that of a cannon
followed, and at the same instant the unicorn stood before him.
"I warned you of what would happen," he said to Hans. "You would have
done much better if you had left your brothers in the tree. Now let me
see what can be done for you. First of all, rub that dockleaf, which
is touching your right hand, on the wound in your head." Hans did as
he was told, and his head became as sound as ever. "Now," said the
unicorn, "you must go straight home to your mother and bring her to
the city of White Towers, and stay there till you hear from me again."
"But," said Hans, with tears in his eyes, "how can I do that? My
mother is much too ill to move, and I have lost the sparkling golden
water which was to have made her well and strong."
"Did not I see you," asked the unicorn, "put some sand and stones of
pure gold into your pocket as you went to the fountain? There will be
more than enough to meet all your expenses. Do as I tell you," and the
unicorn, saying this, disappeared.