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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Polish Fairy Tales, by A. J. Glinski
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Polish Fairy Tales
+
+Author: A. J. Glinski
+
+Illustrator: Cecile Walton
+
+Translator: Maude Ashurst Biggs
+
+Release Date: July 8, 2011 [EBook #36668]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK POLISH FAIRY TALES ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Jana Srna, Matthew Wheaton and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                           POLISH FAIRY TALES
+
+              [Illustration: THE FAIRY GIRLS MAKE THE CARPET]
+
+
+
+
+                           POLISH FAIRY TALES
+
+
+                       TRANSLATED FROM A J GLINSKI
+                         By MAUDE ASHURST BIGGS
+
+                      ILLUSTRATED By CECILE WALTON
+
+
+                   LONDON: JOHN LANE THE BODLEY HEAD
+                     NEW YORK JOHN LANE COMPANY 1920
+
+
+   _The Mayflower Press, Plymouth, England._ William Brendon & Son, Ltd.
+
+
+       [Illustration: The pictures in this book are dedicated to
+       my sons ... Gavril and Teddy.              Cecile Walton.]
+
+
+
+
+TALES FROM POLAND
+
+
+These are selections from a large collection made by A. J. Glinski,
+printed at Wilna in 1862. These fairy tales come from a far past and may
+even date from primitive Aryan times. They represent the folklore
+current among the peasantry of the Eastern provinces of Poland, and also
+in those provinces usually known as White Russia.
+
+They were set down by Glinski just as they were related to him by the
+peasants.
+
+In the translation it was of course necessary to shorten them
+considerably; the continual repetition--however quaint and fascinating
+in the original--cannot easily be reproduced. Portions, too, are often
+told in rhyme, or in a species of rhyming prose that we associate with
+the ancient ballad. The obvious likenesses between these and the
+folklore of Germany, the Celtic nations, or to the Indian fairy-tales,
+will strike every reader.
+                                                 MAUDE ASHURST BIGGS.
+
+
+
+
+  CONTENTS
+
+
+  THE FROG PRINCESS
+
+  PRINCESS MIRANDA AND PRINCE HERO
+
+  THE EAGLES
+
+  THE WHIRLWIND
+
+  THE GOOD FERRYMAN AND THE WATER NYMPHS
+
+  THE PRINCESS OF THE BRAZEN MOUNTAIN
+
+  THE BEAR IN THE FOREST HUT
+
+  APPENDIX
+
+
+
+
+THE FROG PRINCESS
+
+
+There was once a king, who was very old; but he had three grown-up sons.
+So he called them to him, and said:
+
+"My dear sons, I am very old, and the cares of government press heavily
+upon me. I must therefore give them over to one of you. But as it is the
+law among us, that no unmarried prince may be King, I wish you all to
+get married, and whoever chooses the best wife shall be my successor."
+
+So they determined each to go a different way, and settled it thus.
+They went to the top of a very high tower, and each one at a given
+signal shot an arrow in a different direction to the others. Wherever
+their arrows fell they were to go in search of their future wives.
+
+The eldest prince's arrow fell on a palace in the city, where lived a
+senator, who had a beautiful daughter; so he went there, and married
+her.
+
+The second prince's arrow struck upon a country-house, where a very
+pretty young lady, the daughter of a rich gentleman, was sitting; so he
+went there, and proposed to her, and they were married.
+
+But the youngest prince's arrow shot through a green wood, and fell into
+a lake. He saw his arrow floating among the reeds, and a frog sitting
+thereon, looking fixedly at him.
+
+But the marshy ground was so unsafe that he could not venture upon it;
+so he sat down in despair.
+
+"What is the matter, prince?" asked the frog.
+
+"What is the matter? Why, I cannot reach that arrow on which you are
+sitting."
+
+"Take me for your wife, and I will give it to you."
+
+"But how can you be my wife, little frog?"
+
+"That is just what has got to be. You know that you shot your arrow from
+the tower, thinking that where it fell, you would find a loving wife; so
+you will have her in me."
+
+"You are very wise, I see, little frog. But tell me, how can I marry
+you, or introduce you to my father? And what will the world say?"
+
+"Take me home with you, and let nobody see me. Tell them that you have
+married an Eastern lady, who must not be seen by any man, except her
+husband, nor even by another woman."
+
+The prince considered a little. The arrow had now floated to the margin
+of the lake; he took the arrow from the little frog, put her in his
+pocket, carried her home, and then went to bed, sighing very deeply.
+
+Next morning the king was told that all his sons had got married; so he
+called them all together, and said:
+
+"Well children, are you all pleased with your wives?"
+
+"Very pleased indeed, father and king."
+
+"Well, we shall see who has chosen best. Let each of my daughters-in-law
+weave me a carpet by to-morrow, and the one whose carpet is the most
+beautiful shall be queen."
+
+The elder princes hastened at once to their ladies; but the youngest,
+when he reached home, was in despair.
+
+"What is the matter, prince?" asked the frog.
+
+"What is the matter? My father has ordered that each of his
+daughters-in-law shall weave him a carpet, and the one whose carpet
+proves the most beautiful shall be first in rank. My brothers' wives are
+most likely working at their looms already. But you, little frog,
+although you can give back an arrow, and talk like a human being, will
+not be able to weave a carpet, as far as I can see."
+
+"Don't be afraid," she said; "go to sleep, and before you wake the
+carpet shall be ready."
+
+So he lay down, and went to sleep.
+
+But the little frog stood on her hind-legs in the window and sang:
+
+    "Ye breezes that blow, ye winds that sigh,
+      Come hither on airy wing;
+    And all of you straight to my dwelling hie,
+      And various treasures bring.
+        Two fleeces I crave of the finest wool,
+        And of the loveliest flowers a basketful;
+        From the depths of the ocean bring sands of gold,
+        And pearl-drops of lustre manifold;
+        That so I may fashion a carpet bright,
+        Adorned with fair flow'rets and gems of light,
+        And weave it in one short day and night,
+        When my true love's hands must the treasure hold."
+
+There was a gentle murmur of the breezes, and from the sunbeams
+descended seven lovely maidens, who floated into the room, carrying
+baskets of various coloured wools, pearls, and flowers. They curtsied
+deeply to the little frog, and in a few minutes they wove a wonderfully
+beautiful carpet; then they curtsied again, and flew away.
+
+Meanwhile the wives of the other princes bought the most beautifully
+coloured wools, and the best designs they could find, and worked hard at
+their looms all the next day.
+
+Then all the princes came before the king, and spread out their carpets
+before him.
+
+The king looked at the first and the second; but when he came to the
+third, he exclaimed:
+
+"That's the carpet for me! I give the first place to my youngest son's
+wife; but there must be another trial yet."
+
+And he ordered that each of his daughters-in-law should make him a cake
+next day; and the husband of the one whose cake proved the best should
+be his successor.
+
+The youngest prince came back to his frog wife; he looked very
+thoughtful, and sighed deeply.
+
+"What is the matter, prince?" she asked.
+
+"My father demands another proof of skill; and I am not so sure that we
+shall succeed so well as before; for how can you bake a cake?"
+
+"Do not be afraid," she said: "Lie down, and sleep; and when you wake
+you will be in a happier frame of mind."
+
+The prince went to sleep; and the frog sprang up to the window, and
+sang:
+
+    "Ye breezes that blow, ye winds that sigh,
+      Come hither on airy wing;
+    And all of you straight to my dwelling hie,
+      These various gifts to bring.
+        From the sunbeams bright
+        Bring me heat and light;
+        And soft waters distil
+        From the pure flowing rill.
+        From the flowers of the field
+        The sweet odours they yield.
+        From the wheatfields obtain
+        Five full measures of grain,
+        That so I may bake
+        In the night-time a cake,
+        For my true love's sake."
+
+The winds began to rise, and the seven beautiful maidens floated down
+into the room, carrying baskets, with flour, water, sweetmeats, and all
+sorts of dainties. They curtsied to the little frog, and got the cake
+ready in a few minutes; curtsied again, and flew away.
+
+The next day the three princes brought their cakes to the king. They
+were all very good; but when he tasted the one made by his youngest
+son's wife, he exclaimed:
+
+"That is the cake for me! light, floury, white, and delicious! I see, my
+son, you have made the best choice; but we must wait a little longer."
+
+The two elder sons went away much depressed; but the youngest greatly
+elated. When he reached home he took up his little frog, stroked and
+kissed her, and said:
+
+"Tell me, my love, how it was that you, being only a little frog, could
+weave such a beautiful carpet, or make such a delicious cake?"
+
+"Because, my prince, I am not what I seem. I am a princess, and my
+mother is the renowned Queen of Light, and a great enchantress. But she
+has many enemies, who, as they could not injure her, were always seeking
+to destroy me. To conceal me from them she was obliged to turn me into a
+frog; and for seven years I have been forced to stay in the marsh where
+you found me. But under this frog-skin I am really more beautiful than
+you can imagine; yet until my mother has conquered all her enemies I
+must wear this disguise; after that takes place you shall see me as I
+really am."
+
+While they were talking two courtiers entered, with the king's orders to
+the young prince, to come to a banquet at the king's palace, and bring
+his wife with him, as his brothers were doing by theirs.
+
+He knew not what to do; but the little frog said:
+
+"Do not be afraid, my prince. Go to your father alone; and when he asks
+for me, it will begin to rain. You must then say that your wife will
+follow you; but she is now bathing in May-dew. When it lightens say that
+I am dressing; and when it thunders, that I am coming."
+
+The prince, trusting to her word, set out for the palace; and the frog
+jumped up to the window, and standing on her hind-legs, began to sing:
+
+    "Ye breezes that blow, ye winds that sigh,
+      Come hither on airy wing;
+    And all of you straight to my dwelling hie,
+      These several gifts to bring.
+      My beauty of yore;
+      And my bright youth once more;
+      All my dresses so fair;
+      And my jewels so rare;
+      And let me delight
+      My dear love by the sight."
+
+Then the seven beautiful damsels, who were the handmaidens of the
+princess--when she lived with her mother--floated on the sunbeams into
+the room. They curtsied, walked three times round her, and pronounced
+some magical words.
+
+Then the frog-skin fell off her, and she stood among them a miracle of
+beauty, and the lovely princess she was.
+
+Meanwhile the prince, her husband, had arrived at the royal
+banquet-hall, which was already full of guests. The old king welcomed
+him warmly, and asked him:
+
+"Where is your wife, my son?"
+
+Then a light rain began to fall, and the prince said:
+
+"She will not be long; she is now bathing herself in May-dew."
+
+Then came a flash of lightning, which illuminated all the palace, and he
+said:
+
+"She is now adorning herself."
+
+But when it thundered, he ran to the door exclaiming:
+
+"Here she is!"
+
+And the lovely princess came in, seeming to bring the sunshine with her.
+They all stood amazed at her beauty. The king could not contain his
+delight; and she seemed to him all the more beautiful, because he
+thought her the very image of his long-deceased queen. The prince
+himself was no less astonished and overjoyed to find such loveliness in
+her, whom he had only as yet seen in the shape of a little frog.
+
+"Tell me, my son," said the king, "why you did not let me know what a
+fortunate choice you had made?"
+
+The prince told him everything in a whisper; and the king said:
+
+"Go home then, my son, at once, and pick up that frog-skin of hers;
+throw it in the fire, and come back here as fast as you can. Then she
+will have to remain just as she is now."
+
+The prince did as his father told him, went home, and threw the
+frog-skin into the fire, where it was at once consumed.
+
+But things did not turn out as they expected; for the lovely princess,
+on coming home, sought for her frog-skin, and not finding it, began to
+cry bitterly. When the prince confessed the truth, she shrieked aloud,
+and taking out a green poppy-head, threw it at him. He went to sleep at
+once; but she sprang up to the window, sang her songs to the winds; upon
+which she was changed into a duck, and flew away.
+
+The prince woke up in the morning, and grieved sadly, when he found his
+beautiful princess gone.
+
+Then he got on horseback, and set out to find her, inquiring everywhere
+for the kingdom of the Queen of Light--his princess's mother--to whom he
+supposed she must have fled.
+
+He rode on for a very, very long time, till one day he came into a wide
+plain, all covered with poppies in full flower, the odour of which so
+overpowered him, that he could scarce keep upright in his saddle. Then
+he saw a queer little house, supported on four crooked legs. There was
+no door to the house; but knowing what he ought to do, he said:
+
+    "Little house, move
+      On your crooked legs free;
+    Turn your back to the wood,
+      And your front door to me."
+
+The hut with the crooked legs made a creaking noise, and turned round,
+with its door towards the prince. He went straight in, and found an old
+fury, whose name was Jandza,[1] inside; she was spinning from a distaff,
+and singing.
+
+[1] _Jandza_ pronounced Yen-jar.
+
+"How are you, prince?" she said, "what brings you here?"
+
+So the prince told her, and she said:
+
+"You have done wisely to tell me the truth. I know your bride, the
+beautiful daughter of the Queen of Light; she flies to my house
+daily, in the shape of a duck, and this is where she sits. Hide yourself
+under the table, and watch your opportunity to lay hold of her. Hold her
+fast, whatever shapes she assumes; when she is tired she will turn into
+a spindle; you must then break the spindle in two, and you will find
+that which you are seeking."
+
+[Illustration: THE LITTLE HOUSE TURNS]
+
+Presently the duck flew in, sat down beside the old fury, and began to
+preen her feathers with her beak. The prince seized her by the wing. The
+duck quacked, fluttered, and struggled to get loose. But seeing this was
+useless she changed herself into a pigeon, then into a hawk, and then
+into a serpent, which so frightened the prince, that he let her go; on
+which she became a duck again, quacked aloud, and flew out of the
+window.
+
+The prince saw his mistake, and the old woman cried aloud:
+
+"What have you done, you careless fellow! you have frightened her away
+from me for ever. But as she is your bride, I must find some other way
+to help you. Take this ball of thread, throw it before you, and wherever
+it goes follow after it; you will then come to my sister's house, and
+she will tell you what to do next."
+
+So the prince went on day and night, following the ball of thread, till
+he came to another queer little house, like the first, to which he said
+the same rhyme, and going in, found the second old fury, and told her
+his story.
+
+"Hide under the bench," she exclaimed; "your bride is just coming in."
+
+The duck flew in, as before, and the prince caught her by the wing; she
+quacked, and tried to get away. Then she changed herself into a turkey,
+then into a dog, then into a cat, then into an eel, so that she slipped
+through his hands, and glided out of the window.
+
+The prince was in despair; but the old woman gave him another ball of
+thread, and he again followed it, determining not to let the princess
+escape again so easily. So going on after the thread, as it kept
+unwinding, he came to a funny little house, like the two first, and
+said:
+
+    "Little house, move
+      On your crooked legs free;
+    Turn your back to the wood,
+      And your front door to me."
+
+The little house turned round, so that he could go in, and he found a
+third old fury inside; much older than her sisters, and having white
+hair. He told her his story, and begged for help.
+
+"Why did you go against the wishes of your clever and sensible wife?"
+said the old woman. "You see she knew better than you what her frog-skin
+was good for; but you must needs be in such a hurry to display her
+beauty, to gain the world's applause, that you have lost her; and she
+was forced to fly away from you."
+
+[Illustration: THE WAY HOME]
+
+The prince hid himself under the bench: the duck flew in and sat at the
+old woman's feet; on which he caught her by the wings.
+
+She struggled hard; but she felt his strength was too great for her to
+resist; so she turned herself into a spindle at once. He broke it across
+his knee.... And lo! and behold! instead of the two halves of the
+spindle he held the hands of his beautiful princess, who looked at him
+lovingly with her beautiful eyes, and smiled sweetly.
+
+And she promised him that she would always remain as she was then, for
+since her mother's enemies were all dead she had nothing to fear.
+
+They embraced each other, and went out of the old fury's hut. Then the
+princess spoke some magical spells; and in the twinkling of an eye there
+appeared a wonderful bridge, reaching from where they stood hundreds of
+miles, up to the very gallery of the palace, belonging to the prince's
+father. It was all made of crystal, with golden hand-rails, and diamond
+bosses upon them.
+
+The princess spoke some more magical words, and a golden coach appeared,
+drawn by eight horses, and a coachman, and two tall footmen, all in
+golden liveries. And there were four outriders on splendid horses,
+riding by the side of the coach, and an equerry, riding in front, and
+blowing a brazen trumpet. And a long procession of followers, in
+splendid dresses, came after them.
+
+Then the prince and princess got into the golden coach, and drove away,
+thus accompanied, along the crystal bridge, till they reached home, when
+the old king came out to meet them, and embraced them both tenderly. He
+appointed the prince his successor; and such magnificent festivities
+were held on the occasion, as never were seen or heard of before.
+
+[Illustration: THROUGH THE TELESCOPE]
+
+
+
+
+PRINCESS MIRANDA AND PRINCE HERO
+
+
+Far away, in the wide ocean there was once a green island where lived
+the most beautiful princess in the world, named Miranda. She had lived
+there ever since her birth, and was queen of the island. Nobody knew who
+were her parents, or how she had come there. But she was not alone; for
+there were twelve beautiful maidens, who had grown up with her on the
+island, and were her ladies-in-waiting.
+
+But a few strangers had visited the island, and spoken of the princess's
+great beauty; and many more came in time, and became her subjects, and
+built a magnificent city, in which she had a splendid palace of white
+marble to live in.
+
+And in course of time a great many young princes came to woo her. But
+she did not care to marry any of them; and if anyone persisted, and
+tried to compel her by force to be his wife, she could turn him and all
+his soldiers into ice, by merely fixing her eyes upon them.
+
+One day the wicked Kosciey,[2] the king of the Underground realm, came
+out into the upper world, and began to gaze all round it with his
+telescope. Various empires and kingdoms passed in review before him; and
+at last he saw the green island, and the rich city upon it; and the
+marble palace in this city, and in this palace the twelve beautiful
+young ladies-of-honour, and among them he beheld, lying on a rich couch
+of swansdown, the Princess Miranda asleep. She slept like an innocent
+child, but she was dreaming of a young knight, wearing a golden helmet,
+on a gallant steed, and carrying an invisible mace, that fought of
+itself; ... and she loved him better than life.
+
+[2] _Kosciey_ pronounced K�sh-che-eh, literally "Boney."
+
+Kosciey looked at her; he was delighted with her beauty; he struck the
+earth three times, and stood upon the green island.
+
+Princess Miranda called together her brave army, and led them into the
+field, to fight the wicked Kosciey. But he, blowing on them with his
+poisonous breath, sent them all fast asleep, and he was just going to
+lay hands upon the princess, when she, throwing a glance of scorn at
+him, changed him into a lump of ice, and fled to her capital.
+
+Kosciey did not long remain ice. So soon as the princess was away, he
+freed himself from the power of her glance, and regaining his usual
+form, followed her to her city. Then he sent all the inhabitants of the
+island to sleep, and among them the princess's twelve faithful damsels.
+
+She was the only one whom he could not injure; but being afraid of her
+glances, he surrounded the castle--which stood upon a high hill--with an
+iron rampart, and placed a dragon with twelve heads on guard before the
+gate, and waited for the princess to give herself up of her own accord.
+
+The days passed by, then weeks, then months, while her kingdom became a
+desert; all her people were asleep, and her faithful soldiers also lay
+sleeping on the open fields, their steel armour all rusted, and wild
+plants were growing over them undisturbed. Her twelve maidens were all
+asleep in different rooms of the palace, just where they happened to be
+at the time; and she herself, all alone, kept walking sadly to and fro
+in a little room up in a tower, where she had taken refuge--wringing her
+white hands, weeping, and her bosom heaving with sighs.
+
+Around her all were silent, as though dead; only every now and then,
+Kosciey, not daring to encounter her angry glance, knocked at the door
+asking her to surrender, promising to make her queen of his Underground
+realm. But it was all of no use; the princess was silent, and only
+threatened him with her looks.
+
+But grieving in her lonely prison Princess Miranda could not forget the
+lover of whom she had been dreaming; she saw him just as he had appeared
+to her in her dream.
+
+And she looked up with her blue eyes to heaven, and seeing a cloud
+floating by, she said:
+
+    "O cloud! through the bright sky flying!
+    Stay, and hearken my piteous sighing!
+        In my sorrow I call upon thee;
+    Oh! where is my loved one? say!
+    Oh! where do his footsteps stray?
+        And does he now think of me?"
+
+"I know not," the cloud replied. "Ask the wind."
+
+And she looked out into the wide plain, and seeing how the wind was
+blowing freely, she said:
+
+    "O wind! o'er the wide world flying!
+    Do thou pity my grief and crying!
+        Have pity on me!
+    Oh! where is my loved one? say!
+    Oh! where do his footsteps stray?
+        And does he now think of me?"
+
+"Ask the stars," the wind replied; "they know more than I do."
+
+So she cried to the stars:
+
+    "O stars! with your bright beams glowing!
+    Look down on my tears fast flowing!
+        Have pity, have pity on me!
+    Oh! where is my loved one? say!
+    Oh! where do his footsteps stray?
+        And does he now think of me?"
+
+"Ask the moon," said the stars; "who being nearer to the earth, knows
+more of what happens there than we do."
+
+So she said to the moon:
+
+    "Bright moon, as your watch you keep,
+    From the starry skies, o'er this land of sleep,
+        Look down now, and pity me!
+    Oh! where is my loved one? say!
+    Where? where do his footsteps stray?
+        And does he now think of me?"
+
+"I know nothing about your loved one, princess," replied the moon; "but
+here comes the sun, who will surely be able to tell you."
+
+And the sun rose up in the dawn, and at noontide stood just over the
+princess's tower, and she said:
+
+    "Thou soul of the world! bright sun!
+    Look on me, in this prison undone!
+        Have pity on me!
+    Oh! where is my loved one? say!
+    Through what lands do his footsteps stray?
+        And does he now think of me?"
+
+"Princess Miranda," said the sun; "dry your tears, comfort your heart;
+your lover is hastening to you, from the bottom of the deep sea, from
+under the coral reefs; he has won the enchanted ring; when he puts it on
+his finger, his army will increase by thousands, regiment after
+regiment, with horse and foot; the drums are beating, the sabres
+gleaming, the colours flying, the cannon roaring, they are bearing down
+on the empire of Kosciey. But he cannot conquer him by force of mortal
+weapons. I will teach him a surer way; and there is good hope that he
+will be able to deliver you from Kosciey, and save your country. I will
+hasten to your prince. Farewell."
+
+The sun stood over a wide country, beyond the deep seas, beyond high
+mountains, where Prince Hero in a golden helmet, on a gallant horse, was
+drawing up his army, and preparing to march against Kosciey, the
+besieger of the fair princess. He had seen her three times in a dream,
+and had heard much about her, for her beauty was famous throughout the
+world.
+
+"Dismiss your army," said the sun. "No army can conquer Kosciey, no
+bullet can reach him; you can only free Princess Miranda by killing him,
+and how you are to do it, you must learn from the old woman Jandza; I
+can only tell you where you will find the horse, that must carry you to
+her. Go hence towards the East; you will come to a green meadow, in
+which there are three oak trees; and among them you will find hidden in
+the ground an iron door, with a brazen padlock; behind this door you
+will find a battle charger, and a mace; the rest you will learn
+afterwards; ... farewell!"
+
+Prince Hero was most surprised; but he took off his enchanted ring and
+threw it into the sea; with it all his great army vanished directly into
+mist, leaving no trace behind. He turned to the East and travelled
+onwards.
+
+After three days he came to the green meadow, where he found the three
+oak trees, and the iron door, as he had been told. It opened upon a
+narrow, crooked stairway, going downwards, leading into a deep dungeon,
+where he found another iron door, closed by a heavy iron padlock. Behind
+this he heard a horse neighing, so loudly that it made the door fall to
+the ground, and at the same moment eleven other doors flew open and
+there came out a war-horse, which had been shut up there for ages by a
+wizard.
+
+The prince whistled to the horse; the horse tugged at his fastenings,
+and broke twelve chains by which he had been fettered. He had eyes like
+stars, flaming nostrils, and a mane like a thunder-cloud; ... he was a
+horse of horses, the wonder of the world.
+
+"Prince Hero!" said the horse, "I have long waited for such a rider as
+you, and I am ready to serve you for ever. Mount on my back, take that
+mace in your hand, which you see hanging to the saddle; you need not
+fight with it yourself, for it will strike wherever you command it, and
+beat a whole army. I know the way everywhere; tell me where you want to
+go, and you will presently be there."
+
+The prince told him everything; took the self-fighting mace in his hand,
+and sprang on his back.
+
+The horse reared, snorted, spurned the ground, and they flew over
+mountains and forests, higher than the flying clouds, over rapid rivers,
+and deep seas; but when they flew along the ground the charger's light
+feet never trampled down a blade of grass, nor raised an atom of dust on
+the sandy soil.
+
+Before sunset Prince Hero had reached the primeval forest in which the
+old woman Jandza lived.
+
+He was amazed at the size and age of the mighty oaks, pine trees and
+firs, where there reigned a perpetual twilight. And there was absolute
+silence--not a leaf or a blade of grass stirring; and no living thing,
+not so much as a bird, or the hum of an insect; only amidst this
+grave-like stillness the sound of his horse's hoofs.
+
+The prince stopped before a little house, supported on crooked legs, and
+said:
+
+    "Little house, move
+    On your crooked legs free:
+    Turn your back to the wood,
+    And your front to me."
+
+The house turned round, with the door towards him; the prince went in,
+and the old woman Jandza asked him:
+
+"How did you get here, Prince Hero, where no living soul has penetrated
+till now?"
+
+"Don't ask me; but welcome your guest politely."
+
+So the old woman gave the prince food and drink, made up a soft bed for
+him, to rest on after his journey, and left him for the night.
+
+Next morning he told her all, and what he had come for.
+
+"You have undertaken a great and splendid task, prince; so I will tell
+you how to kill Kosciey. In the Ocean-Sea, on the island of Everlasting
+Life, there is an old oak tree; under this tree is buried a coffer bound
+with iron; in this coffer is a hare; under the hare sits a grey duck;
+this duck carries within her an egg; and in this egg is enclosed the
+life of Kosciey. When you break the egg he will die at once. Now
+good-bye, prince; and good luck go with you; your horse will show you
+the way."
+
+The prince got on horseback, and they soon left the forest behind them,
+and came to the shore of the ocean.
+
+On the beach was a fisherman's net, and in the net was a great fish, who
+when he saw the prince, cried out piteously:
+
+"Prince Hero! take me out of the net, and throw me back into the sea; I
+will repay you!"
+
+The prince took the fish out of the net, and threw it into the sea; it
+splashed in the water, and vanished.
+
+The prince looked over the sea, and saw the island in the grey distance,
+far, far away; but how was he to get there? He leaned upon his mace,
+deep in thought.
+
+"What are you thinking of, prince?" asked the horse.
+
+"I am thinking how I am to get to the island, when I cannot swim over
+that breadth of sea."
+
+"Sit on my back, prince, and hold fast."
+
+So the prince sat firm on the horse's back, and held fast by the thick
+mane; a wind arose, and the sea was somewhat rough; but rider and horse
+pushed on, through the billows, and at last came to shore on the island
+of Everlasting Life.
+
+The prince took off his horse's bridle, and let him loose to feed in a
+meadow of luxuriant grass, and walked on quickly to a high hill, where
+grew the old oak tree. Taking it in both hands he tugged at it; the oak
+resisted all his efforts; he tugged again, the oak began to creak, and
+moved a little; he mustered all his strength, and tugged again. The oak
+fell with a crash to the ground, with its roots uppermost, and there,
+where they had stood firmly fixed so many hundred years, was a deep
+hole.
+
+Looking down he saw the iron-bound coffer; he fetched it up, broke open
+the lock with a stone, raised the lid, picked up the hare lying in it by
+its ears; but at that moment the duck, which had been sitting under the
+hare, took the alarm, and flew off straight to sea.
+
+The prince fired a shot after her; the bullet hit the duck; she gave one
+loud quack, and fell; but in that same instant the egg fell from
+her--down to the bottom of the sea. The prince gave a cry of despair;
+but just then a great fish came swimming, dived down to the depths of
+the sea, and coming to the shore, with the egg in its jaws, left it on
+the sand.
+
+[Illustration: THE DRAGON WHO KEPT WATCH]
+
+The fish swam away; but the prince, taking up the egg, mounted his horse
+once more; and they swam till they reached Princess Miranda's island,
+where they saw a great iron wall stretching all round her white marble
+palace.
+
+There was only one entrance through this iron wall to the palace, and
+before this lay the monstrous dragon with the twelve heads, six of which
+kept guard alternately; when the one half slept the other six remained
+awake. If anyone were to approach the gate he could not escape the
+horrid jaws. Nobody could hurt the dragon; for he could only suffer
+death by his own act.
+
+The prince stood on the hill before that gate, and commanded his
+self-fighting mace, which also had the faculty of becoming invisible, to
+go and clear his entrance to the palace.
+
+The invisible, self-fighting mace fell upon the dragon and began to
+thunder on all his heads with such force, that all his eyes became
+bloodshot, and he began to hiss fiercely; he shook his twelve heads, and
+stretched wide his twelve horrid jaws; he spread out his forest of
+claws; but this helped him not at all, the mace kept on smiting him,
+moving about so fast, that not a single head escaped, but could only
+hiss, groan, and shriek wildly! Now it had given a thousand blows, the
+blood gushed from a thousand wounds, and there was no help for the
+dragon; he raged, writhed about, and shrieked in despair; finally, as
+blow followed blow, and he could not see who gave them, he gnashed his
+teeth, belched forth flame, and at length turned his claws upon himself,
+plunging them deep into his own flesh, struggled, writhed, twisted
+himself round, and in and out; his blood flowed freely from his wounds
+... and now it was all over with the dragon.
+
+The prince, seeing this, went into the courtyard of the palace, put his
+horse into the stable, and went up by a winding stair, towards the
+tower, whence the Princess Miranda, having seen him, addressed him:
+
+"Welcome, Prince Hero! I saw how you disposed of the dragon; but do be
+careful, for my enemy, Kosciey, is in this palace; he is most powerful,
+both through his own strength, and through his sorceries; and if he
+kills you I can live no longer.
+
+"Princess Miranda, do not trouble about me. I have the life of Kosciey
+in this egg." Then he called out:
+
+"Invisible self-fighting mace, go into the palace and beat Kosciey."
+
+The mace bestirred itself quickly, battered in the iron doors, and set
+upon Kosciey; it smote him on the neck, till he crouched all together,
+the sparks flew from his eyes, and there was a noise of so many mills in
+his ears.
+
+If he had been an ordinary mortal it would have been all over with him
+at once; as it was, he was horribly tormented, and puzzled--feeling all
+these blows, and never seeing whence they came. He sprang about, raved,
+and raged, till the whole island resounded with his roaring.
+
+At last he looked through the window, and behold there he saw Prince
+Hero. "Ah! that is all your doing!" he exclaimed; and sprang out into
+the courtyard, to rush straight at him, and beat him to a jelly! But the
+prince held the egg in one hand ready; and he squeezed it so hard, that
+the shell cracked and the yolk and the white were all spilled together
+... and Kosciey fell lifeless!
+
+And with the death of the enchanter all his charms were dissolved at
+once; all the people in the island who were asleep woke up, and began to
+stir. The soldiers woke from sleep, and the drums began to beat; they
+formed their ranks, massed themselves in order, and began to march
+towards the palace.
+
+And in the palace there was great joy; for Princess Miranda came towards
+the prince, gave him her white hand, and thanked him warmly. They went
+to the throne-room, and following the princess's example, her twelve
+waiting-maids paired off with twelve young officers of the army, and
+the couples grouped themselves round the throne, on which the prince and
+princess were sitting.
+
+And then a priest, arrayed in all his vestments, came in at the open
+door, and the prince and princess exchanged rings, and were married.
+
+And all the other couples were married at the same time, and after the
+wedding there was a feast, dancing, and music, which it is a pleasure to
+think of. Everywhere there was rejoicing.
+
+[Illustration: THE CHILDREN TRANSFORMED]
+
+
+
+
+THE EAGLES
+
+
+There was once a king, who had lost his wife. They had a family of
+thirteen--twelve gallant sons, and one daughter, who was exquisitely
+beautiful.
+
+For twelve years after his wife's death the king grieved very much; he
+used to go daily to her tomb, and there weep, and pray, and give away
+alms to the poor. He thought never to marry again; for he had promised
+his dying wife never to give her children a stepmother.
+
+One day, when visiting his dead wife's grave as usual, he saw beside him
+a maiden so entrancingly fair, that he fell in love with her, and soon
+made her his second queen. But before long he found out that he had made
+a great mistake. Though she was so beautiful she turned out to be a
+wicked sorceress, and not only made the king himself unhappy, but
+proved most unkind to his children, whom she wished out of the way, so
+that her own little son might inherit the kingdom.
+
+One day, when the king was far away, at war against his enemies, the
+queen went into her stepchildren's apartments, and pronounced some
+magical words--on which every one of the twelve princes flew away in the
+shape of an eagle, and the princess was changed into a dove.
+
+The queen looked out of the window, to see in what direction they would
+fly, when she saw right under the window an old man, with a beard as
+white as snow.
+
+"What are you here for, old man?" she asked.
+
+"To be witness of your deed," he answered.
+
+"Then you saw it?"
+
+"I saw it."
+
+"Then be what I command!"
+
+She whispered some magical words. The old man disappeared in a blaze of
+sunshine; and the queen, as she stood there, dumb with terror, was
+changed into a basilisk.
+
+The basilisk ran off in fright; trying to hide herself underground. But
+her glance was so deadly, that it killed every one she looked at; so
+that all the people in the palace were soon dead, including her own son,
+whom she slew by merely looking at him. And this once populous and
+happy royal residence quickly became an uninhabited ruin, which no one
+dared approach, for fear of the basilisk lurking in its underground
+vaults.
+
+[Illustration: THE OLD MAN BLESSES THE PRINCESS]
+
+Meanwhile the princess, who had been changed into a dove, flew after her
+brothers the eagles, but not being able to overtake them, she rested
+under a wayside cross, and began cooing mournfully.
+
+"What are you grieving for, pretty dove?" asked an old man, with a
+snow-white beard, who just then came by.
+
+"I am grieving for my poor dear father, who is fighting in the wars far
+away; for my loved brothers, who have flown away from me into the
+clouds. I am grieving also for myself. Not long ago I was a happy
+princess; and now I must wander over the world as a dove, to hide from
+the birds of prey--and be parted for ever from my dear father and
+brothers!"
+
+"You may grieve and weep, little dove; but do not lose hope," said the
+old man. "Sorrow is only for a time, and all will come right in the
+end."
+
+So saying he stroked the little dove, and she at once regained her
+natural shape. She kissed the old man's hand in her gratitude, saying:
+
+"How can I ever thank you enough! But since you are so kind, will you
+not tell me how to rescue my brothers?"
+
+The old man gave her an ever-growing loaf, and said:
+
+"This loaf is enough to sustain, not only you, but a thousand people for
+a thousand years, without ever diminishing. Go towards the sunset, and
+weep your tears into this little bottle. And when it is full...."
+
+And the old man told her what else to do, blessed her, and disappeared.
+
+The princess travelled on towards the sunset; and in about a year she
+reached the boundary of the next world, and stood before an iron door,
+where Death was keeping guard with his scythe.
+
+"Stop, princess!" he said; "You can proceed no further, for you are not
+yet parted by death from your own world."
+
+"But what am I to do?" she asked. "Must I go back without my poor
+brothers?"
+
+"Your brothers," said Death, "fly here every day in the guise of eagles.
+They want to reach the other side of this door, which leads into the
+other world; for they hate the one they live in; nevertheless they, and
+you also, must remain there, until your time be come. Therefore every
+day I must compel them to go back, which they can do, because they are
+eagles. But how are you going to get back yourself?--look there!"
+
+The princess looked around her, and wept bitterly. For though she had
+not perceived this before, nor seen how she got there, she saw now that
+she was in a deep abyss, shut in on all sides by such high precipices,
+that she wondered how her brothers, even with eagle wings, could fly to
+the top.
+
+But remembering what the mysterious old man had said she took courage,
+and began to pray and weep, till she had filled the little bottle with
+her tears. Soon she heard the sound of wings over her head, and saw
+twelve eagles flying.
+
+The eagles dashed themselves against the iron portal, beating their
+wings upon it, and imploring Death to open it to them. But Death only
+threatened them with his scythe, saying:
+
+"Hence! ye enchanted princes! you must fulfil your penance on earth,
+till I come for you myself."
+
+The eagles were about to turn and fly, when all at once they perceived
+their sister. They came round her, and caressed her hands lovingly with
+their beaks.
+
+She at once began to sprinkle them with her tears from the lachrymatory;
+and in one moment the twelve eagles were changed back into the twelve
+princes, and joyfully embraced their sister.
+
+The princess then fed them all round from her ever-growing loaf; but
+when their hunger was appeased they began to be troubled as to how they
+were to ascend from the abyss, since they had no longer eagles' wings to
+fly up.
+
+But the princess knelt down and prayed:
+
+    "Bird of heavenly pity here,
+      By each labour, prayer and tear,
+    Come in thine unvanquished power,
+      Come and aid us in this hour!"
+
+And all at once there shot down from heaven to the depth of the abyss a
+ray of sunshine, on which descended a gigantic bird, with rainbow wings,
+a bright sparkling crest, and peacock's eyes all over his body, a golden
+tail, and silvery breast.
+
+"What are your commands, princess?" asked the bird.
+
+"Carry us from this threshold of eternity to our own world."
+
+"I will, but you must know, princess, that before I can reach the top of
+this precipice with you on my back, three days and nights must pass; and
+I must have food on the way, or my strength will fail me, and I shall
+fall down with you to the bottom, and we shall all perish."
+
+"I have an ever-growing loaf, which will suffice both for you and
+ourselves," replied the princess.
+
+"Then climb upon my back, and whenever I look round, give me some bread
+to eat."
+
+The bird was so large that all the princes, and the princess in the
+midst of them, could easily find place on his back, and he began to fly
+upwards.
+
+He flew higher and higher, and whenever he looked round at her, she gave
+him bits of the loaf, and he flew on, and upwards.
+
+So they went on steadily for two nights and days; but upon the third
+day, when they were hoping in a short time to view the summit of the
+precipice, and to land upon the borders of this world, the bird looked
+round as usual for a piece of the loaf.
+
+The princess was just going to break off some to give him, when a sudden
+violent gust of wind from the bottom of the abyss snatched the loaf from
+her hand, and sent it whistling downwards.
+
+Not having received his usual meal the bird became sensibly weaker, and
+looked round once more.
+
+The princess trembled with fear; she had nothing more to give him, and
+she felt that he was becoming exhausted. In utter desperation she cut
+off a piece of her flesh, and gave it to him.
+
+Having eaten this the bird recovered strength, and flew upwards faster
+than before; but after an hour or two he looked round once more.
+
+So she cut off another piece of her flesh; the bird seized it greedily,
+and flew on so fast that in a few minutes he reached the ground at the
+top of the precipice. When they alighted, and he asked her:
+
+"Princess, what were those two delicious morsels you gave me last? I
+never ate anything so good before."
+
+"They were part of my flesh, I had nothing else for you," replied the
+princess in a faint voice, for she was swooning away with pain and loss
+of blood.
+
+The bird breathed upon her wounds; and the flesh at once healed over,
+and grew again as before. Then he flew up again to heaven, and was lost
+in the clouds.
+
+The princess and her brothers resumed their journey, this time towards
+the sunrise, and at last arrived in their own country, where they met
+their father, returning from the wars.
+
+The king was coming back victorious over his enemies, and on his way
+home had first heard of the sudden disappearance of his children and of
+the queen, and how his palace was tenanted only by a basilisk with a
+death-dealing glance.
+
+He was therefore most surprised and overjoyed to meet his dear children
+once more, and on the way his daughter told him all that had come to
+pass.
+
+When they got back to the palace the king sent one of his nobles with a
+looking-glass down into the underground vaults. The basilisk saw herself
+reflected in this mirror, and her own glance slew her immediately.
+
+They gathered up the remains of the basilisk, and burnt them in a great
+fire in the courtyard, afterwards scattering the ashes to the four
+winds. When this was done the king, his sons, and his daughter, returned
+to live in their former home and were all as happy as could be ever
+after.
+
+[Illustration: TO TRICK THE BASILISK]
+
+[Illustration: THE BRIDE CARRIED OFF BY THE WHIRLWIND]
+
+
+
+
+THE WHIRLWIND
+
+
+In a far-off country, beyond the sea and the mountains, there lived a
+king and queen, with a beautiful daughter, who was called Princess
+Ladna.
+
+A great many princes came to woo her; but she liked only one of them,
+called Prince Dobrotek; so they confessed their love for one another to
+the king, who gave his consent, and the wedding-day was fixed.
+
+Now among the princess's rejected suitors there was one, who though he
+had changed himself into the shape of a prince, in order to come to
+court and make love to her, really was an ugly dwarf, only seven inches
+high, but with a beard more than seven feet long, and a great hump on
+his back. He was so offended with the princess for refusing him, that he
+determined to carry her off; so he watched his opportunity.
+
+As the young couple, with all their followers and their guests, were
+leaving the palace to go to church, a violent wind began to blow, a
+regular whirlwind, raising a column of sand, and lifting the princess
+off her feet. She was carried up over the clouds, to the top of some
+inaccessible mountains, and dropped down into a magnificent palace, with
+a golden roof, and a high wall all round.
+
+After a while the princess woke up from the fainting-fit into which she
+had fallen. She looked round the splendid apartment in which she was,
+and came to the conclusion that some young and handsome prince must have
+carried her off.
+
+In the room there was a table ready spread; all the plates and dishes,
+as well as the knives, forks, and spoons, were of silver and gold; and
+the dinner itself was so good, that in spite of her grief and terror,
+she could not refrain from tasting it; and she had no sooner tasted,
+than she ate, till her appetite was appeased.
+
+Then the doors opened, and there came in a company of negroes, bearing a
+great chair, in which sat the ugly dwarf, with the long beard and the
+great hump.
+
+The dwarf now began to pay his court to the princess, and explain how he
+had carried her off in the guise of the whirlwind, because he loved her
+so much. But she would not listen to him, and gave him a sounding slap
+with her open hand right in his face, so that sparks danced before his
+eyes. Of course he was in a great passion; but for love of her he
+managed to keep his temper, and turned round to leave the room. But in
+his haste he caught his feet in his long beard, and was thrown down on
+the threshold, and in his fall he dropped his cap, which he was holding
+in one hand.
+
+The negroes helped him again into the chair, and carried him out; but
+the princess jumped up, locked the door, and took up the cap that was
+lying on the ground. She put it on; and went to the glass to see how she
+looked in it. But what was her surprise to find that she could not see
+herself, till she took it off! So she came to the wise conclusion that
+this was an invisible cap; at which she was highly delighted; she put on
+the cap again, and began to walk about the room.
+
+The door opened once more with a loud noise, and the dwarf came in with
+his long beard thrown back and twisted all round his hump, to be out of
+the way. But not seeing either his cap, or the princess, he guessed what
+had happened; so full of wild despair he began to rush madly about the
+room, knocking himself against the tables and chairs, while the princess
+made her escape through the door, and ran out into the garden.
+
+The garden was very extensive, and full of beautiful fruit-trees; so she
+lived upon these fruits, and drank the water of a spring in the garden
+for some time. She used to make fun of the dwarf's impotent rage.
+Sometimes when he rushed wildly about the garden, she would tease him
+by taking off the invisible cap, so that he saw her before him, in all
+her beauty; but when he made a rush after her she would put it on again,
+and become invisible to him; she would then throw cherry-stones at him,
+come close to him, and laugh loudly: and then run away again.
+
+One day, when she was playing about in this manner, her cap got caught
+in the boughs of a tree, and fell upon a gooseberry bush. The dwarf saw
+it, and seized hold of the princess with one hand, and of the cap with
+the other. But just then--from the summit of the mountain, above the
+garden itself, was heard the sound of a trumpet-challenge, three times
+repeated.
+
+At this the dwarf trembled with rage; but first breathing upon the
+princess, he put her to sleep with his breath, then placed his invisible
+cap on her head. Having done this he seized his two-edged sword, and
+flew up into the clouds, so as to strike the knight who had challenged
+him from above, and destroy him at one stroke.
+
+But where did this knight come from?
+
+When Princess Ladna had been carried off on her wedding-day by the
+whirlwind, there was the greatest consternation among all the
+bystanders. Her distracted father and her bridegroom rushed about in all
+directions, and sent courtiers everywhere in search of her; but the
+princess had been neither seen nor heard of, nor was any trace left of
+her.
+
+The king (very unnecessarily) told Prince Dobrotek that if he did not
+get back his daughter, the princess, he would not only put him to death,
+but would reduce his whole country to ashes. He also told all the
+princes there that whoever should bring back his daughter should have
+her to wife, and receive half of his kingdom into the bargain.
+
+When they heard this they all got to horse, and galloped in various
+directions; among them Prince Dobrotek.
+
+He went on for three days, never stopping for food or rest; but on the
+fourth day, at dusk, he felt overcome by sleep; so he let his horse go
+free in a meadow, and himself lay down on the grass. Then all at once he
+heard a piercing shriek, and straight before him beheld a hare, and an
+owl perched upon it--its claws digging into the poor creature's side.
+
+The prince caught up the first thing that lay near him, and aimed at the
+screech-owl, so truly that he killed it on the spot, and the hare ran up
+to him, like a tame creature, licked his hands, and ran away.
+
+Then the prince saw that the thing he had thrown at the owl was a human
+skull. And it spoke to him, in these words:
+
+"Prince Dobrotek, I thank you for what you have done for me. When I was
+alive I committed suicide, and was therefore condemned to lie unburied
+at this cross-way, till I should be the means of saving life. I have
+lain here for seven hundred and seventy-seven years; and Heaven knows
+how much longer I should have had to remain, if you had not chanced to
+throw me at the screech-owl, and so saved the life of the poor hare. Now
+bury me, so that I may lie peacefully in the ground at this same place,
+and I will tell you how to summon the Grey Seer-horse, with the golden
+mane, who will always help you in case of need. Go out into a plain, and
+without looking behind you, call out:
+
+    "Grey Seer-horse, with golden mane!
+    Like a bird--and not like steed,
+    On the blast--and not the mead,
+    Fly thou hither unto me!"
+
+Thus having spoken, the head was silent; but a blue light shot up from
+it towards the sky; it was the soul of the deceased, which having now
+expiated its sin by its long imprisonment in the skull, had attained
+heaven.
+
+The prince then dug a grave, and buried the skull. He then called out:
+
+    "Grey Seer-horse, with golden mane!
+    Like a bird--and not like steed,
+    On the blast--and not the mead,
+    Do thou hither fly to me!"
+
+The wind rose, the lightning flashed, the thunder roared, and the
+wonderful horse with the golden mane appeared. He flew as fast as the
+storm-wind, flames shot from his nostrils, sparks from his eyes, and
+clouds of smoke from his mouth. He stood still, and said in human tones:
+
+[Illustration: THE HORSE APPEARS IN THE STORM]
+
+"What are your commands, Prince Dobrotek?"
+
+"I am in trouble; I wish you to help me."
+
+And he told him all that had occurred.
+
+"Creep in at my left ear," said the horse, "and creep out again at the
+right."
+
+So the prince crept in at the horse's left ear, and came out again at
+the right one, all clad in golden armour. He also found himself
+miraculously increased in strength, so that when he stamped on the
+ground it trembled; and when he shouted a storm arose, which shook the
+leaves from the trees.
+
+Then he asked the horse:
+
+"What is to be done next?"
+
+"Your betrothed, Princess Ladna," said the horse, "was carried off by
+the seven-inch-high dwarf, with the seven-foot-long beard; he is a
+powerful magician; he dwells beyond the seven seas, among inaccessible
+mountains. He can only be conquered by the All-Cutting Sword, which
+sword is jealously guarded by his own brother, the Giant-Head, with
+basilisk eye. To this Giant-Head we must therefore go."
+
+Prince Dobrotek mounted on horseback, and they flew like an arrow, over
+lands and seas, high mountains and wide oceans. They stopped at length
+upon a wide plain strewn with bones, before a moving mountain. And the
+horse said:
+
+"This moving mountain, which you see before you, is the giant's head
+with the basilisk eyes; and the bones strewn so thickly hereabouts prove
+how deadly his looks are--so be careful. He is now asleep from the heat
+of the sun; but only two steps before him lies the sword, with which
+alone you can conquer your enemy. Lie down along my back, so that his
+glance cannot reach you through my neck and mane; but when you get near
+to it, lay hold of the sword; when you have it you will not only be safe
+from his basilisk glances, but you will even have the giant's head at
+your mercy."
+
+And the horse drew near lightly, and the prince bent down, and secured
+the wonderful sword; but he shouted so loud that the Giant-Head woke up,
+sniffed hard, and looked about with his bloodshot eyes; and seeing the
+wonderful sword in the prince's hand, he called out:
+
+"Sir knight! are you weary of the world, that you court speedy death?"
+
+"You need not boast like that, you empty head!" replied Prince Dobrotek.
+"Your looks cannot hurt me now; and you shall die by this All-Cutting
+Sword! But I would first know who, and what you are."
+
+"Then I confess, prince," replied the head; "that I am in your power;
+but be merciful to me, for I am worthy of pity. I am a knight of the
+race of giants, and were it not for the envy of my brother, I should
+still have been happy. He was the black sheep of our family, and was
+born an ugly dwarf, with a long beard; and my handsome giant-like
+proportions caused him to hate me bitterly. His only good point is his
+great strength, and it all resides in his long beard, and so long as it
+is not cut he cannot be conquered, and this can only be done by that
+sword, which you now hold.
+
+"One day, being bent upon my destruction, he said to me:
+
+"'Brother, do not refuse to help me. I have read in my books of magic
+that beyond the mountains, on a plain lies buried a certain sword,
+whereby a knight, seeking for his betrothed, shall compass the
+destruction of us both; let us therefore go and dig it up, so that we
+shall escape the threatened doom!'
+
+"To this I agreed. I took a hundred-year-old pine--torn up from its
+roots--on one arm, and carried my brother on my other. We set out; he
+showed me the spot, and I dug up the sword, on this same plain. Then we
+began to quarrel about who should possess it. After a long dispute he
+said:
+
+"'We were best decide it by lot, brother. Let each of us lay his ear to
+the ground, and whoever first hears the sound of the evening bell shall
+have the sword.'
+
+"So he laid his ear to the ground, and I mine. I listened; but heard
+nothing; and he meantime, having got hold of the sword, crept up to me,
+and cut my head from my shoulders.
+
+"My headless trunk, left unburied, rotted away, and the grass grew over
+it; but my head, endowed with supernatural life by the malicious dwarf,
+my brother, was left here, with charge to guard this sword, and kill
+every one who came near with my deadly glance. After many centuries you
+have won it; so I implore you to cut off his seven-foot beard, and make
+him into mince-meat; and avenge me."
+
+"You shall be avenged," said the prince; "and at once. Grey Seer-Horse,
+carry me to the kingdom of the dwarf magician, with the seven-foot-long
+beard."
+
+So they set off at once, flying with lightning speed through the air,
+over the seas and over the forests. In an hour or two they halted on the
+summit of a high mountain, and the horse said:
+
+"These mountains are the kingdom of the dwarf magician, who carried off
+your betrothed, and they are both now in the garden; challenge him to
+fight."
+
+Prince Dobrotek sounded a challenge three times, and the dwarf, as we
+have seen, flew up into the air, so as to swoop down upon his
+antagonist, unperceived of him.
+
+All at once the prince heard a murmuring sound above him, and he saw
+when he looked up, the dwarf soaring above him, like an eagle in the
+clouds--for he had the magic power of increasing his size and
+strength--with his sword drawn, ready to fall upon him.
+
+The prince sprang aside, and the dwarf came down, with such an impetus,
+that his head and neck were rammed into the ground.
+
+The prince dismounted, seized the dwarf by the beard, wound it about his
+left hand, and began to sever it with the All-Cutting Sword.
+
+The dwarf saw that he had to do with no feather-bed knight; so he tugged
+with all his strength, and flew up again into the clouds; but the
+prince, holding fast with his left hand to the beard, kept on severing
+it with his sword, so that he had nearly cut half of it through; and the
+dwarf became weaker and weaker the more hair he lost, so he began to cry
+for mercy.
+
+"Drop down to the ground, off which you took me," said the prince.
+
+The dwarf dropped down slowly, but the prince cut off the remainder of
+his beard and threw him--when thus deprived of his charms and his
+strength alike--on to the ground, wreathed the severed beard round his
+own helmet, and entered the palace.
+
+The invisible servants of the dwarf, seeing their master's beard,
+wreathed about the prince's helmet, threw open all the doors to him at
+once.
+
+He went through all the rooms; but not finding his princess anywhere,
+went into the garden, traversing all the paths and lawns, and calling
+her name. He could find her nowhere.
+
+But thus running from one place to another he chanced to touch the
+invisible cap; he caught hold of it, and pulled it away from where it
+was, on the head of the princess, and saw her at once in all her
+loveliness, but fast asleep.
+
+Overcome with joy, he called her by her name; but she had been cast into
+such a deep sleep by the dwarf's poisonous breath, that he could not
+rouse her.
+
+He took her up in his arms, put the invisible cap into his pocket, also
+picking up the wicked dwarf, whom he carried along with him. He then
+mounted his horse, flew like an arrow, and in a few minutes stood before
+the Giant-Head, with the basilisk eyes.
+
+He threw the dwarf into its open jaws, where he was ground at once into
+powder; the prince then cut up the monstrous head into small pieces, and
+scattered them all over the plain.
+
+Thus having got rid of both the dwarf and the giant, the prince rode on
+with the sleeping princess, upon the Golden-Mane horse, and at sunset
+they came to the same cross-roads, where he had first summoned him.
+
+"Here, prince, we must part," said the Golden-Mane; "but here in the
+meadow is your own horse, and it is not far to your own home, so
+creep into my right ear, and come out at my left."
+
+[Illustration: THE DWARF DEFEATED]
+
+The prince did as he was told, and came out as he was before. His own
+horse recognized him, and came running with a joyful neigh to meet his
+master.
+
+The prince was tired out with the long journey, so, having laid down his
+betrothed wife, still sleeping, on the soft grass, and covered her up
+from the cold, he laid down himself and went to sleep.
+
+But that very night, one of Princess Ladna's rejected suitors, riding
+that way, saw by the light of the moon those two asleep, and he
+recognized in them the princess, and the prince, his fortunate rival. So
+first stabbing the latter through with his sabre, he carried off the
+princess, and bore her on horseback before him to her father.
+
+The king welcomed him rapturously, as his daughter's deliverer. But when
+he found, to his dismay, that he could not awake her, with all his
+caresses, he asked the supposed rescuer what this meant.
+
+"I do not know, Sir King," replied the knight. "After I had overtaken
+and slain the great enchanter, who was carrying off the princess, I
+found her as she is now, sound asleep."
+
+Prince Dobrotek meanwhile, mortally wounded, had just strength enough
+left to summon the Wonderful Grey Horse, who came instantly; and seeing
+what was the matter, flew off to the top of the mountain of Everlasting
+Life. On its summit were three springs--the Water of Loosening, the
+Water of Healing, and the Water of Life. He sprinkled the dead prince
+with all three; Prince Dobrotek opened his eyes, and exclaimed:
+
+"Oh! how well I have slept!"
+
+"You were sleeping the sleep of death," returned the Golden-Mane; "one
+of your rivals killed you sleeping, and carried off your princess home
+to her father, pretending to be her deliverer, in the hope of gaining
+her hand. But do not be afraid; she is still asleep, and only you can
+awaken her, by touching her forehead with the beard of the dwarf, which
+you have with you. Go then to her; I must be elsewhere."
+
+The Golden-Mane vanished, and the prince, calling his own horse, and
+taking with him his invisible cap, betook himself to the court of his
+loved one's father.
+
+But when he drew near he found that the city was all surrounded by
+enemies, who had already mastered the outer defences, and were
+threatening the town itself; and half of its defenders being slain, the
+rest were thinking of surrender.
+
+Prince Dobrotek put on his invisible cap, and drawing his All-Cutting
+Sword, fell upon the enemy.
+
+They fell to right and left as the sword smote them on each side, till
+one half of them were slain, and the rest ran away into the forest.
+
+Unseen by anyone the prince entered the city, and arrived at the royal
+palace, where the king, surrounded by his knights, was hearing the
+account of this sudden attack, whereby his foes had been discomfited;
+but by whom no one could inform him.
+
+Then Prince Dobrotek took off his invisible cap, and appearing suddenly
+in the midst of the assembly, said:
+
+"King and father! it was I who beat your enemies. But where is my
+betrothed, Princess Ladna, whom I rescued from the wizard dwarf, with
+the seven-foot beard? whom one of your knights treacherously stole from
+me? Let me see her, that I may waken her from her magic sleep."
+
+When the traitor knight heard this he took to his heels; Prince Dobrotek
+touched the sleeping princess's forehead with the beard, she woke up
+directly, gazed at him fondly with her lovely eyes, but could not at
+first understand where she was, or what had happened to her.
+
+The king caught her in his arms, pressed her to his heart, and that very
+evening he married her to Prince Dobrotek. He gave them half his
+kingdom, and there was a splendid wedding, such as had never been seen
+or heard of before.
+
+[Illustration: THE GOOD FERRYMAN CAPTURES THE MERMAID]
+
+
+
+
+THE GOOD FERRYMAN AND THE WATER NYMPHS
+
+
+There was once an old man, very poor, with three sons. They lived
+chiefly by ferrying people over a river; but he had had nothing but
+ill-luck all his life. And to crown all, on the night he died, there was
+a great storm, and in it the crazy old ferry-boat, on which his sons
+depended for a living, was sunk.
+
+As they were lamenting both their father and their poverty, an old man
+came by, and learning the reason of their sorrow said:
+
+"Never mind; all will come right in time. Look! there is your boat as
+good as new."
+
+And there was a fine new ferry-boat on the water, in place of the old
+one, and a number of people waiting to be ferried over.
+
+The three brothers arranged to take turns with the boat, and divide the
+fares they took.
+
+They were however very different in disposition. The two elder brothers
+were greedy and avaricious, and would never take anyone over the river,
+without being handsomely paid for it.
+
+But the youngest brother took over poor people, who had no money, for
+nothing; and moreover frequently relieved their wants out of his own
+pocket.
+
+One day, at sunset, when the eldest brother was at the ferry the same
+old man, who had visited them on the night their father died, came, and
+asked for a passage.
+
+"I have nothing to pay you with, but this empty purse," he said.
+
+"Go and get something to put in it then first," replied the ferry-man;
+"and be off with you now!"
+
+Next day it was the second brother's turn; and the same old man came,
+and offered his empty purse as his fare. But he met with a like reply.
+
+The third day it was the youngest brother's turn; and when the old man
+arrived, and asked to be ferried over for charity, he answered:
+
+"Yes, get in, old man."
+
+"And what is the fare?" asked the old man.
+
+"That depends upon whether you can pay or not," was the reply; "but if
+you cannot, it is all the same to me."
+
+"A good deed is never without its reward," said the old man: "but in the
+meantime take this empty purse; though it is very worn, and looks
+worth nothing. But if you shake it, and say:
+
+    'For his sake who gave it, this purse I hold,
+    I wish may always be full of gold;'
+
+it will always afford you as much gold as you wish for."
+
+[Illustration: THE PURSE THAT WAS EVER FULL]
+
+The youngest brother came home, and his brothers, who were sitting over
+a good supper, laughed at him, because he had taken only a few copper
+coins that day, and they told him he should have no supper. But when he
+began to shake his purse and scatter gold coins all about, they jumped
+up from the table, and began picking them up eagerly.
+
+And as it was share and share alike, they all grew rich very quickly.
+The youngest brother made good use of his riches, for he gave away money
+freely to the poor. But the greedy elder brothers envied him the
+possession of the wonderful purse, and contrived to steal it from him.
+Then they left their old home; and the one bought a ship, laded it with
+all sorts of merchandize, for a trading voyage. But the ship ran upon a
+rock, and every one on board was drowned. The second brother was no more
+fortunate, for as he was travelling through a forest, with an enormous
+treasure of precious stones, in which he had laid out his wealth, to
+sell at a profit, he was waylaid by robbers, who murdered him, and
+shared the spoil among them.
+
+The youngest brother, who remained at home, having lost his purse,
+became as poor as before. But he still did as formerly, took pay from
+passengers who could afford it, ferried over poor folks for nothing, and
+helped those who were poorer than himself so far as he could.
+
+One day the same old man with the long white beard came by; the
+ferry-man welcomed him as an old friend, and while rowing him over the
+river, told him all that had happened since he last saw him.
+
+"Your brothers did very wrong, and they have paid for it," said the old
+man; "but you were in fault yourself. Still, I will give you one more
+chance. Take this hook and line; and whatever you catch, mind you hold
+fast, and not let it escape you; or you will bitterly repent it."
+
+The old man then disappeared, and the ferry-man looked in wonder at his
+new fishing-tackle--a diamond hook, a silver line, and a golden rod.
+
+All at once the hook sprang of itself into the water; the line
+lengthened out along the river current, and there came a strong pull
+upon it. The fisherman drew it in, and beheld a most lovely creature,
+upwards from the waist a woman, but with a fish's tail.
+
+"Good ferry-man, let me go," she said; "take your hook out of my hair!
+The sun is setting, and after sunset I can no longer be a water-nymph
+again."
+
+But without answering, the ferry-man only held her fast, and covered
+her over with his coat, to prevent her escaping. Then the sun set, and
+she lost her fish-tail.
+
+"Now," she said: "I am yours; so let us go to the nearest church and get
+married."
+
+She was already dressed as a bride, with a myrtle garland on her head,
+in a white dress, with a rainbow-coloured girdle, and rich jewels in her
+hair and on her neck. And she held in her hand the wonderful purse, that
+was always full of gold.
+
+They found the priest and all ready at the church; were married in a few
+minutes; and then came home to their wedding-feast, to which all the
+neighbours were invited. They were royally entertained, and when they
+were about to leave the bride shook the wonderful purse, and sent a
+shower of gold pieces flying among the guests; so they all went home
+very well pleased.
+
+The good ferry-man and his marvellous wife lived most happily together;
+they never wanted for anything, and gave freely to all who came. He
+continued to ply his ferry-boat; but he now took all passengers over for
+nothing, and gave them each a piece of gold into the bargain.
+
+Now there was a king over that country, who a year ago had just
+succeeded to his elder brother. He had heard of the ferry-man, who was
+so marvellously rich, and wishing to ascertain the truth of the story he
+had heard, came on purpose to see for himself. But when he saw the
+ferry-man's beautiful young wife, he resolved to have her for himself,
+and determined to get rid of her husband somehow.
+
+At that time there was an eclipse of the sun; and the king sent for the
+ferry-man, and told him he must find out the cause of this eclipse, or
+be put to death.
+
+He came home in great distress to his wife; but she replied:
+
+"Never mind, my dear. I will tell you what to do, and how to gratify the
+king's curiosity."
+
+So she gave him a wonderful ball of thread, which he was to throw before
+him, and follow the thread as it kept unwinding--towards the East.
+
+He went on a long way, over high mountains, deep rivers, and wide
+regions. At last he came to a ruined city, where a number of corpses
+were lying about unburied, tainting the air with pestilence.
+
+The good man was sorry to see this, and took the pains to summon men
+from the neighbouring cities, and get the bodies properly buried. He
+then resumed his journey.
+
+He came at last to the ends of the earth. Here he found a magnificent
+golden palace, with an amber roof, and diamond doors and windows.
+
+The ball of thread went straight into the palace, and the ferry-man
+found himself in a vast apartment, where sat a very dignified old lady,
+spinning from a golden distaff.
+
+"Wretched man! what are you here for?" she exclaimed, when she saw him.
+"My son will come back presently and burn you up."
+
+He explained to her how he had been forced to come, out of sheer
+necessity.
+
+"Well, I must help you," replied the old lady, who was no less than the
+Mother of the Sun, "because you did Sol that good turn some days ago, in
+burying the inhabitants of that town, when they were killed by a dragon.
+He journeys every day across the wide arch of heaven, in a diamond car,
+drawn by twelve grey horses, with golden manes, giving heat and light to
+the whole world. He will soon be back here, to rest for the night....
+But ... here he comes; hide yourself, and take care to observe what
+follows."
+
+So saying she changed her visitor into a lady-bird, and let him fly to
+the window.
+
+Then the neighing of the wonderful horses and the rattling of chariot
+wheels were heard, and the bright Sun himself presently came in, and
+stretching himself upon a coral bed, remarked to his mother:
+
+"I smell a human being here!"
+
+"What nonsense you talk!" replied his mother. "How could any human being
+come here? You know it is impossible."
+
+The Sun, as if he did not quite believe her, began to peer anxiously
+about the room.
+
+"Don't be so restless," said the old lady; "but tell me why you suffered
+eclipse a month or two ago."
+
+"How could I help it?" answered the Sun; "When the dragon from the deep
+abyss attacked me, and I had to fight him? Perhaps I should have been
+fighting with the monster till now, if a wonderful mermaid had not come
+to help me. When she began to sing, and looked at the dragon with her
+beautiful eyes, all his rage softened at once; he was absorbed in gazing
+upon her beauty, and I meanwhile burnt him to ashes, and threw them into
+the sea."
+
+The Sun then went to sleep, and his mother again touched the ferry-man
+with her spindle; he then returned to his natural shape, and slipped out
+of the palace. Following the ball of thread he reached home at last, and
+next day went to the king, and told him all.
+
+But the king was so enchanted at the description of the beautiful
+sea-maiden, that he ordered the ferry-man to go and bring her to him, on
+pain of death.
+
+He went home very sad to his wife, but she told him she would manage
+this also. So saying she gave him another ball of thread, to show him
+which way to go, and she also gave him a carriage-load of costly lady's
+apparel and jewels, and ornaments--told him what he was to do, and they
+took leave of one another.
+
+On the way the ferry-man met a youth, riding on a fine grey horse, who
+asked:
+
+"What have you got there, man?"
+
+"A woman's wearing apparel, most costly and beautiful"--he had several
+dresses, not simply one.
+
+"I say, give me some of those as a present for my intended, whom I am
+going to see. I can be of use to you, for I am the Storm-wind. I will
+come, whenever you call upon me thus:
+
+    'Storm-wind! Storm-wind! come with speed!
+    Help me in my sudden need!'"
+
+The ferry-man gave him some of the most beautiful things he had, and the
+Storm-wind passed.
+
+A little further on he met an old man, grey-haired, but strong and
+vigorous-looking, who also said:
+
+"What have you got there?"
+
+"Women's garments costly and beautiful."
+
+"I am going to my daughter's wedding; she is to marry the Storm-wind;
+give me something as a wedding present for her, and I will be of use to
+you. I am the Frost; if you need me call upon me thus:
+
+    'Frost, I call thee; come with speed;
+    Help me in my sudden need!'"
+
+The ferry-man let him take all he wanted and went on.
+
+And now he came to the sea-coast; here the ball of thread stopped, and
+would go no further.
+
+The ferry-man waded up to his waist into the sea, and set up two high
+poles, with cross-bars between them, upon which he hung dresses of
+various colours, scarves, and ribbons, gold chains, and diamond earrings
+and pins, shoes, and looking-glasses, and then hid himself, with his
+wonderful hook and line ready.
+
+As soon as the morning rose from the sea, there appeared far away on the
+smooth waters a silvery boat, in which stood a beautiful maiden, with a
+golden oar in one hand, while with the other she gathered together her
+long golden hair, all the while singing so beautifully to the rising
+sun, that, if the ferry-man had not quickly stopped his ears, he would
+have fallen into a delicious reverie, and then asleep.
+
+She sailed along a long time in her silver boat, and round her leaped
+and played golden fishes with rainbow wings and diamond eyes. But all at
+once she perceived the rich clothes and ornaments, hung up on the poles,
+and as she came nearer, the ferry-man called out:
+
+    "Storm-wind! Storm-wind! come with speed!
+    Help me in my sudden need!"
+
+"What do you want?" asked the Storm-wind.
+
+The ferry-man without answering him, called out:
+
+    "Frost, I call thee; come with speed,
+    Help me in my sudden need!"
+
+"What do you want?" asked the Frost.
+
+"I want to capture the sea-maiden."
+
+Then the wind blew and blew, so that the silver boat was capsized,
+and the frost breathed on the sea till it was frozen over.
+
+[Illustration: THE MEETING OF THE SISTERS]
+
+Then the ferryman rushed up to the sea-maiden, entangling his hook in
+her golden hair; lifted her on his horse, and rode off as swift as the
+wind after his wonderful ball of thread.
+
+She kept weeping and lamenting all the way; but as soon as they reached
+the ferry-man's home, and saw his wife, all her sorrow changed into joy;
+she laughed with delight, and threw herself into her arms.
+
+And then it turned out that the two were sisters.
+
+Next morning the ferry-man went to court with both his wife and
+sister-in-law, and the king was so delighted with the beauty of the
+latter, that he at once offered to marry her. But she could give him no
+answer until he had the Self-playing Guitar.
+
+So the king ordered the ferry-man to procure him this wonderful guitar,
+or be put to death.
+
+His wife told him what to do, and gave him a handkerchief of hers,
+embroidered with gold, telling him to use this in case of need.
+
+Following the ball of thread he came at last to a great lake, in the
+midst of which was a green island.
+
+He began to wonder how he was to get there, when he saw a boat
+approaching, in which was an old man, with a long white beard, and he
+recognized him with delight, as his former benefactor.
+
+"How are you, ferry-man?" he asked. "Where are you going?"
+
+"I am going wherever the ball of thread leads me, for I must fetch the
+Self-playing Guitar."
+
+"This guitar," said the old man, "belongs to Goldmore, the lord of that
+island. It is a difficult matter to have to do with him; but perhaps you
+may succeed. You have often ferried me over the water; I will ferry you
+now."
+
+The old man pushed off, and they reached the island.
+
+On arriving the ball of thread went straight into a palace, where
+Goldmore came out to meet the traveller, and asked him where he was
+going and what he wanted.
+
+He explained:
+
+"I am come for the Self-playing Guitar."
+
+"I will only let you have it on condition that you do not go to sleep
+for three days and nights. And if you do, you will not only lose all
+chance of the Self-playing Guitar; but you must die."
+
+What could the poor man do, but agree to this?
+
+So Goldmore conducted him to a great room, and locked him in. The floor
+was strewn with sleepy-grass, so he fell asleep directly.
+
+Next morning in came Goldmore, and on waking him up said:
+
+"So you went to sleep! Very well, you shall die!"
+
+And he touched a spring in the floor, and the unhappy ferry-man fell
+down into an apartment beneath, where the walls were of looking-glass,
+and there were great heaps of gold and precious stones lying about.
+
+For three days and nights he lay there; he was fearfully hungry. And
+then it dawned upon him that he was to be starved to death!
+
+He called out, and entreated in vain; nobody answered, and though he had
+piles of gold and jewels about him, they could not purchase him a morsel
+of food.
+
+He sought in vain for any means of exit. There was a window, of clearest
+crystal, but it was barred by a heavy iron grating. But the window
+looked into a garden whence he could hear nightingales singing, doves
+cooing, and the murmur of a brook. But inside he saw only heaps of
+useless gold and jewels, and his own face, worn and haggard, reflected a
+thousand times.
+
+He could now only pray for a speedy death, and took out a little iron
+cross, which he had kept by him since his boyhood. But in doing so he
+also drew out the gold-embroidered handkerchief, given him by his wife,
+and which he had quite forgotten till now.
+
+Goldmore had been looking on, as he often did, from an opening in the
+ceiling to enjoy the sight of his prisoner's sufferings. All at once he
+recognized the handkerchief, as belonging to his own sister, the
+ferry-man's wife.
+
+He at once changed his treatment of his brother-in-law, as he had
+discovered him to be; took him out of prison, led him to his own
+apartments, gave him food and drink, and the Self-playing Guitar into
+the bargain.
+
+Coming home, the ferry-man met his wife half-way.
+
+"The ball of thread came home alone," she explained; "so I judged that
+some misfortune had befallen you, and I was coming to help you."
+
+He told her all his adventures, and they returned home together.
+
+The king was all eagerness to see and hear the Self-playing Guitar; so
+he ordered the ferry-man, his wife, and her sister to come with it to
+the palace at once.
+
+Now the property of this Self-playing Guitar was such that wherever its
+music was heard, the sick became well, those who were sad merry, ugly
+folks became handsome, sorceries were dissolved, and those who had been
+murdered rose from the dead, and slew their murderers.
+
+So when the king, having been told the charm to set the guitar playing,
+said the words, all the court began to be merry, and dance--except the
+king himself!... For all at once the door opened, the music ceased, and
+the figure of the late king stood up in his shroud, and said:
+
+"I was the rightful possessor of the throne! and you, wicked brother,
+who caused me to be murdered, shall now reap your reward!"
+
+So saying he breathed upon him, and the king fell dead--on which the
+phantom vanished.
+
+But as soon as they recovered from their fright, all the nobility who
+were present acclaimed the ferry-man as their king.
+
+The next day, after the burial of the late king, the beautiful
+sea-maiden, the beloved of the Sun, went back to the sea, to float about
+in her silvery canoe, in the company of the rainbow fishes, and to
+rejoice in the sunbeams.
+
+But the good ferry-man and his wife lived happily ever after, as king
+and queen. And they gave a grand ball to the nobility and to the
+people.... The Self-playing Guitar furnished the music, the wonderful
+purse scattered gold all the time, and the king entertained all the
+guests right royally.
+
+[Illustration: THE FIGHT FOR THE MAGIC BOOTS]
+
+
+
+
+THE PRINCESS OF THE BRAZEN MOUNTAIN
+
+
+There was a young prince, who was not only most handsome and well-grown,
+but also most kind-hearted and good. Now sooner or later kindness always
+meets its reward, though it may not seem so at first.
+
+One summer's evening the prince was walking on the banks of a lake, when
+he looked up, and saw to his great surprise, in the air, against the
+rosy clouds of the sunset, three beautiful beings with wings--not
+angels, nor birds--but three beautiful damsels.
+
+And having alighted on the ground they dropped their wings and their
+garments, and left them lying on the shore and leaped into the cool
+water, and began splashing and playing about in it, like so many
+waterfowl.
+
+As soon as the prince saw this he came out from his hiding-place in the
+bushes, picked up one pair of wings and hid himself again.
+
+When they had been long enough in the water, the beautiful damsels came
+again to land, and dressed themselves quickly.
+
+Two of them soon had on both their white dresses and their wings; but
+the youngest could not find hers.
+
+They held a short consultation, and the result was, that the two elder
+flew away in the shape of birds, as fast as they could, to fetch another
+pair of wings for their younger sister.
+
+They soon vanished in the blue sky; but she remained alone, wringing her
+hands, and crying.
+
+"What are you crying for, you lovely maiden?" asked the prince, emerging
+from the bushes.
+
+"Oh! I am so unhappy!" she replied. "I am a princess of the Brazen
+Mountain; my sisters and I came here to bathe in the lake; and somebody
+has stolen my wings; so I must wait here, until they bring me another
+pair."
+
+"I am a prince," he replied; "this is my father's kingdom; be my wife,
+and I will give you back your wings."
+
+"Very well," she said; "I consent, only you must give me back my wings
+at once."
+
+"Let us first go to church, and get married," he answered, and taking
+the lovely princess by the hand, he brought her to his father and
+mother, and asked their permission to marry her.
+
+[Illustration: THE PRINCE STEALS THE WINGS]
+
+The king and queen were delighted with their beautiful daughter-in-law,
+gave them their blessing, and all was got ready for the wedding.
+
+And directly they came back from church the prince, overcome with joy,
+kissed his bride, and gave her back her wings.
+
+She took them joyfully, fastened them to her shoulders; then flew out of
+the window, and vanished.
+
+All the wedding-guests were in consternation; the king looked very
+serious; the queen wept bitterly; but the prince so grieved after his
+bride, that, having obtained his parents' consent, he went out into the
+wide world to search for that Brazen Mountain, where he hoped to find
+her.
+
+He travelled for a long time, inquiring about it of every one he met;
+but nobody had ever heard of such a mountain; and he began to give up
+all hope of ever finding it.
+
+Late one evening he saw a twinkling light before him, which he followed,
+in the hope of coming to some habitation. It led him on a long way,
+across level plains, through deep defiles, and at length some way into a
+dark forest. But at last he came to whence the light proceeded--from a
+solitary hermitage.
+
+He went in; but found the hermit lying dead, with six wax candles
+burning around him. He had evidently been dead for some time. Yet there
+seemed to be nobody near him, nor any inhabitants at all in this
+desolate region.
+
+The prince's first thought was how to get him buried, and with proper
+rites, when there was no priest--nor indeed any people at all--to be
+found in the neighbourhood.
+
+While he was thinking over this, something fell from a peg in the wall,
+close beside him; it was a leather whip.
+
+The prince took it up, and read on the handle these words:
+
+"The Magic Whip."
+
+As he knew its virtue, he called out:
+
+    "Ho! Magical Whip!
+    To right and left skip!
+    And do what I will!"
+
+The whip jumped from his hand, became invisible, and flew away.
+
+In a short time there was the hum of a multitude through the forest; and
+the head-forester entered, breathless, followed by a crowd of
+under-keepers, and many more people with them.
+
+Some set about making a coffin, others began digging a grave, and the
+head-keeper rode off to fetch a priest.
+
+And as soon as it was dawn mass was said; the bells began ringing from
+several far-distant churches; and at sunrise the corpse was decently
+buried. When the funeral was over all the people dispersed to their
+homes, and the Magical Whip returned of itself to the prince's hand.
+
+He stuck it into his girdle, and went on, till after an hour or two he
+came to a clearing in the forest, where twelve men were fighting
+desperately among themselves.
+
+"Stop, you fellows!" exclaimed the prince. "Who are you? and what are
+you fighting about?"
+
+"We are robbers," they replied, "and we are fighting for these boots,
+which were the property of our deceased leader. Whoever has them can go
+seven leagues at one step; and he who gets them will be our leader. As
+you are a stranger we will abide by your decision, as to whom this pair
+of boots shall belong, and give you a heap of gold into the bargain for
+your trouble."
+
+The prince drew on the boots, took the Magical Whip from his girdle, and
+said:
+
+    "Ho! Magical Whip!
+    To right and left skip!
+    And do what I will!"
+
+The whip jumped from his hand, became invisible, and well thrashed the
+robbers. In the midst of the confusion the prince made his escape, and
+having the boots on he went seven miles at every step, and was soon far
+enough away from the robbers' den.
+
+But as he was no nearer to finding out where the Brazen Mountain was, he
+had no need to go quite so fast; so he took off the seven-league boots,
+put them under his arm, and the Magic Whip in his girdle, and went at
+his ordinary pace, till he came to a narrow path between some rocks,
+where again he came upon twelve men fighting.
+
+They explained that they were fighting for an invisible cap, which had
+belonged to their late leader; and asked him, as a stranger, to decide
+who should have it.
+
+So he set the Magical Whip, as before, to work; and there was a nice
+confusion among these robbers, for not seeing where the blows came from
+they fell upon one another; and at last, frightened out of their senses,
+they took flight, and scattered in all directions. The prince, having
+put on the invisible cap, was able to walk among them, and talk to them;
+and they all heard, though they could not see him.
+
+He now began to consider whether he could not use all these treasures to
+help him to find the Brazen Mountain. So he drew on the seven-league
+boots, settled the invisible cap on his forehead, and taking the Magical
+Whip from his girdle, said:
+
+    "Oh! thou wondrous Magic Whip!
+    Lead me on; I'll follow thee!
+    Onward to the Brazen Mountain
+    Lead me, where I fain would be!"
+
+The whip sprang from his hand. It did not become invisible this time,
+but glided rapidly a little above the ground, like a boat over a calm
+sea. Though it flew like a bird, the prince was quite able to keep pace
+with it, because he had on the seven-league boots. He was scarcely
+aware of the fact, when in less than a quarter of an hour they came to a
+standstill--at the Brazen Mountain.
+
+At first the prince was overjoyed at having reached the goal of his
+wishes; but when he looked more closely at its smooth perpendicular
+sides, hard as adamant--its summit lost in the clouds--he was in
+despair; for how was he ever to get to the top of it?
+
+However, he thought there must be some way up after all; so taking off
+his boots and cap, he set off to walk round the base of the mountain.
+
+In half an hour he came to a mill, with twelve millstones. The miller
+was an old wizard, with a long beard down to the ground. He stood beside
+a stove--whereupon a kettle was boiling--stirring the contents with a
+long iron spoon, and piling wood on the fire.
+
+The prince looked into the kettle.
+
+"Good morning to you, gaffer. What are you doing there?"
+
+"That's my own business," replied the miller gruffly.
+
+"What mill is this?" the prince next asked.
+
+"That's no business of yours," replied the miller.
+
+The prince was not going to be satisfied with this; so he gave his usual
+orders to the Magical Whip, which forthwith became invisible, and began
+to lash the miller soundly. He tried to run away; but it was no use;
+till the prince took pity on him, and called the whip back again. He
+put it up, and then said:
+
+"Whose mill is this?"
+
+"It belongs to the three princesses of the Brazen Mountain," replied the
+miller. "They let down a rope here every day, and draw up all the flour
+they want by the rope."
+
+As he said this a thick silken rope came down, with a loop at the end,
+which struck the threshold of the mill.
+
+The prince made ready; and when the usual sack of wheat flour was bound
+fast in the loop, he climbed upon it, having first put on his invisible
+cap, and was thus drawn up to the top of the Brazen Mountain.
+
+The three princesses, having drawn up their supply of flour, put it into
+their storehouse, and went back to their dwelling.
+
+Their palace was most beautiful, all silver without, and all gold
+within. All the windows were of crystal; the chairs and tables were made
+of diamonds, and the floors of looking-glass. The ceilings were like the
+sky, with mimic stars and moon shining therein; and in the principal
+saloon there was a sun, with rays all round; beautiful birds were
+singing, monkeys were telling fairy tales; and in their midst amongst
+all this sat three most beautiful princesses.
+
+The two eldest were weaving golden threads in their looms; but the
+youngest, the prince's wife, sat silently apart from her sisters,
+listening to the murmur of a fountain, her head leaning on her hand,
+in deep thought. And as she sat there two pearly tears coursed down her
+lovely face.
+
+[Illustration: THE TRUANT WIFE IS CAPTURED]
+
+"What are you thinking of, sister?" asked the two elder princesses.
+
+"I am thinking of the prince, my husband. I love to think of him, and I
+am so sorry for him, poor fellow! To think I left him for no fault at
+all; and when we loved one another so dearly! Oh! sisters! I shall have
+to leave you, and go back to him; only I fear he will never forgive me,
+however I entreat him, for having behaved so unkindly to him."
+
+"I forgive you, I forgive you everything, darling!" exclaimed the prince
+throwing off the invisible cap, and embracing her rapturously.
+
+Then she gave him wings like her own, and they flew away together. In an
+hour or two they arrived in his father's kingdom.
+
+The king and queen welcomed them joyfully, and all was greatest joy and
+happiness henceforward.
+
+[Illustration: THE MOUSE SAVES THE GOOD LITTLE GIRL]
+
+
+
+
+THE BEAR IN THE FOREST HUT.
+
+
+There was once an old man, who was a widower, and he had married an old
+woman, who was a widow. Both had had children by their first marriage;
+and now the old man had a daughter of his own still living, and the old
+woman also had a daughter.
+
+The old man was an honest, hard-working, and good-natured old fellow,
+but too much under his wife's thumb. This was very unfortunate, because
+she was wicked, cunning, and sly, and a bad old witch.
+
+Her daughter was only too like her in disposition; but she was her
+mother's darling.
+
+But the old man's daughter was a very good sweet girl; nevertheless her
+stepmother hated her; she was always tormenting her, and wishing her
+dead.
+
+One day she had beaten her very cruelly, and pushed her out of doors;
+then she said to the old man:
+
+"Your wretched daughter is always giving me trouble; she is such an
+ill-tempered, spoilt hussy, that I cannot do anything with her. So if
+you wish for peace in the house, you must put her into your waggon,
+drive her away into the forest, and come back without her."
+
+The old man was very sorry to have to do this; for he loved his own
+little daughter most dearly. But he was so afraid of his wife that he
+dared not refuse; so he put the poor girl into his waggon, drove a long
+way into the forest, took her out, and left her there alone.
+
+She wandered about a long time, gathering wild strawberries, to eat with
+a little piece of bread, which her father had given her. Towards evening
+she came to the door of a hut in the forest, and knocked at the door.
+
+Nobody answered her knock. So she lifted the latch, went in, and looked
+round--there was nobody there.
+
+But there was a table in one corner, and benches all round the walls,
+and an oven by the door. And near the table, close to the window, was a
+spinning-wheel, and a quantity of flax.
+
+The girl sat down to the spinning-wheel, and opened the window, looked
+out, and listened; but nobody came.
+
+[Illustration: THE GOOD LITTLE GIRL IS SENT AWAY]
+
+But as it grew dusk she heard a rustle not far off, and from somewhere
+not far from the hut, a voice was heard, singing:
+
+    "Wanderer, outcast, forsaken!
+    Whom the night has overtaken;
+    If no crime your conscience stain,
+    In this hut to-night remain."
+
+When the voice ceased, she answered:
+
+    "I am outcast and forsaken;
+    Yet unstained by crime am I:
+    Be you rich, or be you poor;
+    For this night here let me lie!"
+
+Once more there was a rustle in the branches; the door opened, and there
+came into the room--a bear!
+
+The girl started up, very frightened; but the bear only said:
+
+"Good evening, pretty maiden!"
+
+"Good evening to you, whoever you are," she replied, somewhat reassured.
+
+"How did you come here?" he asked. "Was it of your own free will, or by
+compulsion?"
+
+The maiden told him all, weeping; but the bear sat down beside her, and
+stroking her face with his paw, replied:
+
+"Do not cry, pretty one; you shall be happy yet. But in the meantime you
+must do just what I tell you. Do you see that flax? You must spin it
+into thread; of that thread you must weave cloth, and of that cloth you
+must make me a shirt. I shall come here to-morrow at this same time, and
+if the shirt is ready I will reward you. Good-bye!"
+
+So saying the bear made her a parting bow, and went out. At first the
+girl began to cry, and said to herself:
+
+"How can I do this in only twenty-four hours--spin all that flax, weave
+it into cloth, and make a shirt out of it? Well! I must set to work! and
+do what I can.... He will at least see that my will was good, though I
+was unable to perform the task."
+
+Thus saying, she dried her tears, ate some of her bread and
+strawberries, sat down to the spinning-wheel, and began to spin by the
+light of the moon.
+
+The time went by quickly, as she worked, and it was daylight before she
+knew.
+
+And there was no more flax left; she had spun out the last distaff-full.
+
+She was astonished to see how fast the work had gone, and began to
+wonder how she was to weave the thread without any loom.
+
+Thinking, she fell asleep.
+
+When she woke the sun was already high in the heavens. There was
+breakfast ready on the table, and a loom under the window.
+
+She ran down to the neighbouring brook, washed her face and hands, came
+back, said grace, and ate her breakfast; then she sat down to the loom.
+
+The shuttle flew so fast that the cloth was all ready by noon.
+
+She took it out into a meadow, sprinkled it from the brook, spread it
+out in the sun, and in one hour the cloth was bleached.
+
+She came back with it to the hut, cut out the shirt, and began to stitch
+at it diligently.
+
+The twilight was falling, and she was just putting in the last stitch,
+when the door opened, and the bear came in, and asked:
+
+"Is the shirt ready?"
+
+She gave it to him.
+
+"Thank you, my good girl; now I must reward you. You told me you had a
+bad stepmother; if you like, I will send my bears to tear her and her
+daughter in pieces."
+
+"Oh! don't do that! I don't want to be revenged; let them live!"
+
+"Let it be so then! Meanwhile make yourself useful in the kitchen; get
+me some porridge for supper. You will find everything you want in the
+cupboard in the wall; but I will go and fetch my bedding, for I shall
+spend to-night at home."
+
+The bear left the room, and the maiden made up the fire in the oven, and
+began to get the porridge ready.
+
+Just then she heard a sound under the bench, and there ran out a poor,
+lean little mouse, which stood up on its hind-legs, and said in human
+tones:
+
+    "Mistress! help me lest I die
+    A poor weak, little mouse am I!
+    I am hungry, give me food;
+    And to you will I be good."
+
+The girl was sorry for the mouse, and threw it a spoonful of porridge.
+
+The mouse ate it, thanked her, and ran away to its hole.
+
+The bear soon came in, with a load of wood and stones; these he laid
+upon the stove, and having eaten a basin of porridge, he climbed upon
+the stove, and said:
+
+"Here, girl, is a bunch of keys on a steel ring. Put out the fire; but
+you must walk about the room all night, and keep on jingling these keys,
+till I get up; and if I find you alive in the morning you shall be
+happy."
+
+The bear began snoring directly, and the old man's daughter kept walking
+about the hut, jingling the keys.
+
+Soon the mouse ran out of its hole, and said:
+
+"Give me the keys, mistress, I will jingle them for you; but you must
+hide yourself behind the stove, for the stones will soon be flying
+about."
+
+So the mouse began to run up and down by the wall, under the bench. The
+maiden hid behind the oven, and about midnight the bear woke up, and
+threw out a stone into the middle of the room.
+
+But the mouse kept running about, and jingling the keys. And the bear
+asked:
+
+"Are you alive?"
+
+"I am," replied the girl, from behind the oven.
+
+The bear began to throw stones and billets of wood, thick and fast from
+the stove, and every time he did so, he asked:
+
+"Are you alive?"
+
+"I am," replied the girl's voice from behind the oven; and the mouse
+still ran up and down, jingling the keys.
+
+With the dawn the cocks began to crow, but the bear did not wake. The
+mouse gave up the keys, and ran back to its hole; but the old man's
+daughter began to walk about the room, and jingled the keys.
+
+At sunrise the bear came off the stove, and said:
+
+"O daughter of the old man! you are blest of heaven! For here was I, a
+powerful monarch, changed by enchantment into a bear, until some living
+soul should spend two nights in this hut. And now I shall soon become a
+man again, and return to my kingdom, taking you for my wife. But before
+this comes to pass, do you look into my right ear."
+
+The old man's daughter threw back her hair, and looked into the right
+ear of the bear. And she saw a beautiful country, with millions of
+people, with high mountains, deep rivers, impenetrable forests, and
+pastures covered with flocks, well-to-do villages, and rich cities.
+
+"What seest thou?" asked the bear.
+
+"I see a lovely country."
+
+"That is my kingdom. Look into my left ear."
+
+She looked, and could not enough admire what she saw--a magnificent
+palace, with many carriages and horses in the courtyard, and in the
+carriages rich robes, jewels, and all kinds of rarities.
+
+"What do you see?" asked the bear.
+
+She described it all.
+
+"Which of those carriages do you prefer?"
+
+"The one with four horses," she replied.
+
+"That is yours then," answered the bear, as he opened the window.
+
+There was a sound of wheels in the forest, and a golden carriage
+presently drew up before the cottage drawn by four splendid horses,
+although there was no driver.
+
+The bear adorned his beloved with a gown of cloth-of-gold, with diamond
+ear-rings, a necklace set with various precious stones, and diamond
+rings, saying:
+
+"Wait here a little while; your father will come for you presently; and
+in a few days, when the power of the enchantment is over, and I am a
+king again, I will come for you, and you shall be my queen."
+
+So saying the bear disappeared into the forest, and the old man's
+daughter looked out of the window to watch for her father's coming.
+
+The old man, having left his daughter in the wood, came home very sad;
+but on the third day he harnessed his waggon again, and drove into the
+forest, to see if she were alive or dead; and if she were dead at least
+to bury her.
+
+Towards evening the old woman and her own daughter looked out of the
+window, and a dog, the favourite of the old man's daughter, suddenly
+rushed to the door, and began to bark:
+
+    "Bow! wow! wow! the old man's here!
+    Bringing home his daughter dear,
+    Decked with gold and diamonds' sheen,
+    Gifts to please a royal queen."
+
+The old woman gave the dog an angry kick. "You lie, you big ugly dog!
+Bark like this!
+
+    'Bow! wow! wow! the old man's come!
+    His daughter's bones he's bringing home!'"
+
+So saying she opened the door; the dog leaped forth; and she went with
+her daughter into the courtyard. They stood as if transfixed!
+
+For in drove the carriage with four galloping horses, the old man
+sitting on the box, cracking his whip, and his daughter sat inside,
+dressed in cloth of gold, and adorned with jewels.
+
+The old woman pretended she was overjoyed to see her, welcomed her with
+many kisses, and was anxious to know where she got all these rich and
+beautiful things.
+
+The girl told her that they were all given to her by the bear in the
+forest hut.
+
+Next day the old woman baked some delicious cakes, and gave them to her
+own daughter, saying to the old man:
+
+"If your wretched, worthless daughter has had such good luck, I am sure
+my sweet, pretty darling will get a deal more from the bear, if he can
+only see her. So you must drive her out in the waggon, leave her in the
+forest, and come back without her."
+
+And she gave the old man a good push, to hasten his departure, shut the
+door of the cottage in his face, and looked out of the window to see
+what would happen.
+
+The old man went to the stable, got out the waggon, put the horse to,
+helped his stepdaughter in, and drove away with her into the forest.
+
+There he left her, turned his horse's head, and drove quickly home.
+
+The old woman's daughter was not long in finding out the hut in the
+forest. Confident in the power of her charms she went straight into the
+little room. There was nobody within; but there was the same table in
+one corner, the benches round the walls, the oven by the door, and the
+spinning-wheel, under the window, with a great bundle of flax.
+
+She sat down on one of the benches, undid her bundle, and began eating
+the cakes with great relish, looking from the window all the time.
+
+It soon began to get dark, a strong wind began to blow, and a voice was
+heard singing outside:
+
+    "Wanderer! outcast, forsaken!
+    Whom the night has overtaken;
+    If no crime your conscience stain,
+    Here this night you may remain."
+
+When the voice ceased she answered:
+
+    "I am outcast and forsaken;
+    Yet unstained by crime am I:
+    Be you rich, or be you poor,
+    For this night here let me lie."
+
+Then the door opened, and the bear walked in.
+
+The girl stood up, gave him a winning smile, and waited for him to bow
+first.
+
+The bear looked at her narrowly, made a bow, and said:
+
+"Welcome, maiden ... but I have not much time to stay here. I must go
+back to the forest; but between now and to-morrow evening you must make
+me a shirt, out of this flax; so you must set at once about spinning,
+weaving, bleaching, washing, and then about sewing it. Good-bye!"
+
+So saying the bear turned, and went out.
+
+"That's not what I came here for," said the girl, so soon as his back
+was turned, "to do your spinning, weaving, and sewing! You may do
+without a shirt for me!"
+
+So saying, she made herself comfortable on one of the benches, and went
+to sleep.
+
+Next day, at evening twilight, the bear came back, and asked:
+
+"Is the shirt ready?"
+
+She made no answer.
+
+"What's this? the distaff has not been touched."
+
+Silence as before.
+
+"Get me ready my supper at once. You will find water in that pail, and
+the groats in that cupboard. I must go and fetch my bedding, for
+to-night I will sleep at home."
+
+The bear went out, and the old woman's daughter lit the fire in the
+stove, and began to prepare the porridge. Then the little mouse came
+out, stood on its hind-legs, and said:
+
+    "Mistress! help me, or I die!
+    A poor, weak little mouse am I!
+    I am hungry, give me food;
+    And to you will I be good."
+
+But the unkind girl only caught up the spoon with which she was stirring
+the porridge, and flung it at the poor mouse, which ran away in a
+fright.
+
+The bear soon came back with a huge load of stones and wood; instead of
+a mattress he arranged a layer of stones on the top of the stove, and
+covered this with the wood, in place of a sheet. He ate up the porridge,
+and said:
+
+"Here! take these keys; walk all night about the hut, and keep on
+jingling them. And if, when I get up to-morrow, I find you still alive,
+you shall be happy."
+
+The bear was snoring at once, and the old woman's daughter walked up and
+down drowsily, jingling the keys.
+
+But about midnight the bear woke up, and flung a stone towards the
+quarter whence he heard the jingling. It hit the old woman's daughter.
+
+She gave one shriek, fell, and expired instantly.
+
+Next morning the bear descended from the top of the oven, looked once at
+the dead girl, opened the cottage door, stood upon the threshold, and
+stamped upon it three times with all his force. It thundered and
+lightened; and in one moment the bear became a handsome young king, with
+a golden sceptre in his hand, and a diamond crown on his head.
+
+And now there drew up before the cottage a carriage, bright as sunshine,
+with six horses. The coachman cracked his whip, till the leaves fell
+from the trees, and the king got into the carriage, and drove away from
+the forest to his own capital city.
+
+The old man having left his stepdaughter in the forest came home
+rejoicing in his daughter's joy. She was expecting the king every day.
+In the meantime he busied himself with looking after the four splendid
+horses, cleaning the golden carriage, and airing the costly
+horse-clothes.
+
+On the third day after his return the old woman came down upon him and
+said:
+
+"Go and fetch my darling; she is no doubt all dressed in gold by this
+time, or married to a king; so I shall be a queen's mother."
+
+The old man, obedient as ever, harnessed the waggon, and drove off.
+
+When evening came the old woman gazed from the window; when the dog
+began to bark:
+
+    "Bow! wow! wow! the old man's come!
+    Your daughter's bones he's bringing home!"
+
+"You lie!" exclaimed the old woman; "bark like this:
+
+    'Bow! wow! wow! the old man's here!
+    Driving home your daughter dear,
+    Decked in gold and diamonds' sheen,
+    Gifts to please a royal queen.'"
+
+So saying she ran out of the house to meet the old man, coming back in
+the waggon; but she stood as if thunderstruck, sobbed, and wept, and was
+hardly able to articulate:
+
+"Where is my sweetest daughter?"
+
+The old man scratched his head, and replied:
+
+"She has met with a great misfortune; this is all I have found of her--a
+few bare bones, and blood-stained garments; in the wood, in the old hut
+... she has been devoured by wolves."
+
+The old woman, wild with grief and despair, gathered up her
+daughter's bones, went to some neighbouring cross-ways, and when a
+number of people had gathered together, she buried them there with
+weeping and lamentation; then she fell face downward on the grave--and
+was turned to stone.
+
+[Illustration: THE REWARD OF THE GOOD LITTLE GIRL]
+
+Meanwhile a royal carriage drew up in the courtyard of the old man's
+cottage, bright as the sun, with four splendid horses, and the coachman
+cracked his whip--till the cottage fell to pieces with the sound.
+
+The king took both the old man and his daughter into the carriage, and
+they drove away to his capital, where the marriage soon took place.
+
+The old man lived happily in his declining years, as the father-in-law
+of a king, and with his sweet daughter, who had once been so miserable,
+a queen.
+
+
+
+
+APPENDIX
+
+
+NOTE I
+
+THE FROG PRINCESS
+
+This is certainly a "Nature story." The princess and her attendants are
+clearly personification of the elemental forces. The classical scholar
+cannot fail to be struck by the likeness of her metamorphoses to the
+story of Peleus and Thetis. Indeed the "Protean myth" so repeatedly
+occurs in these primitive Slavonic stories that it is impossible not to
+suspect a common origin.
+
+
+NOTE II
+
+PRINCESS MIRANDA AND PRINCE HERO
+
+The old woman "Jandza"--which word Polish dictionary-makers translate by
+"fury"--appears very often both in Polish and Russian fairy tales, as a
+witch of witches. She is sometimes "Jaga"; and seems pretty malevolent,
+though capable of serving those who know how to manage her.
+
+This story--probably a symbolic one--of the Spring and Winter, or the
+triumph of Light over Darkness, might be read at the present moment into
+an allegory of Poland, overrun, her people oppressed, starved, and all
+but extirpated by the malignant spirit of German militarism. Princess
+Miranda, herself unsleeping, awake, and watching, while all is
+desolation and despair around her, might be taken for the Spirit of
+Poland herself, undying, but waiting for deliverance. But where is the
+Prince Hero, who shall deliver her?
+
+_Princess Miranda_--her name is _cud-dziewica_, i.e. "Wonder
+Maiden"--but is not "admired Miranda" the most obvious rendering?
+
+
+NOTE III
+
+THE WHIRLWIND
+
+The name of the heroine "Ladna" signifies "pretty" or "beautiful" in
+Polish. It is not the word originally used; but being nearly equivalent,
+and of similar meaning, appears preferable.
+
+The prince's name "Dobrotek," signifies "good," or "benefactor." Being
+easy of pronunciation, but not easily Englished into a proper name, it
+seemed best to retain it.
+
+The whole story has a very Eastern cast. The mention of the "Seven
+seas," and the high mountains beyond them, suggest Persian or Indian
+influence. The ugly dwarf, with the long beard and diminutive stature,
+seems a malignant "Jinn," and to have his counterpart in a well-known
+legend of the Arabian Nights. But this is not the only Polish tale that
+gives this impression; more than one appears directly taken from these
+tales.
+
+P. 50. "The Water of Loosening." Loosening is not perhaps an exact
+rendering, which is rather "unstiffening," or destroying the _rigor
+mortis_, as a preparative to healing a mortal wound, and breaking the
+sleep of death. These three waters always appear in stories, where this
+incident is used.
+
+
+NOTE IV
+
+THE PRINCESS OF THE BRAZEN MOUNTAIN
+
+This story is rather freely translated, and much shortened from the
+original. There is much pious reflection, too long for insertion. The
+conversation between the prince and the sorcerer-miller is somewhat
+changed as much of it seemed rather irrelevant to the chief interest of
+the story, and lacking in pithiness.
+
+The story of a supernatural maiden, compelled by the theft of her wings
+to remain temporarily as a mortal with a mortal husband, has its
+counterpart in many lands. The oldest perhaps is a Persian story,
+related in Keightly's "Fairy Mythology," of a Peri, who being thus
+entrapped, lives several years as an ordinary woman; but accidently
+finding her wings again, puts them on, and deserts her mortal husband
+and children, remarking as she does so: "I loved you well enough, while
+we remained together; but I love my former husband better"--and so
+vanishes away to Peristan.
+
+The parallel legend of "Little Sealskin" will readily occur to memory.
+
+
+                          THE END
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Notes:
+
+
+The two footnotes in the original text were indicated by small symbols
+rather than numbers as shown here.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Polish Fairy Tales, by A. J. Glinski
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK POLISH FAIRY TALES ***
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+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Polish Fairy Tales, by A. J. Glinski
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Polish Fairy Tales
+
+Author: A. J. Glinski
+
+Illustrator: Cecile Walton
+
+Translator: Maude Ashurst Biggs
+
+Release Date: July 8, 2011 [EBook #36668]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK POLISH FAIRY TALES ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Jana Srna, Matthew Wheaton and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+<div>
+
+<br />
+
+<br />
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a name="FRONTISPIECE"></a>
+<a href="images/i04f.jpg">
+<img border="0" src="images/i04t.jpg" width="592" height="600" alt="frontispiece" />
+</a>
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption">THE FAIRY GIRLS MAKE THE CARPET</p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter"><img border="0" src="images/i05t.jpg" width="444" height="600" alt="Title Page" /></div>
+
+<h1>POLISH FAIRY TALES</h1>
+
+<p class="h4"><span class="smcap">TRANSLATED from A J GLINSKI</span></p>
+
+<p class="h2">By MAUDE ASHURST BIGGS<br />
+<br />
+ILLUSTRATED By CECILE WALTON</p>
+
+<p class="h2">
+<span class="smcap">LONDON: JOHN LANE the bodley head<br />
+NEW YORK john lane company 1920</span></p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<p class="h6">
+<i>The Mayflower Press, Plymouth, England.</i> William Brendon &amp; Son, Ltd.
+</p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 421px;">
+<img src="images/i07t.jpg" width="421" height="600" alt="i07t" title="The pictures in this book are dedicated to
+my sons .... Gavril and Teddy." />
+</div>
+
+<div class="inset26" style="width:38em">
+<p class="caption">The pictures in this book are dedicated to
+my sons .... Gavril and Teddy."
+<br />
+<span style="float:right">Cecile Walton.</span></p>
+</div>
+
+<p class="pagenum">[ix]</p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<p class="h2">TALES FROM POLAND</p>
+
+<p>These are selections from a large collection made by
+A. J. Glinski, printed at Wilna in 1862. These
+fairy tales come from a far past and may even date
+from primitive Aryan times. They represent the folklore
+current among the peasantry of the Eastern provinces of
+Poland, and also in those provinces usually known as
+White Russia.</p>
+
+<p>They were set down by Glinski just as they were related
+to him by the peasants.</p>
+
+<p>In the translation it was of course necessary to shorten
+them considerably; the continual repetition&mdash;however
+quaint and fascinating in the original&mdash;cannot easily be
+reproduced. Portions, too, are often told in rhyme, or in a
+species of rhyming prose that we associate with the ancient
+ballad. The obvious likenesses between these and the folklore
+of Germany, the Celtic nations, or to the Indian fairy-tales,
+will strike every reader.</p>
+
+<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Maude Ashurst Biggs.</span></p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[xi]</span></p>
+
+<p class="h2">CONTENTS</p>
+
+<div class="centered">
+  <table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" width="80%" summary="Table of Contents">
+    <tr>
+      <td class="tdlsc" width="70%">&nbsp;</td>
+      <td class="tdrfirst" width="30%"><span style="font-size:80%">PAGE</span></td>
+    </tr>
+
+    <tr>
+      <td class="tdlsc">The Frog Princess</td>
+      <td class="tdr"><a href="#THE_FROG_PRINCESS">1</a></td>
+    </tr>
+
+    <tr>
+      <td class="tdlsc">Princess Miranda and Prince Hero</td>
+      <td class="tdr"><a href="#PRINCESS_MIRANDA_AND_PRINCE_HERO">15</a></td>
+    </tr>
+
+    <tr>
+      <td class="tdlsc">The Eagles</td>
+      <td class="tdr"><a href="#THE_EAGLES">29</a></td>
+    </tr>
+
+    <tr>
+      <td class="tdlsc">The Whirlwind</td>
+      <td class="tdr"><a href="#THE_WHIRLWIND">37</a></td>
+    </tr>
+
+    <tr>
+      <td class="tdlsc">The Good Ferryman and the Water Nymphs</td>
+      <td class="tdr"><a href="#THE_GOOD_FERRYMAN_AND_THE_WATER_NYMPHS">53</a></td>
+    </tr>
+
+    <tr>
+      <td class="tdlsc">The Princess of the Brazen Mountain</td>
+      <td class="tdr"><a href="#THE_PRINCESS_OF_THE_BRAZEN_MOUNTAIN">69</a></td>
+    </tr>
+
+    <tr>
+      <td class="tdlsc">The Bear in the Forest Hut</td>
+      <td class="tdr"><a href="#THE_BEAR_IN_THE_FOREST_HUT">79</a></td>
+    </tr>
+
+    <tr>
+      <td class="tdlsc">Appendix</td>
+      <td class="tdr"><a href="#APPENDIX">94</a></td>
+    </tr>
+
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<p class="pagenum">[xiii]</p>
+
+<p class="h2">ILLUSTRATIONS</p>
+
+<div class="centered">
+  <table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" width="80%" summary="Table of Contents">
+    <tr>
+      <td class="tdl" width="70%">The Fairy Girls Make the Carpet</td>
+      <td class="tdrfirst" width="30%">
+       <span style="font-size:60%">
+        <a href="#FRONTISPIECE">FRONTISPIECE</a>
+        <br />
+        TO FACE PAGE
+       </span>
+      </td>
+    </tr>
+
+    <tr>
+      <td class="tdl">The Little House Turns</td>
+      <td class="tdr"><a href="#THE_LITTLE_HOUSE_TURNS">10</a></td>
+    </tr>
+
+    <tr>
+      <td class="tdl">The Way Home</td>
+      <td class="tdr"><a href="#THE_WAY_HOME">13</a></td>
+    </tr>
+
+    <tr>
+      <td class="tdl">Through the Telescope</td>
+      <td class="tdr"><a href="#THROUGH_THE_TELESCOPE">15</a></td>
+    </tr>
+
+    <tr>
+      <td class="tdl">The Dragon who Kept Watch</td>
+      <td class="tdr"><a href="#THE_DRAGON_WHO_KEPT_WATCH">25</a></td>
+    </tr>
+
+    <tr>
+      <td class="tdl">The Children Transformed</td>
+      <td class="tdr"><a href="#THE_CHILDREN_TRANSFORMED">29</a></td>
+    </tr>
+
+    <tr>
+      <td class="tdl">The Old Man Blesses the Princess</td>
+      <td class="tdr"><a href="#THE_OLD_MAN_BLESSES_THE_PRINCESS">31</a></td>
+    </tr>
+
+    <tr>
+      <td class="tdl">To Trick the Basilisk</td>
+      <td class="tdr"><a href="#TO_TRICK_THE_BASILISK">36</a></td>
+    </tr>
+
+    <tr>
+      <td class="tdl">The Bride Carried off by the Whirlwind</td>
+      <td class="tdr"><a href="#THE_BRIDE_CARRIED_OFF_BY_THE_WHIRLWIND">37</a></td>
+    </tr>
+
+    <tr>
+      <td class="tdl">The Horse Appears in the Storm</td>
+      <td class="tdr"><a href="#THE_HORSE_APPEARS_IN_THE_STORM">42</a></td>
+    </tr>
+
+    <tr>
+      <td class="tdl">The Dwarf Defeated</td>
+      <td class="tdr"><a href="#THE_DWARF_DEFEATED">49</a></td>
+    </tr>
+
+    <tr>
+      <td class="tdl">The Good Ferryman Captures the Mermaid</td>
+      <td class="tdr"><a href="#THE_GOOD_FERRYMAN_CAPTURES_THE_MERMAID">53</a></td>
+    </tr>
+
+    <tr>
+      <td class="tdl">The Purse that was Ever Full</td>
+      <td class="tdr"><a href="#THE_PURSE_THAT_WAS_EVER_FULL">55</a></td>
+    </tr>
+
+    <tr>
+      <td class="tdl">The Meeting of the Sisters</td>
+      <td class="tdr"><a href="#THE_MEETING_OF_THE_SISTERS">63</a></td>
+    </tr>
+
+    <tr>
+      <td class="tdl">The Fight for the Magic Boots</td>
+      <td class="tdr"><a href="#THE_FIGHT_FOR_THE_MAGIC_BOOTS">69</a></td>
+    </tr>
+
+    <tr>
+      <td class="tdl">The Prince Steals the Wings</td>
+      <td class="tdr"><a href="#THE_PRINCE_STEALS_THE_WINGS">70</a></td>
+    </tr>
+
+    <tr>
+      <td class="tdl">The Truant Wife is Captured</td>
+      <td class="tdr"><a href="#THE_TRUANT_WIFE_IS_CAPTURED">77</a></td>
+    </tr>
+
+    <tr>
+      <td class="tdl">The Mouse Saves the Good Little Girl</td>
+      <td class="tdr"><a href="#THE_MOUSE_SAVES_THE_GOOD_LITTLE_GIRL">79</a></td>
+    </tr>
+
+    <tr>
+      <td class="tdl">The Good Little Girl is Sent Away</td>
+      <td class="tdr"><a href="#THE_GOOD_LITTLE_GIRL_IS_SENT_AWAY">80</a></td>
+    </tr>
+
+    <tr>
+      <td class="tdl">The Reward of the Good Little Girl</td>
+      <td class="tdr"><a href="#THE_REWARD_OF_THE_GOOD_LITTLE_GIRL">93</a></td>
+    </tr>
+
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<h2>POLISH FAIRY TALES</h2>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[1]</span>
+<a name="THE_FROG_PRINCESS" id="THE_FROG_PRINCESS"></a>
+</p>
+
+<div class="centered">
+<img src="images/i01t.jpg" width="600" height="308" alt="i01t" />
+</div>
+
+<h2>THE FROG PRINCESS</h2>
+
+<p class="noin"><img class="dropimg" src="images/drop-t.jpg" width="159" height="150" alt="T" />
+
+<b>HERE</b> was once a king, who was very old; but he had three grown-up sons. So he
+called them to him, and said:</p>
+
+<p>"My dear sons, I am very old, and the
+cares of government press heavily upon me. I must
+therefore give them over to one of you. But as it is the
+law among us, that no unmarried prince may be King, I
+wish you all to get married, and whoever chooses the best
+wife shall be my successor."</p>
+
+<p>So they determined each to go a different way, and settled
+<span class="pagenum">[2]</span>
+it thus. They went to the top of a very high tower, and
+each one at a given signal shot an arrow in a different
+direction to the others. Wherever their arrows fell they
+were to go in search of their future wives.</p>
+
+<p>The eldest prince's arrow fell on a palace in the city,
+where lived a senator, who had a beautiful daughter; so he
+went there, and married her.</p>
+
+<p>The second prince's arrow struck upon a country-house,
+where a very pretty young lady, the daughter of a rich
+gentleman, was sitting; so he went there, and proposed to
+her, and they were married.</p>
+
+<p>But the youngest prince's arrow shot through a green
+wood, and fell into a lake. He saw his arrow floating
+among the reeds, and a frog sitting thereon, looking fixedly
+at him.</p>
+
+<p>But the marshy ground was so unsafe that he could
+not venture upon it; so he sat down in despair.</p>
+
+<p>"What is the matter, prince?" asked the frog.</p>
+
+<p>"What is the matter? Why, I cannot reach that arrow
+on which you are sitting."</p>
+
+<p>"Take me for your wife, and I will give it to you."</p>
+
+<p>"But how can you be my wife, little frog?"</p>
+
+<p>"That is just what has got to be. You know that you
+shot your arrow from the tower, thinking that where it fell,
+you would find a loving wife; so you will have her in me."</p>
+
+<p>"You are very wise, I see, little frog. But tell me, how<span class="pagenum">[3]</span>
+can I marry you, or introduce you to my father? And what
+will the world say?"</p>
+
+<p>"Take me home with you, and let nobody see me. Tell
+them that you have married an Eastern lady, who must not
+be seen by any man, except her husband, nor even by another
+woman."</p>
+
+<p>The prince considered a little. The arrow had now
+floated to the margin of the lake; he took the arrow from
+the little frog, put her in his pocket, carried her home, and
+then went to bed, sighing very deeply.</p>
+
+<p>Next morning the king was told that all his sons had got
+married; so he called them all together, and said:</p>
+
+<p>"Well children, are you all pleased with your wives?"</p>
+
+<p>"Very pleased indeed, father and king."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, we shall see who has chosen best. Let each of
+my daughters-in-law weave me a carpet by to-morrow,
+and the one whose carpet is the most beautiful shall be
+queen."</p>
+
+<p>The elder princes hastened at once to their ladies; but
+the youngest, when he reached home, was in despair.</p>
+
+<p>"What is the matter, prince?" asked the frog.</p>
+
+<p>"What is the matter? My father has ordered that each
+of his daughters-in-law shall weave him a carpet, and the
+one whose carpet proves the most beautiful shall be first in
+rank. My brothers' wives are most likely working at their
+looms already. But you, little frog, although you can give<span class="pagenum">[4]</span>
+back an arrow, and talk like a human being, will not be
+able to weave a carpet, as far as I can see."</p>
+
+<p>"Don't be afraid," she said; "go to sleep, and before
+you wake the carpet shall be ready."</p>
+
+<p>So he lay down, and went to sleep.</p>
+
+<p>But the little frog stood on her hind-legs in the window
+and sang:</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2">"Ye breezes that blow, ye winds that sigh,<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Come hither on airy wing;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And all of you straight to my dwelling hie,<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">And various treasures bring.<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">Two fleeces I crave of the finest wool,<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">And of the loveliest flowers a basketful;<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">From the depths of the ocean bring sands of gold,<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">And pearl-drops of lustre manifold;<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">That so I may fashion a carpet bright,<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">Adorned with fair flow'rets and gems of light,<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">And weave it in one short day and night,<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">When my true love's hands must the treasure hold."<br /></span>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>There was a gentle murmur of the breezes, and from the<br />
+sunbeams descended seven lovely maidens, who floated into
+the room, carrying baskets of various coloured wools, pearls,
+and flowers. They curtsied deeply to the little frog, and
+in a few minutes they wove a wonderfully beautiful carpet;
+then they curtsied again, and flew away.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile the wives of the other princes bought the
+most beautifully coloured wools, and the best designs they
+could find, and worked hard at their looms all the next
+day.<span class="pagenum">[5]</span></p>
+
+<p>Then all the princes came before the king, and spread
+out their carpets before him.</p>
+
+<p>The king looked at the first and the second; but when
+he came to the third, he exclaimed:</p>
+
+<p>"That's the carpet for me! I give the first place to
+my youngest son's wife; but there must be another trial
+yet."</p>
+
+<p>And he ordered that each of his daughters-in-law should
+make him a cake next day; and the husband of the one
+whose cake proved the best should be his successor.</p>
+
+<p>The youngest prince came back to his frog wife; he
+looked very thoughtful, and sighed deeply.</p>
+
+<p>"What is the matter, prince?" she asked.</p>
+
+<p>"My father demands another proof of skill; and I am
+not so sure that we shall succeed so well as before; for
+how can you bake a cake?"</p>
+
+<p>"Do not be afraid," she said: "Lie down, and sleep;
+and when you wake you will be in a happier frame of
+mind."</p>
+
+<p>The prince went to sleep; and the frog sprang up to
+the window, and sang:</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2">"Ye breezes that blow, ye winds that sigh,<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Come hither on airy wing;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And all of you straight to my dwelling hie,<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">These various gifts to bring.<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">From the sunbeams bright<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">Bring me heat and light;<br /></span>
+<span class="pagenum">[6]</span>
+<span class="i6">And soft waters distil<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">From the pure flowing rill.<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">From the flowers of the field<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">The sweet odours they yield.<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">From the wheatfields obtain<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">Five full measures of grain,<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">That so I may bake<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">In the night-time a cake,<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">For my true love's sake."<br /></span>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>The winds began to rise, and the seven beautiful maidens
+floated down into the room, carrying baskets, with flour,
+water, sweetmeats, and all sorts of dainties. They curtsied
+to the little frog, and got the cake ready in a few minutes;
+curtsied again, and flew away.</p>
+
+<p>The next day the three princes brought their cakes to
+the king. They were all very good; but when he tasted
+the one made by his youngest son's wife, he exclaimed:</p>
+
+<p>"That is the cake for me! light, floury, white, and
+delicious! I see, my son, you have made the best choice;
+but we must wait a little longer."</p>
+
+<p>The two elder sons went away much depressed; but the
+youngest greatly elated. When he reached home he took up
+his little frog, stroked and kissed her, and said:</p>
+
+<p>"Tell me, my love, how it was that you, being only a little
+frog, could weave such a beautiful carpet, or make such a
+delicious cake?"</p>
+
+<p>"Because, my prince, I am not what I seem. I am a<span class="pagenum">[7]</span>
+princess, and my mother is the renowned Queen of Light, and
+a great enchantress. But she has many enemies, who, as
+they could not injure her, were always seeking to destroy me.
+To conceal me from them she was obliged to turn me into
+a frog; and for seven years I have been forced to stay in the
+marsh where you found me. But under this frog-skin I am
+really more beautiful than you can imagine; yet until my
+mother has conquered all her enemies I must wear this disguise;
+after that takes place you shall see me as I really am."</p>
+
+<p>While they were talking two courtiers entered, with the
+king's orders to the young prince, to come to a banquet at
+the king's palace, and bring his wife with him, as his brothers
+were doing by theirs.</p>
+
+<p>He knew not what to do; but the little frog said:</p>
+
+<p>"Do not be afraid, my prince. Go to your father alone;
+and when he asks for me, it will begin to rain. You must
+then say that your wife will follow you; but she is now
+bathing in May-dew. When it lightens say that I am
+dressing; and when it thunders, that I am coming."</p>
+
+<p>The prince, trusting to her word, set out for the palace;
+and the frog jumped up to the window, and standing on
+her hind-legs, began to sing:</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2">"Ye breezes that blow, ye winds that sigh,<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Come hither on airy wing;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And all of you straight to my dwelling hie,<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">These several gifts to bring.<br /></span>
+<span class="i4"><span class="pagenum">[8]</span><br /></span>
+<span class="i4">My beauty of yore;<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">And my bright youth once more;<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">All my dresses so fair;<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">And my jewels so rare;<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">And let me delight<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">My dear love by the sight."<br /></span>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>Then the seven beautiful damsels, who were the handmaidens
+of the princess&mdash;when she lived with her mother&mdash;floated
+on the sunbeams into the room. They curtsied,
+walked three times round her, and pronounced some magical
+words.</p>
+
+<p>Then the frog-skin fell off her, and she stood among
+them a miracle of beauty, and the lovely princess she was.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile the prince, her husband, had arrived at the
+royal banquet-hall, which was already full of guests. The
+old king welcomed him warmly, and asked him:</p>
+
+<p>"Where is your wife, my son?"</p>
+
+<p>Then a light rain began to fall, and the prince said:</p>
+
+<p>"She will not be long; she is now bathing herself in
+May-dew."</p>
+
+<p>Then came a flash of lightning, which illuminated all
+the palace, and he said:</p>
+
+<p>"She is now adorning herself."</p>
+
+<p>But when it thundered, he ran to the door exclaiming:</p>
+
+<p>"Here she is!"</p>
+
+<p>And the lovely princess came in, seeming to bring the
+sunshine with her. They all stood amazed at her beauty.<span class="pagenum">[9]</span>
+The king could not contain his delight; and she seemed
+to him all the more beautiful, because he thought her the
+very image of his long-deceased queen. The prince himself
+was no less astonished and overjoyed to find such loveliness
+in her, whom he had only as yet seen in the shape of a
+little frog.</p>
+
+<p>"Tell me, my son," said the king, "why you did
+not let me know what a fortunate choice you had
+made?"</p>
+
+<p>The prince told him everything in a whisper; and the
+king said:</p>
+
+<p>"Go home then, my son, at once, and pick up that
+frog-skin of hers; throw it in the fire, and come back here
+as fast as you can. Then she will have to remain just
+as she is now."</p>
+
+<p>The prince did as his father told him, went home, and
+threw the frog-skin into the fire, where it was at once
+consumed.</p>
+
+<p>But things did not turn out as they expected; for the
+lovely princess, on coming home, sought for her frog-skin,
+and not finding it, began to cry bitterly. When the prince
+confessed the truth, she shrieked aloud, and taking out a
+green poppy-head, threw it at him. He went to sleep at
+once; but she sprang up to the window, sang her songs
+to the winds; upon which she was changed into a duck,
+and flew away.<span class="pagenum">[10]</span></p>
+
+<p>The prince woke up in the morning, and grieved sadly,
+when he found his beautiful princess gone.</p>
+
+<p>Then he got on horseback, and set out to find her,
+inquiring everywhere for the kingdom of the Queen of Light&mdash;his
+princess's mother&mdash;to whom he supposed she must
+have fled.</p>
+
+<p>He rode on for a very, very long time, till one day he
+came into a wide plain, all covered with poppies in full flower,
+the odour of which so overpowered him, that he could scarce
+keep upright in his saddle. Then he saw a queer little house,
+supported on four crooked legs. There was no door to the
+house; but knowing what he ought to do, he said:</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2">"Little house, move<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">On your crooked legs free;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Turn your back to the wood,<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">And your front door to me."<br /></span>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>The hut with the crooked legs made a creaking noise,
+and turned round, with its door towards the prince.
+He went straight in, and found an old fury, whose name
+was Jandza, <img src="images/jandza.jpg" alt="Jandza" width="25" />
+inside; she was spinning from a distaff,
+and singing.</p>
+
+<p>[<img src="images/jandza.jpg" alt="Jandza" width="25" />]
+
+<i>Jandza</i> pronounced Yen-jar.</p>
+
+<p>"How are you, prince?" she said, "what brings
+you here?"</p>
+
+<p>So the prince told her, and she said:</p>
+
+<p>"You have done wisely to tell me the truth. I know your
+bride, the beautiful daughter of the Queen of Light; she flies
+<span class="pagenum">[11]</span>to my house daily, in the shape of a duck, and this is where
+she sits. Hide yourself under the table, and watch your
+opportunity to lay hold of her. Hold her fast, whatever
+shapes she assumes; when she is tired she will turn into a
+spindle; you must then break the spindle in two, and you
+will find that which you are seeking."</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 591px;">
+<a href="images/i10f.jpg">
+<img src="images/i10t.jpg" width="591" height="600" alt="i10f" title="THE LITTLE HOUSE TURNS" />
+</a>
+<a name="THE_LITTLE_HOUSE_TURNS"></a>
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption">THE LITTLE HOUSE TURNS</p>
+
+<p>Presently the duck flew in, sat down beside the old fury,
+and began to preen her feathers with her beak. The prince
+seized her by the wing. The duck quacked, fluttered, and
+struggled to get loose. But seeing this was useless she
+changed herself into a pigeon, then into a hawk, and then
+into a serpent, which so frightened the prince, that he let her
+go; on which she became a duck again, quacked aloud, and
+flew out of the window.</p>
+
+<p>The prince saw his mistake, and the old woman cried
+aloud:</p>
+
+<p>"What have you done, you careless fellow! you have
+frightened her away from me for ever. But as she is your
+bride, I must find some other way to help you. Take this
+ball of thread, throw it before you, and wherever it goes follow
+after it; you will then come to my sister's house, and she will
+tell you what to do next."</p>
+
+<p>So the prince went on day and night, following the ball of
+thread, till he came to another queer little house, like the first,
+to which he said the same rhyme, and going in, found the
+second old fury, and told her his story.<span class="pagenum">[12]</span></p>
+
+<p>"Hide under the bench," she exclaimed; "your bride
+is just coming in."</p>
+
+<p>The duck flew in, as before, and the prince caught her
+by the wing; she quacked, and tried to get away. Then
+she changed herself into a turkey, then into a dog, then
+into a cat, then into an eel, so that she slipped through
+his hands, and glided out of the window.</p>
+
+<p>The prince was in despair; but the old woman gave
+him another ball of thread, and he again followed it,
+determining not to let the princess escape again so easily.
+So going on after the thread, as it kept unwinding,
+he came to a funny little house, like the two first,
+and said:</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2">"Little house, move<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">On your crooked legs free;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Turn your back to the wood,<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">And your front door to me."<br /></span>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>The little house turned round, so that he could go in,
+and he found a third old fury inside; much older than
+her sisters, and having white hair. He told her his story,
+and begged for help.</p>
+
+<p>"Why did you go against the wishes of your clever
+and sensible wife?" said the old woman. "You see she
+knew better than you what her frog-skin was good for;
+but you must needs be in such a hurry to display her
+beauty, to gain the world's applause, that you have lost her;
+and she was forced to fly away from you."</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 565px;">
+<a href="images/i12f.jpg">
+<img src="images/i12t.jpg" width="565" height="600" alt="i12t" title="THE WAY HOME" />
+</a>
+<a name="THE_WAY_HOME"></a>
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption">THE WAY HOME</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[13]</span></p>
+
+<p>The prince hid himself under the bench: the duck flew
+in and sat at the old woman's feet; on which he caught
+her by the wings.</p>
+
+<p>She struggled hard; but she felt his strength was too
+great for her to resist; so she turned herself into a spindle
+at once. He broke it across his knee.... And lo! and
+behold! instead of the two halves of the spindle he held
+the hands of his beautiful princess, who looked at him
+lovingly with her beautiful eyes, and smiled sweetly.</p>
+
+<p>And she promised him that she would always remain
+as she was then, for since her mother's enemies were all
+dead she had nothing to fear.</p>
+
+<p>They embraced each other, and went out of the old
+fury's hut. Then the princess spoke some magical spells;
+and in the twinkling of an eye there appeared a wonderful
+bridge, reaching from where they stood hundreds of miles,
+up to the very gallery of the palace, belonging to the prince's
+father. It was all made of crystal, with golden hand-rails,
+and diamond bosses upon them.</p>
+
+<p>The princess spoke some more magical words, and a
+golden coach appeared, drawn by eight horses, and a coachman,
+and two tall footmen, all in golden liveries. And
+there were four outriders on splendid horses, riding by the
+side of the coach, and an equerry, riding in front, and
+blowing a brazen trumpet. And a long procession of
+followers, in splendid dresses, came after them.<span class="pagenum">[14]</span></p>
+
+<p>Then the prince and princess got into the golden coach,
+and drove away, thus accompanied, along the crystal bridge,
+till they reached home, when the old king came out to
+meet them, and embraced them both tenderly. He appointed
+the prince his successor; and such magnificent festivities
+were held on the occasion, as never were seen or heard
+of before.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a href="images/i14f.jpg">
+<img src="images/i14t.jpg" width="600" height="617" alt="i14t" title="THROUGH THE TELESCOPE" />
+</a>
+<a name="THROUGH_THE_TELESCOPE"></a>
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption">THROUGH THE TELESCOPE</p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<p>
+<span class="pagenum">[15]</span>
+<a name="PRINCESS_MIRANDA_AND_PRINCE_HERO" id="PRINCESS_MIRANDA_AND_PRINCE_HERO"></a>
+</p>
+
+<div class="centered">
+<img src="images/i15t.jpg" width="600" height="337" alt="i15t" />
+</div>
+
+<h2>PRINCESS MIRANDA AND PRINCE HERO</h2>
+
+<p class="noin"><img class="dropimg" src="images/drop-f.jpg" width="158" height="150" alt="F" />
+
+<b>AR</b> away, in the wide ocean there was once
+a green island where lived the most beautiful
+princess in the world, named Miranda. She
+had lived there ever since her birth, and
+was queen of the island. Nobody knew who were her
+parents, or how she had come there. But she was not
+alone; for there were twelve beautiful maidens, who had
+grown up with her on the island, and were her ladies-in-waiting.</p>
+
+<p>But a few strangers had visited the island, and spoken
+of the princess's great beauty; and many more came in time,
+and became her subjects, and built a magnificent city, in which
+she had a splendid palace of white marble to live in.</p>
+
+<p>And in course of time a great many young princes came to<span class="pagenum">[16]</span>
+woo her. But she did not care to marry any of them; and if
+anyone persisted, and tried to compel her by force to be his
+wife, she could turn him and all his soldiers into ice, by
+merely fixing her eyes upon them.</p>
+
+<p>One day the wicked Kosciey,
+<img src="images/kosciey.jpg" alt="kosciey" height="10" width="26" />
+the king of the Underground
+realm, came out into the upper world, and began to gaze
+all round it with his telescope. Various empires and kingdoms
+passed in review before him; and at last he saw the green
+island, and the rich city upon it; and the marble palace in
+this city, and in this palace the twelve beautiful young ladies-of-honour,
+and among them he beheld, lying on a rich couch
+of swansdown, the Princess Miranda asleep. She slept like
+an innocent child, but she was dreaming of a young knight,
+wearing a golden helmet, on a gallant steed, and carrying an
+invisible mace, that fought of itself; ... and she loved
+him better than life.</p>
+
+<p>[<img src="images/kosciey.jpg" alt="kosciey" height="10" width="26" />]
+<i>Kosciey</i> pronounced K&oacute;sh-che-eh, literally "Boney."</p>
+
+<p>Kosciey looked at her; he was delighted with her beauty;
+he struck the earth three times, and stood upon the green
+island.</p>
+
+<p>Princess Miranda called together her brave army, and led
+them into the field, to fight the wicked Kosciey. But he,
+blowing on them with his poisonous breath, sent them all fast
+asleep, and he was just going to lay hands upon the princess,
+when she, throwing a glance of scorn at him, changed him
+into a lump of ice, and fled to her capital.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[17]</span></p><p>Kosciey did not long remain ice. So soon as the princess
+was away, he freed himself from the power of her glance, and
+regaining his usual form, followed her to her city. Then he
+sent all the inhabitants of the island to sleep, and among
+them the princess's twelve faithful damsels.</p>
+
+<p>She was the only one whom he could not injure; but
+being afraid of her glances, he surrounded the castle&mdash;which
+stood upon a high hill&mdash;with an iron rampart, and placed a
+dragon with twelve heads on guard before the gate, and
+waited for the princess to give herself up of her own accord.</p>
+
+<p>The days passed by, then weeks, then months, while her
+kingdom became a desert; all her people were asleep, and her
+faithful soldiers also lay sleeping on the open fields, their
+steel armour all rusted, and wild plants were growing over
+them undisturbed. Her twelve maidens were all asleep in
+different rooms of the palace, just where they happened to be
+at the time; and she herself, all alone, kept walking sadly to
+and fro in a little room up in a tower, where she had taken
+refuge&mdash;wringing her white hands, weeping, and her bosom
+heaving with sighs.</p>
+
+<p>Around her all were silent, as though dead; only every
+now and then, Kosciey, not daring to encounter her
+angry glance, knocked at the door asking her to surrender,
+promising to make her queen of his Underground realm.
+But it was all of no use; the princess was silent, and
+only threatened him with her looks.<span class="pagenum">[18]</span></p>
+
+<p>But grieving in her lonely prison Princess Miranda could
+not forget the lover of whom she had been dreaming;
+she saw him just as he had appeared to her in her
+dream.</p>
+
+<p>And she looked up with her blue eyes to heaven, and
+seeing a cloud floating by, she said:</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2">"O cloud! through the bright sky flying!<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Stay, and hearken my piteous sighing!<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">In my sorrow I call upon thee;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Oh! where is my loved one? say!<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Oh! where do his footsteps stray?<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">And does he now think of me?"<br /></span>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>"I know not," the cloud replied. "Ask the wind."</p>
+
+<p>And she looked out into the wide plain, and seeing
+how the wind was blowing freely, she said:</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2">"O wind! o'er the wide world flying!<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Do thou pity my grief and crying!<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Have pity on me!<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Oh! where is my loved one? say!<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Oh! where do his footsteps stray?<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">And does he now think of me?"<br /></span>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Ask the stars," the wind replied; "they know more
+than I do."</p>
+
+<p>So she cried to the stars:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2">"O stars! with your bright beams glowing!<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Look down on my tears fast flowing!<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Have pity, have pity on me!<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Oh! where is my loved one? say!<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Oh! where do his footsteps stray?<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">And does he now think of me?"<br /></span>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<span class="pagenum">[19]</span>
+
+<p>"Ask the moon," said the stars; "who being nearer to
+the earth, knows more of what happens there than we
+do."</p>
+
+<p>So she said to the moon:</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<div class="stanza">
+<span class="i4">"Bright moon, as your watch you keep,<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">From the starry skies, o'er this land of sleep,<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">Look down now, and pity me!<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Oh! where is my loved one? say!<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Where? where do his footsteps stray?<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">And does he now think of me?"<br /></span>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>"I know nothing about your loved one, princess," replied
+the moon; "but here comes the sun, who will surely be
+able to tell you."</p>
+
+<p>And the sun rose up in the dawn, and at noontide stood
+just over the princess's tower, and she said:</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<div class="stanza">
+<span class="i4">"Thou soul of the world! bright sun!<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Look on me, in this prison undone!<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">Have pity on me!<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Oh! where is my loved one? say!<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Through what lands do his footsteps stray?<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">And does he now think of me?"<br /></span>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Princess Miranda," said the sun; "dry your tears,
+comfort your heart; your lover is hastening to you, from the
+bottom of the deep sea, from under the coral reefs; he has
+won the enchanted ring; when he puts it on his finger, his
+army will increase by thousands, regiment after regiment,
+with horse and foot; the drums are beating, the sabres
+gleaming, the colours flying, the cannon roaring, they are<span class="pagenum">[20]</span>
+bearing down on the empire of Kosciey. But he cannot
+conquer him by force of mortal weapons. I will teach him a
+surer way; and there is good hope that he will be able to
+deliver you from Kosciey, and save your country. I will
+hasten to your prince. Farewell."</p>
+
+<p>The sun stood over a wide country, beyond the deep seas,
+beyond high mountains, where Prince Hero in a golden
+helmet, on a gallant horse, was drawing up his army, and
+preparing to march against Kosciey, the besieger of the fair
+princess. He had seen her three times in a dream, and had
+heard much about her, for her beauty was famous throughout
+the world.</p>
+
+<p>"Dismiss your army," said the sun. "No army can
+conquer Kosciey, no bullet can reach him; you can only
+free Princess Miranda by killing him, and how you are
+to do it, you must learn from the old woman Jandza;
+I can only tell you where you will find the horse, that
+must carry you to her. Go hence towards the East; you
+will come to a green meadow, in which there are three
+oak trees; and among them you will find hidden in the
+ground an iron door, with a brazen padlock; behind this
+door you will find a battle charger, and a mace; the rest
+you will learn afterwards; ... farewell!"</p>
+
+<p>Prince Hero was most surprised; but he took off his
+enchanted ring and threw it into the sea; with it all
+his great army vanished directly into mist, leaving no<span class="pagenum">[21]</span>
+trace behind. He turned to the East and travelled onwards.</p>
+
+<p>After three days he came to the green meadow, where
+he found the three oak trees, and the iron door, as he had
+been told. It opened upon a narrow, crooked stairway,
+going downwards, leading into a deep dungeon, where he
+found another iron door, closed by a heavy iron padlock.
+Behind this he heard a horse neighing, so loudly that it
+made the door fall to the ground, and at the same moment
+eleven other doors flew open and there came out a war-horse,
+which had been shut up there for ages by a
+wizard.</p>
+
+<p>The prince whistled to the horse; the horse tugged at
+his fastenings, and broke twelve chains by which he had
+been fettered. He had eyes like stars, flaming nostrils,
+and a mane like a thunder-cloud; ... he was a horse
+of horses, the wonder of the world.</p>
+
+<p>"Prince Hero!" said the horse, "I have long waited for
+such a rider as you, and I am ready to serve you for ever.
+Mount on my back, take that mace in your hand, which you
+see hanging to the saddle; you need not fight with it yourself,
+for it will strike wherever you command it, and beat a whole
+army. I know the way everywhere; tell me where you want
+to go, and you will presently be there."</p>
+
+<p>The prince told him everything; took the self-fighting
+mace in his hand, and sprang on his back.<span class="pagenum">[22]</span></p>
+
+<p>The horse reared, snorted, spurned the ground, and they
+flew over mountains and forests, higher than the flying
+clouds, over rapid rivers, and deep seas; but when they
+flew along the ground the charger's light feet never trampled
+down a blade of grass, nor raised an atom of dust on
+the sandy soil.</p>
+
+<p>Before sunset Prince Hero had reached the primeval
+forest in which the old woman Jandza lived.</p>
+
+<p>He was amazed at the size and age of the mighty oaks,
+pine trees and firs, where there reigned a perpetual twilight.
+And there was absolute silence&mdash;not a leaf or a blade of grass
+stirring; and no living thing, not so much as a bird, or the
+hum of an insect; only amidst this grave-like stillness the
+sound of his horse's hoofs.</p>
+
+<p>The prince stopped before a little house, supported on
+crooked legs, and said:</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<div class="stanza">
+<span class="i4">"Little house, move<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">On your crooked legs free:<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Turn your back to the wood,<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">And your front to me."<br /></span>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>The house turned round, with the door towards him;
+the prince went in, and the old woman Jandza asked him:</p>
+
+<p>"How did you get here, Prince Hero, where no living
+soul has penetrated till now?"</p>
+
+<p>"Don't ask me; but welcome your guest politely."</p>
+
+<p>So the old woman gave the prince food and drink, made<span class="pagenum">[23]</span>
+up a soft bed for him, to rest on after his journey, and
+left him for the night.</p>
+
+<p>Next morning he told her all, and what he had come
+for.</p>
+
+<p>"You have undertaken a great and splendid task, prince;
+so I will tell you how to kill Kosciey. In the Ocean-Sea,
+on the island of Everlasting Life, there is an old oak tree;
+under this tree is buried a coffer bound with iron; in this
+coffer is a hare; under the hare sits a grey duck; this
+duck carries within her an egg; and in this egg is enclosed
+the life of Kosciey. When you break the egg he will die
+at once. Now good-bye, prince; and good luck go with
+you; your horse will show you the way."</p>
+
+<p>The prince got on horseback, and they soon left
+the forest behind them, and came to the shore of the
+ocean.</p>
+
+<p>On the beach was a fisherman's net, and in the net
+was a great fish, who when he saw the prince, cried out
+piteously:</p>
+
+<p>"Prince Hero! take me out of the net, and throw me
+back into the sea; I will repay you!"</p>
+
+<p>The prince took the fish out of the net, and threw it
+into the sea; it splashed in the water, and vanished.</p>
+
+<p>The prince looked over the sea, and saw the island in
+the grey distance, far, far away; but how was he to get
+there? He leaned upon his mace, deep in thought.<span class="pagenum">[24]</span></p>
+
+<p>"What are you thinking of, prince?" asked the
+horse.</p>
+
+<p>"I am thinking how I am to get to the island, when
+I cannot swim over that breadth of sea."</p>
+
+<p>"Sit on my back, prince, and hold fast."</p>
+
+<p>So the prince sat firm on the horse's back, and held
+fast by the thick mane; a wind arose, and the sea was
+somewhat rough; but rider and horse pushed on, through
+the billows, and at last came to shore on the island of
+Everlasting Life.</p>
+
+<p>The prince took off his horse's bridle, and let him loose
+to feed in a meadow of luxuriant grass, and walked on
+quickly to a high hill, where grew the old oak tree. Taking
+it in both hands he tugged at it; the oak resisted all his
+efforts; he tugged again, the oak began to creak, and
+moved a little; he mustered all his strength, and tugged
+again. The oak fell with a crash to the ground, with its
+roots uppermost, and there, where they had stood firmly
+fixed so many hundred years, was a deep hole.</p>
+
+<p>Looking down he saw the iron-bound coffer; he fetched
+it up, broke open the lock with a stone, raised the lid,
+picked up the hare lying in it by its ears; but at that
+moment the duck, which had been sitting under the hare,
+took the alarm, and flew off straight to sea.</p>
+
+<p>The prince fired a shot after her; the bullet hit the duck;
+she gave one loud quack, and fell; but in that same instant
+<span class="pagenum">[25]</span>the egg fell from her&mdash;down to the bottom of the sea. The
+prince gave a cry of despair; but just then a great fish came
+swimming, dived down to the depths of the sea, and
+coming to the shore, with the egg in its jaws, left it on
+the sand.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 584px;">
+<a href="images/i24f.jpg">
+<img src="images/i24t.jpg" width="584" height="600" alt="i24t" title="THE DRAGON WHO KEPT WATCH" />
+</a>
+<a name="THE_DRAGON_WHO_KEPT_WATCH"></a>
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption">THE DRAGON WHO KEPT WATCH</p>
+
+<p>The fish swam away; but the prince, taking up the egg,
+mounted his horse once more; and they swam till they
+reached Princess Miranda's island, where they saw a great
+iron wall stretching all round her white marble palace.</p>
+
+<p>There was only one entrance through this iron wall to the
+palace, and before this lay the monstrous dragon with the
+twelve heads, six of which kept guard alternately; when
+the one half slept the other six remained awake. If anyone
+were to approach the gate he could not escape the horrid jaws.
+Nobody could hurt the dragon; for he could only suffer death
+by his own act.</p>
+
+<p>The prince stood on the hill before that gate, and
+commanded his self-fighting mace, which also had the faculty
+of becoming invisible, to go and clear his entrance to the
+palace.</p>
+
+<p>The invisible, self-fighting mace fell upon the dragon and
+began to thunder on all his heads with such force, that all his
+eyes became bloodshot, and he began to hiss fiercely; he
+shook his twelve heads, and stretched wide his twelve horrid
+jaws; he spread out his forest of claws; but this helped him
+not at all, the mace kept on smiting him, moving about so<span class="pagenum">[26]</span>
+fast, that not a single head escaped, but could only hiss,
+groan, and shriek wildly! Now it had given a thousand
+blows, the blood gushed from a thousand wounds, and there
+was no help for the dragon; he raged, writhed about, and
+shrieked in despair; finally, as blow followed blow, and he
+could not see who gave them, he gnashed his teeth, belched
+forth flame, and at length turned his claws upon himself,
+plunging them deep into his own flesh, struggled, writhed,
+twisted himself round, and in and out; his blood flowed
+freely from his wounds ... and now it was all over with the
+dragon.</p>
+
+<p>The prince, seeing this, went into the courtyard of the
+palace, put his horse into the stable, and went up by
+a winding stair, towards the tower, whence the Princess
+Miranda, having seen him, addressed him:</p>
+
+<p>"Welcome, Prince Hero! I saw how you disposed of the
+dragon; but do be careful, for my enemy, Kosciey, is in this
+palace; he is most powerful, both through his own strength,
+and through his sorceries; and if he kills you I can live no
+longer.</p>
+
+<p>"Princess Miranda, do not trouble about me. I have the
+life of Kosciey in this egg." Then he called out:</p>
+
+<p>"Invisible self-fighting mace, go into the palace and beat
+Kosciey."</p>
+
+<p>The mace bestirred itself quickly, battered in the iron
+doors, and set upon Kosciey; it smote him on the neck, till<span class="pagenum">[27]</span>
+he crouched all together, the sparks flew from his eyes, and
+there was a noise of so many mills in his ears.</p>
+
+<p>If he had been an ordinary mortal it would have been all
+over with him at once; as it was, he was horribly tormented,
+and puzzled&mdash;feeling all these blows, and never seeing whence
+they came. He sprang about, raved, and raged, till the whole
+island resounded with his roaring.</p>
+
+<p>At last he looked through the window, and behold there
+he saw Prince Hero. "Ah! that is all your doing!" he
+exclaimed; and sprang out into the courtyard, to rush
+straight at him, and beat him to a jelly! But the
+prince held the egg in one hand ready; and he
+squeezed it so hard, that the shell cracked and the yolk and
+the white were all spilled together ... and Kosciey fell
+lifeless!</p>
+
+<p>And with the death of the enchanter all his charms
+were dissolved at once; all the people in the island who
+were asleep woke up, and began to stir. The soldiers
+woke from sleep, and the drums began to beat; they
+formed their ranks, massed themselves in order, and began
+to march towards the palace.</p>
+
+<p>And in the palace there was great joy; for Princess
+Miranda came towards the prince, gave him her white
+hand, and thanked him warmly. They went to the throne-room,
+and following the princess's example, her twelve waiting-maids
+paired off with twelve young officers of the army,<span class="pagenum">[28]</span>
+and the couples grouped themselves round the throne, on
+which the prince and princess were sitting.</p>
+
+<p>And then a priest, arrayed in all his vestments, came
+in at the open door, and the prince and princess exchanged
+rings, and were married.</p>
+
+<p>And all the other couples were married at the same
+time, and after the wedding there was a feast, dancing,
+and music, which it is a pleasure to think of. Everywhere
+there was rejoicing.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a href="images/i28f.jpg">
+<img src="images/i28t.jpg" width="600" height="596" alt="i28t" title="THE CHILDREN TRANSFORMED" />
+</a>
+<a name="THE_CHILDREN_TRANSFORMED"></a>
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption">THE CHILDREN TRANSFORMED</p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<p>
+<span class="pagenum">[29]</span>
+<a name="THE_EAGLES" id="THE_EAGLES"></a>
+</p>
+
+<div class="centered">
+<img src="images/i29t.jpg" width="600" height="350" alt="i29t" />
+</div>
+
+<h2>THE EAGLES</h2>
+
+<p class="noin"><img class="dropimg" src="images/drop-t2.jpg" width="158" height="150" alt="T" />
+<b>HERE</b> was once a king, who had lost his
+wife. They had a family of thirteen&mdash;twelve
+gallant sons, and one daughter, who was
+exquisitely beautiful.</p>
+
+<p>For twelve years after his wife's death the king grieved
+very much; he used to go daily to her tomb, and there weep,
+and pray, and give away alms to the poor. He thought never
+to marry again; for he had promised his dying wife never to
+give her children a stepmother.</p>
+
+<p>One day, when visiting his dead wife's grave as usual,
+he saw beside him a maiden so entrancingly fair, that he fell
+in love with her, and soon made her his second queen. But
+before long he found out that he had made a great mistake.
+Though she was so beautiful she turned out to be a wicked<span class="pagenum">[30]</span>
+sorceress, and not only made the king himself unhappy, but
+proved most unkind to his children, whom she wished out of
+the way, so that her own little son might inherit the
+kingdom.</p>
+
+<p>One day, when the king was far away, at war against his
+enemies, the queen went into her stepchildren's apartments,
+and pronounced some magical words&mdash;on which every one of
+the twelve princes flew away in the shape of an eagle, and the
+princess was changed into a dove.</p>
+
+<p>The queen looked out of the window, to see in what
+direction they would fly, when she saw right under the window
+an old man, with a beard as white as snow.</p>
+
+<p>"What are you here for, old man?" she asked.</p>
+
+<p>"To be witness of your deed," he answered.</p>
+
+<p>"Then you saw it?"</p>
+
+<p>"I saw it."</p>
+
+<p>"Then be what I command!"</p>
+
+<p>She whispered some magical words. The old man
+disappeared in a blaze of sunshine; and the queen, as
+she stood there, dumb with terror, was changed into a
+basilisk.</p>
+
+<p>The basilisk ran off in fright; trying to hide herself
+underground. But her glance was so deadly, that it killed
+every one she looked at; so that all the people in the palace
+were soon dead, including her own son, whom she slew
+by merely looking at him. And this once populous and
+<span class="pagenum">[31]</span>happy royal residence quickly became an uninhabited ruin,
+which no one dared approach, for fear of the basilisk
+lurking in its underground vaults.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 582px;">
+<a href="images/i30f.jpg">
+<img src="images/i30t.jpg" width="582" height="600" alt="i30t" title="THE OLD MAN BLESSES THE PRINCESS" />
+</a>
+<a name="THE_OLD_MAN_BLESSES_THE_PRINCESS"></a>
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption">THE OLD MAN BLESSES THE PRINCESS</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile the princess, who had been changed into a
+dove, flew after her brothers the eagles, but not being able
+to overtake them, she rested under a wayside cross, and
+began cooing mournfully.</p>
+
+<p>"What are you grieving for, pretty dove?" asked
+an old man, with a snow-white beard, who just then
+came by.</p>
+
+<p>"I am grieving for my poor dear father, who is fighting
+in the wars far away; for my loved brothers, who have
+flown away from me into the clouds. I am grieving also
+for myself. Not long ago I was a happy princess; and now
+I must wander over the world as a dove, to hide from the
+birds of prey&mdash;and be parted for ever from my dear
+father and brothers!"</p>
+
+<p>"You may grieve and weep, little dove; but do not lose
+hope," said the old man. "Sorrow is only for a time, and all
+will come right in the end."</p>
+
+<p>So saying he stroked the little dove, and she at once
+regained her natural shape. She kissed the old man's hand
+in her gratitude, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"How can I ever thank you enough! But since
+you are so kind, will you not tell me how to rescue my
+brothers?"<span class="pagenum">[32]</span></p>
+
+<p>The old man gave her an ever-growing loaf, and said:</p>
+
+<p>"This loaf is enough to sustain, not only you, but a
+thousand people for a thousand years, without ever diminishing.
+Go towards the sunset, and weep your tears into this little
+bottle. And when it is full...."</p>
+
+<p>And the old man told her what else to do, blessed her, and
+disappeared.</p>
+
+<p>The princess travelled on towards the sunset; and in
+about a year she reached the boundary of the next world, and
+stood before an iron door, where Death was keeping guard
+with his scythe.</p>
+
+<p>"Stop, princess!" he said; "You can proceed no further,
+for you are not yet parted by death from your own
+world."</p>
+
+<p>"But what am I to do?" she asked. "Must I go back
+without my poor brothers?"</p>
+
+<p>"Your brothers," said Death, "fly here every day in the
+guise of eagles. They want to reach the other side of this
+door, which leads into the other world; for they hate the one
+they live in; nevertheless they, and you also, must remain
+there, until your time be come. Therefore every day I must
+compel them to go back, which they can do, because they are
+eagles. But how are you going to get back yourself?&mdash;look
+there!"</p>
+
+<p>The princess looked around her, and wept bitterly. For
+though she had not perceived this before, nor seen how she<span class="pagenum">[33]</span>
+got there, she saw now that she was in a deep abyss, shut
+in on all sides by such high precipices, that she wondered
+how her brothers, even with eagle wings, could fly to
+the top.</p>
+
+<p>But remembering what the mysterious old man had
+said she took courage, and began to pray and weep, till
+she had filled the little bottle with her tears. Soon she
+heard the sound of wings over her head, and saw twelve
+eagles flying.</p>
+
+<p>The eagles dashed themselves against the iron portal,
+beating their wings upon it, and imploring Death to open
+it to them. But Death only threatened them with his
+scythe, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"Hence! ye enchanted princes! you must fulfil your
+penance on earth, till I come for you myself."</p>
+
+<p>The eagles were about to turn and fly, when all at once
+they perceived their sister. They came round her, and
+caressed her hands lovingly with their beaks.</p>
+
+<p>She at once began to sprinkle them with her tears from
+the lachrymatory; and in one moment the twelve eagles
+were changed back into the twelve princes, and joyfully
+embraced their sister.</p>
+
+<p>The princess then fed them all round from her ever-growing
+loaf; but when their hunger was appeased they
+began to be troubled as to how they were to ascend from the
+abyss, since they had no longer eagles' wings to fly up.<span class="pagenum">[34]</span></p>
+
+<p>But the princess knelt down and prayed:</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<div class="stanza">
+<span class="i4">"Bird of heavenly pity here,<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">By each labour, prayer and tear,<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Come in thine unvanquished power,<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">Come and aid us in this hour!"<br /></span>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>And all at once there shot down from heaven to the depth
+of the abyss a ray of sunshine, on which descended a gigantic
+bird, with rainbow wings, a bright sparkling crest, and peacock's
+eyes all over his body, a golden tail, and silvery breast.</p>
+
+<p>"What are your commands, princess?" asked the bird.</p>
+
+<p>"Carry us from this threshold of eternity to our own world."</p>
+
+<p>"I will, but you must know, princess, that before I can
+reach the top of this precipice with you on my back, three
+days and nights must pass; and I must have food on the
+way, or my strength will fail me, and I shall fall down with
+you to the bottom, and we shall all perish."</p>
+
+<p>"I have an ever-growing loaf, which will suffice both for
+you and ourselves," replied the princess.</p>
+
+<p>"Then climb upon my back, and whenever I look round,
+give me some bread to eat."</p>
+
+<p>The bird was so large that all the princes, and the
+princess in the midst of them, could easily find place on
+his back, and he began to fly upwards.</p>
+
+<p>He flew higher and higher, and whenever he looked
+round at her, she gave him bits of the loaf, and he flew
+on, and upwards.<span class="pagenum">[35]</span></p>
+
+<p>So they went on steadily for two nights and days;
+but upon the third day, when they were hoping in a short
+time to view the summit of the precipice, and to land upon
+the borders of this world, the bird looked round as usual
+for a piece of the loaf.</p>
+
+<p>The princess was just going to break off some to give
+him, when a sudden violent gust of wind from the bottom
+of the abyss snatched the loaf from her hand, and sent it
+whistling downwards.</p>
+
+<p>Not having received his usual meal the bird became
+sensibly weaker, and looked round once more.</p>
+
+<p>The princess trembled with fear; she had nothing more
+to give him, and she felt that he was becoming exhausted.
+In utter desperation she cut off a piece of her flesh, and
+gave it to him.</p>
+
+<p>Having eaten this the bird recovered strength, and flew
+upwards faster than before; but after an hour or two he
+looked round once more.</p>
+
+<p>So she cut off another piece of her flesh; the bird seized
+it greedily, and flew on so fast that in a few minutes he
+reached the ground at the top of the precipice. When they
+alighted, and he asked her:</p>
+
+<p>"Princess, what were those two delicious morsels you
+gave me last? I never ate anything so good before."</p>
+
+<p>"They were part of my flesh, I had nothing else for
+you," replied the princess in a faint voice, for she was
+swooning away with pain and loss of blood.<span class="pagenum">[36]</span></p>
+
+<p>The bird breathed upon her wounds; and the flesh at
+once healed over, and grew again as before. Then he
+flew up again to heaven, and was lost in the clouds.</p>
+
+<p>The princess and her brothers resumed their journey,
+this time towards the sunrise, and at last arrived in their
+own country, where they met their father, returning from
+the wars.</p>
+
+<p>The king was coming back victorious over his enemies,
+and on his way home had first heard of the sudden disappearance
+of his children and of the queen, and how
+his palace was tenanted only by a basilisk with a death-dealing
+glance.</p>
+
+<p>He was therefore most surprised and overjoyed to meet
+his dear children once more, and on the way his daughter
+told him all that had come to pass.</p>
+
+<p>When they got back to the palace the king sent one
+of his nobles with a looking-glass down into the underground
+vaults. The basilisk saw herself reflected in this
+mirror, and her own glance slew her immediately.</p>
+
+<p>They gathered up the remains of the basilisk, and burnt
+them in a great fire in the courtyard, afterwards scattering
+the ashes to the four winds. When this was done
+the king, his sons, and his daughter, returned to live in
+their former home and were all as happy as could be ever
+after.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 598px;">
+<a href="images/i36f.jpg">
+<img src="images/i36t.jpg" width="598" height="600" alt="i36t" title="TO TRICK THE BASILISK" />
+</a>
+<a name="TO_TRICK_THE_BASILISK"></a>
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption">TO TRICK THE BASILISK</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a href="images/i36b-f.jpg">
+<img src="images/i36b-t.jpg" width="600" height="598" alt="i36b-t" title="THE BRIDE CARRIED OFF BY THE WHIRLWIND" />
+</a>
+<a name="THE_BRIDE_CARRIED_OFF_BY_THE_WHIRLWIND"></a>
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption">THE BRIDE CARRIED OFF BY THE WHIRLWIND</p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<p>
+<span class="pagenum">[37]</span>
+<a name="THE_WHIRLWIND" id="THE_WHIRLWIND"></a>
+</p>
+
+<div class="centered">
+<img src="images/i37t.jpg" width="600" height="277" alt="i37t" />
+</div>
+
+<h2>THE WHIRLWIND</h2>
+
+<p class="noin"><img class="dropimg" src="images/drop-i.jpg" width="148" height="150" alt="i" />
+<b>N</b> a far-off country, beyond the sea and the
+mountains, there lived a king and queen,
+with a beautiful daughter, who was called
+Princess Ladna.</p>
+
+<p>A great many princes came to woo her; but she liked only
+one of them, called Prince Dobrotek; so they confessed their
+love for one another to the king, who gave his consent, and
+the wedding-day was fixed.</p>
+
+<p>Now among the princess's rejected suitors there was one,
+who though he had changed himself into the shape of a prince,
+in order to come to court and make love to her, really was an
+ugly dwarf, only seven inches high, but with a beard more
+than seven feet long, and a great hump on his back. He
+was so offended with the princess for refusing him,
+that he determined to carry her off; so he watched his
+opportunity.<span class="pagenum">[38]</span></p>
+
+<p>As the young couple, with all their followers and their
+guests, were leaving the palace to go to church, a violent
+wind began to blow, a regular whirlwind, raising a column of
+sand, and lifting the princess off her feet. She was carried
+up over the clouds, to the top of some inaccessible mountains,
+and dropped down into a magnificent palace, with a golden
+roof, and a high wall all round.</p>
+
+<p>After a while the princess woke up from the fainting-fit
+into which she had fallen. She looked round the splendid
+apartment in which she was, and came to the conclusion
+that some young and handsome prince must have carried
+her off.</p>
+
+<p>In the room there was a table ready spread; all the plates
+and dishes, as well as the knives, forks, and spoons, were of
+silver and gold; and the dinner itself was so good, that in
+spite of her grief and terror, she could not refrain from tasting
+it; and she had no sooner tasted, than she ate, till her appetite
+was appeased.</p>
+
+<p>Then the doors opened, and there came in a company of
+negroes, bearing a great chair, in which sat the ugly dwarf,
+with the long beard and the great hump.</p>
+
+<p>The dwarf now began to pay his court to the princess, and
+explain how he had carried her off in the guise of the
+whirlwind, because he loved her so much. But she would
+not listen to him, and gave him a sounding slap with her
+open hand right in his face, so that sparks danced before his<span class="pagenum">[39]</span>
+eyes. Of course he was in a great passion; but for love of
+her he managed to keep his temper, and turned round to
+leave the room. But in his haste he caught his feet in his
+long beard, and was thrown down on the threshold, and in
+his fall he dropped his cap, which he was holding in
+one hand.</p>
+
+<p>The negroes helped him again into the chair, and carried
+him out; but the princess jumped up, locked the door, and
+took up the cap that was lying on the ground. She put it
+on; and went to the glass to see how she looked in it. But
+what was her surprise to find that she could not see herself,
+till she took it off! So she came to the wise conclusion that
+this was an invisible cap; at which she was highly delighted;
+she put on the cap again, and began to walk about the room.</p>
+
+<p>The door opened once more with a loud noise, and the
+dwarf came in with his long beard thrown back and twisted all
+round his hump, to be out of the way. But not seeing either
+his cap, or the princess, he guessed what had happened; so
+full of wild despair he began to rush madly about the room,
+knocking himself against the tables and chairs, while the
+princess made her escape through the door, and ran out into
+the garden.</p>
+
+<p>The garden was very extensive, and full of beautiful fruit-trees;
+so she lived upon these fruits, and drank the water of
+a spring in the garden for some time. She used to make fun
+of the dwarf's impotent rage. Sometimes when he rushed<span class="pagenum">[40]</span>
+wildly about the garden, she would tease him by taking off
+the invisible cap, so that he saw her before him, in all her
+beauty; but when he made a rush after her she would put
+it on again, and become invisible to him; she would then
+throw cherry-stones at him, come close to him, and laugh
+loudly: and then run away again.</p>
+
+<p>One day, when she was playing about in this manner,
+her cap got caught in the boughs of a tree, and fell upon a
+gooseberry bush. The dwarf saw it, and seized hold of the
+princess with one hand, and of the cap with the other. But
+just then&mdash;from the summit of the mountain, above the
+garden itself, was heard the sound of a trumpet-challenge,
+three times repeated.</p>
+
+<p>At this the dwarf trembled with rage; but first breathing
+upon the princess, he put her to sleep with his breath, then
+placed his invisible cap on her head. Having done this he
+seized his two-edged sword, and flew up into the clouds, so
+as to strike the knight who had challenged him from above,
+and destroy him at one stroke.</p>
+
+<p>But where did this knight come from?</p>
+
+<p>When Princess Ladna had been carried off on her wedding-day
+by the whirlwind, there was the greatest consternation
+among all the bystanders. Her distracted father and her
+bridegroom rushed about in all directions, and sent courtiers
+everywhere in search of her; but the princess had been neither
+seen nor heard of, nor was any trace left of her.<span class="pagenum">[41]</span></p>
+
+<p>The king (very unnecessarily) told Prince Dobrotek that if
+he did not get back his daughter, the princess, he would not
+only put him to death, but would reduce his whole country to
+ashes. He also told all the princes there that whoever should
+bring back his daughter should have her to wife, and receive
+half of his kingdom into the bargain.</p>
+
+<p>When they heard this they all got to horse, and galloped
+in various directions; among them Prince Dobrotek.</p>
+
+<p>He went on for three days, never stopping for food or
+rest; but on the fourth day, at dusk, he felt overcome by
+sleep; so he let his horse go free in a meadow, and himself
+lay down on the grass. Then all at once he heard a piercing
+shriek, and straight before him beheld a hare, and an owl
+perched upon it&mdash;its claws digging into the poor creature's
+side.</p>
+
+<p>The prince caught up the first thing that lay near him,
+and aimed at the screech-owl, so truly that he killed it on the
+spot, and the hare ran up to him, like a tame creature,
+licked his hands, and ran away.</p>
+
+<p>Then the prince saw that the thing he had thrown at
+the owl was a human skull. And it spoke to him, in these
+words:</p>
+
+<p>"Prince Dobrotek, I thank you for what you have done
+for me. When I was alive I committed suicide, and was
+therefore condemned to lie unburied at this cross-way, till
+I should be the means of saving life. I have lain here<span class="pagenum">[42]</span>
+for seven hundred and seventy-seven years; and Heaven
+knows how much longer I should have had to remain, if
+you had not chanced to throw me at the screech-owl, and
+so saved the life of the poor hare. Now bury me, so that
+I may lie peacefully in the ground at this same place, and
+I will tell you how to summon the Grey Seer-horse, with
+the golden mane, who will always help you in case of
+need. Go out into a plain, and without looking behind
+you, call out:</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<div class="stanza">
+<span class="i4">"Grey Seer-horse, with golden mane!<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Like a bird&mdash;and not like steed,<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">On the blast&mdash;and not the mead,<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Fly thou hither unto me!"<br /></span>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>Thus having spoken, the head was silent; but a blue
+light shot up from it towards the sky; it was the soul of
+the deceased, which having now expiated its sin by its long
+imprisonment in the skull, had attained heaven.</p>
+
+<p>The prince then dug a grave, and buried the skull.
+He then called out:</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<div class="stanza">
+<span class="i4">"Grey Seer-horse, with golden mane!<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Like a bird&mdash;and not like steed,<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">On the blast&mdash;and not the mead,<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Do thou hither fly to me!"<br /></span>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>The wind rose, the lightning flashed, the thunder roared,
+and the wonderful horse with the golden mane appeared.
+He flew as fast as the storm-wind, flames shot from his
+<span class="pagenum">[43]</span>nostrils, sparks from his eyes, and clouds of smoke
+from his mouth. He stood still, and said in human
+tones:</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a href="images/i42f.jpg">
+<img src="images/i42t.jpg" width="600" height="586" alt="i42t" title="THE HORSE APPEARS IN THE STORM" />
+</a>
+<a name="THE_HORSE_APPEARS_IN_THE_STORM"></a>
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption">THE HORSE APPEARS IN THE STORM</p>
+
+<p>"What are your commands, Prince Dobrotek?"</p>
+
+<p>"I am in trouble; I wish you to help me."</p>
+
+<p>And he told him all that had occurred.</p>
+
+<p>"Creep in at my left ear," said the horse, "and creep out
+again at the right."</p>
+
+<p>So the prince crept in at the horse's left ear, and came
+out again at the right one, all clad in golden armour. He
+also found himself miraculously increased in strength, so
+that when he stamped on the ground it trembled; and
+when he shouted a storm arose, which shook the leaves
+from the trees.</p>
+
+<p>Then he asked the horse:</p>
+
+<p>"What is to be done next?"</p>
+
+<p>"Your betrothed, Princess Ladna," said the horse, "was
+carried off by the seven-inch-high dwarf, with the seven-foot-long
+beard; he is a powerful magician; he dwells beyond the
+seven seas, among inaccessible mountains. He can only be
+conquered by the All-Cutting Sword, which sword is jealously
+guarded by his own brother, the Giant-Head, with basilisk
+eye. To this Giant-Head we must therefore go."</p>
+
+<p>Prince Dobrotek mounted on horseback, and they flew
+like an arrow, over lands and seas, high mountains and wide
+oceans. They stopped at length upon a wide plain<span class="pagenum">[44]</span>
+strewn with bones, before a moving mountain. And the
+horse said:</p>
+
+<p>"This moving mountain, which you see before you, is the
+giant's head with the basilisk eyes; and the bones strewn so
+thickly hereabouts prove how deadly his looks are&mdash;so be
+careful. He is now asleep from the heat of the sun; but only
+two steps before him lies the sword, with which alone you can
+conquer your enemy. Lie down along my back, so that his
+glance cannot reach you through my neck and mane; but
+when you get near to it, lay hold of the sword; when
+you have it you will not only be safe from his basilisk
+glances, but you will even have the giant's head at your
+mercy."</p>
+
+<p>And the horse drew near lightly, and the prince bent
+down, and secured the wonderful sword; but he shouted so
+loud that the Giant-Head woke up, sniffed hard, and looked
+about with his bloodshot eyes; and seeing the wonderful
+sword in the prince's hand, he called out:</p>
+
+<p>"Sir knight! are you weary of the world, that you
+court speedy death?"</p>
+
+<p>"You need not boast like that, you empty head!"
+replied Prince Dobrotek. "Your looks cannot hurt me
+now; and you shall die by this All-Cutting Sword! But
+I would first know who, and what you are."</p>
+
+<p>"Then I confess, prince," replied the head; "that I
+am in your power; but be merciful to me, for I am worthy<span class="pagenum">[45]</span>
+of pity. I am a knight of the race of giants, and were
+it not for the envy of my brother, I should still have been
+happy. He was the black sheep of our family, and was
+born an ugly dwarf, with a long beard; and my
+handsome giant-like proportions caused him to hate me
+bitterly. His only good point is his great strength, and it
+all resides in his long beard, and so long as it is not cut
+he cannot be conquered, and this can only be done by that
+sword, which you now hold.</p>
+
+<p>"One day, being bent upon my destruction, he said to
+me:</p>
+
+<p>"'Brother, do not refuse to help me. I have read in my
+books of magic that beyond the mountains, on a plain lies
+buried a certain sword, whereby a knight, seeking for his
+betrothed, shall compass the destruction of us both; let
+us therefore go and dig it up, so that we shall escape the
+threatened doom!'</p>
+
+<p>"To this I agreed. I took a hundred-year-old pine&mdash;torn
+up from its roots&mdash;on one arm, and carried my brother
+on my other. We set out; he showed me the spot, and
+I dug up the sword, on this same plain. Then we began
+to quarrel about who should possess it. After a long
+dispute he said:</p>
+
+<p>"'We were best decide it by lot, brother. Let each of us
+lay his ear to the ground, and whoever first hears the sound
+of the evening bell shall have the sword.'<span class="pagenum">[46]</span></p>
+
+<p>"So he laid his ear to the ground, and I mine. I listened;
+but heard nothing; and he meantime, having got hold
+of the sword, crept up to me, and cut my head from my
+shoulders.</p>
+
+<p>"My headless trunk, left unburied, rotted away, and the
+grass grew over it; but my head, endowed with supernatural
+life by the malicious dwarf, my brother, was left here, with
+charge to guard this sword, and kill every one who came near
+with my deadly glance. After many centuries you have won
+it; so I implore you to cut off his seven-foot beard, and make
+him into mince-meat; and avenge me."</p>
+
+<p>"You shall be avenged," said the prince; "and at once.
+Grey Seer-Horse, carry me to the kingdom of the dwarf
+magician, with the seven-foot-long beard."</p>
+
+<p>So they set off at once, flying with lightning speed through
+the air, over the seas and over the forests. In an hour or two
+they halted on the summit of a high mountain, and the horse
+said:</p>
+
+<p>"These mountains are the kingdom of the dwarf magician,
+who carried off your betrothed, and they are both now in the
+garden; challenge him to fight."</p>
+
+<p>Prince Dobrotek sounded a challenge three times, and the
+dwarf, as we have seen, flew up into the air, so as to swoop
+down upon his antagonist, unperceived of him.</p>
+
+<p>All at once the prince heard a murmuring sound above
+him, and he saw when he looked up, the dwarf soaring<span class="pagenum">[47]</span>
+above him, like an eagle in the clouds&mdash;for he had the
+magic power of increasing his size and strength&mdash;with his
+sword drawn, ready to fall upon him.</p>
+
+<p>The prince sprang aside, and the dwarf came down,
+with such an impetus, that his head and neck were rammed
+into the ground.</p>
+
+<p>The prince dismounted, seized the dwarf by the beard,
+wound it about his left hand, and began to sever it with
+the All-Cutting Sword.</p>
+
+<p>The dwarf saw that he had to do with no feather-bed
+knight; so he tugged with all his strength, and flew up
+again into the clouds; but the prince, holding fast with
+his left hand to the beard, kept on severing it with his
+sword, so that he had nearly cut half of it through; and
+the dwarf became weaker and weaker the more hair he
+lost, so he began to cry for mercy.</p>
+
+<p>"Drop down to the ground, off which you took me,"
+said the prince.</p>
+
+<p>The dwarf dropped down slowly, but the prince cut off
+the remainder of his beard and threw him&mdash;when thus
+deprived of his charms and his strength alike&mdash;on to the
+ground, wreathed the severed beard round his own helmet,
+and entered the palace.</p>
+
+<p>The invisible servants of the dwarf, seeing their master's
+beard, wreathed about the prince's helmet, threw open all
+the doors to him at once.<span class="pagenum">[48]</span></p>
+
+<p>He went through all the rooms; but not finding his
+princess anywhere, went into the garden, traversing all the
+paths and lawns, and calling her name. He could find her
+nowhere.</p>
+
+<p>But thus running from one place to another he chanced to
+touch the invisible cap; he caught hold of it, and pulled it
+away from where it was, on the head of the princess, and saw
+her at once in all her loveliness, but fast asleep.</p>
+
+<p>Overcome with joy, he called her by her name; but she
+had been cast into such a deep sleep by the dwarf's poisonous
+breath, that he could not rouse her.</p>
+
+<p>He took her up in his arms, put the invisible cap into his
+pocket, also picking up the wicked dwarf, whom he carried
+along with him. He then mounted his horse, flew like an
+arrow, and in a few minutes stood before the Giant-Head,
+with the basilisk eyes.</p>
+
+<p>He threw the dwarf into its open jaws, where he was
+ground at once into powder; the prince then cut up the
+monstrous head into small pieces, and scattered them all over
+the plain.</p>
+
+<p>Thus having got rid of both the dwarf and the giant, the
+prince rode on with the sleeping princess, upon the Golden-Mane
+horse, and at sunset they came to the same cross-roads,
+where he had first summoned him.</p>
+
+<p>"Here, prince, we must part," said the Golden-Mane;
+"but here in the meadow is your own horse, and it is not far<span class="pagenum">[49]</span>
+to your own home, so creep into my right ear, and come out
+at my left."</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a href="images/i48f.jpg">
+<img src="images/i48t.jpg" width="600" height="598" alt="i48t" title="THE DWARF DEFEATED" />
+</a>
+<a name="THE_DWARF_DEFEATED"></a>
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption">THE DWARF DEFEATED</p>
+
+<p>The prince did as he was told, and came out as he was
+before. His own horse recognized him, and came running
+with a joyful neigh to meet his master.</p>
+
+<p>The prince was tired out with the long journey, so, having
+laid down his betrothed wife, still sleeping, on the soft grass,
+and covered her up from the cold, he laid down himself
+and went to sleep.</p>
+
+<p>But that very night, one of Princess Ladna's rejected
+suitors, riding that way, saw by the light of the moon those
+two asleep, and he recognized in them the princess, and
+the prince, his fortunate rival. So first stabbing the latter
+through with his sabre, he carried off the princess, and bore
+her on horseback before him to her father.</p>
+
+<p>The king welcomed him rapturously, as his daughter's
+deliverer. But when he found, to his dismay, that he could
+not awake her, with all his caresses, he asked the supposed
+rescuer what this meant.</p>
+
+<p>"I do not know, Sir King," replied the knight. "After
+I had overtaken and slain the great enchanter, who was
+carrying off the princess, I found her as she is now, sound
+asleep."</p>
+
+<p>Prince Dobrotek meanwhile, mortally wounded, had just
+strength enough left to summon the Wonderful Grey Horse,
+who came instantly; and seeing what was the matter, flew<span class="pagenum">[50]</span>
+off to the top of the mountain of Everlasting Life. On its
+summit were three springs&mdash;the Water of Loosening, the
+Water of Healing, and the Water of Life. He sprinkled
+the dead prince with all three; Prince Dobrotek opened
+his eyes, and exclaimed:</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! how well I have slept!"</p>
+
+<p>"You were sleeping the sleep of death," returned the
+Golden-Mane; "one of your rivals killed you sleeping,
+and carried off your princess home to her father, pretending
+to be her deliverer, in the hope of gaining her hand. But
+do not be afraid; she is still asleep, and only you can
+awaken her, by touching her forehead with the beard of
+the dwarf, which you have with you. Go then to her; I
+must be elsewhere."</p>
+
+<p>The Golden-Mane vanished, and the prince, calling his
+own horse, and taking with him his invisible cap, betook
+himself to the court of his loved one's father.</p>
+
+<p>But when he drew near he found that the city was all
+surrounded by enemies, who had already mastered the outer
+defences, and were threatening the town itself; and half of its
+defenders being slain, the rest were thinking of surrender.</p>
+
+<p>Prince Dobrotek put on his invisible cap, and drawing his
+All-Cutting Sword, fell upon the enemy.</p>
+
+<p>They fell to right and left as the sword smote them on
+each side, till one half of them were slain, and the rest ran
+away into the forest.<span class="pagenum">[51]</span></p>
+
+<p>Unseen by anyone the prince entered the city, and arrived
+at the royal palace, where the king, surrounded by his knights,
+was hearing the account of this sudden attack, whereby his
+foes had been discomfited; but by whom no one could inform
+him.</p>
+
+<p>Then Prince Dobrotek took off his invisible cap, and
+appearing suddenly in the midst of the assembly, said:</p>
+
+<p>"King and father! it was I who beat your enemies. But
+where is my betrothed, Princess Ladna, whom I rescued
+from the wizard dwarf, with the seven-foot beard? whom
+one of your knights treacherously stole from me? Let me
+see her, that I may waken her from her magic sleep."</p>
+
+<p>When the traitor knight heard this he took to his
+heels; Prince Dobrotek touched the sleeping princess's
+forehead with the beard, she woke up directly, gazed at him
+fondly with her lovely eyes, but could not at first understand
+where she was, or what had happened to her.</p>
+
+<p>The king caught her in his arms, pressed her to his heart,
+and that very evening he married her to Prince Dobrotek.
+He gave them half his kingdom, and there was a splendid
+wedding, such as had never been seen or heard of before.<span class="pagenum">[52]</span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a href="images/i52f.jpg">
+<img src="images/i52t.jpg" width="600" height="563" alt="i52t" title="THE GOOD FERRYMAN CAPTURES THE MERMAID" />
+</a>
+<a name="THE_GOOD_FERRYMAN_CAPTURES_THE_MERMAID"></a>
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption">THE GOOD FERRYMAN CAPTURES THE MERMAID</p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<p>
+<span class="pagenum">[53]</span>
+<a name="THE_GOOD_FERRYMAN_AND_THE_WATER_NYMPHS" id="THE_GOOD_FERRYMAN_AND_THE_WATER_NYMPHS"></a>
+</p>
+
+<div class="centered">
+<img src="images/i53t.jpg" width="600" height="162" alt="i53t" />
+</div>
+
+<h2>THE GOOD FERRYMAN AND THE WATER NYMPHS</h2>
+
+<p class="noin"><img class="dropimg" src="images/drop-t3.jpg" width="155" height="150" alt="T" />
+<b>HERE</b> was once an old man, very poor,
+with three sons. They lived chiefly by ferrying
+people over a river; but he had had
+nothing but ill-luck all his life. And to crown
+all, on the night he died, there was a great storm, and
+in it the crazy old ferry-boat, on which his sons depended
+for a living, was sunk.</p>
+
+<p>As they were lamenting both their father and their
+poverty, an old man came by, and learning the reason of
+their sorrow said:</p>
+
+<p>"Never mind; all will come right in time. Look!
+there is your boat as good as new."</p>
+
+<p>And there was a fine new ferry-boat on the water, in
+place of the old one, and a number of people waiting to
+be ferried over.</p>
+
+<p>The three brothers arranged to take turns with the boat,
+and divide the fares they took.</p>
+
+<p>They were however very different in disposition. The
+two elder brothers were greedy and avaricious, and would<span class="pagenum">[54]</span>
+never take anyone over the river, without being handsomely
+paid for it.</p>
+
+<p>But the youngest brother took over poor people, who
+had no money, for nothing; and moreover frequently relieved
+their wants out of his own pocket.</p>
+
+<p>One day, at sunset, when the eldest brother was
+at the ferry the same old man, who had visited them
+on the night their father died, came, and asked for a
+passage.</p>
+
+<p>"I have nothing to pay you with, but this empty purse,"
+he said.</p>
+
+<p>"Go and get something to put in it then first," replied
+the ferry-man; "and be off with you now!"</p>
+
+<p>Next day it was the second brother's turn; and the same
+old man came, and offered his empty purse as his fare. But
+he met with a like reply.</p>
+
+<p>The third day it was the youngest brother's turn; and
+when the old man arrived, and asked to be ferried over for
+charity, he answered:</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, get in, old man."</p>
+
+<p>"And what is the fare?" asked the old man.</p>
+
+<p>"That depends upon whether you can pay or not,"
+was the reply; "but if you cannot, it is all the same
+to me."</p>
+
+<p>"A good deed is never without its reward," said the old
+man: "but in the meantime take this empty purse; though<span class="pagenum">[55]</span>
+it is very worn, and looks worth nothing. But if you shake
+it, and say:</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<div class="stanza">
+<span class="i4">'For his sake who gave it, this purse I hold,<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">I wish may always be full of gold;'<br /></span>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>it will always afford you as much gold as you wish
+for."</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a href="images/i54f.jpg">
+<img src="images/i54t.jpg" width="600" height="598" alt="i54t" title="THE PURSE THAT WAS EVER FULL" />
+</a>
+<a name="THE_PURSE_THAT_WAS_EVER_FULL"></a>
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption">THE PURSE THAT WAS EVER FULL</p>
+
+<p>The youngest brother came home, and his brothers, who
+were sitting over a good supper, laughed at him, because he
+had taken only a few copper coins that day, and they told
+him he should have no supper. But when he began to
+shake his purse and scatter gold coins all about, they
+jumped up from the table, and began picking them up
+eagerly.</p>
+
+<p>And as it was share and share alike, they all grew rich
+very quickly. The youngest brother made good use of his
+riches, for he gave away money freely to the poor. But
+the greedy elder brothers envied him the possession of the
+wonderful purse, and contrived to steal it from him. Then
+they left their old home; and the one bought a ship, laded
+it with all sorts of merchandize, for a trading voyage. But
+the ship ran upon a rock, and every one on board was
+drowned. The second brother was no more fortunate, for as
+he was travelling through a forest, with an enormous treasure
+of precious stones, in which he had laid out his wealth, to
+sell at a profit, he was waylaid by robbers, who murdered
+him, and shared the spoil among them.<span class="pagenum">[56]</span></p>
+
+<p>The youngest brother, who remained at home, having lost
+his purse, became as poor as before. But he still did as
+formerly, took pay from passengers who could afford it,
+ferried over poor folks for nothing, and helped those who
+were poorer than himself so far as he could.</p>
+
+<p>One day the same old man with the long white beard
+came by; the ferry-man welcomed him as an old friend, and
+while rowing him over the river, told him all that had
+happened since he last saw him.</p>
+
+<p>"Your brothers did very wrong, and they have paid for
+it," said the old man; "but you were in fault yourself. Still,
+I will give you one more chance. Take this hook and line;
+and whatever you catch, mind you hold fast, and not let it
+escape you; or you will bitterly repent it."</p>
+
+<p>The old man then disappeared, and the ferry-man looked
+in wonder at his new fishing-tackle&mdash;a diamond hook, a
+silver line, and a golden rod.</p>
+
+<p>All at once the hook sprang of itself into the water; the
+line lengthened out along the river current, and there came
+a strong pull upon it. The fisherman drew it in, and beheld
+a most lovely creature, upwards from the waist a woman,
+but with a fish's tail.</p>
+
+<p>"Good ferry-man, let me go," she said; "take your hook
+out of my hair! The sun is setting, and after sunset I
+can no longer be a water-nymph again."</p>
+
+<p>But without answering, the ferry-man only held her fast,<span class="pagenum">[57]</span>
+and covered her over with his coat, to prevent her escaping.
+Then the sun set, and she lost her fish-tail.</p>
+
+<p>"Now," she said: "I am yours; so let us go to the
+nearest church and get married."</p>
+
+<p>She was already dressed as a bride, with a myrtle garland
+on her head, in a white dress, with a rainbow-coloured girdle,
+and rich jewels in her hair and on her neck. And she held
+in her hand the wonderful purse, that was always full of
+gold.</p>
+
+<p>They found the priest and all ready at the church; were
+married in a few minutes; and then came home to their
+wedding-feast, to which all the neighbours were invited.
+They were royally entertained, and when they were about to
+leave the bride shook the wonderful purse, and sent a shower
+of gold pieces flying among the guests; so they all went home
+very well pleased.</p>
+
+<p>The good ferry-man and his marvellous wife lived most
+happily together; they never wanted for anything, and gave
+freely to all who came. He continued to ply his ferry-boat;
+but he now took all passengers over for nothing, and gave
+them each a piece of gold into the bargain.</p>
+
+<p>Now there was a king over that country, who a year ago
+had just succeeded to his elder brother. He had heard of the
+ferry-man, who was so marvellously rich, and wishing to
+ascertain the truth of the story he had heard, came on purpose
+to see for himself. But when he saw the ferry-man's beautiful<span class="pagenum">[58]</span>
+young wife, he resolved to have her for himself, and
+determined to get rid of her husband somehow.</p>
+
+<p>At that time there was an eclipse of the sun; and the king
+sent for the ferry-man, and told him he must find out the
+cause of this eclipse, or be put to death.</p>
+
+<p>He came home in great distress to his wife; but she
+replied:</p>
+
+<p>"Never mind, my dear. I will tell you what to do, and
+how to gratify the king's curiosity."</p>
+
+<p>So she gave him a wonderful ball of thread, which he
+was to throw before him, and follow the thread as it kept
+unwinding&mdash;towards the East.</p>
+
+<p>He went on a long way, over high mountains, deep rivers,
+and wide regions. At last he came to a ruined city, where
+a number of corpses were lying about unburied, tainting
+the air with pestilence.</p>
+
+<p>The good man was sorry to see this, and took the pains
+to summon men from the neighbouring cities, and get the
+bodies properly buried. He then resumed his journey.</p>
+
+<p>He came at last to the ends of the earth. Here he found
+a magnificent golden palace, with an amber roof, and
+diamond doors and windows.</p>
+
+<p>The ball of thread went straight into the palace, and the
+ferry-man found himself in a vast apartment, where sat a
+very dignified old lady, spinning from a golden distaff.</p>
+
+<p>"Wretched man! what are you here for?" she exclaimed,<span class="pagenum">[59]</span>
+when she saw him. "My son will come back presently
+and burn you up."</p>
+
+<p>He explained to her how he had been forced to come,
+out of sheer necessity.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I must help you," replied the old lady, who was
+no less than the Mother of the Sun, "because you did Sol
+that good turn some days ago, in burying the inhabitants
+of that town, when they were killed by a dragon. He
+journeys every day across the wide arch of heaven, in a
+diamond car, drawn by twelve grey horses, with golden
+manes, giving heat and light to the whole world. He will
+soon be back here, to rest for the night.... But ... here
+he comes; hide yourself, and take care to observe what
+follows."</p>
+
+<p>So saying she changed her visitor into a lady-bird, and let
+him fly to the window.</p>
+
+<p>Then the neighing of the wonderful horses and the rattling
+of chariot wheels were heard, and the bright Sun himself
+presently came in, and stretching himself upon a coral bed,
+remarked to his mother:</p>
+
+<p>"I smell a human being here!"</p>
+
+<p>"What nonsense you talk!" replied his mother. "How
+could any human being come here? You know it is
+impossible."</p>
+
+<p>The Sun, as if he did not quite believe her, began to peer
+anxiously about the room.<span class="pagenum">[60]</span></p>
+
+<p>"Don't be so restless," said the old lady; "but tell me
+why you suffered eclipse a month or two ago."</p>
+
+<p>"How could I help it?" answered the Sun; "When the
+dragon from the deep abyss attacked me, and I had to fight
+him? Perhaps I should have been fighting with the monster
+till now, if a wonderful mermaid had not come to help me.
+When she began to sing, and looked at the dragon with her
+beautiful eyes, all his rage softened at once; he was absorbed
+in gazing upon her beauty, and I meanwhile burnt him to
+ashes, and threw them into the sea."</p>
+
+<p>The Sun then went to sleep, and his mother again touched
+the ferry-man with her spindle; he then returned to his
+natural shape, and slipped out of the palace. Following
+the ball of thread he reached home at last, and next day went
+to the king, and told him all.</p>
+
+<p>But the king was so enchanted at the description of the
+beautiful sea-maiden, that he ordered the ferry-man to go and
+bring her to him, on pain of death.</p>
+
+<p>He went home very sad to his wife, but she told him she
+would manage this also. So saying she gave him another
+ball of thread, to show him which way to go, and she also
+gave him a carriage-load of costly lady's apparel and jewels,
+and ornaments&mdash;told him what he was to do, and they took
+leave of one another.</p>
+
+<p>On the way the ferry-man met a youth, riding on a fine
+grey horse, who asked:<span class="pagenum">[61]</span></p>
+
+<p>"What have you got there, man?"</p>
+
+<p>"A woman's wearing apparel, most costly and beautiful"&mdash;he
+had several dresses, not simply one.</p>
+
+<p>"I say, give me some of those as a present for my
+intended, whom I am going to see. I can be of use to you,
+for I am the Storm-wind. I will come, whenever you call
+upon me thus:</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<div class="stanza">
+<span class="i4">'Storm-wind! Storm-wind! come with speed!<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Help me in my sudden need!'"<br /></span>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>The ferry-man gave him some of the most beautiful
+things he had, and the Storm-wind passed.</p>
+
+<p>A little further on he met an old man, grey-haired, but
+strong and vigorous-looking, who also said:</p>
+
+<p>"What have you got there?"</p>
+
+<p>"Women's garments costly and beautiful."</p>
+
+<p>"I am going to my daughter's wedding; she is to marry
+the Storm-wind; give me something as a wedding present for
+her, and I will be of use to you. I am the Frost; if you need
+me call upon me thus:</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<div class="stanza">
+<span class="i4">'Frost, I call thee; come with speed;<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Help me in my sudden need!'"<br /></span>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>The ferry-man let him take all he wanted and went on.</p>
+
+<p>And now he came to the sea-coast; here the ball of thread
+stopped, and would go no further.</p>
+
+<p>The ferry-man waded up to his waist into the sea, and set<span class="pagenum">[62]</span>
+up two high poles, with cross-bars between them, upon which
+he hung dresses of various colours, scarves, and ribbons, gold
+chains, and diamond earrings and pins, shoes, and looking-glasses,
+and then hid himself, with his wonderful hook and
+line ready.</p>
+
+<p>As soon as the morning rose from the sea, there appeared
+far away on the smooth waters a silvery boat, in which stood
+a beautiful maiden, with a golden oar in one hand, while with
+the other she gathered together her long golden hair, all the
+while singing so beautifully to the rising sun, that, if the
+ferry-man had not quickly stopped his ears, he would have
+fallen into a delicious reverie, and then asleep.</p>
+
+<p>She sailed along a long time in her silver boat, and round
+her leaped and played golden fishes with rainbow wings and
+diamond eyes. But all at once she perceived the rich clothes
+and ornaments, hung up on the poles, and as she came nearer,
+the ferry-man called out:</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<div class="stanza">
+<span class="i4">"Storm-wind! Storm-wind! come with speed!<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Help me in my sudden need!"<br /></span>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>"What do you want?" asked the Storm-wind.</p>
+
+<p>The ferry-man without answering him, called out:</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<div class="stanza">
+<span class="i4">"Frost, I call thee; come with speed,<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Help me in my sudden need!"<br /></span>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>"What do you want?" asked the Frost.</p>
+
+<p>"I want to capture the sea-maiden."</p>
+
+<p>Then the wind blew and blew, so that the silver boat was
+<span class="pagenum">[63]</span>capsized, and the frost breathed on the sea till it was frozen
+over.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 584px;">
+<a href="images/i62f.jpg">
+<img src="images/i62t.jpg" width="584" height="600" alt="i62t" title="THE MEETING OF THE SISTERS" />
+</a>
+<a name="THE_MEETING_OF_THE_SISTERS"></a>
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption">THE MEETING OF THE SISTERS</p>
+
+<p>Then the ferryman rushed up to the sea-maiden, entangling
+his hook in her golden hair; lifted her on his horse, and rode
+off as swift as the wind after his wonderful ball of thread.</p>
+
+<p>She kept weeping and lamenting all the way; but as soon
+as they reached the ferry-man's home, and saw his wife, all her
+sorrow changed into joy; she laughed with delight, and
+threw herself into her arms.</p>
+
+<p>And then it turned out that the two were sisters.</p>
+
+<p>Next morning the ferry-man went to court with both his
+wife and sister-in-law, and the king was so delighted with the
+beauty of the latter, that he at once offered to marry her.
+But she could give him no answer until he had the Self-playing
+Guitar.</p>
+
+<p>So the king ordered the ferry-man to procure him this
+wonderful guitar, or be put to death.</p>
+
+<p>His wife told him what to do, and gave him a handkerchief
+of hers, embroidered with gold, telling him to use
+this in case of need.</p>
+
+<p>Following the ball of thread he came at last to a great
+lake, in the midst of which was a green island.</p>
+
+<p>He began to wonder how he was to get there, when he
+saw a boat approaching, in which was an old man, with a
+long white beard, and he recognized him with delight, as his
+former benefactor.<span class="pagenum">[64]</span></p>
+
+<p>"How are you, ferry-man?" he asked. "Where are you
+going?"</p>
+
+<p>"I am going wherever the ball of thread leads me, for I
+must fetch the Self-playing Guitar."</p>
+
+<p>"This guitar," said the old man, "belongs to Goldmore,
+the lord of that island. It is a difficult matter to have
+to do with him; but perhaps you may succeed. You
+have often ferried me over the water; I will ferry you
+now."</p>
+
+<p>The old man pushed off, and they reached the island.</p>
+
+<p>On arriving the ball of thread went straight into a
+palace, where Goldmore came out to meet the traveller, and
+asked him where he was going and what he wanted.</p>
+
+<p>He explained:</p>
+
+<p>"I am come for the Self-playing Guitar."</p>
+
+<p>"I will only let you have it on condition that you do not
+go to sleep for three days and nights. And if you do, you
+will not only lose all chance of the Self-playing Guitar;
+but you must die."</p>
+
+<p>What could the poor man do, but agree to this?</p>
+
+<p>So Goldmore conducted him to a great room, and locked
+him in. The floor was strewn with sleepy-grass, so he fell
+asleep directly.</p>
+
+<p>Next morning in came Goldmore, and on waking him
+up said:</p>
+
+<p>"So you went to sleep! Very well, you shall die!"<span class="pagenum">[65]</span></p>
+
+<p>And he touched a spring in the floor, and the unhappy
+ferry-man fell down into an apartment beneath, where the
+walls were of looking-glass, and there were great heaps
+of gold and precious stones lying about.</p>
+
+<p>For three days and nights he lay there; he was fearfully
+hungry. And then it dawned upon him that he was to
+be starved to death!</p>
+
+<p>He called out, and entreated in vain; nobody answered,
+and though he had piles of gold and jewels about him, they
+could not purchase him a morsel of food.</p>
+
+<p>He sought in vain for any means of exit. There was a
+window, of clearest crystal, but it was barred by a heavy iron
+grating. But the window looked into a garden whence he
+could hear nightingales singing, doves cooing, and the
+murmur of a brook. But inside he saw only heaps of useless
+gold and jewels, and his own face, worn and haggard, reflected
+a thousand times.</p>
+
+<p>He could now only pray for a speedy death, and took out
+a little iron cross, which he had kept by him since his boyhood.
+But in doing so he also drew out the gold-embroidered
+handkerchief, given him by his wife, and which he had
+quite forgotten till now.</p>
+
+<p>Goldmore had been looking on, as he often did, from an
+opening in the ceiling to enjoy the sight of his prisoner's
+sufferings. All at once he recognized the handkerchief, as
+belonging to his own sister, the ferry-man's wife.<span class="pagenum">[66]</span></p>
+
+<p>He at once changed his treatment of his brother-in-law,
+as he had discovered him to be; took him out of prison, led
+him to his own apartments, gave him food and drink, and the
+Self-playing Guitar into the bargain.</p>
+
+<p>Coming home, the ferry-man met his wife half-way.</p>
+
+<p>"The ball of thread came home alone," she explained;
+"so I judged that some misfortune had befallen you, and I
+was coming to help you."</p>
+
+<p>He told her all his adventures, and they returned home
+together.</p>
+
+<p>The king was all eagerness to see and hear the Self-playing
+Guitar; so he ordered the ferry-man, his wife, and
+her sister to come with it to the palace at once.</p>
+
+<p>Now the property of this Self-playing Guitar was such
+that wherever its music was heard, the sick became well,
+those who were sad merry, ugly folks became handsome,
+sorceries were dissolved, and those who had been murdered
+rose from the dead, and slew their murderers.</p>
+
+<p>So when the king, having been told the charm to set the
+guitar playing, said the words, all the court began to be
+merry, and dance&mdash;except the king himself!... For all at
+once the door opened, the music ceased, and the figure of the
+late king stood up in his shroud, and said:</p>
+
+<p>"I was the rightful possessor of the throne! and you,
+wicked brother, who caused me to be murdered, shall now
+reap your reward!"<span class="pagenum">[67]</span></p>
+
+<p>So saying he breathed upon him, and the king fell dead&mdash;on
+which the phantom vanished.</p>
+
+<p>But as soon as they recovered from their fright, all the
+nobility who were present acclaimed the ferry-man as their
+king.</p>
+
+<p>The next day, after the burial of the late king, the
+beautiful sea-maiden, the beloved of the Sun, went back
+to the sea, to float about in her silvery canoe, in the company
+of the rainbow fishes, and to rejoice in the sunbeams.</p>
+
+<p>But the good ferry-man and his wife lived happily ever
+after, as king and queen. And they gave a grand ball to the
+nobility and to the people.... The Self-playing Guitar
+furnished the music, the wonderful purse scattered gold all
+the time, and the king entertained all the guests right
+royally.<span class="pagenum">[68]</span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 598px;">
+<a href="images/i68f.jpg">
+<img src="images/i68t.jpg" width="598" height="600" alt="i68t" title="THE FIGHT FOR THE MAGIC BOOTS" />
+</a>
+<a name="THE_FIGHT_FOR_THE_MAGIC_BOOTS"></a>
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption">THE FIGHT FOR THE MAGIC BOOTS</p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<p>
+<span class="pagenum">[69]</span>
+<a name="THE_PRINCESS_OF_THE_BRAZEN_MOUNTAIN" id="THE_PRINCESS_OF_THE_BRAZEN_MOUNTAIN"></a>
+</p>
+
+<div class="centered">
+<img src="images/i69t.jpg" width="600" height="270" alt="i69t" />
+</div>
+
+<h2>THE PRINCESS OF THE BRAZEN MOUNTAIN</h2>
+
+<p class="noin"><img class="dropimg" src="images/drop-t4.jpg" width="159" height="150" alt="T" />
+<b>HERE</b> was a young prince, who was not
+only most handsome and well-grown, but
+also most kind-hearted and good. Now
+sooner or later kindness always meets its
+reward, though it may not seem so at first.</p>
+
+<p>One summer's evening the prince was walking on the
+banks of a lake, when he looked up, and saw to his great
+surprise, in the air, against the rosy clouds of the sunset,
+three beautiful beings with wings&mdash;not angels, nor birds&mdash;but
+three beautiful damsels.</p>
+
+<p>And having alighted on the ground they dropped their
+wings and their garments, and left them lying on the shore
+and leaped into the cool water, and began splashing and
+playing about in it, like so many waterfowl.</p>
+
+<p>As soon as the prince saw this he came out from his<span class="pagenum">[70]</span>
+hiding-place in the bushes, picked up one pair of wings
+and hid himself again.</p>
+
+<p>When they had been long enough in the water, the
+beautiful damsels came again to land, and dressed themselves
+quickly.</p>
+
+<p>Two of them soon had on both their white dresses and
+their wings; but the youngest could not find hers.</p>
+
+<p>They held a short consultation, and the result was, that
+the two elder flew away in the shape of birds, as fast as they
+could, to fetch another pair of wings for their younger
+sister.</p>
+
+<p>They soon vanished in the blue sky; but she remained
+alone, wringing her hands, and crying.</p>
+
+<p>"What are you crying for, you lovely maiden?" asked
+the prince, emerging from the bushes.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! I am so unhappy!" she replied. "I am a
+princess of the Brazen Mountain; my sisters and I
+came here to bathe in the lake; and somebody has stolen
+my wings; so I must wait here, until they bring me
+another pair."</p>
+
+<p>"I am a prince," he replied; "this is my father's kingdom;
+be my wife, and I will give you back your wings."</p>
+
+<p>"Very well," she said; "I consent, only you must give
+me back my wings at once."</p>
+
+<p>"Let us first go to church, and get married," he answered,
+and taking the lovely princess by the hand, he brought her to
+<span class="pagenum">[71]</span>his father and mother, and asked their permission to marry
+her.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a href="images/i70f.jpg">
+<img src="images/i70t.jpg" width="600" height="586" alt="i70t" title="THE PRINCE STEALS THE WINGS" />
+</a>
+<a name="THE_PRINCE_STEALS_THE_WINGS"></a>
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption">THE PRINCE STEALS THE WINGS</p>
+
+<p>The king and queen were delighted with their beautiful
+daughter-in-law, gave them their blessing, and all was got
+ready for the wedding.</p>
+
+<p>And directly they came back from church the prince,
+overcome with joy, kissed his bride, and gave her back her
+wings.</p>
+
+<p>She took them joyfully, fastened them to her shoulders;
+then flew out of the window, and vanished.</p>
+
+<p>All the wedding-guests were in consternation; the king
+looked very serious; the queen wept bitterly; but the prince
+so grieved after his bride, that, having obtained his parents'
+consent, he went out into the wide world to search for that
+Brazen Mountain, where he hoped to find her.</p>
+
+<p>He travelled for a long time, inquiring about it of every
+one he met; but nobody had ever heard of such a mountain;
+and he began to give up all hope of ever finding it.</p>
+
+<p>Late one evening he saw a twinkling light before him,
+which he followed, in the hope of coming to some habitation.
+It led him on a long way, across level plains, through deep
+defiles, and at length some way into a dark forest. But at
+last he came to whence the light proceeded&mdash;from a solitary
+hermitage.</p>
+
+<p>He went in; but found the hermit lying dead, with six
+wax candles burning around him. He had evidently been<span class="pagenum">[72]</span>
+dead for some time. Yet there seemed to be nobody near
+him, nor any inhabitants at all in this desolate region.</p>
+
+<p>The prince's first thought was how to get him buried,
+and with proper rites, when there was no priest&mdash;nor indeed
+any people at all&mdash;to be found in the neighbourhood.</p>
+
+<p>While he was thinking over this, something fell from a
+peg in the wall, close beside him; it was a leather whip.</p>
+
+<p>The prince took it up, and read on the handle these
+words:</p>
+
+<p>"The Magic Whip."</p>
+
+<p>As he knew its virtue, he called out:</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<div class="stanza">
+<span class="i4">"Ho! Magical Whip!<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">To right and left skip!<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">And do what I will!"<br /></span>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>The whip jumped from his hand, became invisible, and
+flew away.</p>
+
+<p>In a short time there was the hum of a multitude through
+the forest; and the head-forester entered, breathless, followed
+by a crowd of under-keepers, and many more people with them.</p>
+
+<p>Some set about making a coffin, others began digging
+a grave, and the head-keeper rode off to fetch a priest.</p>
+
+<p>And as soon as it was dawn mass was said; the bells
+began ringing from several far-distant churches; and at
+sunrise the corpse was decently buried. When the funeral
+was over all the people dispersed to their homes, and the
+Magical Whip returned of itself to the prince's hand.<span class="pagenum">[73]</span></p>
+
+<p>He stuck it into his girdle, and went on, till after an hour
+or two he came to a clearing in the forest, where twelve men
+were fighting desperately among themselves.</p>
+
+<p>"Stop, you fellows!" exclaimed the prince. "Who are
+you? and what are you fighting about?"</p>
+
+<p>"We are robbers," they replied, "and we are fighting for
+these boots, which were the property of our deceased leader.
+Whoever has them can go seven leagues at one step; and he
+who gets them will be our leader. As you are a stranger we
+will abide by your decision, as to whom this pair of boots
+shall belong, and give you a heap of gold into the bargain for
+your trouble."</p>
+
+<p>The prince drew on the boots, took the Magical Whip
+from his girdle, and said:</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<div class="stanza">
+<span class="i4">"Ho! Magical Whip!<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">To right and left skip!<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">And do what I will!"<br /></span>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>The whip jumped from his hand, became invisible, and
+well thrashed the robbers. In the midst of the confusion
+the prince made his escape, and having the boots on he went
+seven miles at every step, and was soon far enough away
+from the robbers' den.</p>
+
+<p>But as he was no nearer to finding out where the Brazen
+Mountain was, he had no need to go quite so fast; so he
+took off the seven-league boots, put them under his arm, and
+the Magic Whip in his girdle, and went at his ordinary pace,<span class="pagenum">[74]</span>
+till he came to a narrow path between some rocks, where
+again he came upon twelve men fighting.</p>
+
+<p>They explained that they were fighting for an invisible
+cap, which had belonged to their late leader; and asked him,
+as a stranger, to decide who should have it.</p>
+
+<p>So he set the Magical Whip, as before, to work; and
+there was a nice confusion among these robbers, for not
+seeing where the blows came from they fell upon one another;
+and at last, frightened out of their senses, they took flight,
+and scattered in all directions. The prince, having put
+on the invisible cap, was able to walk among them, and
+talk to them; and they all heard, though they could not
+see him.</p>
+
+<p>He now began to consider whether he could not use all
+these treasures to help him to find the Brazen Mountain.
+So he drew on the seven-league boots, settled the invisible
+cap on his forehead, and taking the Magical Whip from his
+girdle, said:</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<div class="stanza">
+<span class="i4">"Oh! thou wondrous Magic Whip!<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Lead me on; I'll follow thee!<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Onward to the Brazen Mountain<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Lead me, where I fain would be!"<br /></span>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>The whip sprang from his hand. It did not become
+invisible this time, but glided rapidly a little above the
+ground, like a boat over a calm sea. Though it flew like
+a bird, the prince was quite able to keep pace with it, because<span class="pagenum">[75]</span>
+he had on the seven-league boots. He was scarcely aware of
+the fact, when in less than a quarter of an hour they came to a
+standstill&mdash;at the Brazen Mountain.</p>
+
+<p>At first the prince was overjoyed at having reached the
+goal of his wishes; but when he looked more closely at its
+smooth perpendicular sides, hard as adamant&mdash;its summit lost
+in the clouds&mdash;he was in despair; for how was he ever to get
+to the top of it?</p>
+
+<p>However, he thought there must be some way up after all;
+so taking off his boots and cap, he set off to walk round the
+base of the mountain.</p>
+
+<p>In half an hour he came to a mill, with twelve millstones.
+The miller was an old wizard, with a long beard down to the
+ground. He stood beside a stove&mdash;whereupon a kettle was
+boiling&mdash;stirring the contents with a long iron spoon, and
+piling wood on the fire.</p>
+
+<p>The prince looked into the kettle.</p>
+
+<p>"Good morning to you, gaffer. What are you doing
+there?"</p>
+
+<p>"That's my own business," replied the miller gruffly.</p>
+
+<p>"What mill is this?" the prince next asked.</p>
+
+<p>"That's no business of yours," replied the miller.</p>
+
+<p>The prince was not going to be satisfied with this; so he
+gave his usual orders to the Magical Whip, which forthwith
+became invisible, and began to lash the miller soundly. He
+tried to run away; but it was no use; till the prince took<span class="pagenum">[76]</span>
+pity on him, and called the whip back again. He put it up,
+and then said:</p>
+
+<p>"Whose mill is this?"</p>
+
+<p>"It belongs to the three princesses of the Brazen
+Mountain," replied the miller. "They let down a rope here
+every day, and draw up all the flour they want by the rope."</p>
+
+<p>As he said this a thick silken rope came down, with a loop
+at the end, which struck the threshold of the mill.</p>
+
+<p>The prince made ready; and when the usual sack of
+wheat flour was bound fast in the loop, he climbed upon it,
+having first put on his invisible cap, and was thus drawn
+up to the top of the Brazen Mountain.</p>
+
+<p>The three princesses, having drawn up their supply of
+flour, put it into their storehouse, and went back to their
+dwelling.</p>
+
+<p>Their palace was most beautiful, all silver without, and
+all gold within. All the windows were of crystal; the chairs
+and tables were made of diamonds, and the floors of looking-glass.
+The ceilings were like the sky, with mimic stars and
+moon shining therein; and in the principal saloon there was
+a sun, with rays all round; beautiful birds were singing,
+monkeys were telling fairy tales; and in their midst amongst
+all this sat three most beautiful princesses.</p>
+
+<p>The two eldest were weaving golden threads in their
+looms; but the youngest, the prince's wife, sat silently apart
+from her sisters, listening to the murmur of a fountain, her
+<span class="pagenum">[77]</span>head leaning on her hand, in deep thought. And as she sat
+there two pearly tears coursed down her lovely face.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 590px;">
+<a href="images/i76f.jpg">
+<img src="images/i76t.jpg" width="590" height="600" alt="i76t" title="THE TRUANT WIFE IS CAPTURED" />
+</a>
+<a name="THE_TRUANT_WIFE_IS_CAPTURED"></a>
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption">THE TRUANT WIFE IS CAPTURED</p>
+
+<p>"What are you thinking of, sister?" asked the two elder
+princesses.</p>
+
+<p>"I am thinking of the prince, my husband. I love to
+think of him, and I am so sorry for him, poor fellow! To
+think I left him for no fault at all; and when we loved one
+another so dearly! Oh! sisters! I shall have to leave you,
+and go back to him; only I fear he will never forgive me,
+however I entreat him, for having behaved so unkindly to
+him."</p>
+
+<p>"I forgive you, I forgive you everything, darling!" exclaimed
+the prince throwing off the invisible cap, and
+embracing her rapturously.</p>
+
+<p>Then she gave him wings like her own, and they flew
+away together. In an hour or two they arrived in his father's
+kingdom.</p>
+
+<p>The king and queen welcomed them joyfully, and all was
+greatest joy and happiness henceforward.<span class="pagenum">[78]</span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 582px;">
+<a href="images/i78f.jpg">
+<img src="images/i78t.jpg" width="582" height="600" alt="i78t" title="THE MOUSE SAVES THE GOOD LITTLE GIRL" />
+</a>
+<a name="THE_MOUSE_SAVES_THE_GOOD_LITTLE_GIRL"></a>
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption">THE MOUSE SAVES THE GOOD LITTLE GIRL</p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<p>
+<span class="pagenum">[79]</span>
+<a name="THE_BEAR_IN_THE_FOREST_HUT" id="THE_BEAR_IN_THE_FOREST_HUT"></a>
+</p>
+
+<div class="centered">
+<img src="images/i79t.jpg" width="600" height="338" alt="i79t" />
+</div>
+
+<h2>THE BEAR IN THE FOREST HUT.</h2>
+
+<p class="noin"><img class="dropimg" src="images/drop-t5.jpg" width="156" height="150" alt="T" />
+<b>HERE</b> was once an old man, who was a
+widower, and he had married an old woman,
+who was a widow. Both had had children
+by their first marriage; and now the old man
+had a daughter of his own still living, and the old woman
+also had a daughter.</p>
+
+<p>The old man was an honest, hard-working, and good-natured
+old fellow, but too much under his wife's thumb.
+This was very unfortunate, because she was wicked, cunning,
+and sly, and a bad old witch.</p>
+
+<p>Her daughter was only too like her in disposition; but
+she was her mother's darling.</p>
+
+<p>But the old man's daughter was a very good sweet girl;<span class="pagenum">[80]</span>
+nevertheless her stepmother hated her; she was always
+tormenting her, and wishing her dead.</p>
+
+<p>One day she had beaten her very cruelly, and pushed her
+out of doors; then she said to the old man:</p>
+
+<p>"Your wretched daughter is always giving me trouble;
+she is such an ill-tempered, spoilt hussy, that I cannot do
+anything with her. So if you wish for peace in the house,
+you must put her into your waggon, drive her away into the
+forest, and come back without her."</p>
+
+<p>The old man was very sorry to have to do this; for he
+loved his own little daughter most dearly. But he was so
+afraid of his wife that he dared not refuse; so he put the
+poor girl into his waggon, drove a long way into the forest,
+took her out, and left her there alone.</p>
+
+<p>She wandered about a long time, gathering wild strawberries,
+to eat with a little piece of bread, which her father
+had given her. Towards evening she came to the door of a
+hut in the forest, and knocked at the door.</p>
+
+<p>Nobody answered her knock. So she lifted the latch,
+went in, and looked round&mdash;there was nobody there.</p>
+
+<p>But there was a table in one corner, and benches all round
+the walls, and an oven by the door. And near the table,
+close to the window, was a spinning-wheel, and a quantity
+of flax.</p>
+
+<p>The girl sat down to the spinning-wheel, and opened the
+window, looked out, and listened; but nobody came.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a href="images/i80f.jpg">
+<img src="images/i80t.jpg" width="600" height="598" alt="i80t" title="THE GOOD LITTLE GIRL IS SENT AWAY" />
+</a>
+<a name="THE_GOOD_LITTLE_GIRL_IS_SENT_AWAY"></a>
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption">THE GOOD LITTLE GIRL IS SENT AWAY</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[81]</span></p>
+
+<p>But as it grew dusk she heard a rustle not far off, and
+from somewhere not far from the hut, a voice was heard,
+singing:</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<div class="stanza">
+<span class="i4">"Wanderer, outcast, forsaken!<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Whom the night has overtaken;<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">If no crime your conscience stain,<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">In this hut to-night remain."<br /></span>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>When the voice ceased, she answered:</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<div class="stanza">
+<span class="i4">"I am outcast and forsaken;<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Yet unstained by crime am I:<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Be you rich, or be you poor;<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">For this night here let me lie!"<br /></span>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>Once more there was a rustle in the branches; the door
+opened, and there came into the room&mdash;a bear!</p>
+
+<p>The girl started up, very frightened; but the bear only
+said:</p>
+
+<p>"Good evening, pretty maiden!"</p>
+
+<p>"Good evening to you, whoever you are," she replied,
+somewhat reassured.</p>
+
+<p>"How did you come here?" he asked. "Was it of your
+own free will, or by compulsion?"</p>
+
+<p>The maiden told him all, weeping; but the bear sat
+down beside her, and stroking her face with his paw,
+replied:</p>
+
+<p>"Do not cry, pretty one; you shall be happy yet.
+But in the meantime you must do just what I tell you.
+Do you see that flax? You must spin it into thread; of<span class="pagenum">[82]</span>
+that thread you must weave cloth, and of that cloth you
+must make me a shirt. I shall come here to-morrow
+at this same time, and if the shirt is ready I will reward
+you. Good-bye!"</p>
+
+<p>So saying the bear made her a parting bow, and went out.
+At first the girl began to cry, and said to herself:</p>
+
+<p>"How can I do this in only twenty-four hours&mdash;spin all
+that flax, weave it into cloth, and make a shirt out of it?
+Well! I must set to work! and do what I can.... He
+will at least see that my will was good, though I was unable
+to perform the task."</p>
+
+<p>Thus saying, she dried her tears, ate some of her bread
+and strawberries, sat down to the spinning-wheel, and began
+to spin by the light of the moon.</p>
+
+<p>The time went by quickly, as she worked, and it was
+daylight before she knew.</p>
+
+<p>And there was no more flax left; she had spun out the
+last distaff-full.</p>
+
+<p>She was astonished to see how fast the work had gone,
+and began to wonder how she was to weave the thread without
+any loom.</p>
+
+<p>Thinking, she fell asleep.</p>
+
+<p>When she woke the sun was already high in the heavens.
+There was breakfast ready on the table, and a loom under
+the window.</p>
+
+<p>She ran down to the neighbouring brook, washed her<span class="pagenum">[83]</span>
+face and hands, came back, said grace, and ate her breakfast;
+then she sat down to the loom.</p>
+
+<p>The shuttle flew so fast that the cloth was all ready by
+noon.</p>
+
+<p>She took it out into a meadow, sprinkled it from the
+brook, spread it out in the sun, and in one hour the cloth
+was bleached.</p>
+
+<p>She came back with it to the hut, cut out the shirt, and
+began to stitch at it diligently.</p>
+
+<p>The twilight was falling, and she was just putting in the
+last stitch, when the door opened, and the bear came in, and
+asked:</p>
+
+<p>"Is the shirt ready?"</p>
+
+<p>She gave it to him.</p>
+
+<p>"Thank you, my good girl; now I must reward you.
+You told me you had a bad stepmother; if you like, I will
+send my bears to tear her and her daughter in pieces."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! don't do that! I don't want to be revenged; let
+them live!"</p>
+
+<p>"Let it be so then! Meanwhile make yourself useful in
+the kitchen; get me some porridge for supper. You will find
+everything you want in the cupboard in the wall; but I will
+go and fetch my bedding, for I shall spend to-night at home."</p>
+
+<p>The bear left the room, and the maiden made up the fire
+in the oven, and began to get the porridge ready.</p>
+
+<p>Just then she heard a sound under the bench, and there<span class="pagenum">[84]</span>
+ran out a poor, lean little mouse, which stood up on its hind-legs,
+and said in human tones:</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<div class="stanza">
+<span class="i4">"Mistress! help me lest I die<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">A poor weak, little mouse am I!<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">I am hungry, give me food;<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">And to you will I be good."<br /></span>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>The girl was sorry for the mouse, and threw it a spoonful
+of porridge.</p>
+
+<p>The mouse ate it, thanked her, and ran away to its
+hole.</p>
+
+<p>The bear soon came in, with a load of wood and stones;
+these he laid upon the stove, and having eaten a basin of
+porridge, he climbed upon the stove, and said:</p>
+
+<p>"Here, girl, is a bunch of keys on a steel ring. Put out
+the fire; but you must walk about the room all night, and
+keep on jingling these keys, till I get up; and if I find you
+alive in the morning you shall be happy."</p>
+
+<p>The bear began snoring directly, and the old man's
+daughter kept walking about the hut, jingling the
+keys.</p>
+
+<p>Soon the mouse ran out of its hole, and said:</p>
+
+<p>"Give me the keys, mistress, I will jingle them for you;
+but you must hide yourself behind the stove, for the stones
+will soon be flying about."</p>
+
+<p>So the mouse began to run up and down by the wall,
+under the bench. The maiden hid behind the oven, and<span class="pagenum">[85]</span>
+about midnight the bear woke up, and threw out a stone into
+the middle of the room.</p>
+
+<p>But the mouse kept running about, and jingling the keys.
+And the bear asked:</p>
+
+<p>"Are you alive?"</p>
+
+<p>"I am," replied the girl, from behind the oven.</p>
+
+<p>The bear began to throw stones and billets of wood, thick
+and fast from the stove, and every time he did so, he asked:</p>
+
+<p>"Are you alive?"</p>
+
+<p>"I am," replied the girl's voice from behind the oven;
+and the mouse still ran up and down, jingling the keys.</p>
+
+<p>With the dawn the cocks began to crow, but the bear did
+not wake. The mouse gave up the keys, and ran back to its
+hole; but the old man's daughter began to walk about the
+room, and jingled the keys.</p>
+
+<p>At sunrise the bear came off the stove, and said:</p>
+
+<p>"O daughter of the old man! you are blest of heaven!
+For here was I, a powerful monarch, changed by enchantment
+into a bear, until some living soul should spend two
+nights in this hut. And now I shall soon become a man
+again, and return to my kingdom, taking you for my wife.
+But before this comes to pass, do you look into my right
+ear."</p>
+
+<p>The old man's daughter threw back her hair, and looked
+into the right ear of the bear. And she saw a beautiful
+country, with millions of people, with high mountains, deep
+<span class="pagenum">[86]</span>rivers, impenetrable forests, and pastures covered with flocks,
+well-to-do villages, and rich cities.</p>
+
+<p>"What seest thou?" asked the bear.</p>
+
+<p>"I see a lovely country."</p>
+
+<p>"That is my kingdom. Look into my left ear."</p>
+
+<p>She looked, and could not enough admire what she saw&mdash;a
+magnificent palace, with many carriages and horses in the
+courtyard, and in the carriages rich robes, jewels, and all
+kinds of rarities.</p>
+
+<p>"What do you see?" asked the bear.</p>
+
+<p>She described it all.</p>
+
+<p>"Which of those carriages do you prefer?"</p>
+
+<p>"The one with four horses," she replied.</p>
+
+<p>"That is yours then," answered the bear, as he opened
+the window.</p>
+
+<p>There was a sound of wheels in the forest, and a golden
+carriage presently drew up before the cottage drawn by four
+splendid horses, although there was no driver.</p>
+
+<p>The bear adorned his beloved with a gown of cloth-of-gold,
+with diamond ear-rings, a necklace set with various
+precious stones, and diamond rings, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"Wait here a little while; your father will come for you
+presently; and in a few days, when the power of the enchantment
+is over, and I am a king again, I will come for
+you, and you shall be my queen."</p>
+
+<p>So saying the bear disappeared into the forest, and the<span class="pagenum">[87]</span>
+old man's daughter looked out of the window to watch for her
+father's coming.</p>
+
+<p>The old man, having left his daughter in the wood, came
+home very sad; but on the third day he harnessed his waggon
+again, and drove into the forest, to see if she were alive or
+dead; and if she were dead at least to bury her.</p>
+
+<p>Towards evening the old woman and her own daughter
+looked out of the window, and a dog, the favourite of the
+old man's daughter, suddenly rushed to the door, and began
+to bark:</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<div class="stanza">
+<span class="i4">"Bow! wow! wow! the old man's here!<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Bringing home his daughter dear,<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Decked with gold and diamonds' sheen,<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Gifts to please a royal queen."<br /></span>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>The old woman gave the dog an angry kick.
+"You lie, you big ugly dog! Bark like this!</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<div class="stanza">
+<span class="i4">"Bow! wow! wow! the old man's come!<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">His daughter's bones he's bringing home!"<br /></span>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>So saying she opened the door; the dog leaped forth;
+and she went with her daughter into the courtyard. They
+stood as if transfixed!</p>
+
+<p>For in drove the carriage with four galloping horses, the
+old man sitting on the box, cracking his whip, and his
+daughter sat inside, dressed in cloth of gold, and adorned
+with jewels.</p>
+
+<p>The old woman pretended she was overjoyed to see her,<span class="pagenum">[88]</span>
+welcomed her with many kisses, and was anxious to know
+where she got all these rich and beautiful things.</p>
+
+<p>The girl told her that they were all given to her by the
+bear in the forest hut.</p>
+
+<p>Next day the old woman baked some delicious cakes, and
+gave them to her own daughter, saying to the old man:</p>
+
+<p>"If your wretched, worthless daughter has had such good
+luck, I am sure my sweet, pretty darling will get a deal more
+from the bear, if he can only see her. So you must drive her
+out in the waggon, leave her in the forest, and come back
+without her."</p>
+
+<p>And she gave the old man a good push, to hasten his
+departure, shut the door of the cottage in his face, and looked
+out of the window to see what would happen.</p>
+
+<p>The old man went to the stable, got out the waggon, put
+the horse to, helped his stepdaughter in, and drove away
+with her into the forest.</p>
+
+<p>There he left her, turned his horse's head, and drove
+quickly home.</p>
+
+<p>The old woman's daughter was not long in finding out
+the hut in the forest. Confident in the power of her charms
+she went straight into the little room. There was nobody
+within; but there was the same table in one corner, the
+benches round the walls, the oven by the door, and the
+spinning-wheel, under the window, with a great bundle of flax.</p>
+
+<p>She sat down on one of the benches, undid her bundle,<span class="pagenum">[89]</span>
+and began eating the cakes with great relish, looking from
+the window all the time.</p>
+
+<p>It soon began to get dark, a strong wind began to blow,
+and a voice was heard singing outside:</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<div class="stanza">
+<span class="i4">"Wanderer! outcast, forsaken!<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Whom the night has overtaken;<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">If no crime your conscience stain,<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Here this night you may remain."<br /></span>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>When the voice ceased she answered:</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<div class="stanza">
+<span class="i4">"I am outcast and forsaken;<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Yet unstained by crime am I:<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Be you rich, or be you poor,<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">For this night here let me lie."<br /></span>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>Then the door opened, and the bear walked in.</p>
+
+<p>The girl stood up, gave him a winning smile, and waited
+for him to bow first.</p>
+
+<p>The bear looked at her narrowly, made a bow, and said:</p>
+
+<p>"Welcome, maiden ... but I have not much time to
+stay here. I must go back to the forest; but between now
+and to-morrow evening you must make me a shirt, out
+of this flax; so you must set at once about spinning,
+weaving, bleaching, washing, and then about sewing it.
+Good-bye!"</p>
+
+<p>So saying the bear turned, and went out.</p>
+
+<p>"That's not what I came here for," said the girl, so soon
+as his back was turned, "to do your spinning, weaving, and
+sewing! You may do without a shirt for me!"<span class="pagenum">[90]</span></p>
+
+<p>So saying, she made herself comfortable on one of the
+benches, and went to sleep.</p>
+
+<p>Next day, at evening twilight, the bear came back, and
+asked:</p>
+
+<p>"Is the shirt ready?"</p>
+
+<p>She made no answer.</p>
+
+<p>"What's this? the distaff has not been touched."</p>
+
+<p>Silence as before.</p>
+
+<p>"Get me ready my supper at once. You will find water
+in that pail, and the groats in that cupboard. I must go and
+fetch my bedding, for to-night I will sleep at home."</p>
+
+<p>The bear went out, and the old woman's daughter lit the
+fire in the stove, and began to prepare the porridge. Then
+the little mouse came out, stood on its hind-legs, and said:</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<div class="stanza">
+<span class="i4">"Mistress! help me, or I die!<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">A poor, weak little mouse am I!<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">I am hungry, give me food;<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">And to you will I be good."<br /></span>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>But the unkind girl only caught up the spoon with which
+she was stirring the porridge, and flung it at the poor mouse,
+which ran away in a fright.</p>
+
+<p>The bear soon came back with a huge load of stones and
+wood; instead of a mattress he arranged a layer of stones on
+the top of the stove, and covered this with the wood, in place
+of a sheet. He ate up the porridge, and said:</p>
+
+<p>"Here! take these keys; walk all night about the hut,<span class="pagenum">[91]</span>
+and keep on jingling them. And if, when I get up to-morrow,
+I find you still alive, you shall be happy."</p>
+
+<p>The bear was snoring at once, and the old woman's
+daughter walked up and down drowsily, jingling the
+keys.</p>
+
+<p>But about midnight the bear woke up, and flung a stone
+towards the quarter whence he heard the jingling. It hit
+the old woman's daughter.</p>
+
+<p>She gave one shriek, fell, and expired instantly.</p>
+
+<p>Next morning the bear descended from the top of the
+oven, looked once at the dead girl, opened the cottage door,
+stood upon the threshold, and stamped upon it three times
+with all his force. It thundered and lightened; and in one
+moment the bear became a handsome young king, with a
+golden sceptre in his hand, and a diamond crown on his
+head.</p>
+
+<p>And now there drew up before the cottage a carriage,
+bright as sunshine, with six horses. The coachman cracked
+his whip, till the leaves fell from the trees, and the king got
+into the carriage, and drove away from the forest to his own
+capital city.</p>
+
+<p>The old man having left his stepdaughter in the forest
+came home rejoicing in his daughter's joy. She was expecting
+the king every day. In the meantime he busied himself
+with looking after the four splendid horses, cleaning the
+golden carriage, and airing the costly horse-clothes.<span class="pagenum">[92]</span></p>
+
+<p>On the third day after his return the old woman came
+down upon him and said:</p>
+
+<p>"Go and fetch my darling; she is no doubt all dressed in
+gold by this time, or married to a king; so I shall be a
+queen's mother."</p>
+
+<p>The old man, obedient as ever, harnessed the waggon,
+and drove off.</p>
+
+<p>When evening came the old woman gazed from the
+window; when the dog began to bark:</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<div class="stanza">
+<span class="i4">"Bow! wow! wow! the old man's come!<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Your daughter's bones he's bringing home!"<br /></span>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>"You lie!" exclaimed the old woman; "bark like this:</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<div class="stanza">
+<span class="i4">'Bow! wow! wow! the old man's here!<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Driving home your daughter dear,<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Decked in gold and diamonds' sheen,<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Gifts to please a royal queen.'"<br /></span>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>So saying she ran out of the house to meet the old man,
+coming back in the waggon; but she stood as if thunderstruck,
+sobbed, and wept, and was hardly able to articulate:</p>
+
+<p>"Where is my sweetest daughter?"</p>
+
+<p>The old man scratched his head, and replied:</p>
+
+<p>"She has met with a great misfortune; this is all I have
+found of her&mdash;a few bare bones, and blood-stained garments;
+in the wood, in the old hut ... she has been devoured by
+wolves."</p>
+
+<p>The old woman, wild with grief and despair, gathered up
+<span class="pagenum">[93]</span>her daughter's bones, went to some neighbouring cross-ways,
+and when a number of people had gathered together, she
+buried them there with weeping and lamentation; then she
+fell face downward on the grave&mdash;and was turned to stone.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a href="images/i92f.jpg">
+<img src="images/i92t.jpg" width="600" height="553" alt="i92t" title="THE REWARD OF THE GOOD LITTLE GIRL" />
+</a>
+<a name="THE_REWARD_OF_THE_GOOD_LITTLE_GIRL"></a>
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption">THE REWARD OF THE GOOD LITTLE GIRL</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile a royal carriage drew up in the courtyard of
+the old man's cottage, bright as the sun, with four splendid
+horses, and the coachman cracked his whip&mdash;till the cottage
+fell to pieces with the sound.</p>
+
+<p>The king took both the old man and his daughter into the
+carriage, and they drove away to his capital, where the
+marriage soon took place.</p>
+
+<p>The old man lived happily in his declining years, as
+the father-in-law of a king, and with his sweet daughter,
+who had once been so miserable, a queen.</p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<div class="centered">
+<img src="images/i93t.jpg" width="300" height="298" alt="i93t" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr class="chapter" />
+
+<p>
+<span class="pagenum">[94]</span>
+<a name="APPENDIX" id="APPENDIX"></a>
+</p>
+
+<h2>APPENDIX</h2>
+
+<p class="h3">NOTE I</p>
+
+<p class="h3">THE FROG PRINCESS</p>
+
+<p>This is certainly a "Nature story." The princess and
+her attendants are clearly personification of the elemental
+forces. The classical scholar cannot fail to be struck by
+the likeness of her metamorphoses to the story of Peleus
+and Thetis. Indeed the "Protean myth" so repeatedly
+occurs in these primitive Slavonic stories that it is impossible
+not to suspect a common origin.</p>
+
+<p class="h3">NOTE II</p>
+
+<p class="h3">PRINCESS MIRANDA AND PRINCE HERO</p>
+
+<p>The old woman "Jandza"&mdash;which word Polish dictionary-makers
+translate by "fury"&mdash;appears very often both in
+Polish and Russian fairy tales, as a witch of witches. She is
+sometimes "Jaga"; and seems pretty malevolent, though
+capable of serving those who know how to manage her.</p>
+
+<p>This story&mdash;probably a symbolic one&mdash;of the Spring and
+Winter, or the triumph of Light over Darkness, might be read
+at the present moment into an allegory of Poland, overrun,
+her people oppressed, starved, and all but extirpated by the
+malignant spirit of German militarism. Princess Miranda,
+herself unsleeping, awake, and watching, while all is
+desolation and despair around her, might be taken for the<span class="pagenum">[95]</span>
+Spirit of Poland herself, undying, but waiting for deliverance.
+But where is the Prince Hero, who shall deliver her?</p>
+
+<p><i>Princess Miranda</i>&mdash;her name is <i>cud-dziewica</i>, i.e.
+"Wonder Maiden"&mdash;but is not "admired Miranda" the
+most obvious rendering?</p>
+
+<p class="h3">NOTE III</p>
+
+<p class="h3">THE WHIRLWIND</p>
+
+<p>The name of the heroine "Ladna" signifies "pretty"
+or "beautiful" in Polish. It is not the word originally
+used; but being nearly equivalent, and of similar meaning,
+appears preferable.</p>
+
+<p>The prince's name "Dobrotek," signifies "good," or
+"benefactor." Being easy of pronunciation, but not easily
+Englished into a proper name, it seemed best to retain it.</p>
+
+<p>The whole story has a very Eastern cast. The mention
+of the "Seven seas," and the high mountains beyond them,
+suggest Persian or Indian influence. The ugly dwarf, with
+the long beard and diminutive stature, seems a malignant
+"Jinn," and to have his counterpart in a well-known legend
+of the Arabian Nights. But this is not the only Polish tale
+that gives this impression; more than one appears directly
+taken from these tales.</p>
+
+<p>P. 50. "The Water of Loosening." Loosening is not
+perhaps an exact rendering, which is rather "unstiffening,"
+or destroying the <i>rigor mortis</i>, as a preparative to healing<span class="pagenum">[96]</span>
+a mortal wound, and breaking the sleep of death. These
+three waters always appear in stories, where this incident
+is used.</p>
+
+<p class="h3">NOTE IV</p>
+
+<p class="h3">THE PRINCESS OF THE BRAZEN MOUNTAIN</p>
+
+<p>This story is rather freely translated, and much shortened
+from the original. There is much pious reflection, too long
+for insertion. The conversation between the prince and the
+sorcerer-miller is somewhat changed as much of it seemed
+rather irrelevant to the chief interest of the story, and lacking
+in pithiness.</p>
+
+<p>The story of a supernatural maiden, compelled by the
+theft of her wings to remain temporarily as a mortal with a
+mortal husband, has its counterpart in many lands. The
+oldest perhaps is a Persian story, related in Keightly's
+"Fairy Mythology," of a Peri, who being thus entrapped,
+lives several years as an ordinary woman; but accidently
+finding her wings again, puts them on, and deserts her mortal
+husband and children, remarking as she does so: "I loved
+you well enough, while we remained together; but I love my
+former husband better"&mdash;and so vanishes away to Peristan.</p>
+
+<p>The parallel legend of "Little Sealskin" will readily
+occur to memory.</p>
+
+<p class="h3">THE END</p>
+
+<p class="spacer">&nbsp;</p>
+
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Polish Fairy Tales, by A. J. Glinski
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+</pre>
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+</body>
+</html>
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@@ -0,0 +1,3113 @@
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Polish Fairy Tales, by A. J. Glinski
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Polish Fairy Tales
+
+Author: A. J. Glinski
+
+Illustrator: Cecile Walton
+
+Translator: Maude Ashurst Biggs
+
+Release Date: July 8, 2011 [EBook #36668]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK POLISH FAIRY TALES ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Jana Srna, Matthew Wheaton and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                           POLISH FAIRY TALES
+
+              [Illustration: THE FAIRY GIRLS MAKE THE CARPET]
+
+
+
+
+                           POLISH FAIRY TALES
+
+
+                       TRANSLATED FROM A J GLINSKI
+                         By MAUDE ASHURST BIGGS
+
+                      ILLUSTRATED By CECILE WALTON
+
+
+                   LONDON: JOHN LANE THE BODLEY HEAD
+                     NEW YORK JOHN LANE COMPANY 1920
+
+
+   _The Mayflower Press, Plymouth, England._ William Brendon & Son, Ltd.
+
+
+       [Illustration: The pictures in this book are dedicated to
+       my sons ... Gavril and Teddy.              Cecile Walton.]
+
+
+
+
+TALES FROM POLAND
+
+
+These are selections from a large collection made by A. J. Glinski,
+printed at Wilna in 1862. These fairy tales come from a far past and may
+even date from primitive Aryan times. They represent the folklore
+current among the peasantry of the Eastern provinces of Poland, and also
+in those provinces usually known as White Russia.
+
+They were set down by Glinski just as they were related to him by the
+peasants.
+
+In the translation it was of course necessary to shorten them
+considerably; the continual repetition--however quaint and fascinating
+in the original--cannot easily be reproduced. Portions, too, are often
+told in rhyme, or in a species of rhyming prose that we associate with
+the ancient ballad. The obvious likenesses between these and the
+folklore of Germany, the Celtic nations, or to the Indian fairy-tales,
+will strike every reader.
+                                                 MAUDE ASHURST BIGGS.
+
+
+
+
+  CONTENTS
+
+
+  THE FROG PRINCESS
+
+  PRINCESS MIRANDA AND PRINCE HERO
+
+  THE EAGLES
+
+  THE WHIRLWIND
+
+  THE GOOD FERRYMAN AND THE WATER NYMPHS
+
+  THE PRINCESS OF THE BRAZEN MOUNTAIN
+
+  THE BEAR IN THE FOREST HUT
+
+  APPENDIX
+
+
+
+
+THE FROG PRINCESS
+
+
+There was once a king, who was very old; but he had three grown-up sons.
+So he called them to him, and said:
+
+"My dear sons, I am very old, and the cares of government press heavily
+upon me. I must therefore give them over to one of you. But as it is the
+law among us, that no unmarried prince may be King, I wish you all to
+get married, and whoever chooses the best wife shall be my successor."
+
+So they determined each to go a different way, and settled it thus.
+They went to the top of a very high tower, and each one at a given
+signal shot an arrow in a different direction to the others. Wherever
+their arrows fell they were to go in search of their future wives.
+
+The eldest prince's arrow fell on a palace in the city, where lived a
+senator, who had a beautiful daughter; so he went there, and married
+her.
+
+The second prince's arrow struck upon a country-house, where a very
+pretty young lady, the daughter of a rich gentleman, was sitting; so he
+went there, and proposed to her, and they were married.
+
+But the youngest prince's arrow shot through a green wood, and fell into
+a lake. He saw his arrow floating among the reeds, and a frog sitting
+thereon, looking fixedly at him.
+
+But the marshy ground was so unsafe that he could not venture upon it;
+so he sat down in despair.
+
+"What is the matter, prince?" asked the frog.
+
+"What is the matter? Why, I cannot reach that arrow on which you are
+sitting."
+
+"Take me for your wife, and I will give it to you."
+
+"But how can you be my wife, little frog?"
+
+"That is just what has got to be. You know that you shot your arrow from
+the tower, thinking that where it fell, you would find a loving wife; so
+you will have her in me."
+
+"You are very wise, I see, little frog. But tell me, how can I marry
+you, or introduce you to my father? And what will the world say?"
+
+"Take me home with you, and let nobody see me. Tell them that you have
+married an Eastern lady, who must not be seen by any man, except her
+husband, nor even by another woman."
+
+The prince considered a little. The arrow had now floated to the margin
+of the lake; he took the arrow from the little frog, put her in his
+pocket, carried her home, and then went to bed, sighing very deeply.
+
+Next morning the king was told that all his sons had got married; so he
+called them all together, and said:
+
+"Well children, are you all pleased with your wives?"
+
+"Very pleased indeed, father and king."
+
+"Well, we shall see who has chosen best. Let each of my daughters-in-law
+weave me a carpet by to-morrow, and the one whose carpet is the most
+beautiful shall be queen."
+
+The elder princes hastened at once to their ladies; but the youngest,
+when he reached home, was in despair.
+
+"What is the matter, prince?" asked the frog.
+
+"What is the matter? My father has ordered that each of his
+daughters-in-law shall weave him a carpet, and the one whose carpet
+proves the most beautiful shall be first in rank. My brothers' wives are
+most likely working at their looms already. But you, little frog,
+although you can give back an arrow, and talk like a human being, will
+not be able to weave a carpet, as far as I can see."
+
+"Don't be afraid," she said; "go to sleep, and before you wake the
+carpet shall be ready."
+
+So he lay down, and went to sleep.
+
+But the little frog stood on her hind-legs in the window and sang:
+
+    "Ye breezes that blow, ye winds that sigh,
+      Come hither on airy wing;
+    And all of you straight to my dwelling hie,
+      And various treasures bring.
+        Two fleeces I crave of the finest wool,
+        And of the loveliest flowers a basketful;
+        From the depths of the ocean bring sands of gold,
+        And pearl-drops of lustre manifold;
+        That so I may fashion a carpet bright,
+        Adorned with fair flow'rets and gems of light,
+        And weave it in one short day and night,
+        When my true love's hands must the treasure hold."
+
+There was a gentle murmur of the breezes, and from the sunbeams
+descended seven lovely maidens, who floated into the room, carrying
+baskets of various coloured wools, pearls, and flowers. They curtsied
+deeply to the little frog, and in a few minutes they wove a wonderfully
+beautiful carpet; then they curtsied again, and flew away.
+
+Meanwhile the wives of the other princes bought the most beautifully
+coloured wools, and the best designs they could find, and worked hard at
+their looms all the next day.
+
+Then all the princes came before the king, and spread out their carpets
+before him.
+
+The king looked at the first and the second; but when he came to the
+third, he exclaimed:
+
+"That's the carpet for me! I give the first place to my youngest son's
+wife; but there must be another trial yet."
+
+And he ordered that each of his daughters-in-law should make him a cake
+next day; and the husband of the one whose cake proved the best should
+be his successor.
+
+The youngest prince came back to his frog wife; he looked very
+thoughtful, and sighed deeply.
+
+"What is the matter, prince?" she asked.
+
+"My father demands another proof of skill; and I am not so sure that we
+shall succeed so well as before; for how can you bake a cake?"
+
+"Do not be afraid," she said: "Lie down, and sleep; and when you wake
+you will be in a happier frame of mind."
+
+The prince went to sleep; and the frog sprang up to the window, and
+sang:
+
+    "Ye breezes that blow, ye winds that sigh,
+      Come hither on airy wing;
+    And all of you straight to my dwelling hie,
+      These various gifts to bring.
+        From the sunbeams bright
+        Bring me heat and light;
+        And soft waters distil
+        From the pure flowing rill.
+        From the flowers of the field
+        The sweet odours they yield.
+        From the wheatfields obtain
+        Five full measures of grain,
+        That so I may bake
+        In the night-time a cake,
+        For my true love's sake."
+
+The winds began to rise, and the seven beautiful maidens floated down
+into the room, carrying baskets, with flour, water, sweetmeats, and all
+sorts of dainties. They curtsied to the little frog, and got the cake
+ready in a few minutes; curtsied again, and flew away.
+
+The next day the three princes brought their cakes to the king. They
+were all very good; but when he tasted the one made by his youngest
+son's wife, he exclaimed:
+
+"That is the cake for me! light, floury, white, and delicious! I see, my
+son, you have made the best choice; but we must wait a little longer."
+
+The two elder sons went away much depressed; but the youngest greatly
+elated. When he reached home he took up his little frog, stroked and
+kissed her, and said:
+
+"Tell me, my love, how it was that you, being only a little frog, could
+weave such a beautiful carpet, or make such a delicious cake?"
+
+"Because, my prince, I am not what I seem. I am a princess, and my
+mother is the renowned Queen of Light, and a great enchantress. But she
+has many enemies, who, as they could not injure her, were always seeking
+to destroy me. To conceal me from them she was obliged to turn me into a
+frog; and for seven years I have been forced to stay in the marsh where
+you found me. But under this frog-skin I am really more beautiful than
+you can imagine; yet until my mother has conquered all her enemies I
+must wear this disguise; after that takes place you shall see me as I
+really am."
+
+While they were talking two courtiers entered, with the king's orders to
+the young prince, to come to a banquet at the king's palace, and bring
+his wife with him, as his brothers were doing by theirs.
+
+He knew not what to do; but the little frog said:
+
+"Do not be afraid, my prince. Go to your father alone; and when he asks
+for me, it will begin to rain. You must then say that your wife will
+follow you; but she is now bathing in May-dew. When it lightens say that
+I am dressing; and when it thunders, that I am coming."
+
+The prince, trusting to her word, set out for the palace; and the frog
+jumped up to the window, and standing on her hind-legs, began to sing:
+
+    "Ye breezes that blow, ye winds that sigh,
+      Come hither on airy wing;
+    And all of you straight to my dwelling hie,
+      These several gifts to bring.
+      My beauty of yore;
+      And my bright youth once more;
+      All my dresses so fair;
+      And my jewels so rare;
+      And let me delight
+      My dear love by the sight."
+
+Then the seven beautiful damsels, who were the handmaidens of the
+princess--when she lived with her mother--floated on the sunbeams into
+the room. They curtsied, walked three times round her, and pronounced
+some magical words.
+
+Then the frog-skin fell off her, and she stood among them a miracle of
+beauty, and the lovely princess she was.
+
+Meanwhile the prince, her husband, had arrived at the royal
+banquet-hall, which was already full of guests. The old king welcomed
+him warmly, and asked him:
+
+"Where is your wife, my son?"
+
+Then a light rain began to fall, and the prince said:
+
+"She will not be long; she is now bathing herself in May-dew."
+
+Then came a flash of lightning, which illuminated all the palace, and he
+said:
+
+"She is now adorning herself."
+
+But when it thundered, he ran to the door exclaiming:
+
+"Here she is!"
+
+And the lovely princess came in, seeming to bring the sunshine with her.
+They all stood amazed at her beauty. The king could not contain his
+delight; and she seemed to him all the more beautiful, because he
+thought her the very image of his long-deceased queen. The prince
+himself was no less astonished and overjoyed to find such loveliness in
+her, whom he had only as yet seen in the shape of a little frog.
+
+"Tell me, my son," said the king, "why you did not let me know what a
+fortunate choice you had made?"
+
+The prince told him everything in a whisper; and the king said:
+
+"Go home then, my son, at once, and pick up that frog-skin of hers;
+throw it in the fire, and come back here as fast as you can. Then she
+will have to remain just as she is now."
+
+The prince did as his father told him, went home, and threw the
+frog-skin into the fire, where it was at once consumed.
+
+But things did not turn out as they expected; for the lovely princess,
+on coming home, sought for her frog-skin, and not finding it, began to
+cry bitterly. When the prince confessed the truth, she shrieked aloud,
+and taking out a green poppy-head, threw it at him. He went to sleep at
+once; but she sprang up to the window, sang her songs to the winds; upon
+which she was changed into a duck, and flew away.
+
+The prince woke up in the morning, and grieved sadly, when he found his
+beautiful princess gone.
+
+Then he got on horseback, and set out to find her, inquiring everywhere
+for the kingdom of the Queen of Light--his princess's mother--to whom he
+supposed she must have fled.
+
+He rode on for a very, very long time, till one day he came into a wide
+plain, all covered with poppies in full flower, the odour of which so
+overpowered him, that he could scarce keep upright in his saddle. Then
+he saw a queer little house, supported on four crooked legs. There was
+no door to the house; but knowing what he ought to do, he said:
+
+    "Little house, move
+      On your crooked legs free;
+    Turn your back to the wood,
+      And your front door to me."
+
+The hut with the crooked legs made a creaking noise, and turned round,
+with its door towards the prince. He went straight in, and found an old
+fury, whose name was Jandza,[1] inside; she was spinning from a distaff,
+and singing.
+
+[1] _Jandza_ pronounced Yen-jar.
+
+"How are you, prince?" she said, "what brings you here?"
+
+So the prince told her, and she said:
+
+"You have done wisely to tell me the truth. I know your bride, the
+beautiful daughter of the Queen of Light; she flies to my house
+daily, in the shape of a duck, and this is where she sits. Hide yourself
+under the table, and watch your opportunity to lay hold of her. Hold her
+fast, whatever shapes she assumes; when she is tired she will turn into
+a spindle; you must then break the spindle in two, and you will find
+that which you are seeking."
+
+[Illustration: THE LITTLE HOUSE TURNS]
+
+Presently the duck flew in, sat down beside the old fury, and began to
+preen her feathers with her beak. The prince seized her by the wing. The
+duck quacked, fluttered, and struggled to get loose. But seeing this was
+useless she changed herself into a pigeon, then into a hawk, and then
+into a serpent, which so frightened the prince, that he let her go; on
+which she became a duck again, quacked aloud, and flew out of the
+window.
+
+The prince saw his mistake, and the old woman cried aloud:
+
+"What have you done, you careless fellow! you have frightened her away
+from me for ever. But as she is your bride, I must find some other way
+to help you. Take this ball of thread, throw it before you, and wherever
+it goes follow after it; you will then come to my sister's house, and
+she will tell you what to do next."
+
+So the prince went on day and night, following the ball of thread, till
+he came to another queer little house, like the first, to which he said
+the same rhyme, and going in, found the second old fury, and told her
+his story.
+
+"Hide under the bench," she exclaimed; "your bride is just coming in."
+
+The duck flew in, as before, and the prince caught her by the wing; she
+quacked, and tried to get away. Then she changed herself into a turkey,
+then into a dog, then into a cat, then into an eel, so that she slipped
+through his hands, and glided out of the window.
+
+The prince was in despair; but the old woman gave him another ball of
+thread, and he again followed it, determining not to let the princess
+escape again so easily. So going on after the thread, as it kept
+unwinding, he came to a funny little house, like the two first, and
+said:
+
+    "Little house, move
+      On your crooked legs free;
+    Turn your back to the wood,
+      And your front door to me."
+
+The little house turned round, so that he could go in, and he found a
+third old fury inside; much older than her sisters, and having white
+hair. He told her his story, and begged for help.
+
+"Why did you go against the wishes of your clever and sensible wife?"
+said the old woman. "You see she knew better than you what her frog-skin
+was good for; but you must needs be in such a hurry to display her
+beauty, to gain the world's applause, that you have lost her; and she
+was forced to fly away from you."
+
+[Illustration: THE WAY HOME]
+
+The prince hid himself under the bench: the duck flew in and sat at the
+old woman's feet; on which he caught her by the wings.
+
+She struggled hard; but she felt his strength was too great for her to
+resist; so she turned herself into a spindle at once. He broke it across
+his knee.... And lo! and behold! instead of the two halves of the
+spindle he held the hands of his beautiful princess, who looked at him
+lovingly with her beautiful eyes, and smiled sweetly.
+
+And she promised him that she would always remain as she was then, for
+since her mother's enemies were all dead she had nothing to fear.
+
+They embraced each other, and went out of the old fury's hut. Then the
+princess spoke some magical spells; and in the twinkling of an eye there
+appeared a wonderful bridge, reaching from where they stood hundreds of
+miles, up to the very gallery of the palace, belonging to the prince's
+father. It was all made of crystal, with golden hand-rails, and diamond
+bosses upon them.
+
+The princess spoke some more magical words, and a golden coach appeared,
+drawn by eight horses, and a coachman, and two tall footmen, all in
+golden liveries. And there were four outriders on splendid horses,
+riding by the side of the coach, and an equerry, riding in front, and
+blowing a brazen trumpet. And a long procession of followers, in
+splendid dresses, came after them.
+
+Then the prince and princess got into the golden coach, and drove away,
+thus accompanied, along the crystal bridge, till they reached home, when
+the old king came out to meet them, and embraced them both tenderly. He
+appointed the prince his successor; and such magnificent festivities
+were held on the occasion, as never were seen or heard of before.
+
+[Illustration: THROUGH THE TELESCOPE]
+
+
+
+
+PRINCESS MIRANDA AND PRINCE HERO
+
+
+Far away, in the wide ocean there was once a green island where lived
+the most beautiful princess in the world, named Miranda. She had lived
+there ever since her birth, and was queen of the island. Nobody knew who
+were her parents, or how she had come there. But she was not alone; for
+there were twelve beautiful maidens, who had grown up with her on the
+island, and were her ladies-in-waiting.
+
+But a few strangers had visited the island, and spoken of the princess's
+great beauty; and many more came in time, and became her subjects, and
+built a magnificent city, in which she had a splendid palace of white
+marble to live in.
+
+And in course of time a great many young princes came to woo her. But
+she did not care to marry any of them; and if anyone persisted, and
+tried to compel her by force to be his wife, she could turn him and all
+his soldiers into ice, by merely fixing her eyes upon them.
+
+One day the wicked Kosciey,[2] the king of the Underground realm, came
+out into the upper world, and began to gaze all round it with his
+telescope. Various empires and kingdoms passed in review before him; and
+at last he saw the green island, and the rich city upon it; and the
+marble palace in this city, and in this palace the twelve beautiful
+young ladies-of-honour, and among them he beheld, lying on a rich couch
+of swansdown, the Princess Miranda asleep. She slept like an innocent
+child, but she was dreaming of a young knight, wearing a golden helmet,
+on a gallant steed, and carrying an invisible mace, that fought of
+itself; ... and she loved him better than life.
+
+[2] _Kosciey_ pronounced Kosh-che-eh, literally "Boney."
+
+Kosciey looked at her; he was delighted with her beauty; he struck the
+earth three times, and stood upon the green island.
+
+Princess Miranda called together her brave army, and led them into the
+field, to fight the wicked Kosciey. But he, blowing on them with his
+poisonous breath, sent them all fast asleep, and he was just going to
+lay hands upon the princess, when she, throwing a glance of scorn at
+him, changed him into a lump of ice, and fled to her capital.
+
+Kosciey did not long remain ice. So soon as the princess was away, he
+freed himself from the power of her glance, and regaining his usual
+form, followed her to her city. Then he sent all the inhabitants of the
+island to sleep, and among them the princess's twelve faithful damsels.
+
+She was the only one whom he could not injure; but being afraid of her
+glances, he surrounded the castle--which stood upon a high hill--with an
+iron rampart, and placed a dragon with twelve heads on guard before the
+gate, and waited for the princess to give herself up of her own accord.
+
+The days passed by, then weeks, then months, while her kingdom became a
+desert; all her people were asleep, and her faithful soldiers also lay
+sleeping on the open fields, their steel armour all rusted, and wild
+plants were growing over them undisturbed. Her twelve maidens were all
+asleep in different rooms of the palace, just where they happened to be
+at the time; and she herself, all alone, kept walking sadly to and fro
+in a little room up in a tower, where she had taken refuge--wringing her
+white hands, weeping, and her bosom heaving with sighs.
+
+Around her all were silent, as though dead; only every now and then,
+Kosciey, not daring to encounter her angry glance, knocked at the door
+asking her to surrender, promising to make her queen of his Underground
+realm. But it was all of no use; the princess was silent, and only
+threatened him with her looks.
+
+But grieving in her lonely prison Princess Miranda could not forget the
+lover of whom she had been dreaming; she saw him just as he had appeared
+to her in her dream.
+
+And she looked up with her blue eyes to heaven, and seeing a cloud
+floating by, she said:
+
+    "O cloud! through the bright sky flying!
+    Stay, and hearken my piteous sighing!
+        In my sorrow I call upon thee;
+    Oh! where is my loved one? say!
+    Oh! where do his footsteps stray?
+        And does he now think of me?"
+
+"I know not," the cloud replied. "Ask the wind."
+
+And she looked out into the wide plain, and seeing how the wind was
+blowing freely, she said:
+
+    "O wind! o'er the wide world flying!
+    Do thou pity my grief and crying!
+        Have pity on me!
+    Oh! where is my loved one? say!
+    Oh! where do his footsteps stray?
+        And does he now think of me?"
+
+"Ask the stars," the wind replied; "they know more than I do."
+
+So she cried to the stars:
+
+    "O stars! with your bright beams glowing!
+    Look down on my tears fast flowing!
+        Have pity, have pity on me!
+    Oh! where is my loved one? say!
+    Oh! where do his footsteps stray?
+        And does he now think of me?"
+
+"Ask the moon," said the stars; "who being nearer to the earth, knows
+more of what happens there than we do."
+
+So she said to the moon:
+
+    "Bright moon, as your watch you keep,
+    From the starry skies, o'er this land of sleep,
+        Look down now, and pity me!
+    Oh! where is my loved one? say!
+    Where? where do his footsteps stray?
+        And does he now think of me?"
+
+"I know nothing about your loved one, princess," replied the moon; "but
+here comes the sun, who will surely be able to tell you."
+
+And the sun rose up in the dawn, and at noontide stood just over the
+princess's tower, and she said:
+
+    "Thou soul of the world! bright sun!
+    Look on me, in this prison undone!
+        Have pity on me!
+    Oh! where is my loved one? say!
+    Through what lands do his footsteps stray?
+        And does he now think of me?"
+
+"Princess Miranda," said the sun; "dry your tears, comfort your heart;
+your lover is hastening to you, from the bottom of the deep sea, from
+under the coral reefs; he has won the enchanted ring; when he puts it on
+his finger, his army will increase by thousands, regiment after
+regiment, with horse and foot; the drums are beating, the sabres
+gleaming, the colours flying, the cannon roaring, they are bearing down
+on the empire of Kosciey. But he cannot conquer him by force of mortal
+weapons. I will teach him a surer way; and there is good hope that he
+will be able to deliver you from Kosciey, and save your country. I will
+hasten to your prince. Farewell."
+
+The sun stood over a wide country, beyond the deep seas, beyond high
+mountains, where Prince Hero in a golden helmet, on a gallant horse, was
+drawing up his army, and preparing to march against Kosciey, the
+besieger of the fair princess. He had seen her three times in a dream,
+and had heard much about her, for her beauty was famous throughout the
+world.
+
+"Dismiss your army," said the sun. "No army can conquer Kosciey, no
+bullet can reach him; you can only free Princess Miranda by killing him,
+and how you are to do it, you must learn from the old woman Jandza; I
+can only tell you where you will find the horse, that must carry you to
+her. Go hence towards the East; you will come to a green meadow, in
+which there are three oak trees; and among them you will find hidden in
+the ground an iron door, with a brazen padlock; behind this door you
+will find a battle charger, and a mace; the rest you will learn
+afterwards; ... farewell!"
+
+Prince Hero was most surprised; but he took off his enchanted ring and
+threw it into the sea; with it all his great army vanished directly into
+mist, leaving no trace behind. He turned to the East and travelled
+onwards.
+
+After three days he came to the green meadow, where he found the three
+oak trees, and the iron door, as he had been told. It opened upon a
+narrow, crooked stairway, going downwards, leading into a deep dungeon,
+where he found another iron door, closed by a heavy iron padlock. Behind
+this he heard a horse neighing, so loudly that it made the door fall to
+the ground, and at the same moment eleven other doors flew open and
+there came out a war-horse, which had been shut up there for ages by a
+wizard.
+
+The prince whistled to the horse; the horse tugged at his fastenings,
+and broke twelve chains by which he had been fettered. He had eyes like
+stars, flaming nostrils, and a mane like a thunder-cloud; ... he was a
+horse of horses, the wonder of the world.
+
+"Prince Hero!" said the horse, "I have long waited for such a rider as
+you, and I am ready to serve you for ever. Mount on my back, take that
+mace in your hand, which you see hanging to the saddle; you need not
+fight with it yourself, for it will strike wherever you command it, and
+beat a whole army. I know the way everywhere; tell me where you want to
+go, and you will presently be there."
+
+The prince told him everything; took the self-fighting mace in his hand,
+and sprang on his back.
+
+The horse reared, snorted, spurned the ground, and they flew over
+mountains and forests, higher than the flying clouds, over rapid rivers,
+and deep seas; but when they flew along the ground the charger's light
+feet never trampled down a blade of grass, nor raised an atom of dust on
+the sandy soil.
+
+Before sunset Prince Hero had reached the primeval forest in which the
+old woman Jandza lived.
+
+He was amazed at the size and age of the mighty oaks, pine trees and
+firs, where there reigned a perpetual twilight. And there was absolute
+silence--not a leaf or a blade of grass stirring; and no living thing,
+not so much as a bird, or the hum of an insect; only amidst this
+grave-like stillness the sound of his horse's hoofs.
+
+The prince stopped before a little house, supported on crooked legs, and
+said:
+
+    "Little house, move
+    On your crooked legs free:
+    Turn your back to the wood,
+    And your front to me."
+
+The house turned round, with the door towards him; the prince went in,
+and the old woman Jandza asked him:
+
+"How did you get here, Prince Hero, where no living soul has penetrated
+till now?"
+
+"Don't ask me; but welcome your guest politely."
+
+So the old woman gave the prince food and drink, made up a soft bed for
+him, to rest on after his journey, and left him for the night.
+
+Next morning he told her all, and what he had come for.
+
+"You have undertaken a great and splendid task, prince; so I will tell
+you how to kill Kosciey. In the Ocean-Sea, on the island of Everlasting
+Life, there is an old oak tree; under this tree is buried a coffer bound
+with iron; in this coffer is a hare; under the hare sits a grey duck;
+this duck carries within her an egg; and in this egg is enclosed the
+life of Kosciey. When you break the egg he will die at once. Now
+good-bye, prince; and good luck go with you; your horse will show you
+the way."
+
+The prince got on horseback, and they soon left the forest behind them,
+and came to the shore of the ocean.
+
+On the beach was a fisherman's net, and in the net was a great fish, who
+when he saw the prince, cried out piteously:
+
+"Prince Hero! take me out of the net, and throw me back into the sea; I
+will repay you!"
+
+The prince took the fish out of the net, and threw it into the sea; it
+splashed in the water, and vanished.
+
+The prince looked over the sea, and saw the island in the grey distance,
+far, far away; but how was he to get there? He leaned upon his mace,
+deep in thought.
+
+"What are you thinking of, prince?" asked the horse.
+
+"I am thinking how I am to get to the island, when I cannot swim over
+that breadth of sea."
+
+"Sit on my back, prince, and hold fast."
+
+So the prince sat firm on the horse's back, and held fast by the thick
+mane; a wind arose, and the sea was somewhat rough; but rider and horse
+pushed on, through the billows, and at last came to shore on the island
+of Everlasting Life.
+
+The prince took off his horse's bridle, and let him loose to feed in a
+meadow of luxuriant grass, and walked on quickly to a high hill, where
+grew the old oak tree. Taking it in both hands he tugged at it; the oak
+resisted all his efforts; he tugged again, the oak began to creak, and
+moved a little; he mustered all his strength, and tugged again. The oak
+fell with a crash to the ground, with its roots uppermost, and there,
+where they had stood firmly fixed so many hundred years, was a deep
+hole.
+
+Looking down he saw the iron-bound coffer; he fetched it up, broke open
+the lock with a stone, raised the lid, picked up the hare lying in it by
+its ears; but at that moment the duck, which had been sitting under the
+hare, took the alarm, and flew off straight to sea.
+
+The prince fired a shot after her; the bullet hit the duck; she gave one
+loud quack, and fell; but in that same instant the egg fell from
+her--down to the bottom of the sea. The prince gave a cry of despair;
+but just then a great fish came swimming, dived down to the depths of
+the sea, and coming to the shore, with the egg in its jaws, left it on
+the sand.
+
+[Illustration: THE DRAGON WHO KEPT WATCH]
+
+The fish swam away; but the prince, taking up the egg, mounted his horse
+once more; and they swam till they reached Princess Miranda's island,
+where they saw a great iron wall stretching all round her white marble
+palace.
+
+There was only one entrance through this iron wall to the palace, and
+before this lay the monstrous dragon with the twelve heads, six of which
+kept guard alternately; when the one half slept the other six remained
+awake. If anyone were to approach the gate he could not escape the
+horrid jaws. Nobody could hurt the dragon; for he could only suffer
+death by his own act.
+
+The prince stood on the hill before that gate, and commanded his
+self-fighting mace, which also had the faculty of becoming invisible, to
+go and clear his entrance to the palace.
+
+The invisible, self-fighting mace fell upon the dragon and began to
+thunder on all his heads with such force, that all his eyes became
+bloodshot, and he began to hiss fiercely; he shook his twelve heads, and
+stretched wide his twelve horrid jaws; he spread out his forest of
+claws; but this helped him not at all, the mace kept on smiting him,
+moving about so fast, that not a single head escaped, but could only
+hiss, groan, and shriek wildly! Now it had given a thousand blows, the
+blood gushed from a thousand wounds, and there was no help for the
+dragon; he raged, writhed about, and shrieked in despair; finally, as
+blow followed blow, and he could not see who gave them, he gnashed his
+teeth, belched forth flame, and at length turned his claws upon himself,
+plunging them deep into his own flesh, struggled, writhed, twisted
+himself round, and in and out; his blood flowed freely from his wounds
+... and now it was all over with the dragon.
+
+The prince, seeing this, went into the courtyard of the palace, put his
+horse into the stable, and went up by a winding stair, towards the
+tower, whence the Princess Miranda, having seen him, addressed him:
+
+"Welcome, Prince Hero! I saw how you disposed of the dragon; but do be
+careful, for my enemy, Kosciey, is in this palace; he is most powerful,
+both through his own strength, and through his sorceries; and if he
+kills you I can live no longer.
+
+"Princess Miranda, do not trouble about me. I have the life of Kosciey
+in this egg." Then he called out:
+
+"Invisible self-fighting mace, go into the palace and beat Kosciey."
+
+The mace bestirred itself quickly, battered in the iron doors, and set
+upon Kosciey; it smote him on the neck, till he crouched all together,
+the sparks flew from his eyes, and there was a noise of so many mills in
+his ears.
+
+If he had been an ordinary mortal it would have been all over with him
+at once; as it was, he was horribly tormented, and puzzled--feeling all
+these blows, and never seeing whence they came. He sprang about, raved,
+and raged, till the whole island resounded with his roaring.
+
+At last he looked through the window, and behold there he saw Prince
+Hero. "Ah! that is all your doing!" he exclaimed; and sprang out into
+the courtyard, to rush straight at him, and beat him to a jelly! But the
+prince held the egg in one hand ready; and he squeezed it so hard, that
+the shell cracked and the yolk and the white were all spilled together
+... and Kosciey fell lifeless!
+
+And with the death of the enchanter all his charms were dissolved at
+once; all the people in the island who were asleep woke up, and began to
+stir. The soldiers woke from sleep, and the drums began to beat; they
+formed their ranks, massed themselves in order, and began to march
+towards the palace.
+
+And in the palace there was great joy; for Princess Miranda came towards
+the prince, gave him her white hand, and thanked him warmly. They went
+to the throne-room, and following the princess's example, her twelve
+waiting-maids paired off with twelve young officers of the army, and
+the couples grouped themselves round the throne, on which the prince and
+princess were sitting.
+
+And then a priest, arrayed in all his vestments, came in at the open
+door, and the prince and princess exchanged rings, and were married.
+
+And all the other couples were married at the same time, and after the
+wedding there was a feast, dancing, and music, which it is a pleasure to
+think of. Everywhere there was rejoicing.
+
+[Illustration: THE CHILDREN TRANSFORMED]
+
+
+
+
+THE EAGLES
+
+
+There was once a king, who had lost his wife. They had a family of
+thirteen--twelve gallant sons, and one daughter, who was exquisitely
+beautiful.
+
+For twelve years after his wife's death the king grieved very much; he
+used to go daily to her tomb, and there weep, and pray, and give away
+alms to the poor. He thought never to marry again; for he had promised
+his dying wife never to give her children a stepmother.
+
+One day, when visiting his dead wife's grave as usual, he saw beside him
+a maiden so entrancingly fair, that he fell in love with her, and soon
+made her his second queen. But before long he found out that he had made
+a great mistake. Though she was so beautiful she turned out to be a
+wicked sorceress, and not only made the king himself unhappy, but
+proved most unkind to his children, whom she wished out of the way, so
+that her own little son might inherit the kingdom.
+
+One day, when the king was far away, at war against his enemies, the
+queen went into her stepchildren's apartments, and pronounced some
+magical words--on which every one of the twelve princes flew away in the
+shape of an eagle, and the princess was changed into a dove.
+
+The queen looked out of the window, to see in what direction they would
+fly, when she saw right under the window an old man, with a beard as
+white as snow.
+
+"What are you here for, old man?" she asked.
+
+"To be witness of your deed," he answered.
+
+"Then you saw it?"
+
+"I saw it."
+
+"Then be what I command!"
+
+She whispered some magical words. The old man disappeared in a blaze of
+sunshine; and the queen, as she stood there, dumb with terror, was
+changed into a basilisk.
+
+The basilisk ran off in fright; trying to hide herself underground. But
+her glance was so deadly, that it killed every one she looked at; so
+that all the people in the palace were soon dead, including her own son,
+whom she slew by merely looking at him. And this once populous and
+happy royal residence quickly became an uninhabited ruin, which no one
+dared approach, for fear of the basilisk lurking in its underground
+vaults.
+
+[Illustration: THE OLD MAN BLESSES THE PRINCESS]
+
+Meanwhile the princess, who had been changed into a dove, flew after her
+brothers the eagles, but not being able to overtake them, she rested
+under a wayside cross, and began cooing mournfully.
+
+"What are you grieving for, pretty dove?" asked an old man, with a
+snow-white beard, who just then came by.
+
+"I am grieving for my poor dear father, who is fighting in the wars far
+away; for my loved brothers, who have flown away from me into the
+clouds. I am grieving also for myself. Not long ago I was a happy
+princess; and now I must wander over the world as a dove, to hide from
+the birds of prey--and be parted for ever from my dear father and
+brothers!"
+
+"You may grieve and weep, little dove; but do not lose hope," said the
+old man. "Sorrow is only for a time, and all will come right in the
+end."
+
+So saying he stroked the little dove, and she at once regained her
+natural shape. She kissed the old man's hand in her gratitude, saying:
+
+"How can I ever thank you enough! But since you are so kind, will you
+not tell me how to rescue my brothers?"
+
+The old man gave her an ever-growing loaf, and said:
+
+"This loaf is enough to sustain, not only you, but a thousand people for
+a thousand years, without ever diminishing. Go towards the sunset, and
+weep your tears into this little bottle. And when it is full...."
+
+And the old man told her what else to do, blessed her, and disappeared.
+
+The princess travelled on towards the sunset; and in about a year she
+reached the boundary of the next world, and stood before an iron door,
+where Death was keeping guard with his scythe.
+
+"Stop, princess!" he said; "You can proceed no further, for you are not
+yet parted by death from your own world."
+
+"But what am I to do?" she asked. "Must I go back without my poor
+brothers?"
+
+"Your brothers," said Death, "fly here every day in the guise of eagles.
+They want to reach the other side of this door, which leads into the
+other world; for they hate the one they live in; nevertheless they, and
+you also, must remain there, until your time be come. Therefore every
+day I must compel them to go back, which they can do, because they are
+eagles. But how are you going to get back yourself?--look there!"
+
+The princess looked around her, and wept bitterly. For though she had
+not perceived this before, nor seen how she got there, she saw now that
+she was in a deep abyss, shut in on all sides by such high precipices,
+that she wondered how her brothers, even with eagle wings, could fly to
+the top.
+
+But remembering what the mysterious old man had said she took courage,
+and began to pray and weep, till she had filled the little bottle with
+her tears. Soon she heard the sound of wings over her head, and saw
+twelve eagles flying.
+
+The eagles dashed themselves against the iron portal, beating their
+wings upon it, and imploring Death to open it to them. But Death only
+threatened them with his scythe, saying:
+
+"Hence! ye enchanted princes! you must fulfil your penance on earth,
+till I come for you myself."
+
+The eagles were about to turn and fly, when all at once they perceived
+their sister. They came round her, and caressed her hands lovingly with
+their beaks.
+
+She at once began to sprinkle them with her tears from the lachrymatory;
+and in one moment the twelve eagles were changed back into the twelve
+princes, and joyfully embraced their sister.
+
+The princess then fed them all round from her ever-growing loaf; but
+when their hunger was appeased they began to be troubled as to how they
+were to ascend from the abyss, since they had no longer eagles' wings to
+fly up.
+
+But the princess knelt down and prayed:
+
+    "Bird of heavenly pity here,
+      By each labour, prayer and tear,
+    Come in thine unvanquished power,
+      Come and aid us in this hour!"
+
+And all at once there shot down from heaven to the depth of the abyss a
+ray of sunshine, on which descended a gigantic bird, with rainbow wings,
+a bright sparkling crest, and peacock's eyes all over his body, a golden
+tail, and silvery breast.
+
+"What are your commands, princess?" asked the bird.
+
+"Carry us from this threshold of eternity to our own world."
+
+"I will, but you must know, princess, that before I can reach the top of
+this precipice with you on my back, three days and nights must pass; and
+I must have food on the way, or my strength will fail me, and I shall
+fall down with you to the bottom, and we shall all perish."
+
+"I have an ever-growing loaf, which will suffice both for you and
+ourselves," replied the princess.
+
+"Then climb upon my back, and whenever I look round, give me some bread
+to eat."
+
+The bird was so large that all the princes, and the princess in the
+midst of them, could easily find place on his back, and he began to fly
+upwards.
+
+He flew higher and higher, and whenever he looked round at her, she gave
+him bits of the loaf, and he flew on, and upwards.
+
+So they went on steadily for two nights and days; but upon the third
+day, when they were hoping in a short time to view the summit of the
+precipice, and to land upon the borders of this world, the bird looked
+round as usual for a piece of the loaf.
+
+The princess was just going to break off some to give him, when a sudden
+violent gust of wind from the bottom of the abyss snatched the loaf from
+her hand, and sent it whistling downwards.
+
+Not having received his usual meal the bird became sensibly weaker, and
+looked round once more.
+
+The princess trembled with fear; she had nothing more to give him, and
+she felt that he was becoming exhausted. In utter desperation she cut
+off a piece of her flesh, and gave it to him.
+
+Having eaten this the bird recovered strength, and flew upwards faster
+than before; but after an hour or two he looked round once more.
+
+So she cut off another piece of her flesh; the bird seized it greedily,
+and flew on so fast that in a few minutes he reached the ground at the
+top of the precipice. When they alighted, and he asked her:
+
+"Princess, what were those two delicious morsels you gave me last? I
+never ate anything so good before."
+
+"They were part of my flesh, I had nothing else for you," replied the
+princess in a faint voice, for she was swooning away with pain and loss
+of blood.
+
+The bird breathed upon her wounds; and the flesh at once healed over,
+and grew again as before. Then he flew up again to heaven, and was lost
+in the clouds.
+
+The princess and her brothers resumed their journey, this time towards
+the sunrise, and at last arrived in their own country, where they met
+their father, returning from the wars.
+
+The king was coming back victorious over his enemies, and on his way
+home had first heard of the sudden disappearance of his children and of
+the queen, and how his palace was tenanted only by a basilisk with a
+death-dealing glance.
+
+He was therefore most surprised and overjoyed to meet his dear children
+once more, and on the way his daughter told him all that had come to
+pass.
+
+When they got back to the palace the king sent one of his nobles with a
+looking-glass down into the underground vaults. The basilisk saw herself
+reflected in this mirror, and her own glance slew her immediately.
+
+They gathered up the remains of the basilisk, and burnt them in a great
+fire in the courtyard, afterwards scattering the ashes to the four
+winds. When this was done the king, his sons, and his daughter, returned
+to live in their former home and were all as happy as could be ever
+after.
+
+[Illustration: TO TRICK THE BASILISK]
+
+[Illustration: THE BRIDE CARRIED OFF BY THE WHIRLWIND]
+
+
+
+
+THE WHIRLWIND
+
+
+In a far-off country, beyond the sea and the mountains, there lived a
+king and queen, with a beautiful daughter, who was called Princess
+Ladna.
+
+A great many princes came to woo her; but she liked only one of them,
+called Prince Dobrotek; so they confessed their love for one another to
+the king, who gave his consent, and the wedding-day was fixed.
+
+Now among the princess's rejected suitors there was one, who though he
+had changed himself into the shape of a prince, in order to come to
+court and make love to her, really was an ugly dwarf, only seven inches
+high, but with a beard more than seven feet long, and a great hump on
+his back. He was so offended with the princess for refusing him, that he
+determined to carry her off; so he watched his opportunity.
+
+As the young couple, with all their followers and their guests, were
+leaving the palace to go to church, a violent wind began to blow, a
+regular whirlwind, raising a column of sand, and lifting the princess
+off her feet. She was carried up over the clouds, to the top of some
+inaccessible mountains, and dropped down into a magnificent palace, with
+a golden roof, and a high wall all round.
+
+After a while the princess woke up from the fainting-fit into which she
+had fallen. She looked round the splendid apartment in which she was,
+and came to the conclusion that some young and handsome prince must have
+carried her off.
+
+In the room there was a table ready spread; all the plates and dishes,
+as well as the knives, forks, and spoons, were of silver and gold; and
+the dinner itself was so good, that in spite of her grief and terror,
+she could not refrain from tasting it; and she had no sooner tasted,
+than she ate, till her appetite was appeased.
+
+Then the doors opened, and there came in a company of negroes, bearing a
+great chair, in which sat the ugly dwarf, with the long beard and the
+great hump.
+
+The dwarf now began to pay his court to the princess, and explain how he
+had carried her off in the guise of the whirlwind, because he loved her
+so much. But she would not listen to him, and gave him a sounding slap
+with her open hand right in his face, so that sparks danced before his
+eyes. Of course he was in a great passion; but for love of her he
+managed to keep his temper, and turned round to leave the room. But in
+his haste he caught his feet in his long beard, and was thrown down on
+the threshold, and in his fall he dropped his cap, which he was holding
+in one hand.
+
+The negroes helped him again into the chair, and carried him out; but
+the princess jumped up, locked the door, and took up the cap that was
+lying on the ground. She put it on; and went to the glass to see how she
+looked in it. But what was her surprise to find that she could not see
+herself, till she took it off! So she came to the wise conclusion that
+this was an invisible cap; at which she was highly delighted; she put on
+the cap again, and began to walk about the room.
+
+The door opened once more with a loud noise, and the dwarf came in with
+his long beard thrown back and twisted all round his hump, to be out of
+the way. But not seeing either his cap, or the princess, he guessed what
+had happened; so full of wild despair he began to rush madly about the
+room, knocking himself against the tables and chairs, while the princess
+made her escape through the door, and ran out into the garden.
+
+The garden was very extensive, and full of beautiful fruit-trees; so she
+lived upon these fruits, and drank the water of a spring in the garden
+for some time. She used to make fun of the dwarf's impotent rage.
+Sometimes when he rushed wildly about the garden, she would tease him
+by taking off the invisible cap, so that he saw her before him, in all
+her beauty; but when he made a rush after her she would put it on again,
+and become invisible to him; she would then throw cherry-stones at him,
+come close to him, and laugh loudly: and then run away again.
+
+One day, when she was playing about in this manner, her cap got caught
+in the boughs of a tree, and fell upon a gooseberry bush. The dwarf saw
+it, and seized hold of the princess with one hand, and of the cap with
+the other. But just then--from the summit of the mountain, above the
+garden itself, was heard the sound of a trumpet-challenge, three times
+repeated.
+
+At this the dwarf trembled with rage; but first breathing upon the
+princess, he put her to sleep with his breath, then placed his invisible
+cap on her head. Having done this he seized his two-edged sword, and
+flew up into the clouds, so as to strike the knight who had challenged
+him from above, and destroy him at one stroke.
+
+But where did this knight come from?
+
+When Princess Ladna had been carried off on her wedding-day by the
+whirlwind, there was the greatest consternation among all the
+bystanders. Her distracted father and her bridegroom rushed about in all
+directions, and sent courtiers everywhere in search of her; but the
+princess had been neither seen nor heard of, nor was any trace left of
+her.
+
+The king (very unnecessarily) told Prince Dobrotek that if he did not
+get back his daughter, the princess, he would not only put him to death,
+but would reduce his whole country to ashes. He also told all the
+princes there that whoever should bring back his daughter should have
+her to wife, and receive half of his kingdom into the bargain.
+
+When they heard this they all got to horse, and galloped in various
+directions; among them Prince Dobrotek.
+
+He went on for three days, never stopping for food or rest; but on the
+fourth day, at dusk, he felt overcome by sleep; so he let his horse go
+free in a meadow, and himself lay down on the grass. Then all at once he
+heard a piercing shriek, and straight before him beheld a hare, and an
+owl perched upon it--its claws digging into the poor creature's side.
+
+The prince caught up the first thing that lay near him, and aimed at the
+screech-owl, so truly that he killed it on the spot, and the hare ran up
+to him, like a tame creature, licked his hands, and ran away.
+
+Then the prince saw that the thing he had thrown at the owl was a human
+skull. And it spoke to him, in these words:
+
+"Prince Dobrotek, I thank you for what you have done for me. When I was
+alive I committed suicide, and was therefore condemned to lie unburied
+at this cross-way, till I should be the means of saving life. I have
+lain here for seven hundred and seventy-seven years; and Heaven knows
+how much longer I should have had to remain, if you had not chanced to
+throw me at the screech-owl, and so saved the life of the poor hare. Now
+bury me, so that I may lie peacefully in the ground at this same place,
+and I will tell you how to summon the Grey Seer-horse, with the golden
+mane, who will always help you in case of need. Go out into a plain, and
+without looking behind you, call out:
+
+    "Grey Seer-horse, with golden mane!
+    Like a bird--and not like steed,
+    On the blast--and not the mead,
+    Fly thou hither unto me!"
+
+Thus having spoken, the head was silent; but a blue light shot up from
+it towards the sky; it was the soul of the deceased, which having now
+expiated its sin by its long imprisonment in the skull, had attained
+heaven.
+
+The prince then dug a grave, and buried the skull. He then called out:
+
+    "Grey Seer-horse, with golden mane!
+    Like a bird--and not like steed,
+    On the blast--and not the mead,
+    Do thou hither fly to me!"
+
+The wind rose, the lightning flashed, the thunder roared, and the
+wonderful horse with the golden mane appeared. He flew as fast as the
+storm-wind, flames shot from his nostrils, sparks from his eyes, and
+clouds of smoke from his mouth. He stood still, and said in human tones:
+
+[Illustration: THE HORSE APPEARS IN THE STORM]
+
+"What are your commands, Prince Dobrotek?"
+
+"I am in trouble; I wish you to help me."
+
+And he told him all that had occurred.
+
+"Creep in at my left ear," said the horse, "and creep out again at the
+right."
+
+So the prince crept in at the horse's left ear, and came out again at
+the right one, all clad in golden armour. He also found himself
+miraculously increased in strength, so that when he stamped on the
+ground it trembled; and when he shouted a storm arose, which shook the
+leaves from the trees.
+
+Then he asked the horse:
+
+"What is to be done next?"
+
+"Your betrothed, Princess Ladna," said the horse, "was carried off by
+the seven-inch-high dwarf, with the seven-foot-long beard; he is a
+powerful magician; he dwells beyond the seven seas, among inaccessible
+mountains. He can only be conquered by the All-Cutting Sword, which
+sword is jealously guarded by his own brother, the Giant-Head, with
+basilisk eye. To this Giant-Head we must therefore go."
+
+Prince Dobrotek mounted on horseback, and they flew like an arrow, over
+lands and seas, high mountains and wide oceans. They stopped at length
+upon a wide plain strewn with bones, before a moving mountain. And the
+horse said:
+
+"This moving mountain, which you see before you, is the giant's head
+with the basilisk eyes; and the bones strewn so thickly hereabouts prove
+how deadly his looks are--so be careful. He is now asleep from the heat
+of the sun; but only two steps before him lies the sword, with which
+alone you can conquer your enemy. Lie down along my back, so that his
+glance cannot reach you through my neck and mane; but when you get near
+to it, lay hold of the sword; when you have it you will not only be safe
+from his basilisk glances, but you will even have the giant's head at
+your mercy."
+
+And the horse drew near lightly, and the prince bent down, and secured
+the wonderful sword; but he shouted so loud that the Giant-Head woke up,
+sniffed hard, and looked about with his bloodshot eyes; and seeing the
+wonderful sword in the prince's hand, he called out:
+
+"Sir knight! are you weary of the world, that you court speedy death?"
+
+"You need not boast like that, you empty head!" replied Prince Dobrotek.
+"Your looks cannot hurt me now; and you shall die by this All-Cutting
+Sword! But I would first know who, and what you are."
+
+"Then I confess, prince," replied the head; "that I am in your power;
+but be merciful to me, for I am worthy of pity. I am a knight of the
+race of giants, and were it not for the envy of my brother, I should
+still have been happy. He was the black sheep of our family, and was
+born an ugly dwarf, with a long beard; and my handsome giant-like
+proportions caused him to hate me bitterly. His only good point is his
+great strength, and it all resides in his long beard, and so long as it
+is not cut he cannot be conquered, and this can only be done by that
+sword, which you now hold.
+
+"One day, being bent upon my destruction, he said to me:
+
+"'Brother, do not refuse to help me. I have read in my books of magic
+that beyond the mountains, on a plain lies buried a certain sword,
+whereby a knight, seeking for his betrothed, shall compass the
+destruction of us both; let us therefore go and dig it up, so that we
+shall escape the threatened doom!'
+
+"To this I agreed. I took a hundred-year-old pine--torn up from its
+roots--on one arm, and carried my brother on my other. We set out; he
+showed me the spot, and I dug up the sword, on this same plain. Then we
+began to quarrel about who should possess it. After a long dispute he
+said:
+
+"'We were best decide it by lot, brother. Let each of us lay his ear to
+the ground, and whoever first hears the sound of the evening bell shall
+have the sword.'
+
+"So he laid his ear to the ground, and I mine. I listened; but heard
+nothing; and he meantime, having got hold of the sword, crept up to me,
+and cut my head from my shoulders.
+
+"My headless trunk, left unburied, rotted away, and the grass grew over
+it; but my head, endowed with supernatural life by the malicious dwarf,
+my brother, was left here, with charge to guard this sword, and kill
+every one who came near with my deadly glance. After many centuries you
+have won it; so I implore you to cut off his seven-foot beard, and make
+him into mince-meat; and avenge me."
+
+"You shall be avenged," said the prince; "and at once. Grey Seer-Horse,
+carry me to the kingdom of the dwarf magician, with the seven-foot-long
+beard."
+
+So they set off at once, flying with lightning speed through the air,
+over the seas and over the forests. In an hour or two they halted on the
+summit of a high mountain, and the horse said:
+
+"These mountains are the kingdom of the dwarf magician, who carried off
+your betrothed, and they are both now in the garden; challenge him to
+fight."
+
+Prince Dobrotek sounded a challenge three times, and the dwarf, as we
+have seen, flew up into the air, so as to swoop down upon his
+antagonist, unperceived of him.
+
+All at once the prince heard a murmuring sound above him, and he saw
+when he looked up, the dwarf soaring above him, like an eagle in the
+clouds--for he had the magic power of increasing his size and
+strength--with his sword drawn, ready to fall upon him.
+
+The prince sprang aside, and the dwarf came down, with such an impetus,
+that his head and neck were rammed into the ground.
+
+The prince dismounted, seized the dwarf by the beard, wound it about his
+left hand, and began to sever it with the All-Cutting Sword.
+
+The dwarf saw that he had to do with no feather-bed knight; so he tugged
+with all his strength, and flew up again into the clouds; but the
+prince, holding fast with his left hand to the beard, kept on severing
+it with his sword, so that he had nearly cut half of it through; and the
+dwarf became weaker and weaker the more hair he lost, so he began to cry
+for mercy.
+
+"Drop down to the ground, off which you took me," said the prince.
+
+The dwarf dropped down slowly, but the prince cut off the remainder of
+his beard and threw him--when thus deprived of his charms and his
+strength alike--on to the ground, wreathed the severed beard round his
+own helmet, and entered the palace.
+
+The invisible servants of the dwarf, seeing their master's beard,
+wreathed about the prince's helmet, threw open all the doors to him at
+once.
+
+He went through all the rooms; but not finding his princess anywhere,
+went into the garden, traversing all the paths and lawns, and calling
+her name. He could find her nowhere.
+
+But thus running from one place to another he chanced to touch the
+invisible cap; he caught hold of it, and pulled it away from where it
+was, on the head of the princess, and saw her at once in all her
+loveliness, but fast asleep.
+
+Overcome with joy, he called her by her name; but she had been cast into
+such a deep sleep by the dwarf's poisonous breath, that he could not
+rouse her.
+
+He took her up in his arms, put the invisible cap into his pocket, also
+picking up the wicked dwarf, whom he carried along with him. He then
+mounted his horse, flew like an arrow, and in a few minutes stood before
+the Giant-Head, with the basilisk eyes.
+
+He threw the dwarf into its open jaws, where he was ground at once into
+powder; the prince then cut up the monstrous head into small pieces, and
+scattered them all over the plain.
+
+Thus having got rid of both the dwarf and the giant, the prince rode on
+with the sleeping princess, upon the Golden-Mane horse, and at sunset
+they came to the same cross-roads, where he had first summoned him.
+
+"Here, prince, we must part," said the Golden-Mane; "but here in the
+meadow is your own horse, and it is not far to your own home, so
+creep into my right ear, and come out at my left."
+
+[Illustration: THE DWARF DEFEATED]
+
+The prince did as he was told, and came out as he was before. His own
+horse recognized him, and came running with a joyful neigh to meet his
+master.
+
+The prince was tired out with the long journey, so, having laid down his
+betrothed wife, still sleeping, on the soft grass, and covered her up
+from the cold, he laid down himself and went to sleep.
+
+But that very night, one of Princess Ladna's rejected suitors, riding
+that way, saw by the light of the moon those two asleep, and he
+recognized in them the princess, and the prince, his fortunate rival. So
+first stabbing the latter through with his sabre, he carried off the
+princess, and bore her on horseback before him to her father.
+
+The king welcomed him rapturously, as his daughter's deliverer. But when
+he found, to his dismay, that he could not awake her, with all his
+caresses, he asked the supposed rescuer what this meant.
+
+"I do not know, Sir King," replied the knight. "After I had overtaken
+and slain the great enchanter, who was carrying off the princess, I
+found her as she is now, sound asleep."
+
+Prince Dobrotek meanwhile, mortally wounded, had just strength enough
+left to summon the Wonderful Grey Horse, who came instantly; and seeing
+what was the matter, flew off to the top of the mountain of Everlasting
+Life. On its summit were three springs--the Water of Loosening, the
+Water of Healing, and the Water of Life. He sprinkled the dead prince
+with all three; Prince Dobrotek opened his eyes, and exclaimed:
+
+"Oh! how well I have slept!"
+
+"You were sleeping the sleep of death," returned the Golden-Mane; "one
+of your rivals killed you sleeping, and carried off your princess home
+to her father, pretending to be her deliverer, in the hope of gaining
+her hand. But do not be afraid; she is still asleep, and only you can
+awaken her, by touching her forehead with the beard of the dwarf, which
+you have with you. Go then to her; I must be elsewhere."
+
+The Golden-Mane vanished, and the prince, calling his own horse, and
+taking with him his invisible cap, betook himself to the court of his
+loved one's father.
+
+But when he drew near he found that the city was all surrounded by
+enemies, who had already mastered the outer defences, and were
+threatening the town itself; and half of its defenders being slain, the
+rest were thinking of surrender.
+
+Prince Dobrotek put on his invisible cap, and drawing his All-Cutting
+Sword, fell upon the enemy.
+
+They fell to right and left as the sword smote them on each side, till
+one half of them were slain, and the rest ran away into the forest.
+
+Unseen by anyone the prince entered the city, and arrived at the royal
+palace, where the king, surrounded by his knights, was hearing the
+account of this sudden attack, whereby his foes had been discomfited;
+but by whom no one could inform him.
+
+Then Prince Dobrotek took off his invisible cap, and appearing suddenly
+in the midst of the assembly, said:
+
+"King and father! it was I who beat your enemies. But where is my
+betrothed, Princess Ladna, whom I rescued from the wizard dwarf, with
+the seven-foot beard? whom one of your knights treacherously stole from
+me? Let me see her, that I may waken her from her magic sleep."
+
+When the traitor knight heard this he took to his heels; Prince Dobrotek
+touched the sleeping princess's forehead with the beard, she woke up
+directly, gazed at him fondly with her lovely eyes, but could not at
+first understand where she was, or what had happened to her.
+
+The king caught her in his arms, pressed her to his heart, and that very
+evening he married her to Prince Dobrotek. He gave them half his
+kingdom, and there was a splendid wedding, such as had never been seen
+or heard of before.
+
+[Illustration: THE GOOD FERRYMAN CAPTURES THE MERMAID]
+
+
+
+
+THE GOOD FERRYMAN AND THE WATER NYMPHS
+
+
+There was once an old man, very poor, with three sons. They lived
+chiefly by ferrying people over a river; but he had had nothing but
+ill-luck all his life. And to crown all, on the night he died, there was
+a great storm, and in it the crazy old ferry-boat, on which his sons
+depended for a living, was sunk.
+
+As they were lamenting both their father and their poverty, an old man
+came by, and learning the reason of their sorrow said:
+
+"Never mind; all will come right in time. Look! there is your boat as
+good as new."
+
+And there was a fine new ferry-boat on the water, in place of the old
+one, and a number of people waiting to be ferried over.
+
+The three brothers arranged to take turns with the boat, and divide the
+fares they took.
+
+They were however very different in disposition. The two elder brothers
+were greedy and avaricious, and would never take anyone over the river,
+without being handsomely paid for it.
+
+But the youngest brother took over poor people, who had no money, for
+nothing; and moreover frequently relieved their wants out of his own
+pocket.
+
+One day, at sunset, when the eldest brother was at the ferry the same
+old man, who had visited them on the night their father died, came, and
+asked for a passage.
+
+"I have nothing to pay you with, but this empty purse," he said.
+
+"Go and get something to put in it then first," replied the ferry-man;
+"and be off with you now!"
+
+Next day it was the second brother's turn; and the same old man came,
+and offered his empty purse as his fare. But he met with a like reply.
+
+The third day it was the youngest brother's turn; and when the old man
+arrived, and asked to be ferried over for charity, he answered:
+
+"Yes, get in, old man."
+
+"And what is the fare?" asked the old man.
+
+"That depends upon whether you can pay or not," was the reply; "but if
+you cannot, it is all the same to me."
+
+"A good deed is never without its reward," said the old man: "but in the
+meantime take this empty purse; though it is very worn, and looks
+worth nothing. But if you shake it, and say:
+
+    'For his sake who gave it, this purse I hold,
+    I wish may always be full of gold;'
+
+it will always afford you as much gold as you wish for."
+
+[Illustration: THE PURSE THAT WAS EVER FULL]
+
+The youngest brother came home, and his brothers, who were sitting over
+a good supper, laughed at him, because he had taken only a few copper
+coins that day, and they told him he should have no supper. But when he
+began to shake his purse and scatter gold coins all about, they jumped
+up from the table, and began picking them up eagerly.
+
+And as it was share and share alike, they all grew rich very quickly.
+The youngest brother made good use of his riches, for he gave away money
+freely to the poor. But the greedy elder brothers envied him the
+possession of the wonderful purse, and contrived to steal it from him.
+Then they left their old home; and the one bought a ship, laded it with
+all sorts of merchandize, for a trading voyage. But the ship ran upon a
+rock, and every one on board was drowned. The second brother was no more
+fortunate, for as he was travelling through a forest, with an enormous
+treasure of precious stones, in which he had laid out his wealth, to
+sell at a profit, he was waylaid by robbers, who murdered him, and
+shared the spoil among them.
+
+The youngest brother, who remained at home, having lost his purse,
+became as poor as before. But he still did as formerly, took pay from
+passengers who could afford it, ferried over poor folks for nothing, and
+helped those who were poorer than himself so far as he could.
+
+One day the same old man with the long white beard came by; the
+ferry-man welcomed him as an old friend, and while rowing him over the
+river, told him all that had happened since he last saw him.
+
+"Your brothers did very wrong, and they have paid for it," said the old
+man; "but you were in fault yourself. Still, I will give you one more
+chance. Take this hook and line; and whatever you catch, mind you hold
+fast, and not let it escape you; or you will bitterly repent it."
+
+The old man then disappeared, and the ferry-man looked in wonder at his
+new fishing-tackle--a diamond hook, a silver line, and a golden rod.
+
+All at once the hook sprang of itself into the water; the line
+lengthened out along the river current, and there came a strong pull
+upon it. The fisherman drew it in, and beheld a most lovely creature,
+upwards from the waist a woman, but with a fish's tail.
+
+"Good ferry-man, let me go," she said; "take your hook out of my hair!
+The sun is setting, and after sunset I can no longer be a water-nymph
+again."
+
+But without answering, the ferry-man only held her fast, and covered
+her over with his coat, to prevent her escaping. Then the sun set, and
+she lost her fish-tail.
+
+"Now," she said: "I am yours; so let us go to the nearest church and get
+married."
+
+She was already dressed as a bride, with a myrtle garland on her head,
+in a white dress, with a rainbow-coloured girdle, and rich jewels in her
+hair and on her neck. And she held in her hand the wonderful purse, that
+was always full of gold.
+
+They found the priest and all ready at the church; were married in a few
+minutes; and then came home to their wedding-feast, to which all the
+neighbours were invited. They were royally entertained, and when they
+were about to leave the bride shook the wonderful purse, and sent a
+shower of gold pieces flying among the guests; so they all went home
+very well pleased.
+
+The good ferry-man and his marvellous wife lived most happily together;
+they never wanted for anything, and gave freely to all who came. He
+continued to ply his ferry-boat; but he now took all passengers over for
+nothing, and gave them each a piece of gold into the bargain.
+
+Now there was a king over that country, who a year ago had just
+succeeded to his elder brother. He had heard of the ferry-man, who was
+so marvellously rich, and wishing to ascertain the truth of the story he
+had heard, came on purpose to see for himself. But when he saw the
+ferry-man's beautiful young wife, he resolved to have her for himself,
+and determined to get rid of her husband somehow.
+
+At that time there was an eclipse of the sun; and the king sent for the
+ferry-man, and told him he must find out the cause of this eclipse, or
+be put to death.
+
+He came home in great distress to his wife; but she replied:
+
+"Never mind, my dear. I will tell you what to do, and how to gratify the
+king's curiosity."
+
+So she gave him a wonderful ball of thread, which he was to throw before
+him, and follow the thread as it kept unwinding--towards the East.
+
+He went on a long way, over high mountains, deep rivers, and wide
+regions. At last he came to a ruined city, where a number of corpses
+were lying about unburied, tainting the air with pestilence.
+
+The good man was sorry to see this, and took the pains to summon men
+from the neighbouring cities, and get the bodies properly buried. He
+then resumed his journey.
+
+He came at last to the ends of the earth. Here he found a magnificent
+golden palace, with an amber roof, and diamond doors and windows.
+
+The ball of thread went straight into the palace, and the ferry-man
+found himself in a vast apartment, where sat a very dignified old lady,
+spinning from a golden distaff.
+
+"Wretched man! what are you here for?" she exclaimed, when she saw him.
+"My son will come back presently and burn you up."
+
+He explained to her how he had been forced to come, out of sheer
+necessity.
+
+"Well, I must help you," replied the old lady, who was no less than the
+Mother of the Sun, "because you did Sol that good turn some days ago, in
+burying the inhabitants of that town, when they were killed by a dragon.
+He journeys every day across the wide arch of heaven, in a diamond car,
+drawn by twelve grey horses, with golden manes, giving heat and light to
+the whole world. He will soon be back here, to rest for the night....
+But ... here he comes; hide yourself, and take care to observe what
+follows."
+
+So saying she changed her visitor into a lady-bird, and let him fly to
+the window.
+
+Then the neighing of the wonderful horses and the rattling of chariot
+wheels were heard, and the bright Sun himself presently came in, and
+stretching himself upon a coral bed, remarked to his mother:
+
+"I smell a human being here!"
+
+"What nonsense you talk!" replied his mother. "How could any human being
+come here? You know it is impossible."
+
+The Sun, as if he did not quite believe her, began to peer anxiously
+about the room.
+
+"Don't be so restless," said the old lady; "but tell me why you suffered
+eclipse a month or two ago."
+
+"How could I help it?" answered the Sun; "When the dragon from the deep
+abyss attacked me, and I had to fight him? Perhaps I should have been
+fighting with the monster till now, if a wonderful mermaid had not come
+to help me. When she began to sing, and looked at the dragon with her
+beautiful eyes, all his rage softened at once; he was absorbed in gazing
+upon her beauty, and I meanwhile burnt him to ashes, and threw them into
+the sea."
+
+The Sun then went to sleep, and his mother again touched the ferry-man
+with her spindle; he then returned to his natural shape, and slipped out
+of the palace. Following the ball of thread he reached home at last, and
+next day went to the king, and told him all.
+
+But the king was so enchanted at the description of the beautiful
+sea-maiden, that he ordered the ferry-man to go and bring her to him, on
+pain of death.
+
+He went home very sad to his wife, but she told him she would manage
+this also. So saying she gave him another ball of thread, to show him
+which way to go, and she also gave him a carriage-load of costly lady's
+apparel and jewels, and ornaments--told him what he was to do, and they
+took leave of one another.
+
+On the way the ferry-man met a youth, riding on a fine grey horse, who
+asked:
+
+"What have you got there, man?"
+
+"A woman's wearing apparel, most costly and beautiful"--he had several
+dresses, not simply one.
+
+"I say, give me some of those as a present for my intended, whom I am
+going to see. I can be of use to you, for I am the Storm-wind. I will
+come, whenever you call upon me thus:
+
+    'Storm-wind! Storm-wind! come with speed!
+    Help me in my sudden need!'"
+
+The ferry-man gave him some of the most beautiful things he had, and the
+Storm-wind passed.
+
+A little further on he met an old man, grey-haired, but strong and
+vigorous-looking, who also said:
+
+"What have you got there?"
+
+"Women's garments costly and beautiful."
+
+"I am going to my daughter's wedding; she is to marry the Storm-wind;
+give me something as a wedding present for her, and I will be of use to
+you. I am the Frost; if you need me call upon me thus:
+
+    'Frost, I call thee; come with speed;
+    Help me in my sudden need!'"
+
+The ferry-man let him take all he wanted and went on.
+
+And now he came to the sea-coast; here the ball of thread stopped, and
+would go no further.
+
+The ferry-man waded up to his waist into the sea, and set up two high
+poles, with cross-bars between them, upon which he hung dresses of
+various colours, scarves, and ribbons, gold chains, and diamond earrings
+and pins, shoes, and looking-glasses, and then hid himself, with his
+wonderful hook and line ready.
+
+As soon as the morning rose from the sea, there appeared far away on the
+smooth waters a silvery boat, in which stood a beautiful maiden, with a
+golden oar in one hand, while with the other she gathered together her
+long golden hair, all the while singing so beautifully to the rising
+sun, that, if the ferry-man had not quickly stopped his ears, he would
+have fallen into a delicious reverie, and then asleep.
+
+She sailed along a long time in her silver boat, and round her leaped
+and played golden fishes with rainbow wings and diamond eyes. But all at
+once she perceived the rich clothes and ornaments, hung up on the poles,
+and as she came nearer, the ferry-man called out:
+
+    "Storm-wind! Storm-wind! come with speed!
+    Help me in my sudden need!"
+
+"What do you want?" asked the Storm-wind.
+
+The ferry-man without answering him, called out:
+
+    "Frost, I call thee; come with speed,
+    Help me in my sudden need!"
+
+"What do you want?" asked the Frost.
+
+"I want to capture the sea-maiden."
+
+Then the wind blew and blew, so that the silver boat was capsized,
+and the frost breathed on the sea till it was frozen over.
+
+[Illustration: THE MEETING OF THE SISTERS]
+
+Then the ferryman rushed up to the sea-maiden, entangling his hook in
+her golden hair; lifted her on his horse, and rode off as swift as the
+wind after his wonderful ball of thread.
+
+She kept weeping and lamenting all the way; but as soon as they reached
+the ferry-man's home, and saw his wife, all her sorrow changed into joy;
+she laughed with delight, and threw herself into her arms.
+
+And then it turned out that the two were sisters.
+
+Next morning the ferry-man went to court with both his wife and
+sister-in-law, and the king was so delighted with the beauty of the
+latter, that he at once offered to marry her. But she could give him no
+answer until he had the Self-playing Guitar.
+
+So the king ordered the ferry-man to procure him this wonderful guitar,
+or be put to death.
+
+His wife told him what to do, and gave him a handkerchief of hers,
+embroidered with gold, telling him to use this in case of need.
+
+Following the ball of thread he came at last to a great lake, in the
+midst of which was a green island.
+
+He began to wonder how he was to get there, when he saw a boat
+approaching, in which was an old man, with a long white beard, and he
+recognized him with delight, as his former benefactor.
+
+"How are you, ferry-man?" he asked. "Where are you going?"
+
+"I am going wherever the ball of thread leads me, for I must fetch the
+Self-playing Guitar."
+
+"This guitar," said the old man, "belongs to Goldmore, the lord of that
+island. It is a difficult matter to have to do with him; but perhaps you
+may succeed. You have often ferried me over the water; I will ferry you
+now."
+
+The old man pushed off, and they reached the island.
+
+On arriving the ball of thread went straight into a palace, where
+Goldmore came out to meet the traveller, and asked him where he was
+going and what he wanted.
+
+He explained:
+
+"I am come for the Self-playing Guitar."
+
+"I will only let you have it on condition that you do not go to sleep
+for three days and nights. And if you do, you will not only lose all
+chance of the Self-playing Guitar; but you must die."
+
+What could the poor man do, but agree to this?
+
+So Goldmore conducted him to a great room, and locked him in. The floor
+was strewn with sleepy-grass, so he fell asleep directly.
+
+Next morning in came Goldmore, and on waking him up said:
+
+"So you went to sleep! Very well, you shall die!"
+
+And he touched a spring in the floor, and the unhappy ferry-man fell
+down into an apartment beneath, where the walls were of looking-glass,
+and there were great heaps of gold and precious stones lying about.
+
+For three days and nights he lay there; he was fearfully hungry. And
+then it dawned upon him that he was to be starved to death!
+
+He called out, and entreated in vain; nobody answered, and though he had
+piles of gold and jewels about him, they could not purchase him a morsel
+of food.
+
+He sought in vain for any means of exit. There was a window, of clearest
+crystal, but it was barred by a heavy iron grating. But the window
+looked into a garden whence he could hear nightingales singing, doves
+cooing, and the murmur of a brook. But inside he saw only heaps of
+useless gold and jewels, and his own face, worn and haggard, reflected a
+thousand times.
+
+He could now only pray for a speedy death, and took out a little iron
+cross, which he had kept by him since his boyhood. But in doing so he
+also drew out the gold-embroidered handkerchief, given him by his wife,
+and which he had quite forgotten till now.
+
+Goldmore had been looking on, as he often did, from an opening in the
+ceiling to enjoy the sight of his prisoner's sufferings. All at once he
+recognized the handkerchief, as belonging to his own sister, the
+ferry-man's wife.
+
+He at once changed his treatment of his brother-in-law, as he had
+discovered him to be; took him out of prison, led him to his own
+apartments, gave him food and drink, and the Self-playing Guitar into
+the bargain.
+
+Coming home, the ferry-man met his wife half-way.
+
+"The ball of thread came home alone," she explained; "so I judged that
+some misfortune had befallen you, and I was coming to help you."
+
+He told her all his adventures, and they returned home together.
+
+The king was all eagerness to see and hear the Self-playing Guitar; so
+he ordered the ferry-man, his wife, and her sister to come with it to
+the palace at once.
+
+Now the property of this Self-playing Guitar was such that wherever its
+music was heard, the sick became well, those who were sad merry, ugly
+folks became handsome, sorceries were dissolved, and those who had been
+murdered rose from the dead, and slew their murderers.
+
+So when the king, having been told the charm to set the guitar playing,
+said the words, all the court began to be merry, and dance--except the
+king himself!... For all at once the door opened, the music ceased, and
+the figure of the late king stood up in his shroud, and said:
+
+"I was the rightful possessor of the throne! and you, wicked brother,
+who caused me to be murdered, shall now reap your reward!"
+
+So saying he breathed upon him, and the king fell dead--on which the
+phantom vanished.
+
+But as soon as they recovered from their fright, all the nobility who
+were present acclaimed the ferry-man as their king.
+
+The next day, after the burial of the late king, the beautiful
+sea-maiden, the beloved of the Sun, went back to the sea, to float about
+in her silvery canoe, in the company of the rainbow fishes, and to
+rejoice in the sunbeams.
+
+But the good ferry-man and his wife lived happily ever after, as king
+and queen. And they gave a grand ball to the nobility and to the
+people.... The Self-playing Guitar furnished the music, the wonderful
+purse scattered gold all the time, and the king entertained all the
+guests right royally.
+
+[Illustration: THE FIGHT FOR THE MAGIC BOOTS]
+
+
+
+
+THE PRINCESS OF THE BRAZEN MOUNTAIN
+
+
+There was a young prince, who was not only most handsome and well-grown,
+but also most kind-hearted and good. Now sooner or later kindness always
+meets its reward, though it may not seem so at first.
+
+One summer's evening the prince was walking on the banks of a lake, when
+he looked up, and saw to his great surprise, in the air, against the
+rosy clouds of the sunset, three beautiful beings with wings--not
+angels, nor birds--but three beautiful damsels.
+
+And having alighted on the ground they dropped their wings and their
+garments, and left them lying on the shore and leaped into the cool
+water, and began splashing and playing about in it, like so many
+waterfowl.
+
+As soon as the prince saw this he came out from his hiding-place in the
+bushes, picked up one pair of wings and hid himself again.
+
+When they had been long enough in the water, the beautiful damsels came
+again to land, and dressed themselves quickly.
+
+Two of them soon had on both their white dresses and their wings; but
+the youngest could not find hers.
+
+They held a short consultation, and the result was, that the two elder
+flew away in the shape of birds, as fast as they could, to fetch another
+pair of wings for their younger sister.
+
+They soon vanished in the blue sky; but she remained alone, wringing her
+hands, and crying.
+
+"What are you crying for, you lovely maiden?" asked the prince, emerging
+from the bushes.
+
+"Oh! I am so unhappy!" she replied. "I am a princess of the Brazen
+Mountain; my sisters and I came here to bathe in the lake; and somebody
+has stolen my wings; so I must wait here, until they bring me another
+pair."
+
+"I am a prince," he replied; "this is my father's kingdom; be my wife,
+and I will give you back your wings."
+
+"Very well," she said; "I consent, only you must give me back my wings
+at once."
+
+"Let us first go to church, and get married," he answered, and taking
+the lovely princess by the hand, he brought her to his father and
+mother, and asked their permission to marry her.
+
+[Illustration: THE PRINCE STEALS THE WINGS]
+
+The king and queen were delighted with their beautiful daughter-in-law,
+gave them their blessing, and all was got ready for the wedding.
+
+And directly they came back from church the prince, overcome with joy,
+kissed his bride, and gave her back her wings.
+
+She took them joyfully, fastened them to her shoulders; then flew out of
+the window, and vanished.
+
+All the wedding-guests were in consternation; the king looked very
+serious; the queen wept bitterly; but the prince so grieved after his
+bride, that, having obtained his parents' consent, he went out into the
+wide world to search for that Brazen Mountain, where he hoped to find
+her.
+
+He travelled for a long time, inquiring about it of every one he met;
+but nobody had ever heard of such a mountain; and he began to give up
+all hope of ever finding it.
+
+Late one evening he saw a twinkling light before him, which he followed,
+in the hope of coming to some habitation. It led him on a long way,
+across level plains, through deep defiles, and at length some way into a
+dark forest. But at last he came to whence the light proceeded--from a
+solitary hermitage.
+
+He went in; but found the hermit lying dead, with six wax candles
+burning around him. He had evidently been dead for some time. Yet there
+seemed to be nobody near him, nor any inhabitants at all in this
+desolate region.
+
+The prince's first thought was how to get him buried, and with proper
+rites, when there was no priest--nor indeed any people at all--to be
+found in the neighbourhood.
+
+While he was thinking over this, something fell from a peg in the wall,
+close beside him; it was a leather whip.
+
+The prince took it up, and read on the handle these words:
+
+"The Magic Whip."
+
+As he knew its virtue, he called out:
+
+    "Ho! Magical Whip!
+    To right and left skip!
+    And do what I will!"
+
+The whip jumped from his hand, became invisible, and flew away.
+
+In a short time there was the hum of a multitude through the forest; and
+the head-forester entered, breathless, followed by a crowd of
+under-keepers, and many more people with them.
+
+Some set about making a coffin, others began digging a grave, and the
+head-keeper rode off to fetch a priest.
+
+And as soon as it was dawn mass was said; the bells began ringing from
+several far-distant churches; and at sunrise the corpse was decently
+buried. When the funeral was over all the people dispersed to their
+homes, and the Magical Whip returned of itself to the prince's hand.
+
+He stuck it into his girdle, and went on, till after an hour or two he
+came to a clearing in the forest, where twelve men were fighting
+desperately among themselves.
+
+"Stop, you fellows!" exclaimed the prince. "Who are you? and what are
+you fighting about?"
+
+"We are robbers," they replied, "and we are fighting for these boots,
+which were the property of our deceased leader. Whoever has them can go
+seven leagues at one step; and he who gets them will be our leader. As
+you are a stranger we will abide by your decision, as to whom this pair
+of boots shall belong, and give you a heap of gold into the bargain for
+your trouble."
+
+The prince drew on the boots, took the Magical Whip from his girdle, and
+said:
+
+    "Ho! Magical Whip!
+    To right and left skip!
+    And do what I will!"
+
+The whip jumped from his hand, became invisible, and well thrashed the
+robbers. In the midst of the confusion the prince made his escape, and
+having the boots on he went seven miles at every step, and was soon far
+enough away from the robbers' den.
+
+But as he was no nearer to finding out where the Brazen Mountain was, he
+had no need to go quite so fast; so he took off the seven-league boots,
+put them under his arm, and the Magic Whip in his girdle, and went at
+his ordinary pace, till he came to a narrow path between some rocks,
+where again he came upon twelve men fighting.
+
+They explained that they were fighting for an invisible cap, which had
+belonged to their late leader; and asked him, as a stranger, to decide
+who should have it.
+
+So he set the Magical Whip, as before, to work; and there was a nice
+confusion among these robbers, for not seeing where the blows came from
+they fell upon one another; and at last, frightened out of their senses,
+they took flight, and scattered in all directions. The prince, having
+put on the invisible cap, was able to walk among them, and talk to them;
+and they all heard, though they could not see him.
+
+He now began to consider whether he could not use all these treasures to
+help him to find the Brazen Mountain. So he drew on the seven-league
+boots, settled the invisible cap on his forehead, and taking the Magical
+Whip from his girdle, said:
+
+    "Oh! thou wondrous Magic Whip!
+    Lead me on; I'll follow thee!
+    Onward to the Brazen Mountain
+    Lead me, where I fain would be!"
+
+The whip sprang from his hand. It did not become invisible this time,
+but glided rapidly a little above the ground, like a boat over a calm
+sea. Though it flew like a bird, the prince was quite able to keep pace
+with it, because he had on the seven-league boots. He was scarcely
+aware of the fact, when in less than a quarter of an hour they came to a
+standstill--at the Brazen Mountain.
+
+At first the prince was overjoyed at having reached the goal of his
+wishes; but when he looked more closely at its smooth perpendicular
+sides, hard as adamant--its summit lost in the clouds--he was in
+despair; for how was he ever to get to the top of it?
+
+However, he thought there must be some way up after all; so taking off
+his boots and cap, he set off to walk round the base of the mountain.
+
+In half an hour he came to a mill, with twelve millstones. The miller
+was an old wizard, with a long beard down to the ground. He stood beside
+a stove--whereupon a kettle was boiling--stirring the contents with a
+long iron spoon, and piling wood on the fire.
+
+The prince looked into the kettle.
+
+"Good morning to you, gaffer. What are you doing there?"
+
+"That's my own business," replied the miller gruffly.
+
+"What mill is this?" the prince next asked.
+
+"That's no business of yours," replied the miller.
+
+The prince was not going to be satisfied with this; so he gave his usual
+orders to the Magical Whip, which forthwith became invisible, and began
+to lash the miller soundly. He tried to run away; but it was no use;
+till the prince took pity on him, and called the whip back again. He
+put it up, and then said:
+
+"Whose mill is this?"
+
+"It belongs to the three princesses of the Brazen Mountain," replied the
+miller. "They let down a rope here every day, and draw up all the flour
+they want by the rope."
+
+As he said this a thick silken rope came down, with a loop at the end,
+which struck the threshold of the mill.
+
+The prince made ready; and when the usual sack of wheat flour was bound
+fast in the loop, he climbed upon it, having first put on his invisible
+cap, and was thus drawn up to the top of the Brazen Mountain.
+
+The three princesses, having drawn up their supply of flour, put it into
+their storehouse, and went back to their dwelling.
+
+Their palace was most beautiful, all silver without, and all gold
+within. All the windows were of crystal; the chairs and tables were made
+of diamonds, and the floors of looking-glass. The ceilings were like the
+sky, with mimic stars and moon shining therein; and in the principal
+saloon there was a sun, with rays all round; beautiful birds were
+singing, monkeys were telling fairy tales; and in their midst amongst
+all this sat three most beautiful princesses.
+
+The two eldest were weaving golden threads in their looms; but the
+youngest, the prince's wife, sat silently apart from her sisters,
+listening to the murmur of a fountain, her head leaning on her hand,
+in deep thought. And as she sat there two pearly tears coursed down her
+lovely face.
+
+[Illustration: THE TRUANT WIFE IS CAPTURED]
+
+"What are you thinking of, sister?" asked the two elder princesses.
+
+"I am thinking of the prince, my husband. I love to think of him, and I
+am so sorry for him, poor fellow! To think I left him for no fault at
+all; and when we loved one another so dearly! Oh! sisters! I shall have
+to leave you, and go back to him; only I fear he will never forgive me,
+however I entreat him, for having behaved so unkindly to him."
+
+"I forgive you, I forgive you everything, darling!" exclaimed the prince
+throwing off the invisible cap, and embracing her rapturously.
+
+Then she gave him wings like her own, and they flew away together. In an
+hour or two they arrived in his father's kingdom.
+
+The king and queen welcomed them joyfully, and all was greatest joy and
+happiness henceforward.
+
+[Illustration: THE MOUSE SAVES THE GOOD LITTLE GIRL]
+
+
+
+
+THE BEAR IN THE FOREST HUT.
+
+
+There was once an old man, who was a widower, and he had married an old
+woman, who was a widow. Both had had children by their first marriage;
+and now the old man had a daughter of his own still living, and the old
+woman also had a daughter.
+
+The old man was an honest, hard-working, and good-natured old fellow,
+but too much under his wife's thumb. This was very unfortunate, because
+she was wicked, cunning, and sly, and a bad old witch.
+
+Her daughter was only too like her in disposition; but she was her
+mother's darling.
+
+But the old man's daughter was a very good sweet girl; nevertheless her
+stepmother hated her; she was always tormenting her, and wishing her
+dead.
+
+One day she had beaten her very cruelly, and pushed her out of doors;
+then she said to the old man:
+
+"Your wretched daughter is always giving me trouble; she is such an
+ill-tempered, spoilt hussy, that I cannot do anything with her. So if
+you wish for peace in the house, you must put her into your waggon,
+drive her away into the forest, and come back without her."
+
+The old man was very sorry to have to do this; for he loved his own
+little daughter most dearly. But he was so afraid of his wife that he
+dared not refuse; so he put the poor girl into his waggon, drove a long
+way into the forest, took her out, and left her there alone.
+
+She wandered about a long time, gathering wild strawberries, to eat with
+a little piece of bread, which her father had given her. Towards evening
+she came to the door of a hut in the forest, and knocked at the door.
+
+Nobody answered her knock. So she lifted the latch, went in, and looked
+round--there was nobody there.
+
+But there was a table in one corner, and benches all round the walls,
+and an oven by the door. And near the table, close to the window, was a
+spinning-wheel, and a quantity of flax.
+
+The girl sat down to the spinning-wheel, and opened the window, looked
+out, and listened; but nobody came.
+
+[Illustration: THE GOOD LITTLE GIRL IS SENT AWAY]
+
+But as it grew dusk she heard a rustle not far off, and from somewhere
+not far from the hut, a voice was heard, singing:
+
+    "Wanderer, outcast, forsaken!
+    Whom the night has overtaken;
+    If no crime your conscience stain,
+    In this hut to-night remain."
+
+When the voice ceased, she answered:
+
+    "I am outcast and forsaken;
+    Yet unstained by crime am I:
+    Be you rich, or be you poor;
+    For this night here let me lie!"
+
+Once more there was a rustle in the branches; the door opened, and there
+came into the room--a bear!
+
+The girl started up, very frightened; but the bear only said:
+
+"Good evening, pretty maiden!"
+
+"Good evening to you, whoever you are," she replied, somewhat reassured.
+
+"How did you come here?" he asked. "Was it of your own free will, or by
+compulsion?"
+
+The maiden told him all, weeping; but the bear sat down beside her, and
+stroking her face with his paw, replied:
+
+"Do not cry, pretty one; you shall be happy yet. But in the meantime you
+must do just what I tell you. Do you see that flax? You must spin it
+into thread; of that thread you must weave cloth, and of that cloth you
+must make me a shirt. I shall come here to-morrow at this same time, and
+if the shirt is ready I will reward you. Good-bye!"
+
+So saying the bear made her a parting bow, and went out. At first the
+girl began to cry, and said to herself:
+
+"How can I do this in only twenty-four hours--spin all that flax, weave
+it into cloth, and make a shirt out of it? Well! I must set to work! and
+do what I can.... He will at least see that my will was good, though I
+was unable to perform the task."
+
+Thus saying, she dried her tears, ate some of her bread and
+strawberries, sat down to the spinning-wheel, and began to spin by the
+light of the moon.
+
+The time went by quickly, as she worked, and it was daylight before she
+knew.
+
+And there was no more flax left; she had spun out the last distaff-full.
+
+She was astonished to see how fast the work had gone, and began to
+wonder how she was to weave the thread without any loom.
+
+Thinking, she fell asleep.
+
+When she woke the sun was already high in the heavens. There was
+breakfast ready on the table, and a loom under the window.
+
+She ran down to the neighbouring brook, washed her face and hands, came
+back, said grace, and ate her breakfast; then she sat down to the loom.
+
+The shuttle flew so fast that the cloth was all ready by noon.
+
+She took it out into a meadow, sprinkled it from the brook, spread it
+out in the sun, and in one hour the cloth was bleached.
+
+She came back with it to the hut, cut out the shirt, and began to stitch
+at it diligently.
+
+The twilight was falling, and she was just putting in the last stitch,
+when the door opened, and the bear came in, and asked:
+
+"Is the shirt ready?"
+
+She gave it to him.
+
+"Thank you, my good girl; now I must reward you. You told me you had a
+bad stepmother; if you like, I will send my bears to tear her and her
+daughter in pieces."
+
+"Oh! don't do that! I don't want to be revenged; let them live!"
+
+"Let it be so then! Meanwhile make yourself useful in the kitchen; get
+me some porridge for supper. You will find everything you want in the
+cupboard in the wall; but I will go and fetch my bedding, for I shall
+spend to-night at home."
+
+The bear left the room, and the maiden made up the fire in the oven, and
+began to get the porridge ready.
+
+Just then she heard a sound under the bench, and there ran out a poor,
+lean little mouse, which stood up on its hind-legs, and said in human
+tones:
+
+    "Mistress! help me lest I die
+    A poor weak, little mouse am I!
+    I am hungry, give me food;
+    And to you will I be good."
+
+The girl was sorry for the mouse, and threw it a spoonful of porridge.
+
+The mouse ate it, thanked her, and ran away to its hole.
+
+The bear soon came in, with a load of wood and stones; these he laid
+upon the stove, and having eaten a basin of porridge, he climbed upon
+the stove, and said:
+
+"Here, girl, is a bunch of keys on a steel ring. Put out the fire; but
+you must walk about the room all night, and keep on jingling these keys,
+till I get up; and if I find you alive in the morning you shall be
+happy."
+
+The bear began snoring directly, and the old man's daughter kept walking
+about the hut, jingling the keys.
+
+Soon the mouse ran out of its hole, and said:
+
+"Give me the keys, mistress, I will jingle them for you; but you must
+hide yourself behind the stove, for the stones will soon be flying
+about."
+
+So the mouse began to run up and down by the wall, under the bench. The
+maiden hid behind the oven, and about midnight the bear woke up, and
+threw out a stone into the middle of the room.
+
+But the mouse kept running about, and jingling the keys. And the bear
+asked:
+
+"Are you alive?"
+
+"I am," replied the girl, from behind the oven.
+
+The bear began to throw stones and billets of wood, thick and fast from
+the stove, and every time he did so, he asked:
+
+"Are you alive?"
+
+"I am," replied the girl's voice from behind the oven; and the mouse
+still ran up and down, jingling the keys.
+
+With the dawn the cocks began to crow, but the bear did not wake. The
+mouse gave up the keys, and ran back to its hole; but the old man's
+daughter began to walk about the room, and jingled the keys.
+
+At sunrise the bear came off the stove, and said:
+
+"O daughter of the old man! you are blest of heaven! For here was I, a
+powerful monarch, changed by enchantment into a bear, until some living
+soul should spend two nights in this hut. And now I shall soon become a
+man again, and return to my kingdom, taking you for my wife. But before
+this comes to pass, do you look into my right ear."
+
+The old man's daughter threw back her hair, and looked into the right
+ear of the bear. And she saw a beautiful country, with millions of
+people, with high mountains, deep rivers, impenetrable forests, and
+pastures covered with flocks, well-to-do villages, and rich cities.
+
+"What seest thou?" asked the bear.
+
+"I see a lovely country."
+
+"That is my kingdom. Look into my left ear."
+
+She looked, and could not enough admire what she saw--a magnificent
+palace, with many carriages and horses in the courtyard, and in the
+carriages rich robes, jewels, and all kinds of rarities.
+
+"What do you see?" asked the bear.
+
+She described it all.
+
+"Which of those carriages do you prefer?"
+
+"The one with four horses," she replied.
+
+"That is yours then," answered the bear, as he opened the window.
+
+There was a sound of wheels in the forest, and a golden carriage
+presently drew up before the cottage drawn by four splendid horses,
+although there was no driver.
+
+The bear adorned his beloved with a gown of cloth-of-gold, with diamond
+ear-rings, a necklace set with various precious stones, and diamond
+rings, saying:
+
+"Wait here a little while; your father will come for you presently; and
+in a few days, when the power of the enchantment is over, and I am a
+king again, I will come for you, and you shall be my queen."
+
+So saying the bear disappeared into the forest, and the old man's
+daughter looked out of the window to watch for her father's coming.
+
+The old man, having left his daughter in the wood, came home very sad;
+but on the third day he harnessed his waggon again, and drove into the
+forest, to see if she were alive or dead; and if she were dead at least
+to bury her.
+
+Towards evening the old woman and her own daughter looked out of the
+window, and a dog, the favourite of the old man's daughter, suddenly
+rushed to the door, and began to bark:
+
+    "Bow! wow! wow! the old man's here!
+    Bringing home his daughter dear,
+    Decked with gold and diamonds' sheen,
+    Gifts to please a royal queen."
+
+The old woman gave the dog an angry kick. "You lie, you big ugly dog!
+Bark like this!
+
+    'Bow! wow! wow! the old man's come!
+    His daughter's bones he's bringing home!'"
+
+So saying she opened the door; the dog leaped forth; and she went with
+her daughter into the courtyard. They stood as if transfixed!
+
+For in drove the carriage with four galloping horses, the old man
+sitting on the box, cracking his whip, and his daughter sat inside,
+dressed in cloth of gold, and adorned with jewels.
+
+The old woman pretended she was overjoyed to see her, welcomed her with
+many kisses, and was anxious to know where she got all these rich and
+beautiful things.
+
+The girl told her that they were all given to her by the bear in the
+forest hut.
+
+Next day the old woman baked some delicious cakes, and gave them to her
+own daughter, saying to the old man:
+
+"If your wretched, worthless daughter has had such good luck, I am sure
+my sweet, pretty darling will get a deal more from the bear, if he can
+only see her. So you must drive her out in the waggon, leave her in the
+forest, and come back without her."
+
+And she gave the old man a good push, to hasten his departure, shut the
+door of the cottage in his face, and looked out of the window to see
+what would happen.
+
+The old man went to the stable, got out the waggon, put the horse to,
+helped his stepdaughter in, and drove away with her into the forest.
+
+There he left her, turned his horse's head, and drove quickly home.
+
+The old woman's daughter was not long in finding out the hut in the
+forest. Confident in the power of her charms she went straight into the
+little room. There was nobody within; but there was the same table in
+one corner, the benches round the walls, the oven by the door, and the
+spinning-wheel, under the window, with a great bundle of flax.
+
+She sat down on one of the benches, undid her bundle, and began eating
+the cakes with great relish, looking from the window all the time.
+
+It soon began to get dark, a strong wind began to blow, and a voice was
+heard singing outside:
+
+    "Wanderer! outcast, forsaken!
+    Whom the night has overtaken;
+    If no crime your conscience stain,
+    Here this night you may remain."
+
+When the voice ceased she answered:
+
+    "I am outcast and forsaken;
+    Yet unstained by crime am I:
+    Be you rich, or be you poor,
+    For this night here let me lie."
+
+Then the door opened, and the bear walked in.
+
+The girl stood up, gave him a winning smile, and waited for him to bow
+first.
+
+The bear looked at her narrowly, made a bow, and said:
+
+"Welcome, maiden ... but I have not much time to stay here. I must go
+back to the forest; but between now and to-morrow evening you must make
+me a shirt, out of this flax; so you must set at once about spinning,
+weaving, bleaching, washing, and then about sewing it. Good-bye!"
+
+So saying the bear turned, and went out.
+
+"That's not what I came here for," said the girl, so soon as his back
+was turned, "to do your spinning, weaving, and sewing! You may do
+without a shirt for me!"
+
+So saying, she made herself comfortable on one of the benches, and went
+to sleep.
+
+Next day, at evening twilight, the bear came back, and asked:
+
+"Is the shirt ready?"
+
+She made no answer.
+
+"What's this? the distaff has not been touched."
+
+Silence as before.
+
+"Get me ready my supper at once. You will find water in that pail, and
+the groats in that cupboard. I must go and fetch my bedding, for
+to-night I will sleep at home."
+
+The bear went out, and the old woman's daughter lit the fire in the
+stove, and began to prepare the porridge. Then the little mouse came
+out, stood on its hind-legs, and said:
+
+    "Mistress! help me, or I die!
+    A poor, weak little mouse am I!
+    I am hungry, give me food;
+    And to you will I be good."
+
+But the unkind girl only caught up the spoon with which she was stirring
+the porridge, and flung it at the poor mouse, which ran away in a
+fright.
+
+The bear soon came back with a huge load of stones and wood; instead of
+a mattress he arranged a layer of stones on the top of the stove, and
+covered this with the wood, in place of a sheet. He ate up the porridge,
+and said:
+
+"Here! take these keys; walk all night about the hut, and keep on
+jingling them. And if, when I get up to-morrow, I find you still alive,
+you shall be happy."
+
+The bear was snoring at once, and the old woman's daughter walked up and
+down drowsily, jingling the keys.
+
+But about midnight the bear woke up, and flung a stone towards the
+quarter whence he heard the jingling. It hit the old woman's daughter.
+
+She gave one shriek, fell, and expired instantly.
+
+Next morning the bear descended from the top of the oven, looked once at
+the dead girl, opened the cottage door, stood upon the threshold, and
+stamped upon it three times with all his force. It thundered and
+lightened; and in one moment the bear became a handsome young king, with
+a golden sceptre in his hand, and a diamond crown on his head.
+
+And now there drew up before the cottage a carriage, bright as sunshine,
+with six horses. The coachman cracked his whip, till the leaves fell
+from the trees, and the king got into the carriage, and drove away from
+the forest to his own capital city.
+
+The old man having left his stepdaughter in the forest came home
+rejoicing in his daughter's joy. She was expecting the king every day.
+In the meantime he busied himself with looking after the four splendid
+horses, cleaning the golden carriage, and airing the costly
+horse-clothes.
+
+On the third day after his return the old woman came down upon him and
+said:
+
+"Go and fetch my darling; she is no doubt all dressed in gold by this
+time, or married to a king; so I shall be a queen's mother."
+
+The old man, obedient as ever, harnessed the waggon, and drove off.
+
+When evening came the old woman gazed from the window; when the dog
+began to bark:
+
+    "Bow! wow! wow! the old man's come!
+    Your daughter's bones he's bringing home!"
+
+"You lie!" exclaimed the old woman; "bark like this:
+
+    'Bow! wow! wow! the old man's here!
+    Driving home your daughter dear,
+    Decked in gold and diamonds' sheen,
+    Gifts to please a royal queen.'"
+
+So saying she ran out of the house to meet the old man, coming back in
+the waggon; but she stood as if thunderstruck, sobbed, and wept, and was
+hardly able to articulate:
+
+"Where is my sweetest daughter?"
+
+The old man scratched his head, and replied:
+
+"She has met with a great misfortune; this is all I have found of her--a
+few bare bones, and blood-stained garments; in the wood, in the old hut
+... she has been devoured by wolves."
+
+The old woman, wild with grief and despair, gathered up her
+daughter's bones, went to some neighbouring cross-ways, and when a
+number of people had gathered together, she buried them there with
+weeping and lamentation; then she fell face downward on the grave--and
+was turned to stone.
+
+[Illustration: THE REWARD OF THE GOOD LITTLE GIRL]
+
+Meanwhile a royal carriage drew up in the courtyard of the old man's
+cottage, bright as the sun, with four splendid horses, and the coachman
+cracked his whip--till the cottage fell to pieces with the sound.
+
+The king took both the old man and his daughter into the carriage, and
+they drove away to his capital, where the marriage soon took place.
+
+The old man lived happily in his declining years, as the father-in-law
+of a king, and with his sweet daughter, who had once been so miserable,
+a queen.
+
+
+
+
+APPENDIX
+
+
+NOTE I
+
+THE FROG PRINCESS
+
+This is certainly a "Nature story." The princess and her attendants are
+clearly personification of the elemental forces. The classical scholar
+cannot fail to be struck by the likeness of her metamorphoses to the
+story of Peleus and Thetis. Indeed the "Protean myth" so repeatedly
+occurs in these primitive Slavonic stories that it is impossible not to
+suspect a common origin.
+
+
+NOTE II
+
+PRINCESS MIRANDA AND PRINCE HERO
+
+The old woman "Jandza"--which word Polish dictionary-makers translate by
+"fury"--appears very often both in Polish and Russian fairy tales, as a
+witch of witches. She is sometimes "Jaga"; and seems pretty malevolent,
+though capable of serving those who know how to manage her.
+
+This story--probably a symbolic one--of the Spring and Winter, or the
+triumph of Light over Darkness, might be read at the present moment into
+an allegory of Poland, overrun, her people oppressed, starved, and all
+but extirpated by the malignant spirit of German militarism. Princess
+Miranda, herself unsleeping, awake, and watching, while all is
+desolation and despair around her, might be taken for the Spirit of
+Poland herself, undying, but waiting for deliverance. But where is the
+Prince Hero, who shall deliver her?
+
+_Princess Miranda_--her name is _cud-dziewica_, i.e. "Wonder
+Maiden"--but is not "admired Miranda" the most obvious rendering?
+
+
+NOTE III
+
+THE WHIRLWIND
+
+The name of the heroine "Ladna" signifies "pretty" or "beautiful" in
+Polish. It is not the word originally used; but being nearly equivalent,
+and of similar meaning, appears preferable.
+
+The prince's name "Dobrotek," signifies "good," or "benefactor." Being
+easy of pronunciation, but not easily Englished into a proper name, it
+seemed best to retain it.
+
+The whole story has a very Eastern cast. The mention of the "Seven
+seas," and the high mountains beyond them, suggest Persian or Indian
+influence. The ugly dwarf, with the long beard and diminutive stature,
+seems a malignant "Jinn," and to have his counterpart in a well-known
+legend of the Arabian Nights. But this is not the only Polish tale that
+gives this impression; more than one appears directly taken from these
+tales.
+
+P. 50. "The Water of Loosening." Loosening is not perhaps an exact
+rendering, which is rather "unstiffening," or destroying the _rigor
+mortis_, as a preparative to healing a mortal wound, and breaking the
+sleep of death. These three waters always appear in stories, where this
+incident is used.
+
+
+NOTE IV
+
+THE PRINCESS OF THE BRAZEN MOUNTAIN
+
+This story is rather freely translated, and much shortened from the
+original. There is much pious reflection, too long for insertion. The
+conversation between the prince and the sorcerer-miller is somewhat
+changed as much of it seemed rather irrelevant to the chief interest of
+the story, and lacking in pithiness.
+
+The story of a supernatural maiden, compelled by the theft of her wings
+to remain temporarily as a mortal with a mortal husband, has its
+counterpart in many lands. The oldest perhaps is a Persian story,
+related in Keightly's "Fairy Mythology," of a Peri, who being thus
+entrapped, lives several years as an ordinary woman; but accidently
+finding her wings again, puts them on, and deserts her mortal husband
+and children, remarking as she does so: "I loved you well enough, while
+we remained together; but I love my former husband better"--and so
+vanishes away to Peristan.
+
+The parallel legend of "Little Sealskin" will readily occur to memory.
+
+
+                          THE END
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Notes:
+
+
+The two footnotes in the original text were indicated by small symbols
+rather than numbers as shown here.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Polish Fairy Tales, by A. J. Glinski
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author	Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org>	2025-10-14 20:06:17 -0700
committer	Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org>	2025-10-14 20:06:17 -0700
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tree	2ca5a36284e5bfe1c3f42a435d0a4a48a94687a7