home without any further adventures. The gold that he had with him,
not only enabled him to provide the comforts and necessaries which his
mother required, but he was able also to reward Uncle Stoltz for his
kindness. When his mother was strong enough to travel, Hans hired a
wagon, and they set off by easy stages for the city of White Towers,
there to await further news from the unicorn.
Now, the city of White Towers was at that time attracting from far and
wide every one who wanted to make his fortune. The Princess of the
city was the loveliest Princess in the world, and the richest and the
most powerful. She had given out that she would marry any one, whoever
it might be, king or beggar, who would tell her truly in the morning
the dream that she had dreamed in the night. But whoever should
compete and fail, was to forfeit all his fortune, be whipped through
the streets and out of the gate, and banished from the city on pain of
death. If, however, he had no fortune to forfeit, he was to be whipped
back again and sold into slavery. The terms were hard; but many tried
and failed, and many more, undeterred by the punishment which they
constantly saw being inflicted on the others, were waiting their turn
to compete. Among these latter were Count Fritz and Burgomaster Franz.
These two met very often in the streets of the city, but they could
never forget their quarrel over the sparkling golden water and when
they met they always looked in opposite directions. Now, Fritz and
Franz had made themselves hated by all with whom they had to deal;
Fritz by his tyranny over the poor in the district in which his
property lay, and Franz by his injustice as Burgomaster. The former
used to grind down his people so as to extract the last penny from
them; the latter used to make his judgments depend on the amount of
bribe he received from the suitors. Everybody, therefore, hoped that
both Fritz and Franz would fail to tell the Princess her dreams, and
would have to pay the penalty.
Hans and his mother arrived at the city of White Towers on the evening
before the day on which Fritz was to try his fortune. They heard on
all sides that the "One-armed Count," as he was called, was to be the
next competitor; but, of course, they had no idea that this "One-armed
Count" was Fritz. The consequence was that, when they found themselves
next day in the great square, where the whole population of the city
assembled to see the trial, they were amazed beyond measure to see
Fritz, marching jauntily along, quite confident of success, dressed in
his very smartest clothes, to the platform on which the Princess and
her ladies and her courtiers were assembled, Fritz felt sure that he
would win, for this reason: There was an old woman living in a cottage
near his castle, who was said to be a witch. Fritz had ordered her to
be seized and put to the most cruel tortures, in order to force her to
say what the Princess was going to dream on the night before the day
fixed for his trial. This was very silly of him, as the old woman
might be a witch ten times over, and yet not be able to tell him that.
But cruel, wicked people often are silly. This poor old woman screamed
out some nonsense in her agony which Fritz took to be the answer he
required. He smiled, therefore, in a self-confident fashion as he
bowed low before the princess and awaited her question. She asked it
in a clear bell-like voice, which somehow caused Hans's heart, when he
heard it, to beat a good deal quicker than before.
"Sir Count, what did I dream last night?"
"Your Highness dreamed," was the reply, "that the moon came down to
earth and kissed you."
The princess gently shook her head, and in a moment Fritz found
himself in the hands of her guards, with his coat stripped off his
back, and his hands bound behind him. The first lash made him cry for
mercy; but the Princess had already gone, and the soldiers, whose duty
it was to inflict the whipping, were not much disposed to show mercy
to the "One-armed Count." They laid on their blows well, driving the
unlucky Fritz through the streets till the gate was reached, through
which, with a final shower of blows, he was thrust, with the warning
not to return thither, but to beg his way henceforth through the
world. Of all who watched the proceedings, none seemed so delighted
with the result as Franz. He followed, hobbling after his unhappy
brother as close as the soldiers would allow, and kept jeering and
laughing at him all the way. This was easy for him to do,
notwithstanding the fact that he had to go on crutches, because good
care was taken to make Fritz's progress through the streets as slow as
possible. In addition, therefore, to the blows, Fritz had to endure
the sight of Franz's grinning face, and to listen to such remarks as:
"Who thought he was going to win the Princess?"--"Will your Highness
remember your poor brother, the Burgomaster?"--"Who lost the sparkling
golden water?"--and so on.
With very different feelings had Hans watched the proceedings. When he
saw his brother stripped for beating, he forgot all about the wrongs
he had sustained, and only thought what he could do to help the
sufferer. He tried to bribe the soldiers to deal gently with Fritz;
but when he found it was of no avail, he hastened to the city gate so
as to meet his brother outside and comfort him when the punishment was
over. Hans found Fritz, as indeed was natural under the circumstances,
more surly and ill-tempered than ever. He appeared startled for a
moment at seeing Hans, whom he thought dead, alive and well; but he
set to work blubbering again immediately, and rubbing his back with
his one hand. Hans gave him what money he could afford, which Fritz
took without saying "Thank you," and went his way.
Next day it was Franz's turn to try and win the Princess. Franz felt
just as certain of succeeding as Fritz had been. A certain necromancer
in Franz's town had been a party in a suit which came before the
Burgomaster's court. All the evidence which was brought forward told
against him, but the necromancer promised Franz, as a bribe, if he
would decide in his favour, to tell him by means of his art the true
secret of the Princess's dream. Franz swallowed the bait greedily, and
gave his unjust decision. Now, in order that the necromancer might not
fail him, Franz had determined not to let him out of his sight till
the day of trial. Very early in the morning of that day the
necromancer came to Franz and said: "Last night the Princess dreamed
so-and-so--will your worship allow me to go away now?" Franz, on
hearing the dream, skipped with delight, forgetting about his one
foot, and tumbled down on the floor. However, he did not mind that,
and gave the necromancer leave to depart; which that worthy did in
great haste. Franz was so impatient that he was in his place, in front
of the platform, long before the Princess arrived. He could hardly
wait for her to put the formal question before he blurted out:
"Your Highness dreamed that you were walking in your garden, and that
all the trees and shrubs bore gold and silver leaves."
The Princess shook her head. "A very pretty dream," she said; "but it
was not mine." So Franz had to suffer the same punishment as Fritz,
and nobody was at all sorry. He was likewise thrust out of the city
gate, bawling between his howls for some one to bring him the
necromancer. Hans found him there, and tried to comfort him, as he had
tried to comfort Fritz, and with about the same result. When Hans had
returned to the inn, where he and his mother were staying, he was met
with the news that a stranger was waiting to see him. He went in and
found the huntsman who had given him the pellet which turned into the
crystal ball.
"Hans," said the huntsman, as soon as Hans entered the room, "the
unicorn has sent me to you. It's your turn now to try to win the
Princess."
Hans turned pale at the thought.
"I would give my life to win her," he said, earnestly, "but I am
certain to fail, and then what will my poor mother do? I have no
property to be confiscated, and, of course, I shall be sold into
slavery."
"Don't talk of failure," said the huntsman cheerily; "the way to
success is to forget that there is such a word as failure. Now I'll
tell you my plan. The Princess, as you know, or as you very likely
don't know, is devoted to curious animals of all kinds. I will change
you into a white mouse with a gold claw, and will offer you to the
Princess for sale. She has never seen or heard of such a creature as a
white mouse with a gold claw before, and will be sure to buy you. Then
it will be your fault if matters don't go smoothly with you. You have
only to keep your ears open and use your wits. Now, first of all, we
must enter you for to-morrow's competition."
Hans longed to try his luck with the Princess, and as this plan seemed
a promising one--indeed, it was the only one he could think of--he
agreed to try it. However, he determined not to tell his mother
anything about the matter, as he knew how terrified she would be at
the thought of his failure. The first thing, as the huntsman had said,
was for him to present himself to the Princess as candidate for her
hand. He accordingly did so, and found her seated on her throne,
surrounded by the lords and ladies of her court, glittering in jewels
and dressed in magnificent apparel. Hans felt rather shy as he marched
up the splendid room, amongst all these grandly dressed people, in his
shabby old clothes; but he put as good a face on it as he could, and
when he stopped before the throne and looked into the Princess's eyes,
all his shyness vanished. He was conscious of nothing but a strong
determination to win her for himself, or to perish in the attempt. The
court usher announced his name and purpose in a loud tone.
"This is Hans, the charcoal-burner, who has undertaken to tell the
Princess her dream to-morrow morning, or to pay the penalty."
When the Princess looked at Hans and saw what a nice, open-faced boy
he was, she did all she could to persuade him to give up the attempt.
She pointed out to him how many had tried and failed--how little
chance there was of his succeeding. She could not bear, she said, to
think of his being whipped publicly and sold into slavery. She offered
him, if he would withdraw, the important post of general manager of
the court menagerie. But neither this offer nor the prayers of the
Princess could move Hans.
"Now, that I have seen you face to face, Princess," said he, "I would
rather die twenty times over than give up the undertaking."
The Princess was obliged to allow Hans to enter his name for
to-morrow's trial, although it made her very unhappy. Her heart told
her that he was the one of all her suitors whom she would most wish to
succeed; but she felt that he would be certain to fare as the others
had done; and so when the formality was over, and Hans had left, she
dismissed the court; shut herself up in her room, and said she would
be at home to nobody for the rest of the day.
As soon as Hans got back, the huntsman took a cup of water, muttered
some strange words over it, and sprinkled Hans with the contents. He
was conscious of a curious change taking place in him, and before he
could quite make out what it was, he found that he was a white mouse
with a gold claw. The huntsman put him in a box and carried him to the
palace to sell him to the Princess. When he arrived there the porter
refused to admit him.
"No!" he said, "the Princess had given out that she would see no one
that day. It was more than his place was worth to admit the stranger."
However, by dint of flattering words and a handsome present slipped
into his hands, the porter was persuaded to send for one of the
Princess's ladies. When she came and saw the white mouse with the gold
claw, she said she was sure that her mistress would be so delighted
with his beautiful little curiosity that she would pardon having her
orders disobeyed for once. Only, the huntsman must remain where he
was; she would take the white mouse to the Princess herself. To this
the Huntsman consented; and the long and short of it was that the
Princess sent him a handsome sum for the mouse; and Hans found himself
established as her newest favourite. The Princess was so pleased with
her pet that, when she went to bed, she placed him in a cabinet in her
room, the door of which she left open--because he was so tame that she
had no fear of his attempting to run away. Hans was wondering how he
was to find out the Princess's dream in this situation, when his
mistress woke up, laughing heartily, and called for her lady in
waiting to come to her.
"I've had such a curious dream," she said. "I dreamed that I was
married to a man with a golden top-joint to his little finger. I
suppose that it was the white mouse with the gold claw which put the
idea into my head. But," and here the Princess's voice grew very sad,
"how will that poor boy ever guess this dream to-morrow?"
Hans waited impatiently for all to be quiet, then he slipped out of
his cabinet, and finding the door shut, ran up the curtain of the
window, which was fortunately open, and getting on a rose which
clambered up outside the wall, ran down it and made the best of his
way to the inn. There he found the huntsman waiting for him, to whom
he told all that had taken place, and who in a few seconds changed him
back to his own shape.
An enormous concourse of people was assembled next day to see the
trial. Very pale and sad the Princess looked as she sat prepared to
put the question to Hans. He waited respectfully till she had spoken,
and then, without saying a word, held out his hand to her. Her eye
fell on the golden top-joint of his little finger. She cried out with
delight, and, seizing his hand in hers, turned to the people and said:
"Hans has guessed right, and he shall be my husband."
And all the people raised a glad shout, "Long live Prince Hans!"
"Oh!" said the Princess to Hans, "how I wish my brother were here to
share our happiness!"
"He is here," said the huntsman, who had thrust his way to the front;
and, throwing off his huntsman's disguise, he appeared dressed as a
Prince. Then, turning to Hans, he said:
"A mighty magician, the enemy of our family, condemned me, because I
would not give him my sister in marriage, to take the form of a
unicorn, and to guard the sparkling golden water. Twice every year,
for a fortnight at a time, I was allowed to resume my human shape. It
was then that I came to your hut in the forest, and gave you the token
by which to win your way to the fountain. The spell laid upon me was
only to be raised when some one guessed aright my sister's dream, and
so won her to wife. Thanks to you, brother Hans, the magician's power
is at an end."
Hans and the Princess were married, and after the ceremony the Prince
went off to his own kingdom. Hans's mother had a beautiful suite of
apartments in the palace assigned to her, and Uncle Stoltz was not
forgotten, but was provided for comfortably for life; and they all
lived happily ever afterward.
As for Fritz and Franz, they were so selfish and cruel, that there was
nothing to be done with them but to send them back into the forest
again to burn charcoal; and for all I know they are burning charcoal
there still.
_Destiny_
Once upon a time there were two brothers who lived together in the
same household. One attended to everything, while the other was an
indolent fellow, who occupied himself only with eating and drinking.
Their harvests were always magnificent; they had cattle, horses,
sheep, pigs, bees, and all other things in great abundance.
The elder, who did everything about the estate, said to himself one
day:
"Why should I toil for this lazy fellow? It would be better that we
should separate. I will work for myself alone, and he can do whatever
he pleases." So he said to his brother:
"Brother, it is unjust that I should take charge of all whilst thou
wilt aid me in nothing, and thinkest only of eating and drinking. It
is better that we should part."
The other tried to turn him from his project, saying:
"Brother, do not do this. We get on so well together. Thou hast all in
thy hands--not only what is thine, but what is mine, and thou knowest
that I am always contented with what thou doest, and with what thou
orderest."
But the elder persisted in his resolution so firmly that the younger
was obliged to give up, and said:
"Since it is so I have no ill-will toward thee. Make the division as
seemeth good to thee."
The division made, each one ordered his life as he thought good. The
indolent brother took a herder for his cattle and horses, a shepherd
for his sheep, a goatherd for his goats, a swineherd for his pigs, a
keeper for his bees, and said to each of them:
"I confide my goods to thee, and may God watch over thee."
And he continued to live in his house without any more care he had
ever done.
The elder on the contrary laboured for his half of the property as
much as he had ever done for the common good. He kept his herds
himself, having an eye on everything, but in spite of all his care he
had ill success on every side.
From day to day everything turned out badly with him, so that at last
he became so poor that he had not even a pair of sandals, and was
obliged to go barefooted. Then he said to himself:
"I will go to my brother's, and see how the world wags with him."
His way led him across a meadow where a flock of sheep was grazing,
and as he drew near he saw that the sheep had no shepherd. Near them,
however, a beautiful young girl was seated, spinning a thread of gold.
After having saluted the maiden with a "God protect thee," he asked
her whose were the sheep, and she answered:
"To whom I belong, belong the sheep also."
"And who art thou?" he continued.
"I am thy brother's fortune," she answered.
Then the traveller was seized with wrath and envy, and cried out:
"And where is _my_ fortune?"
The maiden answered him: "Ah, she is far from thee."
"Can I find her?" he asked.
She answered: "Thou canst find her--only look for her."
When he had heard these words, and saw that the sheep were so
beautiful that nothing finer could be imagined, he did not care to go
farther to see the other flocks, but went direct to his brother, who
as soon as he had seen him took pity on him, and said, weeping:
"Why hast thou hidden thyself from me for so long a time?"
Then seeing that he was in rags and barefooted he gave him a pair of
sandals and some money.
After having remained three days with his brother the poor fellow
departed to return home, but once arrived at the house he threw a
sack over his shoulders, put a morsel of bread in it, took a stick in
his hand, and set out into the world to seek his fortune.
Having travelled a long time he found himself at last in a deep forest
where he met a wretched old woman asleep in a thicket. He began to
beat the ground with his stick to wake up the old woman, and at last
gave her a blow on the back. However, she scarcely moved even then,
and half opening her drowsy eyes, said to him:
"Thou mayest thank God that I was asleep, for if I had been awake thou
wouldst not have had those sandals."
Then he said to her: "Who art thou then, who wouldst have hindered me
from having these sandals?"
The old hag answered him: "I am thy fortune."
Hearing these words he beat his breast, crying: "What! thou art my
fortune! May God exterminate thee! Who gave thee to me?"
And the old hag said to him: "It was Destiny."
"Where is Destiny?"
"Go and seek for him," she answered, going to sleep again.
Then he departed and went to seek for Destiny.
After a long, long journey he arrived at last at another wood, and in
this wood he found a hermit of whom he asked if he could not give him
some news of Destiny?
The hermit answered him: "Climb that mountain, and thou wilt arrive at
his castle, but when thou reachest Destiny be careful not to speak to
him. Do only what thou seest him do, until he speaks to thee."
The traveller thanked the hermit, took his way up the mountain, and
when he had arrived at the castle of Destiny what wonderful things he
saw!
The luxury was absolutely royal. There was a crowd of servants, always
in motion and doing nothing. As for Destiny, he was supping at a
magnificent table. When the stranger saw this he seated himself also
at table and ate with the master of the house. After supper Destiny
went to bed and the traveller did the same. Toward midnight terrible
noise was heard in the castle, and in the midst of the noise a voice
crying:
"Destiny, Destiny--so many souls have come into the world to-day. Give
them something at thy good pleasure."
And Destiny arose, opened a golden coffer, and threw into the room a
shower of shining ducats, saying:
"Such as I am to-day, so shall you be all your lives."
At daybreak the grand castle vanished, and there took its place an
ordinary house, but one in which nothing was wanting. When evening
came Destiny sat down to supper again, his guest did the same, and no
one spoke a word. After supper both went to bed as before.
Toward midnight again commenced the terrible noise in the castle, and
in the midst of the tumult a voice crying:
"Destiny, Destiny, so many souls have seen the light to-day. Give them
something at thy good pleasure."
Destiny arose and opened a silver coffer, but this time there were no
ducats in it, only silver money mixed with a few pieces of gold.
Destiny threw this silver upon the ground, saying:
"Such as I am to-day, so shall you be all your lives."
At daybreak the house had vanished, and there appeared in its place
another smaller one. So passed each night; each morning the house
became smaller until at last it was only a miserable hut. Destiny then
took a spade and began to dig up the earth; his guest did the same,
and they dug all day long. When evening came Destiny took a crust of
hard bread, broke it in two, and gave half to his companion. This was
all their supper, and when they had eaten they went to bed.
Toward midnight again commenced the terrible noise, and in the midst
of it a voice was heard, crying:
"Destiny, Destiny, so many souls have come into the world this night.
Give them something at thy good pleasure."
Destiny arose, opened a coffer, and began to throw out pebbles among
which were mixed some small money, saying as he did so:
"Such as I am to-day, so shall you be all your lives."
When morning came the hut was changed again to a grand palace as it
had been on the first day. Then for the first time Destiny spoke to
his guest, and said to him:
"Why hast thou come to me?"
The traveller then related his miseries in detail, and said that he
had come to ask of Destiny himself, why he had given him so evil a
fortune.
Destiny answered him:
"Thou didst see that the first night I sowed ducats and what followed
thereon. Such as I am on the night when a man is born, such that man
will be all his life. Thou wert born on a night of poverty, and thou
wilt remain always poor. Thy brother, on the contrary, came into the
world in a happy hour, and happy he will remain to the end. But since
thou hast taken so much trouble to find me I will tell thee how thou
mayst help thyself. Thy brother has a daughter named Miliza, who is as
fortunate as her father. Take her for thy wife when thou shalt return
to thine own country, and all that thou shalt acquire thereafter, be
careful to say belongs to her."
The traveller thanked Destiny many times and departed.
When he had returned to his own country he went straight to his
brother, and said to him:
"Brother, give me Miliza. Thou seest that without her I am alone in
the world."
And the brother answered: "It pleases me well. Miliza is thine."
Straightway the bridegroom took his brother's daughter to his house,
and he became very rich, but he was always careful to say: "All that I
have belongs to Miliza."
One day he went into the fields to see his wheat, which was so fine
that there was nothing like it in the whole country around. A
traveller passed along the way, and said to him:
"Whose is this wheat?"
And the elder brother, without thinking, answered: "It is mine."
But scarcely had he spoken than a spark was seen in the wheat and in
an instant it was all on fire. Quickly he ran after the traveller, and
cried out:
"Stop, my friend, this wheat is not mine. It belongs to Miliza, my
brother's daughter."
The fire was instantly extinguished, and thenceforth the elder brother
was happy--thanks to Miliza.
_The Queen of the Golden Mines_