There was once a King who had a beautiful pleasure-garden behind his
palace, in which grew a tree that bore golden apples. As fast as the
apples ripened they were counted, but the next day one was always
missing.
This was made known to the King, who commanded that a watch should be
kept every night under the tree. Now, the King had three sons, and
he sent the eldest into the garden when night was coming on; but at
midnight he fell fast asleep, and in the morning another apple was
missing. The following night the second son had to watch, but he did
not succeed any better, and again another apple was missing in the
morning. Now came the turn of the youngest son, who was eager to go;
but the King did not rely much upon him, and thought he would watch
even worse than his brothers; however, at last he consented.
The youth threw himself on the ground under the tree and watched
steadily, without letting sleep master him. As twelve o'clock
struck, something rustled in the air, and he saw a bird fly by in the
moonlight, whose feathers were of shining gold. The bird alighted on
the tree and was just picking off one of the apples when the young
Prince shot a bolt at it. Away flew the bird, but the arrow had
knocked off one of its feathers, which was of the finest gold. The
youth picked it up and showed it to the King next morning, and told
him all he had seen in the night.
Thereupon the King assembled his council, and each one declared that
a single feather like this one was of greater value than the whole
kingdom.
"However valuable this feather may be," said the King, "one will not
be of much use to me--I must have the whole bird."
So the eldest son went forth on his travels, to look for the wonderful
bird, and he had no doubt that he would be able to find it.
When he had gone a short distance, he saw a fox sitting close to the
edge of the forest, so he drew his bow to shoot. But the fox cried
out: "Do not shoot me, and I will give you a piece of good advice! You
are now on the road to the golden bird, and this evening you will come
to a village where two inns stand opposite to each other--one will be
brilliantly lighted, and great merriment will be going on inside;
do not, however, go in, but rather enter the other, even though it
appears but a poor place to you."
"How can such a ridiculous animal give me rational advice?" thought
the young Prince, and shot at the fox, but missed it, so it ran away
with its tail in the air. The King's son then walked on, and in the
evening he came to a village where the two inns stood: in one there
was dancing and singing, but the other was quiet, and had a very mean
and wretched appearance.
"I should be an idiot," thought he to himself, "if I were to go
to this gloomy old inn while the other is so bright and cheerful."
Therefore, he went into the merry one, lived there in rioting and
revelry, and so forgot the golden bird, his father, and all good
behavior.
As time passed away, and the eldest son did not return home, the
second son set out on his travels to seek the golden bird. Like the
eldest brother, he met with the fox, and did not follow the good
advice it gave him. He likewise came to the two inns, and at the
window of the noisy one his brother stood entreating him to come in.
This he could not resist, so he went in, and began to live a life of
pleasure only.
Again a long time passed by without any news, so the youngest Prince
wished to try his luck, but his father would not hear of it. At last,
for the sake of peace, the King was obliged to consent, for he had no
rest as long as he refused. The fox was again sitting at the edge of
the forest, and once more it begged for its own life and gave its good
advice. The youth was good-hearted, and said:
"Have no fear, little fox; I will not do thee any harm."
"Thou wilt never repent of thy good nature," replied the fox, "and in
order that thou mayest travel more quickly, get up behind on my tail."
Scarcely had the youth seated himself, when away went the fox over
hill and dale, so fast that the Prince's hair whistled in the wind.
When they came to the village, the youth dismounted, and following the
fox's advice, he turned at once into the shabby-looking inn, where he
slept peacefully through the night. The next morning, when the Prince
went into the fields, the fox was already there, and said:
"I will tell thee what further thou must do. Go straight on, and thou
wilt come to a castle before which a whole troop of soldiers will be
lying asleep. Go right through the midst of them into the castle, and
thou wilt come to a chamber where is hanging a wooden cage containing
a golden bird. Close by stands an empty golden cage, for show; but be
careful that thou dost not take the bird out of its ugly cage and put
it in the splendid one, or it will be very unlucky for thee."
With these words the fox once more stretched out its tail, and the
King's son sat upon it again, and away they went over hill and dale,
with their hair whistling in the wind.
When they arrived at the castle, the Prince found everything as the
fox had said, and he soon discovered the room in which the golden bird
was sitting in its wooden cage; by it stood a golden one; while three
golden apples were lying about the room. But the Prince thought it
would be silly to put such a lovely bird in so ugly and common a cage;
so, opening the door, he placed it in the golden cage. In an instant
the bird set up a piercing shriek, which awakened all the soldiers,
who rushed in and made him prisoner.
The next morning he was brought before a judge, who at once condemned
him to death. Still, the King said his life should be spared on one
condition, and that was, that he brought him the golden horse, which
ran faster than the wind; and if he succeeded he should also receive
the golden bird as a reward.
The young Prince set out on his journey, but he sighed and felt very
sorrowful, for where was he to find the golden horse? All at once, he
saw his old friend, the fox, sitting by the wayside.
"Ah!" exclaimed the fox, "thou seest now what has happened through not
listening to me. But be of good courage; I will look after thee,
and tell thee how thou mayest discover the horse. Thou must travel
straight along this road until thou comest to a castle; the horse is
there in one of the stables. Thou wilt find a stable boy lying before
the stall, but he will be fast asleep and snoring, so thou wilt be
able to lead out the golden horse quite quietly. But there is one
thing thou must be careful about, and that is to put on the shabby old
saddle of wood and leather, and not the golden one which hangs beside
it--otherwise everything will go wrong with thee." Then the fox
stretched out his tail, the Prince took a seat upon it, and away they
went over hill and dale, with their hair whistling in the wind.
Everything happened as the fox had said. The Prince came to the stable
where the golden horse was standing, but, as he was about to put on
the shabby old saddle, he thought to himself, "It does seem a shame
that such a lovely animal should be disgraced with this. The fine
saddle is his by right; it must go on."
Scarcely had the golden saddle rested on the horse's back when it
began to neigh loudly. This awakened the stable boy, who awakened the
grooms, who rushed in and seized the Prince and made him a prisoner.
The following morning he was brought to trial and condemned to death,
but the King promised him his life, as well as the golden horse, if
the youth could find the beautiful daughter of the King of the golden
castle. Once more, with a heavy heart, the Prince set out on his
journey, and by great good fortune he soon came across the faithful
fox.
"I really should have left thee to the consequences of thy folly,"
said the fox; "but as I feel great compassion for thee, I will help
thee out of thy new misfortune. The path to the castle lies straight
before thee; thou wilt reach it about the evening. At night, when
everything is quiet, the lovely Princess will go to the bath-house, to
bathe there. As soon as she enters, thou must spring forward and give
her a kiss; then she will follow thee wherever thou carest to lead
her; only be careful that she does not take leave of her parents, or
everything will go wrong."
Then the fox stretched out his tail, the Prince seated himself on it,
and away they both went over hill and dale, their hair whistling in
the wind.
When the King's son came to the golden palace, everything happened as
the fox had predicted. He waited until midnight, and when everyone was
soundly asleep the beautiful Princess went into the bath-house, so
he sprang forward and kissed her. The Princess then said she would
joyfully follow him, but she besought him with tears in her eyes to
allow her to say farewell to her parents. At first he withstood her
entreaties, but as she wept still more, and fell at his feet, he at
last yielded.
Scarcely was the maiden at the bedside of her father, when he awoke,
and so did everyone else in the palace; so the foolish youth was
captured and put into prison.
On the following morning the King said to him: "Thy life is forfeited,
and thou canst only find mercy if thou clearest away the mountain that
lies before my windows, and over which I cannot see, but it must be
removed within eight days. If thou dost succeed thou shalt have my
daughter as a reward."
So the Prince commenced at once to dig and to shovel away the earth
without cessation, but when after seven days he saw how little he had
been able to accomplish, and that all his labor was as nothing, he
fell into a great grief and gave up all hope.
On the evening of the seventh day, however, the fox appeared. "Thou
dost not deserve that I should take thy part or befriend thee, but do
thou go away and lie down to sleep, and I will do the work for thee."
And the next morning, when he awoke and looked out of the window, the
mountain had disappeared! Then the Prince, quite overjoyed, hastened
to the King and told him that the conditions were fulfilled, so that
the King, whether he would or not, was obliged to keep his word and
give him his daughter.
Then these two went away together, and it was not long before the
faithful fox came to them.
"Thou hast indeed gained the best of all," said he; "but to the maiden
of the golden castle belongs also the golden horse."
"How can I get it?" enquired the youth.
"I will tell thee," answered the fox; "first of all, take the lovely
Princess to the King who sent you to the golden palace. There will
then be unheard-of joy; they will gladly lead the golden horse to thee
and give it thee. Mount it instantly, and give your hand to everyone
at parting, and last of all to the Princess. Grasp her hand firmly;
make her spring into the saddle behind thee, and then gallop away; no
one will be able to overtake thee, for the golden horse runs faster
than the wind."
This was all happily accomplished, and the King's son carried off the
beautiful Princess on the golden horse. The fox did not remain behind,
and spoke thus to the young Prince:
"Now I will help thee to find the golden bird. When thou comest near
the castle where the bird is to be found, let the Princess dismount,
and I will take her under my protection. Then ride on the golden horse
to the courtyard of the palace, where thy coming will cause great joy,
and they will fetch the golden bird for thee. Directly the cage is in
thy hands, gallop back to us and fetch the maiden again."
When this plot was successfully carried out, and the Prince was about
to ride home with his treasure, the fox said, "Now must thou reward me
for all my services."
"What is it that thou dost desire?" enquired the Prince.
"When we come to yonder wood, thou must shoot me dead and cut off my
head and paws."
"That would be a fine sort of gratitude," said the King's son; "that I
cannot possibly promise thee."
"Then," replied the fox, "if thou wilt not, I must leave thee; but
before I go I will give thee again some good advice. Beware of two
things--buy no gallows'-flesh, and see that thou dost not sit on the
brink of a well!"
With this the fox ran off into the forest!
"Ah!" thought the young Prince, "that is a wonderful animal with very
whimsical ideas! Who would buy gallows'-flesh, and when have I ever
had the slightest desire to sit on the brink of a well?"
So he rode on with the beautiful maiden, and his path led him once
more through the village in which his two brothers had stopped. Here
there was great tumult and lamentation, and when he asked what it all
meant, he was told that two men were going to be hanged. When he came
nearer, he saw that they were his two brothers, who had committed
every kind of wicked folly and had squandered all their money. Then
the young Prince asked if they could not be freed.
"Supposing you do pay for them," the people answered, "where is the
good of wasting your money in order to free such villains?"
Nevertheless, he did not hesitate, but paid for them, and when the
brothers were freed they all rode away together. They came to the
forest where they first encountered the fox, and as it was cool and
pleasant away from the burning sun, the two brothers said:
"Let us sit and rest a little by this well, and eat and drink
something."
The young Prince consented, and while they were all talking together
he quite forgot the fox's warning, and suspected no evil.
But suddenly the two brothers threw him backwards into the well, and,
seizing the maiden, the horse, and the golden bird, they went home to
their father.
"We not only bring you the golden bird," said they, "but we have also
found the golden palace."
There was great rejoicing, but the horse would not eat, neither would
the bird sing, and the maiden only sat and wept.
But the youngest brother had not perished. By good fortune the well
was dry, and he had fallen on soft moss without hurting himself, but
he could not get out again.
Even in this misfortune the faithful fox did not desert him, but came
springing down to him and scolded him for not following his advice.
"Still I cannot forsake thee," said he, "and I will help to show thee
daylight once more."
Then he told him to seize hold of his tail and hold on tightly; and so
saying, he lifted him up in the air.
"Even now thou art not out of danger," said the fox, "for thy brothers
were not certain of thy death, and have set spies to watch for thee in
the forest, who will certainly kill thee if they see thee."
There was an old man sitting by the wayside with whom the young Prince
changed clothes, and, thus disguised, he reached the court of the
King.
No one recognized him, but the golden bird began to sing, and the
golden horse commenced to eat, and the lovely maiden ceased to weep.