Andrew Lang_Fairy Book 08 (2 page)

At supper that night the queen offered the king all sorts of nice
things to eat and drink, but he declared he was not hungry, and
went early to bed.

The queen repented bitterly her promise to the girl, but it was too
late to recall it; for Ilonka had already entered the king's room,
where he lay anxiously waiting for something, he knew not what.
All of a sudden he saw a lovely maiden who bent over him and said:
'My dearest love, I am yours and you are mine. Speak to me, for I
am your Ilonka.'

At these words the king's heart bounded within him. He sprang up
and embraced and kissed her, and she told him all her adventures
since the moment he had left her. And when he heard all that
Ilonka had suffered, and how he had been deceived, he vowed he
would be revenged; so he gave orders that the swineherd, his wife
and daughter should all be hanged; and so they were.

The next day the king was married, with great rejoicings, to the fair
Ilonka; and if they are not yet dead—why, they are still living.

(From Ungarische Mahrehen.)

Once upon a time there was a king who had an only son. When the
lad was about eighteen years old his father had to go to fight in a
war against a neighbouring country, and the king led his troops in
person. He bade his son act as Regent in his absence, but ordered
him on no account to marry till his return.

Time went by. The prince ruled the country and never even thought
of marrying. But when he reached his twenty-fifth birthday he
began to think that it might be rather nice to have a wife, and he
thought so much that at last he got quite eager about it. He
remembered, however, what his father had said, and waited some
time longer, till at last it was ten years since the king went out to
war. Then the prince called his courtiers about him and set off with
a great retinue to seek a bride. He hardly knew which way to go, so
he wandered about for twenty days, when, suddenly, he found
himself in his father's camp.

The king was delighted to see his son, and had a great many
questions to ask and answer; but when he heard that instead of
quietly waiting for him at home the prince was starting off to seek a
wife he was very angry, and said: 'You may go where you please
but I will not leave any of my people with you.'

Only one faithful servant stayed with the prince and refused to part
from him. They journeyed over hill and dale till they came to a
place called Goldtown. The King of Goldtown had a lovely
daughter, and the prince, who soon heard about her beauty, could
not rest till he saw her.

He was very kindly received, for he was extremely good-looking
and had charming manners, so he lost no time in asking for her hand
and her parents gave her to him with joy. The wedding took place
at once, and the feasting and rejoicings went on for a whole month.
At the end of the month they set off for home, but as the journey
was a long one they spent the first evening at an inn. Everyone in
the house slept, and only the faithful servant kept watch. About
midnight he heard three crows, who had flown to the roof, talking
together.

'That's a handsome couple which arrived here tonight. It seems
quite a pity they should lose their lives so soon.'

'Truly,' said the second crow; 'for to-morrow, when midday
strikes, the bridge over the Gold Stream will break just as they are
driving over it. But, listen! whoever overhears and tells what we
have said will be turned to stone up to his knees.'

The crows had hardly done speaking when away they flew. And
close upon them followed three pigeons.

'Even if the prince and princess get safe over the bridge they will
perish,' said they; 'for the king is going to send a carriage to meet
them which looks as new as paint. But when they are seated in it a
raging wind will rise and whirl the carriage away into the clouds.
Then it will fall suddenly to earth, and they will be killed. But
anyone who hears and betrays what we have said will be turned to
stone up to his waist.'

With that the pigeons flew off and three eagles took their places,
and this is what they said:

'If the young couple does manage to escape the dangers of the
bridge and the carriage, the king means to send them each a
splendid gold embroidered robe. When they put these on they will
be burnt up at once. But whoever hears and repeats this will turn to
stone from head to foot.'

Early next morning the travellers got up and breakfasted. They
began to tell each other their dreams. At last the servant said:

'Gracious prince, I dreamt that if your Royal Highness would grant
all I asked we should get home safe and sound; but if you did not
we should certainly be lost. My dreams never deceive me, so I
entreat you to follow my advice during the rest of the journey.'

'Don't make such a fuss about a dream,' said the prince; 'dreams are
but clouds. Still, to prevent your being anxious I will promise to do
as you wish.'

With that they set out on their journey.

At midday they reached the Gold Stream. When they got to the
bridge the servant said: 'Let us leave the carriage here, my prince,
and walk a little way. The town is not far off and we can easily get
another carriage there, for the wheels of this one are bad and will
not hold out much longer.'

The prince looked well at the carriage. He did not think it looked so
unsafe as his servant said; but he had given his word and he held to
it.

They got down and loaded the horses with the luggage. The prince
and his bride walked over the bridge, but the servant said he would
ride the horses through the stream so as to water and bathe them.

They reached the other side without harm, and bought a new
carriage in the town, which was quite near, and set off once more
on their travels; but they had not gone far when they met a
messenger from the king who said to the prince: 'His Majesty has
sent your Royal Highness this beautiful carriage so that you may
make a fitting entry into your own country and amongst your own
people.'

The prince was so delighted that he could not speak. But the
servant said: 'My lord, let me examine this carriage first and then
you can get in if I find it is all right; otherwise we had better stay in
our own.'

The prince made no objections, and after looking the carriage well
over the servant said: 'It is as bad as it is smart'; and with that he
knocked it all to pieces, and they went on in the one that they had
bought.

At last they reached the frontier; there another messenger was
waiting for them, who said that the king had sent two splendid
robes for the prince and his bride, and begged that they would wear
them for their state entry. But the servant implored the prince to
have nothing to do with them, and never gave him any peace till he
had obtained leave to destroy the robes.

The old king was furious when he found that all his arts had failed;
that his son still lived and that he would have to give up the crown
to him now he was married, for that was the law of the land. He
longed to know how the prince had escaped, and said: 'My dear
son, I do indeed rejoice to have you safely back, but I cannot
imagine why the beautiful carriage and the splendid robes I sent did
not please you; why you had them destroyed.'

'Indeed, sire,' said the prince, 'I was myself much annoyed at their
destruction; but my servant had begged to direct everything on the
journey and I had promised him that he should do so. He declared
that we could not possibly get home safely unless I did as he told
me.'

The old king fell into a tremendous rage. He called his Council
together and condemned the servant to death.

The gallows was put up in the square in front of the palace. The
servant was led out and his sentence read to him.

The rope was being placed round his neck, when he begged to be
allowed a few last words. 'On our journey home,' he said, 'we spent
the first night at an inn. I did not sleep but kept watch all night.'
And then he went on to tell what the crows had said, and as he
spoke he turned to stone up to his knees. The prince called to him
to say no more as he had proved his innocence. But the servant paid
no heed to him, and by the time his story was done he had turned to
stone from head to foot.

Oh! how grieved the prince was to lose his faithful servant! And
what pained him most was the thought that he was lost through his
very faithfulness, and he determined to travel all over the world and
never rest till he found some means of restoring him to life.

Now there lived at Court an old woman who had been the prince's
nurse. To her he confided all his plans, and left his wife, the
princess, in her care. 'You have a long way before you, my son,'
said the old woman; 'you must never return till you have met with
Lucky Luck. If he cannot help you no one on earth can.'

So the prince set off to try to find Lucky Luck. He walked and
walked till he got beyond his own country, and he wandered
through a wood for three days but did not meet a living being in it.
At the end of the third day he came to a river near which stood a
large mill. Here he spent the night. When he was leaving next
morning the miller asked him: 'My gracious lord, where are you
going all alone?'

And the prince told him.

'Then I beg your Highness to ask Lucky Luck this question: Why is
it that though I have an excellent mill, with all its machinery
complete, and get plenty of grain to grind, I am so poor that I
hardly know how to live from one day to another?'

The prince promised to inquire, and went on his way. He wandered
about for three days more, and at the end of the third day saw a
little town. It was quite late when he reached it, but he could
discover no light anywhere, and walked almost right through it
without finding a house where he could turn in. But far away at the
end of the town he saw a light in a window. He went straight to it
and in the house were three girls playing a game together. The
prince asked for a night's lodging and they took him in, gave him
some supper and got a room ready for him, where he slept.

Next morning when he was leaving they asked where he was going
and he told them his story. 'Gracious prince,' said the maidens, 'do
ask Lucky Luck how it happens that here we are over thirty years
old and no lover has come to woo us, though we are good, pretty,
and very industrious.'

The prince promised to inquire, and went on his way.

Then he came to a great forest and wandered about in it from
morning to night and from night to morning before he got near the
other end. Here he found a pretty stream which was different from
other streams as, instead of flowing, it stood still and began to talk:
'Sir prince, tell me what brings you into these wilds? I must have
been flowing here a hundred years and more and no one has ever
yet come by.'

'I will tell you,' answered the prince, 'if you will divide yourself so
that I may walk through.'

The stream parted at once, and the prince walked through without
wetting his feet; and directly he got to the other side he told his
story as he had promised.

'Oh, do ask Lucky Luck,' cried the brook, 'why, though I am such a
clear, bright, rapid stream I never have a fish or any other living
creature in my waters.'

The prince said he would do so, and continued his journey.

When he got quite clear of the forest he walked on through a lovely
valley till he reached a little house thatched with rushes, and he
went in to rest for he was very tired.

Everything in the house was beautifully clean and tidy, and a
cheerful honest-looking old woman was sitting by the fire.

'Good-morning, mother,' said the prince.

'May Luck be with you, my son. What brings you into these parts?'

'I am looking for Lucky Luck,' replied the prince.

'Then you have come to the right place, my son, for I am his
mother. He is not at home just now, he is out digging in the
vineyard. Do you go too. Here are two spades. When you find him
begin to dig, but don't speak a word to him. It is now eleven
o'clock. When he sits down to eat his dinner sit beside him and eat
with him. After dinner he will question you, and then tell him all
your troubles freely. He will answer whatever you may ask.'

With that she showed him the way, and the prince went and did just
as she had told him. After dinner they lay down to rest.

All of a sudden Lucky Luck began to speak and said: 'Tell me, what
sort of man are you, for since you came here you have not spoken a
word?'

'I am not dumb,' replied the young man, 'but I am that unhappy
prince whose faithful servant has been turned to stone, and I want
to know how to help him.'

'And you do well, for he deserves everything. Go back, and when
you get home your wife will just have had a little boy. Take three
drops of blood from the child's little finger, rub them on your
servant's wrists with a blade of grass and he will return to life.'

'I have another thing to ask,' said the prince, when he had thanked
him. 'In the forest near here is a fine stream but not a fish or other
living creature in it. Why is this?'

'Because no one has ever been drowned in the stream. But take
care, in crossing, to get as near the other side as you can before you
say so, or you may be the first victim yourself.'

'Another question, please, before I go. On my way here I lodged
one night in the house of three maidens. All were well-mannered,
hard-working, and pretty, and yet none has had a wooer. Why was
this?'

'Because they always throw out their sweepings in the face of the
sun.'

'And why is it that a miller, who has a large mill with all the best
machinery and gets plenty of corn to grind is so poor that he can
hardly live from day to day?'