after a son was born to the charcoal-burner's wife. But the King
could not sleep. At midnight he heard noises in the house, and looking
through a crack in the flooring he saw the charcoal-burner asleep, his
wife almost in a faint, and by the side of the newly-born babe three
old women dressed in white, each holding a lighted taper in her hand,
and all talking together. Now these were the three Soudiché or Fates,
you must know.
The first said, "On this boy I bestow the gift of confronting great
dangers."
The second said, "I bestow the power of happily escaping all these
dangers, and of living to a good old age."
The third said, "I bestow upon him for wife the Princess born at the
self-same hour as he, and daughter of the very King sleeping above in
the loft."
At these words the lights went out and silence reigned around.
Now the King was greatly troubled, and wondered exceedingly; he felt
as if he had received a sword-thrust in the chest. He lay awake all
night thinking how to prevent the words of the Fates from coming true.
With the first glimmer of morning light the baby began to cry. The
charcoal-burner, on going over to it, found that his wife was dead.
"Poor little orphan," he said sadly, "what will become of thee without
a mother's care?"
"Confide this child to me," said the King, "I will look after it. He
shall be well provided for. You shall be given a sum of money large
enough to keep you without having to burn charcoal."
The poor man gladly agreed, and the King went away promising to send
some one for the child. The Queen and the courtiers thought it would
be an agreeable surprise for the King to hear that a charming little
Princess had been born on the night he was away. But instead of being
pleased he frowned and calling one of his servants, said to him, "Go
to the charcoal-burner's cottage in the, forest, and give the man this
purse in exchange for a new-born infant. On your way back drown
the child. See well that he is drowned, for if he should in any way
escape, you yourself shall suffer in his place."
The servant was given the child in a basket, and on reaching the
center of a narrow bridge that stretched across a wide and deep river,
he threw both basket and baby into the water.
"A prosperous journey to you, Mr. Son-in-Law," said the King, on
hearing the servant's story; for he fully believed the child was
drowned. But it was far from being the case; the little one was
floating happily along in its basket cradle, and slumbering as
sweetly as if his mother had sung him to sleep. Now it happened that
a fisherman, who was mending his nets before his cottage door, saw
the basket floating down the river. He jumped at once into his boat,
picked it up, and ran to tell his wife the good news.
"Look," said he, "you have always longed for a son; here is a
beautiful little boy the river has sent us."
The woman was delighted, and took the infant and loved it as her own
child. They named him _Plavacek_ (the floater), because he had come to
them floating on the water.
The river flowed on. Years passed away. The little baby grew into a
handsome youth; in all the villages round there were none to compare
with him. Now it happened that one summer day the King was riding
unattended, and the heat being very great he reined in his horse
before the fisherman's door to ask for a drink of water. Plavacek
brought the water. The King looked at him attentively, then turning to
the fisherman, said, "That is a good-looking lad; is he your son?"
"He is and he isn't," replied the fisherman. "I found him, when he was
quite a tiny baby, floating down the stream in a basket. So we adopted
him and brought him up as our own son."
The King turned as pale as death, for he guessed that he was the same
child he had ordered to be drowned. Then recovering himself he got
down from his horse and said: "I want a trusty messenger to take a
message to the palace, could you send him with it?"
"With pleasure! Your Majesty may be sure of its safe delivery."
Thereupon the King wrote to the Queen as follows:
"The man who brings you this letter is the most dangerous of all my
enemies. Have his head cut off at once; no delay, no pity, he must be
executed before my return. Such is my will and pleasure."
This he carefully folded and sealed with the royal seal.
Plavacek took the letter and set off immediately. But the forest
through which he had to pass was so large, and the trees so thick,
that he missed the path and was overtaken by the darkness before the
journey was nearly over. In the midst of his trouble he met an old
woman who said, "Where are you going, Plavacek? Where are you going?"
"I am the bearer of a letter from the King to the Queen, but have
missed the path to the palace. Could you, good mother, put me on the
right road?"
"Impossible to-day, my child; it is getting dark, and you would not
have time to get there. Stay with me to-night. You will not be with
strangers, for I am your godmother."
Plavacek agreed. Thereupon they entered a pretty little cottage that
seemed suddenly to sink into the earth. Now while he slept the old
woman changed his letter for another, which ran thus:
"Immediately upon the receipt of this letter introduce the bearer
to the Princess our daughter, I have chosen this young man for my
son-in-law, and it is my wish they should be married before my return
to the palace. Such is my pleasure."
The letter was duly delivered, and when the Queen had read it, she
ordered everything to be prepared for the wedding. Both she and her
daughter greatly enjoyed Plavacek's society, and nothing disturbed the
happiness of the newly married pair.
Within a few days the King returned, and on hearing what had taken
place was very angry with the Queen.
"But you expressly bade me have the wedding before your return. Come,
read your letter again, here it is," said she.
He closely examined the letter; the paper, handwriting, seal--all were
undoubtedly his. He then called his son-in-law, and questioned him
about his journey. Plavacek hid nothing: he told how he had lost his
way, and how he had passed the night in a cottage in the forest.
"What was the old woman like?" asked the King.
From Plavacek's description the King knew it was the very same who,
twenty years before, had foretold the marriage of the Princess with
the charcoal-burner's son. After some moments' thought the King
said: "What is done is done. But you will not become my son-in-law
so easily. No, i' faith! As a wedding present you must bring me three
golden hairs from the head of Dède-Vsévède."
In this way he thought to get rid of his son-in-law, whose very
presence was distasteful to him. The young fellow took leave of his
wife and set off. "I know not which way to go," said he to himself,
"but my godmother the witch will surely help me."
But he found the way easily enough. He walked on and on and on for
a long time over mountain, valley, and river, until he reached the
shores of the Black Sea. There he found a boat and boatman.
"May God bless you, old boatman," said he.
"And you, too, my young traveler. Where are you going?"
"To Dède-Vsévède's castle for three of his golden hairs."
"Ah, then you are very welcome. For a long weary while I have been
waiting for such a messenger as you. I have been ferrying passengers
across for these twenty years, and not one of them has done anything
to help me. If you will promise to ask Dède-Vsévède when I shall be
released from my toil I will row you across."
Plavacek promised, and was rowed to the opposite bank. He continued
his journey on foot until he came in sight of a large town half in
ruins, near which was passing a funeral procession. The King of that
country was following his father's coffin, and with the tears running
down his cheeks.
"May God comfort you in your distress," said Plavacek.
"Thank you, good traveler. Where are you going?"
"To the house of Dède-Vsévède in quest of three of his golden hairs."
"To the house of Dède-Vsévède? Indeed! What a pity you did not come
sooner, we have long been expecting such a messenger as you. Come and
see me by-and-by."
When Plavacek presented himself at court the King said to him:
"We understand you are on your way to the house of Dède-Vsévède! Now
we have an apple-tree here that bears the fruit of everlasting youth.
One of these apples eaten by a man, even though he be dying, will cure
him and make him young again. For the last twenty years neither fruit
nor flower has been found on this tree. Will you ask Dède-Vsévède the
cause of it?"
"That I will, with pleasure."
Then Plavacek continued his journey, and as he went he came to a large
and beautiful city where all was sad and silent. Near the gate was an
old man who leaned on a stick and walked with difficulty.
"May God bless you, good old man."
"And you, too, my handsome young traveler. Where are you going?"
"To Dède-Vsévède's palace in search of three of his golden hairs."
"Ah, you are the very messenger I have so long waited for. Allow me to
take you to my master the King."
On their arrival at the palace, the King said, "I hear you are an
ambassador to Dède-Vsévède. We have here a well, the water of
which renews itself. So wonderful are its effects that invalids are
immediately cured on drinking it, while a few drops sprinkled on a
corpse will bring it to life again. For the past twenty years this
well has remained dry: if you will ask old Dède-Vsévède how the flow
of water may be restored I will reward you royally."
Plavacek promised to do so, and was dismissed with good wishes. He
then traveled through deep dark forests, in the midst of which might
be seen a large meadow: out of it grew lovely flowers, and in the
center stood a castle built of gold. It was the home of Dède-Vsévède.
So brilliant with light was it that it seemed to be built of fire.
When he entered there was no one there but an old woman spinning.
"Greeting, Plavacek, I am well pleased to see you."
She was his godmother, who had given him shelter in her cottage when
he was the bearer of the King's letter.
"Tell me what brings you here from such a distance," she went on.
"The King would not have me for his son-in-law, unless I first got him
three golden hairs from the head of Dède-Vsévède. So he sent me here
to fetch them."
The Fate laughed. "Dède-Vsévède indeed! Why, I am his mother, it is
the shining sun himself. He is a child at morning time, a grown man
at midday, a decrepit old man, looking as if he had lived a hundred
years, at eventide. But I will see that you have the three hairs from
his head; I am not your godmother for nothing. All the same you must
not remain here. My son is a good lad, but when he comes home he
is hungry, and would very probably order you to be roasted for his
supper. Now I will turn this empty bucket upside down, and you shall
hide underneath it."
Plavacek begged the Fate to obtain from Dède-Vsévède the answers to
the three questions he had been asked.
"I will do so certainly, but you must listen to what he says."
Suddenly a blast of wind howled round the palace, and the Sun entered
by a western window. He was an old man with golden hair.
"I smell human flesh," cried he, "I am sure of it. Mother, you have
some one here."
"Star of day," she replied, "whom could I have here that you would not
see sooner than I? The fact is that in your daily journeys the scent
of human flesh is always with you, so when you come home at evening it
clings to you still."
The old man said nothing, and sat down to supper. When he had finished
he laid his golden head on the Fate's lap and went to sleep. Then she
pulled out a hair and threw it on the ground. It fell with a metallic
sound like the vibration of a guitar string.
"What do you want, mother?" asked he.
"Nothing, my son; I was sleeping, and had a strange dream."
"What was it, mother?"
"I thought I was in a place where there was a well, and the well was
fed from a spring, the water of which cured all diseases. Even the
dying were restored to health on drinking that water, and the dead who
were sprinkled with it came to life again. For the last twenty years
the well has run dry. What must be done to restore the flow of water?"
"That is very simple. A frog has lodged itself in the opening of the
spring, this prevents the flow of water. Kill the frog, and the water
will return to the well."
He slept again, and the old woman pulled out another golden hair, and
threw it on the ground.
"Mother, what do you want?"
"Nothing, my son, nothing; I was dreaming. In my dream I saw a large
town, the name of which I have forgotten. And there grew an apple-tree
the fruit of which had the power to make the old young again. A single
apple eaten by an old man would restore to him the vigor and freshness
of youth. For twenty years this tree has not borne fruit. What can be
done to make it fruitful?"
"The means are not difficult. A snake hidden among the roots destroys
the sap. Kill the snake, transplant the tree, and the fruit will grow
as before."
He again fell asleep, and the old woman pulled out another golden
hair.
"Now mother, why will you not let me sleep?" said the old man, really
vexed; and he would have got up.
"Lie down, my darling son, do not disturb yourself. I am sorry I
awoke you, but I have had a very strange dream. It seemed that I saw a
boatman on the shores of the Black Sea, and he complained that he had
been toiling at the ferry for twenty years without any one having come
to take his place. For how much longer must this poor old man continue
to row?"
"He is a silly fellow. He has but to place his oars in the hands
of the first comer and jump ashore. Who ever receives the oars will
replace him as ferryman. But leave me in peace now, mother, and do not
wake me again. I have to rise very early, and must first dry the eyes
of a Princess. The poor thing spends all night weeping for her husband
who has been sent by the King to get three of my golden hairs."
Next morning the wind whistled round Dède-Vsévède's palace, and
instead of an old man, a beautiful child with golden hair awoke on
the old woman's lap. It was the glorious sun. He bade her good-by, and
flew out of the eastern window. The old woman turned up the bucket and
said to Plavacek: "Look, here are the three golden hairs. You now
know the answers to your questions. May God direct you and send you
a prosperous journey. You will not see me again, for you will have no
further need of me."
He thanked her gratefully and left her. On arriving at the town with
the dried-up well, he was questioned by the King as to what news he
had brought.
"Have the well carefully cleaned out," said he, "kill the frog that
obstructs the spring, and the wonderful water will flow again."
The King did as he was advised, and rejoiced to see the water return.
He gave Plavacek twelve swan-white horses, and as much gold and silver
as they could carry.
On reaching the second town and being asked by the King what news he
had brought, he replied, "Excellent; one could not wish for better.
Dig up your apple-tree, kill the snake that lies among the roots,
transplant the tree, and it will produce apples like those of former
times."
And all turned out as he had said, for no sooner was the tree
replanted than it was covered with blossoms that gave it the
appearance of a sea of roses. The delighted King gave him twelve
raven-black horses, laden with as much wealth as they could carry.
He then journeyed to the shores of the Black Sea. There the boatman
questioned him as to what news he had brought respecting his release.
Plavacek first crossed with his twenty-four horses to the opposite
bank, and then replied that the boatman might gain his freedom by
placing the oars in the hands of the first traveler who wished to be
ferried over.
Plavacek's royal father-in-law could not believe his eyes when he
saw Dède-Vsévède's three golden hairs. As for the Princess, his young
wife, she wept tears, but of joy, not sadness, to see her dear one
again, and she said to him, "How did you get such splendid horses and
so much wealth, dear husband?"
And he answered her, "All this represents the price paid for the
weariness of spirit I have felt; it is the ready money for hardships
endured and services given. Thus, I showed one King how to regain
possession of the Apples of Youth: to another I told the secret of
reopening the spring of water that gives health and life."
"Apples of Youth! Water of Life!" interrupted the King. "I will
certainly go and find these treasures for myself. Ah, what joy! having
eaten of these apples I shall become young again; having drunk of the
Water of Immortality, I shall live forever."
And he started off in search of these treasures. But he has not yet
returned from his search.
A MYTH OF AMERICA
HIAWATHA
ADAPTED FROM H.R. SCHOOLCRAFT's VERSION
Hiawatha was living with his grandmother near the edge of a wide
prairie. On this prairie he first saw animals and birds of every
kind. He there also saw exhibitions of divine power in the sweeping
tempests, in the thunder and lightning, and the various shades of
light and darkness which form a never ending scene for observation.
Every new sight he beheld in the heavens was a subject of remark;
every new animal or bird an object of deep interest; and every sound
uttered by the animal creation a new lesson, which he was expected to
learn. He often trembled at what he heard and saw. To this scene his
grandmother sent him at an early age to watch. The first sound he
heard was that of an owl, at which he was greatly terrified, and
quickly descending the tree he had climbed, he ran with alarm to the
lodge. "Noko! Noko!" (grandma) he cried, "I have heard a momendo." She
laughed at his fears, and asked him what kind of a noise it made. He
answered, "It makes a noise like this: Ko-ko-ko-ho." She told him
that he was young and foolish; that what he had heard was only a bird,
deriving its name from the noise it made.
He went back and continued his watch. While there, he thought to
himself, "It is singular that I am so simple, and my grandmother so
wise, and that I have neither father nor mother. I have never heard a
word about them. I must ask and find out." He went home and sat down
silent and dejected. At length his grandmother asked him, "Hiawatha,
what is the matter with you?" He answered, "I wish you would tell me
whether I have any parents living and who my relatives are." Knowing
that he was of a wicked and revengeful disposition, she dreaded
telling him the story of his parentage, but he insisted on her
compliance. "Yes," she said, "you have a father and three brothers
living. Your mother is dead. She was taken without the consent of her
parents by your father the West. Your brothers are the North, East,
and South, and, being older than yourself, your father has given them
great power with the winds, according to their names. You are the
youngest of his children. I have nourished you from your infancy, for
your mother died in giving you birth, owing to the ill-treatment of
your father. I have no relations besides you this side of the planet
on which I was born, and from which I was precipitated by female
jealousy. Your mother was my only child, and you are my only hope."
He appeared to be rejoiced to hear that his father was living, for
he had already thought in his heart to try and kill him. He told his
grandmother he should set out in the morning to visit him. She said it
was a long distance to the place where The West lived. But that had
no effect to stop him for he had now attained manhood, possessed a
giant's height, and was endowed by nature with a giant's strength and
power. He set out and soon reached the place, for every step he took
covered a large surface of ground. The meeting took place on a high
mountain in the West. His father appeared very happy to see him. They
spent some days in talking with each other.
One evening Hiawatha asked his father what he was most afraid of on
earth. He replied, "Nothing." "But is there not something you dread
here? Tell me." At last his father said, yielding, "Yes, there is a
black stone found in such a place. It is the only earthly thing I am
afraid of; for if it should hit me, or any part of my body, it would
injure me very much." He said this as a secret, and in return asked
his son the same question. Knowing each other's power, although the
son's was limited, the father feared him on account of his great
strength. Hiawatha answered, "Nothing!" intending to avoid the
question, or to refer to some harmless object as the one of which he
was afraid. He was asked again, and again, and answered, "Nothing!"
But the West said, "There must be something you are afraid of." "Well!
I will tell you," said Hiawatha, "what it is." But, before he would
pronounce the word, he affected great dread. "_Ie-ee_--_Ie-ee_--it
is--it is," said he, "yeo! yeo! I cannot name it; I am seized with a
dread." The West told him to banish his fears. He commenced again, in
a strain of mock sensitiveness repeating the same words; at last
he cried out, "It is the root of the bulrush." He appeared to be
exhausted by the effort of pronouncing the word, in all this skilfully
acting a studied part.
Some time after he observed, "I will get some of the black rock;"
the West said, "Far be it from you; do not so, my son." He still
persisted. "Well," said the father, "I will also get the bulrush root."
Hiawatha immediately cried out, "Do not--do not," affecting as before,
to be in great dread of it, but really wishing, by this course, to
urge on the West to procure it, that he might draw him into combat. He
went out and got a large piece of the black rock, and brought it home.
The West also took care to bring the dreaded root.
In the course of conversation he asked his father whether he had been
the cause of his mother's death. The answer was "Yes!" He then took
up the rock and struck him. Blow led to blow, and here commenced an
obstinate and furious combat, which continued several days. Fragments
of the rock, broken off under Hiawatha's blows, can be seen in various
places to this day. The root did not prove as mortal a weapon as his
well-acted fears had led his father to expect, although he suffered
severely from the blows. This battle commenced on the mountains. The
West was forced to give ground. Hiawatha drove him across rivers, and
over mountains and lakes, and at last he came to the brink of this
world.
"Hold!" cried he, "my son; you know my power, and that it is
impossible to kill me. Desist, and I will also portion you out with
as much power as your brothers. The four quarters of the globe are
already occupied; but you can go and do a great deal of good to the
people of this earth, which is infested with large serpents, beasts,
and monsters, who make great [Blank Page] havoc among the inhabitants.
Go and do good. You have the power now to do so, and your fame with
the beings of this earth will last forever. When you have finished
your work, I will have a place provided for you. You will then go and
sit with your brother in the north."
[Illustration: FROM THE "COSMOPOLITAN MAGAZINE" BY PERMISSION.
HIAWATHA IN HIS CANOE.]
Hiawatha was pacified. He returned to his lodge, where he was confined
by the wounds he had received. But owing to his grandmother's skill in
medicine he was soon recovered. She told him that his grandfather,
who had come to the earth in search of her, had been killed by
Meg-gis-sog-won, who lived on the opposite side of the great lake.
"When he was alive," she continued, "I was never without oil to put on
my head, but now my hair is fast falling off for the want of it."
"Well!" said he, "Noko, get cedar bark and make me a line, while I
make a canoe." When all was ready, he went out to the middle of the
lake to fish. He put his line down, saying, "Me-she-nah-ma-gwai (the
name of the kingfish), take hold of my bait." He kept repeating this
for some time. At last the king of the fishes said, "Hiawatha troubles
me. Here, Trout, take hold of his line," which was very heavy, so
that his canoe stood nearly perpendicular; but he kept crying out,
"Wha-ee-he! wha-ee-he!" till he could see the trout. As soon as he saw
him, he spoke to him. "Why did you take hold of my hook? Shame, shame
you ugly fish." The trout, being thus rebuked, let go.