Wonder Tales from Many Lands 2

Wonder Tales from Many Lands 2

“One might think this table had been set for us,” said the Prince. “We

will wait for a while, and then, if no one comes, we will eat, at any

rate.”

 

They waited for some time and then took their places at the table.

At once invisible hands filled the goblets and other invisible hands

passed the dishes.

 

The Prince and his companions ate and drank all they wished, and then

they rose from the table, meaning to look farther through the castle.

 

At this moment the door opened and a tall man with a long grey beard

came into the room. From head to foot he was dressed entirely in

black velvet, even to his cap and shoes, and round his waist his robe

was fastened with three iron bands. In one hand was an ivory wand,

curiously carved; with the other he led a lady so beautiful, and yet so

pale and sad-looking, that the heart ached to look at her. The moment

the Prince saw her he knew her as the one whose picture he had seen

behind the golden curtain—the one whom he had said should be his bride.

 

The Magician, for it was he, spoke at once to the Prince. “I know why

you have come here, and that you hope to win this Princess for your

bride. Many others have come here with the same wish and have failed.

Now you shall have your turn. For three nights you must watch here with

her. If each morning I return and find her still with you, then you

shall have her for a bride after the third morning. But if she is gone,

you shall be turned into a stone statue, such as those you have already

seen about my palace.”

 

“That ought not to be a hard task,” said the Prince. “Gladly will I

watch with her for three nights; if in the morning you find her gone,

I am willing to suffer whatever you will. But my three companions must

also watch with me.”

 

Yes, the Magician was willing to agree to that, so he left the lady

there with the four, and then went away, closing the door behind him.

 

As soon as the Magician had gone the Prince and his followers made

ready to guard the room so that no one could come in to take the lady

away, nor could she herself leave without their knowing it.

 

Long lay down and stretched himself out until he encircled the whole

room, and anyone who went in or out would have to step over him.

Sharpsight sat down to watch, while Broad stood in the doorway and made

himself so broad that no one could possibly have squeezed in past him.

Meanwhile the Prince tried to talk to the lady, but she would not look

at him nor answer him.

 

In this way some time passed, and then suddenly the Prince began to

feel very drowsy. He tried to rouse himself, but in spite of his

efforts his eyes closed, and he fell into a deep sleep.

 

It was not until the early morning that he woke. Then he roused

himself and looked about him. His companions too were only just opening

their eyes, for they, like himself, had been asleep, and the lady was

gone from the room.

 

When the Prince saw this he began to groan and lament, but his

companions told him not to despair.

 

“Wait until I see if I can tell you where she is,” said Sharpsight. He

leaned from the window and looked about.

 

“Yes, I see her,” he said. “A hundred miles away from here is a forest.

In that forest is an oak-tree. On the topmost bough of that oak-tree is

an acorn, and in that acorn is the Princess hidden.”

 

“But what good is it to know where she is unless we can get her back

before the Magician comes?” cried the Prince. “It would take us days to

journey there and to return.”

 

“Not so long as that, Master,” answered Long. “Have patience for a

moment until I see what I can do.” He then stepped outside and made

himself so tall that he could go ten miles at a step. He set Sharpsight

on his shoulder to show him the way, and away he went, and he made such

good time that he was back in the castle again before the Prince could

have walked three times round the room.

 

“Here, Master,” he said, “here is the acorn. Take it and throw it upon

the floor.”

 

The Prince threw the acorn upon the floor, and at once it flew open,

and there stood the Princess before him.

 

Hardly had this happened when the door opened and the Magician came

into the room. When he saw the Princess he gave a cry of rage, and one

of the iron bands about his middle broke with a loud noise.

 

He looked at the Prince, and his eyes flashed as if with red fire.

“This time you have succeeded in keeping the Princess with you,” he

cried, “but do not be too sure that you can do the same thing again.

To-night you shall try once more.”

 

So saying he went away, taking the Princess with him. In the evening he

came again, and again he brought the Princess.

 

“Watch her well,” said he to the Prince, with an evil smile. “Remember,

if she is not still here to-morrow morning you will share the fate of

the others who have tried to watch her and have failed.”

 

“Very well,” answered the Prince. “What must be must be, and I can only

do my best.”

 

The Magician then went away, leaving the Princess with them as before.

 

The Prince and his companions had determined that this night they would

stay awake, whatever happened, but presently their eyelids grew as

heavy as lead, and soon, in spite of themselves, they all fell into a

deep sleep.

 

When they awoke the day was breaking, and the Princess had again

disappeared. The Prince was ready to tear his hair with despair, but

Sharpsight bade him take heart.

 

“Wait until I take a look about,” he said. “If I cannot see her, then

it will be time for you to despair.”

 

He leaned from the window, and first he looked east, and then he looked

west, and then he looked toward the north. “Yes, now I see her,” he

said, “but she is far enough away. Two hundred miles from here is a

desert. In that desert is a rock, in that rock is a golden ring, and

that ring is the Princess.”

 

“That is far away indeed,” groaned the Prince, “and at any moment the

Magician may be here.”

 

“Never mind, Master,” cried Long. “Two hundred miles is not so far when

one can go twenty miles at a step.” He then made himself twice as tall

as the day before, and taking Sharpsight on his shoulders he set out

for the desert.

 

It was not long before he was back again, and in his hand he carried

the golden ring. “If it had not been for Sharpsight,” he said, “I would

have been forced to bring back the whole rock with me, but he fixed his

eyes upon it, and at once it split into a thousand pieces and the ring

fell out. Here! Take the ring, Master, quick, and throw it upon the

floor.”

 

The Prince did so, and as soon as the ring touched the ground it was

transformed into the Princess.

 

At this moment the Magician opened the door and came into the room.

When he saw the Princess he stopped short, and his face turned black

with rage and fear. At the same moment the second band about his middle

flew apart.

 

“Ah, well!” he cried to the Prince, “no doubt you think you are very

clever, but remember there is still another night, and next time you

may not prove so lucky in keeping the Princess with you.”

 

So saying he went away with the Princess, and the Prince saw him no

more until evening. Then for the third time he came, and brought the

Princess with him.

 

“Watch her well,” said he, “for I promise you will not have so easy a

task this time as you have had before.”

 

Then he went away, and the four comrades set themselves to watch. But

again all happened as it had before. In spite of themselves they could

not stay awake. First they nodded and then they snored, and then they

fell into such a deep sleep that if the walls had fallen about them

they would not have known it. For this was an enchanted sleep that the

Magician had thrown upon them in order to take away the Princess.

 

Not until day began to dawn did the four awake, and when they did there

was nothing to be seen of the Princess.

 

“Well, she is not here in the room,” said Sharpsight, “so methinks I’d

better look outside.”

 

Then he leaned from the window, and for a long time he looked about

him. At last he spoke. “Master, I see the Princess, but to bring her

back will not be such an easy task as it was before. Three hundred

miles from here is a sea. At the bottom of the sea is a shell. In that

shell is a pearl, and that pearl is the Princess. But to bring that

pearl up from the sea is a task for Broad as well as Long.”

 

“Very well,” said the Prince, “then Long must take Broad with him on

one shoulder. Only make haste and return again quickly, in heaven’s

name, or the Magician may be here before you are back, and we shall be

turned into stone.”

 

Well, the three servants were willing enough to be off. Long stretched

himself out until he was three times as tall as he had been the first

time, and that was the most he could stretch. Then he went away, thirty

miles at a step. At that rate it was no time before he came to the sea.

But the sea was fathoms deep, and the shell lay at the very bottom of

it, and try as he might he could not reach it.

 

“Now it is my turn,” said Broad. Then he lay down and put his mouth to

the sea and began to drink. He drank and drank and swelled and swelled

until it was wonderful to see him, and in the end he swallowed so much

of the water that it was easy enough for Long to reach down and pick

up the shell.

 

“And now we must make haste,” cried Sharpsight, “for as I look back at

the castle I see that the Magician is already waking.”

 

At once Long took his companions on his shoulders and started back the

way he had come. But Broad had drunk so much water and was so heavy

that Long could not go as fast as he otherwise would. “Broad, you will

have to wait here, and I will come back for you later,” he cried, and

with that he threw Broad down from his shoulder as though he had been a

sack full of grain.

 

Broad had not been expecting such a fall and was not prepared for

it. He gasped and choked, and then the sea he had swallowed rose all

about them; it filled the valley and washed up over the foot of the

mountains. Long was so tall that he was able to wade out of it, though

the water was up to his waist, and Sharpsight too was safe, for he was

on Long’s shoulder; but Broad was like to have been drowned. He only

saved himself by catching hold of Long’s hand, and so he was drawn out

of the water and up on dry land.

 

“That was a pretty trick to play upon me,” he gasped and spluttered.

 

But Long had no time to answer him, for already Sharpsight was

whispering in his ear that the Magician had awakened and was now on

his way to the Prince. He caught Broad by the belt and swung him up on

his shoulder, and this he could easily do, because now Broad was so

shrunken that he was quite light.

 

[Illustration: THERE WAS A GREAT BLACK RAVEN IN THE ROOM WITH THEM]

 

In two more steps Long had reached the castle, but already the Magician

was opening the door of the chamber where the Prince was.

 

“Quick! Quick!” cried Sharpsight. “Throw the pearl in at the window.”

 

And indeed there was no time to be lost. Long threw the pearl in

through the window, and the moment it touched the floor it turned into

the Princess. She stood there before the Prince, no longer pale and

sad, but smiling and as rosy as the dawn.

 

Already the Magician was in the room, with an evil smile upon his face.

When he saw the Princess standing there he gave a cry so loud and

terrible that the whole castle shook with it. And now the third iron

band that was about his waist broke.

 

At once the black velvet robe that had been held about him by the bands

rose and spread into two great black wings. His eyes shrank, his nose

grew long and sharp, and instead of the Magician there was a great

black raven in the room with them. Heavily flapping, it rose from the

ground. Three times round the room it flew, croaking mournfully, and

then out through the window.

 

And now through all the castle arose a stir and hum of life. The stone

figures in the hall stirred and looked about them, and stepped down, no

longer cold dead stone, but living, breathing people. They were those

who had come to the castle to search for the Princess, and had been

bewitched by the Magician and turned into statues; the evil charm was

broken, and they were alive once more.

 

When they found that it was the Prince and his followers who had

delivered them they did not know how to thank them enough. They could

not even grudge the Princess to the Prince, for it was he who had

brought them back to life. They all said they would return with the

Prince to his own country, so as to be at the wedding when he was

married to the Princess.

 

And what a wedding it was! There was enough cake and ale for all to

feast to their hearts’ content.

 

The old King was so happy that he at once made over the kingdom to his

son, that he and his bride might reign.

 

As for the three companions, they ate and drank till they were full,

and then they set out into the world again. The Prince begged and

entreated them to stay with him, but they would not. They were too fond

of travelling about the world, and for all I know they may be in some

corner of it still.

 

 

 

 

THE DWARF WITH THE GOLDEN BEARD

 

A SLAVONIC FAIRY TALE

 

 

THE Princess Beautiful was the daughter of the King of the Silver

Mountains, and she was no less lovely than her name. Because of her

beauty many heroes and princes came to her father’s kingdom, all

seeking her in marriage. The Princess cared for none of them, however,

except the young Prince Dobrotek. Him she loved with all her heart, and

her father was quite willing that she should choose him for a husband,

for the Prince was rich and powerful as well as handsome.

 

The marriage between them was arranged, and the guests from far and

near were invited to attend. Among those asked was a dwarf who had also

been a suitor for the hand of the Princess.

 

This dwarf was a very powerful magician, and as he was very malicious

as well as powerful, he was greatly feared by every one. He was

scarcely two feet high, and so ugly that it was enough to frighten one

only to look at him. His great pride was his beard, which was seven

feet long, and every hair of it was of pure gold. Because of its length

he wore it twisted round and round his neck like a golden collar. Thus

he avoided tripping over it at every step.

 

When this dwarf heard that the Princess was to marry Dobrotek he was

filled with rage and chagrin. In spite of his hideousness he was so

vain of his beard that he could not imagine why the Princess should

have chosen another instead of himself. He swore that even still she

should take him for a husband, and that if she did not do this then she

should marry no one. However, he said nothing of this vow to anyone. He

accepted the invitation to the wedding, and when the day came he was

one of the first of the guests to arrive.

 

All went to the church and took their places, and when the Prince and

Princess stood before the altar they were so handsome that every one

was filled with admiration.

 

The priest opened his book and was just about to make them man and wife

when a frightful noise arose outside. It was a sound of whistling and

roaring and rending. Then the doors were burst open, and a terrible

hurricane swept into the church.

 

The guests were so frightened that they hid themselves under the seats,

but the storm touched none of them. It swept up the aisle and caught up

the Princess Beautiful as though she were a feather. The Prince threw

his arms about her and tried to hold her. But he could do nothing

against such a hurricane. She was torn from his grasp and swept out of

the church and away, no one knew whither.

 

When the storm was over the people came out from under the seats and

looked about them, but look as they might they could see no bride. Only

the Prince was standing before the altar, tearing his hair with despair

because the Princess was lost to him.

 

And well might he despair, for the hurricane that had carried the

Princess away was no common storm. It had been raised by the wicked

enchantments of the dwarf, and had swept Princess Beautiful far away,

over plain and mountain, over sea and forest, to the very castle of the

dwarf himself. There she was lying in an enchanted sleep, and it would

be a bold man who could hope to rescue her.

 

When the King of the Silver Mountains found his daughter gone he was in

a terrible rage. “It was for you to save her,” cried he to the Prince.

“She was your bride, and you should have lost your life before you

allowed her to be torn from you.”

 

To this the Prince answered nothing, for he thought the same himself.

Yet who can stand against magic? Only enchantment, indeed, could have

prevailed against him.

 

“Go!” cried the King, “find her and bring her back to me, or your life

shall answer for it.”

 

The Prince wished nothing better than to go in search of his bride.

Life was worth nothing to him without her, and at once he made ready

to depart. He was in such haste that he stopped for neither sword nor

armour, but leaped upon his horse and rode forth as he was.

 

On and on he rode, many miles and many leagues, but the farther he

rode the less he heard of the Princess, and the more he despaired of

ever finding her. At last he entered a forest so dark and vast that it

seemed to have no end. As he rode on through the shadows he suddenly

heard a sharp and piteous cry. He looked about him to see whence it

came, and presently he found a hare struggling in the clutch of a great

grey owl.

 

The Prince had a kind heart. He seized a stick and quickly drove the

owl away from its prey. For awhile the hare lay stretched out and

panting, but presently it recovered itself.

 

“Prince,” it said to Dobrotek, “you have saved my life, and I am not

ungrateful. I know why you are here and whom you seek. To rescue the

Princess Beautiful will be no easy task. It was the Dwarf of the Golden

Beard who raised the tempest that carried the Princess away. Even now

he holds her a prisoner in his castle. Whoever would rescue her must

first overcome the dwarf, and to do this one must be in possession of

the Sword of Sharpness.”

 

“And where is that sword to be found?” asked the Prince.

 

“On a mountain many leagues away. It is guarded by a dragon who keeps

watch over it night and day. Only when the sun is at its highest

does the dragon sleep, and then but for a few short minutes. To gain

possession of the sword one must ride the wild horse that lives here in

the forest and that moves faster than the wind.”

 

“And can I find that horse and ride him?”

 

“It can be done. Under yonder rock lies a golden bridle. It has lain

hidden there for over a hundred years. With it lies a golden whistle.

The sound of that whistle will call the horse, wherever he is. But he

is very terrible to look upon, for his eyes are like burning coals,

and he breathes smoke and fire from his nostrils. He will come at you

as though to tear you to pieces, but do not be afraid. Cast the bridle

over his head, and he will at once become quite tame and gentle. Then

you can ride him wheresoever you wish. He will bear you to the mountain

where the dragon lies and will help you to gain possession of the

sword.”

 

The Prince thanked the hare for its advice. He lifted the rock from

its place, and there beneath it lay the golden bridle and the golden

whistle. The Prince took up the bridle, and at once the whole glade

was filled with light; and no wonder, for the bridle was studded with

precious stones and glittered like the sun. He raised the whistle to his lips and blew upon it loud and clear.