There was once upon a time a King who lived in a golden palace on the
top of a high hill. He was powerful, wise, and good; his reign had been
a scroll of glory, and he had scattered happiness and plenty on the
people of his kingdom. The King had three sons, and when he felt that
his death was approaching, he grew troubled in his mind as to which of
them should inherit his kingdom. In his country it had been the
everlasting custom for the King to leave his kingdom not to his eldest
son, but to that one of his family whom he considered to be fittest to
rule.
Now the King's eldest son was a soldier, a fine lad and a brave man;
indeed, he was said to be the strongest and bravest youth in the land.
The second son was a scholar; from his earliest youth he had pored over
books, and he remembered what was in them even after he had finished
reading them; he knew all about the habits of animals, and he looked at
the stars through a long telescope of his own invention. The third son
was a fool.
The King was perplexed as to which of these three should inherit his
kingdom, for he reasoned thus: "My eldest son is too wild, my second son
is too clever, and my third son is too foolish." So the King thought the
best thing he could do would be to consult his Fairy Godmother, and he
wrote her a long letter explaining the difficulty.
His Fairy Godmother answered his letter directly. She said she was sorry
she could not come and see him, but that she was kept indoors by a bad
cold. She quite understood the difficulty of the choice, but she advised
the King to send his sons to look for the Silver Mountain, and to leave
his kingdom to him who should find it.
The King said to himself, as soon as he had read this letter: "Of
course; how extremely stupid of me not to have thought of this before!"
So he sent for his sons, and he said: "To-morrow morning I wish all
three of you to start and to look for the Silver Mountain, and I will
leave my kingdom to him who finds it."
Early the next morning the three youths--they were all grown up--started
on their search. The eldest son took his swiftest horse and went off at
a gallop. He had not gone very far before he met a man who was also
riding on a swift horse in the same direction. He asked him where he was
going, and the second man said he was looking for the Silver Mountain,
as he had heard that the man who found it should inherit a rich kingdom.
"That is true," said the King's son, "nevertheless the quest is not for
you; it is only the sons of the King who are entitled to take part in
this quest."
"But," said the stranger, "I intend to fight the King's sons and to kill
them; then I shall find the mountain and inherit the kingdom."
"We shall see about that," said the King's son; and he proposed that
they should fight then and there, which they did, and the King's son
was victorious. He overcame the stranger and killed him, and leaving the
body to be picked by the crows, he went on his way.
After many days, he came to a large town where the palace and chief
buildings were all draped in black, and the people of the place were
walking about with sad faces, talking in whispers. He asked some one
what was the cause of all this grief, and he was told that the chief man
of the country, who some time ago had set out upon some fantastic quest,
had been killed by a robber in the woods, and that it was only now his
bones had been brought home.
"It is for this reason we are sad," said the man, "for we are without a
king."
On hearing this the King's son said: "There is no cause for grief. I
will be your king." And he rode straight to the palace, and dismounting
from his horse walked up the steps of the throne and placed the crown
upon his head, and nobody durst say him nay.
Then the King's son thought to himself: "I have now solved the whole
matter. It is needless for me to search all over the world for a Silver
Mountain which I possibly may never find at all, or which my brothers
may find sooner than I do, in order to inherit a kingdom, when I can
thus gain almost as good a kingdom without any trouble at all."
So he thought no more about the Silver Mountain, or of his father, or of
his ancient home, but he remained in this foreign country and married a
wife, and ruled over it, and he lived in splendour and plenty.
The first thing which the second son did when he started on his quest
was to consult an old scholar who lived in a hermitage, and who was
famous for being the most learned man in the whole world. The King's
second son went to him and said: "I want to find the Silver Mountain in
order that I may inherit my father's kingdom."
The scholar said to him: "It is a good thing that you came to me for
advice. Nobody in the world can help you as well as I can. There is no
such thing as the Silver Mountain, and I daresay you know that already;
nevertheless your father was a wise man to have made this quest the
condition of the inheritance."
"But," said the King's son, "if there is no such thing as the Silver
Mountain, there remains nothing for me to do but to go home and claim my
inheritance."
"Not at all," said the old man. "It is of no avail to say that there is
no such thing as the Silver Mountain, especially when almost everybody
in the world is quite certain that the thing exists. Where your task
lies is to find out what people think is the Silver Mountain, and to
prove to them that it is not silver at all, but an ordinary mountain
just like any other. That is what you must do." And so saying the old
man refused to discuss the matter any further.
So the King's son set out on his quest once more, and on the way he met
many people who were all seeking for the Silver Mountain. They were all
anxious to find it, because they said that the man who found it would be
a great king; and the King's son asked them to guide him to the place
where it was likely to be. This they were willing to do, and after they
had journeyed for many days, through forests and swamps, across large
rivers, down steep valleys, and over wooded hills, they reached a wide
plain; and beyond this plain rose a great chain of mountains, and in the
centre of this chain there towered one mountain higher than the rest,
and it was covered with clouds.
The people pointed to this mountain and said: "Without doubt, that is
the Silver Mountain."
The King's son said he would climb this mountain, and he took the people
with him. The ascent was steep and perilous, and many a time those who
were with him would have turned back, had he not encouraged them and led
them on by his fiery words, and after many days of toil and hardship,
they reached the summit of the mountain, whence they obtained a view
over the whole country.
Then the King's son said to them: "This is the highest mountain in the
whole of the land--the whole of the land is now revealed to us. We know
all there is to be known about this country, and it is quite plain that
this mountain is a mountain just like any other, and that in the whole
world there is no such thing as a Silver Mountain; therefore we will now
go back and tell this to the whole world, and save our friends and our
brothers from wasting their time and exhausting themselves in fruitless
labour over an insane quest."
So they went back to the country, and announced the news far and wide
that there was no such thing as a Silver Mountain, and that those who
had set out on the quest of it had better return to their homes.
Now when the people heard this they were angry, and they threw stones at
the King's son, and he was compelled to flee from their city and to seek
shelter in the old scholar's home. But from that time forward many
people in the country ceased to think of the Silver Mountain any more,
or to search for it, and even among those who were angry with the King's
son there were many who felt that his words were true nevertheless.
The third son started also on the quest. He sought out all the highest
mountains of the country, and convinced himself that none of them could
be the Silver Mountain, and yet he was sure there was such a thing
somewhere, and he persisted in believing this, and in saying it. He
spent many years of fruitless search, but he never gave up the quest,
nor did he ever lose hope that one day he should accomplish it.
One evening, after he had been searching all day, he lay down, footsore
and weary, and he said to himself aloud: "If only the fairies would help
me, I should find the mountain soon enough."
No sooner had he said this than a beautiful fairy stood before him and
said: "I will help you to find the Silver Mountain," and she gave him a
small mirror made of polished steel, whereupon she immediately vanished.
The King's youngest son took the mirror and looked into it, and there he
saw very distinctly the image of his father lying ill, propped up by
pillows, dying and lonely, without any of his children about him. And
the King's youngest son said to himself--
"What does it matter to me whether I inherit the kingdom or not? Before
I think of that I must go back and see my father before he dies. I would
much rather my brothers found the mountain before me, and inherited the
kingdom, than that my father should die without my saying 'Good-bye' to
him."
And he turned back, and made for his home as quickly as possible.
Now the King's palace was on the top of a high hill, and the King's
youngest son approached it from the back, where he had never been before
in his life, and towards evening he emerged from the forest and saw this
hill before him, shining in the sunset, with the King's golden palace at
the summit of it; and in the clear glory of the sunset the hill shone
like silver, and the King's youngest son, as he looked at it, said--
"Why, this is the Silver Mountain!" And as he ran up the hill as fast as
he could he saw that it was of silver after all. So he rushed into his
father's bedroom, crying: "Father, I have found the Silver Mountain--it
was here the whole time--at home--and we have all lived on the top of
it without knowing it!"
[Illustration: TOWARDS THE EVENING HE EMERGED FROM THE FOREST]
The King was very pleased to see his son, and he said: "My son, what you
say is quite true, and you shall inherit my kingdom." And the King
kissed him, and soon after this he died, and the King's son reigned in
his stead, and reigned happily ever after as the King of this country.
[Illustration: HER MOTHER FOUND A SILVER HORSE-SHOE]