Andrew Lang_Fairy Book 06 (37 page)

In the morning, at the first peep of dawn, the prince awoke with
a start. But the princess was gone. He aroused his servants and
implored them to tell him what he must do.

'Calm yourself, my lord,' said Quickeye. 'I have found her
already. A hundred miles from here there is a forest. In the
middle of the forest, an old oak, and on the top of the oak, an
acorn. This acorn is the princess. If Long will take me on his
shoulders, we shall soon bring her back.' And sure enough, in
less time than it takes to walk round a cottage, they had
returned from the forest, and Long presented the acorn to the
prince.

'Now, your excellency, throw it on the ground.'

The prince obeyed, and was enchanted to see the princess appear
at his side. But when the sun peeped for the first time over the
mountains, the door burst open as before, and the wizard entered
with a loud laugh. Suddenly he caught sight of the princess; his
face darkened, he uttered a low growl, and one of the iron
circlets gave way with a crash. He seized the young girl by the
hand and bore her away with him.

All that day the prince wandered about the castle, studying the
curious treasures it contained, but everything looked as if life
had suddenly come to a standstill. In one place he saw a prince
who had been turned into stone in the act of brandishing a sword
round which his two hands were clasped. In another, the same doom
had fallen upon a knight in the act of running away. In a third,
a serving man was standing eternally trying to convey a piece of
beef to his mouth, and all around them were others, still
preserving for evermore the attitudes they were in when the
wizard had commanded 'From henceforth be turned into marble.' In
the castle, and round the castle all was dismal and desolate.
Trees there were, but without leaves; fields there were, but no
grass grew on them. There was one river, but it never flowed and
no fish lived in it. No flowers blossomed, and no birds sang.

Three times during the day food appeared, as if by magic, for the
prince and his servants. And it was not until supper was ended
that the wizard appeared, as on the previous evening, and
delivered the princess into the care of the prince.

All four determined that this time they would keep awake at any
cost. But it was no use. Off they went as they had done before,
and when the prince awoke the next morning the room was again
empty.

With a pang of shame, he rushed to find Quickeye. 'Awake! Awake!
Quickeye! Do you know what has become of the princess?'

Quickeye rubbed his eyes and answered: 'Yes, I see her. Two
hundred miles from here there is a mountain. In this mountain is
a rock. In the rock, a precious stone. This stone is the
princess. Long shall take me there, and we will be back before
you can turn round.'

So Long took him on his shoulders and they set out. At every
stride they covered twenty miles, and as they drew near Quickeye
fixed his burning eyes on the mountain; in an instant it split
into a thousand pieces, and in one of these sparkled the precious
stone. They picked it up and brought it to the prince, who flung
it hastily down, and as the stone touched the floor the princess
stood before him. When the wizard came, his eyes shot forth
flames of fury. Cric-crac was heard, and another of his iron
bands broke and fell. He seized the princess by the hand and led
her off, growling louder than ever.

All that day things went on exactly as they had done the day
before. After supper the wizard brought back the princess, and
looking him straight in the eyes he said, 'We shall see which of
us two will gain the prize after all!'

That night they struggled their very hardest to keep awake, and
even walked about instead of sitting down. But it was quite
useless. One after another they had to give in, and for the third
time the princess slipped through their fingers.

When morning came, it was as usual the prince who awoke the
first, and as usual, the princess being gone, he rushed to
Quickeye.

'Get up, get up, Quickeye, and tell me where is the princess?'

Quickeye looked about for some time without answering. 'Oh, my
lord, she is far, very far. Three hundred miles away there lies a
black sea. In the middle of this sea there is a little shell, and
in the middle of the shell is fixed a gold ring. That gold ring
is the princess. But do not vex your soul; we will get her. Only
to-day, Long must take Broad with him. He will be wanted badly.'

So Long took Quickeye on one shoulder, and Broad on the other,
and they set out. At each stride they left thirty miles behind
them. When they reached the black sea, Quickeye showed them the
spot where they must seek the shell. But though Long stretched
down his hand as far as it would go, he could not find the shell,
for it lay at the bottom of the sea.

'Wait a moment, comrades, it will be all right. I will help you,'
said Broad.

Then he swelled himself out so that you would have thought the
world could hardly have held him, and stooping down he drank. He
drank so much at every mouthful, that only a minute or so passed
before the water had sunk enough for Long to put his hand to the
bottom. He soon found the shell, and pulled the ring out. But
time had been lost, and Long had a double burden to carry. The
dawn was breaking fast before they got back to the castle, where
the prince was waiting for them in an agony of fear.

Soon the first rays of the sun were seen peeping over the tops of
the mountains. The door burst open, and finding the prince
standing alone the wizard broke into peals of wicked laughter.
But as he laughed a loud crash was heard, the window fell into a
thousand pieces, a gold ring glittered in the air, and the
princess stood before the enchanter. For Quickeye, who was
watching from afar, had told Long of the terrible danger now
threatening the prince, and Long, summoning all his strength for
one gigantic effort, had thrown the ring right through the
window.

The wizard shrieked and howled with rage, till the whole castle
trembled to its foundations. Then a crash was heard, the third
band split in two, and a crow flew out of the window.

Then the princess at length broke the enchanted silence, and
blushing like a rose, gave the prince her thanks for her
unlooked-for deliverance.

But it was not only the princess who was restored to life by the
flight of the wicked black crow. The marble figures became men
once more, and took up their occupations just as they had left
them off. The horses neighed in the stables, the flowers
blossomed in the garden, the birds flew in the air, the fish
darted in the water. Everywhere you looked, all was life, all was
joy!

And the knights who had been turned into stone came in a body to
offer their homage to the prince who had set them free.

'Do not thank me,' he said, 'for I have done nothing. Without my
faithful servants, Long, Broad, and Quickeye, I should even have
been as one of you.'

With these words he bade them farewell, and departed with the
princess and his faithful companions for the kingdom of his
father.

The old king, who had long since given up all hope, wept for joy
at the sight of his son, and insisted that the wedding should
take place as soon as possible.

All the knights who had been enchanted in the Iron Castle were
invited to the ceremony, and after it had taken place, Long,
Broad, and Quickeye took leave of the young couple, saying that
they were going to look for more work.

The prince offered them all their hearts could desire if they
would only remain with him, but they replied that an idle life
would not please them, and that they could never be happy unless
they were busy, so they went away to seek their fortunes, and for
all I know are seeking still.

(Contes populaires. Traduits par Louis Léger. Paris: Leroux,
éditeur.)

There was once upon a time a woman who had an only daughter. When
the child was about seven years old she used to pass every day,
on her way to school, an orchard where there was a wild plum
tree, with delicious ripe plums hanging from the branches. Each
morning the child would pick one, and put it into her pocket to
eat at school. For this reason she was called Prunella. Now, the
orchard belonged to a witch. One day the witch noticed the child
gathering a plum, as she passed along the road. Prunella did it
quite innocently, not knowing that she was doing wrong in taking
the fruit that hung close to the roadside. But the witch was
furious, and next day hid herself behind the hedge, and when
Prunella came past, and put out her hand to pluck the fruit, she
jumped out and seized her by the arm.

'Ah! you little thief!' she exclaimed. 'I have caught you at
last. Now you will have to pay for your misdeeds.'

The poor child, half dead with fright, implored the old woman to
forgive her, assuring her that she did not know she had done
wrong, and promising never to do it again. But the witch had no
pity, and she dragged Prunella into her house, where she kept her
till the time should come when she could have her revenge.

As the years passed Prunella grew up into a very beautiful girl.
Now her beauty and goodness, instead of softening the witch's
heart, aroused her hatred and jealousy.

One day she called Prunella to her, and said: 'Take this basket,
go to the well, and bring it back to me filled with water. If you
don't I will kill you.'

The girl took the basket, went and let it down into the well
again and again. But her work was lost labour. Each time, as she
drew up the basket, the water streamed out of it. At last, in
despair, she gave it up, and leaning against the well she began
to cry bitterly, when suddenly she heard a voice at her side
saying 'Prunella, why are you crying?'

Turning round she beheld a handsome youth, who looked kindly at
her, as if he were sorry for her trouble.

'Who are you,' she asked, 'and how do you know my name?'

'I am the son of the witch,' he replied, 'and my name is
Bensiabel. I know that she is determined that you shall die, but
I promise you that she shall not carry out her wicked plan. Will
you give me a kiss, if I fill your basket?'

'No,' said Prunella, 'I will not give you a kiss, because you are
the son of a witch.'

'Very well,' replied the youth sadly. 'Give me your basket and I
will fill it for you.' And he dipped it into the well, and the
water stayed in it. Then the girl returned to the house, carrying
the basket filled with water. When the witch saw it, she became
white with rage, and exclaimed 'Bensiabel must have helped you.'
And Prunella looked down, and said nothing.

'Well, we shall see who will win in the end,' said the witch, in
a great rage.

The following day she called the girl to her and said: 'Take this
sack of wheat. I am going out for a little; by the time I return
I shall expect you to have made it into bread. If you have not
done it I will kill you.' Having said this she left the room,
closing and locking the door behind her.

Poor Prunella did not know what to do. It was impossible for her
to grind the wheat, prepare the dough, and bake the bread, all in
the short time that the witch would be away. At first she set to
work bravely, but when she saw how hopeless her task was, she
threw herself on a chair, and began to weep bitterly. She was
roused from her despair by hearing Bensiabel's voice at her side
saying: 'Prunella, Prunella, do not weep like that. If you will
give me a kiss I will make the bread, and you will be saved.'

'I will not kiss the son of a witch,' replied Prunella.

But Bensiabel took the wheat from her, and ground it, and made
the dough, and when the witch returned the bread was ready baked
in the oven.

Turning to the girl, with fury in her voice, she said: 'Bensiabel
must have been here and helped you;' and Prunella looked down,
and said nothing.

'We shall see who will win in the end,' said the witch, and her
eyes blazed with anger.

Next day she called the girl to her and said: 'Go to my sister,
who lives across the mountains. She will give you a casket, which
you must bring back to me.' This she said knowing that her
sister, who was a still more cruel and wicked witch than herself,
would never allow the girl to return, but would imprison her and
starve her to death. But Prunella did not suspect anything, and
set out quite cheerfully. On the way she met Bensiabel.

'Where are you going, Prunella?' he asked.

'I am going to the sister of my mistress, from whom I am to fetch
a casket.'

'Oh poor, poor girl!' said Bensiabel. 'You are being sent
straight to your death. Give me a kiss, and I will save you.'

But again Prunella answered as before, 'I will not kiss the son
of a witch.'

'Nevertheless, I will save your life,' said Bensiabel, 'for I
love you better than myself. Take this flagon of oil, this loaf
of bread, this piece of rope, and this broom. When you reach the
witch's house, oil the hinges of the door with the contents of
the flagon, and throw the loaf of bread to the great fierce
mastiff, who will come to meet you. When you have passed the dog,
you will see in the courtyard a miserable woman trying in vain to
let down a bucket into the well with her plaited hair. You must
give her the rope. In the kitchen you will find a still more
miserable woman trying to clean the hearth with her tongue; to
her you must give the broom. You will see the casket on the top
of a cupboard, take it as quickly as you can, and leave the house
without a moment's delay. If you do all this exactly as I have
told you, you will not be killed.'

So Prunella, having listened carefully to his instructions, did
just what he had told her. She reached the house, oiled the
hinges of the door, threw the loaf to the dog, gave the poor
woman at the well the rope, and the woman in the kitchen the
broom, caught up the casket from the top of the cupboard, and
fled with it out of the house. But the witch heard her as she ran
away, and rushing to the window called out to the woman in the
kitchen: 'Kill that thief, I tell you!'