Andrew Lang_Fairy Book 06 (11 page)

All this time the king and queen remained in their palace
hungering for their children, but not a word was heard of either
of them or of the generals who had gone to seek for them.

Now there was living in the palace a faithful servant of the
king's called Bensurdatu, who had served him for many years, and
when Bensurdatu saw how grieved the king was, he lifted up his
voice and said to him: 'Your majesty, let me go and seek your
daughters.'

'No, no, Bensurdatu,' replied the king. 'Three daughters have I
lost, and two generals, and shall I lose you also?'

But Bensurdatu said again: 'Let me now go, your majesty; trust
me, and I will bring you back your daughters.'

Then the king gave way, and Bensurdatu set forth, and rode on
till he came to the inn, where he dismounted and asked for food.
It was brought by the two generals, whom he knew at once in spite
of their miserable clothes, and, much astonished, asked them how
in the world they came there.

They told him all their adventures, and he sent for the
innkeeper, and said to him: 'Give them back their garments, and I
will pay everything that they owe you.'

And the innkeeper did as he was bid, and when the two generals
were dressed in their proper clothes, they declared they would
join Bensurdatu, and with him seek for the king's daughters.

The three companions rode on for many miles, and at length they
came to a wild place, without sign of a human being. It was
getting dark, and fearing to be lost on this desolate spot they
pushed on their horses, and at last saw a light in the window of
a tiny hut.

'Who comes there?' asked a voice, as they knocked at the door.

'Oh! have pity on us, and give us a night's shelter,' replied
Bensurdatu; 'we are three tired travellers who have lost our
way.'

Then the door was opened by a very old woman who stood back, and
beckoned them to enter. 'Whence do you come, and whither do you
go?' said she.

'Ah, good woman, we have a heavy task before us,' answered
Bensurdatu, 'we are bound to carry the king's daughters back to
the palace!'

'Oh, unhappy creatures,' cried she, 'you know not what you are
doing! The king's daughters were covered by a thick cloud, and no
one knows where they may now be.'

'Oh, tell us, if you know, my good woman,' entreated Bensurdatu,
'for with them lies all our happiness.'

'Even if I were to tell you,' answered she, 'you could not rescue
them. To do that you would have to go to the very bottom of a
deep river, and though certainly you would find the king's
daughters there, yet the two eldest are guarded by two giants,
and the youngest is watched by a serpent with seven heads.'

The two generals, who stood by listening, were filled with terror
at her words, and wished to return immediately; but Bensurdatu
stood firm, and said: 'Now we have got so far we must carry the
thing through. Tell us where the river is, so that we may get
there as soon as possible.' And the old woman told them, and gave
them some cheese, wine, and bread, so that they should not set
forth starving; and when they had eaten and drunk they laid
themselves down to sleep.

The sun had only just risen above the hills next morning before
they all woke, and, taking leave of the wise woman who had helped
them, they rode on till they came to the river.

'I am the eldest,' said one of the generals, 'and it is my right
to go down first.'

So the others fastened a cord round him, and gave him a little
bell, and let him down into the water. But scarcely had the river
closed above his head when such dreadful rushing sounds and peals
of thunder came crashing round about him that he lost all his
courage, and rang his bell, if perchance it might be heard amidst
all this clamour. Great was his relief when the rope began slowly
to pull him upwards.

Then the other general plunged in; but he fared no better than
the first, and was soon on dry ground again.

'Well, you are a brave pair!' said Bensurdatu, as he tied the
rope round his own waist; 'let us see what will happen to me.'
And when he heard the thunder and clamour round about him he
thought to himself, 'Oh, make as much noise as you like, it won't
hurt me!' When his feet touched the bottom he found himself in a
large, brilliantly lighted hall, and in the middle sat the eldest
princess, and in front of her lay a huge giant, fast asleep.
Directly she saw Bensurdatu she nodded to him, and asked with her
eyes how he had come there.

For answer he drew his sword, and was about to cut off the
giant's head, when she stopped him quickly, and made signs to
hide himself, as the giant was just beginning to wake. 'I smell
the flesh of a man!' murmured he, stretching his great arms.

'Why, how in the world could any man get down here?' replied she;
'you had better go to sleep again.'

So he turned over and went to sleep. Then the princess signed to
Bensurdatu, who drew his sword and cut off the giant's head with
such a blow that it flew into the corner. And the heart of the
princess leapt within her, and she placed a golden crown on the
head of Bensurdatu, and called him her deliverer.

'Now show me where your sisters are,' he said, 'that I may free
them also.'

So the princess opened a door, and led him into another hall,
wherein sat her next sister, guarded by a giant who was fast
asleep. When the second princess saw them, she made a sign to
them to hide themselves, for the giant was showing symptoms of
waking.

'I smell man's flesh!' murmured he, sleepily.

'Now, how could any man get down here?' asked she; 'go to sleep
again.' And as soon as he closed his eyes, Bensurdatu stole out
from his corner, and struck such a blow at his head that it flew
far, far away. The princess could not find words to thank
Bensurdatu for what he had done, and she too placed in his hand a
golden crown.

'Now show me where your youngest sister is,' said he, 'that I may
free her also.'

'Ah! that I fear you will never be able to do,' sighed they, 'for
she is in the power of a serpent with seven heads.'

'Take me to him,' replied Bensurdatu. 'It will be a splendid
fight.'

Then the princess opened a door, and Bensurdatu passed through,
and found himself in a hall that was even larger than the other
two. And there stood the youngest sister, chained fast to the
wall, and before her was stretched a serpent with seven heads,
horrible to see. As Bensurdatu came forward it twisted all its
seven heads in his direction, and then made a quick dart to
snatch him within its grasp. But Bensurdatu drew his sword and
laid about him, till the seven heads were rolling on the floor.
Flinging down his sword he rushed to the princess and broke her
chains, and she wept for joy, and embraced him, and took the
golden crown from off her head, and placed it in his hand.

'Now we must go back to the upper world,' said Bensurdatu, and
led her to the bottom of the river. The other princesses were
waiting there, and he tied the rope round the eldest, and rung
his bell. And the generals above heard, and drew her gently up.
They then unfastened the cord and threw it back into the river,
and in a few moments the second princess stood beside her sister.

So now there were left only Bensurdatu and the youngest princess.
'Dear Bensurdatu,' said she, 'do me a kindness, and let them draw
you up before me. I dread the treachery of the generals.

'No, no,' replied Bensurdatu, 'I certainly will not leave you
down here. There is nothing to fear from my comrades.'

'If it is your wish I will go up then; but first I swear that if
you do not follow to marry me, I shall stay single for the rest
of my life.' Then he bound the rope round her, and the generals
drew her up.

But instead of lowering the rope again into the river, envy at
the courage and success of Bensurdatu so filled the hearts of the
two generals, that they turned away and left him to perish. And,
more than that, they threatened the princesses, and forced them
to promise to tell their parents that it was the two generals who
had set them free. 'And if they should ask you about Bensurdatu,
you must say you have never seen him,' they added; and the
princesses, fearing for their lives, promised everything, and
they rode back to court together.

The king and queen were beside themselves with joy when they saw
their dear children once more. But when the generals had told
their story, and the dangers they had run, the king declared that
they had gained their reward, and that the two eldest princesses
should become their wives.

And now we must see what poor Bensurdatu was doing.

He waited patiently a long, long time, but when the rope never
came back he knew he had been right, and that his comrades had
betrayed him. 'Ah, now I shall never reach the world again,'
murmured he; but being a brave man, and knowing that moaning his
fate would profit him nothing, he rose and began to search
through the three halls, where, perhaps, he might find something
to help him. In the last one stood a dish, covered with food,
which reminded him that he was hungry, and he sat down and ate
and drank.

Months passed away, when, one morning, as he was walking through
the halls, he noticed a purse hanging on the wall, which had
never been there before. He took it down to examine it, and
nearly let it fall with surprise when a voice came from the purse
saying: 'What commands have you?'

'Oh, take me out of this horrible place, and up into the world
again; 'and in a moment he was standing by the river bank, with
the purse tightly grasped in his hand.

'Now let me have the most beautiful ship that ever was built, all
manned and ready for sea.' And there was the ship, with a flag
floating from its mast on which were the words, 'King with the
three crowns.' Then Bensurdatu climbed on board, and sailed away
to the city where the three princesses dwelt; and when he reached
the harbour he blew trumpets and beat drums, so that every one
ran to the doors and windows. And the king heard too, and saw the
beautiful vessel, and said to himself: 'That must indeed be a
mighty monarch, for he has three crowns while I have only one.'
So he hastened to greet the stranger, and invited him to his
castle, for, thought he, 'this will be a fine husband for my
youngest daughter.' Now, the youngest princess had never married,
and had turned a deaf ear to all her wooers.

Such a long time had passed since Bensurdatu had left the palace,
that the king never guessed for a moment that the splendidly clad
stranger before him was the man whom he had so deeply mourned as
dead. 'Noble lord,' said he, 'let us feast and make merry
together, and then, if it seem good to you, do me the honour to
take my youngest daughter to wife.'

And Bensurdatu was glad, and they all sat down to a great feast,
and there were great rejoicings. But only the youngest daughter
was sad, for her thoughts were with Bensurdatu. After they arose
from the table the king said to her, 'Dear child, this mighty
lord does you the honour to ask your hand in marriage.'

'Oh, father,' answered she, 'spare me, I pray you, for I desire
to remain single.'

Then Bensurdatu turned to her, and said: 'And if I were
Bensurdatu, would you give the same answer to me?'

And as she stood silently gazing at him, he added: 'Yes, I am
Bensurdatu; and this is my story.'

The king and queen had their hearts stirred within them at the
tale of his adventures, and when he had ended the king stretched
out his hand, and said: 'Dear Bensurdatu, my youngest daughter
shall indeed be your wife; and when I die my crown shall be
yours. As for the men who have betrayed you, they shall leave the
country and you shall see them no more.'

And the wedding feast was ordered, and rejoicings were held for
three days over the marriage of Bensurdatu and the youngest
princess.

(From the Sicilianische Märchen.)

Once upon a time, there was a king who had three sons. Now it
happened that one day the three princes went out hunting in a
large forest at some distance from their father's palace, and the
youngest prince lost his way, so his brothers had to return home
without him.

For four days the prince wandered through the glades of the
forest, sleeping on moss beneath the stars at night, and by day
living on roots and wild berries. At last, on the morning of the
fifth day, he came to a large open space in the middle of the
forest, and here stood a stately palace; but neither within nor
without was there a trace of human life. The prince entered the
open door and wandered through the deserted rooms without seeing
a living soul. At last he came on a great hall, and in the centre
of the hall was a table spread with dainty dishes and choice
wines. The prince sat down, and satisfied his hunger and thirst,
and immediately afterwards the table disappeared from his sight.
This struck the prince as very strange; but though he continued
his search through all the rooms, upstairs and down, he could
find no one to speak to. At last, just as it was beginning to get
dark, he heard steps in the distance and he saw an old man coming
towards him up the stairs.

'What are you doing wandering about my castle?' asked the old
man.

To whom the prince replied: 'I lost my way hunting in the forest.
If you will take me into your service, I should like to stay with
you, and will serve you faithfully.'

'Very well,' said the old man. 'You may enter my service. You
will have to keep the stove always lit, you will have to fetch
the wood for it from the forest, and you will have the charge of
the black horse in the stables. I will pay you a florin a day,
and at meal times you will always find the table in the hall
spread with food and wine, and you can eat and drink as much as
you require.'